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Promoting entrepreneurship in agriculture in the Eastern Cape:

  • Authors: Antrobus, Geoffrey G , Fraser, Gavin C G
  • Date: 2010
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143067 , vital:38198 , DOI: 10.1080/03031853.1994.9524779
  • Description: Selected cases in developing entrepreneurship in small-scale subsistence and commercial agriculture in the Eastern Cape are examined, including the provision of marketing facilities, the training programme of the Africa Cooperative Action Trust (ACAT) in Ciskei, government sponsored irrigation projects and the farmer support programme. An attempt is made to draw general conclusions about the necessary ingredients for successful entrepreneurship and the formulation of proposals for further promoting entrepreneurship in agriculture in South Africa.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

Tectonic and structural aspects at the Otjihase Mine, Matchless Belt, Namibia: A Systematic Review

  • Authors: Hartmann, K
  • Date: 1995-04
  • Subjects: Uncatalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190232 , vital:44976
  • Description: The Otjihase pyritic massive sulphide deposit occurs within a 10km thick metasedimentary sequence of the Kuiseb Formation. The Kuiseb metasediments were deposited within the Khomas Trough, which forms the southernmost rift of the intracontinental arm of the Damara orogen. Amphibolite units of the Matchless member at Otjihase have a MORB-type geochemical character and occur within the Kuiseb schists, about 200m above the ore zone. The Otjihase mine is the largest of many Besshi-type deposits that occur in close proximity to the Matchless amphibolites. A depositional environment in a rift, slightly more advanced than the present-day Red Sea is envisaged. The five parallel, ruler-shaped, mineralised shoots at Otjihase occur on the same stratigraphic level. They have a plunge of approximately 6° to the west and a dip of approximately 16° to the northwest. The largest and best mineralised, is the northernmost shoot (the Main Shoot) which is ±250m wide, up to 12m thick and has a known length of 7,5km. The large length/breadth ratio is ascribed to the original setting along faults and thickening of the ore zone during thrusting. Intense ductile deformation has affected the ore bodies, with isoclinal refolding, boudinaging, duplexes of more competent bands and smearing of the schists. Squeezing and remobilisation of the sulphides into the schistosity and low pressure pods has taken place. Successive folding and thrusting during the D2 deformational event resulted in the dominant structural style. Fold axes of drag folds plot onto a great circle in stereographic projection, indicating the formation of sheath folds. The axial planar cleavages of competent layers is steeper than the S(0,1) foliation and suggests a structural right way-up. The presence of chloritic alteration above the ore shoots, is suggestive of footwall alteration indicating that the sequence was overturned during the D1 deformational event. Ore zone lithologies include stringery-, massive- and semi-massive sulphides, mineralised magnetite- quartzites and disseminated sulphide mineralisation within quartz-biotite-chlorite schists. Chalcopyrite is the main economic mineral and mainly occurs as matrix to pyrite and in coarse-grained pods. Lithological and metal zoning within the Main Shoot is distinct and is an indication that the macroscopic shape of the orebody is largely unaffected by later ductile deformation. North-south trending normal faults of the Windhoek Graben have disrupted the continuity of the ore shoots. In section, the faults appear to have a listric shape. The major faults have pronounced scissor movements and as a result the dips of the blocks within fault zones are affected. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Exploration Geology, 2021
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  • Date Issued: 1995-04

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange: What it is, How it Works: an informaiton booklet for workers

  • Authors: Trade Union Research Project (TURP)
  • Date: 1994-02
  • Subjects: Stock exchanges -- South Africa -- Johannesburg , Stock exchanges -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: book , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60120 , vital:27738
  • Description: This booklet is about the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Workers are directly or indirectly affected by what happens at the JSE. There are many workers at companies which are listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The bosses of some of these companies are encouraging workers to own shares in these companies. Some workers already own shares in the companies where they work. Workers’ pension and provident funds are being invested on the stock exchange. These issues have raised questions among workers about what shares are, how they make money and where they are traded. This pamphlet addresses some of these questions. It focuses mainly on what the stock exchange is, how it works and what role it plays in the economy. Because workers are also thinking about how the present South African economy can be restructured, the pamphlet also raises a few questions for discussion on the role of the JSE in a future economy.
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  • Date Issued: 1994-02

"We are all friends here": the social dynamics of a development project

'People's English' in South Africa : theory and practice

  • Authors: Butler, Ian
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Second language acquisition -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1691 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003574
  • Description: Communicative Language Teaching, an approach to language teaching currently widely prescribed, has been criticised for its unquestioning acceptance of the cultural and political norms of the target language. People's English (an aspect of the larger People's Education movement), on the other hand, offers a philosophy and methodology that takes an actively critical view of language and its relationship to power. In the context of South African society, this stance has had clear political implications. Although still imprecisely defined , the concepts of People's Education and People's English have been debated and discussed by various ant-apartheid movements in recent years. Attempts have also been made to translate the evolving theory into practice through the development of materials and methodologies. This has been achieved on a relatively small scale, with varying degrees of success. Recent reform measures by the South African government have, however, prompted the proponents of People's Education to reassess their position. This thesis presents a historical overview and critical assessment of the development of People's English in South Africa.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

A basic guide to the Reconstruction and Development Programme

  • Authors: African National Congress
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: Reconstruction and development programme (South Africa) , South Africa -- Economic policy , South Africa -- Social policy , African National Congress
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , book
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/75927 , vital:30483 , 1874902062
  • Description: The RDP is a plan to address the many social and economic problems facing our country — problems such as...violence, lack of housing, lack of jobs, inadequate education and health care, lack of democracy, a failing economy. The RDP recognises that all of these problems are connected. For example, we cannot successfully build the economy while millions do not have homes or jobs. And we cannot provide homes and jobs without rebuilding the economy. We need policies and strategies to address all of the problems together. The RDP aims to do this. The RDP is a programme to mobilise all our people and all our resources to finally get rid of apartheid and build a democratic, non racial and non sexist future. The RDP was drawn up by the ANC-led alliance in consultation with other key mass organisations and assisted by a wide range of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and research organisations. This inclusive approach to developing and implementing policy — involving as many organisations as possible — is unique in South Africa’s political history. The ANC — because it is a liberation movement and based on the traditions of the Freedom Charter — is the only political organisation which can bring together such a wide range of social movements, community-based organisations and numerous other sectors and formations. This widespread and broad-based support throughout South Africa will allow the ANC within a Government of National Unity successfully to implement the RDP.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

A case study of a series of process writing workshops for teachers of English as a second language

  • Authors: Claude, Marianne
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Foreign speakers English language -- Writing
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1433 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003314
  • Description: The case study, which is described in this thesis, is concerned with two aspects of second language teaching and learning, namely process writing and 'teacher development'. Ten Zulu speaking, English second language teachers in Durban, Natal, participated in a series of process writing workshops. Before the workshops, they were given opportunities to reflect, in interviews, upon their own past and present writing practices. After the workshops there were follow-up interviews to elicit their further understanding of what is involved in writing. The workshop materials were compiled and written by the researcher. The aims of the research project were, in summary, the following: to let the teachers, who are teachers of writing in their classrooms, become participating writers themselves; to make the process writing workshops be a reflective activity through which the participants would develop as teachers. The entire case study is positioned within critical theory, as a philosophical framework, in which the teachers' reflections upon their writing experiences is seen as emancipatory practice. The research project was small scale and predominantly qualitative. A narrative, 'explanation-building' analysis of the entire findings forms the major part of the thesis. The writing workshops gave the teachers in this study occasion to experience process writing; furthermore they were enabled to reflect in detail on their experiences. It is suggested that teacher training colleges and in-service courses incorporate the 'writing workshops for teachers ' concept, as an activity for growth and development. Further research may take the form of long term action research into how teachers who have attended such workshops implement the insights they have gained in their classrooms.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

A case study of the group work management techniques of an English second language teacher in the Molopo circuit of Bophuthatswana

  • Authors: Alfers, Helen Joy
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Bophuthatswana--Foreign speakers
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1441 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003322
  • Description: This study examines the small group work management techniques of a teacher of English in a second language classroom in Bophuthatswana. The school at which the observation takes place, is a black secondary school in Mmabatho which follows the Department of Education and Training (DET) syllabus and writes the DET external matriculation examination. The goal of the research is to assess and evaluate the methods the teacher uses in managing group work according to five specified areas. These areas are noted for their importance in the successful management of group work. The report on the findings of this research reveals that the teacher's understanding of the nature of small group work differs from the accepted characteristics of successful group work management as interpreted by authorities in this field. This gives rise to management techniques that are sometimes inappropriate and ill-considered. Although this study observes only one teacher, the findings indicate the need for more classroom-based research in order to establish the true nature of classroom practice. Assumptions about classroom practice are too readily made by innovators, syllabus designers and textbook writers who design materials based on methodologies which can be complex and difficult to implement. These methodologies require understanding and commitment from the teacher. However, the pre-service and in-service education and development that the teacher receives often does not guarantee understanding of the processes involved nor does it generate the necessary commitment to small group work as an effective teaching technique.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

A classroom-based investigation into the potential of a computer-mediated criterion-referenced test as an evaluation instrument for the assessment of primary end user spreadsheet skills

  • Authors: Benn, Kenneth Robert Andrew
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: Education -- Data processing Electronic spreadsheets Criterion-referenced tests Educational tests and measurements
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1447 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003328
  • Description: The demand for innovative end users of information technology is increasing along with the proliferation of computer equipment within the workplace. This has resulted in increasing demands being made upon educational institutions responsible for the education of computer end users. The demands placed upon the teachers are particularly high. Large class groups and limited physical resources make the task especially difficult. One of the most time consuming, yet important, tasks is that of student evaluation. To effectively assess the practical work of information technology students requires intensive study of the storage media upon which the students'efforts have been saved. The purpose of this study was to assess the suitability of criterion-referenced testing techniques applied to the evaluation of end user computing students. Objective questions were administered to the students using Question Mark, a computer-managed test delivery system which enabled quick and efficient management of scoring and data manipulation for empirical analysis. The study was limited to the classroom situation and the assessment of primary spreadsheet skills. In order to operate within these boundaries, empirical techniques were used which enabled the timeous analysis of the students' test results. The findings of this study proved to be encouraging. Computer-mediated criterion-referenced testing techniques were found to be sufficiently reliable for classroom practice when used to assess primary spreadsheet skills. The validation of the assessment technique proved to be problematic because of the constraints imposed by normal classroom practice as well as the lack of an established methodology for evaluating spreadsheet skills. However, sufficient evidence was obtained to warrant further research aimed at assessing the use of computer-mediated criterion-referenced tests to evaluate information technology end user learning in situations beyond the boundaries of the classroom, such as a national certification examination.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

A combination of a stationary and non-stationary model to predict corporate failure in South Africa

  • Authors: Court, Philip Wathen
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: Bankruptcy -- South Africa Business planning -- South Africa Business failures -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:1183 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002800
  • Description: Business failure should be of concern in most industralised countries and the importance of accurately evaluating the phenomenon from a management and investment point of view is enormous. Were it possible to predict failure with a certain degree of confidence, steps could be taken to rectify the situation and the benefit would accrue to all of the stakeholders in the macroenvironment. In essence, the profitability of a business is influenced by two sets of variables. In the first instance, it is influenced by a variety of internal (microeconomic) variables which are firm- specific and which management is generally able to control. A further distinction in this regard may be made between the financial and non-financial variables. In the second instance, it is generally accepted that profitability will be influenced by a number of external (macroeconomic) variables which are generally beyond the control of management. In the main, however, the profitability of the firm is generally determined by a combination of both sets of factors. To date, a great deal of research has been undertaken in an attempt to establish a reliable model which may be used to predict failure. This has mainly been confined to the microeconomic variables which can be used to predict failure and attempts have been made to isolate either a single financial ratio or a number of financial and non-financial variables which can be used to model corporate failure. The research has met with a certain degree of success although this appears to be confined to the economic environment to which the models have been applied. The models are less successful when applied to other macroenvironments. Limited research has been undertaken into the macroeconomic variables which contribute to business failure or to a combination of the two types of variables. It is appropriate therefore that further consideration be given to the establishment of a model incorporating ALL the variables which could contribute to corporate failure. The purpose of this research is to undertake an investigation of micro- and macroeconomic variables that are freely available to reserachers and which may be used in a failure prediction model. The intention is to obtain a comprehensive, yet simple model which can be used as an overall predictor of PENDING failure.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

A comparison of the ichthyofaunas in two permanently open eastern Cape estuaries

  • Authors: Whitfield, Alan K , Paterson, Angus W , Bok, Anton H , Kok, H M
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/447364 , vital:74618 , https://www.ajol.info/index.php/az/article/view/154297
  • Description: The Kowie and Great Fish estuaries are situated less than 30 km apart, yet they differ considerably in terms of riverine inflow, turbidity, food resources and habitat availability. The ichthyofauna of the two estuaries were sampled using plankton, seine and gill nets. A greater ichthyofaunal richness (R) was recorded in the Kowie estuary and this is attributed to the wider range of habitats and greater degree of marine influence in this system. In contrast, all three sampling gears revealed an approximate 3:1 ratio between fish abundance in the Great Fish and Kowie estuaries.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

