List of Titles

Synthesis, photophysical and nonlinear optical properties of microwave synthesized 4-tetra and octa-substituted lead phthalocyanines

- Modibane, Desmond K, Nyokong, Tebello

Authors: Modibane, Desmond K , Nyokong, Tebello
Date: 2009
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/263452 , vital:53629 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poly.2009.03.013"
Description: This work presents the photophysical and nonlinear optical behaviour of newly synthesized complexes: 2,(3)-tetrakis(4-benzyloxyphenoxyphthalocyaninato) lead (5a) and 2,3-octakis(4-benzyloxyphenoxyphthalocyaninato) lead (6a). The nonlinear optical behaviour of complexes 5a and 6a are compared with those of 2,(3)-tetraphenoxyphthalocyaninato lead (5b), 2,(3)-tetrakis(4-t-butylphenoxyphthalocyaninato) lead (5c), 2,3-octaphenoxyphthalocyaninato lead (6b) and 2,3-octakis(4-t-butylphenoxyphthalocyaninato) lead (6c). The synthesis of 5a and 6a was performed using microwave irradiation. Photophysical properties were studied for these complexes in dimethylsulfoxide, dimethylformamide, toluene, tetrahydrofuran and chloroform. The fluorescence spectra were different from excitation spectra due to demetallation upon excitation. High triplet quantum yields ranging from 0.80 to 0.86 (in DMSO, DMF and toluene) and low triplet lifetimes (20–50 μs in DMSO, and more than 10 μs in the rest of the solvents) were observed due to the presence of heavy atom. Nonlinear optical properties were studied in dimethylsulfoxide. The optical limiting threshold intensity (Ilim) for the PbPc derivatives were calculated and ranged from 2.1 to 6.6 W/cm2.
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Date Issued: 2009

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Synthesis, photophysical and photochemical properties of novel soluble tetra [4-(thiophen-3yl)-phenoxy] phthalocyaninato zinc (II) and Ti (IV) O complexes

- Erdoğmuş, Ali, Nyokong, Tebello

Authors: Erdoğmuş, Ali , Nyokong, Tebello
Date: 2009
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/263318 , vital:53617 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ica.2009.07.015"
Description: The synthesis, photophysical and photochemical properties of zinc and oxo-titanium phthalocyanine derivatives 4-(tetra[4-(thiophen-3yl)-phenoxy]phthalocyaninato)zinc(II), (2); and 4-(tetra[4-(thiophen-3yl)-phenoxy]phthalocyaninato)oxo-titanium(IV), (3), are described for the first time. These peripherally substituted complexes (2 and 3) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, 1H NMR and electronic spectroscopy. The compounds (2 and 3) have good solubility in organic solvents such as CHCl3, DCM, DMSO, DMF, THF and toluene and are not aggregated within a wide concentration range. General trends are described for singlet oxygen, photodegradation, fluorescence quantum yields, triplet quantum yields and triplet life times of these complexes in DMSO, DMF and THF. Compound 2 has higher fluorescence quantum yields, triplet quantum yields and triplet life times than 3, however, the former has lower singlet oxygen quantum yields and photodegradation quantum yields than the latter.
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Date Issued: 2009

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Synthesis, photophysical and photochemical properties of octa-substituted antimony phthalocyanines

- Modibane, Desmond Kwena, Nyokong, Tebello

Authors: Modibane, Desmond Kwena , Nyokong, Tebello
Date: 2009
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/264226 , vital:53711 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poly.2008.11.052"
Description: This work reports on the synthesis and photophysicochemical parameters of unsubstituted [SbIIIPc]+I3- and octa-phenoxy ([SbIIIOPPc]+I3-) and -4-t-butylphenoxy ([SbIIIOTBPPc]+I3-) substituted antimony phthalocyanines. Photophysical and photochemical properties were studied for these complexes in dimethylsulfoxide, dimethylformamide and toluene. The excitation spectra of oxidized antimony (Sb(V)Pc) derivates were similar to absorption spectra. Low fluorescence quantum yields, high triplet quantum yields and low triplet lifetimes were observed as the result of heavy atom (antimony ion).
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Date Issued: 2009

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Synthesis, photophysical and photochemical studies of water soluble cationic zinc phthalocyanine derivatives

- Idowu, Mopelola, Nyokong, Tebello

Authors: Idowu, Mopelola , Nyokong, Tebello
Date: 2009
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/264245 , vital:53712 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poly.2008.11.021"
Description: Peripherally and non-peripherally 2-diethylaminoethanethiol tetra-substituted zinc phthalocyanine (5a and 6a) and their quaternized derivatives (5b and 6b) have been synthesized and characterized. The quaternized derivatives (5b and 6b) show excellent solubility in aqueous medium. The photophysical and photochemical properties of the 2-diethylaminoethanethiol appended zinc phthalocyanine in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) for the non-ionic (5a and 6a) and in both DMSO and aqueous medium (phosphate buffered saline solution PBS, pH 7.4) (in the presence and absence of cremophore EL (CEL)) for the quaternized (5b and 6b) derivatives were studied and compared with that of the peripherally octa-substituted derivatives (7a and 7b). The complexes have intense absorption in the visible/near-IR region though the quaternized forms (5b, 6b and 7b) were slightly blue shifted and highly aggregate in aqueous solution. The triplet state quantum yields (ΦT) and the triplet lifetimes (τT) were found to be higher in DMSO (ΦT values ranged from 0.57 to 0.75 while τT values ranged from 190 to 220 μs in DMSO for all complexes) compared to aqueous medium (ΦT values ranged from 0.15 to 0.17 while τT values ranged from 20 to 70 μs in pH 7.4 buffer). Addition of cremophore EL in aqueous solution resulted in induced disaggregation leading to increased ΦT and τT.
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Date Issued: 2009

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Synthesis, photophysics and photochemistry of novel tetra (quinoxalinyl) phthalocyaninato zinc (II) complexes

- Erdoğmuş, Ali, Ogunsipe, Abimbola, Nyokong, Tebello

Authors: Erdoğmuş, Ali , Ogunsipe, Abimbola , Nyokong, Tebello
Date: 2009
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/263441 , vital:53628 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2009.04.007"
Description: The syntheses and spectral, photophysical and photochemical properties of some zinc phthalocyanine derivatives – {2, (3)-tetra(quinoxalinyl)phthalocyaninato zinc(II), (β-ZnPc) and 1, (4)-tetra(quinoxalinyl)phthalocyaninato zinc(II), (α-ZnPc)} – are presented. The β-substituted complex is more fluorescent and exhibits lower tendencies to undergo intersystem crossing than its α-substituted counterpart, as judged by the former's higher fluorescence quantum yield (ΦF) and lower triplet quantum yield (ΦT) than the latter's in three solvents (DMSO, DMF and toluene). Singlet oxygen quantum yield (ΦΔ) values show the same trends as ΦT values. The differences in the spectral and photophysical properties of α-ZnPc and β-ZnPc are partly attributed to greater molecular distortions in the former. Studies of the interaction of the triplet states of α-ZnPc and β-ZnPc with triplet oxygen showed that α-ZnPc is more vulnerable to oxygen quenching than β-ZnPc. Also, the smallest quenching rate constants were observed in DMSO, which is attributed to the higher viscosity of DMSO than DMF and toluene.
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Date Issued: 2009

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Synthesis, spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of manganese, nickel and iron octakis-(2-diethylaminoethanethiol)-phthalocyanine

- Adebayo, A I, Nyokong, Tebello

Authors: Adebayo, A I , Nyokong, Tebello
Date: 2009
Language: English
Type: Article
Identifier: vital:6563 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004122
Description: The syntheses, spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of manganese (3), nickel (4) and iron (5) phthalocyanine complexes, octa-substituted at the peripheral positions with diethlyaminoethanethiol substituent, are reported. The electrochemistry of these complexes and the corresponding cobalt complex (6) are reported. Complex 3 showed two reversible reduction couples attributed to the MnIIIPc−2/MnIIPc−2 (E½ = −0.12 V versus Ag|AgCl) and MnIIPc−2/MnIIPc−3 (E½ = −0.82 V versus Ag|AgCl) species. Two ring-based reduction couples were also observed for complex 4. Two reduction couples, assigned to the FeIIPc−2/FeIPc−2 (E½ = −0.35 V versus Ag|AgCl) and FeIPc−2/FeIPc−3 (E½ = −0.96 V versus Ag|AgCl) species, and an oxidation couple, attributed to FeIIIPc−2/FeIIPc−2 (E½ = 0.26 V versus Ag|AgCl) species, were observed. For complex 6, two reductions and one oxidation were also observed with the potential range of 1.2 to −1.8 V versus Ag|AgCl Spectroelectrochemical studies were used to confirm some of the assigned processes.
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Date Issued: 2009

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Technologicalship in e-banking services: a constraint or contributor to relationship marketing in retail banking in East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa

- Masocha, Reginald

Authors: Masocha, Reginald
Date: 2009
Subjects: Bank management , Electronic funds transfers , Banks and banking -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Electronic data interchange , Electronic commerce
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , M Com (Business Management)
Identifier: vital:11316 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/306 , Bank management , Electronic funds transfers , Banks and banking -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Electronic data interchange , Electronic commerce
Description: Contemporarily, one of the major business demands is to extensively understand the impact of technology on the major business strategies and practices. Technologicalship marketing, a concept investigated in this study, emanates from a symbiosis of technology and relationship marketing. Per se, a prevalent area of debate pertains to whether technology promotes or constrains relationships. Outstandingly, this study pursued the technologicalship marketing concept, a new and vital 21st century suggestion in literature (Zineldin, 2000:16). Secondly, against the scarcity of empirical studies in mass marketing environments, the study at hand focused on retail banking client relationships. Lastly, the proposed meta-construct hypothetical model is an essential relationship marketing instrument. The proposed model consists of four major relationship marketing construct categories, namely, personal contact, customer retention, customer switching and relational exchange. At the hand of these constructs, the research primarily aimed to determine the impact of technology on client relationships in e-banking with the focus of closing the gap prevalent in literature on whether technology constraints or supports relationship marketing. The study focused on retail banking client relationships of the four major commercial banks in East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa. A survey was conducted of a sample of 200 clients selected using the convenience sampling method. The study hypothesised that technology is resulting in more transactional than relationship marketing in retail banking by constraining social constructions, customer retention and relational exchange, whilst, promoting customer switching mobility. Through the GLM regression analysis method, findings of the study established that technology was to a larger extent supporting relationship marketing. However, it is envisaged that technology is resulting in the disappearance of human contact which is a critical aspect of relationships. Conclusively, the researcher recommended that the only plausible strategy is to endeavour to integrate the human aspect at self-service podiums e.g. mounting of staff at ATM points, which most banks have been doing.
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Date Issued: 2009

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The affections of a man of feeling in the midst of the wilderness: François Le Vaillant on the South African frontier Travels into the Interior of Africa via the Cape of Good Hope, François Le Vaillant

- Van Wyk Smith, Malvern

Authors: Van Wyk Smith, Malvern
Date: 2009
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/458269 , vital:75728 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC47984
Description: Concluding his Introduction to the first volume of this welcome new translation of Le Vaillant's Travels, Ian Glenn declares: ''Le Vaillant is much more our contemporary than Schreiner or many later writers seem to be'' (lxiii). Earlier Glenn sums up the double disadvantage that has for decades militated against the proper recognition of Le Vaillant's importance in our literary traditions: ''Right-wing settler ideology disqualifies Le Vaillant as meddling creole Frenchman, or presents him [.. .] as simple adventurer and naturalist, while a later generation of anti-colonialist discourse critics is happy to present him in the right-wing's simplified, politically censored version [Glenn is referring particularly to the Library of Parliament's edition de luxe of 1973] to prove that there was only one mode of colonial Africanist discourse'' (lix) - a mode only and obviously Eurocentric to the core.
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Date Issued: 2009

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The Africa that Shakespeare imagined; or, notes for aspirant film makers

- Van Wyk Smith, Malvern

Authors: Van Wyk Smith, Malvern
Date: 2009
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/457472 , vital:75640 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC48130
Description: The slippery presence of African themes in Shakespeare's plays is a function of the mythic but rapidly changing image of Africa in the England and Europe of his time. In 1888 Gardiner Greene Hubbard, president of the American National Geographic Society, introduced the centenary celebrations of the Society with an address in which he said : "America was explored ; Africa was circumnavigated" (3). He could hardly have summed up the contrast between three to four centuries of American and African discovery more cogently. A few years later, in 1897, C. Raymond Beazley made a similar point about Africa and the East : "Men crept round Africa in face of the Atlantic storms because of the golden East beyond" (3.11). This creeping round and haunting of Africa's shores had, as far as the English were concerned, only developed during Shakespeare's lifetime. Thomas Wyndham, William Hawkins, John Lock and others performed the first English voyages to West Africa (and began the English slave trade) in the decades just before Shakespeare's birth. The first English visit to the Cape of Good Hope was apparently that of Thomas Stevens in 1579 (a year before Drake's visit), but regular English visits to the Cape only began right at the end of the sixteenth century. How much of all this did Shakespeare know about, and is it possible to detect traces of such familiarity in his plays? A tall order, but I think there are some clues.
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Date Issued: 2009

