Evolving an Efficient and Effective Off-the-Shelf Computing Infrastructure for Rural Communities of South Africa
- Siebörger, Ingrid, Terzoli, Alfredo, Hodgkinson-Williams, Cheryl
- Authors: Siebörger, Ingrid , Terzoli, Alfredo , Hodgkinson-Williams, Cheryl
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/430990 , vital:72734 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52014-4_5
- Description: Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have diffused into al-most every area of life for citizens living in the Global North. Data is seen as a key element in the fourth industrial revolution and is the foundation of Information, Knowledge and Wisdom. Knowledge has become the new “make or break” asset and an inability to access the world’s data and technologies that facilitate access, synthesis and inter-rogation of data places one at a disadvantage. In 2013, the Department of Communications in South Africa announced a new national broad-band policy to promote the reduction of a digital divide and sup-port citi-zens and the economy in digital interactions. Implementation has thus far not been successful. Furthermore, the Broadband policy does not address how South Africans are to access the Internet once available. The Siyakhula Living Lab (SLL) provides an example of a computing infrastructure model for the introduction of ICTs into rural communities. Through the deployment of “broadband islands” and low-cost compu-ting infrastructure to promote both knowledge creation and consump-tion, access to the proposed ubiquitous Internet connectivity can be un-locked. However, the initial computing infrastructure deployed to the SLL suffers from a single point of failure. In this paper, we discuss al-ternative computing infrastructure configurations that were tested and deployed within the SLL in order to determine a more appropriate com-puting infrastructure model for the SLL and potentially other rural South African communities; such that learners, teachers and community members can be active contributors and consumers of data, infor-mation, knowledge and wisdom.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Siebörger, Ingrid , Terzoli, Alfredo , Hodgkinson-Williams, Cheryl
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/430990 , vital:72734 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52014-4_5
- Description: Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have diffused into al-most every area of life for citizens living in the Global North. Data is seen as a key element in the fourth industrial revolution and is the foundation of Information, Knowledge and Wisdom. Knowledge has become the new “make or break” asset and an inability to access the world’s data and technologies that facilitate access, synthesis and inter-rogation of data places one at a disadvantage. In 2013, the Department of Communications in South Africa announced a new national broad-band policy to promote the reduction of a digital divide and sup-port citi-zens and the economy in digital interactions. Implementation has thus far not been successful. Furthermore, the Broadband policy does not address how South Africans are to access the Internet once available. The Siyakhula Living Lab (SLL) provides an example of a computing infrastructure model for the introduction of ICTs into rural communities. Through the deployment of “broadband islands” and low-cost compu-ting infrastructure to promote both knowledge creation and consump-tion, access to the proposed ubiquitous Internet connectivity can be un-locked. However, the initial computing infrastructure deployed to the SLL suffers from a single point of failure. In this paper, we discuss al-ternative computing infrastructure configurations that were tested and deployed within the SLL in order to determine a more appropriate com-puting infrastructure model for the SLL and potentially other rural South African communities; such that learners, teachers and community members can be active contributors and consumers of data, infor-mation, knowledge and wisdom.
- Full Text:
Exploring intermolecular contacts in multi-substituted benzaldehyde derivatives: X-ray, Hirshfeld surface and lattice energy analyses
- Hulushe, Siyabonga T, Manyeruke, Meloddy H, Louzada, Marcel, Rigin, Sergei, Hosten, Eric C, Watkins, Gareth M
- Authors: Hulushe, Siyabonga T , Manyeruke, Meloddy H , Louzada, Marcel , Rigin, Sergei , Hosten, Eric C , Watkins, Gareth M
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/148483 , vital:38743 , DOI: 10.1039/C9RA10752E
- Description: Crystal structures of six benzaldehyde derivatives (1–6) have been determined and their supramolecular networks were established by an X-ray crystallographic study. The study has shown that the compounds are linked by various intermolecular interactions such as weak C–H⋯O hydrogen bonding, and C–H⋯π, π–π and halogen bonding interactions which consolidate and strengthen the formation of these molecular assemblies. The carbonyl group generates diverse synthons in 1–6 via intermolecular C–H⋯O hydrogen bonds. An interplay of C–H⋯O hydrogen bonds, and C–H⋯π and π–π stacking interactions facilitates the formation of multi-dimensional supramolecular networks. Crystal packings in 4 and 5 are further generated by type I halogen⋯halogen bonding interactions. The differences in crystal packing are represented by variation of substitution positions in the compounds. Structure 3 is isomorphous with 4 but there are subtle differences in their crystal packing.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Hulushe, Siyabonga T , Manyeruke, Meloddy H , Louzada, Marcel , Rigin, Sergei , Hosten, Eric C , Watkins, Gareth M
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/148483 , vital:38743 , DOI: 10.1039/C9RA10752E
- Description: Crystal structures of six benzaldehyde derivatives (1–6) have been determined and their supramolecular networks were established by an X-ray crystallographic study. The study has shown that the compounds are linked by various intermolecular interactions such as weak C–H⋯O hydrogen bonding, and C–H⋯π, π–π and halogen bonding interactions which consolidate and strengthen the formation of these molecular assemblies. The carbonyl group generates diverse synthons in 1–6 via intermolecular C–H⋯O hydrogen bonds. An interplay of C–H⋯O hydrogen bonds, and C–H⋯π and π–π stacking interactions facilitates the formation of multi-dimensional supramolecular networks. Crystal packings in 4 and 5 are further generated by type I halogen⋯halogen bonding interactions. The differences in crystal packing are represented by variation of substitution positions in the compounds. Structure 3 is isomorphous with 4 but there are subtle differences in their crystal packing.
- Full Text:
Holistic nursing in practice: mindfulness-based yoga as an intervention to manage stress and burnout
- Hilcove, Kelly, Marceau, Catherine, Thekdi, Prachi, Larkey, Linda, Brewer, Melanie A, Jones, Kerry
- Authors: Hilcove, Kelly , Marceau, Catherine , Thekdi, Prachi , Larkey, Linda , Brewer, Melanie A , Jones, Kerry
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149336 , vital:38826 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1177/0898010120921587
- Description: Effects of a mindfulness-based (MB) yoga practice on stress, burnout, and indicators of well-being among nurses and health care professionals (HCPs).
- Full Text:
Holistic nursing in practice: mindfulness-based yoga as an intervention to manage stress and burnout
- Authors: Hilcove, Kelly , Marceau, Catherine , Thekdi, Prachi , Larkey, Linda , Brewer, Melanie A , Jones, Kerry
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149336 , vital:38826 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1177/0898010120921587
- Description: Effects of a mindfulness-based (MB) yoga practice on stress, burnout, and indicators of well-being among nurses and health care professionals (HCPs).
- Full Text:
Introduction:
- Authors: Bischoff, Paul, 1954-
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/161700 , vital:40655 , ISBN 9780367348281 , https://www.routledge.com/African-Foreign-Policies-Selecting-Signifiers-to-Explain-Agency/Bischoff/p/book/9780367348281
- Description: This book explores, at a time when several powers have become serious players on the continent, aspects of African agency, past and present, by African writers on foreign policy, representative of geography, language and state size.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Bischoff, Paul, 1954-
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/161700 , vital:40655 , ISBN 9780367348281 , https://www.routledge.com/African-Foreign-Policies-Selecting-Signifiers-to-Explain-Agency/Bischoff/p/book/9780367348281
- Description: This book explores, at a time when several powers have become serious players on the continent, aspects of African agency, past and present, by African writers on foreign policy, representative of geography, language and state size.
- Full Text:
Maximal-entropy initial state of the Universe as a microscopic description of inflation:
- Brustein, Ram, Medved, Allan J M
- Authors: Brustein, Ram , Medved, Allan J M
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149682 , vital:38874 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1103/PhysRevD.101.123502
- Description: We propose that the initial state of the Universe was an isotropic state of maximal entropy. Such a state can be described in terms of a state of closed, interacting, fundamental strings in their high-temperature Hagedorn phase, which constitutes a novel microscopic model for the state of the Universe when it is at the highest sustainable temperature. This state resolves the big-bang singularity by replacing the past of the hot big-bang Universe and sets inflationary initial conditions for the subsequent evolution of the thermal radiation and the semiclassical cosmological geometry. The entropy density in this state is equal to the square root of the energy density in Planck units, while the pressure is positive and equal to the energy density.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Brustein, Ram , Medved, Allan J M
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149682 , vital:38874 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1103/PhysRevD.101.123502
- Description: We propose that the initial state of the Universe was an isotropic state of maximal entropy. Such a state can be described in terms of a state of closed, interacting, fundamental strings in their high-temperature Hagedorn phase, which constitutes a novel microscopic model for the state of the Universe when it is at the highest sustainable temperature. This state resolves the big-bang singularity by replacing the past of the hot big-bang Universe and sets inflationary initial conditions for the subsequent evolution of the thermal radiation and the semiclassical cosmological geometry. The entropy density in this state is equal to the square root of the energy density in Planck units, while the pressure is positive and equal to the energy density.
- Full Text:
Misalignments in assessments: Using Semantics to reveal weaknesses
- Rootman-le Grange, Ilsa, Blackie, Margaret A L
- Authors: Rootman-le Grange, Ilsa , Blackie, Margaret A L
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/445837 , vital:74436 , ISBN 9781003028215 , https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003028215-5/misalignments-assessments-ilse-rootman-le-grange-margaret-blackie
- Description: Creating cumulative learning opportunities is a key challenge in all physical sciences. This is particularly the case for introductory university modules that are mandatory for enrolment in more specialized courses. Students are expected to accumulate a foundational base of knowledge, and build on and apply this knowledge to different contexts in later courses. Since assessment is a core learning opportunity, it is important to consider the roles it can play in addressing this challenge. This chapter provides an example of how LCT can be used to evaluate and inform the quality of assessments. Using the example of a chemistry assessment in an introductory course offered to first-year health science students, we draw on LCT concepts of ‘semantic gravity’ and ‘semantic density’ to show how the ability to shift between abstract and highly-condensed meanings and relatively context-dependent meanings in student assessments is indicative of cumulative knowledge-building. Furthermore, analysis reveals how some assessments are not well suited to produce these learning outcomes. As such, the chapter provides insights into how LCT can inform the design of assessments in order to encourage the development of cumulative learning in similar contexts.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Rootman-le Grange, Ilsa , Blackie, Margaret A L
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/445837 , vital:74436 , ISBN 9781003028215 , https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003028215-5/misalignments-assessments-ilse-rootman-le-grange-margaret-blackie
- Description: Creating cumulative learning opportunities is a key challenge in all physical sciences. This is particularly the case for introductory university modules that are mandatory for enrolment in more specialized courses. Students are expected to accumulate a foundational base of knowledge, and build on and apply this knowledge to different contexts in later courses. Since assessment is a core learning opportunity, it is important to consider the roles it can play in addressing this challenge. This chapter provides an example of how LCT can be used to evaluate and inform the quality of assessments. Using the example of a chemistry assessment in an introductory course offered to first-year health science students, we draw on LCT concepts of ‘semantic gravity’ and ‘semantic density’ to show how the ability to shift between abstract and highly-condensed meanings and relatively context-dependent meanings in student assessments is indicative of cumulative knowledge-building. Furthermore, analysis reveals how some assessments are not well suited to produce these learning outcomes. As such, the chapter provides insights into how LCT can inform the design of assessments in order to encourage the development of cumulative learning in similar contexts.
- Full Text:
New directions in Maritime and Fisheries Anthropology:
- Authors: Aswani, Shankar
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/179028 , vital:40101 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1111/aman.13380
- Description: Maritime and fisheries anthropology is a mixture of different themes couched under various theoretical frameworks that straddle the humanities and the sciences. In this subject survey, I explore different thematic and theoretical strands of maritime and fisheries anthropology and illustrate broader changes in this subdiscipline since around the mid‐1990s. I also review developing and future thematic and theoretical research frontiers, and discuss their potential contribution to a public and actionable anthropology/scholarship that can better inform fisheries management and conservation. This is important because in the twenty‐first century, coastal peoples are facing socioeconomic and environmental challenges that are increasingly becoming hazardous. To create a more actionable discipline, anthropology needs to be more accessible, inform innovation, and recapture a more pluralistic scholarship that champions interdisciplinary work. This will require the consilience between the humanities and natural sciences for studying human–marine interactions more broadly and for protecting the marine environment.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Aswani, Shankar
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/179028 , vital:40101 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1111/aman.13380
- Description: Maritime and fisheries anthropology is a mixture of different themes couched under various theoretical frameworks that straddle the humanities and the sciences. In this subject survey, I explore different thematic and theoretical strands of maritime and fisheries anthropology and illustrate broader changes in this subdiscipline since around the mid‐1990s. I also review developing and future thematic and theoretical research frontiers, and discuss their potential contribution to a public and actionable anthropology/scholarship that can better inform fisheries management and conservation. This is important because in the twenty‐first century, coastal peoples are facing socioeconomic and environmental challenges that are increasingly becoming hazardous. To create a more actionable discipline, anthropology needs to be more accessible, inform innovation, and recapture a more pluralistic scholarship that champions interdisciplinary work. This will require the consilience between the humanities and natural sciences for studying human–marine interactions more broadly and for protecting the marine environment.
- Full Text:
Passphrase and Keystroke Dynamics Authentication: Usable Security
- Bhana, Bhaveer, Flowerday, Stephen
- Authors: Bhana, Bhaveer , Flowerday, Stephen
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/158372 , vital:40178 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2020.101925
- Description: It was found that employees spend a total of 2.25 days within 60 days on password-related activities. The time consumed by this is unproductive and has a negative impact on usability. The problem is caused by current text-based user authentication policies in use. This study aims to address this research problem by assessing the effectiveness of a proposed two-tier user authentication solution involving passphrases and keystroke dynamics.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Bhana, Bhaveer , Flowerday, Stephen
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/158372 , vital:40178 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2020.101925
- Description: It was found that employees spend a total of 2.25 days within 60 days on password-related activities. The time consumed by this is unproductive and has a negative impact on usability. The problem is caused by current text-based user authentication policies in use. This study aims to address this research problem by assessing the effectiveness of a proposed two-tier user authentication solution involving passphrases and keystroke dynamics.
- Full Text:
The Effects of Alkaline Pretreatment on Agricultural Biomasses (Corn Cob and Sweet Sorghum Bagasse) and Their Hydrolysis by a Termite-Derived Enzyme Cocktail:
- Mafa, Mpho S, Malgas, Samkelo, Bhattacharya, Abhishek, Rashamuse, Konanani, Pletschke, Brett I
- Authors: Mafa, Mpho S , Malgas, Samkelo , Bhattacharya, Abhishek , Rashamuse, Konanani , Pletschke, Brett I
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/160273 , vital:40430 , https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10081211
- Description: Sweet sorghum bagasse (SSB) and corncob (CC) have been identified as promising feedstocks for the production of second-generation biofuels and other value-added chemicals. In this study, lime (Ca(OH)2) and NaOH pretreatment efficacy for decreasing recalcitrance from SSB and CC was investigated, and subsequently, the pretreated biomass was subjected to the hydrolytic action of an in-house formulated holocellulolytic enzyme cocktail (HEC-H). Compositional analysis revealed that SSB contained 29.34% lignin, 17.75% cellulose and 16.28% hemicellulose, while CC consisted of 22.51% lignin, 23.58% cellulose and 33.34% hemicellulose. Alkaline pretreatment was more effective in pretreating CC biomass compared to the SSB biomass.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mafa, Mpho S , Malgas, Samkelo , Bhattacharya, Abhishek , Rashamuse, Konanani , Pletschke, Brett I
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/160273 , vital:40430 , https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10081211
- Description: Sweet sorghum bagasse (SSB) and corncob (CC) have been identified as promising feedstocks for the production of second-generation biofuels and other value-added chemicals. In this study, lime (Ca(OH)2) and NaOH pretreatment efficacy for decreasing recalcitrance from SSB and CC was investigated, and subsequently, the pretreated biomass was subjected to the hydrolytic action of an in-house formulated holocellulolytic enzyme cocktail (HEC-H). Compositional analysis revealed that SSB contained 29.34% lignin, 17.75% cellulose and 16.28% hemicellulose, while CC consisted of 22.51% lignin, 23.58% cellulose and 33.34% hemicellulose. Alkaline pretreatment was more effective in pretreating CC biomass compared to the SSB biomass.
- Full Text:
The establishment and rapid spread of Sagittaria Platyphylla in South Africa:
- Ndlovu, Mpilonhle S, Coetzee, Julie A, Nxumalo, Menzi M, Lalla, Reshnee, Shabalala, Ntombifuthi, Martin, Grant D
- Authors: Ndlovu, Mpilonhle S , Coetzee, Julie A , Nxumalo, Menzi M , Lalla, Reshnee , Shabalala, Ntombifuthi , Martin, Grant D
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149788 , vital:38884 , https://doi.org/10.3390/w12051472
- Description: Sagittaria platyphylla Engelm. (Alismataceae) is a freshwater aquatic macrophyte that has become an important invasive weed in freshwater systems in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and recently China. In South Africa, due to its rapid increase in distribution and ineffective control options, it is recognised as one of the country’s worst invasive aquatic alien plants. In this paper, we investigate the spread of the plant since its first detection in 2008, and the management strategies currently carried out against it. Despite early detection and rapid response programmes, which included chemical and mechanical control measures, the plant was able to spread both within and between sites, increasing from just one site in 2008 to 72 by 2019. Once introduced into a lotic system, the plant was able to spread rapidly, in some cases up to 120 km within 6 years, with an average of 10 km per year. The plant was successfully extirpated at some sites, however, due to the failure of chemical and mechanical control, biological control is currently being considered as a potential control option.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Ndlovu, Mpilonhle S , Coetzee, Julie A , Nxumalo, Menzi M , Lalla, Reshnee , Shabalala, Ntombifuthi , Martin, Grant D
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149788 , vital:38884 , https://doi.org/10.3390/w12051472
- Description: Sagittaria platyphylla Engelm. (Alismataceae) is a freshwater aquatic macrophyte that has become an important invasive weed in freshwater systems in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and recently China. In South Africa, due to its rapid increase in distribution and ineffective control options, it is recognised as one of the country’s worst invasive aquatic alien plants. In this paper, we investigate the spread of the plant since its first detection in 2008, and the management strategies currently carried out against it. Despite early detection and rapid response programmes, which included chemical and mechanical control measures, the plant was able to spread both within and between sites, increasing from just one site in 2008 to 72 by 2019. Once introduced into a lotic system, the plant was able to spread rapidly, in some cases up to 120 km within 6 years, with an average of 10 km per year. The plant was successfully extirpated at some sites, however, due to the failure of chemical and mechanical control, biological control is currently being considered as a potential control option.
- Full Text:
The Legacy Effects of Colonial and Apartheid Imprints on Urban Greening in South Africa: Spaces, Species, and Suitability
- Shackleton, Charlie M, Gwedla, Nanamhla
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Gwedla, Nanamhla
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/176296 , vital:42682 , https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.579813
- Description: Colonialism is a significant legacy across most aspects of urban form, the nature and distribution of public green spaces, and tree species composition in many cities of the Global South. However, the legacy effects of colonialism on urban green infrastructure and the uses thereof have only recently come under scrutiny. Here we collate information from South Africa on urban greening and interpret it through a colonial and apartheid legacy lens in relation to the distribution and types of urban nature found and their resonance with contemporary needs as an African country.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Gwedla, Nanamhla
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/176296 , vital:42682 , https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.579813
- Description: Colonialism is a significant legacy across most aspects of urban form, the nature and distribution of public green spaces, and tree species composition in many cities of the Global South. However, the legacy effects of colonialism on urban green infrastructure and the uses thereof have only recently come under scrutiny. Here we collate information from South Africa on urban greening and interpret it through a colonial and apartheid legacy lens in relation to the distribution and types of urban nature found and their resonance with contemporary needs as an African country.
- Full Text:
Topsoil transfer from natural renosterveld to degraded old fields facilitates native vegetation recovery:
- Authors: Ruwanza, Sheunesu
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/148639 , vital:38758 , https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093833
- Description: The transfer of soils from intact vegetation communities to degraded ecosystems is seen as a promising restoration tool aimed at facilitating vegetation recovery. This study examined how topsoil transfer from intact renosterveld to degraded old fields improves vegetation diversity, cover, and composition. Transferred topsoil were overlaid on 30 quadrats, each measuring 1 m2, in May 2009. Eight years following the initial soil transfer, vegetation diversity in the soil transfer site showed an increase towards the natural site compared to the old field site where no soil transfer was administered. Both species richness and cover for trees and shrubs in the soil transfer site increased towards the natural site, though this was not the case for herbs and grasses. One-way analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) showed significant (R = 0.55) separation in community composition between sites. The study concludes that soil transfer from intact renosterveld to degraded old fields is a promising restoration technique because it increases species diversity and cover and facilitates vegetation recovery. A significant restoration implication of this study is that soil transfer introduces key renosterveld native tree and shrub species that can facilitate successful restoration and act as restoration foci or nurse plants.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Ruwanza, Sheunesu
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/148639 , vital:38758 , https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093833
- Description: The transfer of soils from intact vegetation communities to degraded ecosystems is seen as a promising restoration tool aimed at facilitating vegetation recovery. This study examined how topsoil transfer from intact renosterveld to degraded old fields improves vegetation diversity, cover, and composition. Transferred topsoil were overlaid on 30 quadrats, each measuring 1 m2, in May 2009. Eight years following the initial soil transfer, vegetation diversity in the soil transfer site showed an increase towards the natural site compared to the old field site where no soil transfer was administered. Both species richness and cover for trees and shrubs in the soil transfer site increased towards the natural site, though this was not the case for herbs and grasses. One-way analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) showed significant (R = 0.55) separation in community composition between sites. The study concludes that soil transfer from intact renosterveld to degraded old fields is a promising restoration technique because it increases species diversity and cover and facilitates vegetation recovery. A significant restoration implication of this study is that soil transfer introduces key renosterveld native tree and shrub species that can facilitate successful restoration and act as restoration foci or nurse plants.
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'Hayi, they don’t know Xhosa’: Comparative isiXhosa teaching challenges in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng
- Kaschula, Russell H, Kretzer, Michael M
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Kretzer, Michael M
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/${Handle} , vital:42499 , https://doi.org/10.1080/02572117.2019.1672318
- Description: Language-in-education policy in South Africa is underpinned by the Constitution. The gap that this research addresses is the inconsistency of policy implementation and the actual teaching of isiXhosa in primary schools. It analyses the official and overt language policy and the (covert) language practices at schools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with language teachers and principals. Data were also gathered from classroom observations and document analysis in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng. On the one hand, there are standard language policy documents that exist. These advocate for English as a language of learning and teaching and isiXhosa as a subject. On the other hand, the daily reality in classrooms partly reflects this policy implementation.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Kretzer, Michael M
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/${Handle} , vital:42499 , https://doi.org/10.1080/02572117.2019.1672318
- Description: Language-in-education policy in South Africa is underpinned by the Constitution. The gap that this research addresses is the inconsistency of policy implementation and the actual teaching of isiXhosa in primary schools. It analyses the official and overt language policy and the (covert) language practices at schools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with language teachers and principals. Data were also gathered from classroom observations and document analysis in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng. On the one hand, there are standard language policy documents that exist. These advocate for English as a language of learning and teaching and isiXhosa as a subject. On the other hand, the daily reality in classrooms partly reflects this policy implementation.
- Full Text:
Conjuring our beings: Stacey Gillian Abe and Immy Mali in conversational partnership
- Abe, Stacey Gillian, Mali, Immy
- Authors: Abe, Stacey Gillian , Mali, Immy
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145963 , vital:38482 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1162/afar_a_00457
- Description: The series of Conversational Partnerships began in 2017 in African Arts vol. 50, no. 2, with a conversation between two artists: Eria Nsubuga SANE from Uganda and Sikhumbuzo Makandula from South Africa. The format of a “conversational partnership” (Rubin and Rubin 2012: 7) emphasizes the cocreation of meaning by the interviewer and interviewee as coauthors. This enables a move away from the art history format of the interviewer (usually a writer) assuming the role of the sole author and the interviewee (often an artist) having no status as an author despite the fact that her or his practice-led creation of knowledge is foundational to the content of the interview. Stacey Gillian Abe and Immy Mali participated in a joint artists' residency as part of the RAW program at Rhodes University in South Africa from November to December 2017. During this time, they engaged with each other's practice-led work, and they created this conversational partnership at a writing breakaway in the Eastern Cape.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Abe, Stacey Gillian , Mali, Immy
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145963 , vital:38482 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1162/afar_a_00457
- Description: The series of Conversational Partnerships began in 2017 in African Arts vol. 50, no. 2, with a conversation between two artists: Eria Nsubuga SANE from Uganda and Sikhumbuzo Makandula from South Africa. The format of a “conversational partnership” (Rubin and Rubin 2012: 7) emphasizes the cocreation of meaning by the interviewer and interviewee as coauthors. This enables a move away from the art history format of the interviewer (usually a writer) assuming the role of the sole author and the interviewee (often an artist) having no status as an author despite the fact that her or his practice-led creation of knowledge is foundational to the content of the interview. Stacey Gillian Abe and Immy Mali participated in a joint artists' residency as part of the RAW program at Rhodes University in South Africa from November to December 2017. During this time, they engaged with each other's practice-led work, and they created this conversational partnership at a writing breakaway in the Eastern Cape.
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Culicoides species as potential vectors of African horse sickness virus in the southern regions of South Africa:
- Riddin, Megan A, Venter, G J, Labuschagne, K, Villet, Martin H
- Authors: Riddin, Megan A , Venter, G J , Labuschagne, K , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140727 , vital:37913 , DOI: 10.1111/mve.12391
- Description: African horse sickness (AHS), a disease of equids caused by the AHS virus, is of major concern in South Africa. With mortality reaching up to 95% in susceptible horses and the apparent reoccurrence of cases in regions deemed non‐endemic, most particularly the Eastern Cape, epidemiological research into factors contributing to the increase in the range of this economically important virus became imperative. The vectors, Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), are considered unable to proliferate during the unfavourable climatic conditions experienced in winter in the province, although the annual occurrence of AHS suggests that the virus has become established and that vector activity continues throughout the year. Surveillance of Culicoides within the province is sparse and little was known of the diversity of vector species or the abundance of known vectors, Culicoides imicola and Culicoides bolitinos. Surveillance was performed using light trapping methods at selected sites with varying equid species over two winter and two outbreak seasons, aiming to determine diversity, abundance and vector epidemiology of Culicoides within the province. The research provided an updated checklist of Culicoides species within the Eastern Cape, contributing to an increase in the knowledge of AHS vector epidemiology, as well as prevention and control in southern Africa.
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- Authors: Riddin, Megan A , Venter, G J , Labuschagne, K , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140727 , vital:37913 , DOI: 10.1111/mve.12391
- Description: African horse sickness (AHS), a disease of equids caused by the AHS virus, is of major concern in South Africa. With mortality reaching up to 95% in susceptible horses and the apparent reoccurrence of cases in regions deemed non‐endemic, most particularly the Eastern Cape, epidemiological research into factors contributing to the increase in the range of this economically important virus became imperative. The vectors, Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), are considered unable to proliferate during the unfavourable climatic conditions experienced in winter in the province, although the annual occurrence of AHS suggests that the virus has become established and that vector activity continues throughout the year. Surveillance of Culicoides within the province is sparse and little was known of the diversity of vector species or the abundance of known vectors, Culicoides imicola and Culicoides bolitinos. Surveillance was performed using light trapping methods at selected sites with varying equid species over two winter and two outbreak seasons, aiming to determine diversity, abundance and vector epidemiology of Culicoides within the province. The research provided an updated checklist of Culicoides species within the Eastern Cape, contributing to an increase in the knowledge of AHS vector epidemiology, as well as prevention and control in southern Africa.
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Developing Mother Tongues as Academic Languages in Primary Schools in Kenya: Exploring Extent and Indispensability
- Mose, Peter N, Kaschula, Russell H
- Authors: Mose, Peter N , Kaschula, Russell H
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/174793 , vital:42510 , https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2019.1645605
- Description: The language in education policy in Kenya recommends mother tongue education in primary school learning. The purpose of this study was to explore the development of mother tongues as academic languages at the lower primary section in which the languages are supposed to be used. The exploration was on the functions they play in classroom instruction and if they are dispensable or otherwise. Ekegusii was used as a case study. Data were obtained through classroom observations and administration of semi-structured interviews with lower primary teachers. The findings indicate that mother tongues play important pedagogical functions in grades 1 up to 3, but not exactly as contemplated in the language policy. Secondly, mother tongues are indispensable in classroom teaching in spite of negative attitude towards their use.
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- Authors: Mose, Peter N , Kaschula, Russell H
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/174793 , vital:42510 , https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2019.1645605
- Description: The language in education policy in Kenya recommends mother tongue education in primary school learning. The purpose of this study was to explore the development of mother tongues as academic languages at the lower primary section in which the languages are supposed to be used. The exploration was on the functions they play in classroom instruction and if they are dispensable or otherwise. Ekegusii was used as a case study. Data were obtained through classroom observations and administration of semi-structured interviews with lower primary teachers. The findings indicate that mother tongues play important pedagogical functions in grades 1 up to 3, but not exactly as contemplated in the language policy. Secondly, mother tongues are indispensable in classroom teaching in spite of negative attitude towards their use.
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Finding ‘pulses of freedom’ in the border zone between higher and public education for sustainable development
- Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436866 , vital:73311 , ISBN 9780367076436 , https://www.routledge.com/Prioritizing-Sustainability-Education-A-Comprehensive-Approach/Armon-Scoffham-Armon/p/book/9780367076436
- Description: Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Higher Edu-cation has long been a subject of discussion (eg Sterling, 2010; Togo and Lotz-Sisitka, 2013; Baarth, Michelsen, Rieckmann, and Thomas, 2016), with an increasing number of arguments being put forward for transformative, and even transgressive (ie transgressing the taken for granted) learning in these contexts (Lotz-Sisitka, Wals, Kronlid, and McGarry, 2015). There is, however, as yet little theoretical or practical work that focuses on the border zone or the interface between Higher Education and Public Education, due perhaps to an overemphasis on internal change in Higher Education settings. Public Education brings sustainable development (SD) into everyday life focus (Von Poeck et al., 2012), as it is here that complex, ‘wicked’ problems (Rittel and Webber, 1973) are ex-perienced. Such problems defy easy resolution. In this chapter I address this gap in the ESD literature by drawing on three cases of public education praxis in the border zone between Higher Education and Public Education: 1) using mobile learn-ing tools to transform markets for small holder farmers; 2) build-ing social learning networks that cross boundaries between colleges, farmers, and universities; and 3) using arts-based creative practice methods for public action. I start with these case stories, exploring them theoretically in order to illuminate new possibilities for ESD praxis in the sections that follow.
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- Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436866 , vital:73311 , ISBN 9780367076436 , https://www.routledge.com/Prioritizing-Sustainability-Education-A-Comprehensive-Approach/Armon-Scoffham-Armon/p/book/9780367076436
- Description: Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Higher Edu-cation has long been a subject of discussion (eg Sterling, 2010; Togo and Lotz-Sisitka, 2013; Baarth, Michelsen, Rieckmann, and Thomas, 2016), with an increasing number of arguments being put forward for transformative, and even transgressive (ie transgressing the taken for granted) learning in these contexts (Lotz-Sisitka, Wals, Kronlid, and McGarry, 2015). There is, however, as yet little theoretical or practical work that focuses on the border zone or the interface between Higher Education and Public Education, due perhaps to an overemphasis on internal change in Higher Education settings. Public Education brings sustainable development (SD) into everyday life focus (Von Poeck et al., 2012), as it is here that complex, ‘wicked’ problems (Rittel and Webber, 1973) are ex-perienced. Such problems defy easy resolution. In this chapter I address this gap in the ESD literature by drawing on three cases of public education praxis in the border zone between Higher Education and Public Education: 1) using mobile learn-ing tools to transform markets for small holder farmers; 2) build-ing social learning networks that cross boundaries between colleges, farmers, and universities; and 3) using arts-based creative practice methods for public action. I start with these case stories, exploring them theoretically in order to illuminate new possibilities for ESD praxis in the sections that follow.
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Governance mapping: a framework for assessing the adaptive capacity of marine resource governance to environmental change
- Dutra, Leo X C, Sporne, Ilva, Haward, Marcus, Aswani, Shankar, Cochrane, Kevern L, Frusher, Stewart, Gasalla, Maria A, Gianesella, Sônia M F, Grant, Tanith, Hobday, Alistair J, Jennings, Sarah M, Plagányi, Éva, Pecl, Gretta T, Salim, Shyam S, Sauer, Warwick H H, Taboada, Manuela B, Van Putten, Ingrid E
- Authors: Dutra, Leo X C , Sporne, Ilva , Haward, Marcus , Aswani, Shankar , Cochrane, Kevern L , Frusher, Stewart , Gasalla, Maria A , Gianesella, Sônia M F , Grant, Tanith , Hobday, Alistair J , Jennings, Sarah M , Plagányi, Éva , Pecl, Gretta T , Salim, Shyam S , Sauer, Warwick H H , Taboada, Manuela B , Van Putten, Ingrid E
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145336 , vital:38429 , DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2018.12.011
- Description: Marine social-ecological systems are influenced by the way humans interact with their environment, and external forces, which change and re-shape the environment. In many regions, exploitation of marine resources and climate change are two of the primary drivers shifting the abundance and distribution of marine living resources, with negative effects on marine-dependent communities. Governance systems determine ‘who’ makes decisions, ‘what’ are their powers and responsibilities, and ‘how’ they are exercised. Understanding the connections between the actors comprising governance systems and influences between governance and the environment is therefore critical to support successful transitions to novel forms of governance required to deal with environmental changes. The paper provides an analytical framework with a practical example from Vanuatu, for mapping and assessment of the governance system providing for management of coral reef fish resources. The framework enables a rapid analysis of governance systems to identify factors that can encourage, or hinder, the adaptation of communities to changes in abundance or availability of marine resources.
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- Authors: Dutra, Leo X C , Sporne, Ilva , Haward, Marcus , Aswani, Shankar , Cochrane, Kevern L , Frusher, Stewart , Gasalla, Maria A , Gianesella, Sônia M F , Grant, Tanith , Hobday, Alistair J , Jennings, Sarah M , Plagányi, Éva , Pecl, Gretta T , Salim, Shyam S , Sauer, Warwick H H , Taboada, Manuela B , Van Putten, Ingrid E
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145336 , vital:38429 , DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2018.12.011
- Description: Marine social-ecological systems are influenced by the way humans interact with their environment, and external forces, which change and re-shape the environment. In many regions, exploitation of marine resources and climate change are two of the primary drivers shifting the abundance and distribution of marine living resources, with negative effects on marine-dependent communities. Governance systems determine ‘who’ makes decisions, ‘what’ are their powers and responsibilities, and ‘how’ they are exercised. Understanding the connections between the actors comprising governance systems and influences between governance and the environment is therefore critical to support successful transitions to novel forms of governance required to deal with environmental changes. The paper provides an analytical framework with a practical example from Vanuatu, for mapping and assessment of the governance system providing for management of coral reef fish resources. The framework enables a rapid analysis of governance systems to identify factors that can encourage, or hinder, the adaptation of communities to changes in abundance or availability of marine resources.
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Green skills for agriculture A method for focusing demand analysis and prioritisation
- Authors: Rosenberg, Eureta
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436026 , vital:73221 , ISBN 9780429279362 , https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429279362-13/synthesis-elaboration-critical-realist-methodology-green-skills-research-eureta-rosenberg
- Description: This chapter is the second of the occupational demand studies that share insights about a methodology for determining green skills demand with a laminated approach and value chain anal-ysis. Based on research into skills for Climate Smart Agriculture (Cobban and Visser, 2017), it provides insight into the history and features of agriculture in South Africa that shape current skills needs. Drawing on one component of Cobban and Visser’s study, and employing a critical revision of the ‘climate smart’ framing, it shares findings about what green skills are needed for more sustainable poultry farming in which occupations to contextualise the discussion on methodology. This chapter contrasts the layered, in-depth green skills studies with approaches aiming for broader coverage and representivity, and illustrates the use of multi-criterion ‘hotspotting’ to prioritise among skills needs at strategic leverage points for social-ecological trans-formation. The case of the agricultural study illustrates the val-ue of smaller scale, in-depth studies that provide the occupa-tion level insights to inform skills planning and investment that is needed if agriculture is to sustain itself and all those it could – and should – benefit.
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- Authors: Rosenberg, Eureta
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436026 , vital:73221 , ISBN 9780429279362 , https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429279362-13/synthesis-elaboration-critical-realist-methodology-green-skills-research-eureta-rosenberg
- Description: This chapter is the second of the occupational demand studies that share insights about a methodology for determining green skills demand with a laminated approach and value chain anal-ysis. Based on research into skills for Climate Smart Agriculture (Cobban and Visser, 2017), it provides insight into the history and features of agriculture in South Africa that shape current skills needs. Drawing on one component of Cobban and Visser’s study, and employing a critical revision of the ‘climate smart’ framing, it shares findings about what green skills are needed for more sustainable poultry farming in which occupations to contextualise the discussion on methodology. This chapter contrasts the layered, in-depth green skills studies with approaches aiming for broader coverage and representivity, and illustrates the use of multi-criterion ‘hotspotting’ to prioritise among skills needs at strategic leverage points for social-ecological trans-formation. The case of the agricultural study illustrates the val-ue of smaller scale, in-depth studies that provide the occupa-tion level insights to inform skills planning and investment that is needed if agriculture is to sustain itself and all those it could – and should – benefit.
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Green skills supply: Research from providers’ vantage point (s)
- Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436051 , vital:73223 , ISBN 9780429279362 , https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429279362-13/synthesis-elaboration-critical-realist-methodology-green-skills-research-eureta-rosenberg
- Description: This chapter emerges from a need to consider the dynamics of supply side research for green skills from a providers’ vantage point. The chapter starts with the argument that environment and sustainability skills are cross institutional, cross sectoral and also inter- and transdisciplinary. The chapter notes that there are a wide variety and diversity of supply side studies that can offer perspective on the many dynamics of green skills supply and provisioning. Four cases have been selected and brought into view to illuminate the influence of context and history on designing curricula and the importance of reflexive curriculum review studies, whole institution approaches and transformative, transgressive forms of learning that move beyond the boundaries of single institutions. These studies are also brought into view to indicate the scope and depth of contextual, systemic and engaged research that is required to develop transformative orientations and perspectives on green skills supply, taking skills system supply beyond the traditional training needs analysis. The chapter argues that this is an important dimension of green skills research, if conceptualised within just transitions and transformations to sustainability.
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- Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436051 , vital:73223 , ISBN 9780429279362 , https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429279362-13/synthesis-elaboration-critical-realist-methodology-green-skills-research-eureta-rosenberg
- Description: This chapter emerges from a need to consider the dynamics of supply side research for green skills from a providers’ vantage point. The chapter starts with the argument that environment and sustainability skills are cross institutional, cross sectoral and also inter- and transdisciplinary. The chapter notes that there are a wide variety and diversity of supply side studies that can offer perspective on the many dynamics of green skills supply and provisioning. Four cases have been selected and brought into view to illuminate the influence of context and history on designing curricula and the importance of reflexive curriculum review studies, whole institution approaches and transformative, transgressive forms of learning that move beyond the boundaries of single institutions. These studies are also brought into view to indicate the scope and depth of contextual, systemic and engaged research that is required to develop transformative orientations and perspectives on green skills supply, taking skills system supply beyond the traditional training needs analysis. The chapter argues that this is an important dimension of green skills research, if conceptualised within just transitions and transformations to sustainability.
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