An overview of language policy implementation in the City of Tswane Metropolitan Municipality with a focus on translation as an activity of language policy implementation
- Seshoka, Keaobaka Omphile Precious
- Authors: Seshoka, Keaobaka Omphile Precious
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/932 , vital:20004
- Description: The South African Municipality Systems Act (2000) states that language should not act as a barrier of access for citizens with no or limited proficiency in English to municipal services, or in ensuring the right of citizens to participate in, and contribute to the social, cultural, intellectual, economic and political life of South African society. In that regard, it recommends that South African municipalities develop a culture of public participation by providing services in a language preferred and used by citizens within their municipality through translation, amongst other things. This study examines how the translation services, as articulated in the language policy and plan of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is used as a language implementation strategy and in facilitating public participation. It further assesses the quality of the translated information accessed by the different residents of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality against theories of translation appraisal. The main focus area of this research is on extent of the use of translation as an activity of corpus planning, to facilitate language policy implementation in the City of Tshwane Municipality to enable better public participation. It is hoped that the study will be able to give policy makers and those tasked with implementation, especially at government municipalities‘ strategies to assess and determine the state of translation services to improve functionality, quality and the extent to which translation activities contribute to corpus planning.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Seshoka, Keaobaka Omphile Precious
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/932 , vital:20004
- Description: The South African Municipality Systems Act (2000) states that language should not act as a barrier of access for citizens with no or limited proficiency in English to municipal services, or in ensuring the right of citizens to participate in, and contribute to the social, cultural, intellectual, economic and political life of South African society. In that regard, it recommends that South African municipalities develop a culture of public participation by providing services in a language preferred and used by citizens within their municipality through translation, amongst other things. This study examines how the translation services, as articulated in the language policy and plan of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is used as a language implementation strategy and in facilitating public participation. It further assesses the quality of the translated information accessed by the different residents of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality against theories of translation appraisal. The main focus area of this research is on extent of the use of translation as an activity of corpus planning, to facilitate language policy implementation in the City of Tshwane Municipality to enable better public participation. It is hoped that the study will be able to give policy makers and those tasked with implementation, especially at government municipalities‘ strategies to assess and determine the state of translation services to improve functionality, quality and the extent to which translation activities contribute to corpus planning.
- Full Text:
An unsung dialogue: music, society and the history of The Flames
- Authors: Park, Duncan Keith
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193645 , vital:45376
- Description: This research aims to examine the relationship between music and social conditions within the context of apartheid. The focus area is the city of Durban, specifically 1960-1970. A case study of the multi-racial Durban-based band, The Flames (1963 – 1972) will be used to rigorously assess the extent to which social conditions and music can affect each other in both directions. This will also be the first coherent and historical narrative of the band, The Flames. As such, the thesis aims to make an original contribution to this field of music history, while it will provide the very first academic discussion of The Flames. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, History, 2016
- Full Text:
- Authors: Park, Duncan Keith
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193645 , vital:45376
- Description: This research aims to examine the relationship between music and social conditions within the context of apartheid. The focus area is the city of Durban, specifically 1960-1970. A case study of the multi-racial Durban-based band, The Flames (1963 – 1972) will be used to rigorously assess the extent to which social conditions and music can affect each other in both directions. This will also be the first coherent and historical narrative of the band, The Flames. As such, the thesis aims to make an original contribution to this field of music history, while it will provide the very first academic discussion of The Flames. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, History, 2016
- Full Text:
Aquatic–terrestrial trophic linkages via riverine invertebrates in a South African catchment
- Authors: Moyo, Sydney
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54427 , vital:26564
- Description: Rivers play a vital role in human livelihoods and are likely to undergo substantial alteration due to climate and land use changes from an increasing human population. Mitigating the pressures facing rivers in the world requires scientists and environmental managers to understand the ecological mechanisms, and ultimately the strength, of connections between ecosystems. This understanding of connections between adjacent habitats will enable environmental managers to predict the consequences of perturbing these linkages in the future. In this thesis, aquatic-terrestrial linkages in rivers were investigated using ecologically meaningful variables including abundances, biomasses, stable isotopes and fatty acids. This study is part of a larger project entitled “Connectivity through allochthony: reciprocal links between adjacent aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in South Africa”, in which a team of researchers assessed a variety of pathways connecting riverine and estuarine systems to land within a catchment in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. I conceptualised the flow of energy within a temperate southern hemisphere river (the Kowie River) within theoretical models of energy flow such as the River Continuum Concept (RCC; presents lotic systems as being longitudinally linked with food webs in shaded headwaters being principally driven by allochthonous energy, with the addition of autochthonous food as a minor carbon source in the lower reaches) and the Riverine Productivity Model (RPM; proposes consumers derive most of their energy from local production of phytoplankton, benthic algae and aquatic plants, as well as directly from riparian zones via terrestrial leaf litter). Using the RCC as a starting point, I collected macroinvertebrates (September 2012 to May 2013) along a longitudinal gradient and grouped them into functional feeding groups (FFGs). The results revealed that gatherers and filterers dominated in the Kowie River, and together represented 50 – 83% of the invertebrate assemblages. There was a general paucity of shredders (relative abundance was ≤ 10% across all sites and seasons). The changes in relative abundances of different FFGs did not follow predictions of the RCC along the longitudinal gradient, as there were no correlations of community structure with some physical attributes (stream width, canopy cover, distance of river) that changed along the river continuum. However, FFG abundances were related to water velocity, total dissolved solids and canopy cover. Broadly, the Kowie River data showed that changes in relative abundances of FFGs along the river continuum could not be explained by changes in physical attributes alone, and may be highly influenced by the availability of food and the chemistry of the stream. Analysis of stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes was used to estimate the contributions of algal and land-based production to consumers over space (six sites) and time (November 2012 to September 2013). Carbon contributions determined by the use of mixing models (Stable Isotope Analysis in R) revealed that consumers in the headwater assimilated mainly terrestrially-derived organic matter, with consumers in the middle and lower reaches assimilating autochthonous basal resources (macrophytes and algae). The findings from this river supported aspects of the RCC (at the headwaters; terrestrial organic matter made up 41% of consumer diets), but overall the data supported the predictions of the RPM (local production made the highest contributions of 50 – 86% to all FFGs across all seasons). The carbon isotopes of consumers and their food sources changed substantially every season, indicating that samples of food sources and consumers should be analysed many times throughout the year to capture that variability and to ensure that ephemeral components of the food web are not missed. To validate the findings from the isotope data, fatty acids were used as complementary tracers to determine the contributions of algal versus terrestrial organic matter to the consumers. Fatty acid tracers for terrestrial (Ʃω3/Ʃω6; 18:2ω6; 18:3ω3) vs aquatic (Ʃω3/Ʃω6; 20:5ω3) sources corroborated the findings from the isotope data set, as the mean ratio of Ʃω3/Ʃω6 in consumers was less than one at the headwaters (indicating allochthony), while middle and lower reaches were associated with Ʃω3/Ʃω6 > 1 (indicating autochthony). In addition to the tracer and FFG analyses for examining trophic connections between land and river, the bidirectional exchange of organisms between the riparian zone and the river was assessed using floating pyramidal traps (to measure emergence) and pan traps (for infalling invertebrates) placed at different sites in the river and the biomass in each trap was determined. The exchanges were variable over space and time, with emergence peaking in summer (169 to 1402 mg m-2 day-1) and declining in winter (3 to 28 mg m-2 day-1). Similarly, infalling invertebrates increased in summer (413 to 679 mg m-2 day-1) and declined in winter (11 to 220 mg m-2 day-1). Biomass measurements are indications of quantity that ignore nutritional quality, so I determined the bidirectional flow of invertebrates using absolute concentrations of physiologically important biochemical compounds (essential and polyunsaturated fatty acids). The fluxes of emergent and infalling arthropods peaked in summer (emergence = 0.3 to 18 mg m-2 day-1 and terrestrial infall = 0.3 to 3 mg m-2 day-1) and declined in winter (emergence = 0.01 to 0.51 mg m-2 day-1 and terrestrial infall = 0.01 to 0.03 mg m-2 day-1). However, during some seasons, no significant differences in polyunsaturated fatty acid flux in either direction were observed; this finding indicated the balance of reciprocal subsidisation via reciprocal flows of animals. Factors such as air temperature and algal productivity affected the reciprocal flows between adjacent habitats, with algal productivity being positively related to emergence while air temperature was positively correlated to infalling terrestrial invertebrates. This research enhances the growing body of literature on the function of riverine systems and offers some invaluable information on the flow of energy and the role played by invertebrates in translocating nutrients from terrestrial systems to aquatic systems and vice versa. This study unifies the concepts of the RCC and RPM and shows that these concepts are not limited only to large rivers, but are applicable to small southern temperate rivers too. However, some tenets of the theoretical models were challenged. For example, it challenges the proposition by the RCC that the fine particulate organic matter leaked from upstream breakdown of coarse particulate organic matter is predominantly allochthonous. Additionally, this study showed that in the headwaters, the RPM underestimated the role of autochthony. Overall, the results showed that the Kowie River and its riparian area are intrinsically connected. Once we understand the mechanisms controlling connections and subsidies across ecotones, we can then start to predict the consequences of disruptions to these connections by climate change and/or land use changes. To make predictions about future perturbations to rivers and riparian zones, studies like this, which considers the form and magnitude of subsidies, are needed to provide baseline information. Algal resources (e.g. epiphyton), macrophytes, riparian plants, terrestrial organisms and aquatic organisms all contributed to aquatic and terrestrial linkages in the Kowie River; therefore, it is important to conserve the different components of these ecosystems.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Moyo, Sydney
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54427 , vital:26564
- Description: Rivers play a vital role in human livelihoods and are likely to undergo substantial alteration due to climate and land use changes from an increasing human population. Mitigating the pressures facing rivers in the world requires scientists and environmental managers to understand the ecological mechanisms, and ultimately the strength, of connections between ecosystems. This understanding of connections between adjacent habitats will enable environmental managers to predict the consequences of perturbing these linkages in the future. In this thesis, aquatic-terrestrial linkages in rivers were investigated using ecologically meaningful variables including abundances, biomasses, stable isotopes and fatty acids. This study is part of a larger project entitled “Connectivity through allochthony: reciprocal links between adjacent aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in South Africa”, in which a team of researchers assessed a variety of pathways connecting riverine and estuarine systems to land within a catchment in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. I conceptualised the flow of energy within a temperate southern hemisphere river (the Kowie River) within theoretical models of energy flow such as the River Continuum Concept (RCC; presents lotic systems as being longitudinally linked with food webs in shaded headwaters being principally driven by allochthonous energy, with the addition of autochthonous food as a minor carbon source in the lower reaches) and the Riverine Productivity Model (RPM; proposes consumers derive most of their energy from local production of phytoplankton, benthic algae and aquatic plants, as well as directly from riparian zones via terrestrial leaf litter). Using the RCC as a starting point, I collected macroinvertebrates (September 2012 to May 2013) along a longitudinal gradient and grouped them into functional feeding groups (FFGs). The results revealed that gatherers and filterers dominated in the Kowie River, and together represented 50 – 83% of the invertebrate assemblages. There was a general paucity of shredders (relative abundance was ≤ 10% across all sites and seasons). The changes in relative abundances of different FFGs did not follow predictions of the RCC along the longitudinal gradient, as there were no correlations of community structure with some physical attributes (stream width, canopy cover, distance of river) that changed along the river continuum. However, FFG abundances were related to water velocity, total dissolved solids and canopy cover. Broadly, the Kowie River data showed that changes in relative abundances of FFGs along the river continuum could not be explained by changes in physical attributes alone, and may be highly influenced by the availability of food and the chemistry of the stream. Analysis of stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes was used to estimate the contributions of algal and land-based production to consumers over space (six sites) and time (November 2012 to September 2013). Carbon contributions determined by the use of mixing models (Stable Isotope Analysis in R) revealed that consumers in the headwater assimilated mainly terrestrially-derived organic matter, with consumers in the middle and lower reaches assimilating autochthonous basal resources (macrophytes and algae). The findings from this river supported aspects of the RCC (at the headwaters; terrestrial organic matter made up 41% of consumer diets), but overall the data supported the predictions of the RPM (local production made the highest contributions of 50 – 86% to all FFGs across all seasons). The carbon isotopes of consumers and their food sources changed substantially every season, indicating that samples of food sources and consumers should be analysed many times throughout the year to capture that variability and to ensure that ephemeral components of the food web are not missed. To validate the findings from the isotope data, fatty acids were used as complementary tracers to determine the contributions of algal versus terrestrial organic matter to the consumers. Fatty acid tracers for terrestrial (Ʃω3/Ʃω6; 18:2ω6; 18:3ω3) vs aquatic (Ʃω3/Ʃω6; 20:5ω3) sources corroborated the findings from the isotope data set, as the mean ratio of Ʃω3/Ʃω6 in consumers was less than one at the headwaters (indicating allochthony), while middle and lower reaches were associated with Ʃω3/Ʃω6 > 1 (indicating autochthony). In addition to the tracer and FFG analyses for examining trophic connections between land and river, the bidirectional exchange of organisms between the riparian zone and the river was assessed using floating pyramidal traps (to measure emergence) and pan traps (for infalling invertebrates) placed at different sites in the river and the biomass in each trap was determined. The exchanges were variable over space and time, with emergence peaking in summer (169 to 1402 mg m-2 day-1) and declining in winter (3 to 28 mg m-2 day-1). Similarly, infalling invertebrates increased in summer (413 to 679 mg m-2 day-1) and declined in winter (11 to 220 mg m-2 day-1). Biomass measurements are indications of quantity that ignore nutritional quality, so I determined the bidirectional flow of invertebrates using absolute concentrations of physiologically important biochemical compounds (essential and polyunsaturated fatty acids). The fluxes of emergent and infalling arthropods peaked in summer (emergence = 0.3 to 18 mg m-2 day-1 and terrestrial infall = 0.3 to 3 mg m-2 day-1) and declined in winter (emergence = 0.01 to 0.51 mg m-2 day-1 and terrestrial infall = 0.01 to 0.03 mg m-2 day-1). However, during some seasons, no significant differences in polyunsaturated fatty acid flux in either direction were observed; this finding indicated the balance of reciprocal subsidisation via reciprocal flows of animals. Factors such as air temperature and algal productivity affected the reciprocal flows between adjacent habitats, with algal productivity being positively related to emergence while air temperature was positively correlated to infalling terrestrial invertebrates. This research enhances the growing body of literature on the function of riverine systems and offers some invaluable information on the flow of energy and the role played by invertebrates in translocating nutrients from terrestrial systems to aquatic systems and vice versa. This study unifies the concepts of the RCC and RPM and shows that these concepts are not limited only to large rivers, but are applicable to small southern temperate rivers too. However, some tenets of the theoretical models were challenged. For example, it challenges the proposition by the RCC that the fine particulate organic matter leaked from upstream breakdown of coarse particulate organic matter is predominantly allochthonous. Additionally, this study showed that in the headwaters, the RPM underestimated the role of autochthony. Overall, the results showed that the Kowie River and its riparian area are intrinsically connected. Once we understand the mechanisms controlling connections and subsidies across ecotones, we can then start to predict the consequences of disruptions to these connections by climate change and/or land use changes. To make predictions about future perturbations to rivers and riparian zones, studies like this, which considers the form and magnitude of subsidies, are needed to provide baseline information. Algal resources (e.g. epiphyton), macrophytes, riparian plants, terrestrial organisms and aquatic organisms all contributed to aquatic and terrestrial linkages in the Kowie River; therefore, it is important to conserve the different components of these ecosystems.
- Full Text:
Assessing estuarine nursery habitats for Cape Stumpnose (Rhabdosargus holubi), (Pisces: Sparidae) in a warm-temperate estuary in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Leslie, Timothy David
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3178 , vital:20381
- Description: The nursery role hypothesis provides an approach for assessing the nursery function of habitat types within estuaries. This study attempted to assess the nursery value of the dominant estuarine habitats in the Bushmans Estuary for Rhabdosargus holubi (Steindachner 1881) by analysing habitat complexity, relative abundance and behaviour of R. holubi and using stomach contents analysis and dietary diatom composition as indicative of feeding habitat. Structural habitat complexity was assessed in Zostera capensis (Setchell) seagrass and Spartina maritima (Curtis Fernald) salt marsh by sampling above-ground stem density and length, and total cover per unit area (Ct/At). Dimensionless habitat complexity indices such as the interstitial spatial index (ISI) at three magnifications and fractal geometry at two magnifications were used to further analyse habitat complexity. Above-ground biomass (P<0.05) in each season and canopy height (P<0.001) were significantly higher in salt marsh than in seagrass whilst stem density was significantly higher in seagrass than in salt marsh in each season (P<0.001). Each dimensionless index indicated that complexity is notably higher in seagrass than in the salt marsh. Using dimensionless indices that analyse complexity at different spatial scales provided a better analysis of habitat complexity than canopy height and biomass as it allowed for direct comparisons between habitat types. Underwater video cameras were deployed in seagrass, salt marsh and sand flat habitats to assess the relative abundance and behaviour of R. holubi. The relative abundance of R. holubi was significantly higher in seagrass than salt marsh and sand flats, whilst the behaviour of R. holubi indicated a high degree of habitat use in structured habitats and a low degree of habitat use in unstructured sand flat habitats. This indicated that not only are juvenile R. holubi a vegetation-associated species, but also a species that prefers seagrass to salt marsh.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Leslie, Timothy David
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3178 , vital:20381
- Description: The nursery role hypothesis provides an approach for assessing the nursery function of habitat types within estuaries. This study attempted to assess the nursery value of the dominant estuarine habitats in the Bushmans Estuary for Rhabdosargus holubi (Steindachner 1881) by analysing habitat complexity, relative abundance and behaviour of R. holubi and using stomach contents analysis and dietary diatom composition as indicative of feeding habitat. Structural habitat complexity was assessed in Zostera capensis (Setchell) seagrass and Spartina maritima (Curtis Fernald) salt marsh by sampling above-ground stem density and length, and total cover per unit area (Ct/At). Dimensionless habitat complexity indices such as the interstitial spatial index (ISI) at three magnifications and fractal geometry at two magnifications were used to further analyse habitat complexity. Above-ground biomass (P<0.05) in each season and canopy height (P<0.001) were significantly higher in salt marsh than in seagrass whilst stem density was significantly higher in seagrass than in salt marsh in each season (P<0.001). Each dimensionless index indicated that complexity is notably higher in seagrass than in the salt marsh. Using dimensionless indices that analyse complexity at different spatial scales provided a better analysis of habitat complexity than canopy height and biomass as it allowed for direct comparisons between habitat types. Underwater video cameras were deployed in seagrass, salt marsh and sand flat habitats to assess the relative abundance and behaviour of R. holubi. The relative abundance of R. holubi was significantly higher in seagrass than salt marsh and sand flats, whilst the behaviour of R. holubi indicated a high degree of habitat use in structured habitats and a low degree of habitat use in unstructured sand flat habitats. This indicated that not only are juvenile R. holubi a vegetation-associated species, but also a species that prefers seagrass to salt marsh.
- Full Text:
Assessing the impact of climate change on mangrove crabs: the role of ontogenetic macrophysiology and settlement in the persistence of central and marginal populations
- Authors: Mostert, Bruce Petrus
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/826 , vital:19994
- Description: After a brief respite in the mid to late 20th century, macro physiology has come to the fore in elucidating large scale ecological patterns and processes as physiological assumptions often form the backbone of many predictive theories associated with species distributions. Critically, macro physiological patterns are valuable in explaining physiological variation across multiple scales and provide insights into the effects of climate change on populations spanning a wide range of latitudes. This can assist in predicting possible distribution expansions, contractions or shifts in light of current climate change scenarios. From this perspective, investigating intra- and inter-specific physiological responses to environmental stress may contribute to better understanding and predicting the effects of climate change on geographical ranges. Further, investigating the physiological effects to environmental stresses across ontogenetic stages allows for the identification of weak links within the lifecycle of a species. Additionally, determining settlement characteristics along a latitudinal cline provides integrated indications of the sustainability of populations, highlighting vulnerable regions in terms of repopulation of viable habitats. In this context, the present study aimed at establishing how temperature, in a physiological context, may affect reproductive biology of two species of mangrove crab, Perisesarma guttatum and Uca urvillei at the centre (Kenya) and edge (South Africa) of their distributional range along the east coast of Africa and highlight possible consequences for range distributions. A third species, Neosarmatium africanum, only in South Africa, was included to provide additional interspecies comparisons. Furthermore, settlement characteristics of brachyuran populations at the centre and edge of their distributional range were considered in order to determine how settlement may contribute to population persistence. Physiological investigations at the centre and edge of distributional range and across ontogenetic stages (larvae, stage 2 and 4 embryos, non-gravid and gravid females) under the concept of oxygen and capacity limitation of thermal tolerance (OCLTT), revealed that, for both species, populations at the centre of their distribution (Kenya) were generally more robust to increasing temperatures and generally displayed greater physiological stability with increasing temperatures compared to their conspecifics in South Africa. Variability in physiological robustness between regions, did however, differ among ontogenetic stages and species but, overall, were evident throughout. Within and between regions, adaptation to oxygen extraction in both milieus (air or water) was displayed for present temperature conditions but aerial respiration largely alleviated increased thermal stress due to overcoming the limitations of reduced oxygen availability and diffusiveness in water for all bimodal ontogenetic stages. Brooding eggs proved to be a physiologically critical process with either heighted oxygen consumption for gravid females or collapse of physiological processes demonstrated by supressed oxygen consumption. The physiological cost of brooding eggs, referred to as maternal costs, was reflected in in both Perisesarma guttatum and Uca urvillei where, in most cases, maternal costs were negative. Again, aerial respiration was able to alleviated increased thermal stress, as shown by positive maternal costs indicating sustained maternal care, but this mechanism was species and regionally specific. Settlement patterns differed between the edge and centre of distribution of the species studied. This difference was predominantly driven by zonal preference within the mangal and/or effects of new and full moon (lunar phase). Overall, settlement dynamics were more widely variable in South Africa, both spatially and temporally, than in Kenya. Finally, empirical physiological data from ontogenetic stages present during the reproductive process (early and late stage embryos) and from non-gravid and gravid females were used in conjunction with data mined from the existing literature to parameterise an individual based model designed to simulate reproductive output at the centre and edge of distribution of Perisesarma guttatum. Physiological data indicate that, in terms of reproductive output across increasing temperatures, populations based at the centre of their distribution presently outperform their counterparts at the edge of the species’ distribution, but reproductive output stagnated as temperature rose. Edge of distribution populations consistently increased reproductive output with increasing temperatures to eventually outperform centre of distribution populations at higher simulated temperatures. Overall, results of the physiological and settlement studies suggest that with increased climate change there may be a contraction of distributional range of the study species from high latitudes to low latitudes, contrary to general poleward shifts/migrations seen in most species, with possible contractions of the entire ecosystem mirroring the disappearance of keystone mangrove macrofauna.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mostert, Bruce Petrus
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/826 , vital:19994
- Description: After a brief respite in the mid to late 20th century, macro physiology has come to the fore in elucidating large scale ecological patterns and processes as physiological assumptions often form the backbone of many predictive theories associated with species distributions. Critically, macro physiological patterns are valuable in explaining physiological variation across multiple scales and provide insights into the effects of climate change on populations spanning a wide range of latitudes. This can assist in predicting possible distribution expansions, contractions or shifts in light of current climate change scenarios. From this perspective, investigating intra- and inter-specific physiological responses to environmental stress may contribute to better understanding and predicting the effects of climate change on geographical ranges. Further, investigating the physiological effects to environmental stresses across ontogenetic stages allows for the identification of weak links within the lifecycle of a species. Additionally, determining settlement characteristics along a latitudinal cline provides integrated indications of the sustainability of populations, highlighting vulnerable regions in terms of repopulation of viable habitats. In this context, the present study aimed at establishing how temperature, in a physiological context, may affect reproductive biology of two species of mangrove crab, Perisesarma guttatum and Uca urvillei at the centre (Kenya) and edge (South Africa) of their distributional range along the east coast of Africa and highlight possible consequences for range distributions. A third species, Neosarmatium africanum, only in South Africa, was included to provide additional interspecies comparisons. Furthermore, settlement characteristics of brachyuran populations at the centre and edge of their distributional range were considered in order to determine how settlement may contribute to population persistence. Physiological investigations at the centre and edge of distributional range and across ontogenetic stages (larvae, stage 2 and 4 embryos, non-gravid and gravid females) under the concept of oxygen and capacity limitation of thermal tolerance (OCLTT), revealed that, for both species, populations at the centre of their distribution (Kenya) were generally more robust to increasing temperatures and generally displayed greater physiological stability with increasing temperatures compared to their conspecifics in South Africa. Variability in physiological robustness between regions, did however, differ among ontogenetic stages and species but, overall, were evident throughout. Within and between regions, adaptation to oxygen extraction in both milieus (air or water) was displayed for present temperature conditions but aerial respiration largely alleviated increased thermal stress due to overcoming the limitations of reduced oxygen availability and diffusiveness in water for all bimodal ontogenetic stages. Brooding eggs proved to be a physiologically critical process with either heighted oxygen consumption for gravid females or collapse of physiological processes demonstrated by supressed oxygen consumption. The physiological cost of brooding eggs, referred to as maternal costs, was reflected in in both Perisesarma guttatum and Uca urvillei where, in most cases, maternal costs were negative. Again, aerial respiration was able to alleviated increased thermal stress, as shown by positive maternal costs indicating sustained maternal care, but this mechanism was species and regionally specific. Settlement patterns differed between the edge and centre of distribution of the species studied. This difference was predominantly driven by zonal preference within the mangal and/or effects of new and full moon (lunar phase). Overall, settlement dynamics were more widely variable in South Africa, both spatially and temporally, than in Kenya. Finally, empirical physiological data from ontogenetic stages present during the reproductive process (early and late stage embryos) and from non-gravid and gravid females were used in conjunction with data mined from the existing literature to parameterise an individual based model designed to simulate reproductive output at the centre and edge of distribution of Perisesarma guttatum. Physiological data indicate that, in terms of reproductive output across increasing temperatures, populations based at the centre of their distribution presently outperform their counterparts at the edge of the species’ distribution, but reproductive output stagnated as temperature rose. Edge of distribution populations consistently increased reproductive output with increasing temperatures to eventually outperform centre of distribution populations at higher simulated temperatures. Overall, results of the physiological and settlement studies suggest that with increased climate change there may be a contraction of distributional range of the study species from high latitudes to low latitudes, contrary to general poleward shifts/migrations seen in most species, with possible contractions of the entire ecosystem mirroring the disappearance of keystone mangrove macrofauna.
- Full Text:
Assessing the value of public investment into biological control research for invasive alien plants : the ARC PPRI Weeds Research Division
- Authors: Scarr, Lowell Martin
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Alien plants -- Biological control , Invasive plants -- Biological control , Alien plants -- Economic aspects , Invasive plants -- Economic aspects , Weeds -- Biological control
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1126 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020604
- Description: This study investigates the economic impact of the ARC PPRI Weeds Research Division. The Division researches appropriate methods of biological control for invasive alien plants (IAPs). These plants pose an increasing threat to environmental integrity and ecosystem service provision impacting on economic potential. Since the work of the Division is considered a public good, a predominantly descriptive approach has been adopted for the valuation process. A combination of quantitative cost analysis and a qualitative study of the impacts of research and invasive alien plants is used to deal with the challenges associated with non-market valuation. The study found that investment into the Weeds Division is a valuable activity that supports the long-term growth potential of the South African economy. The role of a well-functioning environment is highlighted as an essential base for the creation of sustained growth opportunities in any society. It was determined that investment into the Division should be increased into the future to support efficient spending of scarce state funds. Biological control research was found to provide strategic future growth potential, creating opportunities for the development of a competitive advantage in the biotechnology and environmental management sectors. The study adds to the increasing move towards a more holistic view of economic valuation, taking factors other than pure finance and econometrics into consideration. This is an important shift in prevailing economic thought, as a realisation is reached that a single, or even triple, bottom line is an outdated and insufficient decision making basis.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Scarr, Lowell Martin
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Alien plants -- Biological control , Invasive plants -- Biological control , Alien plants -- Economic aspects , Invasive plants -- Economic aspects , Weeds -- Biological control
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1126 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020604
- Description: This study investigates the economic impact of the ARC PPRI Weeds Research Division. The Division researches appropriate methods of biological control for invasive alien plants (IAPs). These plants pose an increasing threat to environmental integrity and ecosystem service provision impacting on economic potential. Since the work of the Division is considered a public good, a predominantly descriptive approach has been adopted for the valuation process. A combination of quantitative cost analysis and a qualitative study of the impacts of research and invasive alien plants is used to deal with the challenges associated with non-market valuation. The study found that investment into the Weeds Division is a valuable activity that supports the long-term growth potential of the South African economy. The role of a well-functioning environment is highlighted as an essential base for the creation of sustained growth opportunities in any society. It was determined that investment into the Division should be increased into the future to support efficient spending of scarce state funds. Biological control research was found to provide strategic future growth potential, creating opportunities for the development of a competitive advantage in the biotechnology and environmental management sectors. The study adds to the increasing move towards a more holistic view of economic valuation, taking factors other than pure finance and econometrics into consideration. This is an important shift in prevailing economic thought, as a realisation is reached that a single, or even triple, bottom line is an outdated and insufficient decision making basis.
- Full Text:
Assessment of fluctuating asymmetry as an indicator of water quality stress in South Africa
- Authors: Holland, Alexandra Jennifer
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/430 , vital:19958
- Description: South Africa’s freshwater resources are facing numerous water quality challenges and need to be protected from degradation and pollution by appropriate management strategies as they are a limited and shared resource. The South African Scoring System (SASS5), which assesses macroinvertebrate communities at family level, is used in routine monitoring of riverine ecosystems in South Africa. Assessing the condition of these ecosystems is limited as SASS5 does not allow for changes at lower levels of biological organisation to be detected. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) - small random deviations from perfect symmetry - is considered a direct measure of developmental instability. This phenotypical response results from numerous internal and external factors and has a low level of heritability. FA is based on sound scientific principles, easy to measure, biologically robust and cost-effective. It reflects synergistic interactions between stressors and provides an integrated measure of several anthropogenic stresses, which strengthens the assertion that FA is an environmental indicator of water quality stress, and can potentially be used to detect stress in populations before irreversible effects manifest. FA responses were investigated by (1) exposing freshwater shrimp to increasing concentrations of cadmium chloride in a long-term experiment and (2) comparing FA responses to water quality changes and macroinvertebrate community responses in two case studies (Kwazulu-Natal and Limpopo Province) in South Africa. Although no consistent concentration-response curve could be established, this study suggests that FA responses can be used as a sublethal endpoint in exposure experiments. Determining water quality parameters causing FA responses was not possible in field collected freshwater shrimp in either case study. Although FA did not specifically respond to any of the measured water quality parameters identified in the case studies, it has potential as a general indicator of water quality stress in freshwater shrimp. This study shows that FA responses are potentially more sensitive than macroinvertebrate community responses to pollution since it is not affected by habitat. Since FA has the potential to be a general indicator of population quality, particularly where there are natural habitat differences, it can be useful at the level of biomonitoring required for routine basic river status assessments in South Africa. However, in order for FA to become a robust tool that can be used routinely in conjunction with SASS5 more research is required.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Holland, Alexandra Jennifer
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/430 , vital:19958
- Description: South Africa’s freshwater resources are facing numerous water quality challenges and need to be protected from degradation and pollution by appropriate management strategies as they are a limited and shared resource. The South African Scoring System (SASS5), which assesses macroinvertebrate communities at family level, is used in routine monitoring of riverine ecosystems in South Africa. Assessing the condition of these ecosystems is limited as SASS5 does not allow for changes at lower levels of biological organisation to be detected. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) - small random deviations from perfect symmetry - is considered a direct measure of developmental instability. This phenotypical response results from numerous internal and external factors and has a low level of heritability. FA is based on sound scientific principles, easy to measure, biologically robust and cost-effective. It reflects synergistic interactions between stressors and provides an integrated measure of several anthropogenic stresses, which strengthens the assertion that FA is an environmental indicator of water quality stress, and can potentially be used to detect stress in populations before irreversible effects manifest. FA responses were investigated by (1) exposing freshwater shrimp to increasing concentrations of cadmium chloride in a long-term experiment and (2) comparing FA responses to water quality changes and macroinvertebrate community responses in two case studies (Kwazulu-Natal and Limpopo Province) in South Africa. Although no consistent concentration-response curve could be established, this study suggests that FA responses can be used as a sublethal endpoint in exposure experiments. Determining water quality parameters causing FA responses was not possible in field collected freshwater shrimp in either case study. Although FA did not specifically respond to any of the measured water quality parameters identified in the case studies, it has potential as a general indicator of water quality stress in freshwater shrimp. This study shows that FA responses are potentially more sensitive than macroinvertebrate community responses to pollution since it is not affected by habitat. Since FA has the potential to be a general indicator of population quality, particularly where there are natural habitat differences, it can be useful at the level of biomonitoring required for routine basic river status assessments in South Africa. However, in order for FA to become a robust tool that can be used routinely in conjunction with SASS5 more research is required.
- Full Text:
Bayesian accelerated life tests: exponential and Weibull models
- Authors: Izally, Sharkay Ruwade
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3003 , vital:20351
- Description: Reliability life testing is used for life data analysis in which samples are tested under normal conditions to obtain failure time data for reliability assessment. It can be costly and time consuming to obtain failure time data under normal operating conditions if the mean time to failure of a product is long. An alternative is to use failure time data from an accelerated life test (ALT) to extrapolate the reliability under normal conditions. In accelerated life testing, the units are placed under a higher than normal stress condition such as voltage, current, pressure, temperature, to make the items fail in a shorter period of time. The failure information is then transformed through an accelerated model commonly known as the time transformation function, to predict the reliability under normal operating conditions. The power law will be used as the time transformation function in this thesis. We will first consider a Bayesian inference model under the assumption that the underlying life distribution in the accelerated life test is exponentially distributed. The maximal data information (MDI) prior, the Ghosh Mergel and Liu (GML) prior and the Jeffreys prior will be derived for the exponential distribution. The propriety of the posterior distributions will be investigated. Results will be compared when using these non-informative priors in a simulation study by looking at the posterior variances. The Weibull distribution as the underlying life distribution in the accelerated life test will also be investigated. The maximal data information prior will be derived for the Weibull distribution using the power law. The uniform prior and a mixture of Gamma and uniform priors will be considered. The propriety of these posteriors will also be investigated. The predictive reliability at the use-stress will be computed for these models. The deviance information criterion will be used to compare these priors. As a result of using a time transformation function, Bayesian inference becomes analytically intractable and Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods will be used to alleviate this problem. The Metropolis-Hastings algorithm will be used to sample from the posteriors for the exponential model in the accelerated life test. The adaptive rejection sampling method will be used to sample from the posterior distributions when the Weibull model is considered.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Izally, Sharkay Ruwade
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3003 , vital:20351
- Description: Reliability life testing is used for life data analysis in which samples are tested under normal conditions to obtain failure time data for reliability assessment. It can be costly and time consuming to obtain failure time data under normal operating conditions if the mean time to failure of a product is long. An alternative is to use failure time data from an accelerated life test (ALT) to extrapolate the reliability under normal conditions. In accelerated life testing, the units are placed under a higher than normal stress condition such as voltage, current, pressure, temperature, to make the items fail in a shorter period of time. The failure information is then transformed through an accelerated model commonly known as the time transformation function, to predict the reliability under normal operating conditions. The power law will be used as the time transformation function in this thesis. We will first consider a Bayesian inference model under the assumption that the underlying life distribution in the accelerated life test is exponentially distributed. The maximal data information (MDI) prior, the Ghosh Mergel and Liu (GML) prior and the Jeffreys prior will be derived for the exponential distribution. The propriety of the posterior distributions will be investigated. Results will be compared when using these non-informative priors in a simulation study by looking at the posterior variances. The Weibull distribution as the underlying life distribution in the accelerated life test will also be investigated. The maximal data information prior will be derived for the Weibull distribution using the power law. The uniform prior and a mixture of Gamma and uniform priors will be considered. The propriety of these posteriors will also be investigated. The predictive reliability at the use-stress will be computed for these models. The deviance information criterion will be used to compare these priors. As a result of using a time transformation function, Bayesian inference becomes analytically intractable and Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods will be used to alleviate this problem. The Metropolis-Hastings algorithm will be used to sample from the posteriors for the exponential model in the accelerated life test. The adaptive rejection sampling method will be used to sample from the posterior distributions when the Weibull model is considered.
- Full Text:
Behaviour and trophic ecology of oceanic triggerfish (Canthidermis maculata) and rainbow runner (Elagatis bipinnulata) associated with floating objects in the open ocean
- Forget, Fabien Rocky Gilbert
- Authors: Forget, Fabien Rocky Gilbert
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193531 , vital:45340
- Description: The oceanic triggerfish (Canthidermis maculata) and rainbow runner (Elagatis bipinnulata) are epipelagic species that commonly associate with floating objects throughout the world’s tropical oceans. Besides tunas, these two species often form the bulk of the aggregation and are major non-target species (bycatch) incidentally captured at fish aggregation devices (FADs) by tropical tuna purse seiners. Despite being abundant, little is known about their basic biology, ecology and associative behavior with floating objects. This thesis aims to address knowledge gaps in their associative behavior and ecology at floating objects and attempts to explore potential bycatch mitigation methods. Acoustic telemetry was used to characterise several aspects of the two species’ behavior at floating objects. Fish were captured and tagged at drifting FADs in the core of the western Indian Ocean tuna fishing grounds. Prolonged remote observations were obtained through satellite linked receivers which provided fine-scale data on the behavior of oceanic triggerfish (n= 46 919 cumulated observation days) and rainbow runner (n= 24 538 cumulated observation days). The two species remained associated with the same floating object for periods extending up to several months. The mean residence time estimated using a survival analysis was 65 days for oceanic triggerfish and 94 days for rainbow runner. A distinct diel pattern in association was observed; the two species were closely associated to the FAD during the night and increased their home range during the day while performing short excursions (oceanic triggerfish mean: 2.0 hours ±1.6 SD; rainbow runner mean: 2.4 hours ±2.2 SD) away from the FAD. Similarly, distinct patterns in the vertical movements and locomotory activity (measured using accelerometer tags) were observed as the two species increased their vertical movements and activity levels during the day. Generally, their vertical movements were largely restricted to the mixed layer (< 60 m). At night, the two species remained close to the surface (0-5 m) where they appear to be in a resting state. An interesting behavioural switch in activity levels and vertical distribution was observed for oceanic triggerfish which coincided with a change in the environment as the FAD drifted close to a cold-core cyclonic eddy. Ambient light appears to be the key stimulus triggering the observed diel behavioural patterns. species-specific vulnerability for target species, skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin (Thunnus albacares), bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) and non-target species, including silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis), oceanic triggerfish, and rainbow runner, to the purse seine fishing gear were investigated. Hourly presence rates at FADs over 24 hours were examined to assess whether the capture rate of non-target species could be reduced at specific times during the day. Silky sharks displayed a similar associative pattern to that of targeted tunas. Moreover, the vulnerability of both target and non-target species were close to the maximum during the period of behavioural transitions at sunrise when the majority of the fishing sets are made. As such, a change in set time in the western Indian Ocean does not appear to be a feasible method to reduce capture rates of non-target species. Stomach content and stable isotope analysis were conducted on oceanic triggerfish (stomach n = 152, isotope n = 65) and rainbow runner (stomach n = 156, isotope n = 71) incidentally captured individuals at FADs by purse seiners. Typical FAD-associated prey items represented a minor component of their diet as they predominantly foraged on zooplankton and micronekton in the water column, suggesting that oceanic triggerfish and rainbow runner do not associate to floating objects for direct trophic advantages. Overlap in their dietary and isotopic niches indicates an intermediate level of competition. Overall, the spatial and trophic ecology of both species are remarkably similar and prolonged associations with FADs indicates that floating objects play a significant ecological role in the pelagic environment for the two species. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, 2016
- Full Text:
- Authors: Forget, Fabien Rocky Gilbert
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193531 , vital:45340
- Description: The oceanic triggerfish (Canthidermis maculata) and rainbow runner (Elagatis bipinnulata) are epipelagic species that commonly associate with floating objects throughout the world’s tropical oceans. Besides tunas, these two species often form the bulk of the aggregation and are major non-target species (bycatch) incidentally captured at fish aggregation devices (FADs) by tropical tuna purse seiners. Despite being abundant, little is known about their basic biology, ecology and associative behavior with floating objects. This thesis aims to address knowledge gaps in their associative behavior and ecology at floating objects and attempts to explore potential bycatch mitigation methods. Acoustic telemetry was used to characterise several aspects of the two species’ behavior at floating objects. Fish were captured and tagged at drifting FADs in the core of the western Indian Ocean tuna fishing grounds. Prolonged remote observations were obtained through satellite linked receivers which provided fine-scale data on the behavior of oceanic triggerfish (n= 46 919 cumulated observation days) and rainbow runner (n= 24 538 cumulated observation days). The two species remained associated with the same floating object for periods extending up to several months. The mean residence time estimated using a survival analysis was 65 days for oceanic triggerfish and 94 days for rainbow runner. A distinct diel pattern in association was observed; the two species were closely associated to the FAD during the night and increased their home range during the day while performing short excursions (oceanic triggerfish mean: 2.0 hours ±1.6 SD; rainbow runner mean: 2.4 hours ±2.2 SD) away from the FAD. Similarly, distinct patterns in the vertical movements and locomotory activity (measured using accelerometer tags) were observed as the two species increased their vertical movements and activity levels during the day. Generally, their vertical movements were largely restricted to the mixed layer (< 60 m). At night, the two species remained close to the surface (0-5 m) where they appear to be in a resting state. An interesting behavioural switch in activity levels and vertical distribution was observed for oceanic triggerfish which coincided with a change in the environment as the FAD drifted close to a cold-core cyclonic eddy. Ambient light appears to be the key stimulus triggering the observed diel behavioural patterns. species-specific vulnerability for target species, skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin (Thunnus albacares), bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) and non-target species, including silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis), oceanic triggerfish, and rainbow runner, to the purse seine fishing gear were investigated. Hourly presence rates at FADs over 24 hours were examined to assess whether the capture rate of non-target species could be reduced at specific times during the day. Silky sharks displayed a similar associative pattern to that of targeted tunas. Moreover, the vulnerability of both target and non-target species were close to the maximum during the period of behavioural transitions at sunrise when the majority of the fishing sets are made. As such, a change in set time in the western Indian Ocean does not appear to be a feasible method to reduce capture rates of non-target species. Stomach content and stable isotope analysis were conducted on oceanic triggerfish (stomach n = 152, isotope n = 65) and rainbow runner (stomach n = 156, isotope n = 71) incidentally captured individuals at FADs by purse seiners. Typical FAD-associated prey items represented a minor component of their diet as they predominantly foraged on zooplankton and micronekton in the water column, suggesting that oceanic triggerfish and rainbow runner do not associate to floating objects for direct trophic advantages. Overlap in their dietary and isotopic niches indicates an intermediate level of competition. Overall, the spatial and trophic ecology of both species are remarkably similar and prolonged associations with FADs indicates that floating objects play a significant ecological role in the pelagic environment for the two species. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, 2016
- Full Text:
Being a black mine worker in South Africa: the case of Anglo Platinum Mine
- Authors: Maseko, Robert
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/651 , vital:19978
- Description: This thesis presents a decolonial perspective on the experience of being a black mineworker in post-apartheid South Africa with specific reference to the Platinum Belt. It seeks to understand what it means to be a black mineworker by unmasking and analysing the existence and prevalence of coloniality in contemporary South Africa despite the end of formal colonialism (i.e. apartheid). As a world-wide system, coloniality has different dimensions which all speak to and highlight continuities between the period of colonialism and the post-colonial period. These dimensions are coloniality of power, coloniality of being and coloniality of knowledge. The power structure of coloniality produces and reproduces the identity of the black mineworker in present-day South Africa as a sub-ontological being devoid of an authentic humanity such that the mineworker is depicted as incapable of rational thought and knowledge. The existential condition of the black mineworker is symptomatic of the generic experience of being a racialised subject of colour in the current global power structure predicated on the dominance and hegemony of Western-centred modernity. The black mineworker exists on the darker side of Western-centred modernity, living a life of wretchedness and continuing to suffer the colonial wound in the absence of formal colonialism and apartheid. The mineworker is disposable and dispensable and lives and works in the shadow of death. In pursuing this course of reasoning, I deploy the epistemic method of ‘shifting the geography of reason’ in order to read the experience of mineworkers in South Africa from the locus of enunciation of the oppressed subject within the scheme of a colonial power differential based on a hierarchy of humanity. This method allows me to speak with and from the perspective of the black mineworkers in the Platinum Belt as opposed to speaking for and about them. I reach the conclusion that being a platinum mineworker in post-apartheid South Africa is a racial and market determined identity of colonialised subjectivity that relegates the dominated subject (the black mineworker) to the realm of the subhuman. In setting the context for this claim, I trace the origins and development of the black mineworker in South Africa with reference to historical processes such as dispossession and proletarianisation. Empirically, the thesis is rooted in a contemporary case study of mainly Anglo Platinum Mine, which involved comprehensive fieldwork focusing on the present lived realities of platinum mineworkers. The dignity and humanity of these black mineworkers has still not returned despite twenty years of democratic rule in South Africa, such that race remains a crucial organising principle in postapartheid South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Maseko, Robert
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/651 , vital:19978
- Description: This thesis presents a decolonial perspective on the experience of being a black mineworker in post-apartheid South Africa with specific reference to the Platinum Belt. It seeks to understand what it means to be a black mineworker by unmasking and analysing the existence and prevalence of coloniality in contemporary South Africa despite the end of formal colonialism (i.e. apartheid). As a world-wide system, coloniality has different dimensions which all speak to and highlight continuities between the period of colonialism and the post-colonial period. These dimensions are coloniality of power, coloniality of being and coloniality of knowledge. The power structure of coloniality produces and reproduces the identity of the black mineworker in present-day South Africa as a sub-ontological being devoid of an authentic humanity such that the mineworker is depicted as incapable of rational thought and knowledge. The existential condition of the black mineworker is symptomatic of the generic experience of being a racialised subject of colour in the current global power structure predicated on the dominance and hegemony of Western-centred modernity. The black mineworker exists on the darker side of Western-centred modernity, living a life of wretchedness and continuing to suffer the colonial wound in the absence of formal colonialism and apartheid. The mineworker is disposable and dispensable and lives and works in the shadow of death. In pursuing this course of reasoning, I deploy the epistemic method of ‘shifting the geography of reason’ in order to read the experience of mineworkers in South Africa from the locus of enunciation of the oppressed subject within the scheme of a colonial power differential based on a hierarchy of humanity. This method allows me to speak with and from the perspective of the black mineworkers in the Platinum Belt as opposed to speaking for and about them. I reach the conclusion that being a platinum mineworker in post-apartheid South Africa is a racial and market determined identity of colonialised subjectivity that relegates the dominated subject (the black mineworker) to the realm of the subhuman. In setting the context for this claim, I trace the origins and development of the black mineworker in South Africa with reference to historical processes such as dispossession and proletarianisation. Empirically, the thesis is rooted in a contemporary case study of mainly Anglo Platinum Mine, which involved comprehensive fieldwork focusing on the present lived realities of platinum mineworkers. The dignity and humanity of these black mineworkers has still not returned despite twenty years of democratic rule in South Africa, such that race remains a crucial organising principle in postapartheid South Africa.
- Full Text:
Being civil
- Matshoba, Zongezile Theophilus
- Authors: Matshoba, Zongezile Theophilus
- Date: 2016
- Language: English , Xhosa
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6017 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021237
- Description: My collection of short stories delves into government and governance, democracy, citizenship, civil servants, poverty, corruption and nepotism. My stories draw on the traditions of gritty urban crime fiction uncovering crimes of violence, service delivery, vandalism and corruption. They explore themes of mental cruelty and greed, self- preservation and community in rural areas, farms, townships and cities characterized by wrenching contradictions and inequalities. , This epic dramatic poetic verse delves into government and school governance, labour unions, liberation struggle, parenting and a wide range of school perceptions. It interrogates the roles of parents, teachers, students, department of education officials and that of other stakeholders that make use of schools. Influenced by William Wellington Gqoba’s ‘A great debate on education: a Parable’ wayback, it continues the education debate in the current post-democratic South Africa characterized by wrenching contradictions and inequalities. , This thesis is presented in two parts: English and isiXhosa.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Matshoba, Zongezile Theophilus
- Date: 2016
- Language: English , Xhosa
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6017 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021237
- Description: My collection of short stories delves into government and governance, democracy, citizenship, civil servants, poverty, corruption and nepotism. My stories draw on the traditions of gritty urban crime fiction uncovering crimes of violence, service delivery, vandalism and corruption. They explore themes of mental cruelty and greed, self- preservation and community in rural areas, farms, townships and cities characterized by wrenching contradictions and inequalities. , This epic dramatic poetic verse delves into government and school governance, labour unions, liberation struggle, parenting and a wide range of school perceptions. It interrogates the roles of parents, teachers, students, department of education officials and that of other stakeholders that make use of schools. Influenced by William Wellington Gqoba’s ‘A great debate on education: a Parable’ wayback, it continues the education debate in the current post-democratic South Africa characterized by wrenching contradictions and inequalities. , This thesis is presented in two parts: English and isiXhosa.
- Full Text:
Being for the Other: Surveillance and Depictions of Race, Gender, and Animals in Contemporary South African Fiction
- Authors: Laue, Kharys Ateh
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3848 , vital:20549
- Description: This thesis examines the depiction, in contemporary South African fiction, of irresponsibility and responsibility in relation to the raced, gendered, and animal Other. Through a close analysis of Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon prison and Michel Foucault’s study of this design, I establish the notion of disciplinary surveillance or panopticism. This I take to be a mode of power that seeks, by means of an invisible gaze, to render its subjects docile. In my readings of J. M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians, Zoë Wicomb’s Playing in the Light, Justin Cartwright’s White Lightning, and selected short stories from Wicomb’s You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town and The One That Got Away, I demonstrate that oppressive authoritarian regimes are rooted in Benthamic principles of hyper-visibility and concealment. Disciplinary power, I contend, is effective precisely because it places an individual in a constant state of Being-for-Others, a term coined by Jean-Paul Sartre to describe the experience of objectification through another’s look. Judith Butler’s concept of gender performativity and W. E. B. Du Bois’s notion of black double consciousness frame my examination of, respectively, gender and racial oppression, while my discussion of animals appeals to Jacques Derrida’s work on the non-human. I show how surveillance, in each of the selected texts, functions through a racist and/or sexist and/or speciesist gaze that facilitates violent, irresponsible relationships with the human and non-human Other. The texts under discussion, however, also depict ways in which the Other actively resists and subverts regimes of oppression, often by means of a counter gaze that compels the protagonist, or the reader, to take up responsibility for Others. Ultimately, my study concludes that the fictional works of Coetzee, Wicomb, and Cartwright offer an ethics of empathetic responsibility, which I term Being for the Other, in opposition to mechanisms of disciplinary surveillance that seek to oppress, conceal, and dominate.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Laue, Kharys Ateh
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3848 , vital:20549
- Description: This thesis examines the depiction, in contemporary South African fiction, of irresponsibility and responsibility in relation to the raced, gendered, and animal Other. Through a close analysis of Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon prison and Michel Foucault’s study of this design, I establish the notion of disciplinary surveillance or panopticism. This I take to be a mode of power that seeks, by means of an invisible gaze, to render its subjects docile. In my readings of J. M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians, Zoë Wicomb’s Playing in the Light, Justin Cartwright’s White Lightning, and selected short stories from Wicomb’s You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town and The One That Got Away, I demonstrate that oppressive authoritarian regimes are rooted in Benthamic principles of hyper-visibility and concealment. Disciplinary power, I contend, is effective precisely because it places an individual in a constant state of Being-for-Others, a term coined by Jean-Paul Sartre to describe the experience of objectification through another’s look. Judith Butler’s concept of gender performativity and W. E. B. Du Bois’s notion of black double consciousness frame my examination of, respectively, gender and racial oppression, while my discussion of animals appeals to Jacques Derrida’s work on the non-human. I show how surveillance, in each of the selected texts, functions through a racist and/or sexist and/or speciesist gaze that facilitates violent, irresponsible relationships with the human and non-human Other. The texts under discussion, however, also depict ways in which the Other actively resists and subverts regimes of oppression, often by means of a counter gaze that compels the protagonist, or the reader, to take up responsibility for Others. Ultimately, my study concludes that the fictional works of Coetzee, Wicomb, and Cartwright offer an ethics of empathetic responsibility, which I term Being for the Other, in opposition to mechanisms of disciplinary surveillance that seek to oppress, conceal, and dominate.
- Full Text:
Beta decay of 100/400 Zr produced in neutron-induced fission of natural uranium
- Authors: Kamoto, Thokozani
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3024 , vital:20353
- Description: Fission fragments, produced by neutron bombardment of natural uranium at the Physics Department, Jyväskylä, Finland, are studied in this work. The data had been sorted into 25 Y — y coincidence matrices which were then analysed. In this work we aimed to identify the fission products using Y-Y coincidence analysis and then study the beta-decay of some of the fission products. Sixteen fission products ranging from A = 94 to A = 136 were identified. Out of these fission products beta decay of the A = 100 (100/40 Zr – 100/41 Nb – 100/42 Mo) chain was studied in greater detail. We have also studied the variation of the relative intensities as a function of time of the 159-, 528-, 600-, 768-, 928- and 1502-keV Y-rav lines in 100/42 Mo and the profiles of the relative intensities have been modelled with the variation of the activity of 100/41 Nb against time. Configuration assignments of 100 Zr and 100/42 Mo are discussed.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Kamoto, Thokozani
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3024 , vital:20353
- Description: Fission fragments, produced by neutron bombardment of natural uranium at the Physics Department, Jyväskylä, Finland, are studied in this work. The data had been sorted into 25 Y — y coincidence matrices which were then analysed. In this work we aimed to identify the fission products using Y-Y coincidence analysis and then study the beta-decay of some of the fission products. Sixteen fission products ranging from A = 94 to A = 136 were identified. Out of these fission products beta decay of the A = 100 (100/40 Zr – 100/41 Nb – 100/42 Mo) chain was studied in greater detail. We have also studied the variation of the relative intensities as a function of time of the 159-, 528-, 600-, 768-, 928- and 1502-keV Y-rav lines in 100/42 Mo and the profiles of the relative intensities have been modelled with the variation of the activity of 100/41 Nb against time. Configuration assignments of 100 Zr and 100/42 Mo are discussed.
- Full Text:
Between sentences
- Authors: Thesen, Jo-Ann
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6007 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1021215
- Description: My stories explore different forms, including flash fiction. Some use the fairy tale form to combine fiction and non-fiction in order to reach the essence of the story. In this I am influenced by Kate Bernheimer, who speaks of the “flatness, abstraction, intuitive logic and normalized magic” of traditional fairy tales. A number of stories are set in the places I worked as a newspaper reporter. Here I use my old press reports as starting points for the real or imagined story behind the news – often involving miscommunication, dominance, exploitation, the tension between isolation and belonging, and the nuances of family relationships.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Thesen, Jo-Ann
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6007 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1021215
- Description: My stories explore different forms, including flash fiction. Some use the fairy tale form to combine fiction and non-fiction in order to reach the essence of the story. In this I am influenced by Kate Bernheimer, who speaks of the “flatness, abstraction, intuitive logic and normalized magic” of traditional fairy tales. A number of stories are set in the places I worked as a newspaper reporter. Here I use my old press reports as starting points for the real or imagined story behind the news – often involving miscommunication, dominance, exploitation, the tension between isolation and belonging, and the nuances of family relationships.
- Full Text:
Bio-prospecting a Soil Metagenomic Library for Carbohydrate Active Esterases
- Authors: Shezi, Ntombifuthi
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4172 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021266
- Description: Lignocellulosic biomass is a promising renewable resource on earth. Plant biomass contains fermentable sugars and other moieties that can be converted to biofuels or other chemicals. Enzymatic hydrolysis of these biopolymers is significant in the liberation of sugars for fermentation into desired products. Owing to its complex structure, synergistic action of enzymes is required for its degradation. Enzymes that are involved in biomass degradation include cellulases, hemicellulases and the accessory enzymes acetyl xylan esterases and ferulic acid esterases. Ferulic acid esterases (FAEs, EC 3.1.1.73), represent a subclass of carboxylester hydrolases (EC 3.1.1.-) that catalyse the release of hydroxycinnamic acids (such as ferulic acid, p-coumaric, ferulic, sinapic and caffeic acid) that are generally found esterified to polysaccharides, such as arabinoxylans. Hydroxycinnamic acids have widespread potential applications due to their antimicrobial, photoprotectant and antioxidant properties, as well as their use as flavour precursors. Therefore, this interesting group of FAEs has a potentially wide variety of applications in agriculture, food and pharmaceutical industries. In the search for novel biocatalysts, metagenomics is considered as an alternative approach to conventional microbe screening, therefore, searching for novel biocatalysts from a soil metagenome that harbours a unique diversity of biocatalyst is significant. The aim of this study was to extract DNA from soil associated with cattle manure and construct a soil metagenomic library using a fosmid based plasmid vector and subsequently functionally screen for ferulic acid esterases using ethyl ferulate as a model substrate. A total of 59 recombinant fosmids conferring ferulic acid esterase phenotypes were identified (Hit rate 1:3122) and the two fosmids that consistently showed high FAE activities were selected for further study. Following nucleotide sequencing and translational analysis, two fae encoding open reading frames (FAE9 and FAE27) of approximately 274 and 322 aa, respectively, were identified. The amino acid sequence of the two ORFs contained a classical conserved esterase/lipase G-x-S-x-G sequence motif. The two genes (fae9 and fae27) were successfully expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) and the purified enzymes exhibited respective temperature optima of 50 °C and 40 °C, and respective pH optima of 6.0 and 7.0. Further biochemical characterisation showed that FAE9 and FAE27 have high substrate specificity, following the fact that EFA is the preferred substrate for FAE9 (kcat/Km value of 128 s−1.mM-1) and also the preferred substrate for FAE27 (kcat/Km value of 137 s−1.mM-1). This work proves that soil is a valuable environmental source for novel esterase screening through functional based metagenomic approach. Therefore, this method may be used to screen for other valuable enzymes from environmental sources using inexpensive natural sources to encourage the screening of specific enzymes. Biochemistry of the two isolated enzymes makes these enzymes to be useful in industrial applications due to broad substrate activity that could replace the specialised enzymes to complete plant biomass degradation.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Shezi, Ntombifuthi
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4172 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021266
- Description: Lignocellulosic biomass is a promising renewable resource on earth. Plant biomass contains fermentable sugars and other moieties that can be converted to biofuels or other chemicals. Enzymatic hydrolysis of these biopolymers is significant in the liberation of sugars for fermentation into desired products. Owing to its complex structure, synergistic action of enzymes is required for its degradation. Enzymes that are involved in biomass degradation include cellulases, hemicellulases and the accessory enzymes acetyl xylan esterases and ferulic acid esterases. Ferulic acid esterases (FAEs, EC 3.1.1.73), represent a subclass of carboxylester hydrolases (EC 3.1.1.-) that catalyse the release of hydroxycinnamic acids (such as ferulic acid, p-coumaric, ferulic, sinapic and caffeic acid) that are generally found esterified to polysaccharides, such as arabinoxylans. Hydroxycinnamic acids have widespread potential applications due to their antimicrobial, photoprotectant and antioxidant properties, as well as their use as flavour precursors. Therefore, this interesting group of FAEs has a potentially wide variety of applications in agriculture, food and pharmaceutical industries. In the search for novel biocatalysts, metagenomics is considered as an alternative approach to conventional microbe screening, therefore, searching for novel biocatalysts from a soil metagenome that harbours a unique diversity of biocatalyst is significant. The aim of this study was to extract DNA from soil associated with cattle manure and construct a soil metagenomic library using a fosmid based plasmid vector and subsequently functionally screen for ferulic acid esterases using ethyl ferulate as a model substrate. A total of 59 recombinant fosmids conferring ferulic acid esterase phenotypes were identified (Hit rate 1:3122) and the two fosmids that consistently showed high FAE activities were selected for further study. Following nucleotide sequencing and translational analysis, two fae encoding open reading frames (FAE9 and FAE27) of approximately 274 and 322 aa, respectively, were identified. The amino acid sequence of the two ORFs contained a classical conserved esterase/lipase G-x-S-x-G sequence motif. The two genes (fae9 and fae27) were successfully expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) and the purified enzymes exhibited respective temperature optima of 50 °C and 40 °C, and respective pH optima of 6.0 and 7.0. Further biochemical characterisation showed that FAE9 and FAE27 have high substrate specificity, following the fact that EFA is the preferred substrate for FAE9 (kcat/Km value of 128 s−1.mM-1) and also the preferred substrate for FAE27 (kcat/Km value of 137 s−1.mM-1). This work proves that soil is a valuable environmental source for novel esterase screening through functional based metagenomic approach. Therefore, this method may be used to screen for other valuable enzymes from environmental sources using inexpensive natural sources to encourage the screening of specific enzymes. Biochemistry of the two isolated enzymes makes these enzymes to be useful in industrial applications due to broad substrate activity that could replace the specialised enzymes to complete plant biomass degradation.
- Full Text:
Biofuels and rural development: A case study of the Mapfura-Makhura Incubator and small-scale farmers in the Limpopo Province
- Authors: Mothupi, Frans Makwena
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1488 , vital:20062
- Description: The primary objective of the study is to examine the livelihood impact of biofuel production on small-scale rural farmers participating in the MMI project in the local districts in Limpopo province. The study is theoretically underpinned by the sustainable livelihoods framework which provides a nuanced analysis of the complex nature of poverty and livelihoods. The framework was used to examine how MMI as a structure with its own processes (incubator model) plays a role in creating a means for farmers to have more access to livelihood assets which would help them achieve improved livelihoods outcome. The findings of this study reflect what has already been articulated in literature about small-scale biofuel projects. This study shows that MMI’s incubator plays an important role for 73% of the farmers to access all of the livelihood assets and ultimately improving their farm income and food security. Furthermore, 90% of the participants admitted to have received support from MMI in a number of ways. This includes the provision of farming inputs, labour and access to markets in addition to training, mentoring and coaching. The study also found that despite the overwhelming support, both MMI and farmers face a number of challenges. Farmers still lack adequate farming inputs, transport, access to markets and vulnerability to natural disasters. MMI faces challenges in raising funds to provide inputs to all their incubatees and lack of adequate mechanization. Lack of transportation affects both farmers and MMI in that farmers find it difficult to access MMI service. In the same light, MMI has found it difficult to reach farmers for post-incubation, coaching and mentoring or delivering inputs; this can be challenging and a costly process. MMI’s biofuel production project has the capability for improving rural livelihoods through agriculture. The study concludes by recommending that MMI should improve its own capacity in order for them to better the lives of the farmers they assist. This study is significant for contributing to a field which has received less academic and research attention in South Africa. Its scholarly contribution will enhance the existing body of knowledge on biofuels and rural development in South Africa
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mothupi, Frans Makwena
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1488 , vital:20062
- Description: The primary objective of the study is to examine the livelihood impact of biofuel production on small-scale rural farmers participating in the MMI project in the local districts in Limpopo province. The study is theoretically underpinned by the sustainable livelihoods framework which provides a nuanced analysis of the complex nature of poverty and livelihoods. The framework was used to examine how MMI as a structure with its own processes (incubator model) plays a role in creating a means for farmers to have more access to livelihood assets which would help them achieve improved livelihoods outcome. The findings of this study reflect what has already been articulated in literature about small-scale biofuel projects. This study shows that MMI’s incubator plays an important role for 73% of the farmers to access all of the livelihood assets and ultimately improving their farm income and food security. Furthermore, 90% of the participants admitted to have received support from MMI in a number of ways. This includes the provision of farming inputs, labour and access to markets in addition to training, mentoring and coaching. The study also found that despite the overwhelming support, both MMI and farmers face a number of challenges. Farmers still lack adequate farming inputs, transport, access to markets and vulnerability to natural disasters. MMI faces challenges in raising funds to provide inputs to all their incubatees and lack of adequate mechanization. Lack of transportation affects both farmers and MMI in that farmers find it difficult to access MMI service. In the same light, MMI has found it difficult to reach farmers for post-incubation, coaching and mentoring or delivering inputs; this can be challenging and a costly process. MMI’s biofuel production project has the capability for improving rural livelihoods through agriculture. The study concludes by recommending that MMI should improve its own capacity in order for them to better the lives of the farmers they assist. This study is significant for contributing to a field which has received less academic and research attention in South Africa. Its scholarly contribution will enhance the existing body of knowledge on biofuels and rural development in South Africa
- Full Text:
Biology and ecology of Glossogobius callidus (Smith 1937) in irrigation impoundments in the Sundays River Valley of the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Mofu, Lubabalo
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1136 , vital:20023
- Description: The River Goby Glossogobius callidus (Smith, 1937) is a native abundant fish in both freshwater and estuarine habitats in the Cape Fold Ecoregion, yet little information is available on its life-history. This study aims to contribute to knowledge on the age and growth, reproductive biology and the diet and feeding habits of G. callidus in irrigation impoundments. Glossogobius callidus was sampled monthly from August 2013 till March 2015; from the irrigation ponds in the Sundays River Valley, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. To determine sex, gonads were visually assessed under a dissecting microscope to confirm the sex based on the shape of the urogenital papillae. Fish were then dissected to confirm sex and gonads were categorised into five macroscopic stages which were histologically validated. Microscopic stages of gonadal development were discerned based on nuclear and cytoplasmic characteristics of the oocyte or sperm. Ovaries and sperms were assigned stages based on the most advanced type of oocyte present. In total 2054 fishes ranging in length from 21.1 mm to 137.2 mm TL were sampled. The sex ratio (1.1 males: 1 females) did not differ from unity (x2 = 0.027, df = 1, p = 0.87). Length at 50% maturity (Lm) was 70 mm TL females and 72 mm TL for males. Spawning season was mid-spring and mid-summer and mean ± S.D absolute fecundity was estimated at 1028.2 ± 131.7 ova/fish. Relative fecundity (number of vitellogenic oocytes per gram of eviscerated fish mass) were estimated at 50 ± 18 ova/fish gram. Otoliths from 560 fish were used for ageing. Growth zone deposition rate was validated using edge analysis. As a unimodal periodic regression model best described the temporal proportion of opaque zone deposition on the edge of otoliths over a one-year period, growth zone deposition rate was validated as annual. The oldest female fish was a 4-year old 84.4 mm TL fish and the oldest male was a 7-year old 100.5 mm TL fish. The length-at-age for the entire population of 560 G. callidus provided von Bertalanffy parameters of Lt = 92 (1 - e -0.58(t + 0.4)) mm TL for the entire population, Lt = 70 (1 - e -1.8 (t + 0.06)) mm TL for males and Lt = 65 (1 - e -1.8 (t + 0.05)) mm TL for females. Converting length at maturity to age at maturity demonstrated that G. callidus attained maturity at an age of 2-years. Growth performance described using the phi-prime index showed that G. callidus had lower growth performance compared to the invasive Neogobius melanostomus. Using age structure, natural mortality was estimated at 1.31 yr-1 using catch curve analysis. Diet of G. callidus comprised of ten taxonomic groups. Among these, aquatic invertebrates were the most diverse group but while relative contribution of the dietary components varied across all size classes and seasons, the key prey items were consistently found in all size classes. These were Diptera, Hemiptera, Trichoptera, Odonata, Cladocera, Copepoda, Hydracarina, Amphipoda, Crustacea, and Mollusca. While dietary differences were observed between the size classes and throughout the seasons, G. callidus can be regarded as a generalist feeder preying on an array of different species. Given its abundance and diet, I suggest that G. callidus contribute considerably to the invertebrate predation pressure in these artificial aquatic environments in an arid region. In summary, medium fecundity, fast growth, moderate maturity, and a generalist feeding behaviour demonstrate that G. callidus is an equilibrium life strategist. In comparison with other species, the life-history traits of G. callidus from irrigation impoundments resemble those of other freshwater goby species, some of which are global invaders.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mofu, Lubabalo
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1136 , vital:20023
- Description: The River Goby Glossogobius callidus (Smith, 1937) is a native abundant fish in both freshwater and estuarine habitats in the Cape Fold Ecoregion, yet little information is available on its life-history. This study aims to contribute to knowledge on the age and growth, reproductive biology and the diet and feeding habits of G. callidus in irrigation impoundments. Glossogobius callidus was sampled monthly from August 2013 till March 2015; from the irrigation ponds in the Sundays River Valley, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. To determine sex, gonads were visually assessed under a dissecting microscope to confirm the sex based on the shape of the urogenital papillae. Fish were then dissected to confirm sex and gonads were categorised into five macroscopic stages which were histologically validated. Microscopic stages of gonadal development were discerned based on nuclear and cytoplasmic characteristics of the oocyte or sperm. Ovaries and sperms were assigned stages based on the most advanced type of oocyte present. In total 2054 fishes ranging in length from 21.1 mm to 137.2 mm TL were sampled. The sex ratio (1.1 males: 1 females) did not differ from unity (x2 = 0.027, df = 1, p = 0.87). Length at 50% maturity (Lm) was 70 mm TL females and 72 mm TL for males. Spawning season was mid-spring and mid-summer and mean ± S.D absolute fecundity was estimated at 1028.2 ± 131.7 ova/fish. Relative fecundity (number of vitellogenic oocytes per gram of eviscerated fish mass) were estimated at 50 ± 18 ova/fish gram. Otoliths from 560 fish were used for ageing. Growth zone deposition rate was validated using edge analysis. As a unimodal periodic regression model best described the temporal proportion of opaque zone deposition on the edge of otoliths over a one-year period, growth zone deposition rate was validated as annual. The oldest female fish was a 4-year old 84.4 mm TL fish and the oldest male was a 7-year old 100.5 mm TL fish. The length-at-age for the entire population of 560 G. callidus provided von Bertalanffy parameters of Lt = 92 (1 - e -0.58(t + 0.4)) mm TL for the entire population, Lt = 70 (1 - e -1.8 (t + 0.06)) mm TL for males and Lt = 65 (1 - e -1.8 (t + 0.05)) mm TL for females. Converting length at maturity to age at maturity demonstrated that G. callidus attained maturity at an age of 2-years. Growth performance described using the phi-prime index showed that G. callidus had lower growth performance compared to the invasive Neogobius melanostomus. Using age structure, natural mortality was estimated at 1.31 yr-1 using catch curve analysis. Diet of G. callidus comprised of ten taxonomic groups. Among these, aquatic invertebrates were the most diverse group but while relative contribution of the dietary components varied across all size classes and seasons, the key prey items were consistently found in all size classes. These were Diptera, Hemiptera, Trichoptera, Odonata, Cladocera, Copepoda, Hydracarina, Amphipoda, Crustacea, and Mollusca. While dietary differences were observed between the size classes and throughout the seasons, G. callidus can be regarded as a generalist feeder preying on an array of different species. Given its abundance and diet, I suggest that G. callidus contribute considerably to the invertebrate predation pressure in these artificial aquatic environments in an arid region. In summary, medium fecundity, fast growth, moderate maturity, and a generalist feeding behaviour demonstrate that G. callidus is an equilibrium life strategist. In comparison with other species, the life-history traits of G. callidus from irrigation impoundments resemble those of other freshwater goby species, some of which are global invaders.
- Full Text:
Boetie is verlore: the reproduction of militarized white masculinities through the lens of Boetie gaan border toe! (1984)
- Authors: Coetzee, Joseph
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4245 , vital:20638
- Description: My father fought for the South African Defence Force (SADF) from 1983 to 1985. At that time the apartheid regime was involved in extensive military operations in what is now Namibia and Angola. This conflict was aimed at quelling the liberation movements in those countries and, as Gary Baines has noted, supported the United States of America’s Cold War interests (Baines 2007:1). When I was fourteen I found a piece written by my father in which he remembers the first person that he had killed in the aforementioned conflict. This was a child soldier who he compared to me as I was a similar age at the time of his writing. The idea of my father as a killer haunted me. He has carried the trauma of his experiences on the border with him; he has told me how the dead visit him in dreams. On the one hand, these memories, not my own, have been constructed through my interpretation of the events in my father’s stories. On the other hand, homologies may be drawn between his actual experiences and a fantasy representation of the conflict I have encountered, the film Boetie gaan border toe! or Brother goes to the border! (1984). This apartheid propaganda film presents an idealised representation of the conflict from the point of view of the apartheid state. The protagonist of the film, Boetie, is an example of the aspirational and dominant image of militarised masculinity the apartheid state wished young white men to emulate. The racist sexist, patriarchal and materialistic reality created within the film is one I am familiar with. The toys I grew up playing with, television shows, films, advertising and popular culture I consumed, alongside the boys’ school I attended and the University I currently attend are all rooted in and continue to reproduce this reality. I have encountered many similar archetypes to the Boetie character. With this in mind I wish through my art practice to create a work which draws upon my father’s writing and imagery from Boetie gaan border toe! (1984). I have placed these alongside windows into my contemporary context in order to emphasise the continual reproduction of these ideas. In reference to the Boetie film I have decided to create my own film entitled Boetie is verlore or Brother is lost. This is a magic realist documentary film that I have constructed through various interviews and fantasy dream sequences in order to paint a picture of the continual incubation and reproduction of realities similar to that of Boetie. Boetie is a rich white man who is characterised through his material possessions and his compulsive heterosexuality. White women are interchangeable to him whilst blackness in the film is made completely invisible. In South Africa such representations are strongly linked to the question of land and naturalising the white male coloniser’s dominance and privilege.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Coetzee, Joseph
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4245 , vital:20638
- Description: My father fought for the South African Defence Force (SADF) from 1983 to 1985. At that time the apartheid regime was involved in extensive military operations in what is now Namibia and Angola. This conflict was aimed at quelling the liberation movements in those countries and, as Gary Baines has noted, supported the United States of America’s Cold War interests (Baines 2007:1). When I was fourteen I found a piece written by my father in which he remembers the first person that he had killed in the aforementioned conflict. This was a child soldier who he compared to me as I was a similar age at the time of his writing. The idea of my father as a killer haunted me. He has carried the trauma of his experiences on the border with him; he has told me how the dead visit him in dreams. On the one hand, these memories, not my own, have been constructed through my interpretation of the events in my father’s stories. On the other hand, homologies may be drawn between his actual experiences and a fantasy representation of the conflict I have encountered, the film Boetie gaan border toe! or Brother goes to the border! (1984). This apartheid propaganda film presents an idealised representation of the conflict from the point of view of the apartheid state. The protagonist of the film, Boetie, is an example of the aspirational and dominant image of militarised masculinity the apartheid state wished young white men to emulate. The racist sexist, patriarchal and materialistic reality created within the film is one I am familiar with. The toys I grew up playing with, television shows, films, advertising and popular culture I consumed, alongside the boys’ school I attended and the University I currently attend are all rooted in and continue to reproduce this reality. I have encountered many similar archetypes to the Boetie character. With this in mind I wish through my art practice to create a work which draws upon my father’s writing and imagery from Boetie gaan border toe! (1984). I have placed these alongside windows into my contemporary context in order to emphasise the continual reproduction of these ideas. In reference to the Boetie film I have decided to create my own film entitled Boetie is verlore or Brother is lost. This is a magic realist documentary film that I have constructed through various interviews and fantasy dream sequences in order to paint a picture of the continual incubation and reproduction of realities similar to that of Boetie. Boetie is a rich white man who is characterised through his material possessions and his compulsive heterosexuality. White women are interchangeable to him whilst blackness in the film is made completely invisible. In South Africa such representations are strongly linked to the question of land and naturalising the white male coloniser’s dominance and privilege.
- Full Text:
bones & flesh
- Authors: Hammerton, Kerry
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6009 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021221
- Description: My collection encompasses personal relationships, intimacy, and the erotic, as well as more narrative poems grounded in landscapes, including urban and internal landscapes. Some were written in conversation with other poems or pieces of prose such as the stories of Noy Holland. I use free verse forms influenced by various prose poems as well as by the musical/tonal forms of poets such as Lorca. Other styles and influences include the darkness and directness of Spanish poetry particularly Rafael Alberti (esp. his book Concerning the Angels); and the confident and reflective style of Romanian poet Nina Cassian.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Hammerton, Kerry
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6009 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021221
- Description: My collection encompasses personal relationships, intimacy, and the erotic, as well as more narrative poems grounded in landscapes, including urban and internal landscapes. Some were written in conversation with other poems or pieces of prose such as the stories of Noy Holland. I use free verse forms influenced by various prose poems as well as by the musical/tonal forms of poets such as Lorca. Other styles and influences include the darkness and directness of Spanish poetry particularly Rafael Alberti (esp. his book Concerning the Angels); and the confident and reflective style of Romanian poet Nina Cassian.
- Full Text:
Borderline hospitality: homestays as a commercial hospitality development project in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape
- Von Lengeling, Volkher Heinrich Christoph
- Authors: Von Lengeling, Volkher Heinrich Christoph
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/706 , vital:19983
- Description: This study started as an anthropological investigation of commercial hospitality from the point of view of the hands-on host. The chosen case study for this investigation was the Kwam eMakana Government Initiated Poverty Alleviation Project which offered homestays in the townships of Grahamstown East since 2004. Homestays are the most intimate form of commercial hospitality, one step removed from non-commercial or social hospitality. Even at the homestay level there is a conceptual conflict between poverty and (Westernized) commercial hospitality, however, Kwam homes are more middle class than poor. Later the investigation revealed the deeper-seated form of poverty of the Kwam participants being (almost) illiterate. Kwam was a development project like many others, in which huge amounts of money were spent in the name of the project but very little of the benefits reached the intended beneficiaries. Thus, as fieldwork ensued, the emphasis of research migrated from an empirical study of homestay hospitality, to actively assist with the struggle of the Kwam hostesses to maintain the project and gain autonomy for themselves. This study was from the outset reflexive, as the host’s point of view could technically only be presented by auto-ethnography. Then the investigation shifted to a form of engaged anthropology far exceeding advocacy as it is usually understood. The presentation of this can be called radical reflexivity, while it is simultaneously an ethnographical account in the sense of anthropology ‘at home’. It also implied, besides ethical concerns, revisiting literary sensibilities, such as the use of a third person narrative for the reflexive account. To conceptualize the development process of both Kwam and the research interventions Bourdieu’s ‘totality of capital’ (in which the strands of economic, symbolic, cultural and social capitals intertwine) proved most useful. By assessing the various capitals the development of the project and the power struggles central to it can be understood. This study confirms that long-term anthropological investigation is best suited to the study of development projects, if not necessary for real development to be effected. Reflexivity and ethnography are complementary methods to reveal truths which under certain research circumstances may have been very difficult or even impossible to research.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Von Lengeling, Volkher Heinrich Christoph
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/706 , vital:19983
- Description: This study started as an anthropological investigation of commercial hospitality from the point of view of the hands-on host. The chosen case study for this investigation was the Kwam eMakana Government Initiated Poverty Alleviation Project which offered homestays in the townships of Grahamstown East since 2004. Homestays are the most intimate form of commercial hospitality, one step removed from non-commercial or social hospitality. Even at the homestay level there is a conceptual conflict between poverty and (Westernized) commercial hospitality, however, Kwam homes are more middle class than poor. Later the investigation revealed the deeper-seated form of poverty of the Kwam participants being (almost) illiterate. Kwam was a development project like many others, in which huge amounts of money were spent in the name of the project but very little of the benefits reached the intended beneficiaries. Thus, as fieldwork ensued, the emphasis of research migrated from an empirical study of homestay hospitality, to actively assist with the struggle of the Kwam hostesses to maintain the project and gain autonomy for themselves. This study was from the outset reflexive, as the host’s point of view could technically only be presented by auto-ethnography. Then the investigation shifted to a form of engaged anthropology far exceeding advocacy as it is usually understood. The presentation of this can be called radical reflexivity, while it is simultaneously an ethnographical account in the sense of anthropology ‘at home’. It also implied, besides ethical concerns, revisiting literary sensibilities, such as the use of a third person narrative for the reflexive account. To conceptualize the development process of both Kwam and the research interventions Bourdieu’s ‘totality of capital’ (in which the strands of economic, symbolic, cultural and social capitals intertwine) proved most useful. By assessing the various capitals the development of the project and the power struggles central to it can be understood. This study confirms that long-term anthropological investigation is best suited to the study of development projects, if not necessary for real development to be effected. Reflexivity and ethnography are complementary methods to reveal truths which under certain research circumstances may have been very difficult or even impossible to research.
- Full Text: