Getting "layed" : new professional positions in South African psychology
- Authors: Henderson, Jill
- Date: 2013-06-04
- Subjects: Psychology -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Psychologists -- Training of -- South Africa Psychologists -- Selection and appointment -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3179 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007953
- Description: KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
- Authors: Henderson, Jill
- Date: 2013-06-04
- Subjects: Psychology -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Psychologists -- Training of -- South Africa Psychologists -- Selection and appointment -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3179 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007953
- Description: KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
Employees' experience of job satisfaction within a successful organisation
- Authors: Milne, Claire
- Date: 2013-06-03
- Subjects: Employee motivation Job satisfaction Employees -- Rating of Performance standards Management -- Employee participation Organizational effectiveness Organizational behavior Employees -- Psychology Wages -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3159 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007639
- Description: In the present organisational climate characterised by intense competition, the success of an organisation is increasingly dependent on its employees' expertise and knowledge (Carrel, Elbert, Hatfield, Grobler, Marx & Van der Schyf, 1997). Employees need to be motivated to contribute to the organisation's goals, for their knowledge and expertise to benefit an organisation (Lawler III, 1994). Organisations need to foster a situation in which employees have a positive attitude towards work and are able to benefit personally through directing their effort towards organisational goals. (Robbins, 2000) This study focuses on an organisation that has managed to link job satisfaction with organisational gain, and explores the link between these two subjects. A case study of a South African mining operation is reported on, and examined in-depth. The mine, a successful operation in terms of productivity, is recognised by its holding company as exemplary and is competing with the best base metal producers in the world. The research was conducted in two stages. The first stage consisted of 20 semi-structured individual interviews. Ten employees were selected from both the lower employee-levels and the higher employee-levels. The individual interviews focused on the experience of working at the mine with particular reference to interpersonal dynamics, job satisfaction, leadership style, and reward systems. During the second stage of the research, focus groups were conducted with two groups of seven employees each, one group from the lower-levels and one from the higher-levels. The focus groups aimed at obtaining a deeper understanding of the issues that emerged from the individual interviews. Grounded theory analysis was used during both the first, and second phase of the study. The results indicated that the mine's employees experience a high level fulfilment of higher-order needs, and that this experience is a reaction to the mine's performance enhancing culture. It is further shown that the same factors that create job satisfaction, when applied in excess, or in certain circumstances may lead to dissatisfaction within the same context.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Milne, Claire
- Date: 2013-06-03
- Subjects: Employee motivation Job satisfaction Employees -- Rating of Performance standards Management -- Employee participation Organizational effectiveness Organizational behavior Employees -- Psychology Wages -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3159 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007639
- Description: In the present organisational climate characterised by intense competition, the success of an organisation is increasingly dependent on its employees' expertise and knowledge (Carrel, Elbert, Hatfield, Grobler, Marx & Van der Schyf, 1997). Employees need to be motivated to contribute to the organisation's goals, for their knowledge and expertise to benefit an organisation (Lawler III, 1994). Organisations need to foster a situation in which employees have a positive attitude towards work and are able to benefit personally through directing their effort towards organisational goals. (Robbins, 2000) This study focuses on an organisation that has managed to link job satisfaction with organisational gain, and explores the link between these two subjects. A case study of a South African mining operation is reported on, and examined in-depth. The mine, a successful operation in terms of productivity, is recognised by its holding company as exemplary and is competing with the best base metal producers in the world. The research was conducted in two stages. The first stage consisted of 20 semi-structured individual interviews. Ten employees were selected from both the lower employee-levels and the higher employee-levels. The individual interviews focused on the experience of working at the mine with particular reference to interpersonal dynamics, job satisfaction, leadership style, and reward systems. During the second stage of the research, focus groups were conducted with two groups of seven employees each, one group from the lower-levels and one from the higher-levels. The focus groups aimed at obtaining a deeper understanding of the issues that emerged from the individual interviews. Grounded theory analysis was used during both the first, and second phase of the study. The results indicated that the mine's employees experience a high level fulfilment of higher-order needs, and that this experience is a reaction to the mine's performance enhancing culture. It is further shown that the same factors that create job satisfaction, when applied in excess, or in certain circumstances may lead to dissatisfaction within the same context.
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Acquiring academic reading practices in History I : an ethnographic study of a group of foundation year students at Rhodes University
- Authors: Niven, Penelope Mary
- Date: 2013-05-29
- Subjects: Compensatory education -- South Africa English language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Foreign speakers History -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Foreign speakers College students, Black -- South Africa Black people -- Education (Higher) -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2380 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007860
- Description: This thesis reports on a critical, ethnographic investigation into the reading practices of a group of 14 foundation year students at Rhodes University in 2002. The university had identified all the student-participants as 'underprepared' for university learning: they were from poor, socio-economic backgrounds, used English as an additional language, and had been educated in township or rural schools. Using the Socio-cultural model of literacy (Heath, 1984; Gee, 1990 & Street, 1993), the study explores the culturally-shaped attitudes and assumptions about reading that the students brought with them into a tertiary learning context from their homes, communities and schools. It reports on their subsequent efforts to become academic readers in the disciplinary context of History. Framing Theory (Reid and MacLachlan, 1994) was employed to analyse the kinds of matches and mismatches that arose between the students' frames about the nature and purpose of reading, and those implicitly accepted as normative by teachers in the History department. It accounts for the students' difficulties in achieving epistemological access in terms of a conflict of frames: both the students and their teachers usually failed to recognise each others' constructions about the nature and purpose of 'reading for a degree'. The study'S critical purpose required that its potential for generating emancipatory consequences needed to be investigated. Thus the study reports on how both sets of participants began to reframe their understanding of academic reading, by describing the ways in which they reflected on the findings in the final stages of the research process. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
- Authors: Niven, Penelope Mary
- Date: 2013-05-29
- Subjects: Compensatory education -- South Africa English language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Foreign speakers History -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Foreign speakers College students, Black -- South Africa Black people -- Education (Higher) -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2380 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007860
- Description: This thesis reports on a critical, ethnographic investigation into the reading practices of a group of 14 foundation year students at Rhodes University in 2002. The university had identified all the student-participants as 'underprepared' for university learning: they were from poor, socio-economic backgrounds, used English as an additional language, and had been educated in township or rural schools. Using the Socio-cultural model of literacy (Heath, 1984; Gee, 1990 & Street, 1993), the study explores the culturally-shaped attitudes and assumptions about reading that the students brought with them into a tertiary learning context from their homes, communities and schools. It reports on their subsequent efforts to become academic readers in the disciplinary context of History. Framing Theory (Reid and MacLachlan, 1994) was employed to analyse the kinds of matches and mismatches that arose between the students' frames about the nature and purpose of reading, and those implicitly accepted as normative by teachers in the History department. It accounts for the students' difficulties in achieving epistemological access in terms of a conflict of frames: both the students and their teachers usually failed to recognise each others' constructions about the nature and purpose of 'reading for a degree'. The study'S critical purpose required that its potential for generating emancipatory consequences needed to be investigated. Thus the study reports on how both sets of participants began to reframe their understanding of academic reading, by describing the ways in which they reflected on the findings in the final stages of the research process. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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The hydrogeomorphology of the Featherstone Kloof Catchment
- Authors: Ntakumba, Stanley Sixolile
- Date: 2013-05-29
- Subjects: Wetlands -- South Africa , Wetland restoration -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment , Wetland conservation -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment , Wetland management -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment , Wetland ecology -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4870 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007862 , Wetlands -- South Africa , Wetland restoration -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment , Wetland conservation -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment , Wetland management -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment , Wetland ecology -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment
- Description: Wetlands are an important part of the landscape as hydrogeomorphological ecosystems. Over the centuries their importance has not received relevant attention; instead they have been treated as wastelands impeding development for maximum economic benefits. Research evidence from different parts of the world has influenced the change of such negative perceptions to an extent that the issue of wetlands' rehabilitation/restoration, conservation and management is firmly on the global agenda and local agendas of various countries, as evidenced by the adoption of the Ramsar Convention in 1971, and the Working for Water and Working for Wetlands programmes of the South African government. The aim of this research was to investigate the hydrological and geomorphological functions of a headwater wetland located in the Featherstone Kloof Catchment near Grahamstown, South Africa. The research was based on the hypotheses that wetlands store sediments, attenuate floods, store water and prolong downstream flows. A literature survey was conducted to gauge the state of knowledge about wetlands, particularly their hydrogeomorphology. An attempt was made to locate the study area within the broad historical and spatial context using a number of methods, including the radiocarbon dating of wetland sediments, the review of relevant literature and the analysis of historical hydroclimatic data. The results revealed that the wetland has existed for approximately 2000 years - as the oldest radiocarbon date obtained was 1850±50 BP. An analysis of more than a century (+120 years) long Grahamstown rainfall series indicated a steady fluctuation of rainfall around the mean, with regular decada1 cycles of wet and dry spells. Years with more rain below average were more common than those with higher rainfall, and storms events were quite common in the III area over the period. The distribution of seasons in the area over a calendar year period was demonstrated through the use of evaporation data. An intensive monitoring of hydrological and geomorphological variables was carried out using a combination of methods. The topography of the instrumented site was determined using a Total Station from reference benchmarks. Hydrological measurements included a nest of forty-eight piezometers for water table monitoring, and streamflow gauges at the upstream and downstream limits of the study site. Soil stratigraphic analysis was carried out through field techniques and laboratory measurements. A survey of wetland sediments was carried out after the main floods events. Data generated were used to analyse relationships between various variables and their role on the functioning of the wetland. The water balance of the wetland was quantified. The results indicated that the wetland was able to perform the cited hydrogeomorphological functions to some extent. For example, one of the key findings of this research is that the wetland was important in sustaining base flows under normal circumstances. However, the wetland did little to attenuate large floods. The results also revealed some important questions that require further research, including the role played by extreme flood events in altering wetland characteristics, the contribution of each water balance component in the hydrological functioning of wetlands, and importance of quantifying sediment budgets of headwater wetlands. The study demonstrated the complex nature of the wetland hydro geomorphology and that certain questions about wetlands require direct field monitoring to be better understood. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
- Authors: Ntakumba, Stanley Sixolile
- Date: 2013-05-29
- Subjects: Wetlands -- South Africa , Wetland restoration -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment , Wetland conservation -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment , Wetland management -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment , Wetland ecology -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4870 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007862 , Wetlands -- South Africa , Wetland restoration -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment , Wetland conservation -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment , Wetland management -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment , Wetland ecology -- South Africa -- Featherstone Kloof Catchment
- Description: Wetlands are an important part of the landscape as hydrogeomorphological ecosystems. Over the centuries their importance has not received relevant attention; instead they have been treated as wastelands impeding development for maximum economic benefits. Research evidence from different parts of the world has influenced the change of such negative perceptions to an extent that the issue of wetlands' rehabilitation/restoration, conservation and management is firmly on the global agenda and local agendas of various countries, as evidenced by the adoption of the Ramsar Convention in 1971, and the Working for Water and Working for Wetlands programmes of the South African government. The aim of this research was to investigate the hydrological and geomorphological functions of a headwater wetland located in the Featherstone Kloof Catchment near Grahamstown, South Africa. The research was based on the hypotheses that wetlands store sediments, attenuate floods, store water and prolong downstream flows. A literature survey was conducted to gauge the state of knowledge about wetlands, particularly their hydrogeomorphology. An attempt was made to locate the study area within the broad historical and spatial context using a number of methods, including the radiocarbon dating of wetland sediments, the review of relevant literature and the analysis of historical hydroclimatic data. The results revealed that the wetland has existed for approximately 2000 years - as the oldest radiocarbon date obtained was 1850±50 BP. An analysis of more than a century (+120 years) long Grahamstown rainfall series indicated a steady fluctuation of rainfall around the mean, with regular decada1 cycles of wet and dry spells. Years with more rain below average were more common than those with higher rainfall, and storms events were quite common in the III area over the period. The distribution of seasons in the area over a calendar year period was demonstrated through the use of evaporation data. An intensive monitoring of hydrological and geomorphological variables was carried out using a combination of methods. The topography of the instrumented site was determined using a Total Station from reference benchmarks. Hydrological measurements included a nest of forty-eight piezometers for water table monitoring, and streamflow gauges at the upstream and downstream limits of the study site. Soil stratigraphic analysis was carried out through field techniques and laboratory measurements. A survey of wetland sediments was carried out after the main floods events. Data generated were used to analyse relationships between various variables and their role on the functioning of the wetland. The water balance of the wetland was quantified. The results indicated that the wetland was able to perform the cited hydrogeomorphological functions to some extent. For example, one of the key findings of this research is that the wetland was important in sustaining base flows under normal circumstances. However, the wetland did little to attenuate large floods. The results also revealed some important questions that require further research, including the role played by extreme flood events in altering wetland characteristics, the contribution of each water balance component in the hydrological functioning of wetlands, and importance of quantifying sediment budgets of headwater wetlands. The study demonstrated the complex nature of the wetland hydro geomorphology and that certain questions about wetlands require direct field monitoring to be better understood. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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Synchronisation of breeding in populations of the brown mussel Perna perna on the South Coast of South Africa
- Authors: Ndzipa, Victoria
- Date: 2013-05-28
- Subjects: Mussels -- South Africa , Perna -- South Africa , Perna -- Breeding
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5830 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007857 , Mussels -- South Africa , Perna -- South Africa , Perna -- Breeding
- Description: The general biology and seasonality of breeding of intertidal populations of the brown mussel Perna perna in South Africa are reasonably well known, but we have little information on variability either within or among populations. Synchronous spawning offers adaptive advantages to externally breeding animals. Firstly, it enhances fertilization rates and therefore the species' reproductive fitness. Secondly, spawning can also be timed to coincide with environmental conditions conducive to larval settlement and development. In addition, synchronisation of spawning will influence the synchrony of settlement. Synchronisation of larval settlement, in turn, has implications for popUlation biology, as highly pulsed settlement is likely to lead to density-dependant mortality of recruits and uncoupling of adult/recruit densities, while poorly synchronised settlement will not. Generally, sea temperature and food availability are considered the key factors underlying the initiation and the duration of the breeding cycle of mussels. However, there are proximate local cues that trigger the proliferation, maturation and release of gametes. In this study, the hypothesis tested is that factors that control food availability affect gonad development and so influence synchrony among populations. Much of the published work on spawning is based on observations of the presence of larvae in the plankton, or on settlement. A more reliable method correlates the sequence of gonad development throughout the year with changes in length-weight relationships, using histology. This study is also designed to investigate temporal differences in the timing of the breeding cycle between sheltered and exposed sites along the south coast of South Africa by histological analysis of the reproductive tissue (the gonad) and by dry weight/shell length regreSSIOns. To do this, these two techniques were applied to six mussel populations at three III ocalities that were separated on scales of about 10-20km. Within each locality, two study sites were .dentified. One was exposed to strong wave action and one was sheltered. A few hundred meters ;eparated these sites. The first technique used length-weight regressions as an indication of mussel ~ondition. Abrupt decreases in the dry body weight of a hypothetical standard animal were taken to indicate periods of spawning. Regressions were assessed for samples of 40 mussels taken from each site at intervals of 4 weeks over 13 months. The results were analysed using a 3-way ANCOV A, with dry weight as the dependent variable, shell length as a covariate, and site, exposure and month, as independent variables. The second approach used the more reliable and detailed method of assessing the annual reproductive cycle using histological sections of the gonad. Histological sections of gonads from thirty female mussels, sampled monthly from each site, were examined in the laboratory. Each gonad was categorized into one of six arbitrary developmental stages based on ovary morphology. Synchrony in spawning was examined by comparison of gonad developmental stages of individuals within and among populations. The data were analysed by 3-way nested ANOV A with mean gonad index for each population as the dependent variable, month as an independent variable and exposure nested in site. The results obtained from both techniques showed strong synchronisation among different popUlations, regardless of the scales at which they were separated. The data also indicated good synchrony within populations and, again among populations, regardless of the degree of exposure. The results also indicated that the gonad condition varied significantly at each site, exposure level and month. However, there were significant interactions among these three factors. This means that on a broader seasonal scale the six mussel populations were reasonably synchronised, but on finer monthly scales, there were temporal differences in duration of gametogenic events. The implication is that ovary development is cued by environmental factor(s) that operate on scales of at least 7-20 km rather than more localised events that may affect food availablity either through aggregation of food (local hydrography at different localities) or food delivery to the shore (degree of wave action at different sites.) , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
- Authors: Ndzipa, Victoria
- Date: 2013-05-28
- Subjects: Mussels -- South Africa , Perna -- South Africa , Perna -- Breeding
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5830 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007857 , Mussels -- South Africa , Perna -- South Africa , Perna -- Breeding
- Description: The general biology and seasonality of breeding of intertidal populations of the brown mussel Perna perna in South Africa are reasonably well known, but we have little information on variability either within or among populations. Synchronous spawning offers adaptive advantages to externally breeding animals. Firstly, it enhances fertilization rates and therefore the species' reproductive fitness. Secondly, spawning can also be timed to coincide with environmental conditions conducive to larval settlement and development. In addition, synchronisation of spawning will influence the synchrony of settlement. Synchronisation of larval settlement, in turn, has implications for popUlation biology, as highly pulsed settlement is likely to lead to density-dependant mortality of recruits and uncoupling of adult/recruit densities, while poorly synchronised settlement will not. Generally, sea temperature and food availability are considered the key factors underlying the initiation and the duration of the breeding cycle of mussels. However, there are proximate local cues that trigger the proliferation, maturation and release of gametes. In this study, the hypothesis tested is that factors that control food availability affect gonad development and so influence synchrony among populations. Much of the published work on spawning is based on observations of the presence of larvae in the plankton, or on settlement. A more reliable method correlates the sequence of gonad development throughout the year with changes in length-weight relationships, using histology. This study is also designed to investigate temporal differences in the timing of the breeding cycle between sheltered and exposed sites along the south coast of South Africa by histological analysis of the reproductive tissue (the gonad) and by dry weight/shell length regreSSIOns. To do this, these two techniques were applied to six mussel populations at three III ocalities that were separated on scales of about 10-20km. Within each locality, two study sites were .dentified. One was exposed to strong wave action and one was sheltered. A few hundred meters ;eparated these sites. The first technique used length-weight regressions as an indication of mussel ~ondition. Abrupt decreases in the dry body weight of a hypothetical standard animal were taken to indicate periods of spawning. Regressions were assessed for samples of 40 mussels taken from each site at intervals of 4 weeks over 13 months. The results were analysed using a 3-way ANCOV A, with dry weight as the dependent variable, shell length as a covariate, and site, exposure and month, as independent variables. The second approach used the more reliable and detailed method of assessing the annual reproductive cycle using histological sections of the gonad. Histological sections of gonads from thirty female mussels, sampled monthly from each site, were examined in the laboratory. Each gonad was categorized into one of six arbitrary developmental stages based on ovary morphology. Synchrony in spawning was examined by comparison of gonad developmental stages of individuals within and among populations. The data were analysed by 3-way nested ANOV A with mean gonad index for each population as the dependent variable, month as an independent variable and exposure nested in site. The results obtained from both techniques showed strong synchronisation among different popUlations, regardless of the scales at which they were separated. The data also indicated good synchrony within populations and, again among populations, regardless of the degree of exposure. The results also indicated that the gonad condition varied significantly at each site, exposure level and month. However, there were significant interactions among these three factors. This means that on a broader seasonal scale the six mussel populations were reasonably synchronised, but on finer monthly scales, there were temporal differences in duration of gametogenic events. The implication is that ovary development is cued by environmental factor(s) that operate on scales of at least 7-20 km rather than more localised events that may affect food availablity either through aggregation of food (local hydrography at different localities) or food delivery to the shore (degree of wave action at different sites.) , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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Synthesis and evaluation of PGM-selective ligands
- Gxoyiya, Babalwa Siliziwe Blossom
- Authors: Gxoyiya, Babalwa Siliziwe Blossom
- Date: 2013-05-28
- Subjects: Platinum group , Ligands , Ligands -- Evaluation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4450 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007849 , Platinum group , Ligands , Ligands -- Evaluation
- Description: A series of polydentate POM-selective, sulfur-containing amide ligands have been synthesized from ro-dibromoalkanes and mercaptoacetanilide, The resulting 3,6- dithiaoctanediamides and 3,7-dithianonanediamides, some of which contain a polymerisable group, were all characterized by high-resolution MS, IR, I Hand I3C NMR spectroscopic methods. Various approaches to the polymerisable ligands were explored, the most efficient proving to be the incorporation of an allyl ether moiety in the mercaptoacetanilide. The corresponding Pd(U) and Pt(II) complexes were also prepared from the metal chloride salts and characterized by elemental analysis and spectroscopic methods. The NMR data indicates that both the cis- and transcomplexes were formed, while the IR data indicates cis- coordination of the chlorine . ligands. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP's), prepared using platinum(II) mercaptoacetanilide and 3,6-dithiadiamide complexes, showed high selectivity for , , palladium(II) [in the presence of Pt(II), CoCII), Cu(II) and Ni(II)] as determined by . ICP-MS analysis. The more kinetically inert Pt(II) ions however, slowly displaced Pd(II), confirming the Pt(II) selectivity of the MIP's. Solvent extraction studies were conducted to explore the selectivity of the 3,6- dithiaoctanediamides and 3,7-dithianonanediamides for Pd(U) over CoCII), Cu(U) and Ni(II). The ICP-MS data indicate that, in general, equilibration was achieved within ten minutes and that the longer-chain amides were less selective than the shorter-chain analogues. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Authors: Gxoyiya, Babalwa Siliziwe Blossom
- Date: 2013-05-28
- Subjects: Platinum group , Ligands , Ligands -- Evaluation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4450 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007849 , Platinum group , Ligands , Ligands -- Evaluation
- Description: A series of polydentate POM-selective, sulfur-containing amide ligands have been synthesized from ro-dibromoalkanes and mercaptoacetanilide, The resulting 3,6- dithiaoctanediamides and 3,7-dithianonanediamides, some of which contain a polymerisable group, were all characterized by high-resolution MS, IR, I Hand I3C NMR spectroscopic methods. Various approaches to the polymerisable ligands were explored, the most efficient proving to be the incorporation of an allyl ether moiety in the mercaptoacetanilide. The corresponding Pd(U) and Pt(II) complexes were also prepared from the metal chloride salts and characterized by elemental analysis and spectroscopic methods. The NMR data indicates that both the cis- and transcomplexes were formed, while the IR data indicates cis- coordination of the chlorine . ligands. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP's), prepared using platinum(II) mercaptoacetanilide and 3,6-dithiadiamide complexes, showed high selectivity for , , palladium(II) [in the presence of Pt(II), CoCII), Cu(II) and Ni(II)] as determined by . ICP-MS analysis. The more kinetically inert Pt(II) ions however, slowly displaced Pd(II), confirming the Pt(II) selectivity of the MIP's. Solvent extraction studies were conducted to explore the selectivity of the 3,6- dithiaoctanediamides and 3,7-dithianonanediamides for Pd(U) over CoCII), Cu(U) and Ni(II). The ICP-MS data indicate that, in general, equilibration was achieved within ten minutes and that the longer-chain amides were less selective than the shorter-chain analogues. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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Involuntary consent
- Authors: Futter, Dylan Brian
- Date: 2013-05-24
- Subjects: Ignorance (Theory of knowledge) Responsiblity Free will and determinism Theory (Philosophy) Social ethics Blame
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2742 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007846
- Description: In this dissertation I take exception with a widely held philosophical doctrine, according to which agents are only blameworthy for the bad actions they have chosen to bring about. My argument strategy is to present cases in which agents are blamed for involuntary actions that are not in any way connected to their culpable and voluntary choices. These failures correspond, I suggest, to occasions of culpable ignorance where agents have been negligent or careless. More specifically, I claim that violations of natural duties of respect and consideration, and certain acquired role-type duties, are blamed without any voluntary consent. If my examples are persuasive, then the point is reached where a normative principle of 'voluntary consent' does not in fact coincide with people's actual practices and 'considered judgements'. In the final sections of the dissertation, I argue against the plausibility of keeping the principle and revising our judgements. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Authors: Futter, Dylan Brian
- Date: 2013-05-24
- Subjects: Ignorance (Theory of knowledge) Responsiblity Free will and determinism Theory (Philosophy) Social ethics Blame
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2742 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007846
- Description: In this dissertation I take exception with a widely held philosophical doctrine, according to which agents are only blameworthy for the bad actions they have chosen to bring about. My argument strategy is to present cases in which agents are blamed for involuntary actions that are not in any way connected to their culpable and voluntary choices. These failures correspond, I suggest, to occasions of culpable ignorance where agents have been negligent or careless. More specifically, I claim that violations of natural duties of respect and consideration, and certain acquired role-type duties, are blamed without any voluntary consent. If my examples are persuasive, then the point is reached where a normative principle of 'voluntary consent' does not in fact coincide with people's actual practices and 'considered judgements'. In the final sections of the dissertation, I argue against the plausibility of keeping the principle and revising our judgements. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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Rugby : more than just a game : a study of the cumulative effects of mild head injuries on high school rugby players
- Authors: Giai-Coletti, Cristina
- Date: 2013-05-24
- Subjects: Head -- Wounds and injuries -- Complications Rugby football injuries Brain -- Concussion -- Complications Neuropsychological tests
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3175 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007809
- Description: The present study comprises part of an ongoing research study investigating the effects 0 f cumulative mild head injuries 0 n Rugby Union p layers. The aim 0 f t he study was to ascertain whether there are neuropsychological effects of cumulative mild head injuries sustained during the rugby-playing careers of senior schoolboy rugby players. Participants were top-level rugby players from high schools in Grahamstown and Cape Town (n = 79) and non-contact sport controls of top-level field hockey players from the same schools (n = 58). Group mean comparisons across a battery of neuropsychological tests were carried out between the Total Rugby versus the Total Field Hockey group, and the Rugby Forwards versus the Rugby Backs group. Comparisons between Total Rugby versus Total Field Hockey revealed impaired performance by the rugby players on two tests of visuoperceptual tracking, namely Digit Symbol Substitution and Trail Making Test (Part A). For Rugby Forwards versus Rugby Backs, there were no consistent differences to support the expectation that forwards would perform worse than backs. Forwards performed more poorly than backs on WMS Associate Learning Subtest - Hard (Delayed Recall), whereas backs performed more poorly than forwards on Digits Backwards. This suggests that some individuals in the cohort were starting to exhibit verbal memory deficit, albeit not clearly in association with forward positional play. Overall, results of the present study provide tentative support for the hypothesis that school level rugby players are more susceptible to the effects of cumulative concussive and sub-concussive head injuries than are non-contact sport controls. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Authors: Giai-Coletti, Cristina
- Date: 2013-05-24
- Subjects: Head -- Wounds and injuries -- Complications Rugby football injuries Brain -- Concussion -- Complications Neuropsychological tests
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3175 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007809
- Description: The present study comprises part of an ongoing research study investigating the effects 0 f cumulative mild head injuries 0 n Rugby Union p layers. The aim 0 f t he study was to ascertain whether there are neuropsychological effects of cumulative mild head injuries sustained during the rugby-playing careers of senior schoolboy rugby players. Participants were top-level rugby players from high schools in Grahamstown and Cape Town (n = 79) and non-contact sport controls of top-level field hockey players from the same schools (n = 58). Group mean comparisons across a battery of neuropsychological tests were carried out between the Total Rugby versus the Total Field Hockey group, and the Rugby Forwards versus the Rugby Backs group. Comparisons between Total Rugby versus Total Field Hockey revealed impaired performance by the rugby players on two tests of visuoperceptual tracking, namely Digit Symbol Substitution and Trail Making Test (Part A). For Rugby Forwards versus Rugby Backs, there were no consistent differences to support the expectation that forwards would perform worse than backs. Forwards performed more poorly than backs on WMS Associate Learning Subtest - Hard (Delayed Recall), whereas backs performed more poorly than forwards on Digits Backwards. This suggests that some individuals in the cohort were starting to exhibit verbal memory deficit, albeit not clearly in association with forward positional play. Overall, results of the present study provide tentative support for the hypothesis that school level rugby players are more susceptible to the effects of cumulative concussive and sub-concussive head injuries than are non-contact sport controls. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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South African women's literature and the ecofeminist perspective
- Authors: Ewing, Maureen Colleen
- Date: 2013-05-24
- Subjects: Ecofeminism in literature Ecology in literature Nature in literature South African fiction -- History and criticism Smith, Pauline, 1883-1959 Schreiner, Olive, 1855-1920 Matthee, Dalene, 1938-2005 Poland, Marguerite
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2287 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007808
- Description: A social-constructionist ecofeminist perspective argues that patriarchal society separates the human (or culture) from nature, which causes a false assumption that humanity possesses the right, as a superior species, to dominate nature. This perspective integrates the domination of nature with social conflicts, including but not limited to racial discrimination, gender oppression, and class hierarchies. Understanding how these various forms of oppression interrelate forms the main goal of an ecofeminist perspective. Since the nature-culture, female-male, and whitenonwhite conflicts resonate and interlock throughout South Africa's history, socialconstructionist ecofeminism is an indispensable perspective for analysing South African literature. This thesis takes a social-constructionist ecofeminist approach and applies it to four women authors that write about South African society between the years 1860-1900. This thesis includes the following authors and their works: Olive Schreiner (1855-1920) and two of her novels, The Story of an African Farm (1883) and From Man to Man (published posthumously in 1927); Pauline Smith (1882-1959) and her novel The Beadle (1926); Dalene Matthee (1938- ) and three of her novels, Circles in a Forest (1984), Fiela's Child (1986), and The Mulberry Forest (1987); and Marguerite Poland (1950- ) and one of her novels, Shades (1993). This thesis investigates two women from the time period (Schreiner and Smith) and two women from a late twentieth century perspective (Matthee and Poland) and compares how they depict the natural environment, how they construct gender, and how they interpret class and race power struggles. This thesis concludes that the social-constructionist perspective offers unique insights into these four authors. Schreiner's novels reveal her concerns about gender and racial conflicts in South Africa and her understanding of the nature-culture dichotomy as sustained by Social Darwinism. Smith offers insights into the complex power structures in a rural Afrikaans society that keep women and nonwhite races silent. Matthee writes nature as an active participant in her novels; the social and ecological conflicts emphasise the transformation of the Knysna area. Poland explores the racial tensions, gender conflicts, and environmental concerns that preceded the South African War. Schreiner, Smith, Matthee, and Poland make up a small cross-section of South African literature, but they provide a basis for further discussing the ecofeminist perspective within a South African context. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Authors: Ewing, Maureen Colleen
- Date: 2013-05-24
- Subjects: Ecofeminism in literature Ecology in literature Nature in literature South African fiction -- History and criticism Smith, Pauline, 1883-1959 Schreiner, Olive, 1855-1920 Matthee, Dalene, 1938-2005 Poland, Marguerite
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2287 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007808
- Description: A social-constructionist ecofeminist perspective argues that patriarchal society separates the human (or culture) from nature, which causes a false assumption that humanity possesses the right, as a superior species, to dominate nature. This perspective integrates the domination of nature with social conflicts, including but not limited to racial discrimination, gender oppression, and class hierarchies. Understanding how these various forms of oppression interrelate forms the main goal of an ecofeminist perspective. Since the nature-culture, female-male, and whitenonwhite conflicts resonate and interlock throughout South Africa's history, socialconstructionist ecofeminism is an indispensable perspective for analysing South African literature. This thesis takes a social-constructionist ecofeminist approach and applies it to four women authors that write about South African society between the years 1860-1900. This thesis includes the following authors and their works: Olive Schreiner (1855-1920) and two of her novels, The Story of an African Farm (1883) and From Man to Man (published posthumously in 1927); Pauline Smith (1882-1959) and her novel The Beadle (1926); Dalene Matthee (1938- ) and three of her novels, Circles in a Forest (1984), Fiela's Child (1986), and The Mulberry Forest (1987); and Marguerite Poland (1950- ) and one of her novels, Shades (1993). This thesis investigates two women from the time period (Schreiner and Smith) and two women from a late twentieth century perspective (Matthee and Poland) and compares how they depict the natural environment, how they construct gender, and how they interpret class and race power struggles. This thesis concludes that the social-constructionist perspective offers unique insights into these four authors. Schreiner's novels reveal her concerns about gender and racial conflicts in South Africa and her understanding of the nature-culture dichotomy as sustained by Social Darwinism. Smith offers insights into the complex power structures in a rural Afrikaans society that keep women and nonwhite races silent. Matthee writes nature as an active participant in her novels; the social and ecological conflicts emphasise the transformation of the Knysna area. Poland explores the racial tensions, gender conflicts, and environmental concerns that preceded the South African War. Schreiner, Smith, Matthee, and Poland make up a small cross-section of South African literature, but they provide a basis for further discussing the ecofeminist perspective within a South African context. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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Geotectonic controls on primary diamond deposits : a review of exploration criteria
