Habitual transience : orientation and disorientation within non-places
- Authors: Heymans, Simone
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Beeck, Hans Op de, 1969- , Space perception , Place (Philosophy) , Liminality , Art and society , Art, Modern -- 21st century , Art, Abstract -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2493 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013141
- Description: This mini-thesis is a supporting document to the exhibition titled via: a phenomenological site-specific series of intermedia interventions and installations at the 1820 Settlers National Monument in Grahamstown. This mini-thesis examines ways in which one negotiates the movement of the self and interactions with others within the non-place. Non-places are ‘habitually transient’ spaces for passage, communication and consumption, often viewed from highways, vehicles, hotels, petrol stations, airports and supermarkets. Characteristic of these generic and somewhat homogenous spaces is the paradox of material excess and concurrent psychological lack where a feeling of disorientation and disconnection is established due to the excesses of Supermodernity: excess of the individual, time and space. The non-place is a contested space as it does not hold enough significance to be regarded as a place and yet, despite its banality, is necessary – and in many ways a privilege – in everyday living. I explore the concept of non-places in relation to the intricate notions of space and place, and draw on empirical research as a means to interrogate how one perceives the phenomenological qualities of one’s surroundings. I discuss the implications of the multiplication of the non-place in relation to globalisation, time–space compression, site-specific art and absentmindedness, as theoretical themes which underpin the practical component of my research. In addition, I situate my artistic practice in relation to other contemporary artists dealing with the non-place as a theme, and critically engage with the multi-disciplinary and sensory installations and video pieces of Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Heymans, Simone
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Beeck, Hans Op de, 1969- , Space perception , Place (Philosophy) , Liminality , Art and society , Art, Modern -- 21st century , Art, Abstract -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2493 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013141
- Description: This mini-thesis is a supporting document to the exhibition titled via: a phenomenological site-specific series of intermedia interventions and installations at the 1820 Settlers National Monument in Grahamstown. This mini-thesis examines ways in which one negotiates the movement of the self and interactions with others within the non-place. Non-places are ‘habitually transient’ spaces for passage, communication and consumption, often viewed from highways, vehicles, hotels, petrol stations, airports and supermarkets. Characteristic of these generic and somewhat homogenous spaces is the paradox of material excess and concurrent psychological lack where a feeling of disorientation and disconnection is established due to the excesses of Supermodernity: excess of the individual, time and space. The non-place is a contested space as it does not hold enough significance to be regarded as a place and yet, despite its banality, is necessary – and in many ways a privilege – in everyday living. I explore the concept of non-places in relation to the intricate notions of space and place, and draw on empirical research as a means to interrogate how one perceives the phenomenological qualities of one’s surroundings. I discuss the implications of the multiplication of the non-place in relation to globalisation, time–space compression, site-specific art and absentmindedness, as theoretical themes which underpin the practical component of my research. In addition, I situate my artistic practice in relation to other contemporary artists dealing with the non-place as a theme, and critically engage with the multi-disciplinary and sensory installations and video pieces of Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck.
- Full Text:
HADEDA: A Concurrent Music Synthesis Project for the XMOS startKIT
- Dibley, James, Bradshaw, Karen L
- Authors: Dibley, James , Bradshaw, Karen L
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/475224 , vital:77786 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.1352.3201"
- Description: The HADEDA (Highly Adaptive Device Emitting Digitally-synthesised Audio) project implements a softwaredefined audio synthesiser with stored musical sequences and real-time synthesis controls, using the XMOS startKIT low-cost development platform. This paper describes the design and implementation of the project as a practical demonstration of XMOS technology. We also demonstrate the use of XC programming techniques and the xTIMEcomposer development tools to build and test a concurrent real-time embedded application easily.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Dibley, James , Bradshaw, Karen L
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/475224 , vital:77786 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.1352.3201"
- Description: The HADEDA (Highly Adaptive Device Emitting Digitally-synthesised Audio) project implements a softwaredefined audio synthesiser with stored musical sequences and real-time synthesis controls, using the XMOS startKIT low-cost development platform. This paper describes the design and implementation of the project as a practical demonstration of XMOS technology. We also demonstrate the use of XC programming techniques and the xTIMEcomposer development tools to build and test a concurrent real-time embedded application easily.
- Full Text:
Happiness, national pride and the 2010 World Cup
- Authors: Moller, Valerie
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67265 , vital:29065 , https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781317664185
- Description: publisher version , The potential for national pride to take on shades of both the authentic and the hubristic is reflected in the International Social Survey Program's (ISSP) use of two different multi-item measures of national pride, a general and a domain-specific one. In contrast, domain-specific national pride is characterized as 'not overtly nationalistic, imperialistic, nor chauvinistic' and is expressed as positive feelings towards national accomplishments in a range of domains including arts, science and sport. Most scholars who take an interest in the impact of sport mega-events acknowledge that national pride is related to concepts such as patriotism and nationalism whose meanings are difficult to disentangle. The South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), which has tracked the attitudes of South African adults around the 2010 World Cup, has confirmed this idea. The longitudinal SASAS study found that subsequent to the event, there was an enormous upswing in the belief that the World Cup had a positive impact on social cohesion.
- Full Text: false
- Authors: Moller, Valerie
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67265 , vital:29065 , https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781317664185
- Description: publisher version , The potential for national pride to take on shades of both the authentic and the hubristic is reflected in the International Social Survey Program's (ISSP) use of two different multi-item measures of national pride, a general and a domain-specific one. In contrast, domain-specific national pride is characterized as 'not overtly nationalistic, imperialistic, nor chauvinistic' and is expressed as positive feelings towards national accomplishments in a range of domains including arts, science and sport. Most scholars who take an interest in the impact of sport mega-events acknowledge that national pride is related to concepts such as patriotism and nationalism whose meanings are difficult to disentangle. The South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), which has tracked the attitudes of South African adults around the 2010 World Cup, has confirmed this idea. The longitudinal SASAS study found that subsequent to the event, there was an enormous upswing in the belief that the World Cup had a positive impact on social cohesion.
- Full Text: false
Happiness, socioeconomic status, and family functioning in South African households
- Botha, Ferdi, Booysen, Frikkie
- Authors: Botha, Ferdi , Booysen, Frikkie
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/396075 , vital:69148 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0485-6"
- Description: This paper examines how SES relates to individual happiness, while also controlling for family functioning; the latter measured by the Family Attachment and Changeability Index 8 (FACI8). An individual-, household-, and subjective SES index are developed via multiple correspondence analyses (MCA). Using data from the 2012 South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), the paper employs structural equation modelling (SEM) to explore the relationship between happiness, SES, and family functioning. Multiple-group SEM (MGSEM) is employed to examine the association between happiness and family functioning across quartiles of the three SES indices. The results reveal that higher SES is significantly related to greater happiness, with the role of household- and subjective SES being stronger than individual SES. Furthermore, improved levels of family changeability are positively associated with happiness, whereas there is no relationship between happiness and family attachment. Overall, levels of family changeability and individual happiness are likely to benefit from improvements in socioeconomic status.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Botha, Ferdi , Booysen, Frikkie
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/396075 , vital:69148 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0485-6"
- Description: This paper examines how SES relates to individual happiness, while also controlling for family functioning; the latter measured by the Family Attachment and Changeability Index 8 (FACI8). An individual-, household-, and subjective SES index are developed via multiple correspondence analyses (MCA). Using data from the 2012 South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), the paper employs structural equation modelling (SEM) to explore the relationship between happiness, SES, and family functioning. Multiple-group SEM (MGSEM) is employed to examine the association between happiness and family functioning across quartiles of the three SES indices. The results reveal that higher SES is significantly related to greater happiness, with the role of household- and subjective SES being stronger than individual SES. Furthermore, improved levels of family changeability are positively associated with happiness, whereas there is no relationship between happiness and family attachment. Overall, levels of family changeability and individual happiness are likely to benefit from improvements in socioeconomic status.
