Green skills supply: Research from providers’ vantage point(s)
- Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/392895 , vital:68810 , ISBN 9780429279362 , https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429279362
- 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.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/392895 , vital:68810 , ISBN 9780429279362 , https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429279362
- 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.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Implications of the US–China Tit-for-Tat tariff escalation: A literature review of standard trade theory and empirical evidence on economic consequences and effects on both countries
- Authors: Mutambara, Tsitsi E
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/473156 , vital:77611 , DOI : 10.18639/MERJ.2019.952971
- Description: This study reviewed standard international trade theories as they pertain to the impact of trade restrictions. Current empirical studies were reviewed to see whether evidence supports trade theory predictions. Conventional price impacts in standard models of international trade show that trade restrictions are detrimental for trade for both countries involved, and the empirical evidence from current studies confirmed this. The current tit-for-tat tariff escalation between China and the United States has led to, among other things, increased domestic prices to both American consumers and producers; lower export prices to some of the Chinese exporters and American firms based in China; reduced import and export trade between the two countries that would lead to costly adjustments in supply chains; loss in net welfare and employment; and loss in competitive advantage to firms in both countries that produce for export. Therefore, efforts should be made to de-escalate these trade tensions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Mutambara, Tsitsi E
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/473156 , vital:77611 , DOI : 10.18639/MERJ.2019.952971
- Description: This study reviewed standard international trade theories as they pertain to the impact of trade restrictions. Current empirical studies were reviewed to see whether evidence supports trade theory predictions. Conventional price impacts in standard models of international trade show that trade restrictions are detrimental for trade for both countries involved, and the empirical evidence from current studies confirmed this. The current tit-for-tat tariff escalation between China and the United States has led to, among other things, increased domestic prices to both American consumers and producers; lower export prices to some of the Chinese exporters and American firms based in China; reduced import and export trade between the two countries that would lead to costly adjustments in supply chains; loss in net welfare and employment; and loss in competitive advantage to firms in both countries that produce for export. Therefore, efforts should be made to de-escalate these trade tensions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
In vitro Anti-trypanosomal activities of indanone-based chalcones:
- Beteck, Richard M, Legoabe, Lesetje J, Isaacs, Michelle, Hoppe, Heinrich C
- Authors: Beteck, Richard M , Legoabe, Lesetje J , Isaacs, Michelle , Hoppe, Heinrich C
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/158280 , vital:40169 , https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12953
- Description: Human African trypanosomiasis is a neglected infectious disease that affects mostly people living in the rural areas of Africa. Current treatment options are limited to just four drugs that have been in use of four to nine decades. The life-threatening toxic side-effects associated with the use of these drugs are disconcerting. Poor efficacy, low oral bioavailability, and high cost are other shortcomings of current HAT treatments. Evaluating the potentials of known hits for other therapeutic areas may be a fast and convenient method to discover new hit compounds against alternative targets. A library of 34 known indanone based chalcones was screened against T.b. brucei and nine potent hits, having IC50 values between 0.5–8.9 µM, were found. The SAR studies of this series could provide useful information in guiding future exploration of this class of compounds in search of more potent, safe, and low cost anti-trypanosomal agents.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Beteck, Richard M , Legoabe, Lesetje J , Isaacs, Michelle , Hoppe, Heinrich C
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/158280 , vital:40169 , https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12953
- Description: Human African trypanosomiasis is a neglected infectious disease that affects mostly people living in the rural areas of Africa. Current treatment options are limited to just four drugs that have been in use of four to nine decades. The life-threatening toxic side-effects associated with the use of these drugs are disconcerting. Poor efficacy, low oral bioavailability, and high cost are other shortcomings of current HAT treatments. Evaluating the potentials of known hits for other therapeutic areas may be a fast and convenient method to discover new hit compounds against alternative targets. A library of 34 known indanone based chalcones was screened against T.b. brucei and nine potent hits, having IC50 values between 0.5–8.9 µM, were found. The SAR studies of this series could provide useful information in guiding future exploration of this class of compounds in search of more potent, safe, and low cost anti-trypanosomal agents.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Re-Inventing African literature through Visual Arts:
- Fọlárànmí, Stephen, Ijisakin, Eyitayo Tolulope
- Authors: Fọlárànmí, Stephen , Ijisakin, Eyitayo Tolulope
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146132 , vital:38498 , DOI https://doi.org/10.2478/mjss-2019-0054
- Description: Evidence abounds of the synergy that exists between literature and visual arts in Africa. Illustrations are known to have given more meaning to books, while the text plays the role of the storyteller, the illustration acts out the story or scene on the pages of the book. Illustrations also make readership very easy and appealing to children and the uneducated people in our local communities. In recent times however, studies have shown a sharp decline in the inclusion of very good, insightful and inspiring illustrations into African literary text. When included, it is often poor and limited to the cover page of the book. This paper examines the merits derivable from the inclusion of visual arts into African literature as well as the reason for its decline with a view to suggesting how it can be used to reinvent African literature. It is expected that by so doing, publishers and authors will see the need and importance of using more illustrations in their books. This will, in turn, generate more interest in the culture of reading among the youths of the 21st century as well as the development of literature directed towards children and the unread.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Fọlárànmí, Stephen , Ijisakin, Eyitayo Tolulope
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146132 , vital:38498 , DOI https://doi.org/10.2478/mjss-2019-0054
- Description: Evidence abounds of the synergy that exists between literature and visual arts in Africa. Illustrations are known to have given more meaning to books, while the text plays the role of the storyteller, the illustration acts out the story or scene on the pages of the book. Illustrations also make readership very easy and appealing to children and the uneducated people in our local communities. In recent times however, studies have shown a sharp decline in the inclusion of very good, insightful and inspiring illustrations into African literary text. When included, it is often poor and limited to the cover page of the book. This paper examines the merits derivable from the inclusion of visual arts into African literature as well as the reason for its decline with a view to suggesting how it can be used to reinvent African literature. It is expected that by so doing, publishers and authors will see the need and importance of using more illustrations in their books. This will, in turn, generate more interest in the culture of reading among the youths of the 21st century as well as the development of literature directed towards children and the unread.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Reconfiguring the Omweso board game: performing narratives of Buganda material culture
- Authors: Kirumira, Rose Namubiru
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145996 , vital:38487 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1162/afar_a_00460
- Description: My artwork titled Nakulabye, which is 4 meters long and weighs 440 pounds, is an intimidating sculptural replica of the Omweso game board (Fig. 1). The wooden sculpture, twenty times larger than an average Omweso game board, includes four cane stools to sit on during play. Its composition is derived from a human face, and it has thirty-two pits (8 × 4) in the configuration of a mancala board. This sculpture was inspired by my engagement with a group of men that I visited in July 2016 in Nakulabye, a town in an urban area of Kampala City, Uganda. At the Nakulabye Omweso Club, a shop veranda in Nakulabye Town, these men play Omweso and chat against the backdrop of a small television that mostly screens British Premiere Leagues. Observing their exchanges, which seem to be informed by moves on the Omweso board and reveal strong, clearly gendered power dynamics, I became curious about the performative place of Omweso as a cultural artifact of the Baganda people.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Kirumira, Rose Namubiru
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145996 , vital:38487 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1162/afar_a_00460
- Description: My artwork titled Nakulabye, which is 4 meters long and weighs 440 pounds, is an intimidating sculptural replica of the Omweso game board (Fig. 1). The wooden sculpture, twenty times larger than an average Omweso game board, includes four cane stools to sit on during play. Its composition is derived from a human face, and it has thirty-two pits (8 × 4) in the configuration of a mancala board. This sculpture was inspired by my engagement with a group of men that I visited in July 2016 in Nakulabye, a town in an urban area of Kampala City, Uganda. At the Nakulabye Omweso Club, a shop veranda in Nakulabye Town, these men play Omweso and chat against the backdrop of a small television that mostly screens British Premiere Leagues. Observing their exchanges, which seem to be informed by moves on the Omweso board and reveal strong, clearly gendered power dynamics, I became curious about the performative place of Omweso as a cultural artifact of the Baganda people.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Should I stay or should I go?: Intra-population variability in movement behaviour of wide-ranging and resident coastal fishes
- Maggs, Jade Q, Cowley, Paul D, Porter, S N, Childs, Amber-Robyn
- Authors: Maggs, Jade Q , Cowley, Paul D , Porter, S N , Childs, Amber-Robyn
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/158290 , vital:40170 , https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12953
- Description: Life-cycle diversity is the existence of alternative strategies among coexisting individuals within the same population and is an important factor in the structuring and connectivity of fish stocks. Mark-recapture data, collected along the coastline of southern Africa from 1984-2015, were used to investigate the occurrence of different movement behaviours (resident vs. wide-ranging) in 5 fishery species with contrasting life histories. A total of 88245 individuals was tagged, with recapture rates ranging from 4-27% for the 5 species. Individuals were considered resident if recaptured within 0-5 km of the release site after 365 d at liberty or wide-ranging if recaptured more than 50 km from the release site within 365 d.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Maggs, Jade Q , Cowley, Paul D , Porter, S N , Childs, Amber-Robyn
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/158290 , vital:40170 , https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12953
- Description: Life-cycle diversity is the existence of alternative strategies among coexisting individuals within the same population and is an important factor in the structuring and connectivity of fish stocks. Mark-recapture data, collected along the coastline of southern Africa from 1984-2015, were used to investigate the occurrence of different movement behaviours (resident vs. wide-ranging) in 5 fishery species with contrasting life histories. A total of 88245 individuals was tagged, with recapture rates ranging from 4-27% for the 5 species. Individuals were considered resident if recaptured within 0-5 km of the release site after 365 d at liberty or wide-ranging if recaptured more than 50 km from the release site within 365 d.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Skills for just transitions to sustainability: An orientation
