Aspects of the biology, thermal physiology and nutritional ecology of Pareuchaetes insulata (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae), a specialist herbivore introduced into South Africa for the biological control of Chromolaena odorata (L.) King and Robinson (Asteraceae)
- Authors: Uyi, Osariyekemwen
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Chromolaena odorata , Chromolaena odorata -- Biological control -- South Africa , Arctiidae
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5936 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017916
- Description: Chromolaena odorata (L.) King and Robinson (Asteraceae) is an invasive weedy shrub native to the Americas that has proven to be a significant economic and ecological burden to many tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world where it impacts negatively on agriculture, biodiversity and livelihoods. A distinct biotype of C. odorata was first recognised as naturalized in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, South Africa, in the 1940s and has since spread to other climatically suitable provinces. Pareuchaetes insulata (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) was released in KZN, South Africa, as a biological control agent against the weed between 2001 and 2009. Although the moth did establish at one out of some 30 release sites, its population level is generally low in the field. This thesis attempts to unravel the reasons for the poor performance of P. insulata in South Africa.Studies of life history traits of P. insulata in the laboratory indicated that the moth possess good biological attributes such as low mortality, high fecundity, egg hatchability and high female mating success. Overall, adult female moths eclosed before their male counterparts suggesting the presence of protogyny. Beyond the contribution of this study to our understanding of the life history traits of erebid moths, it hypothesized that the absence of protandry might have contributed to the low population levels of the moth in the field. To determine if a degree of agent-host plant incompatibility is culpable for the poor performance of P. insulata, insect performance metrics were compared on two distinct C. odorata plants (one from Florida and another from South Africa) in laboratory experiments. Pareuchaetes insulata performance metrics were similar on both plant forms; there were no significant differences in total leaf area consumed, egg and larval development, immature survival rates, feeding index (FI), host suitability index (HSI), growth index (GI), and fecundity between the Floridian and southern African C. odorata plants. In sum, there was no evidence to demonstrate that differences in plant forms in C. odorata are culpable for the poor performance of P. insulata in South Africa.The effects of temperature on the developmental and reproductive life history traits, locomotion performance and thermal tolerance range of P. insulata were studied in order to elucidate the possible role of temperature on the poor performance of the moth. The results showed that at temperatures below 25 °C, mortality increased and development time was prolonged. Fecundity and egg hatchability were negatively affected at a constant temperature of 15 °C. Results futher showed that third instar larvae were unable to initiate movement at 6 °C and locomotor abilities were significantly reduced at 11 °C. In sum, it is hypothesized that both direct and indirect negative impacts of low temperature may partly explain the poor performance of P. insulata in South Africa. Theeffects of seasonal and spatial variations in the leaf characteristics of C. odorata on the performance of P. insulata were investigated. Foliar nitrogen and magnesium concentrations were higher in shaded plants during winter due to low temperatures. Leaves of C. odorata plants growing in the shaded habitat (relative to full sun) and leaves of plants during autumn (relative to winter) were more nutritionally balanced and suitable for herbivore performance. Consequently, P. insulata developed faster, had heavier pupal mass and increased fecundity when reared on shaded leaves (relative to full sun) or when reared on autumn leaves compared to leaves growing in winter. This study demonstrates that low winter temperatures can indirectly affect insect herbivore performance by changing the phytochemistry of host plant and hypothesized that excess nitrogen and possibly magnesium may have detrimental effects on the insect herbivore performance.A cross-feeding experiment was conducted to determine P. insulata response to a change in the diet of offspring due to a shift in plant quality in shaded versus full sun habitats. The results showed that a ‘negative switch’ in herbivore diet (i.e. when progeny from parents reared on shaded leaves were fed on full sun leaves) resulted in high (40%) mortality, prolonged development time and reduced fecundity. Thus full sun foliage is an inferior diet for P. insulata offspring. In laboratory experiments, foliar nitrogen was positively correlated with the performance of P. insulata. From this study, it is demonstrably evident that the poor performance of P. insulata on C. odorata in South Africa is caused by multiple factors such as low temperatures as well as spatio-temporal variations in the leaf characteristic of C. odorata leaves. This study shows the complexity of determining the causes of low populations and apparent low impact of biological control agents and herbivorous insects generally, in the field. The implications of this research to the biological control programme against C. odorata and the direction of future research for the control of C. odorata are discussed.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Uyi, Osariyekemwen
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Chromolaena odorata , Chromolaena odorata -- Biological control -- South Africa , Arctiidae
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5936 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017916
- Description: Chromolaena odorata (L.) King and Robinson (Asteraceae) is an invasive weedy shrub native to the Americas that has proven to be a significant economic and ecological burden to many tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world where it impacts negatively on agriculture, biodiversity and livelihoods. A distinct biotype of C. odorata was first recognised as naturalized in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, South Africa, in the 1940s and has since spread to other climatically suitable provinces. Pareuchaetes insulata (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) was released in KZN, South Africa, as a biological control agent against the weed between 2001 and 2009. Although the moth did establish at one out of some 30 release sites, its population level is generally low in the field. This thesis attempts to unravel the reasons for the poor performance of P. insulata in South Africa.Studies of life history traits of P. insulata in the laboratory indicated that the moth possess good biological attributes such as low mortality, high fecundity, egg hatchability and high female mating success. Overall, adult female moths eclosed before their male counterparts suggesting the presence of protogyny. Beyond the contribution of this study to our understanding of the life history traits of erebid moths, it hypothesized that the absence of protandry might have contributed to the low population levels of the moth in the field. To determine if a degree of agent-host plant incompatibility is culpable for the poor performance of P. insulata, insect performance metrics were compared on two distinct C. odorata plants (one from Florida and another from South Africa) in laboratory experiments. Pareuchaetes insulata performance metrics were similar on both plant forms; there were no significant differences in total leaf area consumed, egg and larval development, immature survival rates, feeding index (FI), host suitability index (HSI), growth index (GI), and fecundity between the Floridian and southern African C. odorata plants. In sum, there was no evidence to demonstrate that differences in plant forms in C. odorata are culpable for the poor performance of P. insulata in South Africa.The effects of temperature on the developmental and reproductive life history traits, locomotion performance and thermal tolerance range of P. insulata were studied in order to elucidate the possible role of temperature on the poor performance of the moth. The results showed that at temperatures below 25 °C, mortality increased and development time was prolonged. Fecundity and egg hatchability were negatively affected at a constant temperature of 15 °C. Results futher showed that third instar larvae were unable to initiate movement at 6 °C and locomotor abilities were significantly reduced at 11 °C. In sum, it is hypothesized that both direct and indirect negative impacts of low temperature may partly explain the poor performance of P. insulata in South Africa. Theeffects of seasonal and spatial variations in the leaf characteristics of C. odorata on the performance of P. insulata were investigated. Foliar nitrogen and magnesium concentrations were higher in shaded plants during winter due to low temperatures. Leaves of C. odorata plants growing in the shaded habitat (relative to full sun) and leaves of plants during autumn (relative to winter) were more nutritionally balanced and suitable for herbivore performance. Consequently, P. insulata developed faster, had heavier pupal mass and increased fecundity when reared on shaded leaves (relative to full sun) or when reared on autumn leaves compared to leaves growing in winter. This study demonstrates that low winter temperatures can indirectly affect insect herbivore performance by changing the phytochemistry of host plant and hypothesized that excess nitrogen and possibly magnesium may have detrimental effects on the insect herbivore performance.A cross-feeding experiment was conducted to determine P. insulata response to a change in the diet of offspring due to a shift in plant quality in shaded versus full sun habitats. The results showed that a ‘negative switch’ in herbivore diet (i.e. when progeny from parents reared on shaded leaves were fed on full sun leaves) resulted in high (40%) mortality, prolonged development time and reduced fecundity. Thus full sun foliage is an inferior diet for P. insulata offspring. In laboratory experiments, foliar nitrogen was positively correlated with the performance of P. insulata. From this study, it is demonstrably evident that the poor performance of P. insulata on C. odorata in South Africa is caused by multiple factors such as low temperatures as well as spatio-temporal variations in the leaf characteristic of C. odorata leaves. This study shows the complexity of determining the causes of low populations and apparent low impact of biological control agents and herbivorous insects generally, in the field. The implications of this research to the biological control programme against C. odorata and the direction of future research for the control of C. odorata are discussed.
- Full Text:
Assessing ecosystem response to multiple disturbances and climate change in South Africa using ground-and satellite-based measurements and model
- Kutsch, Werner L, Falge, E M, Brümmer, Christian, Mukwashi, K, Schmullius, C, Hüttich, C, Odipo, V, Scholes, Robert J, Mudau, A, Midgley, Guy F, Stevens, N, Hickler, Thomas, Scheiter, Simon, Martens, C, Twine, Wayne, Iiyambo, T, Bradshaw, Karen L, Lück, W, Lenfers, Ulfia A, Thiel-Clemen, T
- Authors: Kutsch, Werner L , Falge, E M , Brümmer, Christian , Mukwashi, K , Schmullius, C , Hüttich, C , Odipo, V , Scholes, Robert J , Mudau, A , Midgley, Guy F , Stevens, N , Hickler, Thomas , Scheiter, Simon , Martens, C , Twine, Wayne , Iiyambo, T , Bradshaw, Karen L , Lück, W , Lenfers, Ulfia A , Thiel-Clemen, T
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/475183 , vital:77782 , xlink:href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9856380"
- Description: Sub-Saharan Africa currently experiences rapidly growing human population, intrinsically tied to substantial changes in land use on shrubland, savanna and mixed woodland ecosystems due to over-exploitation. Significant conversions driving degradation, affecting fire frequency and water availability, and fueling climate change are expected to increase in the immediate future. However, measured data of greenhouse gas emissions as affected by land use change are scarce to entirely lacking from this region. The project 'Adaptive Resilience of Southern African Ecosystems' (ARS AfricaE) conducts research and develops scenarios of ecosystem development under climate change, for management support in conservation or for planning rural area development. This will be achieved by (1) creation of a network of research clusters (paired sites with natural and altered vegetation) along an aridity gradient in South Africa for ground-based micrometeorological in-situ measurements of energy and matter fluxes, (2) linking biogeochemical functions with ecosystem structure, and eco-physiological properties, (3) description of ecosystem disturbance (and recovery) in terms of ecosystem function such as carbon balance components and water use efficiency, (4) set-up of individual-based models to predict ecosystem dynamics under (post) disturbance managements, (5) combination with long-term landscape dynamic information derived from remote sensing and aerial photography, and (6) development of sustainable management strategies for disturbed ecosystems and land use change. Emphasis is given on validation (by a suite of field measurements) of estimates obtained from eddy covariance, model approaches and satellite derivations.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Kutsch, Werner L , Falge, E M , Brümmer, Christian , Mukwashi, K , Schmullius, C , Hüttich, C , Odipo, V , Scholes, Robert J , Mudau, A , Midgley, Guy F , Stevens, N , Hickler, Thomas , Scheiter, Simon , Martens, C , Twine, Wayne , Iiyambo, T , Bradshaw, Karen L , Lück, W , Lenfers, Ulfia A , Thiel-Clemen, T
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/475183 , vital:77782 , xlink:href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9856380"
- Description: Sub-Saharan Africa currently experiences rapidly growing human population, intrinsically tied to substantial changes in land use on shrubland, savanna and mixed woodland ecosystems due to over-exploitation. Significant conversions driving degradation, affecting fire frequency and water availability, and fueling climate change are expected to increase in the immediate future. However, measured data of greenhouse gas emissions as affected by land use change are scarce to entirely lacking from this region. The project 'Adaptive Resilience of Southern African Ecosystems' (ARS AfricaE) conducts research and develops scenarios of ecosystem development under climate change, for management support in conservation or for planning rural area development. This will be achieved by (1) creation of a network of research clusters (paired sites with natural and altered vegetation) along an aridity gradient in South Africa for ground-based micrometeorological in-situ measurements of energy and matter fluxes, (2) linking biogeochemical functions with ecosystem structure, and eco-physiological properties, (3) description of ecosystem disturbance (and recovery) in terms of ecosystem function such as carbon balance components and water use efficiency, (4) set-up of individual-based models to predict ecosystem dynamics under (post) disturbance managements, (5) combination with long-term landscape dynamic information derived from remote sensing and aerial photography, and (6) development of sustainable management strategies for disturbed ecosystems and land use change. Emphasis is given on validation (by a suite of field measurements) of estimates obtained from eddy covariance, model approaches and satellite derivations.
- Full Text:
Assessment in higher education: reframing traditional understandings and practices
- Clarence, Sherran, Quinn, Lynn, Vorster, Jo-Anne E
- Authors: Clarence, Sherran , Quinn, Lynn , Vorster, Jo-Anne E
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59534 , vital:27624
- Description: The case studies in this publication provide examples of lecturers who have considered the role of assessment in their courses carefully. All of them have engaged with matters related to assessment as part of the formal courses or qualifications offered by staff of the Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning (CHERTL) at Rhodes University. In these courses lecturers are encouraged to reflect critically on their current assessment practices, engage with some of the literature and research on assessment in higher education, and then re-conceptualise their assessment methods and approaches. These case studies were drawn from the assignments and portfolios that they completed as part of the summative assessment for the courses they attended. The purpose of the case studies is pedagogic and to illustrate a range of assessment practices and principles. For the sake of clarity some of the details have been omitted or slightly changed.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Clarence, Sherran , Quinn, Lynn , Vorster, Jo-Anne E
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59534 , vital:27624
- Description: The case studies in this publication provide examples of lecturers who have considered the role of assessment in their courses carefully. All of them have engaged with matters related to assessment as part of the formal courses or qualifications offered by staff of the Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning (CHERTL) at Rhodes University. In these courses lecturers are encouraged to reflect critically on their current assessment practices, engage with some of the literature and research on assessment in higher education, and then re-conceptualise their assessment methods and approaches. These case studies were drawn from the assignments and portfolios that they completed as part of the summative assessment for the courses they attended. The purpose of the case studies is pedagogic and to illustrate a range of assessment practices and principles. For the sake of clarity some of the details have been omitted or slightly changed.
- Full Text:
Assessment of the spatial and temporal variations in periphyton communities along a small temperate river system: A multimetric and stable isotope analysis approach
- Dalu, Tatenda, Bere, Taurai, Richoux, Nicole B, Froneman, P William
- Authors: Dalu, Tatenda , Bere, Taurai , Richoux, Nicole B , Froneman, P William
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124249 , vital:35580 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2015.05.028
- Description: Periphyton community structure and stable isotope values have been identified as potential indicators of anthropogenic nitrogen pollution, an increasingly important challenge in aquatic systems. The aim of the study was to assess the spatio-temporal changes in periphyton characteristics to identify potential anthropogenic nitrogen pollution sources such as agricultural and sewage discharge within the Kowie River catchment, South Africa. Periphyton was collected once a season from five sites between September 2012 and May 2013. Diversity indices, multimetric and stable isotope analyses were employed for describing the spatial and temporal dynamics of periphyton community assemblages. Water depth, salinity, resistivity, oxygen reduction potential, nitrates, water velocity and conductivity were the major factors affecting periphyton community structure. Eighty-seven periphyton taxa belonging to 43 genera were recorded throughout the study sites and periods. Periphyton species richness, abundance and stable isotope signatures differed significantly among sites but not among seasons. The lower sections of the Kowie River were polluted by anthropogenic sources as indicated by the high periphytic isotopic nitrogen values (7.9–15.2‰) compared to the pristine upstream sites (4–8‰). We recommend that researchers use a combination of community structure and stable isotope measurements to monitor the periphyton in lotic systems.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Dalu, Tatenda , Bere, Taurai , Richoux, Nicole B , Froneman, P William
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124249 , vital:35580 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2015.05.028
- Description: Periphyton community structure and stable isotope values have been identified as potential indicators of anthropogenic nitrogen pollution, an increasingly important challenge in aquatic systems. The aim of the study was to assess the spatio-temporal changes in periphyton characteristics to identify potential anthropogenic nitrogen pollution sources such as agricultural and sewage discharge within the Kowie River catchment, South Africa. Periphyton was collected once a season from five sites between September 2012 and May 2013. Diversity indices, multimetric and stable isotope analyses were employed for describing the spatial and temporal dynamics of periphyton community assemblages. Water depth, salinity, resistivity, oxygen reduction potential, nitrates, water velocity and conductivity were the major factors affecting periphyton community structure. Eighty-seven periphyton taxa belonging to 43 genera were recorded throughout the study sites and periods. Periphyton species richness, abundance and stable isotope signatures differed significantly among sites but not among seasons. The lower sections of the Kowie River were polluted by anthropogenic sources as indicated by the high periphytic isotopic nitrogen values (7.9–15.2‰) compared to the pristine upstream sites (4–8‰). We recommend that researchers use a combination of community structure and stable isotope measurements to monitor the periphyton in lotic systems.
- Full Text:
Assignment of spin and parity to states in the nucleus ¹⁹⁶T1
- Authors: Uwitonze, Pierre Celestin
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Nuclear spin , Particles (Nuclear physics) -- Chirality
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5558 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017903
- Description: This work presents a study of high-spin states in the nucleus ¹⁹⁶Tl via γ-spectroscopy. ¹⁹⁶Tl was produced via the ¹⁹⁷Au(⁴He,5n) ¹⁹⁶Tl reaction at a beam energy of 63 MeV. The γ-γ coincidence measurements were performed using the AFRODITE γ-spectrometer array at iThemba LABS. The previous level scheme of ¹⁹⁶Tl has been extended up to an excitation of 4071 keV including 24 new γ-ray transitions. The spin and parity assignment to levels was made from the directional correlation of oriented nuclei (DCO) and linear polarization anisotropy ratios. An analysis of the B(M1)/B(E2) ratios was found to be consistent with the configuration of πh₉/₂♁vi₁₃/₂ for the ground state band. Although no chiral band was found in ¹⁹⁶TI and ¹⁹⁸TI.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Uwitonze, Pierre Celestin
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Nuclear spin , Particles (Nuclear physics) -- Chirality
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5558 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017903
- Description: This work presents a study of high-spin states in the nucleus ¹⁹⁶Tl via γ-spectroscopy. ¹⁹⁶Tl was produced via the ¹⁹⁷Au(⁴He,5n) ¹⁹⁶Tl reaction at a beam energy of 63 MeV. The γ-γ coincidence measurements were performed using the AFRODITE γ-spectrometer array at iThemba LABS. The previous level scheme of ¹⁹⁶Tl has been extended up to an excitation of 4071 keV including 24 new γ-ray transitions. The spin and parity assignment to levels was made from the directional correlation of oriented nuclei (DCO) and linear polarization anisotropy ratios. An analysis of the B(M1)/B(E2) ratios was found to be consistent with the configuration of πh₉/₂♁vi₁₃/₂ for the ground state band. Although no chiral band was found in ¹⁹⁶TI and ¹⁹⁸TI.
- Full Text:
Azawan: precolonial musical culture and Saharawi nationalism in the refugee camps of the Hamada Desert in Algeria
- Authors: Amoros, Luis Gimenez
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59710 , vital:27641 , http://dx.doi.org/10.21504/amj.v10i1.1225
- Description: This article analyses Saharawi music as performed for the refugee community in the camps. I argue that the construction and evolution of Saharawi music in the camps is divided into two main areas: nationalism in relation to the decolonisation of Western Sahara, and maintenance of cultural values in Saharawi music found in the historical retention of the Haul modal system originating in precolonial Saharawi culture. Local audiences use the term Azawan to define the combination of nationalist sentiments and retention of their precolonial musical culture in Saharawi music.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Amoros, Luis Gimenez
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59710 , vital:27641 , http://dx.doi.org/10.21504/amj.v10i1.1225
- Description: This article analyses Saharawi music as performed for the refugee community in the camps. I argue that the construction and evolution of Saharawi music in the camps is divided into two main areas: nationalism in relation to the decolonisation of Western Sahara, and maintenance of cultural values in Saharawi music found in the historical retention of the Haul modal system originating in precolonial Saharawi culture. Local audiences use the term Azawan to define the combination of nationalist sentiments and retention of their precolonial musical culture in Saharawi music.
- Full Text:
Bacterial degradation of fossil fuel waste in aqueous and solid media
- Authors: Edeki, Oghenekume Gerald
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54565 , vital:26588
- Description: The generation of environmental pollutants worldwide is mainly due to over reliance on fossil fuels as a source of energy. As a result of the negative impacts of these pollutants on the health of humans, animals, plants and microorganisms, global attention has been directed towards ways of containing this problem. Biodegradation of fossil fuel is one of the most effective methods used to remediate contaminated systems. However with regard to coal waste, much of what is known is based on the ability of fungal species to biosolubilize this material under enrichment conditions in a laboratory setting. For effective biodegradation as a remediation technique, there is an immediate need to source, isolate, enrich and incorporate other microorganisms such as bacteria into bioremediation technologies. The goal of this dissertation was to isolate bacteria from fossil fuel contaminated environments and to demonstrate competence for petroleum hydrocarbon degradation which was achieved using a combination of analytical methods such as spectrophotometry, FT-IR, SEM and GC-MS. Screening for biodegradation of coal and petroleum hydrocarbon waste resulted in the isolation of 75 bacterial strains of which 15 showed good potential for use in developing remedial biotechnologies. Spectrophotometric analysis of bacteria both in coal and petroleum hydrocarbons (all in aqueous media) revealed a high proliferation of bacteria in these media suggesting that these microbes can effectively utilize the various substrates as a source of carbon. The isolated bacteria effectively degraded and converted waste coal to humic and fulvic acids; products required to enrich coal mine dumps to support re-vegetation. Scanning electron microscopy showed the attachment of bacteria to waste coal surfaces and the disintegration of coal structures while FT-IR analysis of extracted humic-like substances from biodegraded waste coal revealed these to have the same functional groups as commercial humic acid. Specific consortia which were established using the isolated bacterial strains, showed greater potential to biodegrade coal than did individual isolates. This was evident in experiments carried out on coal and hydrocarbons where the efficient colonization and utilization of these substrates by each bacterial consortium was observed due to the effect of added nutrients such as algae. The biodegradation of liquid petroleum hydrocarbons (diesel and BTEX) was also achieved using the 15 bacterial isolates. GC-MS analysis of extracted residual PHC from aqueous and solid media revealed rapid breakdown of these contaminants by bacteria. Different bacterial consortia established from the individual isolates were shown to be more efficient than single isolates indicating that formulated consortia are the biocatalysts of choice for fossil fuel biodegradation. This study represents one of the most detailed screenings for bacteria from fossil fuel contaminated sites and the isolation of strains with potential to biodegrade coal and petroleum hydrocarbon wastes. Several consortia have been developed and these show potential for further development as biocatalysts for use in bioremediation technology development. An evaluation of efficiency of each established bacterial consortium for biodegradation in a commercial and/or industrial setting at pilot scale is now needed.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Edeki, Oghenekume Gerald
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54565 , vital:26588
- Description: The generation of environmental pollutants worldwide is mainly due to over reliance on fossil fuels as a source of energy. As a result of the negative impacts of these pollutants on the health of humans, animals, plants and microorganisms, global attention has been directed towards ways of containing this problem. Biodegradation of fossil fuel is one of the most effective methods used to remediate contaminated systems. However with regard to coal waste, much of what is known is based on the ability of fungal species to biosolubilize this material under enrichment conditions in a laboratory setting. For effective biodegradation as a remediation technique, there is an immediate need to source, isolate, enrich and incorporate other microorganisms such as bacteria into bioremediation technologies. The goal of this dissertation was to isolate bacteria from fossil fuel contaminated environments and to demonstrate competence for petroleum hydrocarbon degradation which was achieved using a combination of analytical methods such as spectrophotometry, FT-IR, SEM and GC-MS. Screening for biodegradation of coal and petroleum hydrocarbon waste resulted in the isolation of 75 bacterial strains of which 15 showed good potential for use in developing remedial biotechnologies. Spectrophotometric analysis of bacteria both in coal and petroleum hydrocarbons (all in aqueous media) revealed a high proliferation of bacteria in these media suggesting that these microbes can effectively utilize the various substrates as a source of carbon. The isolated bacteria effectively degraded and converted waste coal to humic and fulvic acids; products required to enrich coal mine dumps to support re-vegetation. Scanning electron microscopy showed the attachment of bacteria to waste coal surfaces and the disintegration of coal structures while FT-IR analysis of extracted humic-like substances from biodegraded waste coal revealed these to have the same functional groups as commercial humic acid. Specific consortia which were established using the isolated bacterial strains, showed greater potential to biodegrade coal than did individual isolates. This was evident in experiments carried out on coal and hydrocarbons where the efficient colonization and utilization of these substrates by each bacterial consortium was observed due to the effect of added nutrients such as algae. The biodegradation of liquid petroleum hydrocarbons (diesel and BTEX) was also achieved using the 15 bacterial isolates. GC-MS analysis of extracted residual PHC from aqueous and solid media revealed rapid breakdown of these contaminants by bacteria. Different bacterial consortia established from the individual isolates were shown to be more efficient than single isolates indicating that formulated consortia are the biocatalysts of choice for fossil fuel biodegradation. This study represents one of the most detailed screenings for bacteria from fossil fuel contaminated sites and the isolation of strains with potential to biodegrade coal and petroleum hydrocarbon wastes. Several consortia have been developed and these show potential for further development as biocatalysts for use in bioremediation technology development. An evaluation of efficiency of each established bacterial consortium for biodegradation in a commercial and/or industrial setting at pilot scale is now needed.
- Full Text:
Baculovirus-based strategies for the management of insect pests: a focus on development and application in South Africa
- Knox, Caroline M, Moore, Sean D, Luke, Garry, Hill, Martin P
- Authors: Knox, Caroline M , Moore, Sean D , Luke, Garry , Hill, Martin P
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/416829 , vital:71389 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2014.949222"
- Description: There is growing concern among governments, scientists, agricultural practitioners and the general public regarding the negative implications of widespread synthetic chemical pesticide application for the control of crop pests. As a result, baculovirus biopesticides are gaining popularity as components of integrated pest management (IPM) programmes in many countries despite several disadvantages related to slow speed of kill, limited host range and complex large scale production. In South Africa, baculoviruses are incorporated into IPM programmes for the control of crop pests in the field, and recent bioprospecting has led to the characterisation of several novel isolates with the potential to be formulated as commercial products. This contribution will provide an overview of the use of baculoviruses against insect pests in South Africa, as well as research and development efforts aimed at broadening their application as biocontrol agents. Challenges faced by researchers in developmental projects as well as potential users of baculoviruses as biopesticides in the field are also discussed.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Knox, Caroline M , Moore, Sean D , Luke, Garry , Hill, Martin P
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/416829 , vital:71389 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2014.949222"
- Description: There is growing concern among governments, scientists, agricultural practitioners and the general public regarding the negative implications of widespread synthetic chemical pesticide application for the control of crop pests. As a result, baculovirus biopesticides are gaining popularity as components of integrated pest management (IPM) programmes in many countries despite several disadvantages related to slow speed of kill, limited host range and complex large scale production. In South Africa, baculoviruses are incorporated into IPM programmes for the control of crop pests in the field, and recent bioprospecting has led to the characterisation of several novel isolates with the potential to be formulated as commercial products. This contribution will provide an overview of the use of baculoviruses against insect pests in South Africa, as well as research and development efforts aimed at broadening their application as biocontrol agents. Challenges faced by researchers in developmental projects as well as potential users of baculoviruses as biopesticides in the field are also discussed.
- Full Text:
Barriers to and enablers of climate change adaptation in four South African municipalities, and implications for community based adaptation
- Authors: Spires, Meggan Hazel
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Climatic changes -- South Africa , Climatic changes -- Risk management -- South Africa , Climatic changes -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Climate change mitigation -- South Africa , Climatic changes -- Government policy -- South Africa , Municipal government -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4787 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018913
- Description: The focus of this study is on understanding the multiple and interacting factors that hinder or enable municipal planned climate change adaptation, here called barriers and enablers respectively, and their implications for community based adaptation. To do this I developed a conceptual framework of barriers to and enablers of planned climate change adaptation, which informed a systematic literature review of barriers to planned community based adaptation in developing countries. In this framework barriers were grouped into resource, social and physical barriers. I then conducted empirical case study analysis using qualitative research methods in four South African municipalities to understand what barriers and enablers manifested in these contexts. In light of the reflexive nature of my methodology, my framework was adjusted based on my empirical findings, where contextual barriers were found to better represent the empirical results and subsumed physical barriers. I found my framework useful for analysis, but in the empirical cases, barriers and enablers overlaid and interacted so significantly that in reality it was often difficult to separate them. A key finding was that enablers tended to be more about the way things are done, as opposed to direct opposites of barriers. Comparison of barriers and enablers across the case studies revealed a number of key themes. Municipalities struggle to implement climate change adaptation and community based adaptation within contexts of significant social, economic and ecological challenges. These contextual barriers, when combined with certain cognitive barriers, lead to reactive responses. Existing municipal systems and structures make it difficult to enable climate change adaptation, which is inherently cross‐sectoral and messy, and especially community based adaptation that is bottom‐up and participatory. Lack of locally applicable knowledge, funding and human resources were found to be significant resource barriers, and were often underlain by social barriers relating to perceptions, norms, discourses and governance challenges. Enablers of engaged officials, operating within enabling organisational environments and drawing on partnerships and networks, were able to overcome or circumvent these barriers. When these enablers coincided with windows of opportunity that increased the prioritisation of climate change within the municipality, projects with ancillary benefits were often implemented. Analysis of the barriers and enablers identified in the literature and case studies, informed discussion on whether municipalities are able to implement community based adaptation as defined in the literature, as well as the development of recommendations for how municipal planned climate change adaptation and community based adaptation can be further understood and enabled in the future. These recommendations for practice and research include: (a) To acknowledge and understand the conceptual framings of municipal climate change work, as these framings inform the climate change agenda that is pursued, and hence what municipal climate change adaptation work is done and how it was done. (b) The need for further research into the social barriers that influence the vital enablers of engaged officials, enabling organisational environments, and partnerships and networks. (c) To learn from pilot community‐level interventions that have been implemented by municipalities, as well as from other disciplines and municipalities. (d) To develop top‐down/bottom‐up approaches to enable municipal planned climate change adaptation and community based adaptation, that benefits from high level support and guidance, as well as local level flexibility and learning‐by‐doing. (e) To develop viable mechanisms for municipalities to better engage with the communities they serve.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Spires, Meggan Hazel
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Climatic changes -- South Africa , Climatic changes -- Risk management -- South Africa , Climatic changes -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Climate change mitigation -- South Africa , Climatic changes -- Government policy -- South Africa , Municipal government -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4787 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018913
- Description: The focus of this study is on understanding the multiple and interacting factors that hinder or enable municipal planned climate change adaptation, here called barriers and enablers respectively, and their implications for community based adaptation. To do this I developed a conceptual framework of barriers to and enablers of planned climate change adaptation, which informed a systematic literature review of barriers to planned community based adaptation in developing countries. In this framework barriers were grouped into resource, social and physical barriers. I then conducted empirical case study analysis using qualitative research methods in four South African municipalities to understand what barriers and enablers manifested in these contexts. In light of the reflexive nature of my methodology, my framework was adjusted based on my empirical findings, where contextual barriers were found to better represent the empirical results and subsumed physical barriers. I found my framework useful for analysis, but in the empirical cases, barriers and enablers overlaid and interacted so significantly that in reality it was often difficult to separate them. A key finding was that enablers tended to be more about the way things are done, as opposed to direct opposites of barriers. Comparison of barriers and enablers across the case studies revealed a number of key themes. Municipalities struggle to implement climate change adaptation and community based adaptation within contexts of significant social, economic and ecological challenges. These contextual barriers, when combined with certain cognitive barriers, lead to reactive responses. Existing municipal systems and structures make it difficult to enable climate change adaptation, which is inherently cross‐sectoral and messy, and especially community based adaptation that is bottom‐up and participatory. Lack of locally applicable knowledge, funding and human resources were found to be significant resource barriers, and were often underlain by social barriers relating to perceptions, norms, discourses and governance challenges. Enablers of engaged officials, operating within enabling organisational environments and drawing on partnerships and networks, were able to overcome or circumvent these barriers. When these enablers coincided with windows of opportunity that increased the prioritisation of climate change within the municipality, projects with ancillary benefits were often implemented. Analysis of the barriers and enablers identified in the literature and case studies, informed discussion on whether municipalities are able to implement community based adaptation as defined in the literature, as well as the development of recommendations for how municipal planned climate change adaptation and community based adaptation can be further understood and enabled in the future. These recommendations for practice and research include: (a) To acknowledge and understand the conceptual framings of municipal climate change work, as these framings inform the climate change agenda that is pursued, and hence what municipal climate change adaptation work is done and how it was done. (b) The need for further research into the social barriers that influence the vital enablers of engaged officials, enabling organisational environments, and partnerships and networks. (c) To learn from pilot community‐level interventions that have been implemented by municipalities, as well as from other disciplines and municipalities. (d) To develop top‐down/bottom‐up approaches to enable municipal planned climate change adaptation and community based adaptation, that benefits from high level support and guidance, as well as local level flexibility and learning‐by‐doing. (e) To develop viable mechanisms for municipalities to better engage with the communities they serve.
- Full Text:
Base erosion and profit shifting by multinational corporations and weaknesses revealed in South African income tax legislation
- Authors: Peerbhai, Aneesa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: International business enterprises -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Corporations -- Taxation -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Tax planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:917 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017540
- Description: This research examined the concept of base erosion and profit shifting in the context of tax schemes employed by multinational corporations. The objective of this thesis was to identify weaknesses within South Africa’s income tax legislation, based on these schemes, and further to propose recommendations to counter the occurrence of base erosion and profit shifting by multinational companies. The research also comprised of a limited review of current global and South African initiatives to address the problem of base erosion and profit shifting. It was concluded that there are a number of weaknesses in the definitions and provisions of the South African income tax legislation that need to be addressed in order to reduce base erosion and profit shifting. Brief recommendations were proposed in relation to each of the weaknesses, in order to address them.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Peerbhai, Aneesa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: International business enterprises -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Corporations -- Taxation -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Tax planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:917 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017540
- Description: This research examined the concept of base erosion and profit shifting in the context of tax schemes employed by multinational corporations. The objective of this thesis was to identify weaknesses within South Africa’s income tax legislation, based on these schemes, and further to propose recommendations to counter the occurrence of base erosion and profit shifting by multinational companies. The research also comprised of a limited review of current global and South African initiatives to address the problem of base erosion and profit shifting. It was concluded that there are a number of weaknesses in the definitions and provisions of the South African income tax legislation that need to be addressed in order to reduce base erosion and profit shifting. Brief recommendations were proposed in relation to each of the weaknesses, in order to address them.
- Full Text:
Beauveria and Metarhizium against false codling moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae): a step towards selecting isolates for potential development of a mycoinsecticide
- Coombes, Candice A, Hill, Martin P, Moore, Sean D, Dames, Joanna F, Fullard, T
- Authors: Coombes, Candice A , Hill, Martin P , Moore, Sean D , Dames, Joanna F , Fullard, T
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/405757 , vital:70203 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC167505"
- Description: False codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta Meyrick (1912) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), can cause both pre- and post-harvest damage to citrus fruit. Not only can this result in reduced crop yield, but more importantly because of the moth's endemism to sub-Saharan Africa, it is classified as a phytosanitary pest by many export markets. An entire consignment of citrus may be rejected in the presence of a single moth (Moore 2012). Since the bulk of citrus fruit production in South Africa is exported, the control of T. leucotreta is critical (Citrus Growers Association, South Africa 2012). Traditionally, control has been achieved through the use of chemical insecticides; however, residue restrictions, resistance development and concerns about environmental pollution have substantially reduced the dependence on chemical pesticides in citrus. Research on T. leucotreta control has therefore focused on the use of biological organisms (e.g. parasitoids and viruses), which are used as control agents within an integrated pest management (IPM) programme in citrus. These biological control agents, however, only targeted the aboveground life stages of the pest, not the soil-dwelling life stages (late fifth instars, prepupae, pupae), which is the subject of this contribution (Moore 2012).
- Full Text:
- Authors: Coombes, Candice A , Hill, Martin P , Moore, Sean D , Dames, Joanna F , Fullard, T
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/405757 , vital:70203 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC167505"
- Description: False codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta Meyrick (1912) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), can cause both pre- and post-harvest damage to citrus fruit. Not only can this result in reduced crop yield, but more importantly because of the moth's endemism to sub-Saharan Africa, it is classified as a phytosanitary pest by many export markets. An entire consignment of citrus may be rejected in the presence of a single moth (Moore 2012). Since the bulk of citrus fruit production in South Africa is exported, the control of T. leucotreta is critical (Citrus Growers Association, South Africa 2012). Traditionally, control has been achieved through the use of chemical insecticides; however, residue restrictions, resistance development and concerns about environmental pollution have substantially reduced the dependence on chemical pesticides in citrus. Research on T. leucotreta control has therefore focused on the use of biological organisms (e.g. parasitoids and viruses), which are used as control agents within an integrated pest management (IPM) programme in citrus. These biological control agents, however, only targeted the aboveground life stages of the pest, not the soil-dwelling life stages (late fifth instars, prepupae, pupae), which is the subject of this contribution (Moore 2012).
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Before before & after after
- Authors: Musavengana, Shelter K
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century , Short stories, South African -- 21st century , Creative writing (Higher education)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5991 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017775
- Description: The stories in this collection explore the fantastical, the power of memory, and the human capacity to love. Moving between the surreal, the absurd, the allegorical, and the metafictional, they elaborate on life's ordinary madness and the mysteries of the spirit. By challenging the either/or boundaries of the binary of realism and fantasy, the stories provoke the reader to engage actively with the text. Influenced by experimental US author Stacey Levine, the mid‐century British novelist Barbara Comyns, and the adventurous Chinese writer Can Xue, in most cases, they create a playful, experimental world that exists at a slight angle to the world as we know it.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Musavengana, Shelter K
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century , Short stories, South African -- 21st century , Creative writing (Higher education)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5991 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017775
- Description: The stories in this collection explore the fantastical, the power of memory, and the human capacity to love. Moving between the surreal, the absurd, the allegorical, and the metafictional, they elaborate on life's ordinary madness and the mysteries of the spirit. By challenging the either/or boundaries of the binary of realism and fantasy, the stories provoke the reader to engage actively with the text. Influenced by experimental US author Stacey Levine, the mid‐century British novelist Barbara Comyns, and the adventurous Chinese writer Can Xue, in most cases, they create a playful, experimental world that exists at a slight angle to the world as we know it.
- Full Text:
Being a Born Free: the misunderstandings and missed opportunities facing young South Africans
- Authors: Malila, Vanessa
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/158680 , vital:40220 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC175765
- Description: Young South Africans are often referred to as the Born Frees - a term which sometimes means people born after 1994, sometimes people born after 1990, or young people who came of age politically after 1994. I've come to really dislike the term Born Frees and particularly the way it is used by the media and the politicians. By calling young people Born Frees, society is using apartheid as a reference point to identify a post-apartheid generation. This reference point (the transition to a 'free' society) unfortunately does not resonate with many of the young people that I've encountered in my research and many feel insulted by the implications of this term, which does not apply to them in any way. Should South African society really be using the transition from apartheid to define its young people and how does it relate to the lives of real young people in South Africa today? Are they really Born Free, free from what, free to do what, free individuals or free as a collective? I will look at some of the stereotypes being used in the mainstream media of Born Frees, and then look at the reaction to this term by some real young South Africans.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Malila, Vanessa
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/158680 , vital:40220 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC175765
- Description: Young South Africans are often referred to as the Born Frees - a term which sometimes means people born after 1994, sometimes people born after 1990, or young people who came of age politically after 1994. I've come to really dislike the term Born Frees and particularly the way it is used by the media and the politicians. By calling young people Born Frees, society is using apartheid as a reference point to identify a post-apartheid generation. This reference point (the transition to a 'free' society) unfortunately does not resonate with many of the young people that I've encountered in my research and many feel insulted by the implications of this term, which does not apply to them in any way. Should South African society really be using the transition from apartheid to define its young people and how does it relate to the lives of real young people in South Africa today? Are they really Born Free, free from what, free to do what, free individuals or free as a collective? I will look at some of the stereotypes being used in the mainstream media of Born Frees, and then look at the reaction to this term by some real young South Africans.
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Being at Home: Race, Institutional Culture and Transformation at South African Higher Education Institutions
- Tabensky, Pedro, Matthews, Sally
- Authors: Tabensky, Pedro , Matthews, Sally
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142084 , vital:38048 , ISBN 9781869142902 , https://books.google.co.za/books?id=49o8rgEACAAJanddq=Being+at+home:+Race,+institutional+culture+and+transformation+at+South+African+higher+education+institutionandhl=enandsa=Xandved=0ahUKEwiPgsa6mpjjAhXNN8AKHbNwAtoQ6AEIKDAA
- Description: This edited work has gathered together contributions on how to transform universities in South Africa; as many are struggling to shift their institutional culture. In a South African context, transformation means to attempt to change higher education institutions such that they no longer reflect the values promoted by apartheid but rather reflect the values embodied in South Africa's 1996 Constitution. Institutional culture is the main subject for discussion in this book. In order to transform South Africa's universities, the contributors begin by analyzing the idea of what a university is, and relatedly, what its ideal aims are. A second theme is to understand what institutional culture is and how it functions. Moreover, transformation cannot occur without transforming the broader cultures of which they are a part. Related to this theme is a general concern about how contemporary moves towards the instrumentalization of higher education affect the ability to transform institutions. These institutions are being pushed to conform to goals that are outside the traditional idea of a university, such as concerns that universities are being 'bureaucratized' and becoming corporations, instead of a place of learning open to all. In conclusion it can be said that the contemporary South African academic community has an opportunity to recreate itself as the end of apartheid created space for engaging in transformative epistemic projects. The transformation of the tertiary sector entails a transformation of institutional cultures.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Tabensky, Pedro , Matthews, Sally
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142084 , vital:38048 , ISBN 9781869142902 , https://books.google.co.za/books?id=49o8rgEACAAJanddq=Being+at+home:+Race,+institutional+culture+and+transformation+at+South+African+higher+education+institutionandhl=enandsa=Xandved=0ahUKEwiPgsa6mpjjAhXNN8AKHbNwAtoQ6AEIKDAA
- Description: This edited work has gathered together contributions on how to transform universities in South Africa; as many are struggling to shift their institutional culture. In a South African context, transformation means to attempt to change higher education institutions such that they no longer reflect the values promoted by apartheid but rather reflect the values embodied in South Africa's 1996 Constitution. Institutional culture is the main subject for discussion in this book. In order to transform South Africa's universities, the contributors begin by analyzing the idea of what a university is, and relatedly, what its ideal aims are. A second theme is to understand what institutional culture is and how it functions. Moreover, transformation cannot occur without transforming the broader cultures of which they are a part. Related to this theme is a general concern about how contemporary moves towards the instrumentalization of higher education affect the ability to transform institutions. These institutions are being pushed to conform to goals that are outside the traditional idea of a university, such as concerns that universities are being 'bureaucratized' and becoming corporations, instead of a place of learning open to all. In conclusion it can be said that the contemporary South African academic community has an opportunity to recreate itself as the end of apartheid created space for engaging in transformative epistemic projects. The transformation of the tertiary sector entails a transformation of institutional cultures.
- Full Text:
Being for others : critical reflections on the stranger, the estranged and the self in participatory art
- Authors: Munro, Samantha Fawn
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Self , Identity (Philosophical concept) in art , Alienation (Philosophy) , Interactive art , Art appreciation , Art exhibition audiences , Interactive art -- Themes, motives , Social interaction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2507 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017771
- Description: By referring to established concepts and theories which contemplate our experiences in relation to others and space, this thesis examines the interactions and responses of an audience during various participatory artworks. I draw upon Jean-Paul Sartre’s Being and Nothingness and Elizabeth Grosz’ Architecture From The Outside: Essays on Virtual and Real Space in order to understand our interactions with other people, our interactions inside an environment, and the objects and ceremonies we use during these interactions. I align these experiences with the methods which are employed to anticipate and create the interactions between an audience and a participatory artwork. Our daily interactions can be considered a frame that an artist shapes for their represented situation to allow, provide and guide an audience towards their possibilities for movements and actions within a participatory artwork. The interactions that occur in participatory art are done in relation to others and include groups of people interacting with each other rather than an individual disembodied experience. I refer to Claire Bishop in her book, Artificial Hells, and Nicolas Bourriaud in Relational Aesthetics in order to define participatory art. In defining participatory art I focus on the idea that participation is a social activity without which the artwork does not function or exist. I unravel Brett Bailey’s Exhibit A, Anthea Moys Anthea Moys vs The City of Grahamstown and Christian Boltanski’s Personnes in terms of the frame they use to construct participation and interaction. I refer to my own exhibition Ineffaceable as an exploration of these frames which encourage participation. The inside and the outside are a constant theme throughout this thesis and my exhibition. This thematic re-emerges in relation to a number of opposing and fluctuating dynamics: the self and the other; the object and the subject; familiarity and strangeness; the participator and the spectator; the immersive and the disembodied; and the artwork and the audience. Participatory art has not been sufficiently explored particularly in South Africa with South African case studies and particularly from a practical standpoint that includes methodologies for creating participation. This thesis hopes to enrich and contribute to the contemplations on participatory art by focusing on our interactions with others.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Munro, Samantha Fawn
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Self , Identity (Philosophical concept) in art , Alienation (Philosophy) , Interactive art , Art appreciation , Art exhibition audiences , Interactive art -- Themes, motives , Social interaction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2507 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017771
- Description: By referring to established concepts and theories which contemplate our experiences in relation to others and space, this thesis examines the interactions and responses of an audience during various participatory artworks. I draw upon Jean-Paul Sartre’s Being and Nothingness and Elizabeth Grosz’ Architecture From The Outside: Essays on Virtual and Real Space in order to understand our interactions with other people, our interactions inside an environment, and the objects and ceremonies we use during these interactions. I align these experiences with the methods which are employed to anticipate and create the interactions between an audience and a participatory artwork. Our daily interactions can be considered a frame that an artist shapes for their represented situation to allow, provide and guide an audience towards their possibilities for movements and actions within a participatory artwork. The interactions that occur in participatory art are done in relation to others and include groups of people interacting with each other rather than an individual disembodied experience. I refer to Claire Bishop in her book, Artificial Hells, and Nicolas Bourriaud in Relational Aesthetics in order to define participatory art. In defining participatory art I focus on the idea that participation is a social activity without which the artwork does not function or exist. I unravel Brett Bailey’s Exhibit A, Anthea Moys Anthea Moys vs The City of Grahamstown and Christian Boltanski’s Personnes in terms of the frame they use to construct participation and interaction. I refer to my own exhibition Ineffaceable as an exploration of these frames which encourage participation. The inside and the outside are a constant theme throughout this thesis and my exhibition. This thematic re-emerges in relation to a number of opposing and fluctuating dynamics: the self and the other; the object and the subject; familiarity and strangeness; the participator and the spectator; the immersive and the disembodied; and the artwork and the audience. Participatory art has not been sufficiently explored particularly in South Africa with South African case studies and particularly from a practical standpoint that includes methodologies for creating participation. This thesis hopes to enrich and contribute to the contemplations on participatory art by focusing on our interactions with others.
- Full Text:
Benzimidazole or Diamide From a Reaction of Diamines and Carboxylic Acids or Acid Chlorides: Crystal Structures and Theoretical Studies
- Odame, Felix, Hosten, Eric C, Betz, Richard, Lobb, Kevin A, Tshentu, Zenixole R
- Authors: Odame, Felix , Hosten, Eric C , Betz, Richard , Lobb, Kevin A , Tshentu, Zenixole R
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/447938 , vital:74685 , xlink:href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/bf5a/ce94c9436f40059793eb988e08da8ef09886.pdf"
- Description: A reaction of an acid chloride with a diamine yielded a diamide. m-Toluic acid was chlorinated to m-toluoyl chloride and subsequently reacted with 4-methyl-o-phenylenediamine in pyridine to obtain 3-methyl-N-[2-(3-methylbenzamido)phenylbenzamide (I). 2-(3-Methylphenyl)-1H-benzimidazole (II) has been obtained upon reacting o-phenylenediamine with m-toluic acid in polyphosphoric acid and toluene. The compounds have been characterized by IR, NMR, microanalyses and GC-MS. The crystal structures of the compounds have been discussed. DFT calculations of the frontier orbitals of the precursor compounds have been carried out to ascertain the groups that contribute to the HOMO and LUMO, and to study their contribution to the reactivity in the formation of the diamides and benzimidazoles. The synthesis of the amide from a diamine was seen to be favoured in the presence of a good leaving group attached to the carbonyl as in the case of acid chloride. However, the synthesis of benzimidazoles was found to be favoured in the presence of an excess of a protonating agent and high temperature.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Odame, Felix , Hosten, Eric C , Betz, Richard , Lobb, Kevin A , Tshentu, Zenixole R
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/447938 , vital:74685 , xlink:href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/bf5a/ce94c9436f40059793eb988e08da8ef09886.pdf"
- Description: A reaction of an acid chloride with a diamine yielded a diamide. m-Toluic acid was chlorinated to m-toluoyl chloride and subsequently reacted with 4-methyl-o-phenylenediamine in pyridine to obtain 3-methyl-N-[2-(3-methylbenzamido)phenylbenzamide (I). 2-(3-Methylphenyl)-1H-benzimidazole (II) has been obtained upon reacting o-phenylenediamine with m-toluic acid in polyphosphoric acid and toluene. The compounds have been characterized by IR, NMR, microanalyses and GC-MS. The crystal structures of the compounds have been discussed. DFT calculations of the frontier orbitals of the precursor compounds have been carried out to ascertain the groups that contribute to the HOMO and LUMO, and to study their contribution to the reactivity in the formation of the diamides and benzimidazoles. The synthesis of the amide from a diamine was seen to be favoured in the presence of a good leaving group attached to the carbonyl as in the case of acid chloride. However, the synthesis of benzimidazoles was found to be favoured in the presence of an excess of a protonating agent and high temperature.
- Full Text:
Beyond Dudlu Ntombazana!–the voice Of SEK Mqhayi
- Authors: Jadezweni, Mhlobo W
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/468340 , vital:77044 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-6a0a3555e
- Description: This article analyses selected poems produced by S.E.K. Mqhayi, a well-known writer of isiXhosa poetry whose work was published in several isiXhosa early newspapers. Mqhayi is also acknowledged as the first prominent isiXhosa writer to produce poetry and novels, and is credited with initiating the transition from oral to written literature at the beginning of the 19th century. In this article, selected poems are analysed against the backdrop of gender relations among amaXhosa. The article sets out to discover how Mqhayi was able to depict and praise women and their contributions in early amaXhosa society.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Jadezweni, Mhlobo W
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/468340 , vital:77044 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-6a0a3555e
- Description: This article analyses selected poems produced by S.E.K. Mqhayi, a well-known writer of isiXhosa poetry whose work was published in several isiXhosa early newspapers. Mqhayi is also acknowledged as the first prominent isiXhosa writer to produce poetry and novels, and is credited with initiating the transition from oral to written literature at the beginning of the 19th century. In this article, selected poems are analysed against the backdrop of gender relations among amaXhosa. The article sets out to discover how Mqhayi was able to depict and praise women and their contributions in early amaXhosa society.
- Full Text:
Bhaskar and collective action: Using laminations to structure a literature review of collective action and water management
- Authors: Burt, Jane C
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436978 , vital:73321 , ISBN 9781315660899 , https://www.routledge.com/Critical-Realism-Environmental-Learning-and-Social-Ecological-Change/Price-Lotz-Sistka/p/book/9780367597689
- Description: This chapter describes the use of Bhaskar’s lamination to make sense of the vast literature on collective action. The liter-ature review in the chapter was part of a broader study that in-vestigated collective action as essential for attaining the princi-ples of equity and sustainability set out in the post-apartheid South African Water Act. A laminated analysis of the literature revealed important insights such as: when dealing with collec-tive action we need to appreciate that all the levels of reality are acting simultaneously on a given context and cannot be resolved in isolation; collective action is inhibited or con-strained at different levels and scales by different things; and collective action is not suspended in a fixed context and can-not be encouraged by following a set formula. These insights point to the importance of learning to adapt as a core principle of collective action. Drawing on this research and experience of how collective action can be supported or inhibited gives insight into understanding our current limitations in supporting collective action and in understanding the kinds of collective action encounters that are occurring in catchments in South Africa. These understandings have implications for how we consider learning, and the potential contributions of learning-led change.This chapter describes the use of Bhaskar’s lamination to make sense of the vast literature on collective action. The liter-ature review in the chapter was part of a broader study that in-vestigated collective action as essential for attaining the princi-ples of equity and sustainability set out in the post-apartheid South African Water Act. A laminated analysis of the literature revealed important insights such as: when dealing with collec-tive action we need to appreciate that all the levels of reality are acting simultaneously on a given context and cannot be resolved in isolation; collective action is inhibited or con-strained at different levels and scales by different things; and collective action is not suspended in a fixed context and can-not be encouraged by following a set formula. These insights point to the importance of learning to adapt as a core principle of collective action. Drawing on this research and experience of how collective action can be supported or inhibited gives insight into understanding our current limitations in supporting collective action and in understanding the kinds of collective action encounters that are occurring in catchments in South Africa. These understandings have implications for how we consider learning, and the potential contributions of learning-led change.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Burt, Jane C
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436978 , vital:73321 , ISBN 9781315660899 , https://www.routledge.com/Critical-Realism-Environmental-Learning-and-Social-Ecological-Change/Price-Lotz-Sistka/p/book/9780367597689
- Description: This chapter describes the use of Bhaskar’s lamination to make sense of the vast literature on collective action. The liter-ature review in the chapter was part of a broader study that in-vestigated collective action as essential for attaining the princi-ples of equity and sustainability set out in the post-apartheid South African Water Act. A laminated analysis of the literature revealed important insights such as: when dealing with collec-tive action we need to appreciate that all the levels of reality are acting simultaneously on a given context and cannot be resolved in isolation; collective action is inhibited or con-strained at different levels and scales by different things; and collective action is not suspended in a fixed context and can-not be encouraged by following a set formula. These insights point to the importance of learning to adapt as a core principle of collective action. Drawing on this research and experience of how collective action can be supported or inhibited gives insight into understanding our current limitations in supporting collective action and in understanding the kinds of collective action encounters that are occurring in catchments in South Africa. These understandings have implications for how we consider learning, and the potential contributions of learning-led change.This chapter describes the use of Bhaskar’s lamination to make sense of the vast literature on collective action. The liter-ature review in the chapter was part of a broader study that in-vestigated collective action as essential for attaining the princi-ples of equity and sustainability set out in the post-apartheid South African Water Act. A laminated analysis of the literature revealed important insights such as: when dealing with collec-tive action we need to appreciate that all the levels of reality are acting simultaneously on a given context and cannot be resolved in isolation; collective action is inhibited or con-strained at different levels and scales by different things; and collective action is not suspended in a fixed context and can-not be encouraged by following a set formula. These insights point to the importance of learning to adapt as a core principle of collective action. Drawing on this research and experience of how collective action can be supported or inhibited gives insight into understanding our current limitations in supporting collective action and in understanding the kinds of collective action encounters that are occurring in catchments in South Africa. These understandings have implications for how we consider learning, and the potential contributions of learning-led change.
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Bilingual teaching practices in South African higher education : making a case for terminology planning
- Authors: Mawonga, Sisonke
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Language and education -- South Africa , Native language and education , Language policy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3653 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017894
- Description: When the apartheid government was in power universities in South Africa were segregated according to a race and language. After apartheid, the democratic government came into power and its vision was abolition of segregation. There was also equal and equity of access to public institutions which were set aside for certain people to have access to. Access to universities was equalized and students with different racial, social, cultural and linguistic backgrounds were allowed access to universities which they used not to have access to before. The students‟ access to all universities led to diversity within these institutions. Even though this was the case, there were no changes in the system prevalent during apartheid. English, for example, continued to be the language of learning and teaching (LoLT) while the numbers of students who speak languages other than English (LOTE) as home languages was also increasing. The Constitution of South Africa (Section 6, Act 108 of 1996) acknowledges the previous marginalization of indigenous languages in the country and encourages the development and use of these languages as official languages. The right of access to educational institutions, and accessing education in one‟s language, if that language is one of the official languages, is also encouraged by the Constitution. There are other supporting legislative documents such as the Languages Bill (2011), the Higher Education Act (1997) and the national Language Policy for Higher Education (LPHE) (2002) that support multilingualism, the equal promotion of the official languages as well as use of multiple languages in higher education institutions (HEIs) to support learning. The above mentioned policies and legislations may exist to ensure equality and equity, and even though HEIs have become heterogonous, that does not guarantee that the students enrolled in these institutions have equal access to knowledge offered by the HEIs in SA. This research uses the theories of languages and conceptualization; language and learning as well as language planning to show that the students‟ first languages in learning can assist to facilitate cognition. Terminology development, as part of corpus planning which is the body of language planning is introduced in this study in the form of bilingual glossaries as an intervention especially for students‟ whose mother tongue is not English as language used for learning at university for different disciplines tend to be abstract. The data for this research was collected from the 2014 first year students registered in the Extended Studies Unit (ESU) in the Humanities Faculty at Rhodes University. Research methods such as questionnaires, participant observations, interviews as well as content analysis were used to collect the data. These methods were used to look at the students‟ use and perceptions of bilingual glossaries as additional resource materials which can assist them in learning. A Political Philosophy I module offered by the Political Science department was used for this research. This thesis presents a model which can be used for the development of bilingual glossaries in order to facilitate learning. The thesis recommends the use of corpus extraction tools such as WordSmith Tools (WST) that can be used to generate and extract terms and illustrates the use of this tool by extracting terms from an English Political Philosophy textbook. These terms are defined and these are then translated into isiXhosa to provide a sample of the bilingual glossary. This glossary has been designed to illustrate how the bi/multilingual glossaries with terms and definitions can be developed in order for use by students to facilitate learning them. The study also presents a terminology list which consists of Political Philosophy terms that have been generated during the corpus extraction process. It is recommended that further research looks into the development of bi/multilingual glossaries using the suggested model so that the students who are speakers of LOTE can also be able to understand abstract terms which are used at university
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mawonga, Sisonke
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Language and education -- South Africa , Native language and education , Language policy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3653 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017894
- Description: When the apartheid government was in power universities in South Africa were segregated according to a race and language. After apartheid, the democratic government came into power and its vision was abolition of segregation. There was also equal and equity of access to public institutions which were set aside for certain people to have access to. Access to universities was equalized and students with different racial, social, cultural and linguistic backgrounds were allowed access to universities which they used not to have access to before. The students‟ access to all universities led to diversity within these institutions. Even though this was the case, there were no changes in the system prevalent during apartheid. English, for example, continued to be the language of learning and teaching (LoLT) while the numbers of students who speak languages other than English (LOTE) as home languages was also increasing. The Constitution of South Africa (Section 6, Act 108 of 1996) acknowledges the previous marginalization of indigenous languages in the country and encourages the development and use of these languages as official languages. The right of access to educational institutions, and accessing education in one‟s language, if that language is one of the official languages, is also encouraged by the Constitution. There are other supporting legislative documents such as the Languages Bill (2011), the Higher Education Act (1997) and the national Language Policy for Higher Education (LPHE) (2002) that support multilingualism, the equal promotion of the official languages as well as use of multiple languages in higher education institutions (HEIs) to support learning. The above mentioned policies and legislations may exist to ensure equality and equity, and even though HEIs have become heterogonous, that does not guarantee that the students enrolled in these institutions have equal access to knowledge offered by the HEIs in SA. This research uses the theories of languages and conceptualization; language and learning as well as language planning to show that the students‟ first languages in learning can assist to facilitate cognition. Terminology development, as part of corpus planning which is the body of language planning is introduced in this study in the form of bilingual glossaries as an intervention especially for students‟ whose mother tongue is not English as language used for learning at university for different disciplines tend to be abstract. The data for this research was collected from the 2014 first year students registered in the Extended Studies Unit (ESU) in the Humanities Faculty at Rhodes University. Research methods such as questionnaires, participant observations, interviews as well as content analysis were used to collect the data. These methods were used to look at the students‟ use and perceptions of bilingual glossaries as additional resource materials which can assist them in learning. A Political Philosophy I module offered by the Political Science department was used for this research. This thesis presents a model which can be used for the development of bilingual glossaries in order to facilitate learning. The thesis recommends the use of corpus extraction tools such as WordSmith Tools (WST) that can be used to generate and extract terms and illustrates the use of this tool by extracting terms from an English Political Philosophy textbook. These terms are defined and these are then translated into isiXhosa to provide a sample of the bilingual glossary. This glossary has been designed to illustrate how the bi/multilingual glossaries with terms and definitions can be developed in order for use by students to facilitate learning them. The study also presents a terminology list which consists of Political Philosophy terms that have been generated during the corpus extraction process. It is recommended that further research looks into the development of bi/multilingual glossaries using the suggested model so that the students who are speakers of LOTE can also be able to understand abstract terms which are used at university
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Biodiversity and nutrition
- Hunter, D, Burlingame, B, Remans, Roseline, Borelli, Teresa, Cogill, Bruce, Coradin, Lidio, Golden, C D, Jamnadass, Ramni H, Kehlenbeck, K, Kennedy, G, Kuhnlein, H V, McMullin, S, Myers, S, Silva, A J R, Saha, M, Scheerer, L, Shackleton, Charlie M, Neves Soares Oliviera, C, Termote, Celine, Teofili, C, Thilsted, Shakuntala H, Valenti, R
- Authors: Hunter, D , Burlingame, B , Remans, Roseline , Borelli, Teresa , Cogill, Bruce , Coradin, Lidio , Golden, C D , Jamnadass, Ramni H , Kehlenbeck, K , Kennedy, G , Kuhnlein, H V , McMullin, S , Myers, S , Silva, A J R , Saha, M , Scheerer, L , Shackleton, Charlie M , Neves Soares Oliviera, C , Termote, Celine , Teofili, C , Thilsted, Shakuntala H , Valenti, R
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/434014 , vital:73026 , ISBN 978 92 4 150853 7 , https://hdl.handle.net/10568/67423
- Description: Malnutrition remains one of the greatest global health challenges we face and women and children are its most visible and vulnerable victims. Agricultural production is theoretically able to feed the world’s population in terms of calories (FAOSTAT, 2014), yet it is estimated that half the world’s population still suffers from one or more forms of malnutrition. In all its forms, malnutrition is closely linked to disease – as both a cause and effect – and it is the single largest contributor to the global burden of disease (WHO 2012a).
- Full Text:
- Authors: Hunter, D , Burlingame, B , Remans, Roseline , Borelli, Teresa , Cogill, Bruce , Coradin, Lidio , Golden, C D , Jamnadass, Ramni H , Kehlenbeck, K , Kennedy, G , Kuhnlein, H V , McMullin, S , Myers, S , Silva, A J R , Saha, M , Scheerer, L , Shackleton, Charlie M , Neves Soares Oliviera, C , Termote, Celine , Teofili, C , Thilsted, Shakuntala H , Valenti, R
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/434014 , vital:73026 , ISBN 978 92 4 150853 7 , https://hdl.handle.net/10568/67423
- Description: Malnutrition remains one of the greatest global health challenges we face and women and children are its most visible and vulnerable victims. Agricultural production is theoretically able to feed the world’s population in terms of calories (FAOSTAT, 2014), yet it is estimated that half the world’s population still suffers from one or more forms of malnutrition. In all its forms, malnutrition is closely linked to disease – as both a cause and effect – and it is the single largest contributor to the global burden of disease (WHO 2012a).
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