Exploring how teachers mediate learning of experimental techniques using fermentation and distillation of a traditional brew
- Authors: Paulus, Demetria
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/17637 , vital:22266
- Description: Physical Science is one of the subjects in which learners perform poorly in most Namibian schools. For instance, in ║Kharas region where the study was conducted, from 2010 to 2016, the overall performance has ranged between 20-40%. Furthermore, according to the results analysis report from the Directorate of National, Examination and Assessments (DNEA), from 2012 to 2016, the ||Kharas region was ranked 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 10th in the regional rankings. From the Examiner’s reports, the most poorly answered questions in the National Senior Certificate examinations are those that require learners to explain and show understanding. Additionally, the reports highlighted that learners lack practical skills or lack exposure to experiments and demonstrations to enhance their understanding (Namibia, 20142015). It is against this background that this study sought to explore how teachers mediate learning of experimental techniques using fermentation and distillation of a traditional brew. In particular, the study addressed the following sub-questions:1) what are Grade 11 Physical Science teachers’ perceptions and experiences on the inclusion of indigenous knowledge during Science lessons? 2) What factors influence Grade 11 Physical Science teachers’ perceptions and experiences on the inclusion of indigenous knowledge? 3) How do Grade 11 Physical Science teachers teach experimental techniques conventionally- fermentation and distillation? 4) How does the inclusion of a practical demonstration on making Ombike enable or constrain Grade 11 Physical Science teachers when explaining concepts on experimental techniques - fermentation and distillation? Thus, the focus was on conceptual understanding through linking content to the context of the learners. The study was underpinned by an interpretive paradigm whose focus is on understanding people’s worldviews. Within the interpretive paradigm, a mixed methods (Quant-QUAL methods) case study approach was employed in two sequential phases with Physical Science teachers at one secondary school in Keetmanshoop. Data were collected using document analysis (to strengthen my context). In the first phase, a questionnaire with closed-ended and open-ended questions was used to gather quantitative and qualitative data from 17 Physical Science teachers. Additionally, I conducted interviews with two Physical Science teachers from one Secondary School in Keetmanshoop who were selected based on their expertise, teaching experience and their qualifications. Quantitative data were analysed using frequency tables and graphs. For phase two, lesson and the practical demonstration observations were videotaped and transcribed inductively. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. The study was informed by Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural theory with a focus on the mediation of learning, social interactions and learner engagement within the learners’ Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) in conjunction with Shulman’s (1987) theory on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The findings of the study indicated that the majority of the Physical Science teachers were aware of and supported the inclusion of IK; on the other hand the teachers indicated some challenges that come with IK integration. Some teachers acknowledged the importance of IK, such as the enhancement of understanding, proving of theories, and arousal of interest and context relevance. However, some teachers felt that there are misconceptions in IK that can be carried into the classroom, IK resources like textbooks are not available, and IK is not integrated in the syllabus and examinations and lack of teacher training inter alia.The study recommends that the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture especially the Division of Curriculum Planning and Development (NIED) needs to explicitly include IK in the Syllabus documents and suggest the inclusion of IK in the textbooks to the publishers to address these challenges. In order to enhance the teaching and learning with IK in Science, it is critical that teachers’ training workshops are conducted and IK resources are designed so that IK integration can be successfully implemented. For that to happen, it is recognized that the teachers’ PCK should be regularly upgraded through Continuous Professional Development (CPD) by the Subject Advisors (SA) so that the teachers are consistently guided on appropriate teaching methodologies and pedagogies about the inclusion of IK.