- Rosenberg, Eureta, Ramsarup, Presha
- Authors: Rosenberg, Eureta , Ramsarup, Presha
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436106 , vital:73227 , 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 argues that a transformative approach is necessary, involving radical economic change towards environmental sustainability and social justice – conceived of as two sides of the same coin, rather than opposing forces. It provides conceptual framings for the change processes required that are to be found in a relational philosophy and complex systems thinking applied to a broader vision of the economy, including a framing of environmental sustainability as a social justice issue, and viewing the changes needed through a transitioning systems lens. New industries must be developed in a socially inclusive manner and workers will need re-skilling for different jobs. A new development path requires concerted interventions including aligned skills development. In the face of dire socio-economic issues, environmental concerns have been deemed less important, and juxtaposed as being in competition with poverty eradication and employment creation. Humanity surely does have the creativity to design different social, cultural and economic systems over time, suitable for different contexts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Rosenberg, Eureta , Ramsarup, Presha
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436106 , vital:73227 , 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 argues that a transformative approach is necessary, involving radical economic change towards environmental sustainability and social justice – conceived of as two sides of the same coin, rather than opposing forces. It provides conceptual framings for the change processes required that are to be found in a relational philosophy and complex systems thinking applied to a broader vision of the economy, including a framing of environmental sustainability as a social justice issue, and viewing the changes needed through a transitioning systems lens. New industries must be developed in a socially inclusive manner and workers will need re-skilling for different jobs. A new development path requires concerted interventions including aligned skills development. In the face of dire socio-economic issues, environmental concerns have been deemed less important, and juxtaposed as being in competition with poverty eradication and employment creation. Humanity surely does have the creativity to design different social, cultural and economic systems over time, suitable for different contexts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Assessment of the likely sensitivity to climate change for the key marine species in the southern Benguela system
- Ortega-Cisneros, Kelly, Yokwana, Sibusiso, Sauer, Warwick H H, Cochrane, Kevern L, James, Nicola C, Potts, Warren M, Singh, L, Smale, Malcolm J, Wood, A, Pecl, Gretta T
- Authors: Ortega-Cisneros, Kelly , Yokwana, Sibusiso , Sauer, Warwick H H , Cochrane, Kevern L , James, Nicola C , Potts, Warren M , Singh, L , Smale, Malcolm J , Wood, A , Pecl, Gretta T
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123211 , vital:35415 , https://doi.10.2989/1814232X.2018.1512526
- Description: Climate change is altering many environmental parameters of coastal waters and open oceans, leading to substantial present-day and projected changes in the distribution, abundance and phenology of marine species. Attempts to assess how each species might respond to climate change can be data-, resource- and time-intensive. Moreover, in many regions of the world, including South Africa, species may be of vital socioeconomic or ecological importance though critical gaps may exist in our basic biological or ecological knowledge of the species. Here, we adapt and apply a trait-based sensitivity assessment for the key marine species in the southern Benguela system to estimate their potential relative sensitivity to the impacts of climate change. For our analysis, 40 priority species were selected based on their socioeconomic, ecological and/or recreational importance in the system. An extensive literature review and consultation with experts was undertaken concerning each species to gather information on their life history, habitat use and potential stressors. Fourteen attributes were used to estimate the selected species’ sensitivity and capacity to respond to climate change. A score ranging from low to high sensitivity was given for each attribute, based on the available information. Similarly, a score was assigned to the type and quality of information used to score each particular attribute, allowing an assessment of data-quality inputs for each species. The analysis identified the white steenbras Lithognathus lithognathus, soupfin shark Galeorhinus galeus, St Joseph Callorhinchus capensis and abalone Haliotis midae as potentially the most sensitive species to climate-change impacts in the southern Benguela system. There were data gaps for larval dispersal and settlement and metamorphosis cues for most of the evaluated species. Our results can be used by resource managers to determine the type of monitoring, intervention and planning that may be required to best respond to climate change, given the limited resources and significant knowledge gaps in many cases.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Ortega-Cisneros, Kelly , Yokwana, Sibusiso , Sauer, Warwick H H , Cochrane, Kevern L , James, Nicola C , Potts, Warren M , Singh, L , Smale, Malcolm J , Wood, A , Pecl, Gretta T
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123211 , vital:35415 , https://doi.10.2989/1814232X.2018.1512526
- Description: Climate change is altering many environmental parameters of coastal waters and open oceans, leading to substantial present-day and projected changes in the distribution, abundance and phenology of marine species. Attempts to assess how each species might respond to climate change can be data-, resource- and time-intensive. Moreover, in many regions of the world, including South Africa, species may be of vital socioeconomic or ecological importance though critical gaps may exist in our basic biological or ecological knowledge of the species. Here, we adapt and apply a trait-based sensitivity assessment for the key marine species in the southern Benguela system to estimate their potential relative sensitivity to the impacts of climate change. For our analysis, 40 priority species were selected based on their socioeconomic, ecological and/or recreational importance in the system. An extensive literature review and consultation with experts was undertaken concerning each species to gather information on their life history, habitat use and potential stressors. Fourteen attributes were used to estimate the selected species’ sensitivity and capacity to respond to climate change. A score ranging from low to high sensitivity was given for each attribute, based on the available information. Similarly, a score was assigned to the type and quality of information used to score each particular attribute, allowing an assessment of data-quality inputs for each species. The analysis identified the white steenbras Lithognathus lithognathus, soupfin shark Galeorhinus galeus, St Joseph Callorhinchus capensis and abalone Haliotis midae as potentially the most sensitive species to climate-change impacts in the southern Benguela system. There were data gaps for larval dispersal and settlement and metamorphosis cues for most of the evaluated species. Our results can be used by resource managers to determine the type of monitoring, intervention and planning that may be required to best respond to climate change, given the limited resources and significant knowledge gaps in many cases.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Food poverty, hunger and household production in rural Eastern Cape households
- Authors: Rogan, Michael
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/474145 , vital:77695 , https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2017.1358602
- Description: More than two decades since the advent of democracy in South Africa, the place of small-scale agriculture in rural development, poverty alleviation and food security remains ambiguous and highly contested. However, there is now some new evidence that official income poverty estimates in South Africa may be underestimating the contribution of rural, land-based livelihoods when measuring household well-being. This paper aims to explore this possibility further by identifying how household production activities are associated with improved food security among rural Eastern Cape households in the former homelands. The analysis is based on data from Statistics South Africa’s 2008/9 Living Conditions Survey and its annual General Household Surveys. In adopting a food poverty lens, the findings suggest that hunger levels are lower among farming households in the Eastern Cape even though a higher percentage of these households (relative to non-farming households) live below the national food poverty line. The paper concludes by discussing some implications for policy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Rogan, Michael
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/474145 , vital:77695 , https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2017.1358602
- Description: More than two decades since the advent of democracy in South Africa, the place of small-scale agriculture in rural development, poverty alleviation and food security remains ambiguous and highly contested. However, there is now some new evidence that official income poverty estimates in South Africa may be underestimating the contribution of rural, land-based livelihoods when measuring household well-being. This paper aims to explore this possibility further by identifying how household production activities are associated with improved food security among rural Eastern Cape households in the former homelands. The analysis is based on data from Statistics South Africa’s 2008/9 Living Conditions Survey and its annual General Household Surveys. In adopting a food poverty lens, the findings suggest that hunger levels are lower among farming households in the Eastern Cape even though a higher percentage of these households (relative to non-farming households) live below the national food poverty line. The paper concludes by discussing some implications for policy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Heterodimer formation by Oct4 and Smad3 differentially regulates epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition-associated factors in breast cancer progression:
- Mandal, Gunjan, Biswas, Subir, Chowdhury, Sougata R, Chatterjee, Annesha, Purohit, Suman, Khamaru, Poulomi, Chakraborty, Sayan, Mandal, Palash K, Gupta, Arnab, de la Mare, Jo-Anne, Edkins, Adrienne L, Bhattacharyya, Arindam
- Authors: Mandal, Gunjan , Biswas, Subir , Chowdhury, Sougata R , Chatterjee, Annesha , Purohit, Suman , Khamaru, Poulomi , Chakraborty, Sayan , Mandal, Palash K , Gupta, Arnab , de la Mare, Jo-Anne , Edkins, Adrienne L , Bhattacharyya, Arindam
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/164907 , vital:41183 , DOI: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2018.03.010
- Description: The multifunctional cytokine TGF-β crucially participates in breast cancer (BCa) metastasis and works differently in the disease stages, thus contributing in BCa progression. We address connections between TGF-β and the stem cell-related transcription factor (TF) Oct4 in BCa. In 147 BCa patients with infiltrating duct carcinoma, we identified a significantly higher number of cases with both moderate/high Oct4 expression and high TGF-β in late stages compared to early stages of the disease.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Mandal, Gunjan , Biswas, Subir , Chowdhury, Sougata R , Chatterjee, Annesha , Purohit, Suman , Khamaru, Poulomi , Chakraborty, Sayan , Mandal, Palash K , Gupta, Arnab , de la Mare, Jo-Anne , Edkins, Adrienne L , Bhattacharyya, Arindam
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/164907 , vital:41183 , DOI: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2018.03.010
- Description: The multifunctional cytokine TGF-β crucially participates in breast cancer (BCa) metastasis and works differently in the disease stages, thus contributing in BCa progression. We address connections between TGF-β and the stem cell-related transcription factor (TF) Oct4 in BCa. In 147 BCa patients with infiltrating duct carcinoma, we identified a significantly higher number of cases with both moderate/high Oct4 expression and high TGF-β in late stages compared to early stages of the disease.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Integrated genetic and morphological data support eco‐evolutionary divergence of Angolan and South African populations of Diplodus hottentotus
- Gwilliam, Michael P, Winkler, Alexander C, Potts, Warren M, Santos, Carmen V D, Sauer, Warwick H H, Shaw, Paul W, McKeown, Niall J
- Authors: Gwilliam, Michael P , Winkler, Alexander C , Potts, Warren M , Santos, Carmen V D , Sauer, Warwick H H , Shaw, Paul W , McKeown, Niall J
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124833 , vital:35702 , https://doi.10.1111/jfb.13582
- Description: The genus Diplodus presents multiple cases of taxonomic conjecture. Among these the D. cervinus complex was previously described as comprising three subspecies that are now regarded as separate species: Diplodus cervinus, Diplodus hottentotus and Diplodus omanensis. Diplodus hottentotus exhibits a clear break in its distribution around the Benguela Current system, prompting speculation that Angolan and South African populations flanking this area may be isolated and warrant formal taxonomic distinction. This study reports the first integrated genetic [mitochondrial (mt)DNA and nuclear microsatellite] and morphological (morphometric, meristic and colouration) study to assess patterns of divergence between populations in the two regions. High levels of cytonuclear divergence between the populations support a prolonged period of genetic isolation, with the sharing of only one mtDNA haplotype (12 haplotypes were fully sorted between regions) attributed to retention of ancestral polymorphism. Fish from the two regions were significantly differentiated at a number of morphometric (69·5%) and meristic (46%) characters. In addition, Angolan and South African fish exhibited reciprocally diagnostic colouration patterns that were more similar to Mediterranean and Indian Ocean congeners, respectively. Based on the congruent genetic and phenotypic diversity we suggest that the use of hottentotus, whether for full species or subspecies status, should be restricted to South African D. cervinus to reflect their status as a distinct species-like unit, while the relationship between Angolan and Atlantic–Mediterranean D. cervinus will require further demo-genetic analysis. This study highlights the utility of integrated genetic and morphological approaches to assess taxonomic diversity within the biogeographically dynamic Benguela Current region.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Gwilliam, Michael P , Winkler, Alexander C , Potts, Warren M , Santos, Carmen V D , Sauer, Warwick H H , Shaw, Paul W , McKeown, Niall J
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124833 , vital:35702 , https://doi.10.1111/jfb.13582
- Description: The genus Diplodus presents multiple cases of taxonomic conjecture. Among these the D. cervinus complex was previously described as comprising three subspecies that are now regarded as separate species: Diplodus cervinus, Diplodus hottentotus and Diplodus omanensis. Diplodus hottentotus exhibits a clear break in its distribution around the Benguela Current system, prompting speculation that Angolan and South African populations flanking this area may be isolated and warrant formal taxonomic distinction. This study reports the first integrated genetic [mitochondrial (mt)DNA and nuclear microsatellite] and morphological (morphometric, meristic and colouration) study to assess patterns of divergence between populations in the two regions. High levels of cytonuclear divergence between the populations support a prolonged period of genetic isolation, with the sharing of only one mtDNA haplotype (12 haplotypes were fully sorted between regions) attributed to retention of ancestral polymorphism. Fish from the two regions were significantly differentiated at a number of morphometric (69·5%) and meristic (46%) characters. In addition, Angolan and South African fish exhibited reciprocally diagnostic colouration patterns that were more similar to Mediterranean and Indian Ocean congeners, respectively. Based on the congruent genetic and phenotypic diversity we suggest that the use of hottentotus, whether for full species or subspecies status, should be restricted to South African D. cervinus to reflect their status as a distinct species-like unit, while the relationship between Angolan and Atlantic–Mediterranean D. cervinus will require further demo-genetic analysis. This study highlights the utility of integrated genetic and morphological approaches to assess taxonomic diversity within the biogeographically dynamic Benguela Current region.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
The lenses we use to research student experiences:
- Hlengwa, Amanda I, McKenna, Sioux, Njovane, Thandokazi
- Authors: Hlengwa, Amanda I , McKenna, Sioux , Njovane, Thandokazi
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142736 , vital:38112 , ISBN 9781928331902 , http://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/e3388578-a030-46de-8d8e-df18dcb52bec/Higher_Education_Pathways_9781928331902.pdf#page=160
- Description: The recent student protests that erupted in the South African higher education landscape in 2015 and 2016 suggest that research concerning student experiences in our institutions has become all the more crucial. In light of this, our chapter argues for theoretically rigorous and conceptually rich approaches to research on the student experience, without which we will not be in a position to address the significant concerns raised by these protests. There is, of course, already a robust body of work detailing the student experience (for example Case, 2013; Case, Marshall, McKenna, and Mogashana, 2018; Walker and Wilson-Strydom, 2017). However, questions are often raised about the extent to which such research is being drawn on in subsequent studies (Niven, 2012) and this suggests that limited accounts of student experience remain dominant despite this body of research (Boughey and McKenna, 2016). It thus seemed important to make sense of the ways in which current research on student experience is being constructed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Hlengwa, Amanda I , McKenna, Sioux , Njovane, Thandokazi
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142736 , vital:38112 , ISBN 9781928331902 , http://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/e3388578-a030-46de-8d8e-df18dcb52bec/Higher_Education_Pathways_9781928331902.pdf#page=160
- Description: The recent student protests that erupted in the South African higher education landscape in 2015 and 2016 suggest that research concerning student experiences in our institutions has become all the more crucial. In light of this, our chapter argues for theoretically rigorous and conceptually rich approaches to research on the student experience, without which we will not be in a position to address the significant concerns raised by these protests. There is, of course, already a robust body of work detailing the student experience (for example Case, 2013; Case, Marshall, McKenna, and Mogashana, 2018; Walker and Wilson-Strydom, 2017). However, questions are often raised about the extent to which such research is being drawn on in subsequent studies (Niven, 2012) and this suggests that limited accounts of student experience remain dominant despite this body of research (Boughey and McKenna, 2016). It thus seemed important to make sense of the ways in which current research on student experience is being constructed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
The uses of Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794)(Diptera: Calliphoridae) in forensic entomology:
- Badenhorst, Rozane, Villet, Martin H
- Authors: Badenhorst, Rozane , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140631 , vital:37905 , DOI: 10.1080/20961790.2018.1426136
- Description: Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) occurs on every continent and is closely associated with carrion and decaying material in human environments. Its abilities to find dead bodies and carry pathogens give it a prominence in human affairs that may involve prosecution or litigation, and therefore forensic entomologists. The identification, geographical distribution and biology of the species are reviewed to provide a background for approaches that four branches of forensic entomology (urban, stored-product, medico-criminal and environmental) might take to investigations involving this fly.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Badenhorst, Rozane , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140631 , vital:37905 , DOI: 10.1080/20961790.2018.1426136
- Description: Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) occurs on every continent and is closely associated with carrion and decaying material in human environments. Its abilities to find dead bodies and carry pathogens give it a prominence in human affairs that may involve prosecution or litigation, and therefore forensic entomologists. The identification, geographical distribution and biology of the species are reviewed to provide a background for approaches that four branches of forensic entomology (urban, stored-product, medico-criminal and environmental) might take to investigations involving this fly.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
This is our story: iconography of carved doors and panels in Òyó Palace
- Authors: Fọlárànmí, Stephen
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145698 , vital:38459 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1162/afar_a_00402
- Description: This saying or prayer is one of the numerous expressions among the Yorùbá about the door and its significance, not only as a physical and important aspect of their architecture, but also in their language and culture. It also alludes to its pride of place as perhaps the most decorated element of Yorùbá architecture. From private homes, to the homes of the rich, shrines, and palaces, Yorùbá doors are usually imbued with a considerable array of images and icons that proclaims the owner's identity, religion, occupation. The Yorùbá are not unique in this respect. For example, among the Dogon, the door is as important as the house on which it is affixed. The granary, according to Willett (2002: 176), protects the the food stored inside it, while the door is seen or referred to as an element not only for physical protection, but also as a spiritual means of warding off unwanted spirits. It is reasonable, therefore, to expect the door to receive aesthetic attention by embellishment with an array of images.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Fọlárànmí, Stephen
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145698 , vital:38459 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1162/afar_a_00402
- Description: This saying or prayer is one of the numerous expressions among the Yorùbá about the door and its significance, not only as a physical and important aspect of their architecture, but also in their language and culture. It also alludes to its pride of place as perhaps the most decorated element of Yorùbá architecture. From private homes, to the homes of the rich, shrines, and palaces, Yorùbá doors are usually imbued with a considerable array of images and icons that proclaims the owner's identity, religion, occupation. The Yorùbá are not unique in this respect. For example, among the Dogon, the door is as important as the house on which it is affixed. The granary, according to Willett (2002: 176), protects the the food stored inside it, while the door is seen or referred to as an element not only for physical protection, but also as a spiritual means of warding off unwanted spirits. It is reasonable, therefore, to expect the door to receive aesthetic attention by embellishment with an array of images.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Zimbabwe mobilizes: ICAC's shift from Coup de Grăce to Cultural Coup
- Simbao, Ruth K, Chikukwa, Raphael, Ogonga. Jimmy, Bickle, Berry, Pereira, Marie H, Altass, Dulcie A, Chikowero, Mhoze, Fall, N'Goné
- Authors: Simbao, Ruth K , Chikukwa, Raphael , Ogonga. Jimmy , Bickle, Berry , Pereira, Marie H , Altass, Dulcie A , Chikowero, Mhoze , Fall, N'Goné
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145665 , vital:38456 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1162/afar_a_00399
- Description: The International Conference on African Cultures (ICAC) was held at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare from September 11–13, 2017. Eight delegates write their reflections on the importance of this Africa-based event.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Simbao, Ruth K , Chikukwa, Raphael , Ogonga. Jimmy , Bickle, Berry , Pereira, Marie H , Altass, Dulcie A , Chikowero, Mhoze , Fall, N'Goné
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145665 , vital:38456 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1162/afar_a_00399
- Description: The International Conference on African Cultures (ICAC) was held at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare from September 11–13, 2017. Eight delegates write their reflections on the importance of this Africa-based event.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
“The Bag Is My Home”: recycling “China Bags” in contemporary African art
- Authors: Cheng, Yeng
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145676 , vital:38457 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1162/afar_a_00400
- Description: Frequently used as mobile storage containers or baggage by migrants and traders moving across borders, the mesh bag made of red, blue, and white polypropylene fibers has become a prominent element of African visual culture. This light, strong, and affordable woven bag, often referred to as “China bag” or “Chinese tote,”1 features prominently in recent artistic practices by African artists such as Nobukho Nqaba, Dan Halter, and Gerald Machona. In this essay I examine how these artistic interventions using photography, installation, video, and performance, circulating in galleries, museums, and the streets, contribute to sociological discussions about the ways in which emerging trajectories, relationships, and identities are perceived and debated in the context of the global South.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Cheng, Yeng
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145676 , vital:38457 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1162/afar_a_00400
- Description: Frequently used as mobile storage containers or baggage by migrants and traders moving across borders, the mesh bag made of red, blue, and white polypropylene fibers has become a prominent element of African visual culture. This light, strong, and affordable woven bag, often referred to as “China bag” or “Chinese tote,”1 features prominently in recent artistic practices by African artists such as Nobukho Nqaba, Dan Halter, and Gerald Machona. In this essay I examine how these artistic interventions using photography, installation, video, and performance, circulating in galleries, museums, and the streets, contribute to sociological discussions about the ways in which emerging trajectories, relationships, and identities are perceived and debated in the context of the global South.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Aesthetic and spiritual ecosystem services provided by urban sacred sites
- De Lacy, Peter J G, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: De Lacy, Peter J G , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60919 , vital:27891 , http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su9091628
- Description: The range and use of ecosystem services provided by urban sacred sites has hardly been considered in studies of urban ecology, sustainability and human wellbeing. This paper examines the perceived ecosystem services supplied by green spaces or gardens associated with places of religious worship and appreciated by worshippers in a mid-sized town in South Africa. A questionnaire with open, closed and Likert scale questions was administered at 30 places of worship (25 with gardens and five without). Respondents identified a wide diversity of ecosystem services provided by gardens, with social ones being more recognized than ecological, and economic services the least. Approximately two-thirds of respondents visited a sacred site garden weekly or more often. The majority of respondents (96%) felt that a garden was necessary because it added to their feelings of connection with God, or helped them relax and so be better able to concentrate, and 54% stated that a garden enhanced their overall spiritual experience. Regression analysis revealed that aesthetic appreciation of a garden was significantly related to woody plant species richness, number and basal area in the garden. On the other hand, spiritual experience was positively related to woody plant basal area, but not species richness nor tree number. Neither size of the garden, nor number of years the respondents had been vising a particular sacred site had any influence on the rated spiritual or aesthetic experiences. These results reveal the widely appreciated ecosystem services provided by urban sacred spaces and their centrality in enhancing spiritual satisfaction for some.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: De Lacy, Peter J G , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60919 , vital:27891 , http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su9091628
- Description: The range and use of ecosystem services provided by urban sacred sites has hardly been considered in studies of urban ecology, sustainability and human wellbeing. This paper examines the perceived ecosystem services supplied by green spaces or gardens associated with places of religious worship and appreciated by worshippers in a mid-sized town in South Africa. A questionnaire with open, closed and Likert scale questions was administered at 30 places of worship (25 with gardens and five without). Respondents identified a wide diversity of ecosystem services provided by gardens, with social ones being more recognized than ecological, and economic services the least. Approximately two-thirds of respondents visited a sacred site garden weekly or more often. The majority of respondents (96%) felt that a garden was necessary because it added to their feelings of connection with God, or helped them relax and so be better able to concentrate, and 54% stated that a garden enhanced their overall spiritual experience. Regression analysis revealed that aesthetic appreciation of a garden was significantly related to woody plant species richness, number and basal area in the garden. On the other hand, spiritual experience was positively related to woody plant basal area, but not species richness nor tree number. Neither size of the garden, nor number of years the respondents had been vising a particular sacred site had any influence on the rated spiritual or aesthetic experiences. These results reveal the widely appreciated ecosystem services provided by urban sacred spaces and their centrality in enhancing spiritual satisfaction for some.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Alice in Wonderland: translating to read across Africa
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/174901 , vital:42520 , https://doi.org/10.1080/13696815.2016.1160827
- Description: This article comments on various translation strategies aiming at equivalence used by translators when reworking Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland into nine African languages. The back translations provided by the translators form the basis for the discussion [Lindseth, Jon, ed. 2015. Alice in a World of Wonderlands. Volume 1: Essays. Delaware: Oak Knoll Press]. This article provides examples and discussion of how African language translators deviated from the original text and it analyses the possible reasons for doing so, both linguistic and socio-cultural. The way in which translators created an African voice in the target languages is discussed by analysing their reflective essays and back translations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/174901 , vital:42520 , https://doi.org/10.1080/13696815.2016.1160827
- Description: This article comments on various translation strategies aiming at equivalence used by translators when reworking Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland into nine African languages. The back translations provided by the translators form the basis for the discussion [Lindseth, Jon, ed. 2015. Alice in a World of Wonderlands. Volume 1: Essays. Delaware: Oak Knoll Press]. This article provides examples and discussion of how African language translators deviated from the original text and it analyses the possible reasons for doing so, both linguistic and socio-cultural. The way in which translators created an African voice in the target languages is discussed by analysing their reflective essays and back translations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Colonised minds?: post-development theory and the desirability of development in Africa
- Authors: Matthews, Sally
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142213 , vital:38059 , DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2017.1279540
- Description: While post-development theory is very concerned with the ways in which development has impacted upon the countries of the Global South, there has been relatively little written on post-development theory from an African perspective. This paper identifies some of the ways in which post-development theory fails to adequately understand the African experience of development. In particular, I explore the difficulty that post-development theory confronts when faced with the continued desire on the part of many people in Africa for development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Matthews, Sally
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142213 , vital:38059 , DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2017.1279540
- Description: While post-development theory is very concerned with the ways in which development has impacted upon the countries of the Global South, there has been relatively little written on post-development theory from an African perspective. This paper identifies some of the ways in which post-development theory fails to adequately understand the African experience of development. In particular, I explore the difficulty that post-development theory confronts when faced with the continued desire on the part of many people in Africa for development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Community-based natural resource use and management of Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, Uganda, for livelihood benefits
- Gosling, Amanda, Shackleton, Charlie M, Gambiza, James
- Authors: Gosling, Amanda , Shackleton, Charlie M , Gambiza, James
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60844 , vital:27839 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-017-9546-y
- Description: publisher version , Conservation and sustainable management of wetlands requires participation of local stakeholders, including communities. The Bigodi Wetland is unusual because it is situated in a common property landscape but the local community has been running a successful community-based natural resource management programme (CBNRM) for the wetland for over a decade. Whilst external visitors to the wetland provide ecotourism revenues we sought to quantify community benefits through the use of wetland goods such as firewood, plant fibres, and the like, and costs associated with wild animals damaging farming activities. We interviewed 68 households living close to the wetland and valued their cash and non-cash incomes from farming and collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and water. The majority of households collected a wide variety of plant and fish resources and water from the wetland for household use and livestock. Overall, 53% of total household cash and non-cash income was from collected products, mostly the wetland, 28% from arable agriculture, 12% from livestock and 7% from employment and cash transfers. Female-headed households had lower incomes than male-headed ones, and with a greater reliance on NTFPs. Annual losses due to wildlife damage were estimated at 4.2% of total gross income. Most respondents felt that the wetland was important for their livelihoods, with more than 80% identifying health, education, craft materials and firewood as key benefits. Ninety-five percent felt that the wetland was in a good condition and that most residents observed the agreed CBNRM rules regarding use of the wetland. This study confirms the success of the locally run CBNRM processes underlying the significant role that the wetland plays in local livelihoods.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Gosling, Amanda , Shackleton, Charlie M , Gambiza, James
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60844 , vital:27839 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-017-9546-y
- Description: publisher version , Conservation and sustainable management of wetlands requires participation of local stakeholders, including communities. The Bigodi Wetland is unusual because it is situated in a common property landscape but the local community has been running a successful community-based natural resource management programme (CBNRM) for the wetland for over a decade. Whilst external visitors to the wetland provide ecotourism revenues we sought to quantify community benefits through the use of wetland goods such as firewood, plant fibres, and the like, and costs associated with wild animals damaging farming activities. We interviewed 68 households living close to the wetland and valued their cash and non-cash incomes from farming and collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and water. The majority of households collected a wide variety of plant and fish resources and water from the wetland for household use and livestock. Overall, 53% of total household cash and non-cash income was from collected products, mostly the wetland, 28% from arable agriculture, 12% from livestock and 7% from employment and cash transfers. Female-headed households had lower incomes than male-headed ones, and with a greater reliance on NTFPs. Annual losses due to wildlife damage were estimated at 4.2% of total gross income. Most respondents felt that the wetland was important for their livelihoods, with more than 80% identifying health, education, craft materials and firewood as key benefits. Ninety-five percent felt that the wetland was in a good condition and that most residents observed the agreed CBNRM rules regarding use of the wetland. This study confirms the success of the locally run CBNRM processes underlying the significant role that the wetland plays in local livelihoods.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017