- Full Text:
Higher education studies as a field of research
- Authors: McKenna, Sioux
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/187405 , vital:44631 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC161436"
- Description: The field of Higher Education Studies is a rapidly growing one in South Africa and abroad but there has been little systematic review of the form this growth is taking. This article presents a case study of higher education research by considering a newly formed Higher Education Studies doctoral programme. The programme comprises 29 PhD scholars in 2014, all engaged in research on some aspect of higher education. The description of the PhD programme, the PhD scholars and what their research topics are, reveals a picture of the broad range of concerns within the field of Higher Education Studies and suggests that the field is a region, in Bernstein's terms. This means that it draws on multiple disciplines and looks both to the values and structures of those disciplines and to the professional world of work. It is argued that the strengthening of the epistemological base of Higher Education Studies is necessary for higher education research to move forwards with enhanced relational and positional autonomy.
- Full Text:
- Authors: McKenna, Sioux
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/187405 , vital:44631 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC161436"
- Description: The field of Higher Education Studies is a rapidly growing one in South Africa and abroad but there has been little systematic review of the form this growth is taking. This article presents a case study of higher education research by considering a newly formed Higher Education Studies doctoral programme. The programme comprises 29 PhD scholars in 2014, all engaged in research on some aspect of higher education. The description of the PhD programme, the PhD scholars and what their research topics are, reveals a picture of the broad range of concerns within the field of Higher Education Studies and suggests that the field is a region, in Bernstein's terms. This means that it draws on multiple disciplines and looks both to the values and structures of those disciplines and to the professional world of work. It is argued that the strengthening of the epistemological base of Higher Education Studies is necessary for higher education research to move forwards with enhanced relational and positional autonomy.
- Full Text:
Homestead greening is widespread amongst the urban poor in three medium-sized South African towns
- Kaoma, Humphrey, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: Kaoma, Humphrey , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/398291 , vital:69398 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-014-0362-3"
- Description: Trees in urban areas are important sources of ecosystem services and benefits. In most towns the bulk of urban biodiversity, and trees specifically, are found in homestead gardens. But there is only limited understanding of the tree holdings in such gardens, and how they vary within and between towns, especially for developing countries where rapid urbanisation and high poverty influence the use of and reliance on land and local resources. We report on the nature of tree holdings in private gardens of poorer suburbs in three medium-sized towns along a gradient of decreasing mean annual rainfall in northern South Africa. A total of 3 217 trees were enumerated across 450 randomly selected homesteads. Most (90 %) households had at least one tree on their homestead, with an average of 7.7 ± 6.1 trees. Most householders had planted the trees themselves. The density of trees declined along the moisture gradient. Within towns, tree density was positively related to garden size, which in turn was related to relative affluence and age of the suburb. Newer and poorer suburbs had the fewest trees per household. Sixty-two tree species were recorded, which were dominated by alien species, especially fruit trees. There was no relationship between the moisture gradient and tree species richness per household, but within towns there was a difference between suburbs, being lowest in the newest suburbs. Numbers of trees and species per household was positively related to age of the household head.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Kaoma, Humphrey , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/398291 , vital:69398 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-014-0362-3"
- Description: Trees in urban areas are important sources of ecosystem services and benefits. In most towns the bulk of urban biodiversity, and trees specifically, are found in homestead gardens. But there is only limited understanding of the tree holdings in such gardens, and how they vary within and between towns, especially for developing countries where rapid urbanisation and high poverty influence the use of and reliance on land and local resources. We report on the nature of tree holdings in private gardens of poorer suburbs in three medium-sized towns along a gradient of decreasing mean annual rainfall in northern South Africa. A total of 3 217 trees were enumerated across 450 randomly selected homesteads. Most (90 %) households had at least one tree on their homestead, with an average of 7.7 ± 6.1 trees. Most householders had planted the trees themselves. The density of trees declined along the moisture gradient. Within towns, tree density was positively related to garden size, which in turn was related to relative affluence and age of the suburb. Newer and poorer suburbs had the fewest trees per household. Sixty-two tree species were recorded, which were dominated by alien species, especially fruit trees. There was no relationship between the moisture gradient and tree species richness per household, but within towns there was a difference between suburbs, being lowest in the newest suburbs. Numbers of trees and species per household was positively related to age of the household head.
- Full Text:
Host relations of Kalaharituber pfeilii (Henn.) Trappe & Kagan-Zur
- Authors: Ntshakaza, Pamella
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Ascomycetes -- Kalahari Desert , Medicinal plants -- Kalahari Desert , Edible fungi -- Kalahari Desert , Truffles -- Kalahari Desert , Desert plants -- Kalahari Desert , Mycorrhizas -- Kalahari Desert , Stipa -- Kalahari Desert
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4167 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020888
- Description: Kalaharituber pfeilii (Henn.) Trappe & Kagan-Zur commonly known as the “Kalahari truffle” is a desert truffle species identified from the Kalahari region of southern Africa. Two other species, Eremiomyces echinulatus (Trappe & Marasas) Trappe & Kagan-Zur and Mattirolomyces austroafricanus (Trappe & Marasas) Trappe & Kovacs are also known to occur in other parts of southern Africa. Truffles are hypogeous fruiting bodies of Ascomycetes, important to humans for their nutritional value and medicinal characteristics. These truffles are known as desert truffles as they prefer to occur under arid or semi-arid conditions characteristic of deserts. Truffle development depends on the presence of a mycorrhizal host, associated microorganisms as well as soil and climatic characteristics. It has been suggested that K. pfeilii has a suspected broad plant host range which includes herbaceous to woody trees and shrubs. However, these relationships have not been verified. Indigenous people of the Kalahari believe that truffles are found under grasses. In the Kalahari, truffle fruiting bodies are often found entangled in Stipagrostis ciliata (Desf.) De Winter var. capensis (Trin. & Rupr.) De Winter roots. S. ciliata, also known as the tall bushman-grass, is the most common grass found in the Kalahari. The objective of this study was to provide conclusive evidence that S. ciliata var. capensis is a host of the Kalahari truffle. Truffle fruiting bodies and grass roots from where the truffles were found were collected from Upington, South Africa. The fruiting bodies were identified by observing their morphological characteristics using the ‘Keys of Truffle genera’. All observed physical properties were similar to those of K. pfeilii and further identification was done using molecular techniques. DNA was extracted from the fruiting bodies, mycelial cultures, rhizosheaths and from the S. ciliata var. capensis grass roots, which were then amplified using the specific K. pfeilii specific primers TPF3 and TPR1 and sequenced. The obtained sequence results confirmed that the collected fruiting bodies were those of the K. pfeilii and the molecular techniques also confirmed that K. pfeilii DNA was present in the S. ciliata var. capensis rhizosheath and root cells. Microscopy showed an ectendomycorrhizal association between K. pfeilii and S. ciliata var. capensis. Mycorrhizal resynthesis experiments were conducted to establish this mycorrhizal association in-vitro. They were unsuccessful because of the structure of the grass and the availability of contaminants. And more...