A cultural analysis of Venda guitar songs

  • Authors: Kruger, Jaco Hentie
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: Ethnomusicology Venda (African people) -- Music -- Social aspects Songs with guitar Music -- Social aspects Music -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Venda Symbolism in music
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:2644 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002309
  • Description: This thesis focuses on the articulation in music of human worldviews, and the social contexts in which they emerge. It suggests that people project various forms of social reality through symbolic systems which operate dynamically to maintain and recreate cultural patterns. The symbolic system investigated in support of this suggestion is that constituted by Venda guitar songs. In the performance of these songs, social reality emerges in a combination of symbolic forms: verbal, musical and somatic. The combination of these symbolic forms serves as a medium for individual self-awareness basic to the establishment of social reality and identity, and the drive for social power and legitimacy. A study of these symbolic forms and their performance indicates that musicians invoke the potential of communal music to increase social support for certain principles on which survival strategies in a turbulently changing society might be based. The discourse of Venda guitar songs incorporates modes of popular expression and consciousness, and thus attempts to invoke states of intensified emotion to promote these survival strategies. Performance occasions emerge as a focus for community orientation and the exploration of social networks. They promote stabilizing social and economic interaction, and serve as a basis for moral and cooperative action. Social reality also emerges in musical style, which is treated as the audible articulation of human thought and emotion. Stylistic choices are treated as integral to the conceptualization of contemporary existence. A study of these choices reveals varying degrees of cultural resistance and assimilation, ranging from musical styles which are essentially rooted in traditional social patterns, to styles which integrate traditional and adopted musical elements as articulations of changing self-perceptions, social aspirations, and quests for new social identity.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

A development stratergy for the fishing industry

  • Authors: Fishing Industry
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: Fishing Industry
  • Language: English
  • Type: text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/250485 , vital:52003
  • Description: For too long workers and the small fishing communities have been trampled under foot. As a result massive disparities have arisen in the fishing industry. The small fishing communities barely exist. And workers employed by the big fishing companies are still treated as an extra tool. Now is the time to change all this. Our members don't want the crumbs off the table. No, they want to be given the opportunity to participate fully in the economy and in particular in the development of the fishing industry. The industry is, however, still trapped in the past. As a result it cannot make use of the many opportunities we believe there are for it to expand and grow. Before I examine these opportunities perhaps it is wise to set out briefly the principles on which we see the industry established.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

A high school guidance programme aimed at the primary prevention of sexual abuse of children as part of a national strategy for the prevention of child sexual abuse in South Africa

  • Authors: McGregor, Dale
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: Child abuse -- South Africa -- Prevention Educational counseling -- Keiskammahoek Educational counseling -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:1553 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003435
  • Description: The sexual abuse of children has become recognised as a major problem affecting children in most, if not all, countries of the world. The prevention of such abuse has, in the last decade, become an issue of international significance. In South Africa, prevention efforts are mainly informal ad hoc strategies initiated by individuals or organisations. As such they suffer from being short-lived and often isolated. Prevention efforts fall into the general categories of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. Primary prevention focuses on preventing abuse from occurring at all. There are two main aspects to this type of prevention. The first aims at teaching children to protect themselves. The second aims at preventing the development of a disposition to abuse. This study set out to suggest and justify the adoption of a national strategy appropriate to the South African situation, including an overview of what can be done through the schooling system. This strategy will provide a framework and context for individual efforts, and hopefully stimulate new programmes. In addition, a detailed prevention programme for implementation in the secondary school, through the medium of the subject Guidance, was developed. This programme addressed itself mainly to that primary aspect of prevention concerned with preventing people from developing a disposition to abuse. The programme consists of lesson plans, teacher's notes and worksheet materials for pupils.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

A perspective on the question of the absence or presence of religious beliefs relating to elements of modern artistic endeavour, with special reference to the life and work of Francis Bacon

  • Authors: Mullins, Nigel Lorraine Griffin
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: Bacon, Francis, 1909-1992 -- Criticism and interpretation Art and religion
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
  • Identifier: vital:2460 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007710
  • Description: Preface: An awareness of certain contradictory perceptions and assumptions regarding religious beliefs today and their relevance to art prompted a question which led to the research undertaken in this minithesis. The question was: how significant is the absence or presence of religious beliefs to the modern creative process? The writings of some theologians, sociologists, psychologists, and anthropologists seem to indicate that religious beliefs are fundamental to the functioning of society and the individuals who are part of it. Furthermore, even a cursory study of the history of art will demonstrate the strong bond between pre-nineteenth century image making and organised religion. Today, however, this relationship appears uncertain or even non-cxistant. This is a result of processes which began to gain strength in the nineteenth century: these include the industrial revolution, scientism and materialism. Peter Fuller, stated that among the most central questions affecting art is, "the severance of the arts from religious tradition and their existence within an increasingly secular culture." (Fuller, 1990, p. 189). This statement appears to bring the issues together very neatly. Firstly there is the assertion that religion has nourished and been a vital force behind art through the ages, and that, modern art has lost this source of vitality. Secondly, there is the contention tbat society, since the nineteenth century, has become increasingly secular, and that this has had (and is having) a radical effect on modern art. That art has been divorced from religion and that religion is disappearing, or will do so, is the logical conclusion, according to theorists who insist on institutional religion as the only true form. Some artists, for whom the absence or presence or loss of religious beliefs are important issues, may in this situation experience a creative crisis. In order to address these issues it was necessary to investigate whether religious beliefs are important to artistic endeavour and, if so, what the consequences of the absence of beliefs might be. For this reason, research into the nature of religion and the modem religious situation was initiated. The purpose of the extensive discussion on the nature of religion was to establish definitions of, or a view of, religion which could provide a sound basis for this investigation of the issues that have been outlined. In order to demonstrate whether religious beliefs are important to the creative process, Francis Bacon was chosen for discussion because he appeared to be a modern artist who had no religious beliefs and was thus an ideal example by which the consequences of this could be gauged.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

A process for the detanning of chrome leather wastes utilising tannery effluents

  • Authors: Glaum, Deanne Melanie
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: Tanneries -- Waste disposal , Recycling (Waste, etc.) , Leather
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:4029 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004089 , Tanneries -- Waste disposal , Recycling (Waste, etc.) , Leather
  • Description: The considerable volume of chromium-bearing wastes generated during the process of leather tanning, exacerbated by the potential for trivalent chromium in the wastes to be oxidised to the toxic hexavalent state, has created a major waste disposal dilemma for the tanning industry. While methods are available for the safe and effective treatment of residual chrome-tanning liquors, little has been done to address the issue of the chrome-bearing solid wastes. Given the increasingly stringent environmental compliance standards facing tanneries, unless an appropriate treatment process is developed in the immediate future, the continued use of chromium as a tanning agent could be compromised. Recent investigations have demonstrated the potential of heated alkaline conditions for dechroming these solid wastes. This study expanded upon these considerations and examined the feasibility of utilising the highly alkaline tannery waste effluents as cost-effective, substitute alkaline media. The three effluents considered in this study, classed as lime sulphide liquors, were shown to be capable of dechroming wet blue shavings, with resultant separation of the solid wastes into a protein and a concentrated chromium product. The solubilised protein product contained low chromium concentrations which comply with legal discharge limits. The precipitated chromium product offers opportunity for reutilisation in the tannery. A novel industrial-scale treatment process, based on these investigations, indicated the process to be capable of treating the quantity of shavings produced on a daily basis by a medium to large scale tannery. Application of this method for the dechroming of other chrome-tanned solid wastes was also shown to be feasible.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

A strategy for promoting the use of computers across the curriculum at primary school level: a case study

  • Authors: Heukelman, Delene
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: Education, Elementary -- Computer programs Computers and children Education, Elementary -- Data processing Computer-assisted instruction
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1774 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003659
  • Description: A growing number of primary schools are acquiring computers, mainly through parent funding. The study concerns the promotion of computer use across the curriculum in primary schools. Teachers need to be trained in the use of computers as a teaching aid in different subjects. A study comparing two periods of training was undertaken. Two model C primary schools, administered by the Department of Education and Culture, with similar profiles of educational computer use, were selected for the purpose. A training course consisting of five sections, where the use of the word processor, spreadsheet and database, both as personal tools and as teaching aids were introduced, was offered. Care was taken to select topics from current syllabi and to demonstrate how these topics could be presented and enhanced by using the computer. The training was presented at school A over a period of 8 months and at school B over a period of 5 weeks. The supporting material and contents of the course were the same for both groups. A comparison between the effectiveness of the two training regimes was made. The researcher's initial perceptions of the teachers' initial low level of computer literacy were confirmed by a questionnaire, responded to by each participant. It would seem that the shorter raining period was more effective in raising the level of computer literacy and that if the training period was longer, the contact time should be increased to maintain support. Neither training period resulted in a significant increase in computer use, either as a personal tool or as a teaching aid. The failure to do so may be ascribed to a number of influences, one of which is the teaching style of individual teachers. Changing the teaching style of an experienced teacher takes time and more effort than was available for either training period.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

A study of balance and gait following stroke : implications for rehabilitation

  • Authors: Turnbull, George Innes
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: Cerebrovascular disease -- Physical therapy , Gait disorders , Equilibrium (Physiology) , People with disabilities -- Rehabilitation
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:5168 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016251
  • Description: This study examined: the features and extent of the gait velocity decrement following stroke; the nature of the balance disorder and; investigated relationships between gait and balance. Twenty, fully-ambulant, hemiplegic subjects (12 men and 8 women), with a mean age of 57.2 years (± 10.7), were compared with 20 age- and sex-matched controls. Spatiotemporal gait kinematics were measured at five walking speeds ranging from "very slow" to "very fast". Balance was then measured while subjects maintained a variety of weight shift postures both with feet parallel and then in diagonal positions similar to those assumed during the double support phases of gait. Location and variability of centre of pressure (CP) were measured and the ranges over which CP could be shifted were calculated. Stroke subjects walked very slowly with their "fastest" walking speed (0.5 stat/s ± 0.23) no different from the "slowest" speed (0.38 stat/s ± 0.11) of the controls (p > 0.05). Differences between the other parameters were also found, many of which could be attributed to the differences in walking speeds. However, where the subjects walked at similar velocities, the hemiplegic sample walked with quicker and shoner strides suggesting a "cautious" gait pattern. The single support asymmetry of the strokes decreased with increasing walking speed. The positions of CP in the hemiplegic sample were found to be significantly displaced towards the unaffected leg and deficiencies were found in posterior shifts (p < 0.05). Postural sway was significantly greater in the hemiplegic sample implying less stable balance and the ranges over which the hemiplegic sample shifted weight were significantly less than the controls. The diagonal weight shift tests revealed the difficulty the stroke subjects experienced in shifting CP posterolaterally over the affected leg. Significant correlations were detected confmning the presence of relationships between static balance performance and gait. However, these correlation findings left considerable percentages of variance unexplained. These findings suggest that future rehabilitation should address the poverty of range of walking speed possessed by hemiplegic subjects as well as the reduced ability to weight shift over the hemiplegic limb, particularly posterolaterally. Further study to test these proposals is indicated.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

A survey of the writing approaches followed by ESL teachers in Port Elizabeth secondary schools where Afrikaans is the first language

  • Authors: Harran, Marcelle
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Foreign speakers Written communication -- Study and teaching -- South Africa English language -- Writing
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1789 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003674
  • Description: In this study an attempt is made to describe and illuminate the current approaches to ESL writing in secondary schools in the Port Elizabeth-Despatch areas where Afrikaans is the first language of the pupils. Teacher and pupil Questionnaires were used as a means of data collection through which the approaches, practices and attitudes to the teaching of ESL writing in the secondary schools in the survey area could be reviewed and assessed. The teacher Questionnaire revealed that most respondents appeared to have a limited awareness or understanding of basic composing processes, especially the role of multiple drafting and teacher intervention in the form of interactive feedback. There is also evidence that there is a limited understanding of how these activities can be effectively implemented in a classroom situation. The pupil Questionnaire was used as a means to extend the understanding of teacher approaches to ESL writing as revealed in the teacher Questionnaire, to enable comparisons to be made and to evaluate the writing approaches currently practised in the ESL classroom. Many of the observations revealed in the teacher Questionnaire were echoed in the analysis of the pupil Questionnaire, especially the limited roles of planning and feedback, treatment of error, attitude to writing and the limited improvement in writing as pupils progress through the secondary school. The analysis also revealed that pupils were reluctant to expose, or share their work with audiences, were pre-occupied with error and viewed the teacher as grade-giver, grammarian and topic-provider. Topic selection was also revealed as a factor which influenced the pupils' negative or indifferent attitudes to writing. Although the process approach was considered a traditional approach to writing by 1986, the analysis and review of the Questionnaire data has revealed that a fair assessment of the state of ESL writing in the survey schools would place the current writing approaches in the traditional product- centred, form-dominated, teacher-centred mould. For this position to change, research pedagogy will need to become part of teacher training and the classroom so that there can be greater teacher awareness and understanding of composing processes and their implementation in the classroom. This is necessary, because research findings have revealed that a genuine orientation to a process approach and the application of composing stategies followed by good writers will result in improved writing progress and pupils having a more positive attitude to writing.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

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