Interaction between the root-feeding beetle, Longitarsus bethae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne javanica (Nematoda: Heteroderidae): Implications for the biological control of Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) in South Africa
- Authors: Musedeli, Jufter
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Insect-plant relationships , Insects -- Host plants , Flea beetles , Symbiosis , Longitarsus , Chrysomelidae , Lantana camara -- Biological control -- South Africa , Heteroderidae , Root-knot nematodes , Weeds -- Biological control -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71130 , vital:29788
- Description: Plants often are simultaneously attacked by several herbivores that can affect each other’s performance, and their interaction may affect their host plant fitness. The current study was conducted to determine the interaction between the root-feeding beetle, Longitarsus bethae Savini & Escalona (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and a root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne javanica (Treub) Chitwood (Tylenchida: Heteroderidae), with implications for the biological control of Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) in South Africa. The studies were conducted under quarantine conditions at the Agricultural Research Council-PHP, Roodeplaat, Pretoria, South Africa. Specifically, the study determined; (i) whether root damage by the flea beetle enhanced infection by M. javanica, (ii) whether L. camara roots infected with the nematode enhanced the performance of the beetle, (iii) whether single or combined effect of the two organisms (i.e. L. bethae and M. javanica) had an overall effect on the growth and biomass of their shared host, L. camara, and (iv) the susceptibility of 10 L. camara varieties that are commonly found in South Africa to M. javanica. The study found that galling on the roots of L. camara by the nematode occurs at the highest inoculation of 300 eggs of L. bethae per plant, and no galling occurred at inoculation of 200 eggs per plant and below. The findings also showed that L. bethae performed better on M. javanica-infected than on healthy L. camara roots, and that more L. bethae adult progeny with slightly bigger body size emerged from M. javanica-infected, than from healthy plants. Fresh weight (galls) of plant roots from treatments where both species (i.e., L. bethae and M. javanica) were combined was significantly higher than that from plants infected with the nematode only, suggesting that the combination of both species induces more galling than the nematode does alone. The above-ground dry biomass was significantly lower both in combined and M. javanica only treatments, than in L. bethae only treatment. The study also found that selected L. camara varieties were infected with M. javanica, albeit at varying degrees of infection. Among the 10 L. camara varieties, Orange Red OR 015 was the most susceptible. Other susceptible varieties included Light Pink 009 LP, Total Pink 021 TP and Dark Pink 018 DP, and these, together with variety Orange Red OR 015, constituted 40% of the L. camara varieties evaluated in the current study. Fifty percent of the varieties displayed slight to moderate susceptibility to M. javanica, while 10% displayed lack of susceptibility. The study concluded that the symbiotic relationship between L. bethae and M. javanica was mutual, resulting in increase in the fitness of the beetle. The combined herbivory by L. bethae and M. javanica was also found to be additive on one of the most common varieties of L. camara in South Africa, and therefore co-infestation by both species might enhance the biological control of this weed in South Africa. The study further concluded that the suitability of some invasive L. camara cultivars such as Light Pink 009 LP and Orange Red 015 OR for M. javanica, might also contribute towards biological control of this weed in South Africa, particularly in areas where the two herbivores species co-exist.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Musedeli, Jufter
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Insect-plant relationships , Insects -- Host plants , Flea beetles , Symbiosis , Longitarsus , Chrysomelidae , Lantana camara -- Biological control -- South Africa , Heteroderidae , Root-knot nematodes , Weeds -- Biological control -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71130 , vital:29788
- Description: Plants often are simultaneously attacked by several herbivores that can affect each other’s performance, and their interaction may affect their host plant fitness. The current study was conducted to determine the interaction between the root-feeding beetle, Longitarsus bethae Savini & Escalona (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and a root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne javanica (Treub) Chitwood (Tylenchida: Heteroderidae), with implications for the biological control of Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) in South Africa. The studies were conducted under quarantine conditions at the Agricultural Research Council-PHP, Roodeplaat, Pretoria, South Africa. Specifically, the study determined; (i) whether root damage by the flea beetle enhanced infection by M. javanica, (ii) whether L. camara roots infected with the nematode enhanced the performance of the beetle, (iii) whether single or combined effect of the two organisms (i.e. L. bethae and M. javanica) had an overall effect on the growth and biomass of their shared host, L. camara, and (iv) the susceptibility of 10 L. camara varieties that are commonly found in South Africa to M. javanica. The study found that galling on the roots of L. camara by the nematode occurs at the highest inoculation of 300 eggs of L. bethae per plant, and no galling occurred at inoculation of 