Exploring the relationship between leadership styles and quality of work life: a case study of a Chinese- South African joint venture
- Authors: Handley, Rayne Cyla
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4058 , vital:20597
- Description: This thesis employs a phenomenological qualitative research methodology to explore its research aims and objectives. It focuses on describing the various leadership styles and quality of work life (QWL) levels with reference to the Chinese-South African intercultural context. By doing so, it answers a primary exploratory research question; how does a particular leadership style influence QWL. By answering this question, this study will contribute to the understanding of the dynamics of Chinese organisations in South Africa. Furthermore, it will assist in creating greater intercultural synergy within the respective organisation. In order to explore the research question related to leadership and QWL, the thesis will begin by defining and describing the two concepts indigenously. In light of the research gap pertaining to African intercultural managerial contexts, as well as the rising Chinese and South Africa intercultural business environments, this case study demonstrates how leadership style is an important determining factor in QWL levels, both of the leaders as well as leader-raters within an intercultural context. China is South Africa’s largest trading partner and the signing of new agreements in 2015 will lead to enhanced China-Africa engagement at the macro and organisational level. China’s increasing engagement in both Africa and South Africa has been widely covered, but non-pejorative empirical research is needed to shed light on the organisational manifestations of China’s engagement. The study was conducted within the mining sector which is a key component of Chinese investment in, and trade with, South Africa. Through an in-depth content analysis which draws on coding and thematic concerns, quantification and description, this study finds that leaders directly influence QWL through relationships with their followers. Moreover, leaders indirectly have a bearing on QWL through the influence they have on organisational and work environment factors. Another finding is that leaders are inclined to describing higher levels of QWL and more transformational leadership styles. In addition, it is shown that executives (irrespective of leader or leader-rater status) were more likely to describe a high level of QWL and transformational leadership behaviours when compared to skilled level participants while the semi-skilled participants where least likely of all. Finally, it was found that the nature of the relationship between a leader and a follower is influenced by whether the said leader is a direct supervisor or if there is a large organisational level ‘gap’ between a leader and a leader- rater. It can also be said that leaders at higher organisational levels are expected to exhibit different leadership behaviours and meet different needs. Overall this study suggests that leaders need to be aware of the way in which the intercultural context can influence perceptions of subjective phenomena such as leadership effectiveness and QWL. The study concludes that leaders directly and indirectly play a key role in determining need satisfaction and QWL levels. To that extent, they ought to strategically adopt leadership practices that enhance need satisfaction and wellbeing in the workplace. Wellbeing and employee satisfaction are increasingly gaining importance within theory and literature related to QWL and has, importantly, also been shown to influence workplace attitudes and behaviours.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Handley, Rayne Cyla
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4058 , vital:20597
- Description: This thesis employs a phenomenological qualitative research methodology to explore its research aims and objectives. It focuses on describing the various leadership styles and quality of work life (QWL) levels with reference to the Chinese-South African intercultural context. By doing so, it answers a primary exploratory research question; how does a particular leadership style influence QWL. By answering this question, this study will contribute to the understanding of the dynamics of Chinese organisations in South Africa. Furthermore, it will assist in creating greater intercultural synergy within the respective organisation. In order to explore the research question related to leadership and QWL, the thesis will begin by defining and describing the two concepts indigenously. In light of the research gap pertaining to African intercultural managerial contexts, as well as the rising Chinese and South Africa intercultural business environments, this case study demonstrates how leadership style is an important determining factor in QWL levels, both of the leaders as well as leader-raters within an intercultural context. China is South Africa’s largest trading partner and the signing of new agreements in 2015 will lead to enhanced China-Africa engagement at the macro and organisational level. China’s increasing engagement in both Africa and South Africa has been widely covered, but non-pejorative empirical research is needed to shed light on the organisational manifestations of China’s engagement. The study was conducted within the mining sector which is a key component of Chinese investment in, and trade with, South Africa. Through an in-depth content analysis which draws on coding and thematic concerns, quantification and description, this study finds that leaders directly influence QWL through relationships with their followers. Moreover, leaders indirectly have a bearing on QWL through the influence they have on organisational and work environment factors. Another finding is that leaders are inclined to describing higher levels of QWL and more transformational leadership styles. In addition, it is shown that executives (irrespective of leader or leader-rater status) were more likely to describe a high level of QWL and transformational leadership behaviours when compared to skilled level participants while the semi-skilled participants where least likely of all. Finally, it was found that the nature of the relationship between a leader and a follower is influenced by whether the said leader is a direct supervisor or if there is a large organisational level ‘gap’ between a leader and a leader- rater. It can also be said that leaders at higher organisational levels are expected to exhibit different leadership behaviours and meet different needs. Overall this study suggests that leaders need to be aware of the way in which the intercultural context can influence perceptions of subjective phenomena such as leadership effectiveness and QWL. The study concludes that leaders directly and indirectly play a key role in determining need satisfaction and QWL levels. To that extent, they ought to strategically adopt leadership practices that enhance need satisfaction and wellbeing in the workplace. Wellbeing and employee satisfaction are increasingly gaining importance within theory and literature related to QWL and has, importantly, also been shown to influence workplace attitudes and behaviours.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Exploring the role of corrective feedback in helping Grade 8 learners to improve the accuracy of their written English: an action research case study
- Authors: Miranda, Zoachina Nangobe
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2072 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021167
- Description: This action research study explored and analysed the role of teacher corrective feedback in helping Grade 8 learners to improve the accuracy of their written English as their second language. Therefore, the goals of this study were to examine the kind of language errors my grade 8 learners’ made in their writing, to find out whether these errors could be categorized linguistically, and to determine if they were errors, mistakes or lapses. The study further analysed how learners responded to my feedback, and also determined which feedback strategies worked best to help my learners deal with their errors, mistakes or lapses. This study set out to look at six learners from one Grade 8 class of 40 learners. The data were gathered from six written essay scripts, and each learner wrote four essay draft revisions. The learners’ written essays were analysed by means of checklists in order to identify the types and patterns of errors made. Errors such as punctuation, past tense verbs, spelling and vocabulary were identified, analysed and categorized to provide insights into reasons underlying the instances in which they were committed. The findings of this study showed that factors underlying learners’ written errors included mother-tongue interference, overgeneralization, fossilization, translation, lack of concentration, and carelessness. The findings further showed that corrective feedback on learners’ draft revisions provided them with extensive exposure and practice in English, enabled them to internalize language rules, and reduced the tendency to commit errors in their writing. The findings further suggest that procedures such as multiple-draft activities, indirect feedback, direct feedback, focused corrective feedback, error correction and written feedback with explicit corrective comments improved their levels of writing. Furthermore, putting these procedures into practice and reflecting critically on how to apply them helped enrich my own teaching practices and development in relation to the provision of corrective feedback to improve accuracy in learners’ writing. The findings are discussed in the context of the related literature. This study should be read by ESL teacher-trainers, ESL teachers, ESL student-teachers and ESL learners/students in general.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Miranda, Zoachina Nangobe
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2072 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021167
- Description: This action research study explored and analysed the role of teacher corrective feedback in helping Grade 8 learners to improve the accuracy of their written English as their second language. Therefore, the goals of this study were to examine the kind of language errors my grade 8 learners’ made in their writing, to find out whether these errors could be categorized linguistically, and to determine if they were errors, mistakes or lapses. The study further analysed how learners responded to my feedback, and also determined which feedback strategies worked best to help my learners deal with their errors, mistakes or lapses. This study set out to look at six learners from one Grade 8 class of 40 learners. The data were gathered from six written essay scripts, and each learner wrote four essay draft revisions. The learners’ written essays were analysed by means of checklists in order to identify the types and patterns of errors made. Errors such as punctuation, past tense verbs, spelling and vocabulary were identified, analysed and categorized to provide insights into reasons underlying the instances in which they were committed. The findings of this study showed that factors underlying learners’ written errors included mother-tongue interference, overgeneralization, fossilization, translation, lack of concentration, and carelessness. The findings further showed that corrective feedback on learners’ draft revisions provided them with extensive exposure and practice in English, enabled them to internalize language rules, and reduced the tendency to commit errors in their writing. The findings further suggest that procedures such as multiple-draft activities, indirect feedback, direct feedback, focused corrective feedback, error correction and written feedback with explicit corrective comments improved their levels of writing. Furthermore, putting these procedures into practice and reflecting critically on how to apply them helped enrich my own teaching practices and development in relation to the provision of corrective feedback to improve accuracy in learners’ writing. The findings are discussed in the context of the related literature. This study should be read by ESL teacher-trainers, ESL teachers, ESL student-teachers and ESL learners/students in general.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Eye of a needle
- Authors: Fick, Cornelia
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6003 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021210
- Description: Most of my stories are about interpersonal relationships between the sexes, as well as intrapersonal processes, such as growing old. I have a deep connection to such themes because of my background as a general nurse and midwife; meeting too many abused women in hospitals, and the broader community. Because patterns of abuse tend to become invisible, I use experimental forms of storytelling as well as sharp, ironic and dark humour as a way to make this side of life more visible. My reading has shown me how experimental forms can render seemingly timeless or ageless topics in a fresh, vital way.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Fick, Cornelia
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6003 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021210
- Description: Most of my stories are about interpersonal relationships between the sexes, as well as intrapersonal processes, such as growing old. I have a deep connection to such themes because of my background as a general nurse and midwife; meeting too many abused women in hospitals, and the broader community. Because patterns of abuse tend to become invisible, I use experimental forms of storytelling as well as sharp, ironic and dark humour as a way to make this side of life more visible. My reading has shown me how experimental forms can render seemingly timeless or ageless topics in a fresh, vital way.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Facebook, youth and political action: a comparative study of Zimbabwe and South Africa
- Authors: Mare, Admire
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3553 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021259
- Description: This comparative multi-sited study examines how, why and when politically engaged youths in distinctive national and social movement contexts use Facebook to facilitate political activism. As part of the research objectives, this study is concerned with investigating how and why youth activists in Zimbabwe and South Africa use the popular corporate social network site for political purposes. The study explores the discursive interactions and micro-politics of participation which plays out on selected Facebook groups and pages. It also examines the extent to which the selected Facebook pages and groups can be considered as alternative spaces for political activism. It also documents and analyses the various kinds of political discourses (described here as digital hidden transcripts) which are circulated by Zimbabwean and South African youth activists on Facebook fan pages and groups. Methodologically, this study adopts a predominantly qualitative research design although it also draws on quantitative data in terms of levels of interaction on Facebook groups and pages. Consequently, this study engages in data triangulation which allows me to make sense of how and why politically engaged youths from a range of six social movements in Zimbabwe and South Africa use Facebook for political action. In terms of data collection techniques, the study deploys social media ethnography (online participant observation), qualitative content analysis and in-depth interviews. Theoretically, this study jettisons the Habermasian theory of public sphere in favour of Fraser’s (1990) concept of the subaltern counter-publics, Scott’s (1985) metaphor of hidden transcripts and some insightful views on popular culture gleaned from African studies. Melding these ideas into a synthesised theoretical frame, this study argues that Facebook fan pages and groups can be conceptualised as parallel discursive arenas where marginalised groups (including politically active youths) have a political life outside the dominant mediated public sphere often in ways that are generally viewed as “irrational” and “non-political” in mainstream Western literature. This study also proposes ways of enriching Fraser’s concept of subaltern counter-publics by incorporating elements from Scott’s metaphor of hidden transcripts in order to analyse the various kinds of political discourses which are circulated on social media. The findings demonstrate that youth activists in Zimbabwe and South Africa are using Facebook to engage in traditional and alternative forms of political participation. Findings show that Facebook in both political contexts is deployed for transmitting and accessing civic and political information, as a conduit for online donations and fundraising, for contacting political decision makers, as a venue of political activism, as an advertising platform for social and political events and as a platform for everyday political talk. It demonstrates that the broader political context shapes and constraints the localised appropriations of Facebook for political purposes in ways that deconstructs some of the postulations of the cyber-optimist and pessimist approaches. The study also found that youth activists in Zimbabwe and South Africa used Facebook in their own unique ways as shaped and dictated by the broader political and mediated opportunity structures. It argues that youth’s engagement with social media platforms for political purposes should be understood in their own terms without necessarily imposing inflexible boundaries on what counts as political participation. Although Facebook like other social media platforms foster avenues for cognitive engagement, discursive participation and political mobilisation, these political practices are not immune to the influences of offline processes. Youth activists in all the six case organisations used Facebook as a complementary and supplementary space for political processes rather than as a standalone platform. The study also argues that compared to South Africa, the political uses of Facebook in Zimbabwe are largely influenced by practices of state surveillance. It also found that whilst youth activists in South Africa are deploying Facebook to supplement traditional methods of political activism, their counterparts in Zimbabwe are using the same technology to circumvent the restricted political and media environment. The findings also indicate that youth activists in both countries are using Facebook as a change agent tool within the broader media ecology which is characterised by the increasing interpenetration of older and newer media platforms. In terms of micro-politics of participation and discursive interactions, this study found that Facebook pages and groups should viewed as a “sites of power” where corporate forces and platform specific code coalesce together fostering “algorithmic” gatekeeping practices and the favouring of paid for content over non-paid for user-generated-content which ultimately affects activists’ visibility and reach within the online media ecology. These gatekeeping practices therefore further complicate claims by cyber-optimists that social media platforms are the sine qua non spaces for symmetrical and democratic participation. This study argues that “subtle forms of control” characterise the much glorified participatory cultures on Facebook in ways that defy optimistic accounts of the role of new media in political change.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Mare, Admire
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3553 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021259
- Description: This comparative multi-sited study examines how, why and when politically engaged youths in distinctive national and social movement contexts use Facebook to facilitate political activism. As part of the research objectives, this study is concerned with investigating how and why youth activists in Zimbabwe and South Africa use the popular corporate social network site for political purposes. The study explores the discursive interactions and micro-politics of participation which plays out on selected Facebook groups and pages. It also examines the extent to which the selected Facebook pages and groups can be considered as alternative spaces for political activism. It also documents and analyses the various kinds of political discourses (described here as digital hidden transcripts) which are circulated by Zimbabwean and South African youth activists on Facebook fan pages and groups. Methodologically, this study adopts a predominantly qualitative research design although it also draws on quantitative data in terms of levels of interaction on Facebook groups and pages. Consequently, this study engages in data triangulation which allows me to make sense of how and why politically engaged youths from a range of six social movements in Zimbabwe and South Africa use Facebook for political action. In terms of data collection techniques, the study deploys social media ethnography (online participant observation), qualitative content analysis and in-depth interviews. Theoretically, this study jettisons the Habermasian theory of public sphere in favour of Fraser’s (1990) concept of the subaltern counter-publics, Scott’s (1985) metaphor of hidden transcripts and some insightful views on popular culture gleaned from African studies. Melding these ideas into a synthesised theoretical frame, this study argues that Facebook fan pages and groups can be conceptualised as parallel discursive arenas where marginalised groups (including politically active youths) have a political life outside the dominant mediated public sphere often in ways that are generally viewed as “irrational” and “non-political” in mainstream Western literature. This study also proposes ways of enriching Fraser’s concept of subaltern counter-publics by incorporating elements from Scott’s metaphor of hidden transcripts in order to analyse the various kinds of political discourses which are circulated on social media. The findings demonstrate that youth activists in Zimbabwe and South Africa are using Facebook to engage in traditional and alternative forms of political participation. Findings show that Facebook in both political contexts is deployed for transmitting and accessing civic and political information, as a conduit for online donations and fundraising, for contacting political decision makers, as a venue of political activism, as an advertising platform for social and political events and as a platform for everyday political talk. It demonstrates that the broader political context shapes and constraints the localised appropriations of Facebook for political purposes in ways that deconstructs some of the postulations of the cyber-optimist and pessimist approaches. The study also found that youth activists in Zimbabwe and South Africa used Facebook in their own unique ways as shaped and dictated by the broader political and mediated opportunity structures. It argues that youth’s engagement with social media platforms for political purposes should be understood in their own terms without necessarily imposing inflexible boundaries on what counts as political participation. Although Facebook like other social media platforms foster avenues for cognitive engagement, discursive participation and political mobilisation, these political practices are not immune to the influences of offline processes. Youth activists in all the six case organisations used Facebook as a complementary and supplementary space for political processes rather than as a standalone platform. The study also argues that compared to South Africa, the political uses of Facebook in Zimbabwe are largely influenced by practices of state surveillance. It also found that whilst youth activists in South Africa are deploying Facebook to supplement traditional methods of political activism, their counterparts in Zimbabwe are using the same technology to circumvent the restricted political and media environment. The findings also indicate that youth activists in both countries are using Facebook as a change agent tool within the broader media ecology which is characterised by the increasing interpenetration of older and newer media platforms. In terms of micro-politics of participation and discursive interactions, this study found that Facebook pages and groups should viewed as a “sites of power” where corporate forces and platform specific code coalesce together fostering “algorithmic” gatekeeping practices and the favouring of paid for content over non-paid for user-generated-content which ultimately affects activists’ visibility and reach within the online media ecology. These gatekeeping practices therefore further complicate claims by cyber-optimists that social media platforms are the sine qua non spaces for symmetrical and democratic participation. This study argues that “subtle forms of control” characterise the much glorified participatory cultures on Facebook in ways that defy optimistic accounts of the role of new media in political change.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Field evaluation of the use of select entomopathogenic fungal isolates as microbial control agents of the soil-dwelling life stages of a key South African citrus pest, Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)
- Authors: Coombes, Candice Anne
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/507 , vital:19965
- Description: The control of false codling moth (FCM), Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick, 1912) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), in citrus orchards is strongly reliant on the use of integrated pest management as key export markets impose stringent chemical restrictions on exported fruit and have a strict no entry policy towards this phytosanitary pest. Most current, registered control methods target the above-ground life stages of FCM, not the soil-dwelling life stages. As such, entomopathogenic fungi which are ubiquitous, percutaneously infective soil-borne microbes that have been used successfully as control agents worldwide, present ideal candidates as additional control agents. Following an initial identification of 62 fungal entomopathogens isolated from soil collected from citrus orchards in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, further laboratory research has highlighted three isolates as having the greatest control potential against FCM subterranean life stages: Metarhizium anisopliae G 11 3 L6 (Ma1), M. anisopliae FCM Ar 23 B3 (Ma2) and Beauveria bassiana G Ar 17 B3 (Bb1). These isolates are capable of causing above 80% laboratory-induced mycosis of FCM fifth instars. Whether this level of efficacy was obtainable under sub-optimal and fluctuating field conditions was unknown. Thus, this thesis aimed to address the following issues with regards to the three most laboratory-virulent fungal isolates: field efficacy, field persistence, optimal application rate, application timing, environmental dependency, compatibility with fungicides and the use of different wetting agents to promote field efficacy. Following fungal application to one hectare treatment blocks in the field, FCM infestation within fruit was reduced by 28.3% to 81.7%. Isolate Bb1 performed best under moderate to high soil moisture whilst Ma2 was more effective under low soil moisture conditions. All isolates, with the exception of Ma2 at one site, were recorded in the soil five months post-application. None of the wetting agents tested were found to be highly toxic to fungal germination and similar physical suspension characteristics were observed. Fungicide toxicity varied amongst isolates and test conditions. However, only Dithane (a.i. mancozeb) was considered incompatible with isolate Ma2. The implication of these results and the way forward is discussed. This study is the first report of the field efficacy of three laboratory-virulent fungal isolates applied to the soil of conventional citrus orchards against FCM soil-dwelling life stages. As such, it provides a foundation on which future research can build to ensure the development and commercialisation of a cost-effective and consistently reliable product.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Coombes, Candice Anne
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/507 , vital:19965
- Description: The control of false codling moth (FCM), Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick, 1912) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), in citrus orchards is strongly reliant on the use of integrated pest management as key export markets impose stringent chemical restrictions on exported fruit and have a strict no entry policy towards this phytosanitary pest. Most current, registered control methods target the above-ground life stages of FCM, not the soil-dwelling life stages. As such, entomopathogenic fungi which are ubiquitous, percutaneously infective soil-borne microbes that have been used successfully as control agents worldwide, present ideal candidates as additional control agents. Following an initial identification of 62 fungal entomopathogens isolated from soil collected from citrus orchards in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, further laboratory research has highlighted three isolates as having the greatest control potential against FCM subterranean life stages: Metarhizium anisopliae G 11 3 L6 (Ma1), M. anisopliae FCM Ar 23 B3 (Ma2) and Beauveria bassiana G Ar 17 B3 (Bb1). These isolates are capable of causing above 80% laboratory-induced mycosis of FCM fifth instars. Whether this level of efficacy was obtainable under sub-optimal and fluctuating field conditions was unknown. Thus, this thesis aimed to address the following issues with regards to the three most laboratory-virulent fungal isolates: field efficacy, field persistence, optimal application rate, application timing, environmental dependency, compatibility with fungicides and the use of different wetting agents to promote field efficacy. Following fungal application to one hectare treatment blocks in the field, FCM infestation within fruit was reduced by 28.3% to 81.7%. Isolate Bb1 performed best under moderate to high soil moisture whilst Ma2 was more effective under low soil moisture conditions. All isolates, with the exception of Ma2 at one site, were recorded in the soil five months post-application. None of the wetting agents tested were found to be highly toxic to fungal germination and similar physical suspension characteristics were observed. Fungicide toxicity varied amongst isolates and test conditions. However, only Dithane (a.i. mancozeb) was considered incompatible with isolate Ma2. The implication of these results and the way forward is discussed. This study is the first report of the field efficacy of three laboratory-virulent fungal isolates applied to the soil of conventional citrus orchards against FCM soil-dwelling life stages. As such, it provides a foundation on which future research can build to ensure the development and commercialisation of a cost-effective and consistently reliable product.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Financial characteristics of the nonprofit organisation: theory and evidence for the assessment of the financial condition of South African public universities
- Authors: Bunting, Mark Bevan
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:923 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021298 , http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3392-554X
- Description: In this thesis, an analytical framework is developed for the assessment of the financial condition of South African public universities. Foundational constructs of nonprofit economics are applied in the consideration of financial theories of nonprofit organisations in general, and public universities in particular. From this review, a number of hypotheses are developed. Each of these specifies a positive or negative association between a university's financial condition and a particular dimension of its assets, liabilities, equity, revenues, expenses and surplus. From the nonprofit financial analysis literature, ratios and indicators relevant to these hypotheses are selected. Audited data from the annual financial statements of the universities for the seven year period 2007 to 2013 are substantially transformed in mitigation of failures in accounting, auditing and accountability. The adjusted accounting numbers are used to calculate the financial indicators applicable to each university. Exploratory factor analysis is implemented to categorise and organise this large indicator set on the basis of identified associations with a smaller number of factors. It is found that the financial condition of South African public universities is defined by two broad financial characteristics, capital and revenue. Assessment of the capital dimension is informed by a focus on institutional equity, with particular emphasis on expendable equity and its proportionate relationships with surplus, total capital, and total expenses. The revenue dimension is appropriately evaluated in the context of a comparative and interactive consideration of the three main components of South African public university revenue, as well as the proportionate relationship between non-staff operating expenses and total expenses. The framework displays considerable levels of stability and consistency over the seven year review period, and its constructs are, in addition, robust to the application of multiple alternative confirmatory tests involving financial data that are independent of the factor solutions. The financial condition assessment framework developed in this thesis offers a contribution to a broader discourse in nonprofit finance and accounting, with a focus on public university finances.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Bunting, Mark Bevan
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:923 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021298 , http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3392-554X
- Description: In this thesis, an analytical framework is developed for the assessment of the financial condition of South African public universities. Foundational constructs of nonprofit economics are applied in the consideration of financial theories of nonprofit organisations in general, and public universities in particular. From this review, a number of hypotheses are developed. Each of these specifies a positive or negative association between a university's financial condition and a particular dimension of its assets, liabilities, equity, revenues, expenses and surplus. From the nonprofit financial analysis literature, ratios and indicators relevant to these hypotheses are selected. Audited data from the annual financial statements of the universities for the seven year period 2007 to 2013 are substantially transformed in mitigation of failures in accounting, auditing and accountability. The adjusted accounting numbers are used to calculate the financial indicators applicable to each university. Exploratory factor analysis is implemented to categorise and organise this large indicator set on the basis of identified associations with a smaller number of factors. It is found that the financial condition of South African public universities is defined by two broad financial characteristics, capital and revenue. Assessment of the capital dimension is informed by a focus on institutional equity, with particular emphasis on expendable equity and its proportionate relationships with surplus, total capital, and total expenses. The revenue dimension is appropriately evaluated in the context of a comparative and interactive consideration of the three main components of South African public university revenue, as well as the proportionate relationship between non-staff operating expenses and total expenses. The framework displays considerable levels of stability and consistency over the seven year review period, and its constructs are, in addition, robust to the application of multiple alternative confirmatory tests involving financial data that are independent of the factor solutions. The financial condition assessment framework developed in this thesis offers a contribution to a broader discourse in nonprofit finance and accounting, with a focus on public university finances.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Four husbands for Ma Lindi: an exploration of the interaction between theatrical performance, gender, and sexuality in a South African urban context
- Authors: Vaughan, Clara
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4610 , vital:20700
- Description: The thesis investigates the possibilities and limitations of theatre-making in providing a space for young people to collectively create, share, and interrogate understandings about sex, sexuality and gender. I use as a case study a theatremaking process I facilitated with a group of first year drama students at the Market Theatre Laboratory, in which we created a play called Four Husbands for Ma Lindi. The research analyses how this process interacted with the identities-in-becoming of the individual creators, and their engagement with the world, through a methodology that views them as experts on their own lives. There are three main arguments that I put forward in this thesis: the first is based on the experiences of healing, increased confidence and self-knowledge described by the participants as a result of sharing their personal stories in making the play. I argue that exploring autobiographical narratives through the aesthetic of theatre creates a group story that re-situates the narratives, the tellers and the witnesses in ways that can be productive for sexual and personal wellbeing, while also providing a counter-narrative that problematises the idea that sharing personal stories is always and necessarily a positive act. My second argument is that theatre-making, because it is an embodied performance pedagogy, is a constructive site in which to interrogate, deconstruct and subvert embedded gender norms and values, which are learnt and reiterated in the body. My third argument considers the relationship between theatre and change that is suggested by the findings of the research. In an analysis of the responses of the participants, I contend that theatre's potential for creating change in the socio-cultural domain lies in its ability to carve out spaces for improvisation, rather than to serve as a rehearsal for the real world. This is the position from which I then consider my ethics of practice and the role and responsibility of the facilitator in processes that view theatre-making as a critical performance pedagogy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Vaughan, Clara
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4610 , vital:20700
- Description: The thesis investigates the possibilities and limitations of theatre-making in providing a space for young people to collectively create, share, and interrogate understandings about sex, sexuality and gender. I use as a case study a theatremaking process I facilitated with a group of first year drama students at the Market Theatre Laboratory, in which we created a play called Four Husbands for Ma Lindi. The research analyses how this process interacted with the identities-in-becoming of the individual creators, and their engagement with the world, through a methodology that views them as experts on their own lives. There are three main arguments that I put forward in this thesis: the first is based on the experiences of healing, increased confidence and self-knowledge described by the participants as a result of sharing their personal stories in making the play. I argue that exploring autobiographical narratives through the aesthetic of theatre creates a group story that re-situates the narratives, the tellers and the witnesses in ways that can be productive for sexual and personal wellbeing, while also providing a counter-narrative that problematises the idea that sharing personal stories is always and necessarily a positive act. My second argument is that theatre-making, because it is an embodied performance pedagogy, is a constructive site in which to interrogate, deconstruct and subvert embedded gender norms and values, which are learnt and reiterated in the body. My third argument considers the relationship between theatre and change that is suggested by the findings of the research. In an analysis of the responses of the participants, I contend that theatre's potential for creating change in the socio-cultural domain lies in its ability to carve out spaces for improvisation, rather than to serve as a rehearsal for the real world. This is the position from which I then consider my ethics of practice and the role and responsibility of the facilitator in processes that view theatre-making as a critical performance pedagogy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
FRAME: frame routing and manipulation engine
- Authors: Pennefather, Sean Niel
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3608 , vital:20529
- Description: This research reports on the design and implementation of FRAME: an embedded hardware network processing platform designed to perform network frame manipulation and monitoring. This is possible at line speeds compliant with the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard. The system provides frame manipulation functionality to aid in the development and implementation of network testing environments. Platform cost and ease of use are both considered during design resulting in fabrication of hardware and the development of Link, a Domain Specific Language used to create custom applications that are compatible with the platform. Functionality of the resulting platform is shown through conformance testing of designed modules and application examples. Throughput testing showed that the peak throughput achievable by the platform is limited to 86.4 Mbit/s, comparable to commodity 100 Mbit hardware and the total cost of the prototype platform ranged between $220 and $254.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Pennefather, Sean Niel
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3608 , vital:20529
- Description: This research reports on the design and implementation of FRAME: an embedded hardware network processing platform designed to perform network frame manipulation and monitoring. This is possible at line speeds compliant with the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard. The system provides frame manipulation functionality to aid in the development and implementation of network testing environments. Platform cost and ease of use are both considered during design resulting in fabrication of hardware and the development of Link, a Domain Specific Language used to create custom applications that are compatible with the platform. Functionality of the resulting platform is shown through conformance testing of designed modules and application examples. Throughput testing showed that the peak throughput achievable by the platform is limited to 86.4 Mbit/s, comparable to commodity 100 Mbit hardware and the total cost of the prototype platform ranged between $220 and $254.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Fusing fact and fiction: biography and autobiography in the novels of Virginia Woolf
- Authors: White, Joshua Craig
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4005 , vital:20580
- Description: Virginia Woolf was noted for a preoccupation with the genre of life-writing throughout her career. Her aims when it came to reshaping the nature of biographical and autobiographical literature were numerous. She veered away from the aggrandising and patriarchal methods with which Victorian biographers tended to depict their subjects. She increased the focus on women in life-writing, examining and subverting traditionally prescribed gender roles prevalent in both her society and the literature that reflected it, and advocating a balance between male and female patterns of thinking. She also devised a method of incorporating both basic biographical fact and aspects of fiction into life-writing in order to approach a more truthful depiction of a subject’s personality or character. This method is linked to the aforementioned balance of gendered thought patterns, since Woolf often aligns factuality with male thinking and the contrasting qualities of fiction, such as intuition, ambivalence and perspicacity, with female thinking. This thesis examines three novels which demonstrate Woolf’s constant preoccupation with combining fact and fiction in order to capture the essence of personality. In her debut novel, The Voyage Out, she presents Rachel Vinrace, who must achieve a balance of male-oriented fact with female-oriented insight in order to fashion a sufficient identity for herself and to identify others in a selective and judicious manner, thus being simultaneously autobiographical and biographical. In Orlando, Woolf explicitly subverts the traditional Victorian biography by depicting Vita Sackville-West as a man who transforms into a woman and remains living for over 400 years. In presenting such a character, Woolf posits that personality consists of and is influenced by myriad aspects of a person’s life that cannot be documented in the restrictive manner employed by Victorian biographers. Orlando’s essence being obfuscated by manifold “selves” attests to Woolf problematizing attempts to attain such an essence. The same challenge is particularly important in her autobiographical novel, To the Lighthouse, in which she transposes the traumas of her own life into a fictitious narrative in order to achieve catharsis for her and her readers, and to present the difficulty in capturing the essence of character. The conclusion that Woolf eventually posits is that personality cannot be reduced to an essence, but rather that it consists of idiosyncrasies that are various, intertwining, and capricious.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: White, Joshua Craig
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4005 , vital:20580
- Description: Virginia Woolf was noted for a preoccupation with the genre of life-writing throughout her career. Her aims when it came to reshaping the nature of biographical and autobiographical literature were numerous. She veered away from the aggrandising and patriarchal methods with which Victorian biographers tended to depict their subjects. She increased the focus on women in life-writing, examining and subverting traditionally prescribed gender roles prevalent in both her society and the literature that reflected it, and advocating a balance between male and female patterns of thinking. She also devised a method of incorporating both basic biographical fact and aspects of fiction into life-writing in order to approach a more truthful depiction of a subject’s personality or character. This method is linked to the aforementioned balance of gendered thought patterns, since Woolf often aligns factuality with male thinking and the contrasting qualities of fiction, such as intuition, ambivalence and perspicacity, with female thinking. This thesis examines three novels which demonstrate Woolf’s constant preoccupation with combining fact and fiction in order to capture the essence of personality. In her debut novel, The Voyage Out, she presents Rachel Vinrace, who must achieve a balance of male-oriented fact with female-oriented insight in order to fashion a sufficient identity for herself and to identify others in a selective and judicious manner, thus being simultaneously autobiographical and biographical. In Orlando, Woolf explicitly subverts the traditional Victorian biography by depicting Vita Sackville-West as a man who transforms into a woman and remains living for over 400 years. In presenting such a character, Woolf posits that personality consists of and is influenced by myriad aspects of a person’s life that cannot be documented in the restrictive manner employed by Victorian biographers. Orlando’s essence being obfuscated by manifold “selves” attests to Woolf problematizing attempts to attain such an essence. The same challenge is particularly important in her autobiographical novel, To the Lighthouse, in which she transposes the traumas of her own life into a fictitious narrative in order to achieve catharsis for her and her readers, and to present the difficulty in capturing the essence of character. The conclusion that Woolf eventually posits is that personality cannot be reduced to an essence, but rather that it consists of idiosyncrasies that are various, intertwining, and capricious.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Genetic and biological characterisation of a novel South African Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV-SA) isolate
- Motsoeneng, Boitumelo Madika
- Authors: Motsoeneng, Boitumelo Madika
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:20503 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021266
- Description: The codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is the primary pest of pome fruit cultivated worldwide. The control of this insect pest has been dependent on the frequent use of broad-spectrum chemical pesticides, which has led to the development of resistance in pest populations and negative effects on human health and the environment. The Betabaculovirus of C. pomonella has successfully been applied as a biological control agent in integrated pest management (IPM) programmes for the suppression of pest populations worldwide. Previously, all Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV) biopesticides were based on a Mexican isolate (CpGV-M) and although these products are highly efficient at controlling C. pomonella, resistance cases have been reported across Europe. The identification of novel CpGV isolates as additional or alternative control agents to manage resistance is therefore necessary. This study aimed to genetically and biologically characterise a novel South African C. pomonella granulovirus isolate and to test its virulence against neonate larvae. Based on the morphology of the occlusion bodies observed using transmission electron microscopy, granuloviruses were recovered from diseased and dead larvae collected from an orchard in South Africa where no virus applications had been made. DNA was extracted and the identification of the isolated granulovirus was achieved through the PCR amplification and sequencing of the lef-8, lef-9, granulin and egt genes. Submission of the gene sequences to BLAST revealed high percentage identities to sequences from various CpGV isolates, resulting in the naming of the isolate in this study as the South African Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV-SA) isolate. Phylogenetic analysis based on the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) detected in the lef-8, lef-9 and granulin nucleotide sequences grouped the South African isolate with CpGV-E2 (genome type B) and CpGV-S (genome type E). The CpGV-SA isolate was further genetically characterised by restriction endonuclease analysis and complete sequencing of the genomic DNA. Differences were observed for the BamHI, EcoRI, PstI and XhoI profiles of CpGV-SA in comparison to the respective profiles generated for CpGV-M extracted from a biopesticide, Carpovirusine® (Arysta Lifescience, France). Several genetic variations between the complete genome sequence of CpGV-SA and the reference isolate, CpGV-M1, as well as a recent genome submission of CpGV-M, both representing genome type A were observed. The complete genome analysis confirmed that CpGV-SA is genetically different from the Mexican CpGV isolate, used in thedevelopment of most biopesticides. In silico restriction profiles of the genome sequence obtained for CpGV-SA and genome sequences of genetically different CpGV isolates originating from Mexico (M1 and M), England (E2), Canada (S) and Iran (I12 and I07), available on the NCBI’s GenBank database confirmed that CpGV-SA is of mixed genotypes. Furthermore, the South African isolate shared the single common difference found in the pe38 gene of resistance overcoming isolates, which was the absence of an internal 24 nucleotide repeat present in CpGV-M1. In addition to the common difference, SNPs detected in the pe38 gene grouped the isolate with the CpGV-S isolate, suggesting that the CpGV-SA isolate is predominantly of genome type E. To determine the biological activity of CpGV-SA against neonate C. pomonella larvae, surface bioassays were conducted alongside CpGV-M (Carpovirusine®) bioassays. The LC50 and LC90 values for the South African isolate were 1.6 × 103 and 1.2 × 105 OBs/ml respectively. The LT50 was determined to be 135 hours. These values were similar to the values obtained for CpGV-M (Carpovirusine®). The results in this study suggest that a novel South African CpGV isolate of mixed genotypes, potentially able to overcome resistance in C. pomonella, with biological activity similar to CpGV-M (Carpovirusine®) and important for the control of C. pomonella was recovered. The CpGV-SA isolate could therefore potentially be developed into a biopesticide for use in resistance management strategies against C. pomonella populations in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Motsoeneng, Boitumelo Madika
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:20503 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021266
- Description: The codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is the primary pest of pome fruit cultivated worldwide. The control of this insect pest has been dependent on the frequent use of broad-spectrum chemical pesticides, which has led to the development of resistance in pest populations and negative effects on human health and the environment. The Betabaculovirus of C. pomonella has successfully been applied as a biological control agent in integrated pest management (IPM) programmes for the suppression of pest populations worldwide. Previously, all Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV) biopesticides were based on a Mexican isolate (CpGV-M) and although these products are highly efficient at controlling C. pomonella, resistance cases have been reported across Europe. The identification of novel CpGV isolates as additional or alternative control agents to manage resistance is therefore necessary. This study aimed to genetically and biologically characterise a novel South African C. pomonella granulovirus isolate and to test its virulence against neonate larvae. Based on the morphology of the occlusion bodies observed using transmission electron microscopy, granuloviruses were recovered from diseased and dead larvae collected from an orchard in South Africa where no virus applications had been made. DNA was extracted and the identification of the isolated granulovirus was achieved through the PCR amplification and sequencing of the lef-8, lef-9, granulin and egt genes. Submission of the gene sequences to BLAST revealed high percentage identities to sequences from various CpGV isolates, resulting in the naming of the isolate in this study as the South African Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV-SA) isolate. Phylogenetic analysis based on the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) detected in the lef-8, lef-9 and granulin nucleotide sequences grouped the South African isolate with CpGV-E2 (genome type B) and CpGV-S (genome type E). The CpGV-SA isolate was further genetically characterised by restriction endonuclease analysis and complete sequencing of the genomic DNA. Differences were observed for the BamHI, EcoRI, PstI and XhoI profiles of CpGV-SA in comparison to the respective profiles generated for CpGV-M extracted from a biopesticide, Carpovirusine® (Arysta Lifescience, France). Several genetic variations between the complete genome sequence of CpGV-SA and the reference isolate, CpGV-M1, as well as a recent genome submission of CpGV-M, both representing genome type A were observed. The complete genome analysis confirmed that CpGV-SA is genetically different from the Mexican CpGV isolate, used in thedevelopment of most biopesticides. In silico restriction profiles of the genome sequence obtained for CpGV-SA and genome sequences of genetically different CpGV isolates originating from Mexico (M1 and M), England (E2), Canada (S) and Iran (I12 and I07), available on the NCBI’s GenBank database confirmed that CpGV-SA is of mixed genotypes. Furthermore, the South African isolate shared the single common difference found in the pe38 gene of resistance overcoming isolates, which was the absence of an internal 24 nucleotide repeat present in CpGV-M1. In addition to the common difference, SNPs detected in the pe38 gene grouped the isolate with the CpGV-S isolate, suggesting that the CpGV-SA isolate is predominantly of genome type E. To determine the biological activity of CpGV-SA against neonate C. pomonella larvae, surface bioassays were conducted alongside CpGV-M (Carpovirusine®) bioassays. The LC50 and LC90 values for the South African isolate were 1.6 × 103 and 1.2 × 105 OBs/ml respectively. The LT50 was determined to be 135 hours. These values were similar to the values obtained for CpGV-M (Carpovirusine®). The results in this study suggest that a novel South African CpGV isolate of mixed genotypes, potentially able to overcome resistance in C. pomonella, with biological activity similar to CpGV-M (Carpovirusine®) and important for the control of C. pomonella was recovered. The CpGV-SA isolate could therefore potentially be developed into a biopesticide for use in resistance management strategies against C. pomonella populations in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Genetic structure and biogeography of three wrasse species (Labridae) within the Western Indian Ocean
- Authors: Mayekiso, Sisanda
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1114 , vital:20021
- Description: The biogeography of wrasses within the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) is poorly understood, with regard to origins and genetic differentiation or connectivity among the regions of the WIO. This region is a good model for studying the influence of physical complexities and biogeographic breaks in shaping patterns of differentiation in wrasses. Three reef-associated fish species, Cheilio inermis, Thalassoma hebraicum and T. lunare, were selected to examine the factors that have influenced patterns of differentiation across the WIO. Each species was sampled from various localities of the WIO, the Red Sea and Indo-West Pacific Islands. Sequence data were generated from two mitochondrial gene fragments (cytochrome b and ATPase 6) and one nuclear locus (the first intron of the ribosomal protein S7 gene). Genetic analyses were used to calculate genetic diversity indices within species, which were then compared among species. The relationships among haplotypes and alleles were constructed using median-joining networks. Where necessary, neighbour-joining trees (NJ) were constructed to examine relationships among haplotypes and alleles for the Thalassoma species. Population structure was analysed using AMOVA and pairwise ФST to compare and calculate differentiation between the WIO localities. Mismatch distributions were used to examine population growth and decline or stability, and demographic parameters were used to calculate time of population expansion. There was high haplotype (h = 0.88 to 0.98) and low nucleotide diversities (π = 0.003 to 0.008) among all species for mitochondrial markers. For S7 intron I, high allelic (A = 0.95 to 0.98) and low nucleotide diversities (π = 0.002 to 0.014) were observed for all species. The pairwise ФST values revealed little to great (ФST = -0.02 to 0.67) genetic differentiation between localities, across all species for the three gene regions. The pairwise comparisons indicated the differentiation in C. inermis of Tanzania and Kenya from Mozambique and Nosy Be (Madagascar). The widespread C. inermis also revealed the differentiation of Kenya and Tanzania. For C. inermis, the AMOVAs of ATPase 6 and cytochrome b data indicated high differentiation among defined locality groups. The groups were defined according to geographic proximity. However, the AMOVA of the nuclear gene (S7 intron I) did not find variation among defined locality groups. Cheilio inermis revealed a sequence divergence of 0.4%. The divergence that was found in C. inermis was not enough to suggest a cryptic species within the WIO. Overall, the widespread and monotypic C. inermis revealed genetic differentiation within the WIO. Thalassoma hebraicum generally revealed little genetic differentiation across the WIO. The AMOVAs of the three gene regions showed no variation among specimens of the defined locality groups. However, some differentiation was found between localities. The pairwise comparisons of T. hebraicum revealed the differentiation of Seychelles from the African mainland and Madagascar. Southern Africa was observed to be differentiated from Nosy Be and Zanzibar. The observed differentiation could be caused by oceanic barriers such as the South Equatorial Current (SEQC), East African Coastal Current (EACC), and the Comoros Gyres and eddies in the Mozambique Channel, and Agulhas Current. Thalassoma lunare revealed genetic isolation between the WIO and the Red Sea as well as within the WIO. The genetic isolation between the WIO and the Red Sea is probably due to the historical isolation by the Bab al Mandab and contemporary barriers such as the cold upwelling cells in Somalia. The differentiation of Maldives from the African mainland and Seychelles could be due to distance and the upwelling cells created by monsoon winds. Mismatch distributions suggested that C. inermis and T. hebraicum had undergone demographic expansion during the Pleistocene (92 678 to 40 219 years ago). The results of the current study are similar to those from previous studies of WIO reef fish species, and the results of the present study could have potential implications for conservation and fisheries management. Single genetic markers and single species studies do not detect all barriers to dispersal in the WIO, thus they are insufficient to inform conservation management. Thus, the use of multispecies and genetic markers in the current study can be adopted by other studies of the marine taxa of the WIO.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Mayekiso, Sisanda
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1114 , vital:20021
- Description: The biogeography of wrasses within the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) is poorly understood, with regard to origins and genetic differentiation or connectivity among the regions of the WIO. This region is a good model for studying the influence of physical complexities and biogeographic breaks in shaping patterns of differentiation in wrasses. Three reef-associated fish species, Cheilio inermis, Thalassoma hebraicum and T. lunare, were selected to examine the factors that have influenced patterns of differentiation across the WIO. Each species was sampled from various localities of the WIO, the Red Sea and Indo-West Pacific Islands. Sequence data were generated from two mitochondrial gene fragments (cytochrome b and ATPase 6) and one nuclear locus (the first intron of the ribosomal protein S7 gene). Genetic analyses were used to calculate genetic diversity indices within species, which were then compared among species. The relationships among haplotypes and alleles were constructed using median-joining networks. Where necessary, neighbour-joining trees (NJ) were constructed to examine relationships among haplotypes and alleles for the Thalassoma species. Population structure was analysed using AMOVA and pairwise ФST to compare and calculate differentiation between the WIO localities. Mismatch distributions were used to examine population growth and decline or stability, and demographic parameters were used to calculate time of population expansion. There was high haplotype (h = 0.88 to 0.98) and low nucleotide diversities (π = 0.003 to 0.008) among all species for mitochondrial markers. For S7 intron I, high allelic (A = 0.95 to 0.98) and low nucleotide diversities (π = 0.002 to 0.014) were observed for all species. The pairwise ФST values revealed little to great (ФST = -0.02 to 0.67) genetic differentiation between localities, across all species for the three gene regions. The pairwise comparisons indicated the differentiation in C. inermis of Tanzania and Kenya from Mozambique and Nosy Be (Madagascar). The widespread C. inermis also revealed the differentiation of Kenya and Tanzania. For C. inermis, the AMOVAs of ATPase 6 and cytochrome b data indicated high differentiation among defined locality groups. The groups were defined according to geographic proximity. However, the AMOVA of the nuclear gene (S7 intron I) did not find variation among defined locality groups. Cheilio inermis revealed a sequence divergence of 0.4%. The divergence that was found in C. inermis was not enough to suggest a cryptic species within the WIO. Overall, the widespread and monotypic C. inermis revealed genetic differentiation within the WIO. Thalassoma hebraicum generally revealed little genetic differentiation across the WIO. The AMOVAs of the three gene regions showed no variation among specimens of the defined locality groups. However, some differentiation was found between localities. The pairwise comparisons of T. hebraicum revealed the differentiation of Seychelles from the African mainland and Madagascar. Southern Africa was observed to be differentiated from Nosy Be and Zanzibar. The observed differentiation could be caused by oceanic barriers such as the South Equatorial Current (SEQC), East African Coastal Current (EACC), and the Comoros Gyres and eddies in the Mozambique Channel, and Agulhas Current. Thalassoma lunare revealed genetic isolation between the WIO and the Red Sea as well as within the WIO. The genetic isolation between the WIO and the Red Sea is probably due to the historical isolation by the Bab al Mandab and contemporary barriers such as the cold upwelling cells in Somalia. The differentiation of Maldives from the African mainland and Seychelles could be due to distance and the upwelling cells created by monsoon winds. Mismatch distributions suggested that C. inermis and T. hebraicum had undergone demographic expansion during the Pleistocene (92 678 to 40 219 years ago). The results of the current study are similar to those from previous studies of WIO reef fish species, and the results of the present study could have potential implications for conservation and fisheries management. Single genetic markers and single species studies do not detect all barriers to dispersal in the WIO, thus they are insufficient to inform conservation management. Thus, the use of multispecies and genetic markers in the current study can be adopted by other studies of the marine taxa of the WIO.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Geochemical exploration for copper - cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Copperbelt: a case study on PR851
- Authors: Katombe-Kisumbule, Paul
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3035 , vital:20354
- Description: The PR851 licence area is located at about 80 km west from the town of Likasi in the district of Haut-Katanga and 175 km north-west of Lubumbashi, the capital city of Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The exploration licence was granted by the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to First Quantum Minerals Ltd through its Congolese subsidiary Compagnie Minière de Sakania Sprl (CoMiSa Sprl) under certificate N˚ CAMI/CR/70/2003 on the 10th of October 2003 for a period of 5 years with a possibility of renewal for 3 years in respect to the new Congolese mining code. The PR851 area lies on fragments of Mines Subgroup rocks of the Roan Group in the Congolese Copperbelt where most of the Cu-Co and stratiform-stratabound deposits such as Kipushi, Ruashi-Etoile, Kinsevere, Kipoi, Luishya, Luswishi, Shituru, Kamoya, Kambove, Tenke- Fungurume, Shinkolobwe, Swambo, Mindingi and Kamoto among others are found. During the 20th century, the Union Minière du Haut Katanga (U.M.H.K.) undertook mineral exploration in the Congolese Copperbelt and numerous copper- and cobalt-occurrences were identified (for instance Kibamba copper occurrence in PR851 area). From 2003, the Compagnie Minière de Sakania Sprl initiated a grassroots exploration program in PR851 area and geochemical exploration survey as one of the mineral exploration tools was implemented to aim at detecting copper and cobalt concentration in soil. The B horizon of the thick tropical soil in the area was sampled and soil samples were sent to Genalysis laboratories in Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa for main chemical analysis of Cu and Co only, whereas 10% of analyzed samples were dispatched to Perth, Western Australia for quality control analysis. Thresholds for anomalies of copper and cobalt were defined by literature comparison, standard deviations and spatial analysis. The anomalies were tested at a later stage by reverse circulation / diamond drilling during the year of 2005 to 2008 and the Cu-Co resources were estimated by Digital Mining Services of Harare, Zimbabwe in the year of 2008. Geological logging of chips from reverse circulation and diamond drill cores revealed that copper mineralization is represented by malachite, chrysocolla, chalcopyrite and bornite whereas cobalt mineralization appeared in form of heterogenite. The source of supergene mineralization remains unknown. Recommendations have been made to undertake more geological exploration work in order to fully investigate the geological setting and structural architecture of the region, which may result in a better understanding of the Cu-Co mineralization system and ore genesis. The latter has been no consensus up-to-date and different theories have been proposed to discuss the ore genesis, including syn- and dia- genetic, synorogenic and sulphide remobilization to late-to-post- orogenic Cu-Zn-Pb Kipushi-type deposit. However, geological observations favored that the diagenetic and syngenetic models are applicable to numerous deposits in the Central African Copperbelt.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Katombe-Kisumbule, Paul
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3035 , vital:20354
- Description: The PR851 licence area is located at about 80 km west from the town of Likasi in the district of Haut-Katanga and 175 km north-west of Lubumbashi, the capital city of Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The exploration licence was granted by the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to First Quantum Minerals Ltd through its Congolese subsidiary Compagnie Minière de Sakania Sprl (CoMiSa Sprl) under certificate N˚ CAMI/CR/70/2003 on the 10th of October 2003 for a period of 5 years with a possibility of renewal for 3 years in respect to the new Congolese mining code. The PR851 area lies on fragments of Mines Subgroup rocks of the Roan Group in the Congolese Copperbelt where most of the Cu-Co and stratiform-stratabound deposits such as Kipushi, Ruashi-Etoile, Kinsevere, Kipoi, Luishya, Luswishi, Shituru, Kamoya, Kambove, Tenke- Fungurume, Shinkolobwe, Swambo, Mindingi and Kamoto among others are found. During the 20th century, the Union Minière du Haut Katanga (U.M.H.K.) undertook mineral exploration in the Congolese Copperbelt and numerous copper- and cobalt-occurrences were identified (for instance Kibamba copper occurrence in PR851 area). From 2003, the Compagnie Minière de Sakania Sprl initiated a grassroots exploration program in PR851 area and geochemical exploration survey as one of the mineral exploration tools was implemented to aim at detecting copper and cobalt concentration in soil. The B horizon of the thick tropical soil in the area was sampled and soil samples were sent to Genalysis laboratories in Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa for main chemical analysis of Cu and Co only, whereas 10% of analyzed samples were dispatched to Perth, Western Australia for quality control analysis. Thresholds for anomalies of copper and cobalt were defined by literature comparison, standard deviations and spatial analysis. The anomalies were tested at a later stage by reverse circulation / diamond drilling during the year of 2005 to 2008 and the Cu-Co resources were estimated by Digital Mining Services of Harare, Zimbabwe in the year of 2008. Geological logging of chips from reverse circulation and diamond drill cores revealed that copper mineralization is represented by malachite, chrysocolla, chalcopyrite and bornite whereas cobalt mineralization appeared in form of heterogenite. The source of supergene mineralization remains unknown. Recommendations have been made to undertake more geological exploration work in order to fully investigate the geological setting and structural architecture of the region, which may result in a better understanding of the Cu-Co mineralization system and ore genesis. The latter has been no consensus up-to-date and different theories have been proposed to discuss the ore genesis, including syn- and dia- genetic, synorogenic and sulphide remobilization to late-to-post- orogenic Cu-Zn-Pb Kipushi-type deposit. However, geological observations favored that the diagenetic and syngenetic models are applicable to numerous deposits in the Central African Copperbelt.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Geology, regional diamond exploration and diamond provenance of the proterozoic diamondiferous Umkondo conglomerates, Umkondo group, eastern Zimbabwe
- Authors: Zhou, Takawira
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3598 , vital:20528
- Description: The Umkondo Sedimentary Basin in eastern Zimbabwe has been studied by various individuals and organizations since 1901. Their interest had been in finding limestone and beryl and base metal deposits, especially copper, iron and uranium, but these occurrences had proved to be of no economic value (Watson, 1969). The recent discovery of placer diamonds within the Proterozoic basal conglomerates of the Umkondo Sedimentary Basin has now attracted worldwide interest in the basin’s diamond economic potential, in understanding of the geology, and the diamond provenance of the Umkondo conglomerates. The Umkondo Sedimentary Basin basal conglomerate placer deposit might narrowly be defined as a mega-placer because of its sheer large size and high grades, especially on the 70,000 hectare western margin diamond dispersion halo where alluvial diamonds are being mined. Bluck, et al., (2005, pp 213) defines a diamond mega-placer as: . . . a number of linked deposits that are a result of one or a continuous process of transportation and deposition and holds or have held at least >= 50 million carats at >= 95% gem quality, for example, the Orange-Vaal dispersal, off the Kaapvaal craton in South Africa. On craton placers are residual, and transient placers are eroded and deposited into the exit drainage, while terminal placers, the final depositories of diamonds with the highest chances of being mega-placers are deposited into terminal basins like oceans and foreland basins. Though data is limited at the moment, the Umkondo conglomerates caratage is likely to run into hundreds of millions of carats, with a diamond gem content of between twenty and twenty-five percent, as is indicated from recent diamond production data. The greater part of the Umkondo diamonds are likely to be lodged beneath the deep gravels of the Middle and Lower Save River basin, because small remnant tilted mountain blocks and inselbergs forming the caps of hills are what remains of the host conglomerate on the western margin of the Umkondo Basin. Areas to be examined in this document will be the geology; the mode of formation of the Umkondo basin and its sedimentary system; the regional kimberlite exploration around the basin; and diamond production in the Marange diamond field, in order to come up with indications of the provenance of the diamonds within the Umkondo conglomerates. The kimberlite clusters in and around the Umkondo sedimentary basin have all proved to be barren or only nominally diamondiferous and that the kimberlites are between 200Ma and 500Ma and thus much younger than the greater than 1.1Ga Umkondo diamondiferous conglomerates. Studies so far undertaken have not managed to point to the origin, or provenance, of the Umkondo or Marange diamonds, which were discovered on the western edge of the Umkondo Basin and in the east of the basin below the Chimanimani Mountains along the Haroni River. This paper is an attempt to clear up some of the misconceptions surrounding the Marange diamond deposit and to raise interest in the urgent rquirement to study and understand the Umkondo Basin and the origin of its diamonds. The only meaningful studies on diamond occurrence and diamond exploration of the basin were undertaken from 1996 to 2006 by Kimberlitic Searches Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd, the then Zimbabwe kimberlite exploration arm of De Beers, Zimbabwe, in their quest to find kimberlites, which were thought to be related to the Umkondo alluvial diamond deposit. As will be shown in the following chapters, many of the discovered kimberlites range from very low grade to non-diamondiferous, and are much younger than the Umkondo conglomerates, whose diamonds are in turn a great deal older. Thus the basic question concerning the origin or provenance of the Umkondo placer diamonds still remains unresolved. Because of the sheer size of the basin, modern, wide-area-coverage, geophysical exploration methods become appropriate to effectively generate diamond potential targets for further examination. This document will attempt to collate various data available to paint a true picture of the state of exploration within the Umkondo Basin.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Zhou, Takawira
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3598 , vital:20528
- Description: The Umkondo Sedimentary Basin in eastern Zimbabwe has been studied by various individuals and organizations since 1901. Their interest had been in finding limestone and beryl and base metal deposits, especially copper, iron and uranium, but these occurrences had proved to be of no economic value (Watson, 1969). The recent discovery of placer diamonds within the Proterozoic basal conglomerates of the Umkondo Sedimentary Basin has now attracted worldwide interest in the basin’s diamond economic potential, in understanding of the geology, and the diamond provenance of the Umkondo conglomerates. The Umkondo Sedimentary Basin basal conglomerate placer deposit might narrowly be defined as a mega-placer because of its sheer large size and high grades, especially on the 70,000 hectare western margin diamond dispersion halo where alluvial diamonds are being mined. Bluck, et al., (2005, pp 213) defines a diamond mega-placer as: . . . a number of linked deposits that are a result of one or a continuous process of transportation and deposition and holds or have held at least >= 50 million carats at >= 95% gem quality, for example, the Orange-Vaal dispersal, off the Kaapvaal craton in South Africa. On craton placers are residual, and transient placers are eroded and deposited into the exit drainage, while terminal placers, the final depositories of diamonds with the highest chances of being mega-placers are deposited into terminal basins like oceans and foreland basins. Though data is limited at the moment, the Umkondo conglomerates caratage is likely to run into hundreds of millions of carats, with a diamond gem content of between twenty and twenty-five percent, as is indicated from recent diamond production data. The greater part of the Umkondo diamonds are likely to be lodged beneath the deep gravels of the Middle and Lower Save River basin, because small remnant tilted mountain blocks and inselbergs forming the caps of hills are what remains of the host conglomerate on the western margin of the Umkondo Basin. Areas to be examined in this document will be the geology; the mode of formation of the Umkondo basin and its sedimentary system; the regional kimberlite exploration around the basin; and diamond production in the Marange diamond field, in order to come up with indications of the provenance of the diamonds within the Umkondo conglomerates. The kimberlite clusters in and around the Umkondo sedimentary basin have all proved to be barren or only nominally diamondiferous and that the kimberlites are between 200Ma and 500Ma and thus much younger than the greater than 1.1Ga Umkondo diamondiferous conglomerates. Studies so far undertaken have not managed to point to the origin, or provenance, of the Umkondo or Marange diamonds, which were discovered on the western edge of the Umkondo Basin and in the east of the basin below the Chimanimani Mountains along the Haroni River. This paper is an attempt to clear up some of the misconceptions surrounding the Marange diamond deposit and to raise interest in the urgent rquirement to study and understand the Umkondo Basin and the origin of its diamonds. The only meaningful studies on diamond occurrence and diamond exploration of the basin were undertaken from 1996 to 2006 by Kimberlitic Searches Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd, the then Zimbabwe kimberlite exploration arm of De Beers, Zimbabwe, in their quest to find kimberlites, which were thought to be related to the Umkondo alluvial diamond deposit. As will be shown in the following chapters, many of the discovered kimberlites range from very low grade to non-diamondiferous, and are much younger than the Umkondo conglomerates, whose diamonds are in turn a great deal older. Thus the basic question concerning the origin or provenance of the Umkondo placer diamonds still remains unresolved. Because of the sheer size of the basin, modern, wide-area-coverage, geophysical exploration methods become appropriate to effectively generate diamond potential targets for further examination. This document will attempt to collate various data available to paint a true picture of the state of exploration within the Umkondo Basin.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Goeie maniere en etiket
- Authors: Van Staden, Antoinique
- Date: 2016
- Language: Afrikaans , English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6011 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021226
- Description: This bilingual collection of short stories combines the fairy tale form and the Bizarro genre to explore the value system ingrained in me at a very early age via my conservative Afrikaans upbringing. To my mind the four characteristics of the fairy tale form as identified by Kate Bernheimer (in her path-breaking essay “Fairy Tale is form, Form is Fairy Tale”) namely flatness, abstraction, intuitive logic and normalized magic, also apply to the Bizarro genre. This intersection is exemplified by some of Bernheimer's own fiction, as well as the fiction of Aimee Bender and Lucy Corin, among others, all of whom have influenced my writing. , Hierdie tweetalige versameling kortverhale kombineer sprokieselemente met die van die Bizarro-genre, om die waardesisteem wat van kleins af deur my konserwatiewe Afrikaanse opvoeding by my ingeprent is, te ondersoek. Die vier eienskappe van die sprokie word deur Kate Bernheimer in haar baanbrekende opstel Fairy tale is form, Form is fairy tale uitgelê as: ’n onbetrokke verteller, abstraksie, instinktiewe logika en genormaliseerde towerkuns. Na my mening is dié vier eienskappe ook op die Bizarro-genre van toepassing. Hierdie oorvleuling is sigbaar in Bernheimer se fiksie en ook onder andere Lucy Corin en Aimee Bender s'n – skrywers wat my werk beïnvloed het. , This thesis is presented in two parts: Afrikaans and English.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Van Staden, Antoinique
- Date: 2016
- Language: Afrikaans , English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6011 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021226
- Description: This bilingual collection of short stories combines the fairy tale form and the Bizarro genre to explore the value system ingrained in me at a very early age via my conservative Afrikaans upbringing. To my mind the four characteristics of the fairy tale form as identified by Kate Bernheimer (in her path-breaking essay “Fairy Tale is form, Form is Fairy Tale”) namely flatness, abstraction, intuitive logic and normalized magic, also apply to the Bizarro genre. This intersection is exemplified by some of Bernheimer's own fiction, as well as the fiction of Aimee Bender and Lucy Corin, among others, all of whom have influenced my writing. , Hierdie tweetalige versameling kortverhale kombineer sprokieselemente met die van die Bizarro-genre, om die waardesisteem wat van kleins af deur my konserwatiewe Afrikaanse opvoeding by my ingeprent is, te ondersoek. Die vier eienskappe van die sprokie word deur Kate Bernheimer in haar baanbrekende opstel Fairy tale is form, Form is fairy tale uitgelê as: ’n onbetrokke verteller, abstraksie, instinktiewe logika en genormaliseerde towerkuns. Na my mening is dié vier eienskappe ook op die Bizarro-genre van toepassing. Hierdie oorvleuling is sigbaar in Bernheimer se fiksie en ook onder andere Lucy Corin en Aimee Bender s'n – skrywers wat my werk beïnvloed het. , This thesis is presented in two parts: Afrikaans and English.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Gold nanoparticle–based colorimetric probes for dopamine detection
- Authors: Ngomane, Nokuthula
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4565 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021261
- Description: Colorimetric probes have become important tools in analysis and biomedical technology. This thesis reports on the development of such probes for the detection of dopamine (DA). Liquid and different solid state probes were developed utilizing un–functionalized gold nanoparticles (UF–AuNPs). The liquid state probe is based on the growth and aggregation of the UF–AuNPs in the presence of DA. Upon addition of the UF–AuNPs to various concentrations of DA, the shape, size and colour change results in spectral shifts from lower to higher wavelengths. The analyte can be easily monitored by the naked eye from 5.0 nM DA with a calculated limit of detection of 2.5 nM (3σ) under optimal pH. Ascorbic acid (AA) has a potential to interfere with DA detection in solution since it is often present in biological fluids, but in this case the interference was limited to solutions where its concentration was beyond 200 times greater than that of DA. Since most of the previously reported colorimetric probes, especially those for DA are solution based, the main focus of the thesis was in the development of a solid state based colorimetric probe in the form of nanofibre mats. To overcome the interference challenges experienced in the solution studies (the interference by high concentrations of AA), the suitability of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the selective detection of DA was investigated. The results showed that the MIPs produced did not play a significant role in enhancing the selectivity towards DA. A probe composed of just the UF–AuNPs and Nylon–6 (UF–AuNPs + N6) was also developed. The UF–AuNPs were synthesized following an in situ reduction method. The probe was only selective to DA and insensitive to other catecholamines at physiological pH. Thus, the probe did not require any addition functionalities to achieve selectivity and sensitive to DA. The liquid state probe and the composite UF–AuNPs + N6 nanofibre probe were successfully applied to a whole blood sample and showed good selectivity towards DA. The simple, sensitive and selective probe could be an excellent alternative for on–site and immediate detection of DA without the use of instrumentation. For quantification of DA using the solid state probe, open–source software imageJ was used to assist in the analysis of the nanofibre colours. It was observed that the intensity of the colour increased with the increase in concentration of DA in a linear fashion. The use of imageJ can also be a great alternative where the colour changes are not so clear or for visually impaired people. The solid state probe developed can detect DA qualitatively and quantitatively. The work also forms a good foundation for development of such probes for other analyte.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Ngomane, Nokuthula
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4565 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021261
- Description: Colorimetric probes have become important tools in analysis and biomedical technology. This thesis reports on the development of such probes for the detection of dopamine (DA). Liquid and different solid state probes were developed utilizing un–functionalized gold nanoparticles (UF–AuNPs). The liquid state probe is based on the growth and aggregation of the UF–AuNPs in the presence of DA. Upon addition of the UF–AuNPs to various concentrations of DA, the shape, size and colour change results in spectral shifts from lower to higher wavelengths. The analyte can be easily monitored by the naked eye from 5.0 nM DA with a calculated limit of detection of 2.5 nM (3σ) under optimal pH. Ascorbic acid (AA) has a potential to interfere with DA detection in solution since it is often present in biological fluids, but in this case the interference was limited to solutions where its concentration was beyond 200 times greater than that of DA. Since most of the previously reported colorimetric probes, especially those for DA are solution based, the main focus of the thesis was in the development of a solid state based colorimetric probe in the form of nanofibre mats. To overcome the interference challenges experienced in the solution studies (the interference by high concentrations of AA), the suitability of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the selective detection of DA was investigated. The results showed that the MIPs produced did not play a significant role in enhancing the selectivity towards DA. A probe composed of just the UF–AuNPs and Nylon–6 (UF–AuNPs + N6) was also developed. The UF–AuNPs were synthesized following an in situ reduction method. The probe was only selective to DA and insensitive to other catecholamines at physiological pH. Thus, the probe did not require any addition functionalities to achieve selectivity and sensitive to DA. The liquid state probe and the composite UF–AuNPs + N6 nanofibre probe were successfully applied to a whole blood sample and showed good selectivity towards DA. The simple, sensitive and selective probe could be an excellent alternative for on–site and immediate detection of DA without the use of instrumentation. For quantification of DA using the solid state probe, open–source software imageJ was used to assist in the analysis of the nanofibre colours. It was observed that the intensity of the colour increased with the increase in concentration of DA in a linear fashion. The use of imageJ can also be a great alternative where the colour changes are not so clear or for visually impaired people. The solid state probe developed can detect DA qualitatively and quantitatively. The work also forms a good foundation for development of such probes for other analyte.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
GPU Accelerated protocol analysis for large and long-term traffic traces
- Nottingham, Alastair Timothy
- Authors: Nottingham, Alastair Timothy
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/910 , vital:20002
- Description: This thesis describes the design and implementation of GPF+, a complete general packet classification system developed using Nvidia CUDA for Compute Capability 3.5+ GPUs. This system was developed with the aim of accelerating the analysis of arbitrary network protocols within network traffic traces using inexpensive, massively parallel commodity hardware. GPF+ and its supporting components are specifically intended to support the processing of large, long-term network packet traces such as those produced by network telescopes, which are currently difficult and time consuming to analyse. The GPF+ classifier is based on prior research in the field, which produced a prototype classifier called GPF, targeted at Compute Capability 1.3 GPUs. GPF+ greatly extends the GPF model, improving runtime flexibility and scalability, whilst maintaining high execution efficiency. GPF+ incorporates a compact, lightweight registerbased state machine that supports massively-parallel, multi-match filter predicate evaluation, as well as efficient arbitrary field extraction. GPF+ tracks packet composition during execution, and adjusts processing at runtime to avoid redundant memory transactions and unnecessary computation through warp-voting. GPF+ additionally incorporates a 128-bit in-thread cache, accelerated through register shuffling, to accelerate access to packet data in slow GPU global memory. GPF+ uses a high-level DSL to simplify protocol and filter creation, whilst better facilitating protocol reuse. The system is supported by a pipeline of multi-threaded high-performance host components, which communicate asynchronously through 0MQ messaging middleware to buffer, index, and dispatch packet data on the host system. The system was evaluated using high-end Kepler (Nvidia GTX Titan) and entry level Maxwell (Nvidia GTX 750) GPUs. The results of this evaluation showed high system performance, limited only by device side IO (600MBps) in all tests. GPF+ maintained high occupancy and device utilisation in all tests, without significant serialisation, and showed improved scaling to more complex filter sets. Results were used to visualise captures of up to 160 GB in seconds, and to extract and pre-filter captures small enough to be easily analysed in applications such as Wireshark.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Nottingham, Alastair Timothy
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/910 , vital:20002
- Description: This thesis describes the design and implementation of GPF+, a complete general packet classification system developed using Nvidia CUDA for Compute Capability 3.5+ GPUs. This system was developed with the aim of accelerating the analysis of arbitrary network protocols within network traffic traces using inexpensive, massively parallel commodity hardware. GPF+ and its supporting components are specifically intended to support the processing of large, long-term network packet traces such as those produced by network telescopes, which are currently difficult and time consuming to analyse. The GPF+ classifier is based on prior research in the field, which produced a prototype classifier called GPF, targeted at Compute Capability 1.3 GPUs. GPF+ greatly extends the GPF model, improving runtime flexibility and scalability, whilst maintaining high execution efficiency. GPF+ incorporates a compact, lightweight registerbased state machine that supports massively-parallel, multi-match filter predicate evaluation, as well as efficient arbitrary field extraction. GPF+ tracks packet composition during execution, and adjusts processing at runtime to avoid redundant memory transactions and unnecessary computation through warp-voting. GPF+ additionally incorporates a 128-bit in-thread cache, accelerated through register shuffling, to accelerate access to packet data in slow GPU global memory. GPF+ uses a high-level DSL to simplify protocol and filter creation, whilst better facilitating protocol reuse. The system is supported by a pipeline of multi-threaded high-performance host components, which communicate asynchronously through 0MQ messaging middleware to buffer, index, and dispatch packet data on the host system. The system was evaluated using high-end Kepler (Nvidia GTX Titan) and entry level Maxwell (Nvidia GTX 750) GPUs. The results of this evaluation showed high system performance, limited only by device side IO (600MBps) in all tests. GPF+ maintained high occupancy and device utilisation in all tests, without significant serialisation, and showed improved scaling to more complex filter sets. Results were used to visualise captures of up to 160 GB in seconds, and to extract and pre-filter captures small enough to be easily analysed in applications such as Wireshark.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Grace “The story of a wise cat and a cruel man.”