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The ambivalent engagement with Christianity in the writing of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Africans in the Eastern Cape

- Nxasana, Thulani Litha

Authors: Nxasana, Thulani Litha
Date: 2009
Subjects: Authors, African -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Authors, South African -- 19th century -- Criticism and interpretation Authors, South African -- 20th century -- Criticism and interpretation Soga, Tiyo, 1829-1871 -- Criticism and interpretation Mqhayi, S. E. K. -- Criticism and interpretation Mgqwetho, Nontsizi -- Criticism and interpretation South African literature -- 19th century -- History and criticism South African literature -- 20th century -- History and criticism Christianity and literature Ambivalence in literature
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
Identifier: vital:2195 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002237
Description: Until recently much of the literature recording the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the Eastern Cape focused purely on frontier conflict and missionary activity, ignoring the evolving culture of the colonized people. But as Somande Fikeni declares, “[i]t is important when celebrating the country’s heritage to look beyond battle sites, monuments and wars and to pay attention to South Africa’s intellectuals and knowledge producers” (quoted in Hollands 4). This is indeed the central purpose of my research. This thesis seeks to examine the influence of Christianity on early South African writing by Africans and the ambivalence with which Christianity is often treated in their work. In South Africa, as elsewhere in Africa, Christianity played a central role in the development of African literature through the influence of mission schools and printing presses. Thus from the outset the development of written literature was inseparable from the spread of Christianity. Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century writing by Africans reflects this: Christian idioms, biblical stories and images colour their work and yet are not employed unthinkingly. Each of the writers whom I will explore has a complex and at times ambivalent relationship with Christianity, and they use religious discourse for a variety of ends, some of them clearly at odds with their origins in the “civilizing mission” of Europe. According to Yunus Momoniat, “Their works . . . are the beginnings of an engagement not only with the world of words on a page, but also with the politics of literacy itself” (1). The subject of this research is three Xhosa writers from the Eastern Cape: the Reverend Tiyo Soga (1829-1871), the renowned novelist and “National Poet” S. E. K. Mqhayi (1875-1945), and the little-known poet Nontsizi Mgqwetho (Dates uknown, writings 1920-1929), who is described by Mbeki as “the most prolific woman Xhosa poet of the twentieth century” (6). The reason for focusing on the Eastern Cape is because the Xhosa “were the first Bantu people to be exposed to Christian proselytising and to receive a literate education” (Gerard 24). As a result much of the early literature in isiXhosa consisted of translations of the Bible and other Christian tracts, and such “improving” texts as Pilgrim’s Progress. In other words, it is in this work that the first roots of the influence of Christianity in southern Africa can be traced.
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Date Issued: 2009

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The art of addiction : a phenomenological study of the lived experiences of cocaine dependents

- Plumb, Sarah

Authors: Plumb, Sarah
Date: 2009
Subjects: Cocaine abuse , Cocaine -- Social aspects , Drugs -- Physiological effect
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
Identifier: vital:9912 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/902 , Cocaine abuse , Cocaine -- Social aspects , Drugs -- Physiological effect
Description: Addiction is a complex social phenomenon resulting from psychological and physiological dependence. The aim of the study was to create a clinical impression of the lived experiences of cocaine dependents. A transcendental phenomenological approach was used to elicit the essence of addiction as experienced by the participants. Theoretical sampling ensured relevant participants were selected through haphazard sampling procedures. Data was collected through the use of biographical questionnaires and individual, semi-structured interviews with three cocaine dependents. Data was processed according to the four phenomenological principles epoche, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation and synthesis using Tesch’s eight steps. The essence of cocaine dependency is contained in the psychological experiences of the drug which define and perpetuate that addiction. The psychological addiction develops prior to physical dependence resulting in an entrenched addiction before treatment is sought by the cocaine dependents.
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Date Issued: 2009

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The ataxia protein sacsin is a functional co-chaperone that protects against polyglutamine-expanded ataxin-1

- Parfitt, David A, Michael, Gregory J, Vermeulen, Esmeralda G M, Prodromou, Natalia V, Webb, Tom R, Gallo, Jean-Marc, Cheetham, Michael E, Nicoll, William S, Blatch, Gregory L, Chapple, J Paul

Authors: Parfitt, David A , Michael, Gregory J , Vermeulen, Esmeralda G M , Prodromou, Natalia V , Webb, Tom R , Gallo, Jean-Marc , Cheetham, Michael E , Nicoll, William S , Blatch, Gregory L , Chapple, J Paul
Date: 2009
Language: English
Type: Article
Identifier: vital:6485 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006262 , http://hmg.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/9/1556
Description: An extensive protein–protein interaction network has been identified between proteins implicated in inherited ataxias. The protein sacsin, which is mutated in the early-onset neurodegenerative disease autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay, is a node in this interactome. Here, we have established the neuronal expression of sacsin and functionally characterized domains of the 4579 amino acid protein. Sacsin is most highly expressed in large neurons, particularly within brain motor systems, including cerebellar Purkinje cells. Its subcellular localization in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells was predominantly cytoplasmic with a mitochondrial component. We identified a putative ubiquitin-like (UbL) domain at the N-terminus of sacsin and demonstrated an interaction with the proteasome. Furthermore, sacsin contains a predicted J-domain, the defining feature of DnaJ/Hsp40 proteins. Using a bacterial complementation assay, the sacsin J-domain was demonstrated to be functional. The presence of both UbL and J-domains in sacsin suggests that it may integrate the ubiquitin–proteasome system and Hsp70 function to a specific cellular role. The Hsp70 chaperone machinery is an important component of the cellular response towards aggregation prone mutant proteins that are associated with neurodegenerative diseases. We therefore investigated the effects of siRNA-mediated sacsin knockdown on polyglutamine-expanded ataxin-1. Importantly, SACS siRNA did not affect cell viability with GFP-ataxin-1[30Q], but enhanced the toxicity of GFP-ataxin- 1[82Q], suggesting that sacsin is protective against mutant ataxin-1. Thus, sacsin is an ataxia protein and a regulator of the Hsp70 chaperone machinery that is implicated in the processing of other ataxialinked proteins.
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Date Issued: 2009

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The attitudes and perceptions of students at a South African university towards binge drinking

- Mokgethi, Lerato

Authors: Mokgethi, Lerato
Date: 2009
Subjects: College students -- Alcohol use -- South Africa , Alcoholism -- Treatment -- South Africa , Drug abuse -- Treatment -- South Africa , Binge drinking
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
Identifier: vital:9858 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1560 , College students -- Alcohol use -- South Africa , Alcoholism -- Treatment -- South Africa , Drug abuse -- Treatment -- South Africa , Binge drinking
Description: The focus of this treatise is to explore the attitudes and perceptions of university students towards binge drinking at a South African University. Binge drinking among university students is a serious concern, prevalent on many campuses and ingrained on university campuses worldwide. The aims of this study were (a) to describe students’ understanding of binge drinking, (b) to explore and describe university students’ attitudes towards and perceptions of binge drinking, and (c) to explore the contextual factors relating to binge drinking within a university setting. An exploratory, qualitative approach was utilized. The collection of data was initiated using a biographical questionnaire to identify participants relevant to the study. The data collection process continued with semi‐structured focus group interviews. Data was collected by conducting four focus group sessions with two separate groups of students between the ages of 18 and 25 and residing on a university campus. Data analysis was conducted in accordance with the principles and guidelines of Tesch’s (as cited in Creswell, 1994) eight steps in qualitative data analysis. The results of this study indicate the following: there is lack of knowledge and understanding of binge drinking, students have positive perceptions of binge drinking and there is a perception that the university environment promotes binge drinking. In order to address binge drinking, strategies need to be implemented in the student, family, university and community context.
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Date Issued: 2009

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The binding roots of free speech

- Boughey, Thomas John George

Authors: Boughey, Thomas John George
Date: 2009
Subjects: Freedom of speech
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
Identifier: vital:2849 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006255
Description: This thesis argues that the modern notion of free-speech was born within the Westphalian nation-state. It suggests that the legal rights framework - particular to the Westphalian nationstate - not only legitimizes and legalizes the right to free-speech, but also enables us to invoke legally the necessary limitations that demand the limitation of free-speech in certain contexts. However, such a legal-rights framework is exclusive to the nation-state and cannot be enforced on an international level, outside of the nation-state boundary. With reference to examples on an international level, this thesis demonstrates that calls for the limitation of free-speech are indeed legitimate and necessary but cannot be enforced on an international level for the reasons just mentioned. In order to address this problem, this thesis proposes a framework - based on a Kantian model - that enables us to invoke the limitation of free-speech on an international level without appealing to a legal-rights discourse to do so.
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Date Issued: 2009

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The both-and edition:

- Garman, Anthea

Authors: Garman, Anthea
Date: 2009
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/158817 , vital:40231 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC139955
Description: I was driving down the N2 from Cape Town towards the airport recently and scanning the turn-offs for Vanguard Drive, when suddenly I noticed among the shacks that line the road some really interesting buildings. These were not the pale pink matchboxes that periodically spring up in rows alongside the derelict housing that millions of South Africans call home. They were multi-levelled, had large windows and looked like an architect might have had something to do with them. I was heartened at the sight of housing – at last – with humanity in mind. But as I reread the 2010 pieces in this edition, I’m reminded by Jane Duncan in particular (“Whose World Cup?” page 23) that prettifying the ghastly spaces in our world cup cities that will be visible to those international tourists is high on the agenda for our government. But then, I reason, at least someone will benefit from living along the noisy and congested airport route!.
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Date Issued: 2009

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The capacity of emerging civil engineering construction contractors

- Ramokolo, Bruce Sabelo Mpumelelo

Authors: Ramokolo, Bruce Sabelo Mpumelelo
Date: 2009
Subjects: Civil engineering -- Contracts -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Construction industry -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Management , Construction contracts -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
Identifier: vital:9693 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/873 , Civil engineering -- Contracts -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Construction industry -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Management , Construction contracts -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
Description: Construction management competencies are essential to realise sound practices among and to realise optimum performance by, inter alia, emerging civil engineering contractors. Such competencies enable a clear focus on the business of construction and the management of projects, with increased efficiency and reduced costs as a benefit. The objective of the MSc (Built Environment) treatise study were to determine the current practices and performance of emerging civil engineering construction contractors operating in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole. The descriptive method was adopted in the empirical study. The salient findings of the study are: most of the emerging civil engineering construction contracting organisations lack construction management competencies; construction resources are inappropriately managed leading to construction failures; most of the emerging civil engineering construction contracting organisations lack adequate supervision resulting to poor workmanship; there is a shortage of skilled labour amongst emerging civil engineering construction contractors; procurement processes are inappropriate leading to under capacitated emerging civil engineering construction contracting organisations being awarded contracts; most emerging civil engineering construction contracting organisations lack the requisite aptitude for construction; there is a lack of capacity at all management levels of emerging civil engineering construction organisations in managing the business of construction and that of projects; the nine functions of organisations are not comprehensively represented, and self-ratings indicate inadequacy relative to the management function of control, and relative to certain activities of the organising function. Conclusions include that emerging civil engineering construction contracting organisations need to be comprised of technical teams that possess adequate competencies and that use the construction technology to its full use enabling their organisations to stay abreast of their competitors. Recommendations that can contribute towards improving the status quo include: formal civil engineering and construction management education, resources must be present and training should be promoted throughout the industry at all levels of management to ensure proper supervision and correct use of adequately trained labour, skilled or semi-skilled, incapacitated emerging civil engineering construction contractors should be awarded contracts through appropriately and structured procurement procedures, adequate aptitude in construction should be promoted and enhanced in order to realise conceptualisation and visualisation capabilities, comply with legislation, maintain records and communicate using state of the art technology, optimally manage the finances, have the requisite resources and undertake the work efficiently, interact with the respective publics, and market the organisation to ensure sustainability thereof.
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Date Issued: 2009

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The challenges of education and development in twenty-first century South Africa

- Badat, Saleem

Authors: Badat, Saleem
Date: 2009
Language: English
Type: Conference paper , text
Identifier: vital:7121 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006569
Description: From the introduction: I have chosen to address the theme of The Challenges of Education and Development in the Twenty First Century. This is not only an extremely important theme but also one that is both complex and broad and can be approached in many different ways. With respect to complexity, the concepts of education and development, like the concepts of freedom and democracy, are defined in various ways and have a variety of meanings associated with them. Moreover, notions of education and development are not neutral in that they are embedded in different views of the world and society, including views on what constitutes a just and good society. Further, the choices, policies, actions and practices that are associated with particular conceptions of education and development are not benign in that they have real and differential effects on different social classes and groups in society. , Keynote Address at the 15th Annual Conference of the Headmasters of the Traditional State Boy’s Schools of South Africa’ Queens College, Queenstown, 26 August 2009.
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Date Issued: 2009

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The choice of idols from a social psychological perspective

- Lupke, Lynette M

Authors: Lupke, Lynette M
Date: 2009
Subjects: Identity (Psychology) , Idols and images , Social interaction
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , M Soc Sc (Psych)
Identifier: vital:11606 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/132 , Identity (Psychology) , Idols and images , Social interaction
Description: The study of adolescents’ idols has an over 100-year tradition. The meta-analysis of Teigen, Normann, Bjorkheim and Helland (2000) showed that idols, which are commonly understood as role models, changed over the last century which is attributed to changes in the social context. The present paper argues that Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979, 1986) offers an appropriate theoretical framework to conceptualize social context by hypothesising a functional relationship between idols and identity management strategies moderated by the status position of the adolescent’s group s/he belongs to. The hypothesised functional relationship was tested in two studies with white and black adolescent South Africans. The results of the two studies supported our assumptions that the functional relationship between idols and identity management strategies is indeed moderated by status position. The results also indicate that Social Identity Theory seems to be an appropriate theoretical framework when social context is particularly conceptualised as social change.
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Date Issued: 2009

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The consequences of unlawful and prohibited contracts of employment in labour law

- Salim, Raya Said

Authors: Salim, Raya Said
Date: 2009
Subjects: Contracts for work and labor -- South Africa , Labor contract -- South Africa , Labor laws and legislation -- South Africa
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
Identifier: vital:10222 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1041 , Contracts for work and labor -- South Africa , Labor contract -- South Africa , Labor laws and legislation -- South Africa
Description: The purpose of having labour laws in South Africa is to regulate employment contracts and the relationship between the employer and the employee. Once a legally binding contract comes into being the Labour Relations Act of 1995 automatically applies alongside the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and various other labour legislations. Common law rules play a vital role in the formation of an employment contract. For an ordinary contract to have legal effect, four basic requirements need to be met. Briefly, parties to the contract must have reached consensus, parties’ performance of their obligations must be possible, the conclusion and objectives of the contract must be lawful and that both parties to the contract must have the necessary capacity to conclude the contract. Once these requirements have been met one is said to have concluded a valid contract. Nevertheless for the purposes of this study, we focus specifically on the employment contract. Aside from the general common law requirements for a valid contract, for an employment contract to be recognised and protected by labour legislations, it is important to distinguish an employee from an independent contractor since only the former enjoys legal remedies afforded by labour law. Common law contractual rights and duties automatically apply once an employment relationship is established in addition to the rights and duties specified in the contract itself. Common law rules regarding morality plays a major role in our modern day societies, as shall be discussed the workforce has not been left untouched by this important principle. Morality greatly influences a society’s view concerning acceptable and unacceptable behaviour or practices. It goes without saying that a contract should not be contrary to the moral views of the society in which the parties find themselves in. A contract can be complying with all the statutory requirements for a valid employment contract; however it may at the same time be tainted with illegality as the object of performance is considered immoral in the society such as an employment contract to perform prostitution. Conversely, another scenario may involve a party to an employment contract who is a child below the age of 15 years old; the contract is invalid as it contravenes section 43 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. Despite clear statutory prohibitions this practice may be perfectly acceptable in the eyes and minds of the society. The purpose of this study is to evaluate prohibited and unlawful contracts of employments, how the law (both common law and statutory law) treats such contracts in the sense that; whether they are protected or not and to what extent these laws have been developed to influence modern attitudes concerning such contracts. One stark example is illustrated through case law where the court had to determine the validity of an employment contract concluded between an employer and an illegal immigrant.
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Date Issued: 2009

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