Northern Province Of South Africa Research Articles

Community perceptions of biomedical health care in a rural area in the Northern Province South Africa

The success of strategies to revitalize primary health care services such as those advocated by the Bamako Initiative requires a response adapted to the expectations of the populations, especially in terms of quality. The goal of this study was to investigate community perceptions of availability, accessibility, acceptability and affordability of biomedical health care services in a rural area of the Northern Province in South Africa.
 
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Factors affecting condom use among junior secondary school pupils in South Africa

The aim of the study is to investigniefi2ctors affecting condom use among junior Secondary School pupi1s in South Africa. The sample included 446 Grade 10 Secondary school pupils, 200 (44.896) ma1e and 246 (55.2%),females within the age range of I0 to 30 years (M age 16.6 years, SD = 2.5) from three rural schools in one region of the Northern Province in South Africa. Main outcomes measures included sexual activity and condom use (12 items), source of “condom” information (12 items), knowledge of correct condom use (10 items), a 16-item AIDS Health Belief Scale and a 28-item Condom Use Self-Efficiency Scale.
 
 *Please note: This is a reduced version of the abstract. Please refer to PDF for full text.

Opinion on AIDS prevention and education among rural secondary school pupils in the northern province of South Africa.

The study investigated perceptions of AIDS prevention and education among 308 Grade 11 pupils (132 boys and 176 girls), secondary school pupils (mainly Northern Sotho and Tsonga) in the Northern Province of South Africa. They were chosen randomly from three rural schools in Mankweng district and were ages 17 to 25 years (M age = 19.1 yr., SD = 2.8). Analysis of ratings given on items of a questionnaire on AIDS prevention and education indicated that 'Isolating people who are HIV positive' and 'How to protect yourself from getting HIV/AIDS' received the highest ratings. Factor analysis extracted three factors on AIDS education explaining 48% of the variance. The items loading strongly on the first factor were use of condoms (.54), giving information (.53), finding a cure (.52), and no sex outside marriage (.42). On AIDS education two factors were extracted accounting for 52% of the variance. The first factor had significant item loadings for 'sexual behaviour and HIV/AIDS' (.75), 'knowledge of self-protection' (.68), 'how AIDS/HIV affects the body' (.66), and 'alcohol and sexual behaviour'. These findings should contribute to the development of health promotion initiatives directed at AIDS/HIV.

A simple population viability analysis of the Critically Endangered Euphorbia clivicola R.A. Dyer under four management scenarios

This paper describes a population viability analysis (PVA) for Euphorbia clivicola R.A. Dyer, a threatened succulent confined to only two known populations in the Northern Province of South Africa, one of which is protected in a nature reserve. The PVA explicitly compared the relative effectiveness of four management scenarios in bringing about the recovery of the protected population that had shown a 91% decline over the decade during which the population was monitored. Demographic monitoring data as well as autecological data collected in 1996 were used to determine the temporal variation in observed demographic and reproductive parameters. The model parameters were allowed to vary randomly over the observed ranges in order to incorporate stochasticity of the environmental factors fire, herbivory and rainfall. If future management practices remain unchanged, the model predicted that there is an 88% probability of the protected population becoming extinct within the next 20 years. The population should recover under a management scenario involving a fire frequency of every 3 years, the exclusion of herbivores and augmentation. The model has since been validated with data collected in 1999. Such analyses are useful for adaptive management purposes.

Conservation biology of the succulent shrub, Euphorbia barnardii, a serpentine endemic of the Northern Province, South Africa

Abstract Euphorbia barnardii White, Dyer & Sloane is a relatively small, succulent shrub found in the Northern Province of South Africa. In 1994 it was listed as endangered by the Transvaal Threatened Plants Programme, because only three populations, totalling 1150 plants, were found. However, our study found five populations totalling 10 783 plants (9503 were reproductive). One population, found 50 km from the others, in the Bewaarkloof district, differs in terms of habitat type and morphology and may therefore be a different taxon. The other populations occur in Sekhukhuneland. Soil analyses showed that E. barnardii is restricted to ultramafic (serpentine) substrates. A sample of 2015 plants was examined in 1995 for size, stage, new growth, dead branches, reproduction (indices of vigour), damage and disease. Analysis of the results of 10 years’ demographic monitoring (1985–1995) on two of the Sekhukhuneland populations showed that one population, which was vigorous in 1995, showed little change in population size and structure, while the other, which had low vigour in 1995, showed a precipitous decline to local extinction in the monitoring plot. Aerial photographs taken in 1957 (1963 for Bewaarkloof) and 1986 showed large increases in human population density within 1.5 km of the E. barnardii populations except at Bewaarkloof, where it decreased. An increase in human habitation is associated with an increase in livestock (mostly cattle and goats) which trample plants. Trampling damages the terminal segments, which may lead to lowered reproductive output and increase susceptibility to opportunistic bacterial wilt pathogens. Bacterial wilts were prevalent on all populations but were particularly high at Bewaarkloof and on the population that showed a steep decline in numbers. Disease incidence was associated with the level of plant damage. The impact on plants further up the slopes and on the crest of hills (quite far from human settlements) was to a far lesser degree but further increases in human population density could change this situation. While this study has shown that the population size of E. barnardii is much greater than previously thought, the species is still threatened by several different processes and should be listed as ‘Vulnerable (A1a + c, B1, B2b + e, C1, D2)’ according to World Conservation Union categories.

Incorporating land cover information into regional biodiversity assessments in South Africa

AbstractAnthropogenic natural habitat transformation presents the single most important threat to global biodiversity. Land cover data, based on Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery, were used to derive land use information for the Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Northern provinces of South Africa. The assessment integrated land use data with species presence data (15 × 15 minute grid cell resolution) for butterflies, mammals, birds and endemic vascular plants. The objectives of the present study were: (1) to identify areas at a regional scale where there is a possible conflict between biodiversity conservation interests and current land uses; (2) to investigate the influence of incorporating a land use constraint (LUC) into a conservation area selection algorithm, while taking cognizance of the existing reserve system; (3) to investigate the circumstances of species recorded within these conflict areas. Many grid cells identified as species richness hotspots, rarity hotspots or as part of the complementary network selected by the unconstrained algorithm were in reality largely transformed or modified. These areas should thus be avoided when striving to identify a viable conservation network. Although the LUC algorithm selected more grid cells to represent all species, it succeeded in increasing the percentage of natural vegetation within the selected conservation network and highlighted areas where potential conflicts should be thoroughly investigated at a local scale.

Incorporating land cover information into regional biodiversity assessments in South Africa

Anthropogenic natural habitat transformation presents the single most important threat to global biodiversity. Land cover data, based on Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery, were used to derive land use information for the Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Northern provinces of South Africa. The assessment integrated land use data with species presence data (15 × 15 minute grid cell resolution) for butterflies, mammals, birds and endemic vascular plants. The objectives of the present study were: (1) to identify areas at a regional scale where there is a possible conflict between biodiversity conservation interests and current land uses; (2) to investigate the influence of incorporating a land use constraint (LUC) into a conservation area selection algorithm, while taking cognizance of the existing reserve system; (3) to investigate the circumstances of species recorded within these conflict areas. Many grid cells identified as species richness hotspots, rarity hotspots or as part of the complementary network selected by the unconstrained algorithm were in reality largely transformed or modified. These areas should thus be avoided when striving to identify a viable conservation network. Although the LUC algorithm selected more grid cells to represent all species, it succeeded in increasing the percentage of natural vegetation within the selected conservation network and highlighted areas where potential conflicts should be thoroughly investigated at a local scale.

An investigation into a possible relationship between vitamin D, parathyroid hormone, calcium and magnesium in a normally pigmented and an albino rural black population in the Northern Province of South Africa.

Vitamin D levels are important in the management of patients with various disorders of calcium metabolism associated with rickets, osteomalacia, osteodystrophy osteoporosis and hypoparathyroidism. 82 albinos and 58 normally pigmented children resident at the Siloe School for the Visually Impaired were sampled. Blood samples of fasting subjects were collected over a two-day period and analyzed for vitamin D, parathyroid hormone, plasma calcium and both plasma and red blood cell magnesium measurements. The height and weight of each subject was also recorded. The results are discussed in relation to the different skin pigmented groups, for specific age groups, sex and visual status. Statistical outliers were excluded from the results. It appears that the Albino group has significantly (p = 0.06) higher vitamin D levels against the background of a similar dietary intake and similar exposure to sunlight/day length. Thus black children/subjects require a significantly higher intake of vitamin D to attain the same level as their Albino counterparts. In spite of significantly higher vit D levels, the other homeostatic control mechanisms were not altered (i.e., PTH levels are similar in both groups). This study supports the postulate that a dark complexion predisposes to sub-optimal vit D status.

A new species of Panaspis Cope (Reptilia: Scincidae) from southern Africa

The genus Panaspis in southern Africa is reviewed and a new species, P. maculicollis is described. This species differs from P wahlbergii (A. Smith) in lacking a white ventrolateral stripe, while breeding males have a black patch on the neck with diagonal rows of white spots and the vermillion ventral coloration is restricted to the chin and throat instead of covering the entire ventral surface. It is also smaller in size, with an average snout-vent length of 35 mm, compared with 40 mm in P. wahlbergii. The two species have been recorded in sympatry in the north-eastern Kruger National Park. Panaspis wahlbergii inhabits the moist savannas to the east and south of the subcontinent, whereas the distribution of P. maculicollis seems to be centred on the Kalahari sand areas of northern Botswana and western Zimbabwe, extending eastwards via the Zambezi and Limpopo valleys into western Mozambique and the Northern Province of South Africa.

Chemical composition and physical characteristics of cowpea haulms as forage for ruminants

Extracted from text ... Chemical composition and physical characteristics of cowpea haulms as forage forruminantsH.K. Mokoboki, K.K. Ayisi and L.R. Ndlovu #Dept of Animal Production, University Of The North, P Bag X 1106, Sovenga, 0727# e-mail:NdlovuL@unin.unorth.ac.za.IntroductionCowpea ( Vigna unguiculata) is a major grain legume grown by small- scale farmers in the NorthernProvince of South Africa. The crop is indigenous to Africa and is used extensively in many cropping systemsthroughout Africa (Eaglesham et al., 1981). Cowpea straws are potential supplementary feed for ruminants in thedry season. Cowpea straws are likely to have higher crude protein than cereal straws and may thus improvedigestibility of cereal straws ..

ORGANIC VEGETABLE FARMING IN RURAL AREAS OF THE NORTHERN PROVINCE

This study investigates factors that contribute to the promotion of organic fanning in rural areas. The study concentrates on rural households in the Northern Province of South Africa where quite recently, organic farming seems to become more popular among households than conventional farming systems using fertilisers and other chemicals. The results suggest that the promotion of organic farming among rural households can better be achieved in favourable social environments such as educational levels and income status rather than conducive biophysical conditions such as good soil conditions. It is suggested that whereas suitable biophysical conditions are necessary for organic farming such factors should be complemented with suitable social conditions to achieve maximum results.

Participation in research and development at the Tshikonelo agricultural project, Northern province

This article takes to task certain assumptions about participation in research and development, and criticises them for being decontextualised and ethnographically uninformed. Results of social scientific research at an existing agricultural project in the Northern Province of South Africa are brought to bear on the theory and assumptions of participatory research and development. The study starts with a theoretical account of participatory research. The point is made that there is not necessarily any connection between participatory research and participatory development. It is concluded from the subsequent case study that participation in research and development could be negatively influenced by local power dynamics, by institutional reluctance to experiment with participation, and by policy decisions and circumstances that do not lend themselves to social change. The significance of participation cannot be deduced in isolation from its context of implementation. It is concluded that participation by itself would not necessarily lead to these changes.

Fire survival of the Critically Endangered succulent, Euphorbia clivicola R.A. Dyer – fire‐avoider or fire‐tolerant?

The hypothesized ultimate agent of decline for one of the only two known populations of Euphorbia clivicola R. A. Dyer, a Critically Endangered species endemic to the Northern Province of South Africa, is the unsuitable fire management practised within the Nature Reserve in which the population is protected. Management recommendations concerning the fire regime need to consider fire survival in this succulent species. Fire survival of succulents may be due to the avoidance of fire in refugia or due to fire tolerance by vegetative recovery. Subsequent to a fire, damage to E. clivicola plants was determined. New growth (post‐fire resprouting) and rock cover surrounding plants were assessed to determine whether plants tolerated fire through vegetative regrowth or survived fire through protection in refugia. Plants were found to be tolerant of fire, sustaining only mild damage with apparent fire mortality at 3% (2% of the plants were already dead prior to the fire). Fire damage stimulated vegetative regrowth, regrowth being more common in plants that had sustained higher levels of fire damage.

Calibration of temperature indices from a Late Quaternary terrestrial sequence at Wonderkrater, South Africa

Abstract Temperature indices based on multivariate analysis of pollen spectra from a core at Wonderkrater, situated in the Northern Province of South Africa (formerly northern Transvaal), are calibrated. Results suggest that the mid-Holocene hyperthermal at Wonderkrater was associated with temperatures approximately 1°C higher than modern conditions. An increase in mean annual temperature circa 11,000 BP appears to represent a change of approximately 3° per millennium. An increase in mean annual temperature of approximately 1.5°C per millennium occurred between about 10,000 and 8000 yr BP. These results indicate relatively high rates of increasing temperature during the Holocene, prior to the combustion of fossil fuels within the last two centuries.

A Note on the Adoption of Soil Conservation Measures in the Northern Province of South Africa

This study attempts to expand the range of explanatory variables used in adoption studies. The results suggest that awareness of soil erosion problems and increases in long‐term profit are significant indicators of the probability of adopting silt traps and contour ploughing as methods of soil conservation. Factors such as age, security of land tenure, informal communication, size of land holding and difficulty of adopting a particular technology, do not appear to be significant determinants of the adoption of soil conservation measures.

War and Remembrance: The Power of Oral Poetry and the Politics of Hananwa Identity

The important role of oral tradition (folklore) in the reconstruction of the historical and cultural life of non-literate societies demands an interdisciplinary approach. Folklorists and scholars in disciplines such as anthropology, ethnography, history and linguistics have recognized the necessity of following such an approach in order to arrive at an accurate interpretation and understanding of oral texts. In a society riven by racial bigotry and ethnic animosity, the various black communities of South Africa have had very little opportunity to produce their own history and to create and affirm their own identity. The interpretation undertaken here of the war praise poem in honour of Ratshatsha, the chief who reigned over the Hananwa, a Northern Sotho-speaking people living at Blouberg in the Northern Province of South Africa from 1879 to 1939, offers an interdisciplinary analysis which includes the performer, family members and local inhabitants as active participants in the re-creation of their own past. Ratshatsha's praise poem is a vital comment on Hananwa society and, as such, it has often been adapted to new situations. It must therefore be viewed as a performance in context, and not as a static creation of oral art. The usefulness of oral tradition and the practice of memory gave us as researchers the opportunity to produce a printed account of the Hananwa's history that could never have been done by researchers relying on archives and libraries. This approach aided us in our goal of transcending the boundaries of a single discipline in order to convey a holistic picture of the Hananwa through the complex composition of an oral text.

Scale and conservation planning in the real world

Conservation planning is carried out on a variety of geopolitical and biogeographical scales. Whereas considerable consensus is emerging about the most appropriate procedures for identifying conservation areas, the spatial implications of conducting conservation planning at divergent scales have received little attention. Here we explore the consequences of planning at different geopolitical scales, using a database of the mammalian fauna from the Northern Provinces of South Africa. The conservation network resulting from treating the region as one unit is compared with networks generated separately for the provinces nested in that region. These outcomes are evaluated in terms of (i) their land use efficiencies, (ii) their spatial overlap, and (iii) the impact of algorithm attributes. Although land use efficiencies are greater on broader scales, on average the spatial congruence between the broad-scale regional network and fine-scale provincial networks was less than 14%. Algorithms using different selection rules fail to improve this disturbing outcome. Consequently, scale has an overwhelming influence on areas identified as conservation networks in geopolitical units. This should be recognized in conservation planning.

Animal Remains from Industrial Iron Age Communities in Phalaborwa, South Africa

The Phalaborwa region in the Northern Province of South Africa has one of the richest copper- and iron-bearing deposits in southern Africa. These deposits have been worked for 1200 years and are still being worked. The abundance of ore reduction and metal production sites, dating mostly to the Late Iron Age, testifies to the importance of these deposits. Those sites that were excavated provide valuable insight into the industrial processes, economy, rituals, and use of animals by these specialized communities. The faunal remains reflect different lifestyles, but also indicate that animal husbandry was not of primary importance. The communities were focused predominantly on metal production. The soils and climate of the region are not very suitable for herding and agriculture. Subsequently products of the metal working activities such as hoes were used as replacement for cattle in bride wealth.

CORRELATES FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL, PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL AND RITUALISTIC FORMS OF CHILD ABUSE AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE NORTHERN PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract Objective: This is an investigation into the correlates for child psychological, physical, emotional, and ritualistic abuse among high school students in the Northern Province of South Africa. Method: 414 students in standards 9 and 10 in three representative high schools filled in a retrospective self-rating questionnaire in a classroom setting. The questionnaire asked for age and some hypothesised correlates; psychological, physical, and emotional abusive experiences from their parents or adult caretakers before the age of 17 years, ritualistic abusive experiences before the age of 17 years; and whether they perceive themselves as abused or not. Result: Result shows that correlates for psychological abuse are race ‘Not Black’ (i.e. white, coloured, other), ethnicity ‘Not Northern Sotho’ (e.g. other ethnic groups), ‘Father Employed and Not as Labourer’ ‘Mother Employed and Not as Labourer’, ‘Stepparent Present During Childhood’, and participant having ‘More than 2 Good Friends’; for physical abu...

AIDS awareness of secondary school pupils in the northern province of South Africa.

This study investigated AIDS awareness in secondary school pupils (mainly Northern Sotho and Xitsonga) in the Northern Province of South Africa. The randomly chosen sample included 622 Standard 9 pupils (254 boys and 368 girls) in the age range of 17 to 24 years (M of 19.3), who were administered a questionnaire on awareness of AIDS and socioeconomic status. Over 72% of the questions about AIDS were correctly answered, which suggests a fair amount of accurate information about AIDS; however, 18% were of the opinion that "AIDS does not exist" and 19% that "there is a cure for AIDS." Analysis of variance indicated no relationships for sex, age, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status with correct answers.