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Spectroscopy based mapping of selected dominant rock types in the Balfour Formation (Beaufort Group), Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

  • Authors: Qabaqaba, Mcebisi
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: spectrum Analysis
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/14693 , vital:40057
  • Description: Lithological mapping of areas is crucial for both mineral resource identification and determination of ore concentrations. Without adequate knowledge on the extent of an area’s lithology, the above applications cannot be meaningfully accomplished. Spectroscopy-based mapping of rocks involves the use of portable reflectance spectrometers and digital maps to analyze, assess and map changes in rocks. Thereafter, understand and interpret the geochemical, physical and environmental processes that have an impact on the reflectance of the rocks while also making spatial and spectral links. Mapping lithology using remote sensing involves identification of rocks in remotely sensed images with lithological mapping being achievable through field and laboratory spectroscopy and creation of a spectral library. The main goal of this study was to measure, extract and analyze spectral signatures of dominant rocks within the Balfour Formation in order to create a spectral library that is capable of enabling, fast and cost-effective mapping of the spatial distributions of rocks within the Balfour Formation. The spectra of dominant rocks of the Balfour Formation were measured using the SR 3500 spectroradiometer. Different pre-processing techniques were applied to the acquired spectra such as smoothing, scatter correction and outlier detection. Random Forest classifier was used in the classification of the different rocks. Analysis of Variance and Bonferroni post hoc test were applied on the spectral signatures of different rocks to ascertain if there were any spectral differences between the absorption features in the spectra of the rocks. Landsat 8 imagery was used for classification of the different rocks within the Balfour Formation, maximum likelihood and spectral angle mapper were the two classifiers that were XI used. Maximum likelihood presented an accuracy of 76.19 % and 66.67 % for spectral angle mapper.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

The influence of briefing on Eastern Cape government project outcomes

  • Authors: Binqela, Lukhanyo
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Project management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Construction industry -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Construction industry -- Management
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/44895 , vital:38186
  • Description: South African Government projects are frequently completed with large cost overruns, extended schedules, quality concerns and an increase in emerging contractors making a significant loss in projects they undertake. The construction phase has been the focus of many studies on the causes of unfavourable project outcomes. However, the crucial stages in the construction process that influence the success of a project are the early ones. This is where major decisions that influence the features and form of a project occur. This study, which adopts a case study approach, aims to establish the influence of the brief development process on the outcome of Government projects in the Eastern Cape. Through the reviewed literature and primary data collection, the study aimed at establishing the influence of the brief that is utilised for a need analysis, to define a detailed scope of works, stakeholder engagement and the time management on Eastern Cape Government project outcomes. The Sarah Baartman district was the selected geographical scope of research. Five projects were selected; these included three schools, one emergency medical service facility and one office facility. The study revealed that Eastern Cape Government projects brief development is based on the client department 2013 Published Norms and Standards for state buildings and a need analysis for other stakeholders is not considered. The study further revealed that there is no stakeholder management in government projects; therefore, there is no stakeholder engagement plan during the brief development. The study further revealed that government time management is suboptimal because stakeholder needs are not realised. The research also found that Eastern Cape Government projects do not achieve stakeholder satisfaction and are delivered late. However, some Government projects are able to meet the desired quality and are within budget. The study thus proposes that the Eastern Cape Government projects need to adopt the dynamic brief development process and implement stakeholder management. The brief development process should be an ongoing process extending throughout the project life cycle responding in an innovative manner to emerging stakeholder requirements.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Exploring Grade 9 Physical Science teachers’ views and experiences on the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in their lessons: a Namibian case study

  • Authors: Simasiku, Fredrick Simataa
  • Date: 2017
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6919 , vital:21200
  • Description: There is extensive research on the fact that the learning of science is assisted through the inclusion of the prior everyday knowledge and local knowledge that learners bring from home and from within their communities. It is precisely for this reason that the Namibian Learner Centered Education (LCE) curriculum encourages teachers to include learners’ prior everyday knowledge in their science lessons. However, the inclusion of traditional knowledge/local knowledge or indigenous knowledge (IK) and how this should be done has been largely ignored both in the Namibian school science curriculum and textbooks. It is against this background that this study sought to explore teachers’ views and experiences on the inclusion of IK in Physical Science Grade 9 lessons as well as the pedagogical strategies that they use. This research used a mixed methods approach (quantitative and qualitative data were collected) which was underpinned by the interpretive paradigm. Within the interpretive paradigm, I employed a case study approach. The study was carried out in the Endola education circuit of the Ohangwena Region. Essentially, the study explored three things: Firstly, the views, experiences and pedagogical strategies of Grade 9 Physical Science teachers on the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in their lessons. Secondly, to find out what factors enable the teachers to integrate their local knowledge into Physical Science lessons? Thirdly, to look at constraints that affect Grade 9 Physical Science teachers in the use of local knowledge in their science lessons. Data were collected using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The data obtained were validated in two ways, firstly, the data were triangulated from different data gathering techniques, and secondly, validation was done by member checking of the transcribed scripts. To make meaning from the data generated, Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural theory was used as a lens to analyze the data. The data generated were coded inductively and presented in graphs, tables and descriptive texts to make meaning. The findings from the research revealed that teachers in the Endola circuit do make some efforts to include indigenous knowledge in their lessons. Furthermore, teachers seemed to grasp the benefits and constraints that come with the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in their science lessons. For example, it emerged that indigenous knowledge enables learners to link what they are taught in the science classroom to what is happening in the community or at home, thereby enhancing their understanding of the concepts. Topics such as acids and bases, friction, combustion, static electricity and pressure emerged as some of the topics in which teachers include indigenous knowledge. On the other hand, the issue of language, textbooks and lack of indigenous knowledge by teachers affects the way teachers are able to include IK in their lessons. This study thus recommends that teachers should explore different indigenous practices that can be linked to the topics in the curriculum or syllabus to enhance learning and teaching. Furthermore, they need to involve local communities that possess indigenous knowledge to help in delivering indigenous practices during the lessons. Lastly, teachers and communities should start developing learning and teaching support materials that are useful when local knowledge is included.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

Teachers' views regarding the influence of quintile-based school categorisation on the culture of teaching and learning in no fee schools

  • Authors: Sakati, Zukiswa
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Education -- South Africa -- Finance Education and state -- South Africa Educational law and legislation -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/4981 , vital:28882
  • Description: The main aim of the study is to determine the views of teachers in the East London district on the influence of quintile-based school categorization on the culture of teaching and learning in No Fee Schools (NFS). The study is motivated by the high rate of underperformance registered by the NFS despite the huge amount of support and intervention directed to them. The study is located in the interpretive paradigm and hence used, was a qualitative approach and case study design. Purposive sampling technique was followed to identify participants. Twelve (12) teachers from three research sites, which are NFS, participated in the study. Data was gathered through observations, document analysis and one-on-one semi-structured interviews, respectively. In each school, a principal, a School Management Team (SMT) member and two Grade 12 teachers were interviewed as participants in order to enrich the study. The study is underpinned by the Social Identity Theory (SIT) which is guided by the pursuit of evaluative positive social identity through positive intergroup distinctiveness, which is, in turn, motivated by the need for positive self-esteem (Tafjel & Tunner in 1979). Thus, according to Hogg (2006), social identity is motivated by self-enhancement and uncertainty reduction, which causes groups to strive to be both better than and distinct from other groups. This theory afforded the researcher the opportunity to understand how teachers’ personal identity and professional identities are influenced by the categorisation status of their schools as well as by their associates. This study revealed that the no fee categorisation status seems to affect the teacher identity and their professional identities which in turn appears to affect the culture of teaching and learning in NFS. This is indicated by data that some of the teachers in NFS seem to be in denial or feel rejected whilst some are proud and embracing teaching in these disadvantaged schools. The study further reveals inadequacy of the funding systems to address lack of resources in NFS means teaches have to provide for these in one way or another. One of the main findings of this study is that various strategies used by the NFS in trying to enhance the culture of teaching and learning in their schools produces differentiated results depending on teacher’s attitudes, commitment, determination and hard work. The study also reveals that teachers from the same communities as the schools in which they work are more dedicated and willing to go an extra mile to plough back. In addition to this, teachers from similar environments seem to be driven by their backgrounds to help and support destitute learners. Amongst the strategies used in schools, matric revision camp, cell phone policy and parenting of learners by teachers are the most effective in terms of enhancing culture of teaching and learning thereby improving matric results. Moreover, the study further divulges that some of the teachers in NFS are committed, motivated and hardworking despite the contextual factors found in these schools. Furthermore, learners in these schools tend to mirror their teacher’s positive attitudes, hard work and determination towards their work which in turn they apply in their own studies. The study concludes with the findings that the teachers in underperforming NFS have to prove their worth to their associates in affluent schools or high performing NFS. Structural committees used at school levels have a positive contribution in the effective implementation of the intervention and support programs directed at NFS.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

An exploration of learners’ autonomous learning of mathematics by using selected Visual Technology for the Autonomous Learning of Mathematics (VITALmaths) video clips: A case study

  • Authors: Haywood, Thomas
  • Date: 2016
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:2071 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021155
  • Description: One of the major problems in the achievements of learners in mathematics is the difficulty they experience in performing tasks involving higher level thinking skills which are developed through autonomous learning behaviours (Karp, 1991). Thus, to engage meaningfully in high level mathematical tasks, one should be able to work independently (Karp, 1991). Teachers therefore should support learners in developing the skills that will afford them the opportunity to manage their own learning outside the sheltered surroundings of the classroom, when the teacher is no longer there for support (St. Louis, 2003). A study was undertaken with 11 Grade-10 learners to ascertain how their engagement with the VITALmaths video clips support and improve the learners’ understanding of the Pythagorean Theorem and the addition and subtraction of fractions autonomously. The VITALmaths database of video clips, which consists of short video clips (1 - 3 minutes long) was developed collaboratively by students and researchers at the School of Teacher Education at the University of Applied Sciences North-Western Switzerland and Rhodes University in South Africa (Linneweber-Lammerskitten, Schäfer & Samson, 2010). The video clips, which are freely available, can be downloaded on mobile phones. The study was structured into four different phases during which data was collected and analysed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. I specifically looked at the learners’ use of manipulatives during their learning of the Pythagorean Theorem and the addition and subtraction of fractions, whether there was a growth of a discourse-for-oneself and whether or not their engagement with the video clips enhanced the learners’ understanding of the Pythagorean Theorem and the addition and subtraction of fractions. While the theoretical framework provided a sound basis for researching autonomous learning, it required a considerable effort to determine whether the participants showed growth in terms of moving from a discourse-for-others to a discourse-for-oneself. The study revealed that the learners’ engagement with the VITALmaths video clip encouraged the use of manipulatives in their learning of the Pythagorean Theorem and the addition and subtraction of fractions. The majority of the learners involved in the study showed a growth of a discourse-for-oneself. A number of the learners showed an enhancement in their understanding of the Pythagorean Theorem and the knowledge involved in the addition and subtraction of fractions. The overall findings showed that mobile technology can easily be incorporated in the learners’ learning of mathematics. The VITALmaths video clips can play a significant role in the learners’ autonomous learning and understanding of certain mathematical concepts.
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  • Date Issued: 2016

The intersection between socio-economic status and scholastic attainment in selected schools in Fort Beaufort education district, province of the Eastern Cape

  • Authors: Sokani, Andile
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Students -- Economic conditions Students -- Social conditions Educational tests and measurements
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/13150 , vital:39469
  • Description: The aim of this study was to examine and highlight the effects of socio-economic status on scholastic attainment in selected high schools in the Fort Beaufort Educational District. Participants were children in Grades 10 to 12 and included children from both high and low Socio-Economic Status (SES) families, and with varying qualities of education owing to biographies of distinctive insertion into the part apartheid educational structure. Utilizing Pierre Bourdeu’s concept of cultural capital as a theoretical framework, the study ardued that children from high SES in the Fort Beaufort Education District perform better at high schools owing to acces to relevant educational materials and the general academic culture in their home environment. The opposite is however the case for children from low SES who lack access to such material, culture and language, thus making it difficult to perform optimally in their high school studies. The study used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The purpose of using triangulation was to decrease or counter-balance the deficiency of a single strategy, thereby increasing the ability to interpret the findings. The adoption of the mixed method approach in this study was also directed at increasing the reliability, validity and the generalizability of the results of the study. The most expressive measure of SES was the average income for the area in which the child lives or is educated. The quality of education was estimated based on whether the school was previously disadvantaged or previously advantaged. The child’s academic achievement was measured using the two most recent school reports. As predicted, the research results showed that children from high SES families and with a high quality of education scored better on their examinations than did children from low SES families and with a low quality of education. The data also revealed an interesting interaction between SES and quality of education. Participants from low SES families but with a high quality of education scored significantly better on examination assessment performance than did participants from low SES families and with a low quality of education. These findings suggest that children from low SES families in the Fort Beaufort Education District might be at a grave disadvantage in terms of their ability to succeed academically but that the quality of education might be a more important factor than SES in determining levels of general intellectual functioning.
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  • Date Issued: 2016

An exploration into the conditions enabling and constraining the implementation of quality assurance in higher education: the case of a small comprehensive university in South Africa

  • Authors: Masehela, Langutani Meriam
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: University of Venda -- Evaluation , Education, Higher -- South Africa -- Evaluation , Universities and colleges -- South Africa -- Auditing , Quality assurance -- South Africa , Quality assurance -- Standards -- South Africa , Universities and colleges -- South Africa -- Evaluation , Educational accountability -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Standards -- South Africa , Educational evaluation -- South Africa , Critical realism , Social realism
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:1334 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020312
  • Description: At an international level, demands for accountability in respect of the quality of teaching and learning in higher education are increasing. This is also the case in South Africa. The response to these demands has taken the form of the introduction of quality assurance systems to higher education. In South Africa, a formal national external quality assurance was introduced to the higher education system in 2001 as a result of the establishment of the Higher Education Quality Committee. The Higher Education Quality Committee is a standing committee of the South African Council on Higher Education. Like other quality assurance agencies across the world, the Higher Education Quality Committee has the responsibility for i) auditing institutions of higher education and ii) accrediting learning programmes. The first cycle of institutional audits ran from 2004 until 2011. As quality assurance was introduced to the higher education system and the first cycle of institutional audits began, universities in South Africa developed policies and procedures intended to assure quality in three areas of their core functioning: research, teaching and learning and community engagement. The University of Venda, which is the focus of the study on which this thesis is based, was no exception. As a practitioner in the Centre for Higher Education Teaching and Learning at The University of Venda, it was my observation that the policies and procedures intended to assure quality in teaching and learning were not always implemented by academic staff members. This was in spite of poor student performance data which raised questions about the quality of the teaching and learning processes in place. The study underpinning this thesis was designed to explore this phenomenon. More specifically, it aimed to identify the conditions enabling and constraining the implementation of policies and procedures in two Schools in the University: the School of Health Sciences and the School of Human and Social Sciences. In order to explore these conditions, I adopted Roy Bhaskar’s Critical Realism as an under-labouring philosophy for the study. Critical realism posits a view of reality comprising three strata, none of which can be reducible to the other. The first of these strata is termed the level of the Empirical and consists of the experiences and observations which become apparent to us through the senses. The second layer, the Actual, consists of events from which these experiences and observations emerge. Underpinning both of these layers is a further layer, the Real, which is not accessible by empirical means and which consists of structures and mechanisms which generate both events at the level of the Actual and experiences and observation at the level of the Empirical. The design of my study sought to reach this deepest layer of reality to identify these mechanisms. Bhaskar’s critical realism is philosophy which needs to be operationalized using substantive, or explanatory, theory. For this purpose, I drew on Margaret Archer’s social realism. The design on my study drew on case study methodology and involved in-depth interviews with members of the two Schools which each formed cases within the more overarching case of the University itself. In addition to these interviews, I analysed a range of institutional documents related to the assurance of quality in teaching and learning. The exploration of enabling and constraining conditions at the level of the Real allow me to make a series of recommendations in the final Chapter of my thesis intended to enhance the quality assurance system introduced to the University.
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  • Date Issued: 2015

Wolfgang Koeppens auseinandersetzung mit der tradition: aspekte der intertextualität in der so genannten nachkriegs‐trilogie

  • Authors: Weber, Undine S
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Koeppen, Wolfgang, 1906-1996 -- Criticism and interpretation , Koeppen, Wolfgang, 1906-1996 -- Works -- 1986 , German fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism
  • Language: German
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:3658 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020833
  • Description: Wolfgang Koeppen’s three post‐war novels have often been called a trilogy, purely based on their publication in rapid succession in the early 1950s. This study establishes a connection between the works by looking at their roots in Irish, Anglo‐American, French and German modernism, and shows up links between Wolfgang Koeppen, James Joyce, E.E. Cummings, Charles Baudelaire and Thomas Mann. This comparative analysis concludes, by integrating socio‐political factors of life in West Germany after World War II, that Koeppen transcends the modernist tradition – the fact that modernism has become tradition, i.e. it has become “classic”, in contradiction to being “modern”. Koeppen’s texts do not only allude to and build on classic texts and refer to stylistic and narrative modernist elements such as stream‐of‐consciousness and sketching a fragmented society in turmoil; the very act of recurring to myths and texts of the Western canon in order to depict the disaffected individual is an almost post‐modern one.
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  • Date Issued: 2015

Corporate social responsibility of private game reserves in the Eastern Cape Province

  • Authors: Motala, Amina Sadiq
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Social responsibility of busines -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Game reserves -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Ecotourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Environmental responsibility -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
  • Identifier: vital:1187 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004335
  • Description: The primary aim of this research study was to determine the current state of practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the ecotourism based private game reserve (PGR) industry in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. According to Carroll (1991) four kind of responsibilities constitute total CSR, namely economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. Given the context of this research a fifth responsibility concerning environmental responsibilities was added to Carroll 's (1991) pyramid ofCSR. A descriptive and illustrative case study approach, within the phenomenological research paradigm, was used for the purpose of this research. The unit of analysis is the Indalo group, the Association of Eastern Cape Private Game Reserves, made up of 12 ecotourism based PORs. As the current research focused on eight of the twelve PGRs a mUltiple case study was employed. To give effect to the aim a number of research objectives were identified. Firstly to desclibe and assess the current practice in implementing CSR within the ecotourism based PGR industry in the Eastern Cape Province. Secondly, to assess and evaluate the involvement of ecotourism based PGRs in the Eastern Cape Province in each of the five responsibilities comprising CSR. Thirdly, to identify the challenges faced by ecotourism based PGRs in the Eastern Cape Province with regard to the implementation of CSR initiatives. Lastly to provide pertinent conclusions and recommendations with regard to CSR strategies within the ecotourism based PGR industry in the Eastern Cape Province. Data were collected by means of in-depth interviews with the managers of each reserve. In addition the researcher conducted focus interviews with administrative employees at each of the member reserves of the Indalo group. Additionally the managers of each reserve were requested to respond to a structured five point Likert scale questionnaire based on the research by Aupperle, Carroll and Hatfield (1985). This research study found that the current practice at the Indalo group is towards a strategic, long term approach to CSR that aids in the development of a 'sustainable organisation.' The aspect of ' empowerment' emerged as the essence of the current practice ofCSR of the Indalo group. Based on the current practice it was concluded that the Indalo group is actively involved in the specific components of CSR namely, environmental, economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. With regard to the environmental responsibilities it was concluded that the environment is the foundation upon which all other components of CSR rest. In addition it was concluded that the economic responsibilities, if managed well, are key to unlocking the CSR potential of a reserve as well as ensuring widespread economic development. In terms of the legal and ethical responsibilities it was concluded that tourism policies both at the national and international level have not aided in the development of a CSR agenda of the Indalo group. Furthermore managers of the reserves have been instrumental in cultivating their own legal culture of CSR based on their experience in the tourism industry and their ethical stances. In terms of the philanthropic responsibilities it can be concluded that charitable activities that are long term and strategic in nature allow for direct and indirect benefits to all parties involved. Overall, it can further be concluded that despite Hudson and Miller's (2005:5) view that the "tourism industry is well hehind other industries in terms of CSR" the Indalo group is moving forward in terms of rooting CSR into their everyday operations.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

A structural and functional specification of a SCIM for service interaction management and personalisation in the IMS

  • Authors: Tsietsi, Mosiuoa Jeremia
  • Date: 2012
  • Subjects: Internet Protocol multimedia subsystem , Internet Protocol multimedia subsystem -- Specifications , Long-Term Evolution (Telecommunications) , European Telecommunications Standards Institute , Wireless communication systems , Multimedia communications
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:4606 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004864 , Internet Protocol multimedia subsystem , Internet Protocol multimedia subsystem -- Specifications , Long-Term Evolution (Telecommunications) , European Telecommunications Standards Institute , Wireless communication systems , Multimedia communications
  • Description: The Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a component of the 3G mobile network that has been specified by standards development organisations such as the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) and ETSI (European Telecommunication Standards Institute). IMS seeks to guarantee that the telecommunication network of the future provides subscribers with seamless access to services across disparate networks. In order to achieve this, it defines a service architecture that hosts application servers that provide subscribers with value added services. Typically, an application server bundles all the functionality it needs to execute the services it delivers, however this view is currently being challenged. It is now thought that services should be synthesised from simple building blocks called service capabilities. This decomposition would facilitate the re-use of service capabilities across multiple services and would support the creation of new services that could not have originally been conceived. The shift from monolithic services to those built from service capabilities poses a challenge to the current service model in IMS. To accommodate this, the 3GPP has defined an entity known as a service capability interaction manager (SCIM) that would be responsible for managing the interactions between service capabilities in order to realise complex services. Some of these interactions could potentially lead to undesirable results, which the SCIM must work to avoid. As an added requirement, it is believed that the network should allow policies to be applied to network services which the SCIM should be responsible for enforcing. At the time of writing, the functional and structural architecture of the SCIM has not yet been standardised. This thesis explores the current serv ice architecture of the IMS in detail. Proposals that address the structure and functions of the SCIM are carefully compared and contrasted. This investigation leads to the presentation of key aspects of the SCIM, and provides solutions that explain how it should interact with service capabilities, manage undesirable interactions and factor user and network operator policies into its execution model. A modified design of the IMS service layer that embeds the SCIM is subsequently presented and described. The design uses existing IMS protocols and requires no change in the behaviour of the standard IMS entities. In order to develop a testbed for experimental verification of the design, the identification of suitable software platforms was required. This thesis presents some of the most popular platforms currently used by developers such as the Open IMS Core and OpenSER, as well as an open source, Java-based, multimedia communication platform called Mobicents. As a precursor to the development of the SCIM, a converged multimedia service is presented that describes how a video streaming application that is leveraged by a web portal was implemented for an IMS testbed using Mobicents components. The Mobicents SIP Servlets container was subsequently used to model an initial prototype of the SCIM, using a mUlti-component telephony service to illustrate the proposed service execution model. The design focuses on SIP-based services only, but should also work for other types of IMS application servers as well.
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  • Date Issued: 2012

Considerations on the economic impact of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on South Africa

  • Authors: Menezes, Mathew Gomes
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: World Cup (Soccer) (2010) -- Economic aspects Sports -- Economic aspects -- South Africa Soccer -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEcon
  • Identifier: vital:963 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002697
  • Description: Mega-events are associated with significant positive implications such as enhanced international exposure of the host, improved infrastructure, increased tourist numbers, higher employment levels and tax revenues, greater feelings of patriotism among host region residents and integration of the host into the international community. Supporters of events have claimed that the occasions stimulate prominent economic gains for the host region. The economic and tourism growth that occurred in Barcelona following the 1992 Olympic Games is erroneously cited by proponents of hosting as an example of the potential benefits that an event can derive on the host. Those Games were not the sole driver of growth in the region. An analysis of previous mega-events, demonstrated that net benefits were not a necessary consequence of hosting. Comparison of pre-event estimates of the economic impact and their actual effects are universally divergent. The observation was validated by the consensus academic opinion that economic impact studies systematically overstate the benefits of hosting, and underestimate the costs. Further, different forward-looking studies of the same event, calculate vastly different predictions. The tools for calculating the economic impact, specifically Input-Output Analysis and Computable General Equilibrium, do not provide useful predictions given their dependence on the inaccurate data. With 2010 cost data having continually increased since 2003, determining the appropriate inputs to an I-O or CGE is problematic. It was identified that the weight given to the multiplier effect was also a factor in the amplification of the expected benefits. Given the poor data sets available as inputs to I-O and CGE models, the study concentrated on conducting a comprehensive Cost-Benefit Analysis of the determinants of the economic impact of the 2010 World Cup based on the premise that the identification of the relative costs and benefits of staging the event was regarded as a greater contribution to the body of knowledge on the topic. It can be expected that there will not be significant short-term economic gains; this study predicted a net cost of R8.4bn, which is marginally offset by short-term net intangible benefits. The short-term economic consequences of the 2010 World Cup are expected to be overshadowed by the long-term effects on revenues within the tourism industry. The image implication of hosting 2010 is the most salient factor in considering the economic impact of 2010, as an alteration in the national image can have long-term effects on FDI and tourism. It is however not a certainty that the international exposure that South Africa receives will be beneficial, in the instance that the World Cup is characterised by poor organisational measures or crime. The net impact of hosting is expected to be a function of the long-term benefits, which can be expected to exceed the short-terms costs, and derive a cumulative net benefit from staging 2010. The World Cup is however unlikely to stimulate the economic growth rate above levels that would have occurred had the event not been held in South Africa.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

Information and communication technology in A-level physics teaching and learning at secondary schools in Manicaland Zimbabwe: multiple case studies

  • Authors: Mlambo, Watson
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: Information technology -- Zimbabwe Educational technology -- Zimbabwe Education, Secondary -- Zimbabwe Information technology -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Zimbabwe Physics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Zimbabwe Computer-assisted instruction -- Zimbabwe
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1576 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003458
  • Description: As personal computers (PCs) and related ICTs become more and more omnipresent than ever before in institutions of education, teachers are faced with the challenge of having to teach in ICT rich environments. Some syllabuses increase this pressure by stipulating where ICT may be applied. While past research efforts have focused on presence of and/or effectiveness of ICTs on achieving various didactic goals, there is limited literature on the extent to which actual practice occurred naturally. It was the aim of this study to determine the extent to which Physics teachers and students used ICT in their usual teaching/learning ambience, referred to as natural settings in this study. Using activity theory as a theoretical lens, multiple case studies were chosen as a strategy using 10 schools, 15 Physics teachers, 20 A-level Physics students and 10 ICT teachers (computer specialists). Questionnaires, observations and informal and focus group interviews were used to elicit responses from students, teachers and computer specialists. It emerged from the case studies that despite the presence of apt ICT infrastructure in the schools and although the teachers had a positive attitude towards the use of ICT for teaching and learning of Physics, teachers were apathetic when it came to the actual use. Some of the reasons militating against use were lack of an ICT policy, school authority, and monopoly of computers enjoyed by computer studies teachers. However among students there were ‘early starters’ who used ICTs outside of school, a situation that tended to change the Physics learning environment. These findings led to a proposal for a post of Computer Specialist (CS) in the schools. The need for developing ICT policy at all levels namely national, Ministry of Education and the school was also proposed. Lastly staff development in the use ICT for Physics teachers was proposed as indispensable.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Assessing the duty to exhaust internal remedies in the South African law

  • Authors: Madebwe, Tinashe Masvimbo
  • Date: 2007
  • Subjects: Remedies (Law) -- South Africa Judicial review of administrative acts -- South Africa Administrative law -- South Africa Administrative law -- England Dispute resolution (Law) -- South Africa Justice, Administration of -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
  • Identifier: vital:3709 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007253
  • Description: Since the incorporation of the separation of powers doctrine into the South African Constitution, the problem has arisen that, each of the three tiers of government, the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature, has sought to protect exclusive jurisdiction over matters that fall within what constitutes that tier's own realm of authority. The effects of this are especially apparent in the field of dispute resolution in administrative law. The administration is predominantly the province of the Executive, and to a lesser extent, the Legislature. Thus, the acceptability of judicial review in dispute resolution and generally, the intrusion by the Judiciary in matters of the administration is perennially questioned and challenged by both the Executive and the Legislature. In this context, the duty to exhaust internal remedies assumes a pivotal role. It offers a compromise, by prescribing qualified exclusion of judicial review as a first port of call for dispute resolution while simultaneously entrusting initial dispute resolution to the administration. Often, this approach yields tangible results, but from a constitutional and fundamental rights perspective, the duty to exhaust internal remedies is problematic. Its exclusion of judicial review goes against, not only the right of access to court in section 34 of the Constitution, but also the rule of law, to the extent that the rule of law allows for the challenging, in court, of illegal administrative action as soon as it is taken. This thesis analyses the constitutionality of the duty to exhaust internal remedies in section 7(2) of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act by assessing the consistency of section 7(2) of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act with the right of access to court in section 34 of the Constitution. The thesis initially examines the origins and historical development of the duty to exhaust internal remedies in the English law, and the subsequent adoption of the duty to exhaust internal remedies into the South African common law for the purpose of interpreting and comprehending the duty to exhaust internal remedies as it is appears in section 7(2) of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act. Ultimately, the study focuses on and identifies the deficiencies in the current approach to the question of the constitutionality of section 7(2) of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, and offers suggestions on how the law might be developed.
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  • Date Issued: 2007

Management of invasive aquatic weeds with emphasis on biological control in Senegal

  • Authors: Diop, Ousseynou
  • Date: 2007
  • Subjects: Aquatic weeds -- Biological control -- Senegal Invasive plants -- Biological control -- Senegal Aquatic plants -- Biological control -- Senegal
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:5728 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005414
  • Description: In 1985 the Diama Dam was built near the mouth of the Senegal River to regulate flows during the rainy season and prevent the intrusion of seawater during the dry season. This created ideal conditions upstream of the dam wall for invasion by two highly invasive aquatic weeds, first by water lettuce Pistia stratiotes Linnaeus (Araceae) in 1993, and then by salvinia Salvinia molesta D.S. Mitchell (Salviniaceae) in 1999. This study was focused on the management of P. stratiotes and S. molesta. Following successes that were achieved elsewhere in the world, biological control programmes involving two weevil species were inaugurated against both weeds and research was focused on several aspects. These included pre-release studies to determine the weevils' host-specificity and impact on the plants in the laboratory, their subsequent mass-rearing and releases at selected sites and post-release evaluations on their impact on the weed populations in the field. Both programmes, which reprepresented the first biocontrol efforts against aquatic weeds in Senegal, proved highly successful with severe damage inflicted on the weed populations and complete control achieved within a relatively short time span. A laboratory exclusion experiment with N. affinis on P. stratiotes showed that in treated tubs, the weevil strongly depressed plant performance as measured by the plant growth parameters: mass, rosette diameter, root length, number of leaves and daughter plants whereas control plants were healthy. Field releases started in September 1994 and water coverage by P. stratiotes at Lake Guiers was reduced by 25% in January 1995 and 50% in April 1995. A general decline of 65% in water coverage by P. stratiotes was observed in June 1995 and by August 1995, eight months after releases P. stratiotes mats were destroyed. Further, although no releases were made there, good results were obtained within 18 months at Djoudj Park water bodies, located 150 km NW from Lake Guiers indicating the potential of the weevil to disperse long distances. In 2005, P. stratiotes reappeared and the weevil N. affinis has located and controlled all of these P. stratiotes recurrences after new releases. In 1999, S. molesta covered an estimated area of 18 000 ha on the Senegal River Left Bank and tributaries (Senegal) and 7 840 ha on the Senegal River Right Bank (Mauritania). Military and Civil Development Committee (CCMAD) and community volunteers made an effort to control S. molesta using physical removal, but this costly and labour-intensive approach was unsustainable. Hence, biological control was adopted by Senegal and Mauritania to manage the weed. Host range tests to assess feeding by C. salviniae on S. molesta and non-target plants and carried out on 13 crop species showed that no feeding damage was observed on the latter and weevils only fed on S. molesta. Field releases of some 48 953 weevils at 270 sites were made from early January 2002 to August 2002. Within one year, weevils were established and were being recovered up to 50 km from the release sites. In a case study conducted at one of the release sites, the S. molesta infestation was reduced from 100% to less than 3% 24 months after release. These results are discussed in the context of the weeds’ negative impact on aquatic systems and riverside communities, and in the involvement of these communities in the programmes.
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  • Date Issued: 2007

Effects of Axial Ligands on the Photosensitising Properties of Silicon Octaphenoxyphthalocyanines

  • Authors: Maree, Machiel David
  • Date: 2002
  • Subjects: Ligands , Photochemotherapy , Phthalocyanines
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:4553 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018246
  • Description: Various axially substituted Silicon octaphenoxyphthalocyanines were synthesised as potential photosensitisers in the photodynamic therapy of cancer. Conventional reflux reactions were used for synthesis as well as new microwave irradiation reactions, wherein the reaction times were decreased tenfold with a marginal increase in reaction yield and product purity. An interesting series of oligomeric (dimer to a nonamer) silicon octaphenoxyphthalocyanines were also successfully synthesised in a reaction similar to polymerisation reactions. These compounds were found to undergo an axial ligand transformation upon irradiation with red light (> 600 nm) in dimethylsulphoxide solution. All the ligands were transformed into the dihydroxy silicon octaphenoxyphthalocyanine with varying degrees of phototransformation quantum yields ranging in order from 10⁻³ to 10⁻⁵ depending on the axial ligand involved. During and after axial ligand transformations a photodegredation of the dihydroxy silicon octaphenoxy phthalocyanine was observed upon continued irradiation. The oligomers were found to undergo the same axial ligand transformation process with a phototransformation quantum yield of 10⁻⁵ The singlet oxygen quantum yields of the unaggregated monomeric silicon octaphenoxy phthalocyanines were all found to be approximately 0.2 with the exception of a compound with two (trihexyl)siloxy axial substituents that had a singlet oxygen quantum yield of approximately 0.4 in dimethylsulphoxide solutions. The oligomers showed a surprising trend of an increase in singlet oxygen quantum yield with an increase in phthalocyanine ring number up to the pentamer and then a dramatic decrease to the nonamer. The triplet quantum yield and triplet lifetime were determined by laser flash photolysis for selected compounds and no correlation was observed with any of these properties and the singlet oxygen quantum yields. These selected compounds all fluoresce and a very good correlation was found between the fluorescence lifetimes determined experimentally by laser photolysis and the Strickler-Berg equation for the non-aggregated compounds. Electrochemical measurements also indicate the importance of the axial ligands upon the behaviour of the phthalocyanines as cyclic voltammetric behaviour was determined by the nature of the axial ligand.
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  • Date Issued: 2002

An investigation into short course accreditation through the South African Qualification Authority

  • Authors: Mackenzie, Ian
  • Date: 2000
  • Subjects: Adult education -- South Africa Elementary education of adults -- South Africa School management and organization -- South Africa Guguletu Comprehensive School South African Qualifications Authority
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1600 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003482
  • Description: This research project offers an analysis of the Adult Basic Education and Training Directorate in the Eastern Cape Province. The Bush Models are described and critiqued and then used as a tool for analysis. Other organisational models are described and used to add depth to the analysis. The choice of analysing the Adult Basic Education and Training Directorate comes both from a professional desire to know and understand this organisation more fully, as well as the importance of stressing that the definition of education organisations does not stop at school, colleges and universities, but includes the government bodies which are a key part of the sector. This assignment therefore explores both the features of a government department as well as the appropriateness of using Bush’s models in this context and draws on other organisational theory--Introduction.
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  • Date Issued: 2000

A case study of the implementation of the communicative approach to English second language progress testing in one secondary school in the Alexandria Circuit of the Eastern Cape Department of Education

  • Authors: Ssemakalu, John
  • Date: 1998
  • Subjects: Communicative competence , Communicative competence in children , English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Foreign speakers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Language and languages -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Foreign speakers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Second language acquisition -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2362 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002645 , Communicative competence , Communicative competence in children , English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Foreign speakers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Language and languages -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Foreign speakers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Second language acquisition -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Description: This study explores the implementation of the communicative approach (CA) to English second language progress testing in an African secondary school which falls under the Eastern Cape Department of Education. The goal of the research is to establish how teachers access, conceptualise, and apply the CA to language testing in their specific working conditions. The report of the findings of the research reveals that teachers' understanding of the CA to testing differs from that of the linguists, curriculum designers, innovators, and syllabus writers. This is caused by a combination of factors including teachers' poor working conditions, the lack of focused pre-service training and effective in-service structures for their empowennent as the agents of innovation, coupled with the poor circulation and a lack of clarity in official documents on the CA to language testing. These constraints made it impossible for teachers to implement the CA to language testing. In order to carry on with their work, however, teachers developed coping strategies by drawing, probably unconsciously, on a mixture of structuralist, sociolinguistic-psycholinguistic, communicative and any other testing practices they may have acquired during their years of service. Although based only on one school, the findings of this study indicate that for fundamental innovations such as the CA to take root, there is a need for the adoption of more dedicated, reflective implementation strategies involving proper planning and monitoring, as well as evaluation and re-evaluation of the entire process. This necessarily slow process must go hand-in-hand with a dedicated pre-service and in-service empowerment program based on consultative communication between innovator and agent; and a persuasive education/re-education approach which will encourage teachers to change their entrenched practices.
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  • Date Issued: 1998

The role of the cadence as determining factor of phrasing of the organ toccatas, preludes and fantasias of Johann Sebastian Bach

  • Authors: Du Plooy, Jacobus Stephanus
  • Date: 1996
  • Subjects: Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750 -- Criticism and interpretation
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
  • Identifier: vital:2636 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002301
  • Description: This study examines the phrasing of J.S. Bach's preludes, toccatas and fantasias for organ. Consequent upon Bach's silence on the subject and the inadequacy of available sources, the cadence has been used as a means to determine the phrasing of these works. The goal of this thesis is to identify those characteristics of the cadence that can assist the performer in two ways: On the one hand, to select the appropriate type of break between phrases, and, the other hand, selecting the appropriate changes in tempo and articulation essential to the shaping of phrases. The term, 'cadence', therefore, applies not merely to an isolated entity of two chords, but rather to a broader formula including the progressions towards and away from it. This investigation follows an eclectic approach. Accordingly, the exploration of various sources is combined with diverse methods of analyses. The first method is a detailed structural analysis of Bach's cadential progressions, and more specifically, the way in which he integrated the basic musical elements into them. This shows the points of tension and relaxation, two musico-psychological effects fundamental to any decision regarding phrasing. The second method puts Bach's cadences within the context of the larger musical structure, including the 'extra-musical' (i.e. grammatical, rhetorical and 'affective') forms. This method organises cadences according to their various punctuation functions, hence main and secondary cadences. The cadences of twenty-eight works - those works of which the authenticity is more or less secure - are analysed. Descriptions cover a selection from these works considered to be the most representative. A significant number of examples, induding performing suggestions, accompany and elaborate in detail on all descriptions of cadences. An application of the findings is presented by an analysis and di scussion that elaborates in detail on the suggested performance of two works, BWV 542 and 541. These two works epitomize, and simultaneously form the culmination of the two principal styles (i.e. the improvisatory and motorically-orientated) prevalent in Bach's free organ works. Examination of the findings of this study and implications for further research conclude this thesis.
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  • Date Issued: 1996

An investigation of the potential role for environmental education in the conservation of the Swartkops estuary and Swartkops Nature Reserve

  • Authors: Kitson, Brian Anthony Austen
  • Date: 1994
  • Subjects: Environmental education -- Curricula -- South Africa Conservation of natural resources -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Swartkops Nature Reserve Conservation of natural resources -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Swartkops River
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1654 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003537
  • Description: This study explores the potential role of an environmental education approach towards the conservation of the Swartkops Estuary and Swartkops Nature Reserve. More specifically it examines the opinions, feelings and perceptions of a sample of twenty seven people, who have a vested interest, in the possible conservation of the area. These stakeholders were comprised of people representing all the various groups and communities that use either or both the estuary and reserve. Opinions were examined by means of a qualitative data analysis from semi-structured interviews. The conservation opinions of respondents were obtained on both general topics and more detailed areas. Due to the small sample and exploratory nature of the project, these results should be viewed as tentative. Proposals are made for increasing the impact of Environmental Education programmes in this and similar environments, and recommendations are put forward to help facilitate related studies in the future.
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  • Date Issued: 1994

A critical analysis of school computer studies syllabuses in South Africa with reference to university computer science curricula

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