- Authors: Phepheng, Maruping
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6005 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021213
- Description: Morgan, a widower and police detective, is quickly promoted from constable to captain after a series of successful criminal investigations, creating enemies in the process. One of the convicted and incarcerated is Paper, a gang leader with a violent upbringing. After a lucky release from prison, Paper, now Morgan’s fierce foe, plots to hurt him in the worst way possible – by killing his only son. The story is narrated by a cat named Grace, whose presence and companionship comes from another dimension and helps Morgan to keep sane.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Phepheng, Maruping
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6005 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021213
- Description: Morgan, a widower and police detective, is quickly promoted from constable to captain after a series of successful criminal investigations, creating enemies in the process. One of the convicted and incarcerated is Paper, a gang leader with a violent upbringing. After a lucky release from prison, Paper, now Morgan’s fierce foe, plots to hurt him in the worst way possible – by killing his only son. The story is narrated by a cat named Grace, whose presence and companionship comes from another dimension and helps Morgan to keep sane.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Gradient high performance liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous analysis of efavirenz, emtricitabine and tenofovir
- Authors: Koekemoer, Sonya Mariana
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MPharm
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54679 , vital:26599
- Description: In 2014, approximately 6.8 million people in South Africa were HIV-positive, and the majority of those affected are aged 15 or older. A fixed-dose combination (FDC) antiretroviral (ARV) dosage form containing one non-nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor (efavirenz) and two nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (emtricitabine and tenofovir) was licensed in South Africa in April 2013. New consolidated guidelines for HIV management and prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) were published by the South African Department of Health in December 2014 and the FDC is now the recommended first-line treatment for HIV-positive patients. According to these guidelines all such people aged 15 and older, and weighing more than 40 kg, with a CD4 count of ≤ 500/ μl will be eligible for antiretroviral therapy (ART) using the FDC. In addition every pregnant and breastfeeding woman is eligible for lifelong ART regardless of CD4 count and EFV can be used as first-line treatment for pregnant women regardless of the length of gestation state of the pregnancy at that time. The use of this simplified regime is likely to promote much needed and improved adherence to therapy. An investigation into the development of a stability-indicating reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for the simultaneous quantitation of EFV, FTC and TNF was undertaken. Isocratic HPLC analysis was found to be unsuitable due to the highly polar FTC molecule eluting in the void. Therefore a gradient HPLC method was developed and validated. The method was validated according to the International Conference on Harmonisation, now known as International Council for Harmonization (ICH). Correlation coefficients > 0.999 were obtained for each assessment of linearity and FTC, TNF and EFV are linear in the range 0.4-40 μg/ml, 0.6-60 μg/ml and 1.2-120 μg/ml. The equation of the best-fit least squares regression lines for FTC, TNF and EFV were y = 0.0191x+0.0007, y = 0.0163x+0.0116 and y = 0.01x+0.016, respectively. The method is accurate as the y-intercept was < 2% of the detector response for all ARV, and the method is precise in terms of intra- and inter-assay precision as all % RSD < 2%. The stability-indicating nature of the method was demonstrated under acidic, alkaline and oxidative stress in addition to UV exposure and elevated temperatures, and the individual chromatograms were overlaid using Empower® 3 Software to establish whether there was interference with the peaks of interest. The forced degradation studies demonstrated the selectivity of the method for the ARV compounds. The method was applied to assay and in vitro dissolution studies of commercially available tablets. The amount of each active ingredient released from Atripla® was determined and compared to the amount of each drug released from Aspen Efavirenz® and Truvada® (a combination of FTC and TNF). The percent FTC released from Atripla® and Truvada® was similar based on the acceptance criteria for immediate-release BCS class 1 compounds. Statistical analysis was undertaken to compare the dissolution profiles of FTC, TNF and EFV. The percent of these compounds released in these studies indicate that bioequivalence testing would be required to declare these products interchangeable. The validated RP-HPLC and in vitro dissolution test method are suitable for routine quality control testing of solid oral dosage forms containing EFV, FTC and TNF, and as the dissolution method can discriminate between different formulations of the same molecule, these tools can also be used for analysis during formulation development studies. The method is not suitable for the analysis of the ARV plasma due to lack of sensitivity and an inability to quantitate the compounds at the required concentration levels. The use of HPLC with mass spectroscopy for quantitation would enhance the sensitivity of the method and may eliminate the quantitation of the molecules in the presence of interference that was observed when using UV detection. Fixed dose combination tablets are convenient for patient therapy and it is likely that in the future more molecules will be formulated into such dosage forms. However formulations such as these can pose significant difficulties when developing and using analytical methods for the quantitation of all compounds in the dosage form at the same time, in particular when the compounds have vastly different physico-chemical properties that impact the quality of a separation and therefore the analysis. Therefore when embarking on the development of FDC product cognisance of the difficulties of developing single methods for the analyses is required and approaches to overcome these difficulties should be considered.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Koekemoer, Sonya Mariana
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MPharm
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54679 , vital:26599
- Description: In 2014, approximately 6.8 million people in South Africa were HIV-positive, and the majority of those affected are aged 15 or older. A fixed-dose combination (FDC) antiretroviral (ARV) dosage form containing one non-nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor (efavirenz) and two nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (emtricitabine and tenofovir) was licensed in South Africa in April 2013. New consolidated guidelines for HIV management and prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) were published by the South African Department of Health in December 2014 and the FDC is now the recommended first-line treatment for HIV-positive patients. According to these guidelines all such people aged 15 and older, and weighing more than 40 kg, with a CD4 count of ≤ 500/ μl will be eligible for antiretroviral therapy (ART) using the FDC. In addition every pregnant and breastfeeding woman is eligible for lifelong ART regardless of CD4 count and EFV can be used as first-line treatment for pregnant women regardless of the length of gestation state of the pregnancy at that time. The use of this simplified regime is likely to promote much needed and improved adherence to therapy. An investigation into the development of a stability-indicating reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for the simultaneous quantitation of EFV, FTC and TNF was undertaken. Isocratic HPLC analysis was found to be unsuitable due to the highly polar FTC molecule eluting in the void. Therefore a gradient HPLC method was developed and validated. The method was validated according to the International Conference on Harmonisation, now known as International Council for Harmonization (ICH). Correlation coefficients > 0.999 were obtained for each assessment of linearity and FTC, TNF and EFV are linear in the range 0.4-40 μg/ml, 0.6-60 μg/ml and 1.2-120 μg/ml. The equation of the best-fit least squares regression lines for FTC, TNF and EFV were y = 0.0191x+0.0007, y = 0.0163x+0.0116 and y = 0.01x+0.016, respectively. The method is accurate as the y-intercept was < 2% of the detector response for all ARV, and the method is precise in terms of intra- and inter-assay precision as all % RSD < 2%. The stability-indicating nature of the method was demonstrated under acidic, alkaline and oxidative stress in addition to UV exposure and elevated temperatures, and the individual chromatograms were overlaid using Empower® 3 Software to establish whether there was interference with the peaks of interest. The forced degradation studies demonstrated the selectivity of the method for the ARV compounds. The method was applied to assay and in vitro dissolution studies of commercially available tablets. The amount of each active ingredient released from Atripla® was determined and compared to the amount of each drug released from Aspen Efavirenz® and Truvada® (a combination of FTC and TNF). The percent FTC released from Atripla® and Truvada® was similar based on the acceptance criteria for immediate-release BCS class 1 compounds. Statistical analysis was undertaken to compare the dissolution profiles of FTC, TNF and EFV. The percent of these compounds released in these studies indicate that bioequivalence testing would be required to declare these products interchangeable. The validated RP-HPLC and in vitro dissolution test method are suitable for routine quality control testing of solid oral dosage forms containing EFV, FTC and TNF, and as the dissolution method can discriminate between different formulations of the same molecule, these tools can also be used for analysis during formulation development studies. The method is not suitable for the analysis of the ARV plasma due to lack of sensitivity and an inability to quantitate the compounds at the required concentration levels. The use of HPLC with mass spectroscopy for quantitation would enhance the sensitivity of the method and may eliminate the quantitation of the molecules in the presence of interference that was observed when using UV detection. Fixed dose combination tablets are convenient for patient therapy and it is likely that in the future more molecules will be formulated into such dosage forms. However formulations such as these can pose significant difficulties when developing and using analytical methods for the quantitation of all compounds in the dosage form at the same time, in particular when the compounds have vastly different physico-chemical properties that impact the quality of a separation and therefore the analysis. Therefore when embarking on the development of FDC product cognisance of the difficulties of developing single methods for the analyses is required and approaches to overcome these difficulties should be considered.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Hearing things
- Authors: Claassen, José
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6019 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021243
- Description: William Carlos Williams wrote: "It isn't what the poet says that counts as a work of art, it's what he makes, with such intensity of purpose that it lives with an intrinsic movement of its own to verify its authenticity." I would like to think that my poems only borrow life from my pen, taking on an identity and music of their own with the help of some ‘making’ on my part. My poems embrace a continuum of human experience from the intrapersonal to the societal. Using imagistic and cinematic forms, they preserve the vitality of their sources, from the music of cityscapes, to the texture of emotions, to the narratives of particular characters.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Claassen, José
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6019 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021243
- Description: William Carlos Williams wrote: "It isn't what the poet says that counts as a work of art, it's what he makes, with such intensity of purpose that it lives with an intrinsic movement of its own to verify its authenticity." I would like to think that my poems only borrow life from my pen, taking on an identity and music of their own with the help of some ‘making’ on my part. My poems embrace a continuum of human experience from the intrapersonal to the societal. Using imagistic and cinematic forms, they preserve the vitality of their sources, from the music of cityscapes, to the texture of emotions, to the narratives of particular characters.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Historical perspectives and future directions for access to land, water and related ecosystem services in the Lower Sundays River Valley, South Africa: implications for human well being
- Authors: Chadzingwa, Karabo
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442 , vital:19959
- Description: The legacy of South Africa’s history has facilitated unequal access to land and water resources. In the Lower Sundays River Valley (LSRV), a predominantly commercial farming area, differential access to land and water has impacted aspects of ecosystem service access and human well‐being for disenfranchised families over time. Despite the social, political and economic reform efforts in the past two decades, severe inertia towards efforts attempting to increase equitable access to land and water has been experienced. As a result, communities have mobilized and claimed their land from the government through the land restitution process. Based on a mixed‐methods approach, this research explores the ways in which access to land and water over time has influenced current levels of human well‐being among disenfranchised families. Provisioning and cultural ecosystem services were identified as key areas of loss as a result of forced evictions from land. Freedom of choice was a central and cross‐cutting theme regarding the ability to change levels of human well‐being. Although the loss of ecosystem services associated with land and water had an impact on households, the ecosystem services which are regarded as fundamental to human well‐being do not seem to have been lost. The study recommends the wide use of freedom of choice as an indicator for well‐being in the LSRV, as well as a consideration of subjective, objective and psychological measures of well‐being with regards to natural resources and ecosystem services access. Key agents in fostering desirable pathways toward equity and sustainability in the LSRV are identified with stakeholders as private businesses; inclusive governance; empowered and skilled individuals, as well as NGOs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Chadzingwa, Karabo
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442 , vital:19959
- Description: The legacy of South Africa’s history has facilitated unequal access to land and water resources. In the Lower Sundays River Valley (LSRV), a predominantly commercial farming area, differential access to land and water has impacted aspects of ecosystem service access and human well‐being for disenfranchised families over time. Despite the social, political and economic reform efforts in the past two decades, severe inertia towards efforts attempting to increase equitable access to land and water has been experienced. As a result, communities have mobilized and claimed their land from the government through the land restitution process. Based on a mixed‐methods approach, this research explores the ways in which access to land and water over time has influenced current levels of human well‐being among disenfranchised families. Provisioning and cultural ecosystem services were identified as key areas of loss as a result of forced evictions from land. Freedom of choice was a central and cross‐cutting theme regarding the ability to change levels of human well‐being. Although the loss of ecosystem services associated with land and water had an impact on households, the ecosystem services which are regarded as fundamental to human well‐being do not seem to have been lost. The study recommends the wide use of freedom of choice as an indicator for well‐being in the LSRV, as well as a consideration of subjective, objective and psychological measures of well‐being with regards to natural resources and ecosystem services access. Key agents in fostering desirable pathways toward equity and sustainability in the LSRV are identified with stakeholders as private businesses; inclusive governance; empowered and skilled individuals, as well as NGOs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016