200 eggs per plant and below. The findings also showed that L. bethae performed better on M. javanica-infected than on healthy L. camara roots, and that more L. bethae adult progeny with slightly bigger body size emerged from M. javanica-infected, than from healthy plants. Fresh weight (galls) of plant roots from treatments where both species (i.e., L. bethae and M. javanica) were combined was significantly higher than that from plants infected with the nematode only, suggesting that the combination of both species induces more galling than the nematode does alone. The above-ground dry biomass was significantly lower both in combined and M. javanica only treatments, than in L. bethae only treatment. The study also found that selected L. camara varieties were infected with M. javanica, albeit at varying degrees of infection. Among the 10 L. camara varieties, Orange Red OR 015 was the most susceptible. Other susceptible varieties included Light Pink 009 LP, Total Pink 021 TP and Dark Pink 018 DP, and these, together with variety Orange Red OR 015, constituted 40% of the L. camara varieties evaluated in the current study. Fifty percent of the varieties displayed slight to moderate susceptibility to M. javanica, while 10% displayed lack of susceptibility. The study concluded that the symbiotic relationship between L. bethae and M. javanica was mutual, resulting in increase in the fitness of the beetle. The combined herbivory by L. bethae and M. javanica was also found to be additive on one of the most common varieties of L. camara in South Africa, and therefore co-infestation by both species might enhance the biological control of this weed in South Africa. The study further concluded that the suitability of some invasive L. camara cultivars such as Light Pink 009 LP and Orange Red 015 OR for M. javanica, might also contribute towards biological control of this weed in South Africa, particularly in areas where the two herbivores species co-exist.
- Full Text:
Calibration and imaging with variable radio sources
- Authors: Mbou Sob, Ulrich Armel
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/37977 , vital:24721
- Description: Calibration of radio interferometric data is one of the most important steps that are required to produce high dynamic range radio maps with high fidelity. However, naive calibration (inaccurate knowledge of the sky and instruments) leads to the formation of calibration artefacts: the generation of spurious sources and the deformations in the structure of extended sources. A particular class of calibration artefacts, called ghost sources, which results from calibration with incomplete sky models has been extensively studied by Grobler et al. (2014, 2016) and Wijnholds et al. (2016). They developed a framework which can be used to predict the fluxes and positions of ghost sources. This work uses the approach initiated by these authors to study the calibration artefacts and ghost sources that are produced when variable sources are not considered in sky models during calibration. This work investigates both long-term and short-term variability and uses the root mean square (rms) and power spectrum as metrics to evaluate the “quality” of the residual visibilities obtained through calibration. We show that the overestimation and underestimation of source flux density during calibration produces similar but symmetrically opposite results. We show that calibration artefacts from sky model errors are not normally distributed. This prevents them from being removed by employing advanced techniques, such as stacking. The power spectrums measured from the residuals with a variable source was significantly higher than those from residuals without a variable source. This implies advanced calibration techniques and sky model completeness will be required for studies such as probing the Epoch of Reoinization, where we seek to detect faint signals below thermal noise.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mbou Sob, Ulrich Armel
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/37977 , vital:24721
- Description: Calibration of radio interferometric data is one of the most important steps that are required to produce high dynamic range radio maps with high fidelity. However, naive calibration (inaccurate knowledge of the sky and instruments) leads to the formation of calibration artefacts: the generation of spurious sources and the deformations in the structure of extended sources. A particular class of calibration artefacts, called ghost sources, which results from calibration with incomplete sky models has been extensively studied by Grobler et al. (2014, 2016) and Wijnholds et al. (2016). They developed a framework which can be used to predict the fluxes and positions of ghost sources. This work uses the approach initiated by these authors to study the calibration artefacts and ghost sources that are produced when variable sources are not considered in sky models during calibration. This work investigates both long-term and short-term variability and uses the root mean square (rms) and power spectrum as metrics to evaluate the “quality” of the residual visibilities obtained through calibration. We show that the overestimation and underestimation of source flux density during calibration produces similar but symmetrically opposite results. We show that calibration artefacts from sky model errors are not normally distributed. This prevents them from being removed by employing advanced techniques, such as stacking. The power spectrums measured from the residuals with a variable source was significantly higher than those from residuals without a variable source. This implies advanced calibration techniques and sky model completeness will be required for studies such as probing the Epoch of Reoinization, where we seek to detect faint signals below thermal noise.
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Abstract art and the contested ground of African modernisms
- Authors: Mumba, Patrick
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2515 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021165
- Description: This submission for a Masters of Fine Art consists of a thesis titled Abstract Art and the Contested Ground of African Modernisms developed as a document to support the exhibition Time in Between. The exhibition addresses the fact that nothing is permanent in life, and uses abstract paintings that reveal in-between time through an engagement with the processes of ageing and decaying. Life is always a temporary situation, an idea which I develop as Time in Between, the beginning and the ending, the young and the aged, the new and the old. In my painting practice I break down these dichotomies, questioning how abstractions engage with the relative notion of time and how this links to the processes of ageing and decaying in life. I relate this ageing process to the aesthetic process of moving from representational art to semi-abstract art, and to complete abstraction, when the object or material reaches a wholly unrecognisable stage. My practice is concerned not only with the aesthetics of these paintings but also, more importantly, with translating each specific theme into the formal qualities of abstraction. In my thesis I analyse abstraction in relation to ‘African Modernisms’ and critique the notion that African abstraction is not ‘African’ but a mere copy of Western Modernism. In response to this notion, I have used a study of abstraction to interrogate notions of so-called ‘African-ness’ or ‘Zambian-ness’, whilst simultaneously challenging the Western stereotypical view of African modern art. I have also related the theoretical and practical analysis of abstraction to scholarly debates on abstraction and ‘African Modernism’, arguing for multiple African Modernisms.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mumba, Patrick
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2515 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021165
- Description: This submission for a Masters of Fine Art consists of a thesis titled Abstract Art and the Contested Ground of African Modernisms developed as a document to support the exhibition Time in Between. The exhibition addresses the fact that nothing is permanent in life, and uses abstract paintings that reveal in-between time through an engagement with the processes of ageing and decaying. Life is always a temporary situation, an idea which I develop as Time in Between, the beginning and the ending, the young and the aged, the new and the old. In my painting practice I break down these dichotomies, questioning how abstractions engage with the relative notion of time and how this links to the processes of ageing and decaying in life. I relate this ageing process to the aesthetic process of moving from representational art to semi-abstract art, and to complete abstraction, when the object or material reaches a wholly unrecognisable stage. My practice is concerned not only with the aesthetics of these paintings but also, more importantly, with translating each specific theme into the formal qualities of abstraction. In my thesis I analyse abstraction in relation to ‘African Modernisms’ and critique the notion that African abstraction is not ‘African’ but a mere copy of Western Modernism. In response to this notion, I have used a study of abstraction to interrogate notions of so-called ‘African-ness’ or ‘Zambian-ness’, whilst simultaneously challenging the Western stereotypical view of African modern art. I have also related the theoretical and practical analysis of abstraction to scholarly debates on abstraction and ‘African Modernism’, arguing for multiple African Modernisms.
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Effect of lipid inclusion levels in aquafeed on carcass composition, quality change during storage and nutrient excretion in dusky kob (Argyrosomus japonicus)
- Authors: Ginindza, Nhlanhla Joseph
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Aquaculture
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5387 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020854
- Description: Dusky kob, Argyrosomus japonicus, is an aquaculture species in South Africa that is in pilot commercial production. While the major nutrient requirements of the species are known, the advantages of incorporating formulated feeds into the diet of the species has yet to be fully explored. Research on formulated feed composition is required to: minimise input costs; improve the organoleptic properties and meat quality; and minimise nutrient loss, which contributes to environmental pollution. This study sought to test the impact of different lipid levels in aquafeeds fed to dusky kob juveniles by determining: (i) growth performance, feeding efficiency, proximate and fatty acid composition; (ii) chemical changes and shelf-life of refrigerated fish fillets; and (iii) metabolic rates and nitrogen excretion of juvenile dusky kob. And more...
- Full Text:
- Authors: Ginindza, Nhlanhla Joseph
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Aquaculture
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5387 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020854
- Description: Dusky kob, Argyrosomus japonicus, is an aquaculture species in South Africa that is in pilot commercial production. While the major nutrient requirements of the species are known, the advantages of incorporating formulated feeds into the diet of the species has yet to be fully explored. Research on formulated feed composition is required to: minimise input costs; improve the organoleptic properties and meat quality; and minimise nutrient loss, which contributes to environmental pollution. This study sought to test the impact of different lipid levels in aquafeeds fed to dusky kob juveniles by determining: (i) growth performance, feeding efficiency, proximate and fatty acid composition; (ii) chemical changes and shelf-life of refrigerated fish fillets; and (iii) metabolic rates and nitrogen excretion of juvenile dusky kob. And more...
- Full Text:
In silico analysis of the effects of non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms on the human macrophage migration inhibitory factor gene and their possible role in human African trypanosomiasis susceptibility
- Authors: Kimuda, Magambo Philip
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3047 , vital:20355
- Description: Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, with approximately 10,000 cases being reported per year. The Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) which is encoded by a functionally polymorphic gene is important in both innate andadaptive immune responses, and has been implicated in affecting the outcome and processes of several inflammatory conditions. A recent study in mice to that effect showed that MIF deficient and anti-MIF antibody treated mice showed lowered inflammatory responses, liver damage and anaemia than the wild type mice when experimentally challenged with Trypanosomes. These findings could mean that the transcript levels and/or polymorphisms in this gene can possibly affect individual risk to trypanosomiasis. This is especially of interest because there have been reports of spontaneous recovery i.e self-cure/resistance in some HAT cases in West Africa. Prior to this discovery the general paradigm was that trypanosomiasis is fatal if left untreated. The aim of this study was to gain insights into how human genetic variation in forms of nonsynonymous SNPs affects the MIF structure and function and possibly HAT susceptibility. NsSNPs in the mif gene were obtained from dbSNP. Through homology modeling, SNP prediction tools, protein interface analysis, alanine scanning, changes in free energy of folding, protein interactions calculator (PIC), and molecular dynamics simulations, SNP effects on the protein structure and function were studied. The study cohort comprised of human genome sequence data from 50 North Western Uganda Lugbara endemic individuals of whom 20 were cases (previous HAT patients) and 30 were controls (HAT free individuals). None of the 26 nsSNPs retrieved from dbSNP (July 2015) were present in the mif gene region in the study cohort. Out of the eight variants called in the mif coding region there was only one missense variant rs36065127 whose clinical significance is unknown. It was not possible to test for association of this variant with HAT due to its low global MAF that was less than 0.05. Alanine scanning provided a fast and computationally cheap means of quickly assessing nsSNPs of importance. NsSNPs that were interface residues were more likely to be hotspots (important in protein stability). Assessment of possible compensatory mutations using PIC analysis showed that some nsSNP sites were interacting with others, but this requires further experimentation. Analysis of changes in free energy using FOLDX was not enough to predict which nsSNPs would adversely affect protein structure, function and kinetics. The MD simulations were unfortunately too short to glean any meaningful inferences. This was the first genetic study carried out on the people of Lugbara ethnicity from North Western Uganda.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Kimuda, Magambo Philip
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3047 , vital:20355
- Description: Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, with approximately 10,000 cases being reported per year. The Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) which is encoded by a functionally polymorphic gene is important in both innate andadaptive immune responses, and has been implicated in affecting the outcome and processes of several inflammatory conditions. A recent study in mice to that effect showed that MIF deficient and anti-MIF antibody treated mice showed lowered inflammatory responses, liver damage and anaemia than the wild type mice when experimentally challenged with Trypanosomes. These findings could mean that the transcript levels and/or polymorphisms in this gene can possibly affect individual risk to trypanosomiasis. This is especially of interest because there have been reports of spontaneous recovery i.e self-cure/resistance in some HAT cases in West Africa. Prior to this discovery the general paradigm was that trypanosomiasis is fatal if left untreated. The aim of this study was to gain insights into how human genetic variation in forms of nonsynonymous SNPs affects the MIF structure and function and possibly HAT susceptibility. NsSNPs in the mif gene were obtained from dbSNP. Through homology modeling, SNP prediction tools, protein interface