DSpace Repository

Welcome to the NWU Repository, the open access Institutional Repository of the North-West University (NWU-IR). This is a digital archive that collects, preserves and distributes research material created by members of NWU. The aim of the NWU-IR is to increase the visibility, availability and impact of the research output of the North-West University through Open Access, search engine indexing and harvesting by several initiatives.

Communities in NWU Repository

Select a community to browse its collections.

Now showing 1 - 5 of 18

Recent Submissions

The Impact of the Taung Dam Irrigation Scheme, South Africa, on Local People and the Environment, 1977-2023
(North-West University (South Africa)., 2025) Smit, Annadine; van Eeden, E.S; van Vuuren, L
This study is a historical analysis of the socio-environmental impact of the Taung Dam Irrigation Scheme on the region’s people and environment dating from its inception in 1977 to 2023. To do this the historical method of inquiry was mainly followed while also engaging the multidisciplinary nature of regional history. The study relied on primary and secondary sources and was interpreted from a large corpus of historiography on dam irrigation projects from across the world. Additionally, a part of the approach included in the historical method was to cover diverse community and leadership perspectives from the top down and bottom-up, and to thoroughly scrutinise these voices through a process of internal and external source criticism. An important part of the research was to understand the purpose behind the irrigation scheme since its history shows that only the dam component of the irrigation scheme was completed. Other and especially recreational uses that have since been featured, are covered to some extent. The years between 1977 to 1990 which marks the period of planning the scheme are inundated with political, social, and agricultural nuances as the history of the movement of people and their livelihoods in agricultural practices are contextualised. The timeframe for the completion of the Taung Dam (1990-1993) raised suspicion among some community members (as interviewees) as they relay stories of illicit diamond mining in the vicinity of the Harts River near Manthe village. Additionally, some Environmental Impact Assessments published more than a decade after the completion of the Taung Dam revealed that the scheme could and would never be able to fulfil its intended purpose as a source of additional irrigation. This was due to the poor inflow rate from the Harts River that feeds into the dam. Key motivators for the Taung Dam were therefore captured within three main thoughts, which are, firstly, enshrined in the political socio-economic goals of the newly established Bophuthatswana government in 1977. Secondly, the growing irrigation agriculture sector in Taung features strongly, despite the under-developed state of the existing Taung Irrigation Scheme as part of the adjacent Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme. Lastly, and perhaps most controversial is a growing awareness of the role of illicit mining activities within the 20 km2 radius of the Harts River near Manthe. The history of the socio-environmental impact of the Taung Dam Irrigation Scheme focuses mainly on the dam’s development, subsequent loss of habitat and natural plant life, and its socioeconomic outcome as other ventures towards its utilisation have been attempted until 2023 in planning reports and articles, and a displaced community’s memories and recent views of it. This is done to add to the field of water and regional history as very little on the topic of irrigation histories for South Africa’s homelands era has thus far featured.
Efficacy of technical vocational education and training college internship programme for mainstreaming youth transition to employment: In Ekurhuleni
(North-West University (South Africa)., 2025) Notsi, Palesa; Mzini, L.B
Facilitating the participation of the youth in the labour market is crucial to mainstreaming youth economic participation, especially in South Africa, where limited youth economic participation is a challenge. Structured internships are one way of integrating the youth into the labour market. Understanding the efficacy of internships, therefore, is crucial and a motivation for the study. Using mixed methods, this study investigated the efficacy of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College internship programmes with Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality as a case study. The objectives of the study, therefore, were to lay a theoretical understanding of internships, explore the contributions of partners, identify key elements of an efficacious internship, and propose an effective model for implementing TVET internships effectively. To pursue the objectives of the study, a survey sample of 200 was drawn (193 participated) using stratified random sampling, and seven key informants (7) using purposive sampling. The study found that well-structured institutional arrangements, quality mentorship, deliberate integration of theory and practice, and partnerships that are informed by a unity of purpose between TVET colleges, service partners, and industry are essential components for the efficacy of internships. Furthermore, a combination of these elements is not only necessary for the smooth running of internships, but it is also necessary to provide meaningful learning for the interns through integrating theory and practice, and through making internships accessible. Based on these findings, the theoretical framework (Theory of Change, Logic Model, and Transactional Partnering Model), and lessons from international experiences, a model for an efficacious internship programme was proposed. This study contributed to the TVET internship discourse and youth development body of knowledge by proposing a model for an effective TVET internship programme. Furthermore, contribution was made through the use of an innovative theoretical framework and by making academic and practical recommendations for understanding internships better and for improving their efficacy.
Health clinic gardens as models for social-ecological systems: Floristic composition and potential utilization of plants in the Bojanala Platinum District North-West Province, South Africa
(ELSEVIER GMBH, 2024) Gwedla, Nanamhla; Cornelius, Susanna Francina Ancia; Du Toit, Mari´e Jane; Cilliers, Sarel
Health clinic gardens (HCGs) are social-ecological systems (SESs) associated with health clinics on government land and are intended to provide fresh vegetables and fruits to patients struggling to keep healthy immune systems. Little is known about their comparability to other garden types with regards to plant distribution and potential utilization, and thus their potential to address some of the challenges limiting ecosystem services (ESs) provision in other garden types. In this study, we report on the floristic composition and presence of utilitarian plant species at 105 HCGs across a district municipality in the North-West Province, South Africa. Different micro-gardens, including vegetable, medicinal, ornamental, natural vegetation, bare soil, orchard, hedge, and lawn micro-gardens, were identified. To understand plant composition, species were classified according to status of origin, invasive characteristics, Raunkiaer’s life-forms, growth forms, and potential usefulness. To determine the frequency of species occurrence we enumerated the number of gardens containing the respective species. Six-hundred and thirty-three species from 404 genera and 116 plant families were encountered. Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. and Urochloa mosambicensis (Hack.) Dandy, found in 91 % and 79 % of gardens, respectively, occurred the most. Herbaceous species were the most dominant, with Schkuhria pinnata (Lam.) Kuntze ex Thell. and Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronquist occurring the most. Plant species richness was greater in the ornamental (282 species) and natural area (naga) (281 species) micro-gardens, while the hedge had the least (8 species). Fifty-five percent of species in the natural vegetation micro-garden were indigenous, compared to 44 % in the ornamental micro-garden. There was greater diversity in fruit-bearing plants, and most medicinal plant species (70 %) are used as a tonic. Health clinic gardens resemble home gardens and are well positioned to enhance ESs provision at the community scale. Future HCGs research should evaluate community usage of the gardens and the extent to which knowledge of useful plants and efficient gardening practices is upscaled to home gardens around HCGs.
A duoethnography about musicking at an older adult care home during COVID-19.
(Approaches, 2024) Wentink, Catrien; van der Merwe, Liesl
Loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a global problem. Older adults, who are considered high-risk individuals, have been particularly impacted and have experienced increased isolation and loneliness. Musicians also experienced loneliness during the lockdown period. Therefore, the purpose of this duoethnography is to explore the culturally situated meanings two research participants ascribe to musicking at an older adult care home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research participants are two community musicians who have facilitated weekly musicking sessions at an older adult care home for the past five years. During the hard lockdown, we serenaded the older adults in the street in front of the care home. Our data collection was stimulated by photos, session plans, song choices, diary reflections, and individual accounts. To explore our dialogical understanding, we used storytelling and Pinar’s (1975) four step method of currere, namely regressive, progressive, synthesis and analysis. The findings indicated that musicking during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed us to share and express compassion and care towards the older adult residents and each other. We, therefore, argue that musicking, with the necessary hygienic precautions, should be encouraged as a form of reciprocal care during a global pandemic.
Teaching digital storytelling: Inspiring voices through online narratives.
(Rowman & Littlefield, 2024) Anderson, Melissa
In the scholarship of information literacy instruction, authors are increasingly reframing information literacy as a metaliteracy, with the focus on not just the analytical and evaluative skills of learners, but also on the metacognitive, collaborative, and participatory aspects of learners’ engagement with information. Thomas P. Mackey, along with various coauthors and coeditors, has been at the forefront of the work being done on metaliteracy, and Teaching Digital Storytelling: Inspiring Voices Through Online Narratives, which Mackey co-edited with Empire State University colleague Sheila Marie Aird, is the newest offering to address metaliteracy in the classroom. Focusing specifically on digital storytelling as a pedagogical tool for engaging learners, promoting metaliterate learning, and helping learners develop their own voices and agency, the book offers both theory and practical suggestions to instructors wishing to incorporate this approach in their teaching. According to Mackey and Aird, the volume is intended to inspire new curriculum and revisions to existing curriculum and to garner support for digital storytelling initiatives broadly. Presenting case studies primarily from the United States and South Africa, the nine essays included in the volume argue that digital storytelling is perhaps uniquely able to encourage metaliterate learning when it is taught effectively. Each essay is grounded in theories of information literacy, metaliteracy, and a review of relevant literature but also presents real-world examples of how digital storytelling is being utilized in a variety of settings. The themes of participation and collaboration in digital storytelling endeavors are strongly present throughout the collection, but some essays, such as Muchativugwa Liberty Hove’s piece on autoethnography, also examine digital storytelling artifacts as objects of study themselves. In this way, the book is able to provide suggestions to instructors wishing to incorporate digital storytelling projects in their syllabi, but it also suggests ways to frame digital storytelling and analyze the products of these efforts. As the title suggests, the narratives created in digital storytelling projects are necessarily online, and some of the essays, such as the one by Aird and Mackey, do indeed discuss projects created for online learning environments, but others, such as Kimmika LH Williams-Witherspoon’s chapter on poetic ethnography, illustrate how students conducting in-person field research can use digital storytelling to create and disseminate affecting, innovative works that amplify diverse voices and engage wider audiences within the community.