Synthesis, photophysicochemical and photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy studies of indium pyridyl phthalocyanines: Charge versus bridging atom
- Sindelo, Azole, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Sindelo, Azole , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/187650 , vital:44683 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ica.2018.02.020"
- Description: 2(3), 9(10), 16(17), 23(24)-Octapyridylsulfanyl phthalocyaninato chloroindium(III) (complex 1a) and its quaternized derivative 2(3), 9(10), 16(17), 23(24)-octamethylpyridylsulfanyl phthalocyaninato chloroindium (III) (complex 1b) were synthesised. The triplet quantum yields were 0.53 and 0.48 while the singlet oxygen quantum yields were 0.46 and 0.33 in DMF for 1a and 1b, respectively. The photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT) activity of 1b (containing 8 positive charges) was compared to those of 9(10),16(17),23(24)-tri-N-methyl-4-pyridylsulfanyl-2(3)-(4-aminophenoxy) phthalocyaninato chloro indium(III) triiodide (2) (containing 3 positive charges) and 2-[4-(N-Methylpyridyloxy) phthalocyaninato] chloroindium (III) iodide (3) (containing 4 positive charges). Complex 1b gave log reductions of 4.21, 8.30 and 3.21 for Gram(−) E. coli, Gram(+) S. aureus and C. albicans, respectively. When comparing 1b, 2 and 3, the largest log reductions for E. coli were obtained for complex 3 containing four positive charges hence showing it is not always the charge that determines the PACT activity, but the bridging atom in the phthalocyanine plays a role.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Sindelo, Azole , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/187650 , vital:44683 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ica.2018.02.020"
- Description: 2(3), 9(10), 16(17), 23(24)-Octapyridylsulfanyl phthalocyaninato chloroindium(III) (complex 1a) and its quaternized derivative 2(3), 9(10), 16(17), 23(24)-octamethylpyridylsulfanyl phthalocyaninato chloroindium (III) (complex 1b) were synthesised. The triplet quantum yields were 0.53 and 0.48 while the singlet oxygen quantum yields were 0.46 and 0.33 in DMF for 1a and 1b, respectively. The photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT) activity of 1b (containing 8 positive charges) was compared to those of 9(10),16(17),23(24)-tri-N-methyl-4-pyridylsulfanyl-2(3)-(4-aminophenoxy) phthalocyaninato chloro indium(III) triiodide (2) (containing 3 positive charges) and 2-[4-(N-Methylpyridyloxy) phthalocyaninato] chloroindium (III) iodide (3) (containing 4 positive charges). Complex 1b gave log reductions of 4.21, 8.30 and 3.21 for Gram(−) E. coli, Gram(+) S. aureus and C. albicans, respectively. When comparing 1b, 2 and 3, the largest log reductions for E. coli were obtained for complex 3 containing four positive charges hence showing it is not always the charge that determines the PACT activity, but the bridging atom in the phthalocyanine plays a role.
- Full Text:
Temporal dynamics and motivations for urban community food gardens in medium-sized towns of the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Roberts, Sky, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: Roberts, Sky , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/179768 , vital:43178 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3390/land7040146"
- Description: Urban agriculture is said to be increasing with global urbanization. However, there is little examination of the temporal or spatial dynamics of urban agriculture. We investigated the benefits and challenges experienced by community gardeners in four towns in South Africa, along with GIS analysis of the number, area, and location of urban food community gardens over the last three decades. Common reasons for practicing community gardening were cash poverty (37%) and the need to grow food (34%). The most common benefits reported by respondents were a healthy lifestyle (58%) and consumption of the food produced (54%). Theft of garden infrastructure or produce was a noteworthy challenge to continued motivation and engagement in urban community gardening. There were declines in the number and area of urban community gardens, and more central location over the last three decades. Only 16% of the gardens present in the 1980s were still operating in the 2000s. Clearly community gardening is temporally and spatially dynamic, which requires context-sensitive policy initiatives.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Roberts, Sky , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/179768 , vital:43178 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3390/land7040146"
- Description: Urban agriculture is said to be increasing with global urbanization. However, there is little examination of the temporal or spatial dynamics of urban agriculture. We investigated the benefits and challenges experienced by community gardeners in four towns in South Africa, along with GIS analysis of the number, area, and location of urban food community gardens over the last three decades. Common reasons for practicing community gardening were cash poverty (37%) and the need to grow food (34%). The most common benefits reported by respondents were a healthy lifestyle (58%) and consumption of the food produced (54%). Theft of garden infrastructure or produce was a noteworthy challenge to continued motivation and engagement in urban community gardening. There were declines in the number and area of urban community gardens, and more central location over the last three decades. Only 16% of the gardens present in the 1980s were still operating in the 2000s. Clearly community gardening is temporally and spatially dynamic, which requires context-sensitive policy initiatives.
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The case for collation to inform debate and transform practice in decolonising Psychology
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/444397 , vital:74225 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246318784508"
- Description: Critiques of the ‘relevance’ of Psychology in South Africa and Africa have been raging for a number of decades now. Recent debates about decolonising Psychology and what is meant by African Psychology have been rigorous and necessary. In this commentary, I argue that in order for Psychology to move beyond Euro-American-centric epistemology and practice, these efforts need to be supplemented with the grounded praxis of research and literature collation. The epistemological, empirical, and conceptual knowledges that have been generated within the South African, African, and Global South contexts need to be brought together in coherent forms. As with other analytical processes, the grounded praxis of collating knowledges around a particular topic or approach allows for fresh insights and for the transfer of knowledges generated in context. Gaps in current research may be identified, debates on particular issues strengthened, and practice potentially improved. Drawing on two examples – textbooks and systematic literature reviews – and from my and colleagues’ work in conducting these kinds of collation work, I argue that: textbook writers should use grounded methodologies to generate texts based on South African, African, and Global South research, with reference to research conducted in the Global North being peripheral at best; and systematic reviews enable the cross-fertilisation of ideas from other social science research where psychological research is sparse. Funders should consider funding collation efforts.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/444397 , vital:74225 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246318784508"
- Description: Critiques of the ‘relevance’ of Psychology in South Africa and Africa have been raging for a number of decades now. Recent debates about decolonising Psychology and what is meant by African Psychology have been rigorous and necessary. In this commentary, I argue that in order for Psychology to move beyond Euro-American-centric epistemology and practice, these efforts need to be supplemented with the grounded praxis of research and literature collation. The epistemological, empirical, and conceptual knowledges that have been generated within the South African, African, and Global South contexts need to be brought together in coherent forms. As with other analytical processes, the grounded praxis of collating knowledges around a particular topic or approach allows for fresh insights and for the transfer of knowledges generated in context. Gaps in current research may be identified, debates on particular issues strengthened, and practice potentially improved. Drawing on two examples – textbooks and systematic literature reviews – and from my and colleagues’ work in conducting these kinds of collation work, I argue that: textbook writers should use grounded methodologies to generate texts based on South African, African, and Global South research, with reference to research conducted in the Global North being peripheral at best; and systematic reviews enable the cross-fertilisation of ideas from other social science research where psychological research is sparse. Funders should consider funding collation efforts.
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The distribution and abundance of the stem-galling fly, Cecidochares connexa (Macquart)(Diptera: Tephritidae), a biological control agent of Chromolaena odorata (L.)(Asteraceae), in Ghana
- Aigbedion-Atalor, Pascal O, Wilson, David D, Eziah, Vincent Y, Day, Michael D, Paterson, Iain D
- Authors: Aigbedion-Atalor, Pascal O , Wilson, David D , Eziah, Vincent Y , Day, Michael D , Paterson, Iain D
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/407074 , vital:70334 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-113112d1da"
- Description: Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M. King and H. Robinson (Asteraceae: Eupatorieae) is one of the worst invasive weeds in West Africa, and a serious biotic threat to food security. The stem-galling fly, Cecidochares connexa (Macquart) (Diptera: Tephritidae), a biological control agent for C. odorata, was released in the Ivory Coast in 2003 and first detected in Ghana in 2014. The spatiotemporal distribution and abundance of C. connexa in Ghana was determined by country-wide surveys from 2015 to 2016. Galls were found in varying densities across Ghana but gall densities were consistently low east of Lake Volta. A limited survey conducted in the extreme west of Togo in 2016, found the gall fly also in low numbers. There was a significant correlation between C. connexa gall densities and the distance from the release sites in the Ivory Coast. The distribution and abundance of the gall fly in Ghana could be explained by its spread from the original release sites over time and/or the much drier conditions east of Lake Volta. Cecidochares connexa has dispersed a distance of about 1000 km over a 10-year period and, while there is some evidence that the gall fly is still dispersing towards the east, its range and population size could be limited by the dry climatic conditions in the east of Ghana and in Togo. Actively redistributing the agent over this dry corridor to the more humid and higher rainfall areas of Nigeria, may result in the spread of this agent through the rest of West and Central Africa, thereby aiding the control of C. odorata in the region.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Aigbedion-Atalor, Pascal O , Wilson, David D , Eziah, Vincent Y , Day, Michael D , Paterson, Iain D
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/407074 , vital:70334 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-113112d1da"
- Description: Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M. King and H. Robinson (Asteraceae: Eupatorieae) is one of the worst invasive weeds in West Africa, and a serious biotic threat to food security. The stem-galling fly, Cecidochares connexa (Macquart) (Diptera: Tephritidae), a biological control agent for C. odorata, was released in the Ivory Coast in 2003 and first detected in Ghana in 2014. The spatiotemporal distribution and abundance of C. connexa in Ghana was determined by country-wide surveys from 2015 to 2016. Galls were found in varying densities across Ghana but gall densities were consistently low east of Lake Volta. A limited survey conducted in the extreme west of Togo in 2016, found the gall fly also in low numbers. There was a significant correlation between C. connexa gall densities and the distance from the release sites in the Ivory Coast. The distribution and abundance of the gall fly in Ghana could be explained by its spread from the original release sites over time and/or the much drier conditions east of Lake Volta. Cecidochares connexa has dispersed a distance of about 1000 km over a 10-year period and, while there is some evidence that the gall fly is still dispersing towards the east, its range and population size could be limited by the dry climatic conditions in the east of Ghana and in Togo. Actively redistributing the agent over this dry corridor to the more humid and higher rainfall areas of Nigeria, may result in the spread of this agent through the rest of West and Central Africa, thereby aiding the control of C. odorata in the region.
- Full Text:
The effect of the cobalt and manganese central metal ions on the nonlinear optical properties of tetra (4-propargyloxyphenoxy) phthalocyanines
- Mwanza, Daniel, Louzada, Marcel, Britton, Jonathan, Sekhosana, Kutloano E, Khene, Samson M, Nyokong, Tebello, Mashazi, Philani N
- Authors: Mwanza, Daniel , Louzada, Marcel , Britton, Jonathan , Sekhosana, Kutloano E , Khene, Samson M , Nyokong, Tebello , Mashazi, Philani N
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/233357 , vital:50083 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1039/C8NJ00748A"
- Description: The metal-free (H2TPrOPhOPc), cobalt (CoTPrOPhOPc) and manganese (Mn(OAc)TPrOPhOPc) tetra propargyloxyphenoxy phthalocyanines were evaluated for their potential as optical limiting materials. The effect of the substituents and the central metal ions on the nonlinear optical properties was evaluated. The metal-free phthalocyanine exhibited better nonlinear optical properties when compared to the cobalt and manganese complexes owing to the metal ions quenching the excited state due to their half-filled d-orbitals. The nonlinear absorption coefficient (βeff, ×10−5 m MW−1) followed the trend of H2TPrOPhOPc > CoTPrOPhOPc > Mn(OAc)TPrOPhOPc. The values βeff (×10−5 m MW−1) using 532 nm Nd:YAG (560 nm monochromatic Ekspla) laser sources were 23.5 > 14.3 > 9.20 (14.4). The second-order nonlinear coefficient obtained using density functional theory calculations, the theoretical hyper-Rayleigh scattering (βHRS, ×10−28 esu), showed the decreasing trend for H2TPrOPhOPc (2.28) > CoTPrOPhOPc (2.10) > Mn(OAc)TPrOPhOPc (1.86). The 4-(propargyloxy)phenoxy substituents enhanced the optical limiting properties of the synthesized phthalocyanines.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mwanza, Daniel , Louzada, Marcel , Britton, Jonathan , Sekhosana, Kutloano E , Khene, Samson M , Nyokong, Tebello , Mashazi, Philani N
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/233357 , vital:50083 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1039/C8NJ00748A"
- Description: The metal-free (H2TPrOPhOPc), cobalt (CoTPrOPhOPc) and manganese (Mn(OAc)TPrOPhOPc) tetra propargyloxyphenoxy phthalocyanines were evaluated for their potential as optical limiting materials. The effect of the substituents and the central metal ions on the nonlinear optical properties was evaluated. The metal-free phthalocyanine exhibited better nonlinear optical properties when compared to the cobalt and manganese complexes owing to the metal ions quenching the excited state due to their half-filled d-orbitals. The nonlinear absorption coefficient (βeff, ×10−5 m MW−1) followed the trend of H2TPrOPhOPc > CoTPrOPhOPc > Mn(OAc)TPrOPhOPc. The values βeff (×10−5 m MW−1) using 532 nm Nd:YAG (560 nm monochromatic Ekspla) laser sources were 23.5 > 14.3 > 9.20 (14.4). The second-order nonlinear coefficient obtained using density functional theory calculations, the theoretical hyper-Rayleigh scattering (βHRS, ×10−28 esu), showed the decreasing trend for H2TPrOPhOPc (2.28) > CoTPrOPhOPc (2.10) > Mn(OAc)TPrOPhOPc (1.86). The 4-(propargyloxy)phenoxy substituents enhanced the optical limiting properties of the synthesized phthalocyanines.
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The green economy learning assessment South Africa: Lessons for higher education, skills and work-based learning
- Rosenberg, Eureta, Lotz-Sisitka, Heila, Ramsarup, Presha
- Authors: Rosenberg, Eureta , Lotz-Sisitka, Heila , Ramsarup, Presha
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182765 , vital:43872 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-03-2018-0041"
- Description: The purpose of this paper is to share and analyse the methodology and findings of the 2016 Green Economy Learning Assessment South Africa, including learning needs identified with reference to the competency framings of Scharmer (2009) and Wiek et al. (2011); and implications for university and work-based sustainability education, broadly conceptualised in a just transitions framework. The assessment was conducted using desktop policy reviews and an audit of sustainability education providers, online questionnaires to sector experts, focus groups and interviews with practitioners driving green economy initiatives. Policy monitoring and evaluation, and education for sustainable development, emerged as key change levers across nine priority areas including agriculture, energy, natural resources, water, transport and infrastructure. The competencies required to drive sustainability in these areas were clustered as technical, relational and transformational competencies for: making the case; integrated sustainable development planning; strategic adaptive management and expansive learning; working across organisational units; working across knowledge fields; capacity and organisational development; and principle-based leadership. Practitioners develop such competencies through formal higher education and short courses plus course-activated networks and “on the job” learning. The paper adds to the literature on sustainability competencies and raises questions regarding forms of hybrid learning suitable for developing technical, relational and transformative competencies. A national learning needs assessment methodology and tools for customised organisational learning needs assessments are shared. The assessment methodology is novel in this context and the workplace-based tools, original.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Rosenberg, Eureta , Lotz-Sisitka, Heila , Ramsarup, Presha
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182765 , vital:43872 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-03-2018-0041"
- Description: The purpose of this paper is to share and analyse the methodology and findings of the 2016 Green Economy Learning Assessment South Africa, including learning needs identified with reference to the competency framings of Scharmer (2009) and Wiek et al. (2011); and implications for university and work-based sustainability education, broadly conceptualised in a just transitions framework. The assessment was conducted using desktop policy reviews and an audit of sustainability education providers, online questionnaires to sector experts, focus groups and interviews with practitioners driving green economy initiatives. Policy monitoring and evaluation, and education for sustainable development, emerged as key change levers across nine priority areas including agriculture, energy, natural resources, water, transport and infrastructure. The competencies required to drive sustainability in these areas were clustered as technical, relational and transformational competencies for: making the case; integrated sustainable development planning; strategic adaptive management and expansive learning; working across organisational units; working across knowledge fields; capacity and organisational development; and principle-based leadership. Practitioners develop such competencies through formal higher education and short courses plus course-activated networks and “on the job” learning. The paper adds to the literature on sustainability competencies and raises questions regarding forms of hybrid learning suitable for developing technical, relational and transformative competencies. A national learning needs assessment methodology and tools for customised organisational learning needs assessments are shared. The assessment methodology is novel in this context and the workplace-based tools, original.
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The investigation of in vitro dark cytotoxicity and photodynamic therapy effect of a 2, 6-dibromo-3, 5-distyryl BODIPY dye encapsulated in Pluronic® F-127 micelles
- Molupe, Nthabeleng, Babu, Balaji, Oluwole, David O, Prinsloo, Earl, Mack, John, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Molupe, Nthabeleng , Babu, Balaji , Oluwole, David O , Prinsloo, Earl , Mack, John , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/187862 , vital:44704 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00958972.2018.1522536"
- Description: A 2,6-dibrominated 3,5-distyryl boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dye with a moderately high singlet oxygen quantum yield was encapsulated in Pluronic® F-127 micelles, and its dark cytotoxicity and photodynamic activity were investigated on the human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cell line. The BODIPY dye exhibited very low dark toxicity and a significant PDT effect when added in drug formulations consisting of 5.0% (v/v) DMSO in supplemented Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) and as Pluronic® F-127 micelle encapsulation complexes in supplemented DMEM alone. An IC50 value of 4 ± 2 μM was obtained when the BODIPY dye was encapsulated in Pluronic® F-127 micelles during in vitro photodynamic activity studies in MCF-7 cancer cells with a 660 nm light emitting diode.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Molupe, Nthabeleng , Babu, Balaji , Oluwole, David O , Prinsloo, Earl , Mack, John , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/187862 , vital:44704 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00958972.2018.1522536"
- Description: A 2,6-dibrominated 3,5-distyryl boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dye with a moderately high singlet oxygen quantum yield was encapsulated in Pluronic® F-127 micelles, and its dark cytotoxicity and photodynamic activity were investigated on the human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cell line. The BODIPY dye exhibited very low dark toxicity and a significant PDT effect when added in drug formulations consisting of 5.0% (v/v) DMSO in supplemented Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) and as Pluronic® F-127 micelle encapsulation complexes in supplemented DMEM alone. An IC50 value of 4 ± 2 μM was obtained when the BODIPY dye was encapsulated in Pluronic® F-127 micelles during in vitro photodynamic activity studies in MCF-7 cancer cells with a 660 nm light emitting diode.
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The photophysicochemical behavior of symmetric and asymmetric zinc phthalocyanines, surface assembled onto gold nanotriangles
- Dube, Edith, Nwaji, Njemuwa, Mack, John, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Dube, Edith , Nwaji, Njemuwa , Mack, John , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/233310 , vital:50079 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1039/C8NJ02746C"
- Description: The synthesis of a novel asymmetric phthalocyanine, (4-(4-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)phenoxy)-2,10,17-tris(4-(2-carboxyethyl)phenoxy)phthalocyaninatol)zinc(II), complex 3, is reported. Complex 3 together with the previously reported complexes tetrakis[(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl phenoxy)phthalocyaninato]zinc(II) (4) and 3-(4-((3,17,23-tris(4-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)phenoxy)phthalocyaninatol)oxy)phenyl)propanoic acid zinc(II) (5), were linked to gold nanotriangles (AuNTs) through S–Au/Au–N self-assembly to afford the conjugates (3-AuNTs, 4-AuNTs and 5-AuNTs). The photophysicochemical behaviour of the complexes and their conjugates were studied. The asymmetric complexes 3 and 5, displayed improved triplet and singlet oxygen quantum yields compared to the symmetric complex 4, while all conjugates displayed improved triplet and singlet oxygen quantum yields compared to their respective complexes alone. The complexes and their conjugates could serve as good candidates for photodynamic therapy.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Dube, Edith , Nwaji, Njemuwa , Mack, John , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/233310 , vital:50079 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1039/C8NJ02746C"
- Description: The synthesis of a novel asymmetric phthalocyanine, (4-(4-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)phenoxy)-2,10,17-tris(4-(2-carboxyethyl)phenoxy)phthalocyaninatol)zinc(II), complex 3, is reported. Complex 3 together with the previously reported complexes tetrakis[(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl phenoxy)phthalocyaninato]zinc(II) (4) and 3-(4-((3,17,23-tris(4-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)phenoxy)phthalocyaninatol)oxy)phenyl)propanoic acid zinc(II) (5), were linked to gold nanotriangles (AuNTs) through S–Au/Au–N self-assembly to afford the conjugates (3-AuNTs, 4-AuNTs and 5-AuNTs). The photophysicochemical behaviour of the complexes and their conjugates were studied. The asymmetric complexes 3 and 5, displayed improved triplet and singlet oxygen quantum yields compared to the symmetric complex 4, while all conjugates displayed improved triplet and singlet oxygen quantum yields compared to their respective complexes alone. The complexes and their conjugates could serve as good candidates for photodynamic therapy.
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The potential use of natural resources in urban informal settlements as substitutes for financial capital during flooding emergencies
- Dalu, Mwazvita, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: Dalu, Mwazvita , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/179814 , vital:43191 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2018.03.002"
- Description: Rapid and widespread land cover change and the subsequent loss of the buffering capacity provided by healthy ecosystems against natural hazards has resulted in increased vulnerability to natural hazards. There is an insufficient understanding of the natural resources contribution to the resilience of poor urban communities living in informal settlements and the financial implications thereof. Thus, household strategies used to recover from the October 2012 flood shock were investigated within the informal settlements of three small South African towns using questionnaires. Within the vulnerability paradigm and the sustainable livelihood framework, the study also quantified and evaluated the relative contribution of natural resources to recovery strategies and the impacts on household financial capital. We found that natural resources contributed up to 70% to recovery of households from the flood shock, most of this being to reconstruct housing structures after the flood. Factors such as household head education level, household income, kinship level, the extent of property damage and the cost associated with property rehabilitation significantly influenced the uptake of natural resources in recovery from floods, and this was variable among settlements and towns. The main findings showed that natural resources reduced household vulnerability of urban informal settlements by providing an emergency-net function that substitutes financial capital. Their inclusion in disaster management plans and responses has the potential to contribute to the sustainable livelihoods of the urban poor in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Dalu, Mwazvita , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/179814 , vital:43191 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2018.03.002"
- Description: Rapid and widespread land cover change and the subsequent loss of the buffering capacity provided by healthy ecosystems against natural hazards has resulted in increased vulnerability to natural hazards. There is an insufficient understanding of the natural resources contribution to the resilience of poor urban communities living in informal settlements and the financial implications thereof. Thus, household strategies used to recover from the October 2012 flood shock were investigated within the informal settlements of three small South African towns using questionnaires. Within the vulnerability paradigm and the sustainable livelihood framework, the study also quantified and evaluated the relative contribution of natural resources to recovery strategies and the impacts on household financial capital. We found that natural resources contributed up to 70% to recovery of households from the flood shock, most of this being to reconstruct housing structures after the flood. Factors such as household head education level, household income, kinship level, the extent of property damage and the cost associated with property rehabilitation significantly influenced the uptake of natural resources in recovery from floods, and this was variable among settlements and towns. The main findings showed that natural resources reduced household vulnerability of urban informal settlements by providing an emergency-net function that substitutes financial capital. Their inclusion in disaster management plans and responses has the potential to contribute to the sustainable livelihoods of the urban poor in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
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The Primary Demonstration of Exciton Coupling Effects on Optical Limiting Properties of Blue Double-Decker Lanthanide Phthalocyanine Salts
- Sekhosana, Kutloano E, Nkhahle, Reitumetse, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Sekhosana, Kutloano E , Nkhahle, Reitumetse , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/234614 , vital:50213 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1002/slct.201800597"
- Description: In this manuscript, novel green and blue sandwich-type rare-earth phthalocyanines (LnPc2) are presented. This parent green LnPc2 complex is named bis-{2(3),9(10),16(17),23(24)-tetra(4-tert-buylphenoxy) phthalocyaninato} neodymium (III) (2) and modified into blue LnPc2 complexes (3), (4) and (5) based on hexadecyltrimethylammonium ion, mononeodymium(III) diacetate and monodysprosium(III) diacetate as counter ions, respectively. These stable blue lanthanide Pc salts are highly soluble in many organic and inorganic solvents. All complexes 2, 3, 4 and 5 were studied for optical limiting for the first time using Z-scan at nanosecond regime in the visible absorption spectral wavelength (532 nm). Our studies reveal the advantage of exciton coupling in blue sandwich-type rare-earth phthalocyanines over the π-radicals (characterized by blue valence at 485 nm) in the green counterpart which are in resonance with the 532 nm wavelength for optical limiting application. Large singlet ground state to excited state absorption cross section ratios were found, particularly for complex 5 in comparison to that of complex 2.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Sekhosana, Kutloano E , Nkhahle, Reitumetse , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/234614 , vital:50213 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1002/slct.201800597"
- Description: In this manuscript, novel green and blue sandwich-type rare-earth phthalocyanines (LnPc2) are presented. This parent green LnPc2 complex is named bis-{2(3),9(10),16(17),23(24)-tetra(4-tert-buylphenoxy) phthalocyaninato} neodymium (III) (2) and modified into blue LnPc2 complexes (3), (4) and (5) based on hexadecyltrimethylammonium ion, mononeodymium(III) diacetate and monodysprosium(III) diacetate as counter ions, respectively. These stable blue lanthanide Pc salts are highly soluble in many organic and inorganic solvents. All complexes 2, 3, 4 and 5 were studied for optical limiting for the first time using Z-scan at nanosecond regime in the visible absorption spectral wavelength (532 nm). Our studies reveal the advantage of exciton coupling in blue sandwich-type rare-earth phthalocyanines over the π-radicals (characterized by blue valence at 485 nm) in the green counterpart which are in resonance with the 532 nm wavelength for optical limiting application. Large singlet ground state to excited state absorption cross section ratios were found, particularly for complex 5 in comparison to that of complex 2.
- Full Text:
The production and commercialization of palm wine from Hyphaene coriacea and Phoenix reclinata in Zitundo area, southern Mozambique
- Martins, Angelina R O, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: Martins, Angelina R O , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/179802 , vital:43190 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2018.02.389"
- Description: In southern Mozambique a traditional wine is produced using the sap from two palm species, Hyphaene coriacea and Phoenix reclinata. Production of palm wine is one of the main livelihood activities in the Zitundo area. We examined the local production and trade of palm wine in the area. Using structured interviews we investigated the tapping activity, local management practices and the palm wine market, and assessed the incomes derived from palm wine sales and the tappers' perceptions on productivity, abundance and sales fluctuation. Tapping palms was practiced year round in five of the sixteen villages in the area and the mean number of palms tapped per day was 102 ± 52 per tapper. Tappers spent an average of 25 ± 18 h per week on tapping activities resulting in an average return to labour of R39 (± US$3) per hour. The mean, annual, net income from palm wine sales was R24,981 ± R12,094 (US$1878 ± 909) per tapper, which accounted for 85% ± 22% of the tappers' annual household income. Palm wine is a highly commercial commodity in Zitundo area, with an average commercialization index of 63% ± 23%, and is likely to help alleviate poverty in the area. Hyphaene coriacea was tapped more than Phoenix reclinata, although most tappers regard the wine from the latter to be of a better quality. The importance of palm tapping in local livelihoods and poverty alleviation needs greater acknowledgement by government and development agencies in the area, towards inclusion in sectoral development policies and conservation programmes.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Martins, Angelina R O , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/179802 , vital:43190 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2018.02.389"
- Description: In southern Mozambique a traditional wine is produced using the sap from two palm species, Hyphaene coriacea and Phoenix reclinata. Production of palm wine is one of the main livelihood activities in the Zitundo area. We examined the local production and trade of palm wine in the area. Using structured interviews we investigated the tapping activity, local management practices and the palm wine market, and assessed the incomes derived from palm wine sales and the tappers' perceptions on productivity, abundance and sales fluctuation. Tapping palms was practiced year round in five of the sixteen villages in the area and the mean number of palms tapped per day was 102 ± 52 per tapper. Tappers spent an average of 25 ± 18 h per week on tapping activities resulting in an average return to labour of R39 (± US$3) per hour. The mean, annual, net income from palm wine sales was R24,981 ± R12,094 (US$1878 ± 909) per tapper, which accounted for 85% ± 22% of the tappers' annual household income. Palm wine is a highly commercial commodity in Zitundo area, with an average commercialization index of 63% ± 23%, and is likely to help alleviate poverty in the area. Hyphaene coriacea was tapped more than Phoenix reclinata, although most tappers regard the wine from the latter to be of a better quality. The importance of palm tapping in local livelihoods and poverty alleviation needs greater acknowledgement by government and development agencies in the area, towards inclusion in sectoral development policies and conservation programmes.
- Full Text:
The socialisation and leader identity development of school leaders in Southern African countries
- Moorosi, Pontso, Grant, Carolyn
- Authors: Moorosi, Pontso , Grant, Carolyn
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/281142 , vital:55696 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-01-2018-0011"
- Description: Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the socialisation and leader identity development of school leaders in Southern African countries. Design/methodology/approach: The study utilised a survey of qualitative data where data collection primarily involved in-depth interviews with school principals and deputy principals of both primary and secondary schools. Findings: Findings revealed that early socialisation to leadership transpired during childhood and early schooling at which points in time the characteristics and values of leadership integral to the participants’ leadership practice were acquired. Initial teacher training was found to be significant in introducing principalship role conception. Leader identity was also found to develop outside the context of school through pre-socialising agents long before the teaching and leading roles are assumed. Originality/value: The study presents an overview of the findings from four countries in Southern Africa, providing a complex process with overlapping stages of career socialisation. Existing research puts emphasis on formal leadership preparation as a significant part of socialisation – this study suggests alternatives for poorly resourced countries. Significantly, the paper improves our understanding that school leader identity is both internal and external to the school environment.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Moorosi, Pontso , Grant, Carolyn
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/281142 , vital:55696 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-01-2018-0011"
- Description: Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the socialisation and leader identity development of school leaders in Southern African countries. Design/methodology/approach: The study utilised a survey of qualitative data where data collection primarily involved in-depth interviews with school principals and deputy principals of both primary and secondary schools. Findings: Findings revealed that early socialisation to leadership transpired during childhood and early schooling at which points in time the characteristics and values of leadership integral to the participants’ leadership practice were acquired. Initial teacher training was found to be significant in introducing principalship role conception. Leader identity was also found to develop outside the context of school through pre-socialising agents long before the teaching and leading roles are assumed. Originality/value: The study presents an overview of the findings from four countries in Southern Africa, providing a complex process with overlapping stages of career socialisation. Existing research puts emphasis on formal leadership preparation as a significant part of socialisation – this study suggests alternatives for poorly resourced countries. Significantly, the paper improves our understanding that school leader identity is both internal and external to the school environment.
- Full Text:
The status and distribution of a newly identified endemic galaxiid in the eastern Cape Fold Ecoregion, of South Africa
- Chakona, Gamuchirai, Swartz, Ernst R, Chakona, Albert
- Authors: Chakona, Gamuchirai , Swartz, Ernst R , Chakona, Albert
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/453238 , vital:75233 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2850"
- Description: DNA-based studies have uncovered cryptic species and lineages within almost all freshwater fishes studied thus far from the Cape Fold Ecoregion (CFE) of South Africa. These studies have changed the way the CFE is viewed, as almost all stream fishes that were previously consid-ered to be of low conservation priority, because they were perceived to have broad geographical ranges, con-tain multiple historically isolated lineages, many of which are narrow-range endemics.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Chakona, Gamuchirai , Swartz, Ernst R , Chakona, Albert
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/453238 , vital:75233 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2850"
- Description: DNA-based studies have uncovered cryptic species and lineages within almost all freshwater fishes studied thus far from the Cape Fold Ecoregion (CFE) of South Africa. These studies have changed the way the CFE is viewed, as almost all stream fishes that were previously consid-ered to be of low conservation priority, because they were perceived to have broad geographical ranges, con-tain multiple historically isolated lineages, many of which are narrow-range endemics.
- Full Text:
The status and distribution of a newly identified endemic galaxiid in the eastern Cape Fold Ecoregion, of South Africa
- Chakona, Gamuchirai, Swartz, Ernst R, Chakona, Albert
- Authors: Chakona, Gamuchirai , Swartz, Ernst R , Chakona, Albert
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425492 , vital:72250 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2850"
- Description: DNA-based studies have uncovered cryptic species and lineages within almost all freshwater fishes studied thus far from the Cape Fold Ecoregion (CFE) of South Africa. These studies have changed the way the CFE is viewed, as almost all stream fishes that were previously consid-ered to be of low conservation priority, because they were perceived to have broad geographical ranges, con-tain multiple historically isolated lineages, many of which are narrow-range endemics.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Chakona, Gamuchirai , Swartz, Ernst R , Chakona, Albert
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425492 , vital:72250 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2850"
- Description: DNA-based studies have uncovered cryptic species and lineages within almost all freshwater fishes studied thus far from the Cape Fold Ecoregion (CFE) of South Africa. These studies have changed the way the CFE is viewed, as almost all stream fishes that were previously consid-ered to be of low conservation priority, because they were perceived to have broad geographical ranges, con-tain multiple historically isolated lineages, many of which are narrow-range endemics.
- Full Text:
The use of experimental design for the development and validation of an HPLC-ECD method for the quantitation of efavirenz
- Makoni, Pedzisai A, Khamanga, Sandile M, Kasongo, Kasongo W, Walker, Roderick B
- Authors: Makoni, Pedzisai A , Khamanga, Sandile M , Kasongo, Kasongo W , Walker, Roderick B
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/183556 , vital:44006 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1691/ph.2018.8074"
- Description: A high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD) method for the quantitation of efavirenz (EFV) was developed, since traditional HPLC-UV methods may be inappropriate, given that EFV undergoes photolytic degradation following exposure to UV light. This work describes the use of response surface methodology (RSM) based on a central composite design (CCD) to develop a stability-indicating HPLC method with pulsed ECD in direct current (DC) mode at an applied potential difference and current of +1400 mV and 1.0 μA for the analysis of EFV. Separation of EFV and imipramine was achieved using a Nova-Pak®C18 cartridge column and a mobile phase of phosphate buffer (pH 4.5): acetonitrile (ACN) (55:45 v/v). Mobile phase pH, buffer molarity, ACN concentration and applied potential difference were investigated. The optimized method produced sharp well resolved peaks for imipramine and EFV with retention times of 3.70 and 8.89 minutes. The calibration curve was linear (R2 = 0.9979) over the range 5-70 μg/mL. Repeatability and intermediate precision ranged between 3.37 and 4.34 % RSD and 1.31 and 4.29 % RSD and accuracy between -0.80 and 4.71 % bias. The LOQ and LOD were 5.0 and 1.5 μg/mL. The method was specific for EFV and was used to analyse EFV in commercially available tablets. The HPLC-ECD method is more suitable for quantitative analysis of EFV than HPLC-UV.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Makoni, Pedzisai A , Khamanga, Sandile M , Kasongo, Kasongo W , Walker, Roderick B
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/183556 , vital:44006 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1691/ph.2018.8074"
- Description: A high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD) method for the quantitation of efavirenz (EFV) was developed, since traditional HPLC-UV methods may be inappropriate, given that EFV undergoes photolytic degradation following exposure to UV light. This work describes the use of response surface methodology (RSM) based on a central composite design (CCD) to develop a stability-indicating HPLC method with pulsed ECD in direct current (DC) mode at an applied potential difference and current of +1400 mV and 1.0 μA for the analysis of EFV. Separation of EFV and imipramine was achieved using a Nova-Pak®C18 cartridge column and a mobile phase of phosphate buffer (pH 4.5): acetonitrile (ACN) (55:45 v/v). Mobile phase pH, buffer molarity, ACN concentration and applied potential difference were investigated. The optimized method produced sharp well resolved peaks for imipramine and EFV with retention times of 3.70 and 8.89 minutes. The calibration curve was linear (R2 = 0.9979) over the range 5-70 μg/mL. Repeatability and intermediate precision ranged between 3.37 and 4.34 % RSD and 1.31 and 4.29 % RSD and accuracy between -0.80 and 4.71 % bias. The LOQ and LOD were 5.0 and 1.5 μg/mL. The method was specific for EFV and was used to analyse EFV in commercially available tablets. The HPLC-ECD method is more suitable for quantitative analysis of EFV than HPLC-UV.
- Full Text:
Think Piece on Amanzi for Food. Working with Critical Realism to Inform a Situated Learning Framework for Climate Change Education
- Authors: O'Donoghue, Rob B
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/388136 , vital:68309 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/172215"
- Description: This study is developed as a think piece which deliberates the problem of transformative human agency in a curriculum setting. Using a critical realism perspective and schematic tools it examines the deliberative framing of an Amanzi for Food teaching garden as an education process for mediating the learning of rainwater harvesting. Working with Bhaskar’s Transformational Model of Social Activity and using expansions of his ‘four-planar social being’ schema and its resolution in his ‘social cube’ model, the study contemplates the framing for a curriculum for the mediation of co-engaged social learning in the contexts of practical work in an agricultural college curriculum setting. In this way the research process is developed as an under-labouring review of the emerging curriculum in search of theory to inform pedagogy for mediating situated processes of transformative social learning.
- Full Text:
- Authors: O'Donoghue, Rob B
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/388136 , vital:68309 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/172215"
- Description: This study is developed as a think piece which deliberates the problem of transformative human agency in a curriculum setting. Using a critical realism perspective and schematic tools it examines the deliberative framing of an Amanzi for Food teaching garden as an education process for mediating the learning of rainwater harvesting. Working with Bhaskar’s Transformational Model of Social Activity and using expansions of his ‘four-planar social being’ schema and its resolution in his ‘social cube’ model, the study contemplates the framing for a curriculum for the mediation of co-engaged social learning in the contexts of practical work in an agricultural college curriculum setting. In this way the research process is developed as an under-labouring review of the emerging curriculum in search of theory to inform pedagogy for mediating situated processes of transformative social learning.
- Full Text:
Think Piece. Intersectional Resonance and the Multiplicity of Being in a Polarised World
- Authors: Kulundu, Injairu
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/388037 , vital:68301 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/172212"
- Description: Understandings of collective learning and change agency often conjure up an image of a particular group or community identifying important concerns and finding the momentum to learn together to address them. In reality, gaining consensus around what issues need to be addressed is a complex process in polarised societies. It requires an attentiveness to different standpoints and experiences of the social dynamics at play, and the ways in which ecological, political, socio-economic and psychic experiences manifest themselves within different contexts, generating disparate and connected views on what is missing and what is needed to create a more just society. This paper asks questions about what it means to learn in-between and through complex and interrelated societal dynamics amongst a community of change drivers. By highlighting the individual, communal and collective learning of a diverse group of change drivers in a very polarised South Africa, we can begin to ask questions about the following: 1) how different embodied experiences or ‘a multiplicity of being’, as referred to in this paper, are essential in the pursuit of a sustainable society; and 2) why we need to learn in ways that can foster a sense of ‘intersectional resonance’ between and amongst change drivers in a polarised world.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Kulundu, Injairu
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/388037 , vital:68301 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/172212"
- Description: Understandings of collective learning and change agency often conjure up an image of a particular group or community identifying important concerns and finding the momentum to learn together to address them. In reality, gaining consensus around what issues need to be addressed is a complex process in polarised societies. It requires an attentiveness to different standpoints and experiences of the social dynamics at play, and the ways in which ecological, political, socio-economic and psychic experiences manifest themselves within different contexts, generating disparate and connected views on what is missing and what is needed to create a more just society. This paper asks questions about what it means to learn in-between and through complex and interrelated societal dynamics amongst a community of change drivers. By highlighting the individual, communal and collective learning of a diverse group of change drivers in a very polarised South Africa, we can begin to ask questions about the following: 1) how different embodied experiences or ‘a multiplicity of being’, as referred to in this paper, are essential in the pursuit of a sustainable society; and 2) why we need to learn in ways that can foster a sense of ‘intersectional resonance’ between and amongst change drivers in a polarised world.
- Full Text:
Think Piece: Pioneers as relational subjects? Probing relationality as phenomenon shaping collective learning and change agency formation
- Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182787 , vital:43874 , xlink:href="DOI 10.4314/sajee.v34i1.5"
- Description: This paper deliberates on how relationality is framed in collective learning and change agency formation processes, with an emphasis on green economy and renewable energy learning contexts. The paper is not focused on empirical analysis of relationality in collective learning, but rather probes the phenomenon in order to provide more carefully constituted theoretical and analytical tools for further empirical research. The paper uses references to South African and Danish cases (albeit in slightly different ways), and, through this, it sets out to provide tools for generative insights and research into a recent international policy and strategy process which is bringing national-level Green Economy Learning Assessments (GELA) into being, including one in South Africa. Central to these GELAs is the notion of participatory or relational competence, which appears to be a central feature of collective learning, although this is not empirically analysed in this paper. In case study work undertaken for the GELA in South Africa that focused on South Africa’s major renewable energy development, and in the Samsø Island renewable energy transition case in Denmark, this competence appeared to come into focus in praxis. Interestingly, however, it appeared to come into focus colloquially as a discourse on ‘pioneers’ or ‘champions’, a phenomenon noticed in both the South African and Danish contexts. This paper probes this phenomenon further, especially since it initially appears to be contradictory to the emphasis on participatory and relational competence in the GELA study framework. This is because the concept of ‘pioneer/champion’ appears to highlight individual capabilities rather than collective, relational competences. Yet, on closer inspection, it is indeed the relational competences of the pioneer/champion, who is constituted as a ‘relational subject’ with a key role to play in producing shared relational goods, that appears to be significant to the collective learning and action process. This, as argued in the paper, requires a differentiation of relationism and relational realism. This Think Piece, which thinks with both theory and praxis, therefore offers a possible framework for more detailed empirical studies on relationality in collective learning and change agency formation.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182787 , vital:43874 , xlink:href="DOI 10.4314/sajee.v34i1.5"
- Description: This paper deliberates on how relationality is framed in collective learning and change agency formation processes, with an emphasis on green economy and renewable energy learning contexts. The paper is not focused on empirical analysis of relationality in collective learning, but rather probes the phenomenon in order to provide more carefully constituted theoretical and analytical tools for further empirical research. The paper uses references to South African and Danish cases (albeit in slightly different ways), and, through this, it sets out to provide tools for generative insights and research into a recent international policy and strategy process which is bringing national-level Green Economy Learning Assessments (GELA) into being, including one in South Africa. Central to these GELAs is the notion of participatory or relational competence, which appears to be a central feature of collective learning, although this is not empirically analysed in this paper. In case study work undertaken for the GELA in South Africa that focused on South Africa’s major renewable energy development, and in the Samsø Island renewable energy transition case in Denmark, this competence appeared to come into focus in praxis. Interestingly, however, it appeared to come into focus colloquially as a discourse on ‘pioneers’ or ‘champions’, a phenomenon noticed in both the South African and Danish contexts. This paper probes this phenomenon further, especially since it initially appears to be contradictory to the emphasis on participatory and relational competence in the GELA study framework. This is because the concept of ‘pioneer/champion’ appears to highlight individual capabilities rather than collective, relational competences. Yet, on closer inspection, it is indeed the relational competences of the pioneer/champion, who is constituted as a ‘relational subject’ with a key role to play in producing shared relational goods, that appears to be significant to the collective learning and action process. This, as argued in the paper, requires a differentiation of relationism and relational realism. This Think Piece, which thinks with both theory and praxis, therefore offers a possible framework for more detailed empirical studies on relationality in collective learning and change agency formation.
- Full Text:
Towards transformative social learning on the path to 1.5 degrees
- Macintyre, Thomas, Lotz-Sisitka, Heila, Wals, Arjen E, Vogel, Coleen, Tassone, Valenina
- Authors: Macintyre, Thomas , Lotz-Sisitka, Heila , Wals, Arjen E , Vogel, Coleen , Tassone, Valenina
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182461 , vital:43832 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2017.12.003"
- Description: This paper provides insights into learning orientations and approaches that encourage change and transformation on the path to achieving the 1.5 degree C target. This literature review of the climate change and education/learning interface positions relevant literature in a heuristic tool, and reveals different learning approaches to addressing climate change. We highlight that although traditional lines of departure for achieving climate targets are usually technocratic in nature, especially if a zero emissions pathway is aimed for, there is an increasing realisation that climate issues are complex, deeply intertwined with unsustainable development and cultural change, and require collective engagement. Through considering the 1.5 degree C target as a metaphor for the fundamental changes needed in society, we argue that a wide range of learning orientations, including more inclusive and transformative social learning approaches, are needed to address the colossal challenges facing society.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Macintyre, Thomas , Lotz-Sisitka, Heila , Wals, Arjen E , Vogel, Coleen , Tassone, Valenina
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182461 , vital:43832 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2017.12.003"
- Description: This paper provides insights into learning orientations and approaches that encourage change and transformation on the path to achieving the 1.5 degree C target. This literature review of the climate change and education/learning interface positions relevant literature in a heuristic tool, and reveals different learning approaches to addressing climate change. We highlight that although traditional lines of departure for achieving climate targets are usually technocratic in nature, especially if a zero emissions pathway is aimed for, there is an increasing realisation that climate issues are complex, deeply intertwined with unsustainable development and cultural change, and require collective engagement. Through considering the 1.5 degree C target as a metaphor for the fundamental changes needed in society, we argue that a wide range of learning orientations, including more inclusive and transformative social learning approaches, are needed to address the colossal challenges facing society.
- Full Text:
Traditional, indigenous, or leafy?: A definition, typology, and way forward for African vegetables
- Towns, Alexander M, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: Towns, Alexander M , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/179791 , vital:43189 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-019-09448-1"
- Description: Around 1000 different species of indigenous and naturalized vegetables contribute to the dietary diversity, food security, and livelihoods of populations across sub-Saharan Africa. These foods are also a part of alimentary traditions and cultural identity, but have suffered as neglected and underutilized species. Slowly, African vegetables are beginning to gain the attention of universities, research centers, and development organizations; however, the terminology used to describe the plants is characterized by widespread disagreement and redundancy. Key terms and concepts used such as indigenous, traditional, and leafy have different interpretations and are used interchangeably, creating a challenge for coordinated research and extension efforts. Through analyzing a broad set of peer-reviewed journal articles on African vegetables, we (1) provide an overview with respect to definitions and terms used in the literature, (2) propose a definition of the term traditional African vegetable (TAV), (3) create a typology to classify the main groups of African vegetables, and (4) identify trends and gaps for further research and extension on African vegetables. We propose not only a unified way to categorize these vegetables but also a way for a more holistic and interdisciplinary systems approach to further the research agenda and practical management of African vegetables.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Towns, Alexander M , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/179791 , vital:43189 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-019-09448-1"
- Description: Around 1000 different species of indigenous and naturalized vegetables contribute to the dietary diversity, food security, and livelihoods of populations across sub-Saharan Africa. These foods are also a part of alimentary traditions and cultural identity, but have suffered as neglected and underutilized species. Slowly, African vegetables are beginning to gain the attention of universities, research centers, and development organizations; however, the terminology used to describe the plants is characterized by widespread disagreement and redundancy. Key terms and concepts used such as indigenous, traditional, and leafy have different interpretations and are used interchangeably, creating a challenge for coordinated research and extension efforts. Through analyzing a broad set of peer-reviewed journal articles on African vegetables, we (1) provide an overview with respect to definitions and terms used in the literature, (2) propose a definition of the term traditional African vegetable (TAV), (3) create a typology to classify the main groups of African vegetables, and (4) identify trends and gaps for further research and extension on African vegetables. We propose not only a unified way to categorize these vegetables but also a way for a more holistic and interdisciplinary systems approach to further the research agenda and practical management of African vegetables.
- Full Text: