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Forest governance, conservation and livelihoods: the case of forest protected areas and local communities in north-western Zimbabwe

  • Authors: Mutekwa, Vurayai
  • Date: 2017
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7396 , vital:21254
  • Description: Forest protected areas (FPAs) constitute one of the main strategies for achieving the triple benefits of biodiversity conservation, livelihoods sustenance and climate regulation. The quality of FPA governance plays a major role in the achievement of these conservation objectives. Governance encompasses policies, institutions, actors, processes and power and how they interplay to determine conservation outcomes. Currently, no research has systematically explored the historical and contemporary governance of Zimbabwe’s protected indigenous forests and its implications on forest condition and local communities’ livelihoods. This is despite the fact that improving forest governance depends on learning from those that prevailed in the past as well as those currently obtaining on the ground in terms of how they have performed in relation to conservation and livelihood sustenance. This study assessed Zimbabwe’s historical and contemporary FPA governance and its implications on social and ecological outcomes. The overall rationale of the study was to provide evidence of the impact of past governance arrangements on forest condition and local communities’ livelihoods, improve understanding of the current governance arrangements and propose future FPA governance strategies and mechanisms to enhance conservation and local communities’ livelihood outcomes. Accordingly, the specific objectives of the study were to: 1) characterize and collate historical governance of FPAs in western Zimbabwe, 2) evaluate the impact of governance on forest condition and local communities’ livelihoods, 3) explore the nature of contemporary governance at the forest level, and 4) propose the governance model for Zimbabwe’s FPAs into the future. The study employed a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods including the systematic literature review methodology. Using specific case studies of indigenous FPAs in western Zimbabwe as examples, the study initially evaluated through literature review (Chapter 2) the history of forest governance in Zimbabwe showing how four main powers (force, regulation, market and legitimation) led to different types of local community exclusion and how community agency countered exclusion especially from the year 2000 to date. Chapter 3 uses six case study forests to assess the quality of historical FPA governance by analyzing the application of seven governance principles. The results showed that the quality of governance was high during precolonial times, deteriorated with the inception of colonialism and remained poor after independence in 1980. Forest condition also varied in tandem with the quality of governance variations showing a positive relationship between the two variables. Participation in decision making, fairness in sharing benefits and effective rule enforcement emerged as key principles for FPA authorities to earn local community support and improve forest condition. Chapter 4 employed remote sensing techniques to determine the impact of governance on FPA land cover change by comparing FPAs with in situ and ex situ inhabitants. Results revealed that there was a significant relationship between governance quality and land cover change. FPAs with in situ inhabitants experienced higher forest loss than those with ex situ inhabitants. Poor governance accelerated forest conversion to other land uses particularly agriculture and settlement. Chapter 5 explored contemporary FPA governance at the forest level. Results showed that human agency that led to the invasion of FPAs from the year 2000 onwards disrupted the governance arrangements that were previously in place subjecting Zimbabwe’s FPAs to near open access by local communities and other actors. The FPAs’ contemporary governance is characterized by involvement of multiple actors with diverse interests, lack of Forestry Commission legitimacy, very low levels of local people’s participation in decision making and rule enforcement, lack of compliance with FPA rules and actual benefits that do not match local communities’ expectations. Overall, the study has revealed the ineffectiveness of the conventional centralized FPA governance in achieving positive conservation and local communities’ livelihoods outcomes. The study recommended a shift from conventional centralized governance to pro-people adaptive collaborative management (ACM). This has the potential to address most of the governance ills affecting Zimbabwe’s FPAs if it is designed and implemented with the full commitment of all relevant actors. This governance approach should, however, avoid some of the pitfalls such as elite capture, corruption in benefit sharing, gender inequality and technocratic professional management approaches that have characterized some collaborative governance systems in developing countries further perpetuating marginalization and poverty amongst local communities. Forestry Commission must also exercise visionary leadership and motivation. ACM becomes possible through leadership, vision, establishment and maintenance of links through culture and management and high levels of motivation. Designing and implementing ACM avoiding the highlighted pitfalls improves the capacity of the FPAs to continue providing social and ecological benefits such as improvement of local communities’ livelihoods, biodiversity protection and climate change mitigation.
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Engaging within zones of proximal development on Facebook : the case of using Facebook to support learning and mentoring on a NQF Level 5 environmental education, training and development practices learnership

  • Authors: Chetty, Preven
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Social media -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Internet in education , Online social networks , Organizational learning , Employees -- Training of , Group work in education
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:2024 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017335
  • Description: This study focuses on two roll-outs of a, year-long National Qualification Framework (NQF) level 5, environmental education learnership in South Africa and attempts at enhancing collaborative learning at workplaces using a familiar social networking site called Facebook. This study uses the Facebook group sites created for the workplace course component of the course as one of the means of data collection. Additional interviews and focus groups with learners and administrators on both Environmental Education Training and Development Practices (EETDP) courses also informed the study. The study is located within the context of the rise of the information age, its effects on socio-ecological landscape at large and ways of using social networking sites in order to facilitate scaffolding and meaning making within zones of proximal development for environmental education learnerships. It also looks at the model of apprenticeship and workplace based learning as it is broadly located at the nexus of the SAQA-led academic inquiry into workplace based learning and professional development. It was found that the use of Facebook on the EETDP learnership allowed for collaborative learning to take place between peer to peer interactions as well as between tutors and learners. It was also noted that scaffolding processes requires both technical assistance and strong instructional input from course tutors. One of the most important findings in terms of collaborative learning and engaging within the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) was that learners were able to communicate more effectively and freely with both fellow learners and tutors on course after participating on the Facebook group sites. The study offers recommendations on how a social networking platform like Facebook can be utilised effectively for environmental education. The study recommends that scaffolding of workplace based tasks and concepts needs to be better integrated with the course and in both online and offline interactions between learners. It also illustrates how social networking sites can become powerful tools for creating meaning making when combined with course work.
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Changes and continuities in the labour process on commercial farms in post-Apartheid South Africa : studies from Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces

An investigation into factors that shape secondary school female retention in two rural public schools, Alimosho Region, Lagos State, Nigeria

An investigation of the indigenous ways of knowing about wild food plants (imifino): a case study

  • Authors: Cimi, Phumlani Viwe
  • Date: 2009
  • Subjects: Wild plants, Edible -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies Endemic plants -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies Ethnoscience -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Science -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Curriculum change -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Competency-based education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Conservation of natural resources -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1652 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003535
  • Description: This study was conducted in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is a qualitative case study located within the interpretive paradigm and was carried out over a period of a year. The theory implicit in the interpretive paradigm is of human beings as interpreters and constructors of a meaningful world. Thus, the focus of this study was on investigating the benefits of indigenous ways of knowing about wild food plants (imifino) in conjunction with hands-on activity-based lessons. This was done with the view to promote a conceptual understanding of nutrition and conservation in the Natural Sciences. The transformation of the school curriculum in South Africa called Curriculum 2005 (C2005) underpinned by the outcomes-based education (OBE) philosophy also triggered this study. The C2005 and OBE emphasise that learners’ prior everyday knowledge should be taken into account during the teaching and learning processes. The intention of the curriculum is to promote the idea of grounding knowledge in local contexts, while being sensitive to global imperatives. Although the acquisition of western knowledge has been and still is invaluable to all, on its own, it has been incapable of responding adequately to modern society in the face of massive and intensifying disparities, untrammeled exploitation of resources, and rapid depletion of the earth’s natural resources. Essentially, indigenous knowledge systems represent both a heritage and resource that should be protected, promoted, developed and, where appropriate, conserved. It is a resource that should serve the present and succeeding generations as many people’s cultural practices still rely on the use of wild plants. Within this context it should be borne in mind that the overexploitation of natural resources threatens not only biodiversity but also local traditional knowledge systems and ultimately cultural heritage; and research has a role to play in this regard. The research process in this study evolved into two main phases. The initial phase involved mobilising Grade 7 learners’ prior everyday knowledge on wild food plants (imifino). This led to the second phase of the research project, which was aimed at developing concepts through three hands-on activity-based lessons. I invited a community member to give a lesson on what imifino is and how to collect and prepare it, with the belief that the involvement of parents and community members in learners’ education can help bridge the gap between everyday life and school science. It is for these reasons that I believe that the constructive perspective can provide an appropriate methodological framework, conceptual structure and terminology for analysis of teaching and learning activities on the use of wild food plants in this study. The data generation techniques used in this study were questionnaires, observations and interviews (semi structured and focus group). A wide range of data generation techniques were employed to crystallise and validate the data generated using triangulation. The results from the analysed data revealed that consideration of indigenous ways of knowing in conjuction with hands-on practical activities enhanced interaction and learning among the learners. Also, linking of scientific knowledge to learners’ everyday lives was useful in fostering meaning-making and conceptual development.
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The impact of the broadcast legislative reforms on the newsroom staff's perceptions of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC)'s editorial operations and news content

  • Authors: Hamasaka, Clayson
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation Public broadcasting -- Zambia Mass media -- Management -- Zambia Broadcasting -- Law and legislation -- Zambia Broadcasting -- Political aspects -- Zambia
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:3432 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002886
  • Description: The 1980s and 1990s saw major changes in the political landscape of the media in many countries that were either reverting or emerging from repressive nondemocratic regimes. Among the notable changes in media industry was the opening up of the national airwaves, which had been a state monopoly, to private sector and community participation. The democratic dispensation also put state broadcasters in the spot-light regarding their editorial content which was previously ‘institutionalised’ as belonging to the ruling regimes. This study set out to investigate the extent to which broadcasting reform legislation meant to address the unfair coverage of contending voices on Zambia’s public broadcaster has had an impact in reversing the situation in the newsroom. Using qualitative methods of investigation, the study established that while the ZNBC staff understand aspects of their role in their newsroom in relation to the principles of public service broadcasting and in line with the enacted legislation, they perceive that, in practice, they have to ensure that the news content still remains a reserve of a few voices in favour of the ruling regime. This was evidenced by testimonies from the news staff’s complaints of continued editorial interference in their work by government leaders and government appointed gatekeepers, as well as selfcensorship. The study recommends, among other things, the full implementation of the recently enacted laws on the operations of ZNBC in order to achieve some minimum levels of being a public broadcaster. It further recommends a serious re-orientation of the ZNBC newsroom and management staff to the current legislative requirements so as to shift their mindset away from their traditionally-held views of thinking that news at that station is only for the ruling regime.
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An evaluation of "on-line" banking web sites in South Africa to determine essential design criteria

  • Authors: Palmer, Lydia
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Banks and banking -- South Africa Banks and banking -- Customer services -- South Africa Home banking services -- South Africa Electronic funds transfers -- South Africa Web sites -- Design
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: vital:811 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007667
  • Description: The use of the Web to carry out business on the Internet has become a viable option in all business sectors, and Internet banking in South Africa is no exception. The nature of business on the Internet in South Africa and the World is investigated. The extent of Internet banking in South Africa is ascertained and the expectations and perceived problems of online bankers are discussed. The importance of Human Computer Interface and Web Interface Design for successful business is promoted with a discussion of their guidelines and principles. Web Evaluation techniques and Tools are assessed and The "Gartner" Web evaluation tool is selected to evaluate the three bank Web sites. The results of the evaluation indicate that there are several generally well implemented design criteria used by all of the banks while some criteria are not implemented at all. Each bank is discussed individually to identify strong and weak features of their Web site design. Essential aspects of Web design have been proposed for inclusion during the design of "online" Banking Web sites.
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Biology and demography of the spotted grunter Pomadasys commersonnii (Haemulidae) in South African waters

  • Authors: Webb, Garth Anthony
  • Date: 2003
  • Subjects: Grunts (Fishes) -- South Africa , Grunts (Fishes) -- South Africa -- Ecology
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:5201 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003727 , Grunts (Fishes) -- South Africa , Grunts (Fishes) -- South Africa -- Ecology
  • Description: The spotted grunter, Pomadasys commersonnii (Haemulidae), is an Indian Ocean coastal species, extending from India to False Bay but is absent from the central Indian Ocean islands. Its taste and texture has made it one of the most important line fish species and is caught by recreational and subsistence fisherman along the entire east coast of South Africa. Because of its inshore distribution, reduced catch rates and estuarine dependence the species was de-commercialised in 1992. Since then it has been investigated as a candidate species for mariculture. All previous work on the biology of the species was undertaken on fish collected in KwaZulu-Natal in the mid 1970's. All other information has been incidental and formed part of other ecological studies. All management plans for this species have been based on these data. To develop a more comprehensive management plan that incorporates the entire population of spotted grunter, it was deemed necessary to reassess the biology (including feeding biology, age and growth and reproductive biology) as well as the demography of the population throughout its distributional range in South African waters. Analysis of the diet of spotted grunter, collected in estuaries, indicates that crustaceans form the bulk of the prey selected. Amphipods, mysids and estuarine brachyura predominate the diet of fish < 300 mm TL. At 200 mm TL fish start to prey on anomurans, which are extracted from their burrows using the 'blowing' feeding mechanism. Anomurans, in particular Upogebia africana and Callianassa krausii, become the preferred prey of fish larger than 300 mm TL. The high degree of diet flexibility that spotted grunter exhibit means that the composition and abundance of the macrobenthos of a particular environment will dictate the diet of the species. Otolith growth zones were found to be deposited annually with the opaque zones being deposited during the austral summer (November - February). The optical definition of annual otolith growth rings differed significantly between geographic regions (namely: Western Cape, South Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal). Growth (sex combined) offish in the Western Cape were best described by the specialised 3 parameter Von Bertalanffy with a relative error structure in the form : Lt = 753(1- e⁻°·¹⁵⁴ ⁽t +¹·⁶¹⁵⁾) while growth in the South Eastern Cape was best described by using the Schnute model with an absolute error structure in the form: Lt=177°·⁴¹⁶ + (676.2⁻¹·²⁶⁶ - 169.2⁻¹²⁶⁶)[1-e°·⁴¹⁶⁽t-t₁⁾ / 1-e°·⁴¹⁶⁽t₂-t₁⁾]¹/¹·²⁶⁶ whereas growth was best described in KwaZulu-Natal using the specialised 3 parameter Von Bertalanffy with a relative error structure in the form: Lt = 839(1-e°·¹⁷⁽t⁺°·⁴⁹⁾) In the South Eastern Cape, length at 50% maturity was found to be 305 mm TL for males. Since females with ripe & running or spent gonads were not found in the South Eastern Cape and since histological evidence suggests that females in the South Eastern Cape have spawned, it appears that spawning does not occur in the South Eastern Cape. These results suggest that adults are resident in the estuaries of the Western and South Eastern Cape and undertake the spring/summer, northward spawning migration to KwaZulu-Natal. After joining the resident spawner stock in KwaZulu-Natal and spawning in the offshore environment of KwaZulu-Natal, adults soon return to the southern regions of their distributional range. Juveniles recruit into KwaZulu-Natal estuaries at a length of 25 - 35 mm TL. A proportion of the eggs and larvae are transported southwards along the periphery of the western boundary Agulhas Current where juveniles (25 - 30 mm TL) recruit into the estuaries as far south as the Swartvlei estuary in the Western Cape. There is evidence to suggest that the fish, which occur in the Western Cape estuaries, have migrated there once they have attained sexual maturity further east.
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Reproductive conflicts in honeybee colonies

  • Authors: Pirk, Christian Walter Werner
  • Date: 2002
  • Subjects: Honeybee -- Reproduction
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:5755 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005443
  • Description: In advanced eusocial hymenopteran societies workers have ovaries and can lay eggs, but are unable to mate. Workers are more related to their own offspring than to every other member of the colony. So worker reproduction contains both worker-worker and worker-queen conflict. The queen- worker conflict is discussed elsewhere, but if the queen mates with more than two males, worker policing should be selected to lower potential conflicts. However in the Cape honeybee it was predicted that worker policing is absent or less expressed than in other honeybee subspecies, because workers produce female offspring thelytokously. So laying workers and their offspring are nearly genetically identical, which results in the fact that other workers are as related to workers derived from eggs laid by the queen as laid by a worker. However, worker reproduction may be costly and therefore worker policing could be an evolutionary adaptation in the Cape honeybee to lower the costs derived from laying worker activity. Indeed, Cape honeybee colonies show efficient egg removal behaviour, suggesting that other factors like colony efficiency could favour egg removal behaviour. Since egg removal behaviour is a colony phenomenon, factors that affect colony performance could also affect egg removal behaviour. Egg removal behaviour was considerably affected by environmental changes, indicating that other tasks have a higher priority than egg removal behaviour. Thousands of queenright colonies of the neighbouring subspecies (A. m. scutellata) were taken over by laying A. m. capensis workers, showing that A. m. capensis workers are facultative social parasites. These observations strongly indicate that laying workers of A. m. capensis are able to evade worker policing and the inhibitory effects of the queen pheromones, but what potential strategies could these laying workers use to increase the survival of their eggs and evade the queen? On the one hand, egg removal behaviour is variable. One behavioural strategy of laying workers to achieve successful reproduction could be that they lay during periods with low egg removal behaviour. On the other hand, the inhibitory effect of the queen’s pheromones diminishes with distance. Maybe the level of egg removal also depends, like the inhibitory effect of the queen pheromones, on the distance from the queen. Indeed, further away from the queen the effect of the queen pheromone and the level of egg removal is reduced, making successful worker reproduction possible. In both subspecies, A. m. capensis and A. m. scutellata, egg removal behaviour is reduced further away from the queen. In the case of A. m. scutellata egg removal is lacking further away from the queen. This explains why colonies of scutellata are so prone to takeovers by laying Cape honeybee workers. One question in the context of parasitic Cape honeybees is how they manage to get into the host colony. One way could be that they get into the colonies during a natural colony merger which is common in African bees. Two unrelated colonies merged and it took them only 24 hours to show effective integration. Because both colonies are unrelated, the potential reproductive conflict among workers should be more strongly expressed than in a normal colony, which is not the result of a merger. Therefore, the effect of nestmate recognition for eggs on the egg removal behaviour was investigated. The results suggest that workers recognise the origin of an egg and that the standard policing experiments overestimate the level of egg removal and only represent relative values. Moreover, the results show that colony specific components on the eggs are more important than a postulated queen egg marking pheromone. Finally, for the first time empirical evidence from a population of the parasitic laying Cape honeybee workers, invading thousands of colonies of A. m. scutellata in northern South Africa, for a short-sighted selection theory is presented.
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The use of interactive computer simulations to engender conceptual changes about wave motion

  • Authors: Jacob, Sunny
  • Date: 2001
  • Subjects: Computer simulation
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1921 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007409
  • Description: Computers are expensive equipment which most schools in South Africa cannot afford to use as an instructional tool in the same way as they are being used in affluent schools in the countly and in the western world. In this study a computer was used as a demonstration tool to help learners to visualise the different aspects of wave motion with the aid of interactive computer simulations. The study investigated how learners alter their intuitive notions of wave motion after experiencing the common teaching techniques in township schools, and then by observing interactive computer simulations. Data was collected by means of field notes, observation, questionnaires and in-depth semi-structured interviews with the participation of twelve Grade 9 learners in a secondary school over a three-week period. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used in the study and the data was analysed within an interpretive framework. A detailed analysis revealed that interactive computer simulations could bring about positive conceptual changes in learners, especially in the micro level aspects of wave motion. The inexperience of the learners in a discovery method of learning and a learner centred approach of teaching seemed to interfere with the teaching techniques. To a considerable extent, language problems also hindered the revelation of conceptualisation.In writing this report of the research study J agree wilh Squires and McDougall (1994: 12) that it is difficult to use a non-interactive medium (paper-based text) to report on the interactive medium of computer simulations, as written words cannot bring out all the essential aspects of interactive computer simulations.
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The vegetation potential of natural rangelands in the mid-Fish River Valley, Eastern Cape, South Africa: towards a sustainable and acceptable management system

  • Authors: Birch, Natalie Vivienne Evans
  • Date: 2001
  • Subjects: Vegetation and climate -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Vegetation dynamics -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Vegetation surveys -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Land -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Rangelands -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:4186 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003754
  • Description: Desertification is the diminution or destruction of the biological potential of land, and can lead ultimately to desert-like conditions. The vegetation of southern Africa is claimed to have altered over the past 100 years and much of the change is attributed to pastoral practice. In recent years however there has been much debate around the issue of the deterioration and loss of productivity of the natural rangelands, specifically those under communal management. It is one thing to claim that the vegetation has changed but quite another to produce data and analyses to show this unequivocally. Furthermore it is generally difficult to determine the nature and extent of change in natural ecosystems, as one does not know what the optimal base-line conditions should be. For this reason emphasis has been placed on developing models of potential or expected vegetation. By comparing a model of potential or expected vegetation with that of the contemporary vegetation, areas that deviate from expectation can be identified, in so doing providing evidence of the direction of change in the rangelands under various management treatments. The objective of this study was to determine shifts in the vegetation under different land-use treatments, by developing a technique to predict the potential vegetation of an area. In order to explore the nature and extent of degradation at the landscape scale a study site was selected where a range of land-use and rangeland management practices could be studied in parallel. The mid-Fish River valley consists of three markedly different units of land management, namely commercial rangelands, communal rangelands and nature conservation areas. The vegetation within the mid-Fish River valley falls within the Thicket biome and consists of three main vegetation types namely, Short Succulent Thicket, Medium Succulent Thicket and Mesic Bushclump Savanna. The creation of this potential vegetation model was dependent on the direct gradient analysis approach of relating the community patterns with environmental variables. To achieve this, floristic information was collected at sites along a topographical-moisture gradient. A Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) between the environmental variables and the plant communities produced a classification from which the conditions normally associated with the major plant communities were predicted. When projected as a digital map, the qualifying sites provided a testable hypothesis of the potential vegetation. The results of this study showed a definite grazing gradient, which reflects a change from a more mesic environment towards a more arid environment with an increase in utilisation pressure. The predictive vegetation model proved to be useful for predicting the occurrence of the valley thicket communities within the Eastern Cape.
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Does drafting beat "bleeding"? : an action research investigation into the introduction of a cognitivist process approach to the teaching of writing at senior secondary level

  • Authors: McKellar, Elizabeth Jennifer Kelk
  • Date: 1996
  • Subjects: Action research in education English language -- Writing -- Study and teaching (Secondary)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1499 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003381
  • Description: In this study an attempt is made to describe and illuminate the attitude of both pupils and teachers to the introduction of a cognitivist process approach to the teaching of written literacy in one standard in a multi-cuI tural Eastern Cape Model C secondary school. Because the cognitivist process approach to the teaching of written literacy was to complement already existing strategies for the teaching of written literacy, the research took the form of collaborative action research in three standard nine English classrooms. Teacher- and pupil diaries were the main means of data collection. Two spirals of action research were conducted in an attempt to identify difficulties and improve practice. Diaries and discussion revealed a positive response to the drafting, revision and editing processes which researchers had already identified as the processes which skilled writers use in creating text. Acknowledgement of the benefits to be derived from peer response as audience was also established. Anomalies relating to the grouping of pupils for peer-editing were found to be a key issue in determining the relative success of the project. Difficulties were also found to exist in the ability of some of the pupils to engage effectively in peer-peer and teacher-peer negotiation of text. Possible reasons for these difficulties have been identified , and further research into the nature of the inherent power relationships which exist implicitly in a multi-cultural educational setting and impede negotiation would be necessary to appreciate fully the difficulties experienced.
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An investigation into the need for environmental information in South Africa: a case study of the Enviro Facts Project

  • Authors: Paxton, Linda Janet
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: Enviro facts project Environmental education -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1611 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003493
  • Description: Growing awareness of the environmental risks associated with modernity has contributed to an increasing demand for information about the environment. Conservation and other environmental organisations receive many such requests for information. The research reported here was motivated first, by the view that these requests presented an opportunity for environmental education, and second, by a concern that this potential was not being realised. The research question was thus "How can environmental education be supported by optimally responding to requests for environmental information?" It is argued that social change is the raison d' etre of environmental education as a response to environmental risks. Further, it is proposed that this might be best achieved through an approach described here as socially critical environmental education. The study comprised an historical review of the Enviro Facts Project, a recent attempt to meet the need for environmental information; a questionnaire survey; interviews; and workshops. Results were collected from 115 questionnaire responses; 23 telephone interviews and nine face-to-face interviews; and six workshops. The research design was participative. It aimed to answer the research question through co-developing practical solutions with participants. Further, it endeavoured to be of practical relevance to those participants. Conclusions are drawn as to how the research question might be answered. Recommendations are made as follows. Responses to environmental information requests might best support socially critical environmental education through an approach characterised by: * a recognition of the importance of responding optimally to environmental information requests, as well as a recognition of existing structures and resource materials with which to respond; * the mobilisation of those structures and resource materials through, for example, the effective marketing and distribution of resource materials; informed and focused networking to make existing resources and capacities more accessible; and the effective use of libraries to provide environmental information; * the enhancement of the capacities of local sources of environmental information. The findings of this study could usefully inform both resource development in environmental education, and those who in their line of work respond to requests for environmental information.
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A hermeneutical study of the Midrashic influences of biblical literature on the narrative modes, aesthetics, and ethical concerns in the novels of George Eliot

  • Authors: Law-Viljoen, Bronwyn
  • Date: 1993
  • Subjects: Eliot, George, 1819-1880 -- Criticism and interpretation Eliot, George, 1819-1880 -- Language Eliot, George, 1819-1880 - Style Eliot, George, 1819-1880. Daniel Deronda Eliot, George, 1819-1880. Felix Holt Eliot, George, 1819-1880. Adam Bede Eliot, George, 1819-1880. Mill on the Floss Midrash -- History and criticism Midrash -- Hermeneutics Prophecy in literature Judaism in literature Jews in literature Symbolism in literature
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2236 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002279
  • Description: The thesis will examine the influence of Biblical literature on some of the novels of George Eliot. In doing so it will consider the following aspects of Eliot criticism: current theoretical debate about the use of midrash; modes of discourse and narrative style; prophetic language and vision; the influence of Judaism and Jewish exegetical methods on Adam Bede, "The Lifted Veil", The Mill on the Floss, Felix Holt, and Daniel Deronda. Literary critics have, for a long time, been interested in the influence of the Bible and Biblical hermeneutics on literature and the extent to which Biblical narratives and themes are used typologically and allegorically in fiction has been well researched. In this regard, the concept of midrash is not a new one in literary theory. It refers both to a genre of writing and to an ancient Rabbinic method of exegesis. It has, however, been given new meaning by literary critics and theoriticians such as Frank Kermode, Harold Bloom, and Jacques Derrida. In The Genesis of Secrecy, Kermode gives a new nuance to the word and demonstrates how it may be used to read not only Biblical stories but secular literature as well. It is an innovative, self-reflexive, and intricate hermeneutic processs which has been used by scholars such as Geoffrey Hartman and Sanford Budick, editors of Midrash and Literature, a seminal work in this thesis. Eliot's interest in Judaism and her fascination with religion, religious writing, and religious characters are closely connected to her understanding of the novelist's role as an interpreter of stories. In this regard, the prophetic figure as poet, seer, and interpreter of the past, present, and future of society is of special significance. The thesis will investigate Eliot's reinterpretation of this important Biblical type as well as her retelling of Biblical stories. It will attempt to establish the extent to which Eliot's work may be called midrash, and enter the current debate on how and why literary works have been and can be interpreted. It will address the questions of why Eliot, who abjures normative religious faith, has such a profound interest in the Bible, how the Bible serves her creative purposes, why she is interested in Judaism, and to what extent the latter informs and permeates her novels.
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Geological control of aquifer properties of the Chuniespoort Group in the Klip River Valley and Natalspruit Basin, Transvaal

  • Authors: Foster, Michael Benedict John
  • Date: 1988 , 2013-03-08
  • Subjects: Hydrogeology -- South Africa -- Transvaal , Aquifers -- South Africa -- Transvaal , Water supply -- South Africa -- Transvaal
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:4881 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013338
  • Description: The aquifer of the study area occupies an escarpment and low lying limestone plain, and exhibits a Vaal River type karst. The four dolomitic formations present fall into two distinct aquifer forming types; chert poor units and chert rich units. The chert poor units of the Oaktree and Lyttelton Formations were deposited in a subtidal environment and were probably dolomi tised in a migrating schizohaline environment during basin subsidence and shoreline trangression. The chert rich units of the Monte Christo and Eccles Formations were deposited in the shallow subtidal to supratidal zones and the interbedded chert and dolomites may result from minor cyclical marine trangressions and regressions or be a geochemical response to the periodic flooding of freshwater carbonate and flats and tidal deltas. These fundamental geological differences are reflected in correspondingly different development of karst. Transmissive zones in the chert poor units are generally discrete solution features in massive dolomite, 1 m to 2 m thick. Transmissive zones in the chert rich units comprise thick (up to 60 m) and extremely weathered chert with a high void content resulting from the dissolution of carbonate material. The relative importance of various geological features to the development of the karst was assessed using information from two extensive hydrogeological investigations of the area. From the results it bas been concluded that lithostratigraphy, including the occurrence of palaeokarstic horizons, is the major control of aquifer properties. All other geological features are of lesser importance but may nevertheless be associated with enhanced transmissivi ties in any given unit. Faults and lineaments are the structural features most widely associated with highly transmissive zones. The knowledge gained in this study is applicable elsewhere as the principal hydrogeological characteristics of the study area are common to many of the Chuniespoort Group aquifers in the Pretoria - Witwatersrand - Vereeniging Region.
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An analysis of non-white transport requirements in an Eastern Cape urban area

  • Authors: Viljoen, John
  • Date: 1978
  • Subjects: Buses -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Black people -- Transportation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Transportation, Automotive -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
  • Identifier: vital:807 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007265
  • Description: From Preface: The following research is centred around the Grahamstown non-white urban transportation problem. The bus service under consideration is owned and operated by the Grahamstown Municipality and is attached to the City Fire Department. It caters only for non-white commuters by operating fourteen buses, which carry approximately 1 200 000 people per year. As such, the difficulties encountered by this transport service should be generally, though not entirely, applicable only to relatively small non-white transport undertakings. The aims of this research are threefold: 1. to establish the environment within which transport undertakings operate, the structure of the undertaking in response to this environment and the problems which such undertakings encounter in their daily operations ; 2. by analysing in detail a specific transport service, an attempt has been made to delineate problem areas in both the cost and revenue structures, and to ascertain the degree of management awareness of the existence of these problems ; and 3. to determine the social impact of this transport operation and to evaluate all aspects of the service in relation to commuters, business and social needs and wants. Unfortunately, an attempt to extend this type of research to further Eastern Cape urban areas was unsuccessful due to the refusal by certain transport undertakings and government bodies to provide essential information.
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Die nywerheidsopleiding van vakleerlinge en hulle relatiewe invloed op die besetting van die arbeidsmark oor die afgelope tien jaar, met inbegrip van die toepaslike aspekte op die grensgebied

Aspects of the biology of aestivation in Bulinus (Physopsis) africanus (Krauss) (Gastropoda, Pulmonata)

  • Authors: Heeg, J. (Jan)
  • Date: 1973
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:21054 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6178
  • Description: Aestivation, a period of dormancy during hot, dry conditions, is known to occur in both the Prosobranchia and the Pulmonata among freshwater Gastropoda. While there have been numerous accounts, mainly by field ecologists concerned with bilharziasis control, of the survival value of aestivation in the Gastropoda, little is known of its underlying physiological mechanisms. Results of investigations into the physiological basis of aestivation in the freshwater Prosobranchia, confined to the family Ampulariidae, have been conflicting, fundamental differences having been shown to exist between different species of the genus Pila . Only a single comprehensive study, that by von Brand and his coworkers on the planorbid snail Australorbis glabratus*, forms the basis of our knowledge of the aestivation process in the aquatic Pulmonata. In view of the conflicting results obtained in investigations on freshwater Prosobranchia, the general applicability of the findings for Australorbis glabratus to other freshwater Pulmonata was open to question. The present investigation on the planorbid snail Bulinus (Physopsis) afriaanus, a species known to be a successful aestivator, was prompted by the obvious need for a further comprehensive study on an aquatic pulmonate species . The results presented here show that aestivation in this species is a definite physiological state, characterised by a depression of the metabolic rate, which not only aids in husbanding the snails I metabolic resources. during the enforced starvation which must necessarily accompany aestivation, but also constitutes a form of resistance adaptation to the transient high temperatures which aestivating snails are bound to encounter. Loss of body water is shown to be important in initiating aestivation, but it is also the factor most likely to prove lethal during the course of aestivation. The results confirm and extend the earlier findings for Australorbis glabratus. The results are discussed in the context of our present knowledge of aestivation in other Gastropoda, both aquatic and terrestrial, and also in relation to other forms of resistance adaptation. As expected, the investigation raises more questions than it answers, thus directions for further research, arising out of the present findings, are suggested.
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Absenteeism in the footwear industry in South Africa

  • Authors: Townsend, A C
  • Date: 1967
  • Subjects: Absenteeism (Labor) -- South Africa , Footwear industry -- South Africa , Employees -- South Africa , South Africa -- Industries
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:3384 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013408
  • Description: From Introduction: During the past three decades or more, the study of absenteeism in industry has been carried on in many different ways, by numerous investigators and in a wide range of industries. The purpose of such studies has varied; sometimes they have been stimulated by purely academic interest and have sought to investigate the relationship between absenteeism and various other measurable factors in the work situation such as age, race, sex, length of service and wage rates. Most studies, however, have been prompted by the urgent necessity to determine whether an absence problem existed within a specific factory, community or industry and to discover some effective means of dealing with it. Most studies have been empirical and pragmatic as has befitted their intentions. Inevitably, those who have conducted studies of the latter type have asked two questions (a) how do the absence rates emerging from this investigation compare with those from other studies and (b) are they 'normal' or 'abnormal'? In other words, does the data which has been gathered indicate the existence of an absence problem? The main purpose of this monograph is to demonstrate that the Gross Absence Rate is not an effective basis for the discovery of answers to either of these questions. It will seek, in other words, to demonstrate the truth of the following fundamental postulate: THE GROSS ABSENCE RATE IS NOT, IN ITSELF, A SUFFICIENT BASIS FOR THE COMPARISON OF THE ABSENCE BEHAVIOUR OF ONE GROUP OF WORKERS WITH THAT OF ANOTHER OR WITH A PRE-ESTABLISHED NORM, NOR IS IT AN ADEQUATE INDICATOR OF THE PRESENCE OR OTHERWISE OF AN ABSENCE PROBLEM AMONG ANY GIVEN GROUP OF WORKERS. Although this study will include some account of investigations into the relationship between absence rates and various socio-economic factors, it will do so primarily in order to seek support for the above postulate.
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"The congregational way" : an historical study of the congregational doctrine of the church

  • Authors: De Gruchy, John Wesley
  • Date: 1961
  • Subjects: Congregational churches , Congregationalism
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Bachelor , BDiv
  • Identifier: vital:1276 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013317
  • Description: From Preface: In this Ecumenical Age it is necessary that each Christian Communion consider again its particular doctrine of the Church, and restate it for the benefit of the whole Body of Christ. This Thesis is an attempt to show some historical and theological facets of the traditional Congregational doctrine of the Church. However, it must be stated that a full exposition of Congregational ecclesiology is an impossible task for any thesis. Firstly, inherent within Congregationalism is the fear of dogmatizing about matters of faith and practice. It has expressed itself in Statements and Declarations but always with the qualification that these things are 'commonly believed amongst us' Therefore, Congregationalism, while it has a characteristic ecclesiology, has never formulated a rigid pattern of Churchmanship which has to be adhered to by all the Churches. Secondly, a full study of Congregational ecclesiology would entail the study of the practices of every Congregational Church through the ages. That is an impossible task. Therefore, we have been confined to available material; but material which nevertheless expresses what we would regard as traditional congregationalism. Thirdly, a study of this nature must be content merely to state, however critically, what Congregationalists have believed about the Church at various times in the history of Congregationalism. It is impossible to convey the pulse and feeling of the life of a Congregational Church, for it is very important in seeking to understand any Churchmanship, not only to understand its theological form and structure, but also to experience its ' koinonia ' in its common life and worship.
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