analysis, alanine scanning, changes in free energy of folding, protein interactions calculator (PIC), and molecular dynamics simulations, SNP effects on the protein structure and function were studied. The study cohort comprised of human genome sequence data from 50 North Western Uganda Lugbara endemic individuals of whom 20 were cases (previous HAT patients) and 30 were controls (HAT free individuals). None of the 26 nsSNPs retrieved from dbSNP (July 2015) were present in the mif gene region in the study cohort. Out of the eight variants called in the mif coding region there was only one missense variant rs36065127 whose clinical significance is unknown. It was not possible to test for association of this variant with HAT due to its low global MAF that was less than 0.05. Alanine scanning provided a fast and computationally cheap means of quickly assessing nsSNPs of importance. NsSNPs that were interface residues were more likely to be hotspots (important in protein stability). Assessment of possible compensatory mutations using PIC analysis showed that some nsSNP sites were interacting with others, but this requires further experimentation. Analysis of changes in free energy using FOLDX was not enough to predict which nsSNPs would adversely affect protein structure, function and kinetics. The MD simulations were unfortunately too short to glean any meaningful inferences. This was the first genetic study carried out on the people of Lugbara ethnicity from North Western Uganda.
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Development of a neural network based model for predicting the occurrence of spread F within the Brazilian sector
- Authors: Paradza, Masimba Wellington
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Neural networks (Computer science) , Ionosphere , F region
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5460 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005245 , Neural networks (Computer science) , Ionosphere , F region
- Description: Spread F is a phenomenon of the ionosphere in which the pulses returned from the ionosphere are of a much greater duration than the transmitted ones. The occurrence of spread F can be predicted using the technique of Neural Networks (NNs). This thesis presents the development and evaluation of NN based models (two single station models and a regional model) for predicting the occurrence of spread F over selected stations within the Brazilian sector. The input space for the NNs included the day number (seasonal variation), hour (diurnal variation), sunspot number (measure of the solar activity), magnetic index (measure of the magnetic activity) and magnetic position (latitude, magnetic declination and inclination). Twelve years of spread F data measured during 1978 to 1989 inclusively at the equatorial site Fortaleza and low latitude site Cachoeira Paulista are used in the development of an input space and NN architecture for the NN models. Spread F data that is believed to be related to plasma bubble developments (range spread F) were used in the development of the models while those associated with narrow spectrum irregularities that occur near the F layer (frequency spread F) were excluded. The results of the models show the dependency of the probability of spread F as a function of local time, season and latitude. The models also illustrate some characteristics of spread F such as the onset and peak occurrence of spread F as a function of distance from the equator. Results from these models are presented in this thesis and compared to measured data and to modelled data obtained with an empirical model developed for the same purpose.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Paradza, Masimba Wellington
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Neural networks (Computer science) , Ionosphere , F region
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5460 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005245 , Neural networks (Computer science) , Ionosphere , F region
- Description: Spread F is a phenomenon of the ionosphere in which the pulses returned from the ionosphere are of a much greater duration than the transmitted ones. The occurrence of spread F can be predicted using the technique of Neural Networks (NNs). This thesis presents the development and evaluation of NN based models (two single station models and a regional model) for predicting the occurrence of spread F over selected stations within the Brazilian sector. The input space for the NNs included the day number (seasonal variation), hour (diurnal variation), sunspot number (measure of the solar activity), magnetic index (measure of the magnetic activity) and magnetic position (latitude, magnetic declination and inclination). Twelve years of spread F data measured during 1978 to 1989 inclusively at the equatorial site Fortaleza and low latitude site Cachoeira Paulista are used in the development of an input space and NN architecture for the NN models. Spread F data that is believed to be related to plasma bubble developments (range spread F) were used in the development of the models while those associated with narrow spectrum irregularities that occur near the F layer (frequency spread F) were excluded. The results of the models show the dependency of the probability of spread F as a function of local time, season and latitude. The models also illustrate some characteristics of spread F such as the onset and peak occurrence of spread F as a function of distance from the equator. Results from these models are presented in this thesis and compared to measured data and to modelled data obtained with an empirical model developed for the same purpose.
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State sovereignty and alternative community in southern Africa: exploring the Zion Christian Church as the building block for deeper notions of regional community
- Authors: Radebe, Zandisiwe
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Zionist Christian Church Southern African Development Community Community development -- Africa, Southern Regionalism -- Africa, Southern Sovereignty -- Africa, Southern Africa, Southern -- Economic integration
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2824 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003034
- Description: Regional community in southern Africa has been limited to the region’s states. As a result, deeper notions of community emanating from non-state actors, particularly transnational social movements, continue to be ignored. In an attempt to transcend state centrism, this thesis highlights alternative forms of regional community by exploring the Zion Christian Church (ZCC), one of southern Africa’s biggest and fastest growing cross-border movements. The ZCC is a potential agent for developing regional community from the bottom-up, driving a people-oriented regional integration approach in southern Africa. The ZCC, with its extensive following among the region’s poor, offers a compelling example of a grassroots and truly bottom-up approach to regional community. This thesis explores the possibility of the ZCC as a model of alternative community and identity centred on people’s daily experiences and grounded in a shared history and solidarity. It seeks to highlight the significance of transnational movements like the ZCC to policy makers in the region and it argues that grassroots communities are marching ahead of SADC member states and politicians in the area of integration. There exists a transnational cooperation amongst followers of the ZCC and other grassroots communities across the region and this cooperation transcends the traditional notion of state sovereignty, thereby highlighting deeper notions of what it means to be a community at regional level.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Radebe, Zandisiwe
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Zionist Christian Church Southern African Development Community Community development -- Africa, Southern Regionalism -- Africa, Southern Sovereignty -- Africa, Southern Africa, Southern -- Economic integration
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2824 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003034
- Description: Regional community in southern Africa has been limited to the region’s states. As a result, deeper notions of community emanating from non-state actors, particularly transnational social movements, continue to be ignored. In an attempt to transcend state centrism, this thesis highlights alternative forms of regional community by exploring the Zion Christian Church (ZCC), one of southern Africa’s biggest and fastest growing cross-border movements. The ZCC is a potential agent for developing regional community from the bottom-up, driving a people-oriented regional integration approach in southern Africa. The ZCC, with its extensive following among the region’s poor, offers a compelling example of a grassroots and truly bottom-up approach to regional community. This thesis explores the possibility of the ZCC as a model of alternative community and identity centred on people’s daily experiences and grounded in a shared history and solidarity. It seeks to highlight the significance of transnational movements like the ZCC to policy makers in the region and it argues that grassroots communities are marching ahead of SADC member states and politicians in the area of integration. There exists a transnational cooperation amongst followers of the ZCC and other grassroots communities across the region and this cooperation transcends the traditional notion of state sovereignty, thereby highlighting deeper notions of what it means to be a community at regional level.
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Patterns of early adolescent sex and implications for HIV/AIDS risk prevention : a contextual study in the Amatole Basin, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Ntlabati, Pumla L
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Teenagers -- Sexual behavior , Teenagers -- Health and hygiene -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Teenagers -- Diseases -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sexually transmitted diseases -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , AIDS (Disease) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , AIDS (Disease) in adolescence -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Attitudes , AIDS (Disease) -- Prevention -- South Africa --Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3176 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007814
- Description: This study involves an analysis of accounts of first and subsequent early sexual experiences in a deep rural area of the Eastern Cape in South Africa over the last forty years. Through interviews and focus group discussions, the enculturation of youth into sexual activity in the community of interest is explored. The study looks into sexual experiences from childhood, through early adolescence to adults of up to sixty five years old, allowing an analysis of the changing forms of sexual experimentation and sexual debut in this context. Contextual factors mediating these changes are explored, with special emphasis on the changing regulatory practices around early sexual experiences and the effect thereof on behaviors connected to HIV infection risk. Practices that were previously important mediators of sexual behavior were: anxiety about the social consequences of pregnancy, which was previously a significant disincentive to sexual intercourse; men's previous acceptance of the need to practice non-penetrative forms of sex and girls postponing sexual debut for as long as possible. All these were culturally endorsed, but are now noted to have changed due to changes in the regulatory practices surrounding youth sexuality. The context of early sexual experiences and the surrounding cultural practices have also changed significantly, and this needs to be taken into account in understanding receptivity to condom use messages. Implications for HIV/AIDS prevention are discussed. Among other interventions, the study describes a participatory, community-based, multi-sectoral approach that takes social conditions into account as a way of empowering the community to strengthen its response to the pandemic. This incorporates different sectors of the community, including youth, parents, religious and traditional leaders, and various other structures, services and institutions that make up the community.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Ntlabati, Pumla L
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Teenagers -- Sexual behavior , Teenagers -- Health and hygiene -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Teenagers -- Diseases -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sexually transmitted diseases -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , AIDS (Disease) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , AIDS (Disease) in adolescence -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Attitudes , AIDS (Disease) -- Prevention -- South Africa --Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3176 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007814
- Description: This study involves an analysis of accounts of first and subsequent early sexual experiences in a deep rural area of the Eastern Cape in South Africa over the last forty years. Through interviews and focus group discussions, the enculturation of youth into sexual activity in the community of interest is explored. The study looks into sexual experiences from childhood, through early adolescence to adults of up to sixty five years old, allowing an analysis of the changing forms of sexual experimentation and sexual debut in this context. Contextual factors mediating these changes are explored, with special emphasis on the changing regulatory practices around early sexual experiences and the effect thereof on behaviors connected to HIV infection risk. Practices that were previously important mediators of sexual behavior were: anxiety about the social consequences of pregnancy, which was previously a significant disincentive to sexual intercourse; men's previous acceptance of the need to practice non-penetrative forms of sex and girls postponing sexual debut for as long as possible. All these were culturally endorsed, but are now noted to have changed due to changes in the regulatory practices surrounding youth sexuality. The context of early sexual experiences and the surrounding cultural practices have also changed significantly, and this needs to be taken into account in understanding receptivity to condom use messages. Implications for HIV/AIDS prevention are discussed. Among other interventions, the study describes a participatory, community-based, multi-sectoral approach that takes social conditions into account as a way of empowering the community to strengthen its response to the pandemic. This incorporates different sectors of the community, including youth, parents, religious and traditional leaders, and various other structures, services and institutions that make up the community.
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Art and technology: an analysis of this relationship in the field of graphic art since 1960, with specific emphasis on the development of printmaking
- Authors: Thorburn, Dominic
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: Graphic arts -- History -- 20th century Prints -- Technique Art and technology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2444 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006136
- Description: From Introduction: The reIationship between technology and art today is a logical extension of a collaborative tradition with ancient roots. The artist has always been a principal perpetrator of technological innovation. He, through the natural progression of technical means, has virtually evolved each new art form. There are many examples such as the 'lost wax' casting process, Jan Van Eycks oil paint innovations, Senefelders 'chemical printing' and Niecephore Niepce's first eight hour photographic exposures. Even woodblocks were in their time an innovation. All art uses technology of a kind and artists who prefer to remain aloof from it are in fact merely using technologies absorbed in older traditional media further back in the history of art. It is the flexibility of art to adapt to changing conditions of the world today which has spurred change and brought about a new dynamism in the graphic arts. The present intensity of interest in the print can be directly attributed to the advancement of technology and communication in this century. A whole new field of materials, methods and techniques are now available to the venturesome graphic artist and printmaker. Along with the contemporary technology dedication to expression leads naturally to innovation in aesthetics.
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- Authors: Thorburn, Dominic
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: Graphic arts -- History -- 20th century Prints -- Technique Art and technology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2444 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006136
- Description: From Introduction: The reIationship between technology and art today is a logical extension of a collaborative tradition with ancient roots. The artist has always been a principal perpetrator of technological innovation. He, through the natural progression of technical means, has virtually evolved each new art form. There are many examples such as the 'lost wax' casting process, Jan Van Eycks oil paint innovations, Senefelders 'chemical printing' and Niecephore Niepce's first eight hour photographic exposures. Even woodblocks were in their time an innovation. All art uses technology of a kind and artists who prefer to remain aloof from it are in fact merely using technologies absorbed in older traditional media further back in the history of art. It is the flexibility of art to adapt to changing conditions of the world today which has spurred change and brought about a new dynamism in the graphic arts. The present intensity of interest in the print can be directly attributed to the advancement of technology and communication in this century. A whole new field of materials, methods and techniques are now available to the venturesome graphic artist and printmaker. Along with the contemporary technology dedication to expression leads naturally to innovation in aesthetics.
- Full Text:
Image and symbol : some aspects of the creative impulse in the visual arts
- Authors: Stonestreet, Lyn
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: Art Symbolism in art
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2445 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006138
- Description: From Introduction: The making of images has been a human activity since Prehistory, undergoing many and drastic changes over the centuries, but the symbols integral to images have proved enduring and recurrent. This is because the artist draws on that stratum of the psyche which C.G. Jung calls the collective unconscious: a universal archaic memory within the human mind, containing the archetypes of all human experience.In this essay I have dealt with aspects of two of these archetypes; the anima and, to a lesser extent, the mother. I have limited my study to the work of male artists. Long sanctioned by tradition, images of women as seen by men, have provided an acceptable vehicle for men to express their own female principle. As long as a man operates in the world with total apparant masculinity, the anima or female principle is repressed and denied at a conscious level.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Stonestreet, Lyn
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: Art Symbolism in art
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2445 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006138
- Description: From Introduction: The making of images has been a human activity since Prehistory, undergoing many and drastic changes over the centuries, but the symbols integral to images have proved enduring and recurrent. This is because the artist draws on that stratum of the psyche which C.G. Jung calls the collective unconscious: a universal archaic memory within the human mind, containing the archetypes of all human experience.In this essay I have dealt with aspects of two of these archetypes; the anima and, to a lesser extent, the mother. I have limited my study to the work of male artists. Long sanctioned by tradition, images of women as seen by men, have provided an acceptable vehicle for men to express their own female principle. As long as a man operates in the world with total apparant masculinity, the anima or female principle is repressed and denied at a conscious level.
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A comparison between the views of Jonathan Edwards and John Wesley regarding the sovereignty of God
- Authors: Robertson, Alan Charles
- Date: 1977
- Subjects: Edwards, Jonathan, 1703-1758 , Wesley, John, 1703-1791 , Free will and determinism , Predestination -- History of doctrines , God -- Omniscience -- History of doctrines , Atonement
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Bachelor , BDiv
- Identifier: vital:1268 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013067
- Description: The views of Edwards and Wesley regarding the sovereignty of God present a puzzle. On the face of things, both were successful evangelists while both held contrary doctrines of sovereignty. Does this mean that the doctrine of sovereignty is irrelevant? This thesis argues that the doctrine of sovereignty is crucial in evangelism and revival, and that the views of Edwards and Wesley regarding the sovereignity of God were in fact very similar. A useful framework for showing this is the Five Points of Calvinism, as well as the doctrines of justification by faith and the omnipotence of God.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Robertson, Alan Charles
- Date: 1977
- Subjects: Edwards, Jonathan, 1703-1758 , Wesley, John, 1703-1791 , Free will and determinism , Predestination -- History of doctrines , God -- Omniscience -- History of doctrines , Atonement
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Bachelor , BDiv
- Identifier: vital:1268 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013067
- Description: The views of Edwards and Wesley regarding the sovereignty of God present a puzzle. On the face of things, both were successful evangelists while both held contrary doctrines of sovereignty. Does this mean that the doctrine of sovereignty is irrelevant? This thesis argues that the doctrine of sovereignty is crucial in evangelism and revival, and that the views of Edwards and Wesley regarding the sovereignity of God were in fact very similar. A useful framework for showing this is the Five Points of Calvinism, as well as the doctrines of justification by faith and the omnipotence of God.
- Full Text:
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