Home range dynamics of spotted grunter, pomadasys commersonnii, in a South African intermittently open estuary
- Authors: O'Connell, Bronwyn Anne
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Grunts (Fishes) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Pomadasys -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Estuaries -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Estuarine fishes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Estuarine fishes -- Habitat -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Fishery management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Fishes -- Home range , Fishes -- Home range -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5286 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005130 , Grunts (Fishes) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Pomadasys -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Estuaries -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Estuarine fishes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Estuarine fishes -- Habitat -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Fishery management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Fishes -- Home range , Fishes -- Home range -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The spotted grunter (Pomadasys commersonnii) is an important, estuarine-dependent, fishery species in southern Africa. Since estuaries are essential habitats in the life history of this species, the quantification of area use patterns and movements is important for fisheries management. In this study, acoustic telemetry was used to investigate movements, use of habitat and home range dynamics of spotted grunter in the small intermittently open East Kleinemonde Estuary on the Eastern Cape coast of South Africa. Nine spotted grunter (range: 326-489mm TL) were surgically equipped with uniquely coded acoustic transmitters. Positional fixes were obtained by manual tracking tagged individuals on six days and six nights during five tracking sessions from March to November 2004. In addition, five stationary data-logging receivers, moored at specific locations from the mouth to the top of the estuary provided additional long-term monitoring. Kernel home ranges (95% UD) varied in size (26 296-165 321m²) but were all located in a common high use area situated between 300-1 300m from the estuary mouth, which coincided with the highest abundance of prey items. There was no significant variation in home range size [C² (N = 9, df = 4) = 4.18; p = 0.38] between the temporally segregated tracking sessions (over nine months). The persistence of these home range estimates were confirmed by the long-term data-logging receivers. There was no significant diel variation in home range size [F(4, 64) = 0.05, p = 0.99] or core area size [F(4, 64) = 1.40, p = 0.25]. Fish length showed negative, although not significant, relationships between home range size (p = 0.225); number of home range areas (p = 0.065); core area size (p = 0.512) and home range length (p = 0.320). Use of habitat and home range dynamics of spotted grunter in the East Kleinemonde Estuary were consistent over the nine month study period, and they appeared to be influenced more by biotic than abiotic factors. However, when the mouth opened at the end of the study, most tagged fish vacated their home ranges and emigrated to sea.
- Full Text:
- Authors: O'Connell, Bronwyn Anne
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Grunts (Fishes) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Pomadasys -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Estuaries -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Estuarine fishes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Estuarine fishes -- Habitat -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Fishery management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Fishes -- Home range , Fishes -- Home range -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5286 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005130 , Grunts (Fishes) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Pomadasys -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Estuaries -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Estuarine fishes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Estuarine fishes -- Habitat -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Fishery management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Fishes -- Home range , Fishes -- Home range -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The spotted grunter (Pomadasys commersonnii) is an important, estuarine-dependent, fishery species in southern Africa. Since estuaries are essential habitats in the life history of this species, the quantification of area use patterns and movements is important for fisheries management. In this study, acoustic telemetry was used to investigate movements, use of habitat and home range dynamics of spotted grunter in the small intermittently open East Kleinemonde Estuary on the Eastern Cape coast of South Africa. Nine spotted grunter (range: 326-489mm TL) were surgically equipped with uniquely coded acoustic transmitters. Positional fixes were obtained by manual tracking tagged individuals on six days and six nights during five tracking sessions from March to November 2004. In addition, five stationary data-logging receivers, moored at specific locations from the mouth to the top of the estuary provided additional long-term monitoring. Kernel home ranges (95% UD) varied in size (26 296-165 321m²) but were all located in a common high use area situated between 300-1 300m from the estuary mouth, which coincided with the highest abundance of prey items. There was no significant variation in home range size [C² (N = 9, df = 4) = 4.18; p = 0.38] between the temporally segregated tracking sessions (over nine months). The persistence of these home range estimates were confirmed by the long-term data-logging receivers. There was no significant diel variation in home range size [F(4, 64) = 0.05, p = 0.99] or core area size [F(4, 64) = 1.40, p = 0.25]. Fish length showed negative, although not significant, relationships between home range size (p = 0.225); number of home range areas (p = 0.065); core area size (p = 0.512) and home range length (p = 0.320). Use of habitat and home range dynamics of spotted grunter in the East Kleinemonde Estuary were consistent over the nine month study period, and they appeared to be influenced more by biotic than abiotic factors. However, when the mouth opened at the end of the study, most tagged fish vacated their home ranges and emigrated to sea.
- Full Text:
Household attributes promote diversity of tree holdings in rural areas, South Africa:
- Shackleton, Charlie M, Paumgarten, Fiona, Cocks, Michelle L
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Paumgarten, Fiona , Cocks, Michelle L
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141301 , vital:37960 , DOI: 10.1007/s10457-007-9066-5
- Description: Trees within the homestead area provide many functions to rural households. However, within the semi-arid regions of southern Africa, there has been only limited examination of the correlates between the socio-economic attributes of rural households and the density, species richness and types of trees they keep. This paper reports on a multivariate analysis of household attributes in relation to homestead tree holdings from six rural villages in South Africa. In terms of density of trees per household, gender of the household head was the only significant correlate, with female-headed households having significantly fewer trees than their male-headed counterparts. This was especially so for the density of indigenous trees.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Paumgarten, Fiona , Cocks, Michelle L
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141301 , vital:37960 , DOI: 10.1007/s10457-007-9066-5
- Description: Trees within the homestead area provide many functions to rural households. However, within the semi-arid regions of southern Africa, there has been only limited examination of the correlates between the socio-economic attributes of rural households and the density, species richness and types of trees they keep. This paper reports on a multivariate analysis of household attributes in relation to homestead tree holdings from six rural villages in South Africa. In terms of density of trees per household, gender of the household head was the only significant correlate, with female-headed households having significantly fewer trees than their male-headed counterparts. This was especially so for the density of indigenous trees.
- Full Text:
Hydrolytic enzymes in sewage sludge treatment: a mini-review
- Burgess, Jo E, Pletschke, Brett I
- Authors: Burgess, Jo E , Pletschke, Brett I
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6478 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006166 , http://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC116535
- Description: Biological wastewater treatment processes can be classified as either aerobic or anaerobic. These two biological treatment processes are each characterised by groups of micro-organisms and their associated enzymes. Hydrolytic enzymes secreted by these micro-organisms are vital for the rate-limiting step of hydrolysis in the treatment of highly polymeric substrates present in sewage sludge. In this mini-review, the effects of mass transfer limitation, metabolic intermediates, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), electron acceptor conditions and pH and temperature on the activity of these enzymes are summarised. The most salient and current perspectives of the significance and the role that hydrolytic enzymes play in sewage sludge treatment are highlighted.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Burgess, Jo E , Pletschke, Brett I
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6478 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006166 , http://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC116535
- Description: Biological wastewater treatment processes can be classified as either aerobic or anaerobic. These two biological treatment processes are each characterised by groups of micro-organisms and their associated enzymes. Hydrolytic enzymes secreted by these micro-organisms are vital for the rate-limiting step of hydrolysis in the treatment of highly polymeric substrates present in sewage sludge. In this mini-review, the effects of mass transfer limitation, metabolic intermediates, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), electron acceptor conditions and pH and temperature on the activity of these enzymes are summarised. The most salient and current perspectives of the significance and the role that hydrolytic enzymes play in sewage sludge treatment are highlighted.
- Full Text:
Identifying flies used for maggot debridement therapy
- Williams, Kirstin A, Cronje, F, Avenant, L, Villet, Martin H
- Authors: Williams, Kirstin A , Cronje, F , Avenant, L , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6852 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011133
- Description: To the Editor: The use of maggots to clean necrotic wounds, known as maggot debridement therapy (MDT), has long been known to the scientific world. Its use has been recorded since the 1500s when soldiers’ wounds were often infested with maggots. Napoleon’s surgeon, Baron Dominic Larrey, reported that wounds that were infested with maggots appeared to heal faster than those without maggots.1 William Baer is considered to be the founder of modern MDT. While treating soldiers in World War I, he noted the good condition of wounds that had been infested with maggots, and was the first doctor on record to experiment with the use of maggots in treating infections.1 MDT even featured in the recent version of the film ‘Spartacus’. Various species of flies have been used for MDT,1 the most commonly used being Lucilia sericata, a greenbottle blowfly (Figs 1 and 2). This fly is closely related to another greenbottle, L. cuprina, but L. cuprina feeds on live as well as necrotic tissue, which is undesirable in MDT. L. cuprina is commonly named the ‘sheep blowfly’ because it is responsible for fly-strike in sheep, a form of massive, usually rectal myiasis that can kill sheep. A recent article2 suggested that L. cuprina was being used successfully for MDT at the Eugene Marais Hospital Wound Care Centre (EMHWCC). As this would be inconsistent with international experience in MDT and at odds with the usual biology of L. cuprina, it was decided to check the identity of these flies.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Williams, Kirstin A , Cronje, F , Avenant, L , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6852 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011133
- Description: To the Editor: The use of maggots to clean necrotic wounds, known as maggot debridement therapy (MDT), has long been known to the scientific world. Its use has been recorded since the 1500s when soldiers’ wounds were often infested with maggots. Napoleon’s surgeon, Baron Dominic Larrey, reported that wounds that were infested with maggots appeared to heal faster than those without maggots.1 William Baer is considered to be the founder of modern MDT. While treating soldiers in World War I, he noted the good condition of wounds that had been infested with maggots, and was the first doctor on record to experiment with the use of maggots in treating infections.1 MDT even featured in the recent version of the film ‘Spartacus’. Various species of flies have been used for MDT,1 the most commonly used being Lucilia sericata, a greenbottle blowfly (Figs 1 and 2). This fly is closely related to another greenbottle, L. cuprina, but L. cuprina feeds on live as well as necrotic tissue, which is undesirable in MDT. L. cuprina is commonly named the ‘sheep blowfly’ because it is responsible for fly-strike in sheep, a form of massive, usually rectal myiasis that can kill sheep. A recent article2 suggested that L. cuprina was being used successfully for MDT at the Eugene Marais Hospital Wound Care Centre (EMHWCC). As this would be inconsistent with international experience in MDT and at odds with the usual biology of L. cuprina, it was decided to check the identity of these flies.
- Full Text:
Impediments to the delivery of socioeconomic rights in South Africa
- Authors: Roodt, Monty J
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Conference paper
- Identifier: vital:6318 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011315
- Description: [from the Introduction] The purpose of including Second and Third Generation (STG) rights in a constitution is to provide guidelines to lawmakers to formulate policy and to enable the courts to intervene where these policies are not being implemented satisfactorily. In theory these rights allow citizens to demand from the state access to basic needs, such as adequate land, housing, education, health care, nutrition, and social security. However, this inclusion of rights in the constitution often does not translate into action. The first reason for this is that Second and Third Generation rights may clash with First Generation rights. For example the right to private property may, and in South Africa does, contradict the need for land for the majority. The major problem is whether the policies flowing out of Second and Third Generation rights are pursued with enough vigour by governments, the private sector, primary groups and individuals to overcome this contradiction. In many countries in the world it is the poorest sections of the population, and as Mamdani (1996) pointed out, migrant non-citizens, that bear the brunt of administrative and bureaucratic bungling and neglect.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Roodt, Monty J
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Conference paper
- Identifier: vital:6318 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011315
- Description: [from the Introduction] The purpose of including Second and Third Generation (STG) rights in a constitution is to provide guidelines to lawmakers to formulate policy and to enable the courts to intervene where these policies are not being implemented satisfactorily. In theory these rights allow citizens to demand from the state access to basic needs, such as adequate land, housing, education, health care, nutrition, and social security. However, this inclusion of rights in the constitution often does not translate into action. The first reason for this is that Second and Third Generation rights may clash with First Generation rights. For example the right to private property may, and in South Africa does, contradict the need for land for the majority. The major problem is whether the policies flowing out of Second and Third Generation rights are pursued with enough vigour by governments, the private sector, primary groups and individuals to overcome this contradiction. In many countries in the world it is the poorest sections of the population, and as Mamdani (1996) pointed out, migrant non-citizens, that bear the brunt of administrative and bureaucratic bungling and neglect.
- Full Text:
Importance of various data sources in deterministic stock assessment models
- Authors: Northrop, Amanda Rosalind
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Fish stock assessment -- Mathematical models , Fishery management -- Mathematical models , Fish populations -- Mathematical models , Error analysis (Mathematics) , Fishery management -- Statistical methods , Fish stock assessment -- Statistical methods
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5571 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002811 , Fish stock assessment -- Mathematical models , Fishery management -- Mathematical models , Fish populations -- Mathematical models , Error analysis (Mathematics) , Fishery management -- Statistical methods , Fish stock assessment -- Statistical methods
- Description: In fisheries, advice for the management of fish populations is based upon management quantities that are estimated by stock assessment models. Fisheries stock assessment is a process in which data collected from a fish population are used to generate a model which enables the effects of fishing on a stock to be quantified. This study determined the effects of various data sources, assumptions, error scenarios and sample sizes on the accuracy with which the age-structured production model and the Schaefer model (assessment models) were able to estimate key management quantities for a fish resource similar to the Cape hakes (Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus). An age-structured production model was used as the operating model to simulate hypothetical fish resource population dynamics for which management quantities could be determined by the assessment models. Different stocks were simulated with various harvest rate histories. These harvest rates produced Downhill trip data, where harvest rates increase over time until the resource is close to collapse, and Good contrast data, where the harvest rate increases over time until the resource is at less than half of it’s exploitable biomass, and then it decreases allowing the resource to rebuild. The accuracy of the assessment models were determined when data were drawn from the operating model with various combinations of error. The age-structured production model was more accurate at estimating maximum sustainable yield, maximum sustainable yield level and the maximum sustainable yield ratio. The Schaefer model gave more accurate estimates of Depletion and Total Allowable Catch. While the assessment models were able to estimate management quantities using Downhill trip data, the estimates improved significantly when the models were tuned with Good contrast data. When autocorrelation in the spawner-recruit curve was not accounted for by the deterministic assessment model, inaccuracy in parameter estimates were high. The assessment model management quantities were not greatly affected by multinomial ageing error in the catch-at-age matrices at a sample size of 5000 otoliths. Assessment model estimates were closer to their true values when log-normal error were assumed in the catch-at-age matrix, even when the true underlying error were multinomial. However, the multinomial had smaller coefficients of variation at all sample sizes, between 1000 and 10000, of otoliths aged. It was recommended that the assessment model is chosen based on the management quantity of interest. When the underlying error is multinomial, the weighted log-normal likelihood function should be used in the catch-at-age matrix to obtain accurate parameter estimates. However, the multinomial likelihood should be used to minimise the coefficient of variation. Investigation into correcting for autocorrelation in the stock-recruitment relationship should be carried out, as it had a large effect on the accuracy of management quantities.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Northrop, Amanda Rosalind
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Fish stock assessment -- Mathematical models , Fishery management -- Mathematical models , Fish populations -- Mathematical models , Error analysis (Mathematics) , Fishery management -- Statistical methods , Fish stock assessment -- Statistical methods
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5571 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002811 , Fish stock assessment -- Mathematical models , Fishery management -- Mathematical models , Fish populations -- Mathematical models , Error analysis (Mathematics) , Fishery management -- Statistical methods , Fish stock assessment -- Statistical methods
- Description: In fisheries, advice for the management of fish populations is based upon management quantities that are estimated by stock assessment models. Fisheries stock assessment is a process in which data collected from a fish population are used to generate a model which enables the effects of fishing on a stock to be quantified. This study determined the effects of various data sources, assumptions, error scenarios and sample sizes on the accuracy with which the age-structured production model and the Schaefer model (assessment models) were able to estimate key management quantities for a fish resource similar to the Cape hakes (Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus). An age-structured production model was used as the operating model to simulate hypothetical fish resource population dynamics for which management quantities could be determined by the assessment models. Different stocks were simulated with various harvest rate histories. These harvest rates produced Downhill trip data, where harvest rates increase over time until the resource is close to collapse, and Good contrast data, where the harvest rate increases over time until the resource is at less than half of it’s exploitable biomass, and then it decreases allowing the resource to rebuild. The accuracy of the assessment models were determined when data were drawn from the operating model with various combinations of error. The age-structured production model was more accurate at estimating maximum sustainable yield, maximum sustainable yield level and the maximum sustainable yield ratio. The Schaefer model gave more accurate estimates of Depletion and Total Allowable Catch. While the assessment models were able to estimate management quantities using Downhill trip data, the estimates improved significantly when the models were tuned with Good contrast data. When autocorrelation in the spawner-recruit curve was not accounted for by the deterministic assessment model, inaccuracy in parameter estimates were high. The assessment model management quantities were not greatly affected by multinomial ageing error in the catch-at-age matrices at a sample size of 5000 otoliths. Assessment model estimates were closer to their true values when log-normal error were assumed in the catch-at-age matrix, even when the true underlying error were multinomial. However, the multinomial had smaller coefficients of variation at all sample sizes, between 1000 and 10000, of otoliths aged. It was recommended that the assessment model is chosen based on the management quantity of interest. When the underlying error is multinomial, the weighted log-normal likelihood function should be used in the catch-at-age matrix to obtain accurate parameter estimates. However, the multinomial likelihood should be used to minimise the coefficient of variation. Investigation into correcting for autocorrelation in the stock-recruitment relationship should be carried out, as it had a large effect on the accuracy of management quantities.
- Full Text:
in a park in Europe
- Authors: Krueger, Anton
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/229851 , vital:49717 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC47802"
- Full Text:
- Authors: Krueger, Anton
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/229851 , vital:49717 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC47802"
- Full Text:
in the council chambers
- Authors: Krueger, Anton
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/229862 , vital:49718 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC47802"
- Full Text:
- Authors: Krueger, Anton
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/229862 , vital:49718 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC47802"
- Full Text:
Inauguration of Steve Bantu Biko Building
- Authors: Badat, Saleem
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: vital:7583 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006572
- Description: From introduction: Institutional loyalty, especially in the case of a university, does not mean being uncritical and denying historical truths. The inauguration of the Stephen Bantu Biko Building is, therefore, a good occasion for “a critical appreciation of where we” as Rhodes University “come from”. Credit is due to the pioneers who 104 years ago created Rhodes; to those who, under difficult and financially trying conditions, steered its subsequent development; to those who oversaw its maturation from a University College under the auspices of the University of South Africa to a fully-fledged University in 1951, and to the subsequent generations that energetically toiled to produce the Rhodes University of today’s enviable reputation.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Badat, Saleem
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: vital:7583 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006572
- Description: From introduction: Institutional loyalty, especially in the case of a university, does not mean being uncritical and denying historical truths. The inauguration of the Stephen Bantu Biko Building is, therefore, a good occasion for “a critical appreciation of where we” as Rhodes University “come from”. Credit is due to the pioneers who 104 years ago created Rhodes; to those who, under difficult and financially trying conditions, steered its subsequent development; to those who oversaw its maturation from a University College under the auspices of the University of South Africa to a fully-fledged University in 1951, and to the subsequent generations that energetically toiled to produce the Rhodes University of today’s enviable reputation.
- Full Text:
Industrial relations in Namibia since independence: between neo-liberalism and neo-corporatism?
- Authors: Klerck, Gilton
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6320 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011314
- Description: The paper seeks to examine the changes and continuities in industrial relations in post-independence Namibia. In particular, it aims to explore some of the key elements in the process through which the distribution of the costs and rewards of economic and industrial restructuring is institutionalised. The paper concentrates, through in-depth interviews with key role players, on how the attempts at sustaining a durable and redistributive trade-off between economic efficiency and social equality led to a contradictory fusion of neo-liberal and neo-corporatist forms of labour market regulation. The research reveals that changes in the regulation of the labour market since independence have created opportunities for advancement and participation by groups of more skilled and organised employees, while weaker and less skilled groups have generally experienced a decline in employment conditions and the absence of collective representation. These developments reflect and reproduce patterns of racial and gender discrimination, industrial structure, trade union membership and collective bargaining across the various sectors and occupations. The paper shows that a system of low-skill, low-wage and low-trust relations - with an emphasis on cost reduction and employment "flexibility" - is fast becoming embedded in industrial relations in Namibia. Given the prevailing economic policies, industrial strategies and labour market structures, Namibia's integration into the global economy will most likely involve the increasing dislocation and exclusion of vulnerable and "peripheral" workers from the formal economy. The paper highlights the ways in which the transformation of industrial relations in Namibia is shaped by the legacy of apartheid-colonialism and the pressures of globalisation. Specifically, the conjunction of increasingly deregulated product markets and increasingly regulated labour markets has driven a wedge between the pursuit of short-term objectives and the attainment of long-term transformational goals.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Klerck, Gilton
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6320 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011314
- Description: The paper seeks to examine the changes and continuities in industrial relations in post-independence Namibia. In particular, it aims to explore some of the key elements in the process through which the distribution of the costs and rewards of economic and industrial restructuring is institutionalised. The paper concentrates, through in-depth interviews with key role players, on how the attempts at sustaining a durable and redistributive trade-off between economic efficiency and social equality led to a contradictory fusion of neo-liberal and neo-corporatist forms of labour market regulation. The research reveals that changes in the regulation of the labour market since independence have created opportunities for advancement and participation by groups of more skilled and organised employees, while weaker and less skilled groups have generally experienced a decline in employment conditions and the absence of collective representation. These developments reflect and reproduce patterns of racial and gender discrimination, industrial structure, trade union membership and collective bargaining across the various sectors and occupations. The paper shows that a system of low-skill, low-wage and low-trust relations - with an emphasis on cost reduction and employment "flexibility" - is fast becoming embedded in industrial relations in Namibia. Given the prevailing economic policies, industrial strategies and labour market structures, Namibia's integration into the global economy will most likely involve the increasing dislocation and exclusion of vulnerable and "peripheral" workers from the formal economy. The paper highlights the ways in which the transformation of industrial relations in Namibia is shaped by the legacy of apartheid-colonialism and the pressures of globalisation. Specifically, the conjunction of increasingly deregulated product markets and increasingly regulated labour markets has driven a wedge between the pursuit of short-term objectives and the attainment of long-term transformational goals.
- Full Text:
Information and communication technology driven teaching and learning opportunities in support of environmental education processes: a case of the eno-environment online programme at Treverton Preparatory School, South Africa
- Authors: Snow, Janet P
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Treverton School (Natal, South Africa) , Environmental education -- South Africa -- Case studies , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Case studies , Computer-assisted instruction -- South Africa -- Case studies , Education, Preschool -- Computer assisted instruction -- South Africa -- Case studies , Education, Preschool -- South Africa -- Case studies , Early childhood education -- South Africa -- Case studies , Educational technology -- South Africa -- Case studies , Ethnoscience -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1575 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003457 , Treverton School (Natal, South Africa) , Environmental education -- South Africa -- Case studies , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Case studies , Computer-assisted instruction -- South Africa -- Case studies , Education, Preschool -- Computer assisted instruction -- South Africa -- Case studies , Education, Preschool -- South Africa -- Case studies , Early childhood education -- South Africa -- Case studies , Educational technology -- South Africa -- Case studies , Ethnoscience -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
- Description: This research looks at a global virtual web-based programme for environmental awareness and education for sustainable development (ENO-Environment Online). It is a case study of Treverton Preparatory school in South Africa, one of several schools where the programme is implemented. One of the themes within the programme (“This is our culture”) is highlighted. A mixed method, interpretive case study methodology is used. Research methods include two focus group interviews with a selected group of learners, observations of four computer-based lessons and one practical session, document analysis of the three forms of learners’ submissions (‘blog’ site submission, presentation of material and ‘chat’ session), and two interviews conducted with the Treverton form teacher and ENO programme co-ordinator. The research views the Treverton ENO activities in relation to: academic rigour in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use, the teacher’s role in ICT pedagogy, and active learning in ICT applications. As the theme is culturally based with a global perspective, the research also considers these activities from the perspectives of education for cultural knowledge (multicultural education) and in terms of mobilising indigenous knowledge and global education. These perspectives on the ENO activities are analysed in relation to dimensions of teaching and learning guidelines pertinent to Education for Sustainable Development in a southern African context. The research shows that the ENO theme supported a variety of learning contexts, a sense of community, modelling of behaviours and actions, debate, sharing of information and improved communication skills. Learners were exposed to cultural diversity, contradictory cultural values, cultural and global inclusivity. Knowledge of social cultural practices and indigenous knowledge was shared. Academic rigour in the ENO theme was noted with reflection being the predominant activity. Based on these key findings, recommendations to the ENO programme, schools and teachers have been made. These include: exploring possibilities for increasing focus on sustainable development actions, improving access to relevant information, encouraging critical debate and critical engagement with cultural diversity.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Snow, Janet P
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Treverton School (Natal, South Africa) , Environmental education -- South Africa -- Case studies , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Case studies , Computer-assisted instruction -- South Africa -- Case studies , Education, Preschool -- Computer assisted instruction -- South Africa -- Case studies , Education, Preschool -- South Africa -- Case studies , Early childhood education -- South Africa -- Case studies , Educational technology -- South Africa -- Case studies , Ethnoscience -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1575 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003457 , Treverton School (Natal, South Africa) , Environmental education -- South Africa -- Case studies , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Case studies , Computer-assisted instruction -- South Africa -- Case studies , Education, Preschool -- Computer assisted instruction -- South Africa -- Case studies , Education, Preschool -- South Africa -- Case studies , Early childhood education -- South Africa -- Case studies , Educational technology -- South Africa -- Case studies , Ethnoscience -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
- Description: This research looks at a global virtual web-based programme for environmental awareness and education for sustainable development (ENO-Environment Online). It is a case study of Treverton Preparatory school in South Africa, one of several schools where the programme is implemented. One of the themes within the programme (“This is our culture”) is highlighted. A mixed method, interpretive case study methodology is used. Research methods include two focus group interviews with a selected group of learners, observations of four computer-based lessons and one practical session, document analysis of the three forms of learners’ submissions (‘blog’ site submission, presentation of material and ‘chat’ session), and two interviews conducted with the Treverton form teacher and ENO programme co-ordinator. The research views the Treverton ENO activities in relation to: academic rigour in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use, the teacher’s role in ICT pedagogy, and active learning in ICT applications. As the theme is culturally based with a global perspective, the research also considers these activities from the perspectives of education for cultural knowledge (multicultural education) and in terms of mobilising indigenous knowledge and global education. These perspectives on the ENO activities are analysed in relation to dimensions of teaching and learning guidelines pertinent to Education for Sustainable Development in a southern African context. The research shows that the ENO theme supported a variety of learning contexts, a sense of community, modelling of behaviours and actions, debate, sharing of information and improved communication skills. Learners were exposed to cultural diversity, contradictory cultural values, cultural and global inclusivity. Knowledge of social cultural practices and indigenous knowledge was shared. Academic rigour in the ENO theme was noted with reflection being the predominant activity. Based on these key findings, recommendations to the ENO programme, schools and teachers have been made. These include: exploring possibilities for increasing focus on sustainable development actions, improving access to relevant information, encouraging critical debate and critical engagement with cultural diversity.
- Full Text:
Information and communication technology in A-level physics teaching and learning at secondary schools in Manicaland Zimbabwe: multiple case studies
- Authors: Mlambo, Watson
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Information technology -- Zimbabwe Educational technology -- Zimbabwe Education, Secondary -- Zimbabwe Information technology -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Zimbabwe Physics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Zimbabwe Computer-assisted instruction -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1576 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003458
- Description: As personal computers (PCs) and related ICTs become more and more omnipresent than ever before in institutions of education, teachers are faced with the challenge of having to teach in ICT rich environments. Some syllabuses increase this pressure by stipulating where ICT may be applied. While past research efforts have focused on presence of and/or effectiveness of ICTs on achieving various didactic goals, there is limited literature on the extent to which actual practice occurred naturally. It was the aim of this study to determine the extent to which Physics teachers and students used ICT in their usual teaching/learning ambience, referred to as natural settings in this study. Using activity theory as a theoretical lens, multiple case studies were chosen as a strategy using 10 schools, 15 Physics teachers, 20 A-level Physics students and 10 ICT teachers (computer specialists). Questionnaires, observations and informal and focus group interviews were used to elicit responses from students, teachers and computer specialists. It emerged from the case studies that despite the presence of apt ICT infrastructure in the schools and although the teachers had a positive attitude towards the use of ICT for teaching and learning of Physics, teachers were apathetic when it came to the actual use. Some of the reasons militating against use were lack of an ICT policy, school authority, and monopoly of computers enjoyed by computer studies teachers. However among students there were ‘early starters’ who used ICTs outside of school, a situation that tended to change the Physics learning environment. These findings led to a proposal for a post of Computer Specialist (CS) in the schools. The need for developing ICT policy at all levels namely national, Ministry of Education and the school was also proposed. Lastly staff development in the use ICT for Physics teachers was proposed as indispensable.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mlambo, Watson
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Information technology -- Zimbabwe Educational technology -- Zimbabwe Education, Secondary -- Zimbabwe Information technology -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Zimbabwe Physics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Zimbabwe Computer-assisted instruction -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1576 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003458
- Description: As personal computers (PCs) and related ICTs become more and more omnipresent than ever before in institutions of education, teachers are faced with the challenge of having to teach in ICT rich environments. Some syllabuses increase this pressure by stipulating where ICT may be applied. While past research efforts have focused on presence of and/or effectiveness of ICTs on achieving various didactic goals, there is limited literature on the extent to which actual practice occurred naturally. It was the aim of this study to determine the extent to which Physics teachers and students used ICT in their usual teaching/learning ambience, referred to as natural settings in this study. Using activity theory as a theoretical lens, multiple case studies were chosen as a strategy using 10 schools, 15 Physics teachers, 20 A-level Physics students and 10 ICT teachers (computer specialists). Questionnaires, observations and informal and focus group interviews were used to elicit responses from students, teachers and computer specialists. It emerged from the case studies that despite the presence of apt ICT infrastructure in the schools and although the teachers had a positive attitude towards the use of ICT for teaching and learning of Physics, teachers were apathetic when it came to the actual use. Some of the reasons militating against use were lack of an ICT policy, school authority, and monopoly of computers enjoyed by computer studies teachers. However among students there were ‘early starters’ who used ICTs outside of school, a situation that tended to change the Physics learning environment. These findings led to a proposal for a post of Computer Specialist (CS) in the schools. The need for developing ICT policy at all levels namely national, Ministry of Education and the school was also proposed. Lastly staff development in the use ICT for Physics teachers was proposed as indispensable.
- Full Text:
Information technology support for transformation in higher educational institutions in South Africa
- Authors: Roets, Rina Annette
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- South Africa Educational change -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa -- Administration Information technology -- South Africa Educational technology -- South Africa Education, Higher -- Technological innovations -- South Africa Knowledge management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1145 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002775
- Description: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have been in a state of change, and in South Africa, the term “transformation” is used to describe the changes occurring. These changes have implications for the structure, processes and focus of HEIs, and as such have implications for Information Technology (IS/ICT) support for HEIs. IS/ICT support for organisations is predicated on several factors, such as effective informational and technical support at all levels of the organisation, but especially support for the strategic goals of the organisation (alignment). For organisations in a state of rapid change other issues need to be considered, such as flexibility, and new and diverse information and communication needs. This paper investigates the use of Information Technology to support HEIs in transformation. The research examines factors that make HEIs less amenable to rationalist techniques such as mixed management styles and a “different” value chain. The difficulties for IS/ICT support of HEIs at all managerial levels is discussed, especially the issue of alignment with institutional goals. Thereafter, transformation of HEIs and the possibility of IS/ICT support in achieving the ill-defined goal of transformation is examined. The research uses management and IS/ICT theories such as the widely used and reported Porter’s value chain, Anthony’s information model, and Minzberg’s organisational model to suggest an analysis model for HEIs (Applegate, McFarlan and McKenney, 1996; Minzberg, 1979; Ward and Peppard, 2002). Furthermore, from the analysis of the literature, a model of antecedent factors for successful HEI transformation supported by IS/ICT is proposed. The research makes use of a comparative case study approach in which 3 (three) South African HEIs are investigated through the “lens” of the developed model. The major finding of the research is that the potential use of IS/ICT support for HEIs is not optimal in the three cases examined. Results of the analysis suggest that: • IS/ICT alignment with organisational goals at HEIs is low and holistic IS/ICT strategic management is lacking. The areas of Knowledge Management and Communication Management are conducted informally and Knowledge Management, especially, is not fully exploited. • The greatest area of concern is the lack of IS/ICT support for academic management, where academics are increasingly required to perform administrative and managerial tasks. • The merger/incorporation information needs have not caused major system problems, but other intangible aspects of the mergers/incorporations could be better supported by IS/ICT. The research concludes with a set of actions that should ensure a higher level of support, amongst which are the more holistic management of IS/ICT especially for Academic management needs, and particularly the use of IS/ICT in innovative ways to overcome the challenges of the “transformed” Universities: There are areas of excellence but the full possibilities afforded by technology are not exploited maximally in support of transformation. Research suggests that the reasons for this are mainly the lack of holistic strategic management of IS/ICT.
- Full Text:
Information technology support for transformation in higher educational institutions in South Africa
- Authors: Roets, Rina Annette
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- South Africa Educational change -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa -- Administration Information technology -- South Africa Educational technology -- South Africa Education, Higher -- Technological innovations -- South Africa Knowledge management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1145 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002775
- Description: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have been in a state of change, and in South Africa, the term “transformation” is used to describe the changes occurring. These changes have implications for the structure, processes and focus of HEIs, and as such have implications for Information Technology (IS/ICT) support for HEIs. IS/ICT support for organisations is predicated on several factors, such as effective informational and technical support at all levels of the organisation, but especially support for the strategic goals of the organisation (alignment). For organisations in a state of rapid change other issues need to be considered, such as flexibility, and new and diverse information and communication needs. This paper investigates the use of Information Technology to support HEIs in transformation. The research examines factors that make HEIs less amenable to rationalist techniques such as mixed management styles and a “different” value chain. The difficulties for IS/ICT support of HEIs at all managerial levels is discussed, especially the issue of alignment with institutional goals. Thereafter, transformation of HEIs and the possibility of IS/ICT support in achieving the ill-defined goal of transformation is examined. The research uses management and IS/ICT theories such as the widely used and reported Porter’s value chain, Anthony’s information model, and Minzberg’s organisational model to suggest an analysis model for HEIs (Applegate, McFarlan and McKenney, 1996; Minzberg, 1979; Ward and Peppard, 2002). Furthermore, from the analysis of the literature, a model of antecedent factors for successful HEI transformation supported by IS/ICT is proposed. The research makes use of a comparative case study approach in which 3 (three) South African HEIs are investigated through the “lens” of the developed model. The major finding of the research is that the potential use of IS/ICT support for HEIs is not optimal in the three cases examined. Results of the analysis suggest that: • IS/ICT alignment with organisational goals at HEIs is low and holistic IS/ICT strategic management is lacking. The areas of Knowledge Management and Communication Management are conducted informally and Knowledge Management, especially, is not fully exploited. • The greatest area of concern is the lack of IS/ICT support for academic management, where academics are increasingly required to perform administrative and managerial tasks. • The merger/incorporation information needs have not caused major system problems, but other intangible aspects of the mergers/incorporations could be better supported by IS/ICT. The research concludes with a set of actions that should ensure a higher level of support, amongst which are the more holistic management of IS/ICT especially for Academic management needs, and particularly the use of IS/ICT in innovative ways to overcome the challenges of the “transformed” Universities: There are areas of excellence but the full possibilities afforded by technology are not exploited maximally in support of transformation. Research suggests that the reasons for this are mainly the lack of holistic strategic management of IS/ICT.
- Full Text:
Interaction between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and soil microbial populations in the rhizosphere
- Authors: Ike-Izundu, Nnenna Esther
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Mycorrhizas , Mycorrhizal fungi , Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizas , Soil microbiology , Rhizosphere , Revegetation , Restoration ecology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3962 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004021 , Mycorrhizas , Mycorrhizal fungi , Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizas , Soil microbiology , Rhizosphere , Revegetation , Restoration ecology
- Description: This study examined the rehabilitation potential of AM fungi with organic and inorganic fertilisers under pot and field trial conditions as well as their interaction with rhizospheric organisms and specific functional groups. In addition, the study highlighted the effects of land-use management on AM fungal populations in soil and the mycorrhizal status of some selected plants from one of the study sites. The study focussed on two sites that differ in operational activities and these included a mined area that was to be rehabilitated and a commercial farming site. A pot trial was conducted using an overburdened soil resulting from kaolin clay mining. Pots were seeded with Cynodon dactylon and treated with either Organic Tea or NPK (3:1:5) fertiliser, with or without AM fungal inoculum. The compatibility of these fertilisers with AM fungi was assessed by plant growth and percentage root colonisation. Maximum shoot height and plant biomass were observed at the 28th week with NPK (3:1:5) fertiliser supporting mycorrhizal colonisation by 80%. The result indicated the potential of AM fungi to be used in rehabilitation with minimal phosphate fertiliser. Similarly, a field trial was set-up using 17 x 17 m[superscript 2] plots in the mining site that were treated with the same organic and inorganic fertilisers as well as with AM fungal inoculum in different combinations. The interaction between AM fungi and soil microbial population was determined using culture dependent and culture independent techniques. The culture dependent technique involved the use of soil dilution and plating on general purpose and selective media. The result showed that there was no change in the total culturable bacterial number in the untreated and AM fungal treated plots, while a change in species composition was observed in the functional groups. Different functional groups identified included nitrogen fixing bacteria, pseudomonads, actinomycetes, phosphate solubilisers and the fungal counterparts. Gram-positive bacteria were observed as the predominant phenotypic type, while nitrogen fixers and actinomycetes were the predominant functional groups. Species identified from each functional group were Pseudomonas fulva, Bacillus megaterium, Streptomyces and actinomycetales bacteria. Meanwhile, fungi such as Ampelomyces, Fusarium, Penicillium, Aspergillus, Cephalosporium and Exserohilium were identified morphologically and molecularly. Furthermore, the mining site had a significantly higher bacterial number than the farming site thereby indicating the effects of land-use management on culturable bacterial numbers. The culture independent technique was carried out by cloning of the bacterial 16S rDNA and sequencing. Identified clones were Bradyrhizobium, Propionibacterium and Sporichthya. A cladogram constructed with the nucleotides sequences of identified functional species, clones and closely related nucleotide sequences from the Genbank indicated that nucleotide sequences differed in terms of the method used. The activity and establishment of the introduced AM fungal population was determined by spore enumeration, infectivity assay, percentage root colonisation and assessment of glomalin concentrations. The results indicated that the two land use types affected AM fungal populations. However, the establishment of AM fungi in the farming site was more successful than in the mining site as indicated by the higher infectivity pontential. Selected host plants, which were collected around the mine area, were observed to be mainly colonised by AM fungi and these were identified as Pentzia incana, Elytropappus rhinocerotis, Euphorbia meloformis, Selago corymbosa, Albuca canadensis and Helichrysum rosum. These plant species were able to thrive under harsh environmental conditions, thereby indicating their potential use as rehabilitation host plants. Generally, the findings of this study has provided an insight into the interaction between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and other soil microorganisms in two fields with differing land use management practices.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Ike-Izundu, Nnenna Esther
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Mycorrhizas , Mycorrhizal fungi , Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizas , Soil microbiology , Rhizosphere , Revegetation , Restoration ecology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3962 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004021 , Mycorrhizas , Mycorrhizal fungi , Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizas , Soil microbiology , Rhizosphere , Revegetation , Restoration ecology
- Description: This study examined the rehabilitation potential of AM fungi with organic and inorganic fertilisers under pot and field trial conditions as well as their interaction with rhizospheric organisms and specific functional groups. In addition, the study highlighted the effects of land-use management on AM fungal populations in soil and the mycorrhizal status of some selected plants from one of the study sites. The study focussed on two sites that differ in operational activities and these included a mined area that was to be rehabilitated and a commercial farming site. A pot trial was conducted using an overburdened soil resulting from kaolin clay mining. Pots were seeded with Cynodon dactylon and treated with either Organic Tea or NPK (3:1:5) fertiliser, with or without AM fungal inoculum. The compatibility of these fertilisers with AM fungi was assessed by plant growth and percentage root colonisation. Maximum shoot height and plant biomass were observed at the 28th week with NPK (3:1:5) fertiliser supporting mycorrhizal colonisation by 80%. The result indicated the potential of AM fungi to be used in rehabilitation with minimal phosphate fertiliser. Similarly, a field trial was set-up using 17 x 17 m[superscript 2] plots in the mining site that were treated with the same organic and inorganic fertilisers as well as with AM fungal inoculum in different combinations. The interaction between AM fungi and soil microbial population was determined using culture dependent and culture independent techniques. The culture dependent technique involved the use of soil dilution and plating on general purpose and selective media. The result showed that there was no change in the total culturable bacterial number in the untreated and AM fungal treated plots, while a change in species composition was observed in the functional groups. Different functional groups identified included nitrogen fixing bacteria, pseudomonads, actinomycetes, phosphate solubilisers and the fungal counterparts. Gram-positive bacteria were observed as the predominant phenotypic type, while nitrogen fixers and actinomycetes were the predominant functional groups. Species identified from each functional group were Pseudomonas fulva, Bacillus megaterium, Streptomyces and actinomycetales bacteria. Meanwhile, fungi such as Ampelomyces, Fusarium, Penicillium, Aspergillus, Cephalosporium and Exserohilium were identified morphologically and molecularly. Furthermore, the mining site had a significantly higher bacterial number than the farming site thereby indicating the effects of land-use management on culturable bacterial numbers. The culture independent technique was carried out by cloning of the bacterial 16S rDNA and sequencing. Identified clones were Bradyrhizobium, Propionibacterium and Sporichthya. A cladogram constructed with the nucleotides sequences of identified functional species, clones and closely related nucleotide sequences from the Genbank indicated that nucleotide sequences differed in terms of the method used. The activity and establishment of the introduced AM fungal population was determined by spore enumeration, infectivity assay, percentage root colonisation and assessment of glomalin concentrations. The results indicated that the two land use types affected AM fungal populations. However, the establishment of AM fungi in the farming site was more successful than in the mining site as indicated by the higher infectivity pontential. Selected host plants, which were collected around the mine area, were observed to be mainly colonised by AM fungi and these were identified as Pentzia incana, Elytropappus rhinocerotis, Euphorbia meloformis, Selago corymbosa, Albuca canadensis and Helichrysum rosum. These plant species were able to thrive under harsh environmental conditions, thereby indicating their potential use as rehabilitation host plants. Generally, the findings of this study has provided an insight into the interaction between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and other soil microorganisms in two fields with differing land use management practices.
- Full Text:
Interaction of water-soluble thiol capped CdTe quantum dots and bovine serum albumin
- Idowu, Mopelola, Lamprecht, Emmanuel, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Idowu, Mopelola , Lamprecht, Emmanuel , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/265974 , vital:53906 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2008.02.008"
- Description: Luminescent water-soluble CdTe quantum dots (QDs) capped with different thiol carboxylic acids were synthesized in aqueous medium and then cross linked to bovine serum albumin (BSA) with 1-ethyl3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC). Enhancement of fluorescence emission intensity occurred for QDs in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA, mixed or linked) signifying inhibition of non-radiative recombination of the surface vacancies. Fluorescence studies reveal a positive deviation behaviour suggesting the occurrence of static and dynamic mechanisms of quenching together which was accounted for by the modified Stern–Volmer equation.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Idowu, Mopelola , Lamprecht, Emmanuel , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/265974 , vital:53906 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2008.02.008"
- Description: Luminescent water-soluble CdTe quantum dots (QDs) capped with different thiol carboxylic acids were synthesized in aqueous medium and then cross linked to bovine serum albumin (BSA) with 1-ethyl3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC). Enhancement of fluorescence emission intensity occurred for QDs in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA, mixed or linked) signifying inhibition of non-radiative recombination of the surface vacancies. Fluorescence studies reveal a positive deviation behaviour suggesting the occurrence of static and dynamic mechanisms of quenching together which was accounted for by the modified Stern–Volmer equation.
- Full Text:
Interest rate risk management : a case study of GBS Mutual Bank
- Authors: Williamson, Gareth Alan
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: GBS Mutual Bank , Interest rates -- Case studies , Interest rate risk -- Case studies , Risk management -- Case studies , Financial risk -- Case studies , Banks and banking -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:986 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002720 , GBS Mutual Bank , Interest rates -- Case studies , Interest rate risk -- Case studies , Risk management -- Case studies , Financial risk -- Case studies , Banks and banking -- Case studies
- Description: Banks play a pivotal role in the economic growth and development of countries, primarily through the diversification of risk for both themselves and other economic agents. Interest rate risk is regarded as one of the most prominent financial risks faced by a bank. A large portion of private banks’ revenue stems from net interest income that is generated from the difference between various assets and liabilities that are held on the balance sheet. Fluctuations in the interest rate can alter a bank’s interest income and value, making interest rate risk management vital to its success. The asset and liability committee of a bank is the internal committee charged with the duty of managing the bank’s interest rate risk exposure through the use of various hedging strategies and instruments. This thesis uses a case study methodology to analyse GBS Mutual Bank interest rate risk management. Its specific business circumstances, balance sheet structure and the market conditions over a specified period are used to comment on the practicality of a variety of balance sheet positioning strategies and derivative hedging instruments. The thesis also provides recommendations for the bank’s asset and liability committee in terms of its functions and organisation. It is elucidated that the most practical balance sheet hedging strategies are a volume strategy and immunisation, while the most practical derivative hedging instruments are interest rate futures and interest rate collars. It is found that the bank has a well functioning asset and liability committee whose only encumbrance to its functionality is the inadequacy of the informational technology used to measure, control and manage its interest rate risk position. This thesis concludes by summarising the practicality of the various interest rate risk hedging alternatives available to the GBS Mutual Bank. Implementing a particular strategy or instrument depends, of course, on its asset and liability committee’s decision.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Williamson, Gareth Alan
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: GBS Mutual Bank , Interest rates -- Case studies , Interest rate risk -- Case studies , Risk management -- Case studies , Financial risk -- Case studies , Banks and banking -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:986 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002720 , GBS Mutual Bank , Interest rates -- Case studies , Interest rate risk -- Case studies , Risk management -- Case studies , Financial risk -- Case studies , Banks and banking -- Case studies
- Description: Banks play a pivotal role in the economic growth and development of countries, primarily through the diversification of risk for both themselves and other economic agents. Interest rate risk is regarded as one of the most prominent financial risks faced by a bank. A large portion of private banks’ revenue stems from net interest income that is generated from the difference between various assets and liabilities that are held on the balance sheet. Fluctuations in the interest rate can alter a bank’s interest income and value, making interest rate risk management vital to its success. The asset and liability committee of a bank is the internal committee charged with the duty of managing the bank’s interest rate risk exposure through the use of various hedging strategies and instruments. This thesis uses a case study methodology to analyse GBS Mutual Bank interest rate risk management. Its specific business circumstances, balance sheet structure and the market conditions over a specified period are used to comment on the practicality of a variety of balance sheet positioning strategies and derivative hedging instruments. The thesis also provides recommendations for the bank’s asset and liability committee in terms of its functions and organisation. It is elucidated that the most practical balance sheet hedging strategies are a volume strategy and immunisation, while the most practical derivative hedging instruments are interest rate futures and interest rate collars. It is found that the bank has a well functioning asset and liability committee whose only encumbrance to its functionality is the inadequacy of the informational technology used to measure, control and manage its interest rate risk position. This thesis concludes by summarising the practicality of the various interest rate risk hedging alternatives available to the GBS Mutual Bank. Implementing a particular strategy or instrument depends, of course, on its asset and liability committee’s decision.
- Full Text:
International law before municipal courts: the role of International Court of Justice decisions in domestic court proceedings with specific reference to United States case examples
- Authors: Mangezi, Mutsa
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: International Court of Justice -- Cases Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963) International and municipal law -- United States -- Cases International law -- United States -- Cases Jurisdiction (International law) -- Cases
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:3711 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007325
- Description: In the case of LaGrand (Germany v United States), the International Court of Justice held that the United States (US) had violated its international obligation to Germany under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations when it executed two German nationals without first informing them of their consular rights. The case came before the court after the United States had disregarded a preliminary ruling passed by the IC], which directed the US not to execute the German nationals pending the outcome of the ICJ case. The decision raised the issue of the effect of ICJ decisions in domestic proceedings and the effectiveness of ICJ enforcement mechanisms. This thesis considers the possibility of a role for national courts as active enforcers of ICJ decisions. It is argued that whilst evidence shows that there is no legal obligation on courts to enforce ICJ decisions, there is certainly room in international law to facilitate this development. In support of this argument, the thesis demonstrates how basic presuppositions about international law have shifted over the last few decades. This shift has been both the impetus and the result of globalisation. The case of LaGrand alongside similar cases is used to show how national courts may play an increased role in the enforcement of ICJ decisions.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mangezi, Mutsa
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: International Court of Justice -- Cases Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963) International and municipal law -- United States -- Cases International law -- United States -- Cases Jurisdiction (International law) -- Cases
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:3711 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007325
- Description: In the case of LaGrand (Germany v United States), the International Court of Justice held that the United States (US) had violated its international obligation to Germany under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations when it executed two German nationals without first informing them of their consular rights. The case came before the court after the United States had disregarded a preliminary ruling passed by the IC], which directed the US not to execute the German nationals pending the outcome of the ICJ case. The decision raised the issue of the effect of ICJ decisions in domestic proceedings and the effectiveness of ICJ enforcement mechanisms. This thesis considers the possibility of a role for national courts as active enforcers of ICJ decisions. It is argued that whilst evidence shows that there is no legal obligation on courts to enforce ICJ decisions, there is certainly room in international law to facilitate this development. In support of this argument, the thesis demonstrates how basic presuppositions about international law have shifted over the last few decades. This shift has been both the impetus and the result of globalisation. The case of LaGrand alongside similar cases is used to show how national courts may play an increased role in the enforcement of ICJ decisions.
- Full Text:
Introduction: Stimela: railway poems of South Africa
- Authors: Wright, Laurence
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: vital:7058 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007420
- Description: preprint , A collection of railway poems is an unusual undertaking. More than an exercise in nostalgia, this anthology captures a large slice of modern South African life, viewed from different perspectives. Many of South Africa’s best poets have written railway poems. This is unsurprising, for railways hold special meaning for a variety of people – people in all walks of life – who find them not only fascinating but emotionally sympatico. The place of railways in the South African economy is changing rapidly, and it will be interesting to see in the coming years whether the less personal, more streamlined business model that is taking shape will attract the same naïve fascination engendered by South African railways over the past two centuries.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Wright, Laurence
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: vital:7058 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007420
- Description: preprint , A collection of railway poems is an unusual undertaking. More than an exercise in nostalgia, this anthology captures a large slice of modern South African life, viewed from different perspectives. Many of South Africa’s best poets have written railway poems. This is unsurprising, for railways hold special meaning for a variety of people – people in all walks of life – who find them not only fascinating but emotionally sympatico. The place of railways in the South African economy is changing rapidly, and it will be interesting to see in the coming years whether the less personal, more streamlined business model that is taking shape will attract the same naïve fascination engendered by South African railways over the past two centuries.
- Full Text:
Inventing the Human: Brontosaurus Bloom and “the Shakespeare in us”
- Authors: Wright, Laurence
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: vital:7045 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007387 , https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351963534/chapters/10.4324%2F9781315264264-15
- Description: preprint , This essay was occasioned by the casual reading of a book called Harold Bloom’s Shakespeare (2002), a collection of responses, pro, ante and puzzled, to Bloom’s Shakespearean magnum opus. The more I browsed in the assembled essays, some of them originally reviews and conference papers, others specially commissioned responses, the more curious I became. On the whole, the contributors seemed not to understand Bloom, at least not to understand him adequately, which is a devastating handicap when the task in hand is to pass judgment. The problem seems to be that few academic commentators take Bloom seriously, accepting that he means what he says; more accurately, they find it hard to entertain with full seriousness matters Bloom intends should be taken entirely seriously. Shakespeareans, locked into their various ways of understanding the world and critical activity, generally try to find Shakespeare (or “Shakespeare”) through reading Bloom, whereas he wants us to find ourselves through reading Shakespeare: to uncover what Emerson called ‘the Shakespeare in us’ (‘Shakespeare, or The Poet’, 256). The difference is stupendous. We ought first to ask in regard to Bloom’s blockbuster the question Bloom tells us he learned from Kenneth Burke, ‘What is the author trying to do for himself or herself by writing this work?’ (Shakespeare, 412).
- Full Text:
- Authors: Wright, Laurence
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: vital:7045 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007387 , https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351963534/chapters/10.4324%2F9781315264264-15
- Description: preprint , This essay was occasioned by the casual reading of a book called Harold Bloom’s Shakespeare (2002), a collection of responses, pro, ante and puzzled, to Bloom’s Shakespearean magnum opus. The more I browsed in the assembled essays, some of them originally reviews and conference papers, others specially commissioned responses, the more curious I became. On the whole, the contributors seemed not to understand Bloom, at least not to understand him adequately, which is a devastating handicap when the task in hand is to pass judgment. The problem seems to be that few academic commentators take Bloom seriously, accepting that he means what he says; more accurately, they find it hard to entertain with full seriousness matters Bloom intends should be taken entirely seriously. Shakespeareans, locked into their various ways of understanding the world and critical activity, generally try to find Shakespeare (or “Shakespeare”) through reading Bloom, whereas he wants us to find ourselves through reading Shakespeare: to uncover what Emerson called ‘the Shakespeare in us’ (‘Shakespeare, or The Poet’, 256). The difference is stupendous. We ought first to ask in regard to Bloom’s blockbuster the question Bloom tells us he learned from Kenneth Burke, ‘What is the author trying to do for himself or herself by writing this work?’ (Shakespeare, 412).
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Investigating aspects of corporate citizenship on private game farms: the case of Mtshelezi Game Reserve in Makana Municipality, Eastern Cape Province
- Authors: Nyama, Cynthia
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Game farms -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural laborers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social conditions , Agricultural laborers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Economic conditions , Social responsibility of business -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Ecotourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Citizen participation , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:751 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003872 , Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Game farms -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural laborers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social conditions , Agricultural laborers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Economic conditions , Social responsibility of business -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Ecotourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Citizen participation , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Research show that post 1996 period has experienced an unprecedented increase in game based operations. The corporate citizenship or corporate social responsibility of the game reserves is of much interest to this study with a focus on the rights of previous and current occupants of farms, workers’ well-being, job creation, quality of life and poverty alleviation within the game/tourism industry. The research was conducted as a qualitative case study and the tools employed for data gathering include: a review of the relevant literature, interviews (face-to-face), the administering of a questionnaire survey and document analysis from diversity of resources which include the Department of Labour, East Cape Agricultural Research Project, and through use of multiple data sources. The approach taken in this dissertation is to examine to what extent the private game reserves in the Makana Municipality can be labelled as “corporate citizens” and this was done by means of a case study of one private game reserve. The areas that are deemed to be most important in this regard are (i) employment history (ii) educational opportunities (iii) wages (iv) housing (v) land tenure. The study established that younger, better educated people are likely to secure better paying employment on PGR. The nature and conditions of sale of the farm to the PGR can impact on the employment secured by workers in the new dispensation. Workers are tied to these jobs because of the very long hours that prevent them from doing anything else to earn money. Some of the workers had opportunities to learn new skills but the question remains; which people are these and how long will growing differentials in earnings reproduce the poorly educated worker in the next generation. The study also high lightened the need for academics and researchers to come with a common set of corporate citizenship measures such as to measure corporate social impacts.
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- Authors: Nyama, Cynthia
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Game farms -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural laborers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social conditions , Agricultural laborers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Economic conditions , Social responsibility of business -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Ecotourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Citizen participation , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:751 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003872 , Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Game farms -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural laborers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social conditions , Agricultural laborers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Economic conditions , Social responsibility of business -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Ecotourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Citizen participation , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Research show that post 1996 period has experienced an unprecedented increase in game based operations. The corporate citizenship or corporate social responsibility of the game reserves is of much interest to this study with a focus on the rights of previous and current occupants of farms, workers’ well-being, job creation, quality of life and poverty alleviation within the game/tourism industry. The research was conducted as a qualitative case study and the tools employed for data gathering include: a review of the relevant literature, interviews (face-to-face), the administering of a questionnaire survey and document analysis from diversity of resources which include the Department of Labour, East Cape Agricultural Research Project, and through use of multiple data sources. The approach taken in this dissertation is to examine to what extent the private game reserves in the Makana Municipality can be labelled as “corporate citizens” and this was done by means of a case study of one private game reserve. The areas that are deemed to be most important in this regard are (i) employment history (ii) educational opportunities (iii) wages (iv) housing (v) land tenure. The study established that younger, better educated people are likely to secure better paying employment on PGR. The nature and conditions of sale of the farm to the PGR can impact on the employment secured by workers in the new dispensation. Workers are tied to these jobs because of the very long hours that prevent them from doing anything else to earn money. Some of the workers had opportunities to learn new skills but the question remains; which people are these and how long will growing differentials in earnings reproduce the poorly educated worker in the next generation. The study also high lightened the need for academics and researchers to come with a common set of corporate citizenship measures such as to measure corporate social impacts.
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