University of Zululand Repository
Not a member yet
2409 research outputs found
Sort by
The role of special-school teachers in enhancing communication of learners with autism spectrum disorders in rural areas
No full textA thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology & Special Needs Education, Faculty of Education, at the University of Zululand, 2020.Learners with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are often faced with a triad of persistent deficits in social communication, social interaction and restricted and repetitive behaviour. For this reason, autistic learners are placed in special schools and would need speech-generating devices (SGD) and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to enhance their communication. The aim of the study was to determine the role played by special-school teachers in enhancing communication of autistic learners. A qualitative research methodology was used for the researcher to be immersed in the participants’ thoughts, feelings and experiences through their rich descriptive data. Teachers from public special schools in the two districts of Limpopo Province were purposively sampled. Eight teachers, seven females and a male who taught autistic learners participated in the study. Data on the roles of teachers in enhancing communication of autistic learners, their knowledge of AAC tools and the strategies to enhance communication of autistic learners was collected through classroom observations, autobiographical data collection questionnaires, individual and focus group interviews.
The overall results revealed the use of gestures, pictures, verbalisation, and manual sign language, symbols and speech-generating devices as the different modes of communication with learners with (ASD) with complex communication needs. Conclusion: Teachers play an integral part in the development of learners in their dayto-day living during classroom instructional practice. Recommendations: Specialschool teachers should be trained in their role in enhancing communication of learners with ASD.National Research Foundatio
Challenges experienced by primary caregivers in raising children with physical disabilities in Mvunyane area, Vryheid, Kwazulu-Natal
No full textA dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts in the department of Social Work, Faculty of Arts, at the University of Zululand, 2019.The aim of the study was to investigate the challenges experienced by primary caregivers in raising children with physical disabilities who were undergoing rehabilitation in Mvunyane area, Vryheid KwaZulu-Natal using a qualitative approach. Data was gathered using semi-structured interviews from a sample of twenty primary caregivers who were selected using the purposive sampling method. The findings of the study showed that primary caregivers faced a number of social and economic challenges which included inadequacy of the care dependency grant, social isolation, immobility, emotional stress and stigmatisation and discrimination in the community. However, it was noted that primary caregivers used faith-based organisations, support from social workers, families, support groups in their community as their coping strategies.
It was concluded that many primary caregivers who are raising children with physical disabilities have to deal with problem and challenges related with the care that is required. Though the primary caregivers showed commitment to their responsibilities, they also faced challenges resulting in their having emotional difficulties. It was also concluded that a family who has a physical disabled child is likely to fall into poverty. This is because the effects of financial constraints not only affect the primary caregivers of children with physical disabilities but they affect the whole family. It was concluded that there are inadequate intervention care programmes and services designed to assist the primary caregivers and physically disabled children.
It was recommended that healthcare workers should educate all family members on how they can assist the primary caregivers of children with physical disabilities. Social workers should educate primary caregivers about acceptance of disability so that primary caregivers do not feel isolated. Non-governmental organisations and the Government can enter partnerships in developing projects that will financially empower primary caregivers to be self-employed. The Department of Social Development can employ more development workers who will train the primary caregivers on poverty alleviation programmes. Healthcare workers should do awareness campaigns in the communities on disabilities so that people can be familiar with disabilities and that can decrease stigmatisation of people living with disabilities.
Government can provide respite care such as day care centres that will cater for children living with disabilities in the community
The extent to which female informal traders participate in the local economic development (LED) programme at Umhlathuze local municipality, Kwazulu-Natal province
Get PDFA dissertation submitted to the Department of Public Administration in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Public Administration in the Faculty of Commerce, Administration and Law at the University of Zululand, 2019.Employment in the informal sector is on the increase in various regions of the world. There are more women than men in the informal sector and there are several explanations for this basic fact. Among other factors is that the informal sector is the primary source of employment for women in many developing countries such as South Africa. Gender-based differences in employment status within the informal sector have implications for relative earnings and poverty levels. Prior to 1994, South Africa experienced a high rate of inequality and under-development, especially among rural dwellers. This led to political tensions which culminated in the struggle for freedom. After the struggle, the new dispensation in South Africa ushered the democratic and inclusive governance, hence, a series of legislations and policies were instituted to correct the injustices of the past. These, among others, include the policy on Local Economic Development (LED) which placed strong emphasis on the social and economic development of rural dwellers.
This study explored the place of women in informal trading business using a selected municipality in South Africa. A qualitative method was adopted for data collection. Focus group discussions were conducted for selected informal women traders in the selected municipality, while semi-structured interviews were conducted for municipal officials. The awareness of women regarding the LED programme as well as its effect on women in informal trading business were investigated. The findings of the study showed that women get involved in informal businesses due to several factors such as death of the breadwinner, poverty, and poor or non-formal education, among others. Furthermore, lack of awareness of LED programme, poor infrastructures, lack of warehouse for storage, low income, municipal policies, lack of adequate training, among others, are factors which hinder the progress of women informal business traders in the selected municipal areas. Hence, the study recommends the review of policies, creation of awareness on LED programme, construction of warehouses and infrastructures to enhance the upliftment of women informal business traders
The brand essence and brand competitiveness of KwaZulu-Natal: Tourists’ perceptions
No full textA dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Recreation and Tourism, Faculty of Arts, at the University of Zululand, 2019.The tourism industry has been growing rapidly over the years with the pass of time, the more crucial the industry tends to be, the more it contributing to the GDP. The growth of the tourism industry largely relies on the consumers of the tourism offerings, the tourists. This study aims to find out tourists’ perception of the KwaZuluNatal (South Africa) brand essence and brand competitiveness as a tourism destination. This research explored how tourists view the KwaZulu-Natal brand essence and if they regard it to be competitive compared to other destinations. The quantitative research method (structured questionnaire survey) was used to collect usable data from 406 respondents. Data analyses used descriptive statistics, bivariate tests (Spearman’s Correlation tests, Mann-Whitney U tests) and multivariate tests (Reliability tests using Cronbach’s Alpha) to reach study results. The results revealed that tourists are mostly satisfied with visiting KwaZulu-Natal; they indicated that the destination has value for their money. Most of the tourists are willing to return and they are willing to recommend KwaZulu-Natal to others. Tourists see KwaZulu-Natal as a competitive destination. Other interesting results that link tourists’ demographic profile to the KwaZulu-Natal brand essence and competitiveness perceptions, were unearthed in this study. The study makes recommendations that the KwaZulu-Natal should position itself more strongly as an international tourist destination, and focus on attracting matured visitors; those above the age of 30 years old. The service providers should focus more on providing tourism packages inclusive of transport, as a significant number of tourists reported that local transportation in KwaZulu-Natal is not efficient. Local communities in KwaZulu-Natal should work hand-in-glove with the police to improve safety and security in the destination, especially in and around the tourism facilities. These recommendations will assist the managers of the KwaZulu-Natal tourism destinations to improve the quality standards of the destination and help it to be able to compete more strongly in the national and global tourism marketplaces.National Research Fund (NRF
IP address auto-configuration for wireless ad-hoc networks
Get PDFA thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Computer Science) in the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Zululand, 2019.In an ad hoc network, nodes collaborate to allow communication without the presence of network infrastructure. Lack of manual management in ad hoc networks means that automatic configuration is highly desirable. The need for automatic configuration capabilities will become significantly more intense when one considers the networked home of the future, with IP-enabled appliances, such as microwave ovens, thermostats, alarm clocks, speakers, and various kinds of sensors. High levels self-organisation provides an out-of-the-box functionality such that very little technical expertise is required to set up a network. However, efficiently providing unique IP addresses in ad hoc networks is still an open research question.
This study is a successful attempt to investigate automatic IP addressing in wireless ad hoc networks as both Multicriteria decision making (MCDM) problem and a challenge of building a system that converges towards the global desired goal. Consequently, the solution proposed in this thesis is inspired by observing swam systems’ ability to converge towards a global goal from local interactions. The investigation reported in this thesis first answered the question of how different network conditions affect the address auto-configuration process. Experiments to investigate the effect of mobility, network traffic and DAD timeout period on address auto-configuration were conducted.
The results of these experiments informed the design of the new protocol, D-DAD, proposed in this work. The proposed IP address auto-configuration mechanism was simulated in Ns2 and results were compared with existing Wise-DAD and StrongDAD protocols. We performed five experiments to investigate the effect of network size, node density, node arrival rate, mobility, and network traffic on communication overhead, address uniqueness and latency. The results showed that D-DAD outperformed StrongDAD in all the metrics used for comparison. However, in some instances, D-DAD recorded more communication overhead in comparison to Wise-DAD but had better latency and fewer address conflicts
Experiences of foster parents caring for non-family related foster children in de Deur, Gauteng province, South Africa
No full textA thesis submitted in fulfillment of the academic requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Social Work in the Faculty of Arts, University of Zululand, 2020.South African children and families are exposed and subjected to a number of social, economic, political and demographical challenges especially during a Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic. The challenges include poverty, crime, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, discrimination, teenage pregnancy, lack of basic services and parental irresponsibility, absence/illness and death. These have been observed to interact and impact negatively on the care, physical, mental health, safety, development and well-being of children and on the effective functioning of families. As a result, these have been found to culminate into abuse, neglect, abandonment, orphaning and dysfunctional families, necessitating and compelling the need for alternative care for their care and protection.
In South Africa, the Children’s Act 38/2005 allows and permits foster care placement in both family and non-family care. This is pertinent to the social welfare context and plays an important role as a major component of the various options for alternative care for orphaned, abandoned or at-risk children in the country. The advantage of foster care lies in its being adaptable as it could be employed for the care and protection of children on a temporary basis as a respite care or on a long term basis. The employment of foster care on this long and permanent arrangement becomes the best option in regard to children who may not qualify for adoption but for whom parental care is not suitable. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the experiences and challenges which nonfamily related foster parents encountered as they provided care for their non-family related foster children. A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted utilising the purposive sampling technique to select twenty foster parents who were providing care to non-family related foster children on the caseload of Vereeniging Child and Family Welfare Society at their De Deur satellite office. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data. Individual interviews were conducted with eighteen non-related foster parents until data saturation was reached, as well as
vii
one focus group discussion consisting of six foster parents. Data analysis was done using the thematic method.
Overall, study findings indicated that non-related foster parents and foster children experienced mutual acceptance and a feeling of a sense of family, viewing fostering non-family related foster children as not necessarily and essentially different from fostering of family members. Findings indicated further that foster parents experienced economic, social and structural challenges. They were greatly motivated by altruistic and intrinsic factors and relied heavily on the foster care grant and self as major sources of support to cope, mitigate and overcome care challenges.
Little or no differences existed between fostering children in family and non-family foster care placement, at least in this study context. In the face of HIV and AIDS and its concomitant rise in orphan population, widespread poverty and the attenuation of the extended family safety net, there is a reliance on the non-family related foster care as alternative care of these children in need of care and protection. Recommendations include lightening the foster care system by redirecting non-HIV and AIDS-orphans to other support nets, adequate social workers and agency psychosocial support and supervision of foster parents. Furthermore, there needs to be a deliberate development of the relationship with and promotion of foster parents’ satisfaction to enhance efficiency and stimulate retention. Future studies should examine the differences in care outcomes for children in family related and nonfamily related placement. Finally, the study contributes to policy influences, knowledge building and practices and intervention guidance
Exploring dimensional constructs of digital literacy skills for higher education
Get PDFPeer reviewed article published in the Library Philosophy and Practice electronic journal published by the University Libraries of the University of Nebraska--Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, 2019.Digital literacy is essentially an indispensable skill as technology is rapidly evolving and so is
advancement in information resources, especially digital resources. As the use of digital resources
continue to rise within higher institutions of learning, students are expected to develop the required
digital literacy skills. Digital literacy skill is a basic requirement for students to function effectively
in the information society, which is experiencing a paradigm shift from print resources to digital
resources. Hence, digital literacy skill becomes very important since the use of digital resources
depend on the competences in using digital resources. In the fast-growing knowledge society,
information literacy has become one of the most important skills. This is because students with
research information needs will most likely use digital resources if they have the skills required
for their effective usage. Whilst information literacy seems to be a term that is mostly associated
with higher education, its application to digital resources is yet to be widely exploited. In order to
foster the development of digital literacy skills through institutional curriculum, this study explores
the dimensional constructs of digital literacy with the aim of having students who can use digital
tools to advance learning and keeping up with changing technologies as well as become global
digital citizens. The dimensional constructs of digital literacy as outlined in this study are important
in the use of digital resources because of the proliferation of digital information presently
experienced due to a series of developmental digital activities in our world
The implementation of the curriculum assessment policy statements (caps) in the teaching and assessment of writing in selected iSiZulu Further Education and Training (fet) classrooms in the Nkandla circuit
No full textA thesis submitted in fulfillment of the academic requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of African Languages, Faculty of Arts, University of Zululand, 2019.South Africa has undergone several educational changes since 1994. These changes include Curriculum 2005 which was first implemented in 1998, the National Curriculum Statement which was introduced in 2002 and the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements which was first implemented in 2012. This study examined the teaching and assessment of writing in isiZulu classrooms in the Nkandla circuit. The purpose of this study was to determine how isiZulu teachers implemented the guidelines of the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement regarding the teaching and assessment of writing tasks in isiZulu classrooms. I employed a qualitative approach involving twenty (20) participants. Data were gathered through questionnaires, interviews, observations and document analysis. The findings of the study suggest that teachers do not use the guidelines of the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements, which implies that the process approach should be used in the teaching and assessment of writing. The findings reveal that writing is not taught in isiZulu classrooms, and this lack of paying attention to isiZulu writing surfaces in the learners’ poor writing. The results gave rise to the use of the product approach when teaching writing. Various reasons were provided by the teachers as to why they could not implement the guidelines of the CAPS in their classrooms. These reasons include amongst others the inadequate training in CAPS and large classes. The study recommends that teachers should be trained in the implementation of the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement especially in the teaching and assessment of writing
Economics teachers’ perspectives on in-service professional development in South Africa and Nigeria
No full textA thesis submitted in fulfillment of the academic requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional studies in the Faculty of Education, University of Zululand, 2019.This mixed method study explored Economics teachers’ perspectives on in-service professional development in South Africa and Nigeria. The aims of the study were to explore teachers’ views on how they were in-serviced, their needed professional development, how these needs were met and the existing quality and nature of in-service professional development in South Africa and Nigeria. Theories of andragogy and experientialism underpinned this study. Existing related literature on professional development across the globe, South Africa and Nigeria were extensively reviewed. Data for this study were constructed and collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews.
Eighty teachers were respondents to the questionnaire, six Heads of Departments for semi-structured interviews and 10 teachers for focus group interviews. Data analysis, interpretation and discussions were guided by mixed method and an interpretive paradigm that values the objective understanding of the teachers’ views. Findings revealed that despite the significant of professional development activities in enhancing classroom practices as established in both countries, the regular and timely participation of teachers in these IPD was not frequently adequate. Findings also showed that participation of teachers in various IPD activities; promote teachers’ creativity in the design and use of teaching and learning support materials (TLSM) in their classroom practices. It was also revealed that the contents of the IPD did not focus on classroom needs of the teachers sometimes, while the teachers were not adequately and equally supported by the School Management Teams to attend IPD activities regularly, as well as lack of adequate support towards teaching and learning from some SMTs.
The study also indicated inappropriate timing for teachers’ participation in IPD activities, inadequate teaching and learning resources, lack of ICT based training/activities and lack of adequate follow-up on teachers’ implementation of IPD in their classroom practices as some of the challenges of teachers’ in-service professional development in both countries. The findings revealed that teachers preferred in-service professional development activities that will not disrupt their teaching schedules, preferably at the beginning or end of every term. The study confirms that there were inadequate professional development activities for teachers to enhance their classroom practices in South Africa and Nigeria.
vii
The study therefore recommended that assessment of teachers should be done to determine needed professional development activities of teachers, adequate feedback mechanism should be devised to follow-up and support teachers on in-service professional development activities, while the School Management Team should support teaching and learning in schools adequately.
The study also recommended that teachers should be supported to participate regularly in appropriate professional development activities, this will ensure repackage of IPD structures where teachers will be involved in the planning of curriculum contents of their IPD based on the assessment of their classroom/professional needs. Increase in the frequencies of teachers’ attendance in various IPD activities, as well as proper monitoring for feedbacks on teachers’ classroom practices, to ensure classroom implementation of IPD knowledge and benefits was also recommended. Conclusively, for effective in-service professional development in schools, the study recommended learner-centred teachers’ professional development (LTPM) model; a systematic approach-model which can improve teachers’ classroom practices
Unsupervised Clustering of Forest Response to Drought Stress in Zululand Region, South Africa
Get PDFPeer reviewed article published under Forests Journal, Volume 10 Issue 7Drought limits the production of plantation forests, notably in the drought-prone Zululand
region of South Africa. During the last 40 years, the country has faced a series of severe droughts,
however that of 2015 stands out as the most extreme and prolonged. The 2015 drought impaired
forest productivity and led to widespread tree mortality in this region, but the identification of
tree response to drought stress remains uncertain because of its spatial variability. To address this
problem, a method that can capture drought patterns and identify trees with similar reactions to
drought stress is desired. This could improve the accuracy of detecting trees su ering from drought
stress which is key for forest management planning. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the utility
of unsupervised mapping approaches in compartments of Eucalyptus trees with similar drought
characteristics based on the Normalized Di erence Water Index (NDWI) and to demonstrate the
value of cloud-based Google Earth Engine (GEE) resources for rapid landscape drought monitoring.
Our results showed that calculating distances between pixels using three di erent matrices (Random
Forest (RF) proximity, Euclidean and Manhattan) can accurately detect similarities within a dataset.
The RF proximity matrix produced the best measures, which were clustered using Wards hierarchical
clustering to detect drought with the highest overall accuracy of 87.7%, followed by Manhattan
(85.9%) and Euclidean similarity measures (79.9%), with user and producer results between 84.2% to
91.2%, 42.8% to 98.2% and 37.2% to 94.7%, respectively. These results confirm the value of the RF
proximity matrix and underscore the capability of automatic unsupervised mapping approaches for
monitoring drought stress in tree plantations, as well as the value of using GEE for providing cost
effective datasets to resource stricken countries