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Exploring rural parents’ attitudes and experiences towards teaching and learning of the topics of human reproduction in junior secondary schools: a Namibian case study
- Authors: Kavila, Kornelius Embumbulu
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Human reproduction -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , Parents -- Namibia -- Attitudes , Sex instruction for teenagers -- Namibia , Sexual health -- Study and teaching -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/13543 , vital:21836
- Description: The Namibian school curriculum mandates that the subject of Life Science should be taught in all schools from grade 8-10. Among the main themes in this subject is Human Biology which covers topics of human reproduction. According to the Junior Secondary Certificate JSC Life Science Examiners’ reports (2010-2015), and my personal experience, learners perform poorly in the topics of human reproduction. Many of the parents in Namibian communities are not comfortable talking to their children about their sexuality, and some believe that communication about sexuality could influence adolescents to become more sexually active (Silas, 2015). Yet, there is agreement among educationists that parents’ involvement in their children’s education has an impact on the mediation of concepts, skills and attitudes. It is against this backdrop that this study explored rural parents’ attitudes and experiences towards teaching and learning of the topics of human reproduction being taught to their children in junior secondary schools (Grade 8-10). This study was informed by Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory with the focus on how adults and peers influence individual learning and how cultural beliefs impact on instruction and learning in science classrooms. The sociocultural theory was supplemented by the Feminist Standpoint Theory (FST) with the focus on how different knowledge systems and standpoints produced from a specific social community (that is, rural parents) in terms of who to say what and when, to whom regarding sex-related information. The study was located within the interpretive paradigm. Within an interpretive paradigm, a case study approach was employed. This case study used a mixed method approach, that is, both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered to help understand the subjective nature of human’s attitudes and experiences. Data were collected using an administered questionnaire with twenty-two rural parents, workshop observation and semi-structured interviews with four of the twenty-two participated parents. Additionally, data from documents such as textbooks and curriculum documents were used to strengthen the context of this study. The study provided valuable information regarding issues around discussions about sex education. It revealed that the majority of rural parents regard sexual health education a taboo. However, the majority are of the supportive attitude towards sexual health education. The study provided some insights on the factors that influence rural parents’ attitude and experiences towards sexual health education. It was also found that parent-child communication is an essential skill, which needs to be developed either through parents’ workshops or other means to support and empower parents to understand the importance of teaching and learning about sexual health issues. It is also recommended to empower and support parents on how to talk to their children about sexual health issues.
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Exploring the influence of a multiliteracies approach on Grade 11 Physical Sciences learners' sense making and dispositions towards graphs of motion
- Authors: Mwiiyale, Laina Natangwe
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/17605 , vital:22264
- Description: Namibian students perform poorly in Physical Sciences and the Physics component in particular (DNEA, 2013). The Namibian Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) Examiner's report (DNEA, 2014) also reveals that many Physical Science learners have difficulties demonstrating an understanding of basic physics required for working with kinematic graphs (graphical representation of motion). Kinematics is an important tool in understanding the motion of objects - whether translational, oscillatory or circular. In kinematics, the relationships between distance, displacement, speed, velocity or acceleration and time are represented in graphs of motion. In teaching the topic, using graphs can be an alternative to the use of abstract formulas, or formulas can be used along with graphical representations to facilitate student understanding (Behzak, 2006). This study explored the influence of the multiliteracies approach on grade 11 Physical Science learners' dispositions and sense making towards graphs of motion. The intervention being investigated is informed by the Pedagogy of Multiliteracies (PoM) framework by Cazden et al., (1996) with the focus on overt instruction, situated practice, critical framing and transformed practice using semiotic patterns of meaning, in conjunction with Vygotsky's (1978) social constructivism theory - particularly, its notion of mediation. This action research study employed the interpretive paradigm. Data were collected using a pre-test, stimulated recall interviews, lesson observations, a post-test and learners' reflections. Data were coded and the codes then categorized into different themes in order to answer the research questions. The findings of this study were that learners are better able to make sense of graphs of motions when a PoM approach is employed. Their dispositions towards graphs of motion also improved as a result of the PoM intervention, due to it enabling a better understanding of kinematics concepts. This study also contributed to the professional development of the researcher, particularly in terms of it contributing to a broader understanding of the research and possible usefulness of semiotic mediation in science education. Implications of the study include the possibility of including the PoM approach in science teacher education and training programme curricula.
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Exploring the need for Academic Support Programmes (ASPs) for returning undergraduates at Rhodes University
- Authors: Matabane, Ramathetse Belinda
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Compensatory education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Rhodes University. Department of Sociology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/35094 , vital:24326
- Description: The overarching purpose of this thesis is to explore the need for Academic Support Programmes (ASPs) in higher education with specific reference to returning undergraduates in the Sociology Department at Rhodes University. The transformational agenda in higher education in post-apartheid South Africa in terms of expanding access to education, the promotion of accountability and efficiency in higher education, massification, the articulation gap between school and university, institutional culture, unpreparedness of universities and underpreparedness of students comprise the conceptual core of this study. I undertake to investigate the necessity and relevance of academic support offered to returning undergraduates at Rhodes University. I do this by exploring two main issues theoretically and in my fieldwork. The two main issues that form the basis of this research are students’ perceptions regarding availability and accessibility of academic support programmes in the Sociology Department and students’ perceived academic needs. Students’ perceptions and attitudes towards Academic Support Programmes have been uncovered through both quantitative and qualitative fieldwork to gauge the extent to which literature is applicable when it comes to the above-mentioned conceptual frameworks. The study illustrated that academic support is not exclusive to first year students. It is also clear that improved, systematic academic support gives rise to improved student academic performance. Throughout the study, students perceive availability and accessibility of ASPs as a challenge.
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Exploring the possibility of integrating traditional music and dance into the design and delivery of lessons on the concepts of echo and waves in the grade 10 Physical Science sound topic
- Authors: Liveve, Angelius Kanyanga
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Student-centered learning Namibia , Culturally relevant pedagogy Namibia , Science Study and teaching (Secondary) Namibia , Dance in education Namibia , Music in education Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/13356 , vital:21826
- Description: Before Namibian independence in 1990, teaching was mostly characterized by teacher-centred pedagogies in which teachers were perceived as the main sources of knowledge. This resulted in learners being passive recipients of such unquestioned knowledge. After independence and to address this, a new educational system was introduced which promoted learner-centred education (LCE) pedagogy. Despite these grand ideals, educational changes in sub-Saharan Africa form a complex issue involving tensions between policy formulation and implementation. This presents Namibian teachers with some challenges in enacting LCE pedagogies. One of these challenges is to find ways to motivate learners and to assist their learning by finding relevant and interesting connections between subject topics and their own experiences and everyday culture outside the classroom. An inability to enact the new curriculum results in learners performing poorly in subjects such as Physical Science. Against this backdrop, this study sought to explore whether or not the integration of traditional music and dance into the design and delivery of lessons on the concepts of echo and waves could influence grade 10 Physical Science learners’ sense making and dispositions towards science. This study was underpinned by an interpretive paradigm. It was informed and guided by the socio-cultural theory as my theoretical framework. The study was carried out with a grade 10 Physical Science class consisting of 30 learners at Lyambombla Combined School (pseudonym) in the Kavango West Region in the northern part of Namibia. Data were generated through diagnostic and summative tests, interviews and lesson observations incorporating traditional music and dance. The findings of the study showed that learners’ sense making and dispositions toward science were positively influenced through traditional music and dance. The study thus recommends the incorporation of indigenous ways of knowing in order to enhance meaning making in science classrooms.
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Exploring the relationship between course pedagogy and learning in workplaces: the case of the National Diploma in Environmental Education Training and Development Practice
- Authors: Misser, Shanu
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: National Diploma in Environmental Education Training and Development Practice , Environmental education -- South Africa , Occupational training -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/8104 , vital:21354
- Description: This case study research provides insights on course pedagogy in the National Diploma in Environmental Education Training and Development Practice as registered with the South African Qualifications Authority. The study draws its findings from interviews, observations, and document analysis of course materials and workshop processes. The two case studies of employees working in a municipal and a provincial context in South Africa provide rich insights into workplace practices and its implications for pedagogical approaches in work-integrated courses. The role of scaffolding, reflexivity and situated learning in creating learning experiences that learners have a reason to value emerge as significant approaches to be considered in pedagogy for work-integrated courses. Critical open-ended questions supported by course material design, dialogue, participation in cooperative learning situation underpinned by reading and the use of case studies and real situated experiences emerge as important pedagogical approaches enabling scaffolding and reflexivity to support a “critical mode of being”. The significant role of pedagogical approaches in maintaining relevance to workplace practices are seen as important in developing capabilities of participants to value what they do on courses. Linked to the insights gained from this study three important recommendations are made. The first recommendation suggests that a pedagogical approach, which involves learner-practitioners and workplace representatives in the curriculum design, would help to maintain relevance of the assignments to the workplace. The second recommendation suggests creative and innovative pedagogical approaches to capture workplace practices in real authentic and meaningful situations for assessment. The third recommendation suggests that pedagogies used in workplace courses need to consider social-ecological sustainability competencies that transgress job tasks across occupations which foster appreciation and imagination of new possibilities in the work learner-practitioners engage in.
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Exploring the relationship between job satisfaction (as measured by the JDI) and sales executive performance at a private South African Motor Retail Group
- Authors: McNaughton, Peter
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Case studies , Employee attitude surveys -- South Africa , Kelston Motor Group (South Africa) -- Employees -- Attitudes
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4466 , vital:20675
- Description: This study explores the relationship of job satisfaction as measured on the Job Descriptive Index with sales performance per individual, aimed at investigating the relationship between job satisfaction and a sales executive’s performance. The Kelston Motor group was nominated as the organisation which the study would be conducted on. The approach to this study was to provide a sound academic base followed by a quantitative analysis. The Job Descriptive Index (JDI) questionnaire was used to determine the sales executives’ current satisfaction levels and these where compared to the sales average gross profit incomes averaged out over a 6-month period. A sample of 34 sales executives employed by the Kelston Motor group were sent the JDI questionnaire. These individuals were selected based on the length of time they have worked for the organisation. Each sales executive was given a pseudonym to ensure anonymity. The various sales executives average monthly gross profit earnings over a 6-month period were linked to these pseudonyms. This information was then linked to each respondent’s questionnaire before sending the questionnaire via email. The results of this study show that job satisfaction played a fairly insignificant role on sales executives performance. It was, however, found that job satisfaction had a direct effect on activities such as staff turnover and absenteeism which does have a direct impact on sales executives performance.
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Exploring the suitability of causal loop diagrams to assess the value chains of aquatic ecosystem services: a case study of the Baviaanskloof, South Africa
- Authors: Rawlins, Jonathan Mark
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4909 , vital:20742
- Description: Healthy, functioning aquatic ecosystems are fundamental to the survival and development of any nation, particularly so for water-stressed countries like South Africa. Aquatic ecosystem services (AESs) are becoming increasingly recognised for their importance to society with regards to the ecological goods and services they provide in terms of health, social, cultural and economic benefits. The development of markets for AESs begins with a clear understanding of the nature and extent of the goods and services provided by aquatic ecosystems. However, an inclusive understanding of AESs and their associated values is currently lacking in South Africa. Although flows of ecosystem services provide a nearly limitless set of valuable properties, a large proportion of their services remain unpriced or inaccurately priced through traditional neo-classical markets. This often results in market failure, as these markets do not reflect the full social costs and/or benefits of ecosystem services. This provides incentive to identify and develop a tool to bridge the gap between ecosystem service valuation and practical, sustainable management recommendations for improving the provision of ecosystem services and their associated markets. This study explores the suitability of causal loop diagrams (CLDs) to assess the value chains of AESs in South Africa within the context of a case study. AESs do not usually have finite market values nor are they traded in formal markets, thus, a traditional approach to value chain analysis is unsuitable. A professional workshop environment was utilised to facilitate a transdisciplinary approach towards identifying relevant AESs and their complex inputs, interactions and trade-offs. Numerous CLDs were developed in an effort to map the complex relationships between these AESs and their associated inputs, which formed the basis to attempt subsequent scenario analyses and 'alternative' value chain analyses. The findings of this study show that CLDs have the potential to qualitatively identify challenges and opportunities within the value chains of AESs. Thus, the use of such 'alternative' value chain analyses can directly contribute towards the development of recommendations for improving sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems.
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Exploring transformative social learning and sustainability in community based irrigation scheme contexts in Mozambique
- Authors: Baloi, Aristides
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Social learning -- Mozambique , Irrigation -- Social aspects -- Mozambique , Water resources development -- Mozambique , Sustainable agriculture -- Mozambique , Community development -- Mozambique
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/50154 , vital:25963
- Description: This study set out to examine transformative social learning and sustainability in the context of community-based irrigation systems in Mozambique. These irrigation systems are socio-ecological in nature. The history of irrigation systems in Mozambique can be described in two periods: pre-Independence period (mainly the colonial period) and the post-Independence period from 1975 onwards. Most recently, the Mozambique Government has introduced a policy which supports community-based irrigation system implementation and management via irrigation associations in a move to support a shift from rain-fed farming practices to irrigation-supported farming practices amongst smallholder farmers. It is this shift in the object of activity that this study focusses on. It does this by studying learning process in the constituted irrigation associations, examining whether such learning is transformative and sustainability oriented or not, and how such learning can be further expanded and supported. Learning may occur in socio-ecological systems, but whether that learning enables transformation and sustainability of irrigation systems and the constituted associations is as yet under-explored in the Mozambique context and in the context of Education for Sustainable Development in southern Africa. The aim of this research was therefore to understand transformative social learning within the development of sustainable irrigation practices in the context of irrigation associations and new agrarian policy development in Mozambique. To examine transformative social learning in sustainable irrigation system practices (including management practices), the study worked with three research goals, which also formed phases of the study’s design: GOAL 1: Examine how and what transformative social learning has (or has not) emerged in existing activity systems to date (Phase 1: Activity System Analysis). GOAL 2: Examine how transformative social learning could emerge through expansive learning processes (Phase 2: Identification of contradictions and new solution modelling through Developmental Work Research and Change Laboratories). GOAL 3: Identify what opportunities exist for ongoing transformative social learning (Phase 3: Identification of absences and ongoing dialectical transformation possibilities). The study draws on theories of Social Learning, Transformative Learning and Cultural Historical Activity Theory’s (CHAT) expansive learning and formative interventionist research framework to develop insights into the learning processes. It works especially with third generation Cultural Historical Activity Theory which provides a theory of expansive social learning and collective transformative agency formation, which I deemed most appropriate for the need to understand the transformation of farmers’ activities in a collective formation such as an irrigation association. The study involved identification and examination of interacting activity systems, contradictions or dissonances in two case studies of community-based irrigation system development via the respective associations. It involved identifying existing learning, as well as engaging in formative intervention research to expand learning in two case study sites: namely the Macubulane and Massaca Irrigation Associations, located near Maputo, Mozambique in the Inkomati and Umbeluzi river basins. The Macubulane community practices a monocropping system of sugar cane plantations using sprinkler irrigation methods and the Massaca community practices a mixed cropping system growing vegetables using mainly gravity or furrow irrigation methods. The study uses a qualitative research approach and is underlaboured by Dialectical Critical Realism which allowed for a deeper probing of ontology and transformative praxis, and transformative learning. The study used methods which included in-depth interviews, change laboratory workshops, document analysis and focus group interviews with farmers and subjects in associated activity systems. Analysis involved activity system analysis, identification of contradictions, modeling of solutions, transformative agency analysis, as well as analysis of real and nominal absences and generative mechanisms as recommended in dialectical critical realism. I used inductive, abductive and retroductive modes of inference, relying on the latter to identify further potential for transformative learning. The study demonstrates that within the associations, transformative social learning is taking place as farmers seek to address problems and contradictions. This learning leads to the creation of new agency and capabilities by ensuring good yields and continuous improvement of management practices and social status. Learning operates through formal mediation in the irrigation system of workplace-based operation, maintenance and crop management practices (i.e. through workplace learning). Social learning occurs through collective engagement with the constraints that the association faces while applying new knowledge, introducing new technology, in the process of administration and planning of irrigation activities. Expansive learning is possible when mediated actively through formative interventions in change laboratory workshops. All three types of learning were found to be present and possible in the context of the two irrigation scheme contexts. The main study findings are that transformative social learning is a collective object-driven process in the context of a transforming object (from rain-fed to sustainable community-based irrigation scheme farming in this study), that can be explained from the level of generative mechanisms and associated real absences that shape nominal absences and contradictions within and between activity systems. These induce, and have potential to induce, transformative learning in irrigation systems, including the emergence of transformative agency via learning through workplace-based, wider social learning, and expansive learning interaction processes amongst subjects in interacting activity systems. Absenting absences is also crucial for extending the potential of transformative learning in irrigation associations. The study further shows how critical realism helps to interpret learning processes and how it strengthens the empirical findings obtained from qualitative analysis. A key outcome of the study is a model that frames conceptualisation of transformative social learning in irrigation systems. The model and the insights gained into farmers learning around the transformation of the object of activity explored in this study have implications for wider curriculum and policy development interventions. The study therefore also makes recommendations for curriculum development and policy implementation intervention. The curriculum development recommendations are not at the level of making recommendations for new courses only, but frame how the design of new courses should take into account the wider processes of learning and change associated with the transformation of an object of activity as articulated in the study. It recommends an approach that allows for in-field engagement with contradictions and the absenting of absences (a problem-based type of curriculum) that will also allow for conceptual development and understanding of the changing object of activity (i.e. community-based irrigation scheme practice and management). The main policy recommendation made from the study is to invest more in farmer support and farmers’ learning so that they can transition from rain-fed agriculture to sustainable irrigation scheme development and management via their associations. The research contributes to knowledge production on irrigation practices; considering that substantial understandings were generated through analysis of communal irrigation scheme practice and management and its implications, especially from a transformative learning perspective. As shown in this study, transformative social learning theories are still not well understood in the context of irrigation system development, and this study has contributed knowledge to this field. The study contributes towards understanding of sustainability learning in irrigation associations in terms of concepts and practices. The study offers a model for transformative social learning in irrigation scheme development and suggests an expanded curriculum for community-based irrigation association practice and management. Overall, the study contributes to an understanding of transformative, sustainability oriented learning processes as support for the emergence of community-based irrigation associations. Additionally, the study has added perspectives on how to frame transformative social learning from a CHAT and critical realist perspective in Education for Sustainable Development. The study also contributes to a growing body of scholarship in southern Africa which seeks to develop expansive, transformative social learning approaches in response to concerns experienced by communities who are reliant on natural resources and the environment for their livelihoods and well-being, and who are also seeking to emerge out of poverty.
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Exports, capital formation and economic growth in South Africa
- Authors: Feddersen, Maura , Nel, Hugo , Botha, Ferdi
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/396035 , vital:69145 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/aref/article/view/162150"
- Description: In South Africa the export sector is frequently accorded a special role in encouraging faster economic growth. Nonetheless, a question that remains unresolved is whether higher export growth indeed leads to higher economic growth and what particular role exports may play within the overall economic growth process of the country. This study applies Johansen’s cointegration procedure, impulse response functions, variance decomposition analysis and Granger causality tests to shed light on the channels through which export growth may impact South Africa’s economic growth rate. Quarterly time series data ranging from 1975q1 to 2012q4 is employed in the study’s empirical tests. The results support the notion that the role of exports lies in their ability to encourage investment and capital formation. While export growth directly supports higher economic growth in the short-run, the long-term effect was found to lie in supporting faster capital formation, and in turn, significantly increasing economic growth. Overall, a strategy of export-led growth that does not explicitly emphasize the export-capital-growth connection is likely to fall short of reflecting the dynamics contained within the exports-growth relationship in South Africa.
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Extended use of grey water for irrigating home gardens in an arid environment
- Authors: Al-Ismaili, Abdulrahim M , Ahmed, Mushtaque , Al-Busaidi, Ahmed , Al-Adawi, Seif , Tandlich, Roman , Al-Amri, Mohammed
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76048 , vital:30497 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8963-z
- Description: The use of treated grey water (GW) for home gardens, peri-urban agriculture and landscaping is becoming popular in many water stressed countries such as Oman. This study aims to investigate the treatment efficacy, health and chemical concerns, cost-benefits and maintenance protocol of a GW treatment system as well as the effect of irrigation with GW on crop yield. Therefore, a decentralized homemade GW treatment system was installed in a newly constructed house in Muscat, Oman and studied over a 2-year period. The treated GW was found to be suitable for irrigation as per Omani standards. GW when mixed with kitchen effluent substituted the use of nutrient supplements for plants and did not show any harmful chemical or biological contamination. The capital cost of the system was around US $980, and the annual operating cost was US $78 with annual income and savings from the system being around US $572 indicating a payback period of nearly 2 years. It was found that the system required simple but regular maintenance particularly cleaning of the top layer of the filter. It can be concluded from this study that such a GW system should be technically, economically and environmentally feasible in Oman. Also, wider acceptance by the general public to the idea of GW reuse will help in mitigating the water shortage problem of the country to some extent.
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Extracellular Hsp90 and TGFP regulate adhesion, migration and anchorage independent growth in a paired colon cancer cell line model
- Authors: de la Mare, Jo-Anne , Jurgens, Tamarin , Edkins, Adrienne L
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59920 , vital:27710 , https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-017-3190-z
- Description: Tumour metastasis remains the major cause of death in cancer patients and, to date, the mechanism and signalling pathways governing this process are not completely understood. The TGF-ß pathway is the most commonly mutated pathway in cancer, however its role in cancer progression is controversial as it can function as both a promoter and a suppressor of metastasis. Although previous studies have suggested a role for the molecular chaperone Hsp90 in regulating the TGF-ß pathway, the level at which this occurs as well as the consequences in terms of colon cancer metastasis are unknown.
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Facile synthesis of glutathione-l-Cysteine co-capped CdTe core shell system
- Authors: Daramola, Olamide A , Siwe-Noundou, Xavier , Krause, Rui W M , Marks, John A
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/195003 , vital:45518 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1166/jnn.2017.13823"
- Description: Semiconductor nanoparticles also known as quantum dots (QDs) have been used in diverse areas of application due to their good optical and photo-physical properties. The synthesis of core–shell QDs have assisted to improve the stability of most nano-particles but the size and long term stability of such materials have been problematic. However, thiol-capped CdTe QDs have been regarded as some of the most widely synthesized nanoparticles due to their unique optical properties. The use of un-stable tellurium source such as NaHTe or highly toxic H2Te gas makes the reaction condition cumbersome. In this study, we prepared some CdTe QDs and core–shell QDs using K2TeO3 as a stable source of tellurium without inert gas protection. This was done using a co-capped bio-compatible coating such as cysteine and glutathione following a modified standard method to produce QDs in the yields of about 60 to 80%. All the synthesized materials were subsequently characterized using various characterization techniques. The systematic optimization of the reaction parameters such as reaction time, pH and mole ratio results with a drastic red shift in wavelength (546–600 nm) by the CdTe core proved that an extra material has been deposited unto the surface of the CdTe core. The 60 days stability test conducted demonstrated that the core–shell nanoparticles were quite stable. Since this reaction was performed under open air conditions and no special ligand or buffer solution was used, it may suitably be applied on an industrial scale.
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Factors affecting the implementation of the Water Services Provision (WSP) strategy at Amathole District Municipality (ADM)
- Authors: Snombo, Kanyisa
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5533 , vital:20939
- Description: Amathole District Municipality (ADM) in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa changed its water service provision strategy in 2012 from decentralized to a centralized strategy as a way of trying to improve its water service delivery. Since this change, no study has been done to explore how the centralized water service strategy has so far been implemented at ADM. The aim of this exploratory qualitative study was to describe how ADM implemented its centralized water strategy and also assess the extent of alignment of strategy execution using Higgins’ (2005) 8 “S” model. Purposively, a total of five senior managers were identified and interviewed in East London as they were intimately involved in the daily operation of the water service provision over the years. Data gathered through audio recorded, in-depth and semi-structured interviews with each of the senior managers and also documented reports on Water Service Provision (WSP) were analyzed using thematic analysis into meaningful patterns reflecting each of the components of Higgins’ (2005) 8 “S” model. Findings of this qualitative study reveal that senior managers had different but complementary views of what strategy they were implementing at ADM. More importantly, the implementation of centralized water services provision model by ADM was characterized by deep and persistent vacancies of key technical but also managerial positions in the new structure. Furthermore while human and financial resources were inadequate to match with the depth and variety of changes necessary to have the requisite number of staff, ADM implemented the centralized water service strategy with poor skills mix which negatively impacted on quality of water service. While ADM had ten espoused shared values, none of these were commonly and widely shared by employees in their day-to-day world of work. Instead, employee’s behavior at ADM was practically shaped by the emergent values of cooperation, and employee care and recognition. Thus there was misalignment between espoused and practiced shared values. Furthermore there was also recurrent and deep misalignment between structure, staff, resources and water quality systems which compounded the difficulties experienced by ADM in pursuit of centralized water service provision. While the use of outsourced mechanical and electrical services was a remedy to staff shortages and the lack of skills mix, it ultimately further aggravated the financial challenges of ADM by draining more of the already limited financial resources. Recommendations for improving the implementation of centralized water service strategy and areas for further research are suggested.
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Fibronectin is a stress responsive gene regulated by HSF1 in response to geldanamycin
- Authors: Dhanani, Karim C H , Samson, William J , Edkins, Adrienne L
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59931 , vital:27711 , https://doi:10.1038/s41598-017-18061-y
- Description: Fibronectin is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein with key roles in cell adhesion and migration. Hsp90 binds directly to fibronectin and Hsp90 depletion regulates fibronectin matrix stability. Where inhibition of Hsp90 with a C-terminal inhibitor, novobiocin, reduced the fibronectin matrix, treatment with an N-terminal inhibitor, geldanamycin, increased fibronectin levels. Geldanamycin treatment induced a stress response and a strong dose and time dependent increase in fibronectin mRNA via activation of the fibronectin promoter. Three putative heat shock elements (HSEs) were identified in the fibronectin promoter. Loss of two of these HSEs reduced both basal and geldanamycin-induced promoter activity, as did inhibition of the stress-responsive transcription factor HSF1. Binding of HSF1 to one of the putative HSE was confirmed by ChIP under basal conditions, and occupancy shown to increase with geldanamycin treatment. These data support the hypothesis that fibronectin is stress-responsive and a functional HSF1 target gene. COLA42 and LAMB3 mRNA levels were also increased with geldanamycin indicating that regulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) genes by HSF1 may be a wider phenomenon. Taken together, these data have implications for our understanding of ECM dynamics in stress-related diseases in which HSF1 is activated, and where the clinical application of N-terminal Hsp90 inhibitors is intended.
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Figuring maternity: Christine Dixie's Parturient Prospects
- Authors: Schmahmann, Brenda
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/147748 , vital:38667 , https://doi.org/10.1080/00043389.2007.11877068
- Description: The Interior, Birthing Tray and Parturition are three sub-sections of a project entitled Parturient Prospects that artist Christine Dixie began in 2005, when she was pregnant with her second child, and completed by the end of 2006. In Parturient Prospects, the author reveals, Dixie situates her experiences against Western discourses, especially images from early modern Europe. Focusing on the ways in which visual representations construct woman as ‘other’, Dixie invokes reference to not only representations of birth and maternity but also religious, medical and geographical images.
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First example of nonlinear optical materials based on nanoconjugates of sandwich phthalocyanines with quantum dots
- Authors: Oluwole, David O , Yagodin, Alexey V , Mkhize, Nhlakanipho C , Sekhosana, Kutloana E , Martynov, Alexander G , Gorbunova, Yulia G , Tsivadze, Aslan Yu , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/238014 , vital:50577 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201604401"
- Description: We report original, selective, and efficient approaches to novel nonlinear optical (NLO) materials, namely homoleptic double- and triple-decker europium(III) complexes 2 and 3 with the A3B-type phthalocyanine ligand (2,3-bis[2′-(2′′-hydroxyethoxy)ethoxy]-9,10,16,17,23,24-hexa-n-butoxyphthalocyanine 1) bearing two anchoring diethyleneglycol chains terminated with OH groups. Their covalently linked nanoconjugates with mercaptosuccinic acid-capped ternary CdSeTe/CdTeS/ZnSeS quantum dots are prepared in the presence of an ethyl(dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide activating agent. Optical limiting (OL) properties of the obtained low-symmetry complexes and their conjugates with quantum dots (QDs) are measured for the first time by the open-aperture Z-scan technique (532 nm laser and pulse rate of 10 ns). For comparison, symmetrical double- and triple-decker EuIII octa-n-butoxyphthalocyaninates 5 and 6 and their mixtures with trioctylphosphine oxide-capped QDs are also synthesized and studied. It is revealed that both lowering of molecular symmetry and expansion of the π-electron system upon moving from double- to triple-decker complexes significantly improves the OL characteristics, making the low-symmetry triple-decker complex 3 the most efficient optical limiter in the studied family of sandwich complexes, affording 50 % lowering of light transmittance below 0.5 J cm−2 input fluence. Conjugation (both covalent and noncovalent) with QDs affords further enhancement of the OL properties of both double- and triple-decker complexes. Altogether, the obtained results contribute to the development of novel nonlinear optical materials for future nanoelectronic and optical device applications.
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Flexible Metal–Porphyrin Dimers (M= MnIIICl, CoII, NiII, CuII)
- Authors: Li, Minzhi , Zhang, Qian , Xu, Li , Zhu, Weihua , Mack, John , May, Aviwe K , Nyokong, Tebello , Kobayashi, Nagao , Liang, Xu
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/239676 , vital:50754 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cplu.201600475"
- Description: Four metalloporphyrin dimers linked by bridging amide-bonded xanthene moieties and that contain either MnIII, CoII, NiII, or CuII metal centers were synthesized. Various spectroscopic, electrochemical, and spectroelectrochemical methods were used to study trends in their properties. Their electronic structure and optical properties were analyzed through a comparison of the electronic absorption and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectral data with the results of time-dependent (TD)-DFT calculations.
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Fluorescence behaviour of supramolecular hybrids containing graphene quantum dots and pyrene-derivatized phthalocyanines and porphyrins
- Authors: Achadu, Ojodomo John , Managa, Muthumuni , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/188953 , vital:44801 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2016.10.029"
- Description: Novel pyrene-derivatized zinc and cobalt phthalocyanines (Pcs) and porphyrins (Ps) were immobilized on graphene quantum dots (GQDs) to form GQDs-Pcs and GQDs-Ps supramolecular hybrids via the π–π stacking interaction method. Spectroscopic evidence shows that the resultant hybrids were stable owing to the strong π–π stacking interaction between the GQDs and the respective Pcs and Ps, thus leading to the fabrication of interesting and functional supramolecular hybrids by taking advantage of the delocalized π electron systems of GQDs and the macrocycles. The conjugates showed increased fluorescence quantum yields for the Pcs/Ps, but decreased values for the GQDs in the conjugates. These novel hybrid materials could potentially be deployed for studies in both fundamental and applied perspectives due to the synergistic contributions resulting from the combination of their excellent electronic and optical properties.
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Forensic entomotoxicology revisited: towards professional standardisation of study designs
- Authors: da Silva, Erica I T , Wilhelmi, Brendan S , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140819 , vital:37921 , DOI: 10.1007/s00414-017-1603-9
- Description: Forensic entomotoxicology is the use of insects as evidence of whether a toxicant is present in an environment such as a corpse, river or landscape. The earliest overtly forensic study was published in 1977, and since then, at least 63 papers have been published, most of them focused on the detection of toxicants in insects or on effects of toxicants on diverse insect indicator taxa. A comprehensive review of the published literature revealed various inconsistencies between studies that could be addressed by introducing standard protocols for such studies. These protocols could include selecting widespread and common model organisms (such as Lucilia sericata, Calliphora vicina, Chrysomya megacephala and Dermestes maculatus) and model toxicants (e.g. morphine and amitriptyline) to build up comparative databases; developing a standard matrix for use as a feeding substrate; setting guidelines for statistically adequate sample sizes; and deploying more sophisticated analytical methods from the general field of toxicology.
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