- Full Text:
- Authors: Ntshakaza, Pamella
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Ascomycetes -- Kalahari Desert , Medicinal plants -- Kalahari Desert , Edible fungi -- Kalahari Desert , Truffles -- Kalahari Desert , Desert plants -- Kalahari Desert , Mycorrhizas -- Kalahari Desert , Stipa -- Kalahari Desert
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4167 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020888
- Description: Kalaharituber pfeilii (Henn.) Trappe & Kagan-Zur commonly known as the “Kalahari truffle” is a desert truffle species identified from the Kalahari region of southern Africa. Two other species, Eremiomyces echinulatus (Trappe & Marasas) Trappe & Kagan-Zur and Mattirolomyces austroafricanus (Trappe & Marasas) Trappe & Kovacs are also known to occur in other parts of southern Africa. Truffles are hypogeous fruiting bodies of Ascomycetes, important to humans for their nutritional value and medicinal characteristics. These truffles are known as desert truffles as they prefer to occur under arid or semi-arid conditions characteristic of deserts. Truffle development depends on the presence of a mycorrhizal host, associated microorganisms as well as soil and climatic characteristics. It has been suggested that K. pfeilii has a suspected broad plant host range which includes herbaceous to woody trees and shrubs. However, these relationships have not been verified. Indigenous people of the Kalahari believe that truffles are found under grasses. In the Kalahari, truffle fruiting bodies are often found entangled in Stipagrostis ciliata (Desf.) De Winter var. capensis (Trin. & Rupr.) De Winter roots. S. ciliata, also known as the tall bushman-grass, is the most common grass found in the Kalahari. The objective of this study was to provide conclusive evidence that S. ciliata var. capensis is a host of the Kalahari truffle. Truffle fruiting bodies and grass roots from where the truffles were found were collected from Upington, South Africa. The fruiting bodies were identified by observing their morphological characteristics using the ‘Keys of Truffle genera’. All observed physical properties were similar to those of K. pfeilii and further identification was done using molecular techniques. DNA was extracted from the fruiting bodies, mycelial cultures, rhizosheaths and from the S. ciliata var. capensis grass roots, which were then amplified using the specific K. pfeilii specific primers TPF3 and TPR1 and sequenced. The obtained sequence results confirmed that the collected fruiting bodies were those of the K. pfeilii and the molecular techniques also confirmed that K. pfeilii DNA was present in the S. ciliata var. capensis rhizosheath and root cells. Microscopy showed an ectendomycorrhizal association between K. pfeilii and S. ciliata var. capensis. Mycorrhizal resynthesis experiments were conducted to establish this mycorrhizal association in-vitro. They were unsuccessful because of the structure of the grass and the availability of contaminants. And more...
- Full Text:
How are the messages of the official grade ten sexuality education curriculum at a former model C girls' high school in South Africa mediated by student sexual cultures?
- Mthatyana, Andisiwe Tutula Zinzi
- Authors: Mthatyana, Andisiwe Tutula Zinzi
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Sex instruction -- South Africa , Sex instruction -- Cross-cultural studies , Teenage pregnancy -- South Africa , High school girls -- Sexual behavior -- South Africa , Multicultural education -- South Africa , Model C schools (South Africa) , Girls' schools -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:2883 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013262
- Description: The increase in teenage pregnancy among school going learners is reported in the media as a crisis. Politicians and other stakeholders have also raised their views and concerns about pregnancy. In particular, these views and concerns perceive teenage pregnancy among school going learners as a cancer that needs a remedy because it has negative consequences for the learners, in particular the girl child. However, for all the sense of public crisis concerning sexuality and schooling, the voices of young people themselves regarding their own sexual subjectivity are seldom heard. This study focused on how girls in a former model C all girls high school negotiate and make sense of the meaning of the messages that they receive from the formal curriculum. The concept of student sexual cultures was employed in this study. Student sexual cultures are the informal groups that exist in the school and the girls take part in it. It is in these groups that the girls learn about sexuality and also make sense of their own gendered identities. This study employed ethnographic techniques of classroom observation coupled with in-depth interviews, focus groups and solicited narratives in order to understand how the participants experience and "take up" the messages they receive in the formal sexuality education component of the Life Orientation (LO) curriculum. The data was collected over a period of three months and was analysed using a directed content analysis. Four dominant themes emerged from the study. Firstly, the data reveals the school is a space of competing and conflicting discourses of sexuality and the learners are involved in a constant negotiation of the meanings of the messages. Secondly, the data shows the contested and confirmations of learners subjectivity. It shows that learners are regarded as sexual beings both in the formal and informal school cultures but there are limitations around one's sexual subjectivities. Thirdly, the data reveals that the school is a site in which a variety of femininities are reproduced, contested and struggled over. Femininities are constructed in the complex context of the school thus the school emerges as a site in which multiple femininities intersect with class, race and sexuality. Lastly, this study argues for the incorporation of the discourse of erotics in the formal curriculum which allows young people's voices to be heard. This approach (discourse of erotics) can be seen as a process of becoming, which focuses on possibilities of improving sexuality education as opposed to an imposed sexual model that is applied to young people and assumed to be the solution to young people's sexuality.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mthatyana, Andisiwe Tutula Zinzi
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Sex instruction -- South Africa , Sex instruction -- Cross-cultural studies , Teenage pregnancy -- South Africa , High school girls -- Sexual behavior -- South Africa , Multicultural education -- South Africa , Model C schools (South Africa) , Girls' schools -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:2883 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013262
- Description: The increase in teenage pregnancy among school going learners is reported in the media as a crisis. Politicians and other stakeholders have also raised their views and concerns about pregnancy. In particular, these views and concerns perceive teenage pregnancy among school going learners as a cancer that needs a remedy because it has negative consequences for the learners, in particular the girl child. However, for all the sense of public crisis concerning sexuality and schooling, the voices of young people themselves regarding their own sexual subjectivity are seldom heard. This study focused on how girls in a former model C all girls high school negotiate and make sense of the meaning of the messages that they receive from the formal curriculum. The concept of student sexual cultures was employed in this study. Student sexual cultures are the informal groups that exist in the school and the girls take part in it. It is in these groups that the girls learn about sexuality and also make sense of their own gendered identities. This study employed ethnographic techniques of classroom observation coupled with in-depth interviews, focus groups and solicited narratives in order to understand how the participants experience and "take up" the messages they receive in the formal sexuality education component of the Life Orientation (LO) curriculum. The data was collected over a period of three months and was analysed using a directed content analysis. Four dominant themes emerged from the study. Firstly, the data reveals the school is a space of competing and conflicting discourses of sexuality and the learners are involved in a constant negotiation of the meanings of the messages. Secondly, the data shows the contested and confirmations of learners subjectivity. It shows that learners are regarded as sexual beings both in the formal and informal school cultures but there are limitations around one's sexual subjectivities. Thirdly, the data reveals that the school is a site in which a variety of femininities are reproduced, contested and struggled over. Femininities are constructed in the complex context of the school thus the school emerges as a site in which multiple femininities intersect with class, race and sexuality. Lastly, this study argues for the incorporation of the discourse of erotics in the formal curriculum which allows young people's voices to be heard. This approach (discourse of erotics) can be seen as a process of becoming, which focuses on possibilities of improving sexuality education as opposed to an imposed sexual model that is applied to young people and assumed to be the solution to young people's sexuality.
- Full Text:
How does security limit the right to protest? : a study examining the securitised response to protest in South Africa
- Authors: Royeppen, Andrea Leigh
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Protest movements -- South Africa , Political violence -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 21st century , Civil rights -- South Africa , Police power -- South Africa , Abuse of administrative power -- South Africa , Police -- Complaints against -- South Africa , Right to strike -- South Africa , Democracy -- South Africa , Political leadership -- South Africa -- 21st century , Political participation -- South Africa , African National Congress , South African Police Service
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2878 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013071
- Description: In South Africa, the right to protest is under constant threat as a result of the state response. Increasing cases of forceful policing and sometimes unlawful procedural prohibitions of protest attest to this. This study aims to firstly describe this situation through securitisation theory, essentially arguing that South Africa has become a securitised state. It also aims to understand how this is sustained by the state and why the state needs to use a securitised response to maintain power. Interviews were conducted with members of different communities and organisations. Their responses helped to illustrate the frustration of the right to protest or brutal policing during a protest. This provided primary evidence to support the claims of the study. The research shows that claims to protest are being delegitimised under the guise of security as protestors are being constructed as threats to the state. This is further substantiated by looking at how the reorganisation and remililtarisation of the South African Police perpetuates the criminalisation of protestors which necessitates a forceful response from the state. Furthermore, it shows that there is a distinct relationship between the prohibition of protest and the recent increase in ‘violent’ protests which legitimate forceful policing thereby creating a state sustained cycle of violence. The larger implication of this treatment is that these protestors are treated as non- citizens who are definitively excluded from participating in governance. In understanding why this is taking place, it is clear that a securtitised response is an attempt to maintain power by dispelling any threats to power, a response which is seen to have a long history in the African National Congress (ANC) when examining the politics of the ANC during exile. Maintaining power in this way distracts from the larger agenda of the state, which this thesis argues, is to mask the unraveling of the ANC’s hegemony and inability to maintain national unity. In other words, the increasing dissatisfaction of some of the citizenry which has manifested through protest greatly undermines the legitimacy of the government to provide for its people.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Royeppen, Andrea Leigh
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Protest movements -- South Africa , Political violence -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 21st century , Civil rights -- South Africa , Police power -- South Africa , Abuse of administrative power -- South Africa , Police -- Complaints against -- South Africa , Right to strike -- South Africa , Democracy -- South Africa , Political leadership -- South Africa -- 21st century , Political participation -- South Africa , African National Congress , South African Police Service
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2878 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013071
- Description: In South Africa, the right to protest is under constant threat as a result of the state response. Increasing cases of forceful policing and sometimes unlawful procedural prohibitions of protest attest to this. This study aims to firstly describe this situation through securitisation theory, essentially arguing that South Africa has become a securitised state. It also aims to understand how this is sustained by the state and why the state needs to use a securitised response to maintain power. Interviews were conducted with members of different communities and organisations. Their responses helped to illustrate the frustration of the right to protest or brutal policing during a protest. This provided primary evidence to support the claims of the study. The research shows that claims to protest are being delegitimised under the guise of security as protestors are being constructed as threats to the state. This is further substantiated by looking at how the reorganisation and remililtarisation of the South African Police perpetuates the criminalisation of protestors which necessitates a forceful response from the state. Furthermore, it shows that there is a distinct relationship between the prohibition of protest and the recent increase in ‘violent’ protests which legitimate forceful policing thereby creating a state sustained cycle of violence. The larger implication of this treatment is that these protestors are treated as non- citizens who are definitively excluded from participating in governance. In understanding why this is taking place, it is clear that a securtitised response is an attempt to maintain power by dispelling any threats to power, a response which is seen to have a long history in the African National Congress (ANC) when examining the politics of the ANC during exile. Maintaining power in this way distracts from the larger agenda of the state, which this thesis argues, is to mask the unraveling of the ANC’s hegemony and inability to maintain national unity. In other words, the increasing dissatisfaction of some of the citizenry which has manifested through protest greatly undermines the legitimacy of the government to provide for its people.
- Full Text:
How to establish a bioinformatics postgraduate degree programme—a case study from South Africa
- Machanick, Philip, Tastan Bishop, Özlem
- Authors: Machanick, Philip , Tastan Bishop, Özlem
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124641 , vital:35641 , https://doi.10.1093/bib/bbu014
- Description: The Research Unit in Bioinformatics at Rhodes University (RUBi), South Africa, offers a Masters of Science in Bioinformatics.Growing demand for bioinformatics qualifications results in applications from across Africa.Courses aim to bridge gaps in the diverse backgrounds of students who range from biologists with no prior computing exposure to computer scientists with no biology background. The programme is evenly split between coursework and research, with diverse modules from a range of departments coveringmathematics, statistics, computer science and biology, with emphasis on application to bioinformatics research. The early focus on research helps bring students up to speed with working as a researcher. We measure success of the programme by the high rate of subsequent entry to PhD study: 10 of 14 students who completed in the years 2011-2013.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Machanick, Philip , Tastan Bishop, Özlem
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124641 , vital:35641 , https://doi.10.1093/bib/bbu014
- Description: The Research Unit in Bioinformatics at Rhodes University (RUBi), South Africa, offers a Masters of Science in Bioinformatics.Growing demand for bioinformatics qualifications results in applications from across Africa.Courses aim to bridge gaps in the diverse backgrounds of students who range from biologists with no prior computing exposure to computer scientists with no biology background. The programme is evenly split between coursework and research, with diverse modules from a range of departments coveringmathematics, statistics, computer science and biology, with emphasis on application to bioinformatics research. The early focus on research helps bring students up to speed with working as a researcher. We measure success of the programme by the high rate of subsequent entry to PhD study: 10 of 14 students who completed in the years 2011-2013.
- Full Text:
How to open the door
- Authors: Beyers, Marike
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) -- Research -- South Africa Creative writing -- Poetry South African poetry (English) -- Study and teaching (Higher) South African poetry (English) -- 21st century English language -- Writing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5969 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011502
- Description: A collection of mostly lyrical poems. The poems explore moments of experience and thought relating to longing and belonging, in terms of relations, memory and place. The poems are mostly short and intense. Silence and implied meanings are often as important as what is said; shadows are evoked to recall substance. Though short, the poems are not tightly closed – on the contrary, meanings proliferate in the process of exploration
- Full Text:
- Authors: Beyers, Marike
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) -- Research -- South Africa Creative writing -- Poetry South African poetry (English) -- Study and teaching (Higher) South African poetry (English) -- 21st century English language -- Writing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5969 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011502
- Description: A collection of mostly lyrical poems. The poems explore moments of experience and thought relating to longing and belonging, in terms of relations, memory and place. The poems are mostly short and intense. Silence and implied meanings are often as important as what is said; shadows are evoked to recall substance. Though short, the poems are not tightly closed – on the contrary, meanings proliferate in the process of exploration
- Full Text:
HPLC method for simultaneous analysis of ranitidine and metronidazole in dosage forms
- King'ori, Loti D, Walker, Roderick B
- Authors: King'ori, Loti D , Walker, Roderick B
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/184790 , vital:44272 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.14233/ajchem.2014.15432"
- Description: A simple, rapid, precise and accurate stability indicating HPLC method for the simultaneous analysis of metronidazole and ranitidine in dosage forms has been developed and validated. Calibration curves for metronidazole and ranitidine exhibited linearity (R2 = 0.9995 for both compounds) over the concentration ranges investigated. The method was sensitive, selective and accurate for both compounds. Both drugs were found to be stable following acid hydrolysis studies. However, following alkali hydrolysis degradation of both compounds was observed. Furthermore metronidazole appeared to be stable following oxidative studies however ranitidine underwent complete degradation under these conditions. Both drugs were well resolved from the degradation products. The stability indicating chromatographic method has the necessary precision and accuracy for the simultaneous analysis of metronidazole and ranitidine in dosage forms.
- Full Text:
- Authors: King'ori, Loti D , Walker, Roderick B
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/184790 , vital:44272 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.14233/ajchem.2014.15432"
- Description: A simple, rapid, precise and accurate stability indicating HPLC method for the simultaneous analysis of metronidazole and ranitidine in dosage forms has been developed and validated. Calibration curves for metronidazole and ranitidine exhibited linearity (R2 = 0.9995 for both compounds) over the concentration ranges investigated. The method was sensitive, selective and accurate for both compounds. Both drugs were found to be stable following acid hydrolysis studies. However, following alkali hydrolysis degradation of both compounds was observed. Furthermore metronidazole appeared to be stable following oxidative studies however ranitidine underwent complete degradation under these conditions. Both drugs were well resolved from the degradation products. The stability indicating chromatographic method has the necessary precision and accuracy for the simultaneous analysis of metronidazole and ranitidine in dosage forms.
- Full Text:
Hsp90 binds directly to fibronectin (FN) and inhibition reduces the extracellular fibronectin matrix in breast cancer cells
- Hunter, Morgan C, O’Hagan, Kyle L, Kenyon, Amy, Dhanani, Karim C H, Prinsloo, Earl, Edkins, Adrienne L
- Authors: Hunter, Morgan C , O’Hagan, Kyle L , Kenyon, Amy , Dhanani, Karim C H , Prinsloo, Earl , Edkins, Adrienne L
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/431143 , vital:72748 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0086842"
- Description: Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) has been identified in the extracellular space and has been shown to chaperone a finite number of extracellular proteins involved in cell migration and invasion. We used chemical cross-linking and immunoprecipitation followed by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to isolate a complex containing Hsp90 and the matrix protein fibronectin (FN) from breast cancer cells. Further analysis showed direct binding of Hsp90 to FN using an in vitro co-immunoprecipitation assay, a solid phase binding assay and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy. Confocal microscopy showed regions of co-localisation of Hsp90 and FN in breast cancer cell lines. Exogenous Hsp90β was shown to increase the formation of extracellular FN matrix in the Hs578T cell line, whilst knockdown or inhibition of Hsp90 led to a reduction in the levels of both soluble and insoluble FN and could be partially rescued by addition of exogenous Hsp90β. Treatment of cells with novobiocin led to internalization of FN into vesicles that were positive for the presence of the lysosomal marker, LAMP-1. Taken together, the direct interaction between FN and Hsp90, as well as the decreased levels of both soluble and insoluble FN upon Hsp90 inhibition or knockdown, suggested that FN may be a new client protein for Hsp90 and that Hsp90 was involved in FN matrix assembly and/or stability. The identification of FN as a putative client protein of Hsp90 suggests a role for Hsp90 in FN matrix stability, which is important for a number of fundamental cellular processes including embryogenesis, wound healing, cell migration and metastasis.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Hunter, Morgan C , O’Hagan, Kyle L , Kenyon, Amy , Dhanani, Karim C H , Prinsloo, Earl , Edkins, Adrienne L
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/431143 , vital:72748 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0086842"
- Description: Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) has been identified in the extracellular space and has been shown to chaperone a finite number of extracellular proteins involved in cell migration and invasion. We used chemical cross-linking and immunoprecipitation followed by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to isolate a complex containing Hsp90 and the matrix protein fibronectin (FN) from breast cancer cells. Further analysis showed direct binding of Hsp90 to FN using an in vitro co-immunoprecipitation assay, a solid phase binding assay and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy. Confocal microscopy showed regions of co-localisation of Hsp90 and FN in breast cancer cell lines. Exogenous Hsp90β was shown to increase the formation of extracellular FN matrix in the Hs578T cell line, whilst knockdown or inhibition of Hsp90 led to a reduction in the levels of both soluble and insoluble FN and could be partially rescued by addition of exogenous Hsp90β. Treatment of cells with novobiocin led to internalization of FN into vesicles that were positive for the presence of the lysosomal marker, LAMP-1. Taken together, the direct interaction between FN and Hsp90, as well as the decreased levels of both soluble and insoluble FN upon Hsp90 inhibition or knockdown, suggested that FN may be a new client protein for Hsp90 and that Hsp90 was involved in FN matrix assembly and/or stability. The identification of FN as a putative client protein of Hsp90 suggests a role for Hsp90 in FN matrix stability, which is important for a number of fundamental cellular processes including embryogenesis, wound healing, cell migration and metastasis.
- Full Text:
Hsp90 binds directly to fibronectin (FN) and inhibition reduces the extracellular fibronectin matrix in breast cancer cells:
- Hunter, Morgan C, O’Hagan, Kyle L, Kenyon, Amy, Dhanani, Karim C H, Prinsloo, Earl, Edkins, Adrienne L
- Authors: Hunter, Morgan C , O’Hagan, Kyle L , Kenyon, Amy , Dhanani, Karim C H , Prinsloo, Earl , Edkins, Adrienne L
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/164841 , vital:41177 , DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086842
- Description: Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) has been identified in the extracellular space and has been shown to chaperone a finite number of extracellular proteins involved in cell migration and invasion. We used chemical cross-linking and immunoprecipitation followed by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to isolate a complex containing Hsp90 and the matrix protein fibronectin (FN) from breast cancer cells.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Hunter, Morgan C , O’Hagan, Kyle L , Kenyon, Amy , Dhanani, Karim C H , Prinsloo, Earl , Edkins, Adrienne L
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/164841 , vital:41177 , DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086842
- Description: Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) has been identified in the extracellular space and has been shown to chaperone a finite number of extracellular proteins involved in cell migration and invasion. We used chemical cross-linking and immunoprecipitation followed by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to isolate a complex containing Hsp90 and the matrix protein fibronectin (FN) from breast cancer cells.
- Full Text:
Human perception of the measurement of a network attack taxonomy in near real-time
- Van Heerden, Renier, Malan, Mercia M, Mouton, Francois, Irwin, Barry V W
- Authors: Van Heerden, Renier , Malan, Mercia M , Mouton, Francois , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429924 , vital:72652 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44208-1_23
- Description: This paper investigates how the measurement of a network attack taxonomy can be related to human perception. Network attacks do not have a time limitation, but the earlier its detected, the more damage can be prevented and the more preventative actions can be taken. This paper evaluate how elements of network attacks can be measured in near real-time(60 seconds). The taxonomy we use was developed by van Heerden et al (2012) with over 100 classes. These classes present the attack and defenders point of view. The degree to which each class can be quantified or measured is determined by investigating the accuracy of various assessment methods. We classify each class as either defined, high, low or not quantifiable. For example, it may not be possible to determine the instigator of an attack (Aggressor), but only that the attack has been launched by a Hacker (Actor). Some classes can only be quantified with a low confidence or not at all in a sort (near real-time) time. The IP address of an attack can easily be faked thus reducing the confidence in the information obtained from it, and thus determining the origin of an attack with a low confidence. This determination itself is subjective. All the evaluations of the classes in this paper is subjective, but due to the very basic grouping (High, Low or Not Quantifiable) a subjective value can be used. The complexity of the taxonomy can be significantly reduced if classes with only a high perceptive accuracy is used.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Van Heerden, Renier , Malan, Mercia M , Mouton, Francois , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429924 , vital:72652 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44208-1_23
- Description: This paper investigates how the measurement of a network attack taxonomy can be related to human perception. Network attacks do not have a time limitation, but the earlier its detected, the more damage can be prevented and the more preventative actions can be taken. This paper evaluate how elements of network attacks can be measured in near real-time(60 seconds). The taxonomy we use was developed by van Heerden et al (2012) with over 100 classes. These classes present the attack and defenders point of view. The degree to which each class can be quantified or measured is determined by investigating the accuracy of various assessment methods. We classify each class as either defined, high, low or not quantifiable. For example, it may not be possible to determine the instigator of an attack (Aggressor), but only that the attack has been launched by a Hacker (Actor). Some classes can only be quantified with a low confidence or not at all in a sort (near real-time) time. The IP address of an attack can easily be faked thus reducing the confidence in the information obtained from it, and thus determining the origin of an attack with a low confidence. This determination itself is subjective. All the evaluations of the classes in this paper is subjective, but due to the very basic grouping (High, Low or Not Quantifiable) a subjective value can be used. The complexity of the taxonomy can be significantly reduced if classes with only a high perceptive accuracy is used.
- Full Text:
Hyperbenthic and pelagic predators regulate alternate key planktonic copepods in shallow temperate estuaries
- Wasserman, Ryan J, Vink, Tim J F, Kramer, Rachel, Froneman, P William
- Authors: Wasserman, Ryan J , Vink, Tim J F , Kramer, Rachel , Froneman, P William
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68224 , vital:29220 , https://doi.org/10.1071/MF13233
- Description: Publisher version , Although predation has been identified as an important community driver, the role of predator diversity in structuring estuarine zooplankton has not been assessed. As such, we investigated the effects of two different zooplanktivorous fish species on the estuarine zooplankton community during a 12-day mesocosm study. Three experimental treatments were established, whereby natural zooplankton communities were subject to either (1) no predatory pressure, (2) predation by a pelagic predator (Monodactylus falciformis) or (3) predation by a hyper-benthic predator (Glossogobius callidus). The pelagic feeding M. falciformis fed largely on the numerically dominant mid-water copepod species, Paracartia longipatella. In contrast, the hyper-benthic fish had a greater predatory impact on the less numerically dominant copepod, Pseudodiaptomus hessei, which demonstrates strong diel vertical migration. Variations in prey-population regulation are ascribed to the distinct behavioural differences of the predators, and mediated by the differences in behaviour of the copepod species.
- Full Text: false
- Authors: Wasserman, Ryan J , Vink, Tim J F , Kramer, Rachel , Froneman, P William
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68224 , vital:29220 , https://doi.org/10.1071/MF13233
- Description: Publisher version , Although predation has been identified as an important community driver, the role of predator diversity in structuring estuarine zooplankton has not been assessed. As such, we investigated the effects of two different zooplanktivorous fish species on the estuarine zooplankton community during a 12-day mesocosm study. Three experimental treatments were established, whereby natural zooplankton communities were subject to either (1) no predatory pressure, (2) predation by a pelagic predator (Monodactylus falciformis) or (3) predation by a hyper-benthic predator (Glossogobius callidus). The pelagic feeding M. falciformis fed largely on the numerically dominant mid-water copepod species, Paracartia longipatella. In contrast, the hyper-benthic fish had a greater predatory impact on the less numerically dominant copepod, Pseudodiaptomus hessei, which demonstrates strong diel vertical migration. Variations in prey-population regulation are ascribed to the distinct behavioural differences of the predators, and mediated by the differences in behaviour of the copepod species.
- Full Text: false
Ideas and power: shaping monetary policy in South Africa 1919-1936
- Authors: Bordiss, Bradley John
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Monetary policy -- South Africa -- 1919-1936 Economic development -- South Africa -- 1919-1936 Economics -- South Africa -- History Economics -- Philosophy South Africa -- Economic policy -- 1919-1936 South Africa -- Foreign economic relations -- 1919-1936 Great Britain -- Foreign economic relations -- 1919-1936 Great Britain -- Economic policy -- 1918-1945
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1084 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011605
- Description: In the concluding paragraphs of Keynes’ General Theory, Keynes suggests that vested interests (power) may dominate in the short term, but that “sooner or later, it is ideas, not vested interests, which are dangerous for good or evil” (Keynes; 1936:384). This dissertation seeks to establish whether this is so, and to what extent, in the period 1919 to 1936, insofar as the shaping of monetary policy was concerned. The context that South Africa found itself in at the time was one in which Britain, the colonising power, was in economic decline. Britain’s real economy had lost its lead in the world in the late 1800s, and by our period, 1919 – 1936, she was now struggling to maintain her dominance of the world’s financial economy. South African gold flows to London, and a South African monetary policy supportive of British monetary policy, became more important than ever to Britain. On the back of its ascendant real economy, the United States of America was fast developing its financial sector as a rival to that centered on London. In the broader monetary policy world, the orthodox monetary regime of the Gold Standard, which had worked so well in the period from 1875 to 1914, was firstly difficult to reestablish, and once established, difficult to maintain. Opinion on what should be done was divided between the majority who favoured a return to the orthodoxy, and a much smaller group, including John Maynard Keynes, who argued that the Gold Standard should no longer be the preferred monetary system. In South Africa, our period starts 17 years after the Second Boer War. Afrikaner nationalists intent on establishing independence from Britain, competed with those, including Jan Christiaan Smuts, who believed that tying our policy up with that of the British Empire was the best for South Africa. It is in this context that a naturalised Briton, which the research shows was a loyal servant of the London power elite, was appointed by the Empire-friendly Smuts government to advise the South African government on monetary policy, the setting up of the South African Reserve Bank, the appointment of its first Governor and other matters in the period up until the fall of this government in 1924. It is also in this context that an American ‘Currency Doctor’ and Professor of Economics at Princeton University, which the research shows was intimately connected with the American government and Benjamin Strong at the Federal Reserve, was appointed by the Pact government later in 1924, and who was anxious to throw off the yoke of British control. The theoretical paradigm of this study is that developed by John Maynard Keynes and after him by the post-Keynesian economists, particularly Basil Moore and Hyman P. Minsky. Instead of considering the theory chronologically, book by book, the theory section deals with the subject matter in the themes which came up in the monetary policy debates of the time, looking at all the theoretical literature that applied to these various themes. Aside from the correction of errors of emphasis and errors of fact dealt with in chapter two, chapter five of the dissertation is where most of the original research is reflected. This is the section which deals in depth with the experts that advised the South Africans at the time, how they came to be appointed, whose interests they served, what theories they used in support of their positions, and what was the decision-making process; from their appointment, until their reports were drafted into the law of the Union of South Africa. While Ally’s work (1994) is accepted as the principal work on the influence of the Bank of England, and Britain’s control of South African gold on South African gold and monetary policy, this dissertation claims legitimacy based on a much closer look at the motives and vested interests of the experts advising the South African government at the time. By the end of this chapter, I believe we are better placed to understand and analyse the relative influence of ideas and power on monetary policy in the period 1919 – 1936.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Bordiss, Bradley John
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Monetary policy -- South Africa -- 1919-1936 Economic development -- South Africa -- 1919-1936 Economics -- South Africa -- History Economics -- Philosophy South Africa -- Economic policy -- 1919-1936 South Africa -- Foreign economic relations -- 1919-1936 Great Britain -- Foreign economic relations -- 1919-1936 Great Britain -- Economic policy -- 1918-1945
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1084 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011605
- Description: In the concluding paragraphs of Keynes’ General Theory, Keynes suggests that vested interests (power) may dominate in the short term, but that “sooner or later, it is ideas, not vested interests, which are dangerous for good or evil” (Keynes; 1936:384). This dissertation seeks to establish whether this is so, and to what extent, in the period 1919 to 1936, insofar as the shaping of monetary policy was concerned. The context that South Africa found itself in at the time was one in which Britain, the colonising power, was in economic decline. Britain’s real economy had lost its lead in the world in the late 1800s, and by our period, 1919 – 1936, she was now struggling to maintain her dominance of the world’s financial economy. South African gold flows to London, and a South African monetary policy supportive of British monetary policy, became more important than ever to Britain. On the back of its ascendant real economy, the United States of America was fast developing its financial sector as a rival to that centered on London. In the broader monetary policy world, the orthodox monetary regime of the Gold Standard, which had worked so well in the period from 1875 to 1914, was firstly difficult to reestablish, and once established, difficult to maintain. Opinion on what should be done was divided between the majority who favoured a return to the orthodoxy, and a much smaller group, including John Maynard Keynes, who argued that the Gold Standard should no longer be the preferred monetary system. In South Africa, our period starts 17 years after the Second Boer War. Afrikaner nationalists intent on establishing independence from Britain, competed with those, including Jan Christiaan Smuts, who believed that tying our policy up with that of the British Empire was the best for South Africa. It is in this context that a naturalised Briton, which the research shows was a loyal servant of the London power elite, was appointed by the Empire-friendly Smuts government to advise the South African government on monetary policy, the setting up of the South African Reserve Bank, the appointment of its first Governor and other matters in the period up until the fall of this government in 1924. It is also in this context that an American ‘Currency Doctor’ and Professor of Economics at Princeton University, which the research shows was intimately connected with the American government and Benjamin Strong at the Federal Reserve, was appointed by the Pact government later in 1924, and who was anxious to throw off the yoke of British control. The theoretical paradigm of this study is that developed by John Maynard Keynes and after him by the post-Keynesian economists, particularly Basil Moore and Hyman P. Minsky. Instead of considering the theory chronologically, book by book, the theory section deals with the subject matter in the themes which came up in the monetary policy debates of the time, looking at all the theoretical literature that applied to these various themes. Aside from the correction of errors of emphasis and errors of fact dealt with in chapter two, chapter five of the dissertation is where most of the original research is reflected. This is the section which deals in depth with the experts that advised the South Africans at the time, how they came to be appointed, whose interests they served, what theories they used in support of their positions, and what was the decision-making process; from their appointment, until their reports were drafted into the law of the Union of South Africa. While Ally’s work (1994) is accepted as the principal work on the influence of the Bank of England, and Britain’s control of South African gold on South African gold and monetary policy, this dissertation claims legitimacy based on a much closer look at the motives and vested interests of the experts advising the South African government at the time. By the end of this chapter, I believe we are better placed to understand and analyse the relative influence of ideas and power on monetary policy in the period 1919 – 1936.
- Full Text:
Identifying Systems of Interaction in Mathematical Engagement
- Authors: Brown, Bruce J L
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/483717 , vital:78789 , https://doi.org/10.1080/10288457.2014.953293
- Description: Mathematical engagement is a complex process of interaction between the person and the world. This interaction is strongly influenced by the concepts and structure of the mathematical field, by the practical and symbolic tools of mathematics and by the focus of investigation in the world. This paper reports on research that involves a detailed analysis of the process of mathematical engagement by two postgraduate education students working together to solve a number of mathematical puzzles. A process model of mathematical engagement was developed, identifying coherent systems of ‘thinking in action’. Both mathematical and everyday systems were identified, as well as systems that mediated the interaction between the two. Four fundamental subsystems relate to the mathematical system: subsystems oriented to mathematical objects; mathematical actions; mathematical representations; and mathematical patterns and relationships. A further four functional subsystems relate to the interaction between the mathematical and everyday: subsystems relating to linking; orientation; evaluation; and strategic control. These subsystems are detailed through the analysis of a particular episode in the engagement data.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Brown, Bruce J L
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/483717 , vital:78789 , https://doi.org/10.1080/10288457.2014.953293
- Description: Mathematical engagement is a complex process of interaction between the person and the world. This interaction is strongly influenced by the concepts and structure of the mathematical field, by the practical and symbolic tools of mathematics and by the focus of investigation in the world. This paper reports on research that involves a detailed analysis of the process of mathematical engagement by two postgraduate education students working together to solve a number of mathematical puzzles. A process model of mathematical engagement was developed, identifying coherent systems of ‘thinking in action’. Both mathematical and everyday systems were identified, as well as systems that mediated the interaction between the two. Four fundamental subsystems relate to the mathematical system: subsystems oriented to mathematical objects; mathematical actions; mathematical representations; and mathematical patterns and relationships. A further four functional subsystems relate to the interaction between the mathematical and everyday: subsystems relating to linking; orientation; evaluation; and strategic control. These subsystems are detailed through the analysis of a particular episode in the engagement data.
- Full Text:
Imagine/nation : mediating 'xenophobia' through visual and performance art
- Machona, Gerald Ralph Tawanda
- Authors: Machona, Gerald Ralph Tawanda
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Xenophobia -- South Africa , Xenophobia in mass media , Performance art , Immigrants in art , Violence in art , Race in art
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:2480 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011106 , Xenophobia -- South Africa , Xenophobia in mass media , Performance art , Immigrants in art , Violence in art , Race in art
- Description: This half-thesis has developed as a supporting document to an exhibition titled Vabvakure, people from far away, which responds to the growing trends of violence perpetrated against African foreign nationals living in South Africa. This violence which has generally been termed as 'xenophobia' has been framed within this discourse as 'afrophobia', as it is fraught with complexities of race, ethnicity and class. Evidently, not all foreign nationals are at risk but selective targeting of working class black African foreign nationals seems to be the modus operandi. Fanning these flames of prejudice are stereotypes and negative perceptions of Africa and African immigrants that have permeated into the national consciousness of South Africa, which the mainstream media has been complicit in cultivating. My practice is concerned with challenging this politic of representation in relation to the image of the African foreign national within South African society, who have been presented negatively and labelled as the 'Makwerekwere', the 'bogeymen' that have been blamed for the country’s current woes. In response to this, my research adopts the premise that forms of cultural mediation such as visual and performance art can offer further insights and possibly yield solutions that can be used to address these sentiments. As globalisation and neoliberal ideologies reshape the world, there is a growing need in the post-colonial state to revisit and re-construct notions of individual and collective identity, especially that of the nation. Nations, nationalisms and citizenry can no longer be defined solely through indigeneity, for as a result of radical shifts in the flow of migration and immigration policies that allow for naturalisation of aliens and foreign nationals, we are now faced with burgeoning levels of social diversity to the extent that constructions of nationhood that are based on the concept of autochthony have resulted in the persecution of the ‘other’.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Machona, Gerald Ralph Tawanda
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Xenophobia -- South Africa , Xenophobia in mass media , Performance art , Immigrants in art , Violence in art , Race in art
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:2480 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011106 , Xenophobia -- South Africa , Xenophobia in mass media , Performance art , Immigrants in art , Violence in art , Race in art
- Description: This half-thesis has developed as a supporting document to an exhibition titled Vabvakure, people from far away, which responds to the growing trends of violence perpetrated against African foreign nationals living in South Africa. This violence which has generally been termed as 'xenophobia' has been framed within this discourse as 'afrophobia', as it is fraught with complexities of race, ethnicity and class. Evidently, not all foreign nationals are at risk but selective targeting of working class black African foreign nationals seems to be the modus operandi. Fanning these flames of prejudice are stereotypes and negative perceptions of Africa and African immigrants that have permeated into the national consciousness of South Africa, which the mainstream media has been complicit in cultivating. My practice is concerned with challenging this politic of representation in relation to the image of the African foreign national within South African society, who have been presented negatively and labelled as the 'Makwerekwere', the 'bogeymen' that have been blamed for the country’s current woes. In response to this, my research adopts the premise that forms of cultural mediation such as visual and performance art can offer further insights and possibly yield solutions that can be used to address these sentiments. As globalisation and neoliberal ideologies reshape the world, there is a growing need in the post-colonial state to revisit and re-construct notions of individual and collective identity, especially that of the nation. Nations, nationalisms and citizenry can no longer be defined solely through indigeneity, for as a result of radical shifts in the flow of migration and immigration policies that allow for naturalisation of aliens and foreign nationals, we are now faced with burgeoning levels of social diversity to the extent that constructions of nationhood that are based on the concept of autochthony have resulted in the persecution of the ‘other’.
- Full Text:
Imagining Civil Society in Zimbabwe and ‘Most of the World’:
- Authors: Helliker, Kirk D
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144802 , vital:38380 , ISBN 9781461482628 , DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-8262-8_11
- Description: This chapter re-visits the notion of civil society in what Partha Chatterjee (The Politics of the Governed, 2004) calls ‘most of the world’ (beyond the capitalist metropoles) and, in doing so, uses Zimbabwe (and Africa more broadly) as an entry point into the literature on civil society. This chapter consists of four main sections. First, I discuss literature on civil society in Africa which, in the main, dichotomises civil society and the state empirically without any sustained theoretical reflections. Second, I provide an overview of Zimbabwean society and politics over the past decade and the ensuing debate, which in many ways produces a Manichean dualism whereby civil society is equated with progression and the state with regression. Third, I locate this conceptualisation of civil society within the broader international literature on civil society. These three sections, as a whole, highlight slippages in defining and understanding civil society: between civil society as a set of empirically identifiable organisational formations and civil society as a social space marked by civil liberties and voluntary arrangements in bourgeois society. Finally, I reimagine civil society in relation to ‘most of the world’.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Helliker, Kirk D
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144802 , vital:38380 , ISBN 9781461482628 , DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-8262-8_11
- Description: This chapter re-visits the notion of civil society in what Partha Chatterjee (The Politics of the Governed, 2004) calls ‘most of the world’ (beyond the capitalist metropoles) and, in doing so, uses Zimbabwe (and Africa more broadly) as an entry point into the literature on civil society. This chapter consists of four main sections. First, I discuss literature on civil society in Africa which, in the main, dichotomises civil society and the state empirically without any sustained theoretical reflections. Second, I provide an overview of Zimbabwean society and politics over the past decade and the ensuing debate, which in many ways produces a Manichean dualism whereby civil society is equated with progression and the state with regression. Third, I locate this conceptualisation of civil society within the broader international literature on civil society. These three sections, as a whole, highlight slippages in defining and understanding civil society: between civil society as a set of empirically identifiable organisational formations and civil society as a social space marked by civil liberties and voluntary arrangements in bourgeois society. Finally, I reimagine civil society in relation to ‘most of the world’.
- Full Text: