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Achievement of ‘Assessment of Learning’ and ‘Assessment for Learning’ in Physical Science and Mathematics Continuous Assessment (Cass) practices in two East London District High Schools in the Eastern Cape

  • Authors: Cobbinah, Charles
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Educational tests and measurements -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , M Ed
  • Identifier: vital:16201 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1013406 , Educational tests and measurements -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Description: It has been argued that assessing learner performance is considered to be one of the most important things a teacher can do to promote learners’ learning. The Mathematics and Physical Science guidelines on assessment make a distinction between ‘assessment of learning’ and ‘assessment for learning’. Both processes are seen to be complementary aspects of continuous assessment (CASS) practices which constitute 25% of the final year learner’s mark in the National Senior Certificate. How teachers understand these processes and how they achieve them during their CASS practices were the focus of the study. This was a qualitative study in which two senior secondary schools in the East London District in the Eastern Cape participated. The respondents were four grade 12 Physical Science and Mathematics teachers and two heads of department (HoDs). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. There were five main findings. First, it was found that CASS assessment practices were skewed towards fulfilling accountability requirements of the Department of Education. Teachers focused on the Programme of Assessment (PoA) tasks and ignored other forms of assessment. Second, it appeared the use of the term ‘informal’ in the Department policy documents with regard to ‘assessment for learning’ encouraged teachers to treat informal assessment tasks as unimportant, not to be marked and recorded. In some cases assessment tasks were used to ‘occupy’ learners when teachers did not feel like teaching, so that learners would not be idle and disruptive in class. Third, some teachers did not set their own assessment tasks; they took previous papers and did cut and paste. Such a practice seemed to preclude assessment tasks that are tailor-made for particular learners. This practice also may undermine the alignment of learning outcomes and assessment standards. Fourth, moderation of CASS tasks was sometimes ignored and in other times done not strictly according to guidelines. These findings cast doubt on the validity and reliability of CASS marks. Finally, in most assessment for learning tasks, learners were not given feedback by teachers. This appears to undermine one of the most fundamental uses of assessment, which is feedback on performance that guides learning. It can be concluded that the CASS assessment practices did not reflect a balance between ‘assessment of learning’ and ‘assessment for learning’. This state of affairs seemed to be encouraged by the fact that district departmental support systems were too technicist and appeared to encourage teachers to do assessment to fulfil accountability purposes rather than for learners’ learning. It is recommended that research on assessment practices based on probability sampling for which results can be generalised to the target population should be carried out. It is further recommended that courses on assessment should be run for teachers in order to renew and/or give them assessment skills that will enable them to achieve a balance between assessment for learning and assessment of learning.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

Adoption strategies for increasing the use of blended learning at a private higher education institution

  • Authors: Hurrisunker, Sanisha
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Blended learning , Private universities and colleges , Educational innovations
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: vital:8868 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020283
  • Description: Although a categorical definition of the concept of blended learning is yet to be established, in broad terms, Blended Learning refers to a system that combines traditional face-to-face teaching environments with an online component. This therefore makes the learning process far more engaging for the student and also enables the lecturer to extend teaching and learning outside the classroom. The private higher education institution that was the focus of this study (referred to as Campus A) had attempted to introduce blended learning as a teaching and learning approach at the institution. The site had been operating in Port Elizabeth for 15 years and offered a range of degrees, diplomas and certificates on a full time basis and a range of short learning programmes as part of their business school. Despite concerted effort made by the managers to drive the adoption of blended learning on the campus, the acceptance of this teaching practice had been slower than expected and, given the transformative potential of blended learning, the management of the campus wished to improve the adoption rate significantly. Therefore the primary purpose of this study was to identify adoption strategies that could be used to increase the acceptance of blended learning as a teaching strategy at Campus A of this educational institution. The study followed a two pronged approach; the first part entailed a review of literature on the successful implementation of blended learning. The review concluded with an adapted model that integrated relevant blended learning adoption factors. The model was thereafter used for the second part of the study, as a basis for questionnaires and interviews that were conducted with relevant staff with the aim of determining how the integrated model for the adoption of blended learning should be implemented on the campus.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

Adsorption and separation of platinum and palladium by polyamine functionalized polystyrene-based beads and nanofibers

  • Authors: Fayemi, Omolola E , Ogunlaja, Adeniyi S , Kempgens, Pierre F M , Antunes, Edith M , Torto, Nelson , Nyokong, Tebello , Tshentu, Zenixole R
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/241694 , vital:50961 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2013.06.006"
  • Description: Adsorption and separation of platinum and palladium chlorido species (PtCl62- and PdCl42-) on polystyrene beads as well as nanofibers functionalized with ammonium centres based on ethylenediamine (EDA), diethylenetriamine (DETA), triethylenetetramine (TETA) and tris-(2-aminoethyl)amine (TAEA) are described. The functionalized sorbent materials were characterized by microanalysis, SEM, XPS, BET and FTIR. The surface area of the functionalized fibers was in the range 69–241 m2/g while it was 73–107 m2/g for the beads. The adsorption and loading capacities of the sorption materials were investigated using both the batch and column studies at 1 M HCl concentration. The adsorption studies for both PtCl62- and PdCl42- on the different sorbent materials fit the Langmuir isotherm with R2 values >0.99. The highest loading capacity of Pt and Pd were 7.4 mg/g and 4.3 mg/g respectively for the nanofiber sorbent material based on ethylenediamine (EDA) while the beads with ethylenediamine (EDA) gave 1.0 mg/g and 0.2 mg/g for Pt and Pd respectively. Metals loaded on the sorbent materials were recovered by using 3% m/v thiourea solution as the eluting agent with quantitative desorption efficiency under the selected experimental conditions. Separation of platinum from palladium was partially achieved by selective stripping of PtCl62- with 0.5 M of NaClO4 in 1.0 M HCl while PdCl42- was eluted with 0.5 M thiourea in 1.0 M HCl. Separation of platinum from iridium and rhodium under 1 M HCl concentration was successful on triethylenetriamine (TETA)-functionalized Merrifield beads. This material (M-TETA) showed selectivity for platinum albeit the low loading capacity.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

Afro-communitarianism and the nature of reconciliation

  • Authors: Oelofsen, Rianna
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Ubuntu (Philosophy) Reconciliation -- South Africa Communitarianism -- Africa Philosophy, African
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:2736 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006809
  • Description: In this dissertation I sketch a conception of personhood as understood from within an Afrocommunitarian worldview, and argue that this understanding of personhood has implications for understanding the concept of reconciliation. Understanding ‘being human’ as a collective, communal enterprise has implications for how responsibility, justice, forgiveness and humanization (all cognate concepts of reconciliation) are conceptualized. In line with this understanding of reconciliation and its cognate concepts, I argue that the humanization of self and other (according to the Afrocommunitarian understanding of personhood) is required for addressing the ‘inferiority’ and concurrent ‘superiority’ racial complexes as diagnosed by Franz Fanon and Steve Biko. These complexes reach deeply within individual and collective psyches and political identities, and I argue that political solutions to protracted conflict (in South Africa and other racially charged contexts) which do not address these deeply entrenched pathologies will be inadequate according to an Afrocommunitarian framework.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

Agriculture as a contributor to local economic development (LED) in Nkonkobe Local Municipality

  • Authors: Rali, Jongikhaya
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Agricultural development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- Economic aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape. , Job creation
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:9201 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020402
  • Description: Africa while being underdeveloped in terms of industry and infrastructure has much rural land and therefore has significant potential to provide global food security. This study investigates agriculture as a contributor to economic development of Nkonkobe Local Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa. While the potential of agriculture, in Nkonkobe Local Municipality is high, this sector has not been fully developed to the benefit of the community and the municipality at large. The results of this study have pointed out that the Eastern Cape, Nkonkobe Local Municipality in particular is where communal farming is practiced on the largest scale and where further growth can take place. This study is informed by the goals of reconstruction and development, as expressed in the Government’s Reconstruction and Development Programme (1995) tabled to meet the basic needs of the people, develop its human resources and to build the local economy. This study aims to transform Nkonkobe Local Municipality into an economically developed area of Amathole District Municipality, by improving the area’s agricultural contribution to the Local Economic Development (LED) of the area. This study supports entrepreneurship and innovation, job creation, raising the quality of basic services to the poorest citizens of Nkonkobe Local Municipality, and increasing the distribution of agricultural land to small holders. This study promotes the development of agricultural sector, which will enable it to absorb more low skilled labour which will assist in poverty alleviation, and promote LED initiatives. This study also develops and promotes the sustainable contribution of agriculture to LED programmes, and improves the participation of local communities in these programmes. The study was conducted using qualitative research methodology. The findings of the study reveal that agricultural infrastructure in support of LED in Nkonkobe Local Municipality must be established and improved. Such infrastructure should include the reticulation of services, such as irrigation schemes, big dams, farming equipment, tractors, laboratories, cold storages and communication links. These services are currently inadequate in the area, and hamper development and progress that the area clearly has great potential to add in terms of global food security and poverty alleviation.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

Alternative/Experimental art spaces in Johannesburg:

  • Authors: Malatjie, Portia
  • Date: 2013
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/147692 , vital:38661 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1080/09528822.2013.798181
  • Description: There are a number of recent exciting developments in the Johannesburg alternative art scene. Alternative or experimental art spaces often exist as an alternative to commercial galleries and government or privately funded galleries as well as museums. They are therefore governed through a different set of rules, rules that often aim to transgress the institutional. These spaces, including the Parking Gallery, the Keleketla! Library and arguably the Wits School of Art's Substation gallery, invite debates about alternative art programming, collaborative art making and the necessity of institutional funding in order to maintain such spaces. In addition to these questions, it is pertinent to first determine what it is that classifies a space as alternative.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

Amakrwala experiences as learners in a Buffalo City secondary school: implications for school leadership and management

  • Authors: Duka-Ntshweni, Nomonde
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: School management and organization -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs , Initiation rites -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rites and ceremonies -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Education, Secondary -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Identity (Psychology) , Leadership
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , M Ed
  • Identifier: vital:16191 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1006252 , School management and organization -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs , Initiation rites -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rites and ceremonies -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Education, Secondary -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Identity (Psychology) , Leadership
  • Description: ‘Ulwaluko’ (the male initiation custom) has been practised for generations by many cultures in South Africa and in Africa as a whole. AmaXhosa are amongst the population groups in South Africa within whom this custom has survived pre colonially and through the colonial and apartheid eras up to the current democracy. While this custom was reserved for older, mature and senior boys in the past, there is evidence that nowadays immature and junior boys as young as 12 years are taken to the initiation school. This study sought to understand how these newly graduated initiated men (amakrwala) cope with their multifaceted identities, as learners in a secondary school and as adults in the community. The study also seeks to explore a leadership style that can be sensitive to the needs of ‘amakrwala’ at school. This is a qualitative study which used interpretivism as the research paradigm. Phenomenology is the research design and phenomenological interviews were used as the data gathering tools. The findings reveal that there are tensions that exist between modernity and tradition in socialising amakrwala. The school represents the modern space and the home and community are the traditional spaces. In the formal school environment there is minimal or no recognition of the new identity of the ‘amakrwala’. At school ‘amakrwala’ are seen as learners. Their identity and status remain unchanged from what they were before they went to the initiation school. However, in the community and at home, they are elevated from a childhood to an adult status and their identities are thus re-shaped.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

An analysis of challenges facing basic education in South Africa

  • Authors: Njongi-Ndleleni, Nomthandazo
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Economic development -- Effect of education on -- South Africa , Education -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/4598 , vital:20620
  • Description: The study seeks to analyse challenges facing Basic Education in South Africa. There is a major emphasis on the education of the South African people to become responsible, participatory and reflective citizens that contribute to an emerging democracy. However, the government of SA is faced with many challenges that hinder the South African people from becoming an educated nation. This is based on the assumption that education plays a major role in improving the economic status of the nation. The education in South Africa is categorized into sectors, primary, secondary and tertiary which are interlinked through a fine thread that determines the success of individuals. It has been established that a number of factors or problems hinder learners from receiving a good standard of education. These include: parents’ lack of participation in their children’s education and the weak functioning of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) especially in the area of finance and general administration of the school, poor infrastructure and shortage or non-delivery of textbooks. Good leadership in schools is also needed to make sure that teachers attend to their classes diligently and learners take the importance of education seriously. Government needs to ensure that teachers are trained accordingly and schools have adequate basic resources. The qualitative research method was used and no interviews and survey were made during this study. This research will discuss these factors that have been identified as causing the drop in the standard of education in South Africa. The research concludes with an attempt to make some recommendations to improve this situation.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

An analysis of how university management and administration staff deal with the social, cultural, economic and political differences that exist between urban and rural first year male students: an NMMU case study

  • Authors: Tswane, Silvesta Sisonke
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Student affairs administrators -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Counseling in higher education -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University -- Undergraduates
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:9220 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020898
  • Description: This study is a qualitative review to identify factors impacting on the management of student development and support at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in a developing country. For the purpose of the study student development and support includes all developmental and supportive services and interventions for rural and urban students within an institution of higher learning, regardless of the current structuring of the functions. The study first contextualises the scenario of a developing country in terms of the socio-economic, political, higher education, labour and other factors that set the scene for student development and support and then continues with a systematic exposition of factors that have direct relevance and impact on the future of student development and support. A systematic investigation of NMMU by means of interviews with student affairs professionals make it possible to identify factors that have direct relevance and impact on the future management and provision of student development and support. The result of the study is a construction of the specific factors identified on the international, national and institutional levels as well as the intricate relationships between rural and urban students. This research provides a potential framework for future management and provision of strategic focus areas for student development and support functions within NMMU and higher education in a developing country to ensure that it effectively positions the function within higher education as a key component of the core agenda.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

An analysis of regulatory mechanisms during sustained task execution in cognitive, motor and sensory tasks

  • Authors: Tau, Sethunya Harriet Hlobisa
  • Date: 2013 , 2013-10-11
  • Subjects: Work -- Physiological aspects , Work -- Psychological aspects , Fatigue , Attention , Mental fatigue , Human information processing , Decision making , Labor productivity , Employees -- Workload , Performance
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:5140 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006806 , Work -- Physiological aspects , Work -- Psychological aspects , Fatigue , Attention , Mental fatigue , Human information processing , Decision making , Labor productivity , Employees -- Workload , Performance
  • Description: Fatigue is a state that, although researched for many years, is still not completely understood. Alongside this lack of a general understanding of fatigue is a lack of knowledge on the processes involved in the regulation of fatigue. The existing theories relating to regulation are focussed on mental effort regulation, suggesting that performance outcomes are co-ordinated by effort regulation that functions by making alterations to physiological processes and strategic adjustments at a cognitive level in response to cognitive demands and goals. Since fatigue is a multi-dimensional construct with psychological, physiological, and behavioural effects that respond to endogenous and exogenous variables, it follows then that fatigue assessment techniques ought to include multi-dimensional measures to acquire a holistic depiction of the fatigue symptom. This study aimed to assess whether or not a mechanism that regulated fatigue during sustained task execution could be identified and whether this mechanism resulted in regulation patterns that were distinct to a specific task. An additional aim of the study was on assessing whether the manner in which performance, psychophysical and subjective variables were modified over time followed a similar regulation pattern. The research design was aimed at inducing task-related fatigue twice on two different occasions in the same participants and evaluating the resultant changes in fatigue manifestation. This was done to assess the ability of participants to cope with fatigue as a result of previous experience. The research protocol included three tasks executed for an hour aimed at targeting and taxing the sensory, cognitive, motor resources, each task performed twice. 60 participants were recruited to participate in the current study, with 20 participants – 10 males and 10 females – randomly assigned to each of the three tasks. The cognitive resource task consisted of a memory recall task relying on working memory intended to evaluate the extent of reductions in memory and attention. The sensory resource task consisted of a reading task measuring visual scanning and perception designed to evaluate the extent of reduced vigilance. The motor resource task consisted of a modified Fitts’ stimulus response task targeted at monitoring the extent of movement timing disruption. Performance measures comprised of: response delay and the number of correctly identified digits during the cognitive resource task, the amount of correctly identified errors and reading speed during the sensory resource task, response time during the motor resource task, and responses to simple auditory reaction time tests (RTT) initiated at intervals during the task and then again at the end of each task. Physiological measures included ear temperature, eye blink frequency and duration, heart rate (HR), and heart rate variability (HRV). Subjective measures included the use of the Ratings of Perceived Exertion Category Ratio 10 scale (RPE CR 10) to measure cognitive exertion and the NASA-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) to index mental workload. Eye blink frequency and duration, HR and HRV were sensitive to the type of task executed, showing differing response patterns both over the different tasks and over the two test sessions. The subjective measures indicated increasing RPE ratings over time in all tasks while the NASA-TLX indicated that each task elicited different workloads. Differing task performance responses were measured between the 1st test session and the 2nd test session during all tasks; while performance was found to improve during the 2nd test session for the motor and sensory tasks, it declined during the cognitive task. The findings of this research indicate that there was a regulatory mechanism for fatigue that altered the manner in which performance, psychophysical and subjective variables were modified over time, initiating a unique fatigue regulation pattern for each variable and each task. This regulation mechanism is understood to be a proactive and protective mechanism that functions through reducing a person’s ability to be vigilant, attentive, to exercise discernment, and to direct their level of responsiveness, essentially impacting how the body adapts to and copes with fatigue. The noted overall findings have industry implications; industries should consider accounting for the effects of this regulatory mechanism in their fatigue management interventions, specifically when designing job rotation and work/rest schedules because each cognitive task, having elicited a unique fatigue regulation pattern, ought to also have a different management program. , Microsoft� Office Word 2007 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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  • Date Issued: 2013

An analysis of teacher's skills in the identification of learners with behavioural and emotional problems

  • Authors: Damons, Thirza
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Teachers -- Training of , Interaction analysis in education , Observation (Educational method)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:9451 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012183 , Teachers -- Training of , Interaction analysis in education , Observation (Educational method)
  • Description: This study aimed to explore teachers‟ abilities to identify learners with behavioural and emotional problems, to examine the strategies that they implement to address the challenges and their measure of success in addressing these. This study was qualitative in nature and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 volunteer teachers located in the northern areas of Port Elizabeth and an additional 50 teachers completed open ended questionnaires. The learning areas taught by the teachers varied. Descriptive and content analysis procedures were utilized to analyze the findings. The findings indicated that teachers lack the skills and knowledge to assist learners with behavioural and emotional problems. The teachers tended to view their roles as imparting knowledge rather than tending to the mental health of learners so they did not adopt approaches to assist the learners with their behavioural and emotional challenges. This was in spite of the fact that the learners' psychological and physical well-being impacted their academic achievement.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

An analysis of temporal relations in languages: a comparative study of Mandarin and isiXhosa

  • Authors: Ma, Xiujie
  • Date: 2013 , 2013-01-30
  • Subjects: Chinese language Xhosa language Grammar, Comparative and general -- Temporal constructions
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2367 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003055
  • Description: This study sought to investigate how temporal relations are expressed in Mandarin and isiXhosa. The objective was to compare how two typologically distinct languages, one isolating and the other agglutinating, cope with the encoding of situations that occur at different positions on the time line. Data was drawn from questionnaire responses from, and interviews with, isiXhosa speakers who provided translations of a wide range of sentences from English into isiXhosa. The study revealed that isiXhosa relies on the grammatical category – tense – to encode temporal relations, while Mandarin relies more on lexical and pragmatic devices – the use of temporal adverbials and the implication of aspectual markings – to locate a situation on the time line. Typically, each sentence in isiXhosa must be marked for tense: temporal adverbials are optional elements and used to more precisely locate the situation on the time line. By contrast, in Mandarin, temporal adverbials have a more central function in that they independently express different positions on the time line: without temporal adverbials, it is extremely difficult to locate a situation on the time line in some sentences. Another important difference between the two languages was revealed in this study: isiXhosa grammar allows speakers to talk about situations in terms of their distance (past or future) from the speech time whereas Mandarin grammar allows its speakers to talk about situations in terms of the internal properties (e.g. completed, ongoing, etc.) of those situations. The study revealed that isiXhosa and Mandarin are similar in one important respect: both languages have no formal properties, i.e. overt tense markers (isiXhosa) and compulsory temporal adverbials or other temporal devices (Mandarin) for marking the temporal location of present situations. The study also revealed that both languages encode ‘pastness’ in terms of whether or not the effects of the situation in question still remain at speech time.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

An analysis of the correlation beween packet loss and network delay on the perfomance of congested networks and their impact: case study University of Fort Hare

  • Authors: Lutshete, Sizwe
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Computer network protocols -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Packet switching (Data transmission) , Cactus -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Network analysis (Planning) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Network performance (Telecommunication) , Network Time Protocol (Computer network protocol)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Computer Science)
  • Identifier: vital:11393 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1006843 , Computer network protocols -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Packet switching (Data transmission) , Cactus -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Network analysis (Planning) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Network performance (Telecommunication) , Network Time Protocol (Computer network protocol)
  • Description: In this paper we study packet delay and loss rate at the University of Fort Hare network. The focus of this paper is to evaluate the information derived from a multipoint measurement of, University of Fort Hare network which will be collected for a duration of three Months during June 2011 to August 2011 at the TSC uplink and Ethernet hubs outside and inside relative to the Internet firewall host. The specific value of this data set lies in the end to end instrumentation of all devices operating at the packet level, combined with the duration of observation. We will provide measures for the normal day−to−day operation of the University of fort hare network both at off-peak and during peak hours. We expect to show the impact of delay and loss rate at the University of Fort Hare network. The data set will include a number of areas, where service quality (delay and packet loss) is extreme, moderate, good and we will examine the causes and impacts on network users.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

An analysis of the distribution and use of teaching aids in mathematics in selected Windhoek secondary schools

  • Authors: Dzambara, Tobias Munyaradzi
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia Teaching -- Aids and devices -- Research
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1344 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001410
  • Description: This study investigates the types of mathematics teaching aids available at both public and private secondary schools in Windhoek. The study characterises their usage and source as well as teachers’ perceptions towards the use of such teaching resources in the Mathematics classroom. The study is grounded in an interpretive paradigm and employed a mixed methods approach to generate both quantitative and qualitative data in two sequential phases. Phase 1 of the research process, which involved 75 Mathematics teachers, took the form of an audit of the availability and use of teaching aids at 25 secondary schools in Windhoek. A case study methodology was adopted in Phase 2 which focused on five purposively selected schools that displayed different characteristics in terms of the availability of teaching resources. The study found that the majority of teachers at secondary schools in Windhoek have a positive attitude towards the importance and role of teaching aids in Mathematics, seeing them as promoters of hands-on engagement, visual reasoning, active participation and motivation amongst learners. However, in some instances schools are underresourced with respect to certain types of teaching aids, specifically graph boards, geoboards, geometric models and computers. A need for appropriate in-school support on the use of teaching aids was also identified
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  • Date Issued: 2013

An analysis of the politics-administrative interface and its impact on delivery of municipal services: a case of the Mnquma Local Municipality

  • Authors: Ndudula, Mziwoxolo Rutherford
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , City council members -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Politicians -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Public administration -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Political leadership -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communication in community development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Community development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Eastern Cape -- South Africa -- Politics and government
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
  • Identifier: vital:11659 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007043 , Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , City council members -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Politicians -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Public administration -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Political leadership -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communication in community development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Community development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Eastern Cape -- South Africa -- Politics and government
  • Description: The study took a qualitative approach to the analysis of the effect of the politics-administrative interface on municipal service delivery. It was a case study of the Mnquma local municipality in the Eastern Cape Province. The researcher developed a keen interest in researching on the topic because the political infighting and clashes between politicians and administrators of the municipality have caused a public outcry for the root causes of the infighting to be effectively addressed and redressed. It is hoped that the findings and recommendations of the study will help, reshape public policy implementation, service delivery and fostering of mutual cooperative relations between politicians and administrators both at local government level and any other sphere of government in South Africa. The study, is categorized into five chronological chapters, with chapter one (introduction and background), chapter two (literature review), chapter three (research design and methodology), chapter four (data analysis, interpretation and presentation) and chapter five (conclusions and recommendations). The researcher used a sample size of 40 respondents who were selected using snowball sampling, a non-random sampling design spread accordingly over both politicians and administrators. Data collection was made possible through an open-ended questionnaire, interviews, observations and documentary analysis. Various reports and media statements were also used to augment this empirical study. The study also used an in-depth qualitative data analysis technique which was descriptive in nature and the study made numerous deductions and findings based on the collected and collated data. Findings of the study were, inter alia, too much politicization of the public sector, interference between politicians and administrators into each other’s affairs and vice versa and adverse effects of cadre deployment which are damaging service delivery. The study made numerous recommendations which included, inter alia, training and development of administrators and politicians on their respective roles and responsibilities, enforcement of the politics-administrative interface as a mutually beneficial approach to service delivery, need for proper interpretation of Acts and policy documents and the enforcing of section 139 interventions into municipalities.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

An analysis of the role of Non-Govermental Organisations in the social welfare policy process: a case study of Zimbabwe

  • Authors: Gwarinda, Shungu Agnes
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Non-governmental organizations -- Zimbabwe , Social service -- Zimbabwe
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/6606 , vital:21125
  • Description: This study is an interpretive analysis of the roles of NGOs in the social policy process, using the case of postcolonial Zimbabwe. Assessing the period between 2000 and 2010 and the prevailing unique socio-economic and geopolitical crisis, the study engages the major contextual factors influencing evolution of NGOs and their engagement in the policy process. It focuses on the conceptual and state – civil society contestations on the legitimacy of NGO’s as well as an assessment of their impact on the social policy process. NGOs in Zimbabwe have played two major and two minor roles in the social policy process as identified in the study in terms of their prominence and impact on the policy process. That is: policy implementer role complementing state social policy provision, democratisation to pluralism the social policy arena as the major roles; educational role to developing interventions for better social policy and watchdog role monitoring government and other state institutions in meeting the social policy needs of citizens. The thesis argues that analysis of NGOs is embedded in understanding the role of the state and dialectical relationship between state and civil society. Using a neo-Marxist perspective and social democratic approach to the role of the state in social policy, the theoretical generalisations of the study are that NGOs have a legitimate role to play in the social policy process. However, this is defined by the nature and role of the state itself as central driving agent in social policy. Therefore, the roles NGOs are not exclusive in themselves but are anchored within the contextual framework and its definition of societal spheres within it. The thesis established the evolution of the NGO sector in Zimbabwe, its impact on the social, political landscape and argues that the democratisation agenda in Zimbabwe requires a political solution embedded in a transformative state as the panacea for building a redistributive and participatory social policy agenda that engages with non-state actors, NGOs included within a developmental framework. Conclusively, the thesis proposes a theoretical distinction between NGOs as service oriented entities and CSOs as forums for associational life and civic engagement.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

An analysis of the use of the balanced score card as a performance management tool for mathematics educators: a case study of Amajingqi Secondary School

An Android and Visual C-based controller for a Delta Parallel Robot for use as a classroom training tool

  • Authors: Bezuidenhout, Sarel
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Robotics -- Human factors , Human-robot interaction , Wireless communication systems
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEngineering (Mechatronics)
  • Identifier: vital:9656 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020284
  • Description: This report will show the development of a Delta Parallel robot, to aid in teaching the basics of robotic motion programming. The platform developed will be created at a fraction of the cost of conventional commercial training systems. This report will therefore show the development procedure as well as the development of some of the example training material. The system will use wireless serial data communication in the form of a Bluetooth connection. This connection will allow an Android tablet, functioning as the human-machine interface (HMI) for the system, to communicate with the motion controller. The motion controller is based in the C environment. This will allow future development of the machine, and allow the system to be used on an integral level, should the trainers require an in depth approach. The motion control software will be implemented on a RoBoard, a development board specifically designed for low- to mid-range robotics. The conclusion of this report will show an example task being completed on the training platform. This will demonstrate some of the basic robotic motion programming aspects which include point to point, linear, and circular motion types but will also include setting and resetting outputs. Performance parameters such as repeatability and reproducibility are important, as it will indirectly show the level of ease with which the system can be manipulated from the software. Finally, the results will be briefly discussed and some recommendations for improvements on the training system and suggestions for future development will be given.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

An appraisal of Human Resource Management Practices in the Ministry of Public Service, Central Equatoria State, South Sudan

  • Authors: Maka, Mustafa Fataki Kila
  • Date: 2013
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
  • Identifier: vital:11705 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1015203
  • Description: The primary objective was to assess Human Resource Management Practices in the Ministry of Public Service, Central Equatoria State-South Sudan. The objectives of the study were: Identify the key Practices used by the Ministry of Public Service in human resources management in Central Equatoria State. It also sought to establish the challenges faced by the Ministry of Public Service in human resources management practices in Central Equatoria State and to identify employees‟ perceptions on human resources management practices in Ministry of the Public Service in Central Equatoria State and lastly, to determine how and to what extent the Ministry of the Public Service can further improve on human resources management practices in Central Equatoria State. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methodology of data collection. Interviews and questionnaires were used as qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection respectively. The study used twenty five (25) respondents starting from Director General, Department of Administration and Finance, Department of General List of Clerks, Department of Establishments, Department of Pensions, Department of Budgets, and Department of Labour. The results revealed that; the human resource management practices by Ministry of Public Service in Central Equatoria State in the different departments need to ensure efficient and effective human resource management practices reforms, and the recommendations were put forward to assist the public civil servants in different human resource departments in the State.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2013

An appraisal of support services to students with disabilities: the case of Walter Sisulu University

  • Authors: Makiwane, Nonzwakazi Beauty
  • Date: 2013
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD Admin
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/1220 , vital:26537
  • Description: The provision of effective support services in an efficient manner is a critical part of any university’s role to ensure that students with disabilities achieve academic outcomes. In South Africa universities are categorized into three types, namely traditional universities (offer theoretically-oriented degrees); universities of technology (offer vocational-oriented diplomas and degrees) and comprehensive universities (offer a combination of the other two). With their constitutional and policy framework obligations, universities are responsible for accommodating students with all types of disabilities. Pertaining to the awareness of social disparities, the quality of support services to students with disabilities still remains a concern. From various platforms it is evident that quality of support services to students with disabilities in South African universities is poor and in some instances crucial support devices do not exist at all. The pressures being felt by universities from external forces and the problems encountered in the extent of quality of support services has created the need for an appraisal. The purpose of this study, then, is to investigate and describe the quality of the support services provided to students with disabilities in a university context.
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  • Date Issued: 2013
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