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Evaluation of breeding practices and morphological characterisation of donkeys in three selected villages of the Blouberg Local Municipality, in the Limpopo Province, South Africa
Get PDFThesis(M.Sc. (Animal Production)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022Donkeys continue to play a significant role in draught power activities for both rural
and urban regions in underdeveloped countries, where they are commonly employed
for transportation of goods and movement of people at extremely low prices. The study
sought to determine donkey farmers' breeding practices as well as donkey
morphological characterization in three villages such as Thorp, Archibalt and Genau
of the Blouberg Local Municipality. A total of 21 donkey farmers and 74 donkeys were
used to collect data. The following Morphological traits characterized were; Head
length (HL), Ear length (EL), Neck length (NL), Chest width (CW), Back length (Bal),
Body length (BoL), Hips width (HW), Umbilical circumference (UC), Back height (BH),
Height at the rump (HR), Thoracic circumference (TC), Chest depth (CD), Withers
Height (WH), Front leg length (FLL), Cannon circumference (CC), Cannon length (CL),
Cannon height (CH) and Body weight (BW). Descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests,
Analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation, and Rank Index were used for
data analysis. Education level of the farmers in the three villages was significantly
different (p<0.05) with the majority of farmers having secondary education. There was
no significant difference (p>0.05) amongst the villages on different reasons behind
keeping donkeys. The results showed a significant difference (p<0.05) in inbreeding
knowledge by the farmers amongst the three villages. The selection criteria used
across the three villages were not significantly different (p>0.05). Rank and Indices in
selection of male donkeys looked at body size (0.39), growth rate (0.19), Draught
power performance (0.14), and for overall preference in female donkeys it was body
size (0.26), twinning ability (0.23) and mothering ability (0.15). Body size and growth
rate where the most important traits to donkey farmers. The coat colours were not
significantly different (p>0.05). In all the eighteen measured traits, only four (BaL, HW,
BH and FLL) showed a significant difference (p<0.05) among the three villages. BW
in male donkeys was not significantly correlated (p>0.05) with HL, EL, NL, BaL, HW,
FLL, CC, CH, CL but was positively correlated (p<0.05) with BoL (r = 0.34), UC (r =
0.35), TC (r = 0.33), CD (r = 0.31), CW (0.94), BH (r = 0.41), HR (0.60), and WH (r =
0.58). BW in female donkeys was not significantly correlated (p>0.05) with NL, BaL,
TC, and CL but positively significant correlated (p<0.05) with HL, EL, BoL, HW, UC,
FLL and CC CW, BH, HR, WH and CH with correlation coefficient values ranging from
0.34 to 0.75. The farmers had no breeding program in place the donkeys were allowed
to mate on their own without designed breeding program. Selection of donkeys to be
part of the heard was based on physical attributes, such length It was concluded that
donkey farmers in Genau, Archibalt, and Thorp villages engaged in breeding practices
that could be valuable in construction of a community-based breeding program
A survey study on the Mmotong community's knowledge and attitudes towards collaboration between traditional and western-trained mental health care practitioners
Get PDFThesis (M.A. (Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022Globally, mental disorders are a growing public health problem. The World Health
Organisation has urged member states to prioritise efforts to address the growing
pandemic of mental illness. One strategy identified by WHO is the promotion of the
use of traditional medicines. Similarly, a collaboration between Western and
Traditional health care practitioners has been identified as another strategy that could
help bridge the gap of shortages of mental health care providers and the cost of
professional mental health care services. The present study investigated the Mmotong
community’s knowledge of mental disorders and attitudes towards collaboration
between Traditional healers and Western-trained practitioners in the treatment of
mental disorders. A quantitative study was conducted, with a sample of 200
participants (Female = 131; Male = 69; in the age range of 18 years and older).
Participants were selected using convenience sampling. Data was collected using a
questionnaire and analysed using the SPSS to draw out the descriptive statistics.
A majority (59%) of participants were found to possess knowledge of mental disorders.
Attitudinally, most participants favoured Western-oriented mental health care services
in terms of effectiveness. Despite this finding, a majority (69%) endorsed the need for
collaboration between the two healthcare systems. A gender analysis revealed that
more females (71.8%) than males (63.8%) favoured collaboration. While analysed by
age, those 18-37 years (63.5%), 38-57 years (75.5%) and over the age of 58 years
(75.5%) favoured the collaboration respectively. The present study findings show that
in this community, the majority of members possess knowledge of mental illness. The
community also favours the collaboration between traditional and medically oriented
health care providers in mental health care. The study is concluded by making
recommendations to the government, Traditional healers, and Western-oriented
health practitioners to work towards the harnessing of collaboration of the two
healthcare systems
Managing teacher's perceptions of grade 9 curriculum changes in Economic Management Sciences, Mpumalanga
Get PDFThesis (M.A. (Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022This study sought to explore the perceptions of practitioners such as school principals,
Heads of Departments and teachers towards the Grade9 curriculum changes in
Economic and Management Sciences (EMS).This stems from the need for South
African schools to have teachers with positive perceptions of teaching Economic
Management Sciences since this is one subject that prepares learners for one of the
scarce skills in the country entrepreneurship.The problem identified in this study is the
perpetual poor performance of Grade 9 Economic Management Sciences learners.The
review of the literature points out that since Economic and Management Sciences
(EMS) in Grade 9 comprises the Accounting section, Business Studies section and
Economics part, it is the former that contributes to the experienced learner's poor
performance.This is a qualitative case study carried out at the Malelane circuit in
Mpumalanga.This case study method allowed the researcher to use multiple data
collection methods to enhance the qualityof the findings.The qualitative data
generation methods applied in this study included the interviews, documents review
and observations. Out of 12 secondary schools in the Malelane circuit, Mpumalanga, 3
secondary schools were conveniently sampled. In each secondary school, 3 research
participants became part of this study. Teachers were specifically sampled for this
study based on teaching Economic and Management Sciences in Grade 9. Key findings
of the study revealed that a lack of sufficient teaching and learning resources in EMS
delays the successful teaching of the subject. Furthermore, overcrowded EMS classes
in secondary schools, make it difficult for the subject to be taught with enthusiasm by
teachers. Finally, the difficult accounting section, which is part of the EMS, triggers
negative perceptions against EMS by the EMS teachers. Lastly, inadequate support
given to EMS teachers from secondary schools was worsening the negative
perceptions against the subject. Based on the expressed findings, the researcher
recommends that the Mpumalanga Education Department allocates more time for
Economic and Management Sciences subjects in secondary schools to enable learners
to build a better foundation of the subject. Inaddition, adequate teaching and learning
resources for EMS are necessar
The morpho-semantics of compound words in Sepedi
Get PDFThesis (M.A. (Translation Studies and Linguistics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022The prime goal of this study is to explore, form and analyse the semantic content of
compound words in Sepedi. The study used the qualitative method. Data were
collected using participant observations from various written sources and it was
analysed through Content Analysis. The Theory of Construction Morphology was
tested on endocentric, exocentric, and copulative compound words to locate the
headedness of Sepedi compound words. The study revealed that the head of
compound words can be located on the nominal prefix, left-hand side, right-hand side,
on both nominal prefixes and it can be determined outside of the compound word for
metaphoric exocentric nominal compounds. Furthermore, because of the role noun
class prefixes play on determining the head of compound words, the study found that
Sepedi compound words are nominals. The formation of Sepedi compound words
involves the combination of different word aspects such as objects concords,
deverbatives, verbal roots, stems, suffixal endings, and lexical categories such as
nouns, Adjectives, and verbs. The resultant compound word of these combinations
always results in a compound noun. It was recommended that future researchers
should investigate the semantic content of exocentric compound words in African
languages, especially the Sepedi language. The study further highlighted that there is
still a need for a study that looks at the influences of nominal prefixes on the
headedness of compound words in Sepedi. Furthermore, the study recommended that
to alleviate the gap of shortage of literature in Sepedi, future studies should focus on
word formation processes in Sepedi.Feenix Crowdfunding and C Track Fleet Management
Solutions Pty Lt
Challenges of school-family-community partnerships in rural areas: a case study
Get PDFThesis (M.Ed. (Community and Continuing Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022The study reports on an exploration of the challenges affecting School-Family Community partnerships in two secondary schools located in the remote rural areas
of Mogodumo Circuit, in Lebowakgomo District in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The
main research question answered was.
What are the challenges of School-Family-Community partnerships in rural
areas at Mogodumo Circuit in Limpopo Province?
This study is qualitative in design and is embedded within the interpretive
epistemology. The two secondary schools were conveniently sampled due to their
accessibility whereas participants were also purposefully sampled. The number of
participants sampled was n=32. Data was collected through documents analysis,
semi-structured questionnaires involving sampled participants, and observation by the
researcher as a silent and non-participant observer. Inductive analysis was applied to
arrange and organise data in thematic categories. From the themes discovered,
intervention strategies were developed in order to address the challenges affecting the
School-Family-Community partnerships at the two rural secondary schools.
The study revealed that there is little or no involvement of stakeholders such as
parents, community leaders (including priests, pastors, headmen, and the chief), and
community based businesspeople, and non-governmental organisations in school
events, activities and functions. The study recommends that developmental
programmes such as parenting, literacy and numeracy, and parent involvement in the
education of their children be organised for parents and community members. These
challenges affecting School-Family-Community partnerships need to be dealt with
accordingly by the active involvement and engagement of various stakeholders
including, more especially, the DBE, SMTs, NGOs, educators, learners, parents,
various community members, and private sectors
An afrocentric exploration of the socio-cultural challenges confronted by Africa students in historically disadvantaged universities in South Africa: the case of University of the North, 1970-1994
Get PDFThesis (M.A. (History)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022This study explores the socio-cultural experiences of students at the University of the North
(UNIN) in the period between 1970 and 1994. The sampling of the study was purposive
and involved thirteen (13) participants who were students at UNIN in the 1970s, 80s
and 1990-1994. Data was collected using an interview guide and was analysed using
the Thematic Content Analysis as outlined by Braun and Clark (2011). To make sense
of the study aim and objectives, this study adopted a qualitative approach wearing an
Afrocentric pair of lenses. As shown by literature and the study’s findings, Historically
Black Universities (HBUs) in South Africa were established by the apartheid
government with the aim of serving Black students excluded from attending
segregated White-only universities. Some of the study findings are that former UNIN
students were subjected to a racialised institutional autonomy, racialised educational
curriculum as well as an unfriendly academic setting for both African students and
staff. The study therefore argues for inclusive and Africanised institutions of higher
learning in Africa and perhaps elsewhere in the world. This study also recommends
that institutional autonomy and educational curricula should be in line with an
Africanised value system
Exploration of challenges experienced by learners when reading short stories in a EFAL classroom
Get PDFThesis (M.Ed. (Language Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022The main purpose of this study was to determine challenges that are faced by Grade 8 learners when reading short stories with understanding using EFAL. The study made use of a research approach which is qualitative in nature to explore the reading challenges. It also used an interpretive paradigm. Schema Reading Theory was employed as the guide to which the study followed. This theory advocates that learners read a text having prior knowledge, which assists them to interpret it better. This chosen theory is relevant to the study as the study seeks to understand why learners cannot read. Therefore the theory assisted in determining whether learners have the necessary prior knowledge of the text they read in the classroom. The main findings of the study has indicated that learners have challenges to reading. There are recommendations addressed to learners, parents, teachers and department of education. In conclusion, teachers assured to initiate reading programmes such as focused, independent and guided reading, with the hope to curb challenges towards reading
The burden of hearing loss amongst multi-drug resistant-tuberculosis patients on Bedaquiline at Zithulele Hospital, Eastern Cape Province.
Get PDFThesis ( MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2022Background
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has recently resulted to be in an
emergence state globally and this of constitute a big challenge for TB control and the
goals of the World Health Organization’s End TB Strategy. Aminoglycosides (AG)
were often used as part of treatment of life-threatening illnesses such as MDR-TB for
decades, however their adverse effects are widely described and hearing loss is one
of the major side effects. The risk factors for hearing loss in patients treated with AG
include the dose and duration of AG, infection with human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV), older age and persons exposed to a high level of noise while the damage can
be total and permanent. Severe hearing impairment has been reported to occur among
patients treated for MDR-TB with injectable drugs, especially among the elderly and
patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus, however, Bedaquiline containing regimens have demonstrated improved outcomes over injectable containing regimens in the long-term treatment of MDR-TB.
Methods
The objective of the current study was to investigate the burden of hearing loss
amongst MDR-TB patients on bedaquiline at Zithulele Hospital in Eastern Cape
Province. Therefore, the current study followed a quantitative retrospective approach
using simple random sampling to select MDR-TB patients treated with bedaquiline and
having a baseline audiogram be the initiation of treatment. The data was captured in
a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and then transferred to Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS) Version 20 for data analysis in which categorical variables were
presented as percentages and frequencies, while continuous variables was presented
as mean, median and standard deviation lastly, comparison of categorical variables
was done using a Chi-Squared test, whereas continuous variables were compared
using a t-test. P-value of <0.05 will be considered significant.
Results
The mean age for the participants was 39.2 years with standard deviation of 11.8 and
there was no statistical significance difference between the age groups (p value =
0.178). There no was a statistical significance difference between the employment
status (p value = 0.794), previous use of injectables (p value = 0.360) and type of
hearing of loss (p value = 0.536). Majority of the MDR-TB patients on bedaquiline did
not have hearing loss at 67% while those who had gradual hearing loss and sudden
hearing loss were 26.8% and 6.2% respectively. There was no statistical significance
difference between males and females in both the right and left ears, however, the
right ear results appeared to be slightly worse than the left ear results. It was found
that both males and females had a high frequency hearing loss in the left ears of 26.8%
and 22.2% respectively as compared to the right ears with of 25.9% and 1.6%
respectively. The was a statistical significance difference between the age groups in
both ears for hearing loss at p-value <0.001.
The overall prevalence of hearing loss was found to be 32.9% and hearing loss at
20dB or more loss at any frequency was low at 11.9% while hearing loss at 10B or
more loss at any frequency was the highest at 32.9% followed by loss response at 3
consecutive frequencies at 26.2%. Hearing loss was increasing with increasing age
from 8.3% in age group and age was significantly associated with hearing loss as older
patients were 2.2 times more likely to have a hearing loss at a degree of 20dB and 4.4
times more likely to have a hearing loss at a degree of 10dB. Previous use of
injectables was also significantly associated with hearing loss as patients who used
injectables previously were 11.5 times more likely to have a hearing loss at degree of
10dB, 5.6 and 11.3 times more likely to have a hearing loss at loss response at 3
consecutive frequencies and overall hearing loss respectively.
Conclusion
South Africa has a high burden of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DRTB) and until
recently, ototoxic aminoglycosides were predominant in treatment regimens. Drug resistant TB treatment with bedaquilines caused clinically and statistically significant
deterioration of hearing loss in patients, most prominently at high frequencies.
Although public health interventions to prevent hearing loss have been deemed cost effective and have meaningful individual and economic implications, hearing loss and
its prevention consistently receive inadequate attention as a global public health
priority. Despite the serious impacts of hearing loss, little is known regarding
prevalence of ototoxic hearing loss after treatment for DR-TB. Therefore, when the
use of injectable ototoxic medications is unavoidable, audiological ototoxicity
monitoring is essential to optimise hearing-related outcomes
Socio-economic analysis of smallholders sweet potato production and acceptability of entomopathogenic nematodes as a bio-control of sweet potato weevil in South Africa
Get PDFThesis. (M. A. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022Food security, poverty and hunger issues, as well as methods of addressing remain
a concern for many South Africans. Smallholder farmers' agricultural production is
seen as the key to simultaneously alleviating poverty and ensuring food security,
especially in rural areas. The sweet potato crop is commonly produced by
smallholder farmers in rural areas as a staple in many South African households with
the potential to reduce hunger and poverty. Nevertheless, just like other crops, the
sweet potato is impaired by external factors such as extreme weather conditions,
insects, pests and diseases, thus threatening food security. The most destructive
pest to sweet potatoes acknowledged in the literature is the sweet potato weevil
(SPW), which can cause between 5-100% in areas where it is not controlled. While
there are many SPW control measures Entomopathogenic Nematodes (EPNs) are
emerging as one of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) bio-control techniques
that have shown promise in controlling SPW infestations in South Africa and globally.
This study conducts a socio-economic analysis of smallholder sweet potato
production and analyses the acceptability of EPNs as bio-control measures against
the SPW in the Gauteng, Limpopo and North West Provinces of South Africa. This
was done through an assessment of farmers‘ knowledge, attitudes, perception and
practices (KAPP analysis), exploration of the acceptability of EPNs by farmers,
determination of and factors influencing profitability and technical efficiency. Primary
data was collected from 119 respondents who were selected through non-probability
sampling techniques; purposive, census, and snowball. The analytical tools used to
analyse the data were descriptive statistics, Gross Margin Analysis, Multiple linear
regression model, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Tobit regression
model.
From the results, an average knowledge score of 2.30 based on a 3–point Likert
scale revealed that sweet potato farmers are knowledgeable of the SPW, the
impacts and the control measures. Despite this level of knowledge, the farmers were
impartial about the attitudes and perceptions regarding the SPW and the control
measures. This was based on the findings of a 5-point Likert scale, which yielded
average scores of 2.53 and 2.74, respectively. The study also revealed that the
majority of the farmers prefer the use of indigenous and physical practices to control
SPW. With regards to acceptance of the EPNs bio-control innovation towards control
of the SPW, a mean Composite Index of Acceptancy (CIA) of 0.77 revealed the
willingness of farmers to accept the EPNs as a bio-control measure.
A Gross margin of R9 552.37 indicates that sweet potato farming is generally
profitable, and this is influenced by socio-economic factors such as marital status,
employment status, sweet potato output per cycle and access to machinery. On the
other hand, while sweet potato farming was found to be profitable, the DEA score of
0.09 reveals that these farmers are technically inefficient. Their technical inefficiency
is influenced by sweet potato output per cycle, gross margins, farm size, and access
to credit, employment status, and chemical use.
Based on these findings, the study recommends farmers‘ support through capacity
development initiatives for the sweet potato farmers with regards to general
economics of sweet potato production and marketing to maximise and sustain their
revenue generation, as well as their general efficiency. In addition, increased training
and awareness of the EPNs and their benefits as bio-control measures towards
SPW infestation will work towards changing farmers‘ mindset with regard to SPW
control measures.Department of Social Innovation (DSI) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID
Causative infections in childhood cancer patients with febrile neutropenia in Pietersburg Hospital, Limpopo Province, South Africa
Get PDFThesis (M.Med. (Paediatrics and Child Health)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022BACKGROUND
Febrile neutropenia is a medical emergency that complicates the clinical course and
treatment of both hematological and solid malignancies, potentially worsening the
overall outcome and increasing the financial burden. The epidemiology of pathogens
is varied, and determines the selection of empiric antibiotic therapy for febrile
neutropenia. Empirically piperacillin/tazobactam plus amikacin has been
recommended as the most suitable antibiotic for management of febrile neutropenia.
There is a lack of local studies to provide advice for antibiotic choice in our setting.
OBJECTIVE
To identify causative organisms of infection and antibiotic susceptibility patterns in
childhood cancer patients with chemotherapy related febrile neutropenia in
Pietersburg Hospital Oncology Ward Limpopo Province.
METHODS
This is a retrospective cross-sectional study that reviewed all the febrile neutropenic
episodes in children with cancer and with a positive blood culture during the febrile
neutropenia episode. Data collected included patient demographics (date of birth,
sex, date of diagnosis) diagnosis, organisms cultured and the antibiotic sensitivity
profile.
RESULTS
There were 152 records of positive blood cultures identified of 348 episodes of
febrile neutropenia for 413 patients. The median age of study population is 6years
(mean age of 6.8years; range 3 to 11years) with male predominance at (61.2%). The
most common cancer diagnosis was Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) (33.6%)
followed by Nephroblastoma (15.8%), Acute myeloid leukemia (11.2%), Non-
Hodgkin’s lymphoma (9.9%), Hodgkin’s lymphoma (5.9%) and other cancers
(15.3%). The majority of causative organisms were gram-positive bacteria (45%)
followed by gram-negative bacteria (32.4%) and fungi (6.1%). Gram-positive
organisms were statistically significant pathogens causing bacteraemia more often in
neutropenic patients than gram-negative organisms with a p value=0.016. The
majority (n=102; 67.10%) were sensitive organisms with the minority being multidrug
resistant organisms (n=23; 15.1%) and 17.8% were contaminants n=27. The most
common gram-positive pathogens were Coagulase negative staphylococcus n=37;
(21.6%). The most common multidrug resistant organisms were Klebsiella
pneumoniae CRE (10.7 %;), followed by Enterococcus faecium VRE (1.9%),
Klebsiella oxytoca CRE (1.3%), Enterococcus faecalis VRE (0.6%), and
Staphylococcus aureus MRSA (0.6%). No multidrug resistant fungal organisms were
cultured. The majority of organisms were sensitive to the first line empiric therapy
piperacillin/tazobactam plus Amikacin (67.10%). Thirty patients died during these
febrile neutropenic episodes and case fatality rate was 8.6%.
CONCLUSION
This study confirmed that the causative bacteria of febrile neutropenia in this study
were susceptible to the first line empiric therapy piperacillin/tazobactam plus
amikacin, and this regimen is therefore appropriate for this paediatric oncology unit