- Authors: Hannon, Camille
- Date: 2013-05-23
- Subjects: Diamonds , Geology, Structural , Diamond deposits , Kimberlite
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5047 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007810 , Diamonds , Geology, Structural , Diamond deposits , Kimberlite
- Description: The origin of diamonds, their preservation and transport to the surface have been important issues over the last decades after the acknowledgement that diamonds are xenocrysts in the host kimberlites and after the discovery of new transport media such as lamproites. Different types of diamonds -E-type diamonds, P-type diamonds- and different types of hosts - Eclogites, Peridotites- have been distinguished. Each type corresponds to particular formation criteria. Ecogitic Diamonds are mostly related to subduction processes, whereas more uncertainties remain regarding the formation of Peridotitic Diamonds. Komatiite extraction and subduction of graphite-bearing serpentinites have been proposed as the more likely processes involved in their formation. A typical mantle signature for diamonds implies a thick, cool, reduced lithosphere. The keel-shape model is the most popular. Archaean cratons are therefore the most promising exploration target and area selection will expect to follow the Clifford's Rule. However, the evidence of cratonic areas hidden under younger formations · through seismic profiles and the discovery of diamond structurally trapped outside their stability field, have increased the potential of diamondiferous areas. Preservation of diamonds inside the lithosphere requires that the mantleroot remains insulated against excessive reheating and tectonic reworking. Mantle-root friendly and mantle-root destructive structures are distinguished. Small-size cratons are usually the most promising exploration targets. Transport of diamonds to the surface is dependant on' the same criteria of preservation. Only kimberlites and lamproites have been recognized as efficient transport media. Their ascent to the surface is conditioned by a multitude of parameters, amongst them the nature of the magma, the speed of ascent, the presence of pre-existing structures in the crust and the availability of ground water in the near-surface environment. The origin of kimberlite magma probably lies near the transition zone. Mixtures of depleted asthenospheric · sources and metasomatically enriched and possibly subducted materials are likely to be at the origin of the different kimberlite magmas. Kimberlite magmatism correlates generally in time with global tectonic events, triggered by either plume activity or by subduction processes, depending of the tectonic school of thought. Kimberlite alignments have been interpreted as hotspot tracks, and kimberlite magmas as volatile-rich melts issued from the remaining plume tail. The plume head produces flood-basalts in an adjacent "thinspot" of the lithosphere, generally on the edges of the cratons. Kimberlite and lamproite ascent to the surface are unconditionally influenced by regional structures. Rift structures, ring structures, transform faults, suture zones and deep-seated faults have been mentioned as controlling or accompanying features of kimberlite magmatism. Nearsurface emplacement constraints are better understood and the ultimate shape of the intrusion(s) depends on the nature of the country rocks, the availability of ground water and the near-surface faulting pattern. The recent discovery of "fissure" kimberlites is one of the more important breakthroughs of the last decade. With a better understanding of the processes involved in diamond formation, preservation and of kimberlite emplacement, major diamond discoveries have recently increased on all the continents. Successful diamond exploration requires today an integration of all geophysical, petrologic, geochemical and structural information available. The particular study of the northwestern Australian lamproite and kimberlite fields, the Brazilian kimberlites, the easternNorth American kimberlite fields, the Lac de Gras kimberlite field, the South African rich kimberlite provinces, and the Yakutian kimberlite fields provide concrete examples of the geotectonic controls on primary diamond deposits. Area selection criteria based on the previous models and examples, are expected to yield to many more discoveries in the coming years. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
- Authors: Hannon, Camille
- Date: 2013-05-23
- Subjects: Diamonds , Geology, Structural , Diamond deposits , Kimberlite
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5047 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007810 , Diamonds , Geology, Structural , Diamond deposits , Kimberlite
- Description: The origin of diamonds, their preservation and transport to the surface have been important issues over the last decades after the acknowledgement that diamonds are xenocrysts in the host kimberlites and after the discovery of new transport media such as lamproites. Different types of diamonds -E-type diamonds, P-type diamonds- and different types of hosts - Eclogites, Peridotites- have been distinguished. Each type corresponds to particular formation criteria. Ecogitic Diamonds are mostly related to subduction processes, whereas more uncertainties remain regarding the formation of Peridotitic Diamonds. Komatiite extraction and subduction of graphite-bearing serpentinites have been proposed as the more likely processes involved in their formation. A typical mantle signature for diamonds implies a thick, cool, reduced lithosphere. The keel-shape model is the most popular. Archaean cratons are therefore the most promising exploration target and area selection will expect to follow the Clifford's Rule. However, the evidence of cratonic areas hidden under younger formations · through seismic profiles and the discovery of diamond structurally trapped outside their stability field, have increased the potential of diamondiferous areas. Preservation of diamonds inside the lithosphere requires that the mantleroot remains insulated against excessive reheating and tectonic reworking. Mantle-root friendly and mantle-root destructive structures are distinguished. Small-size cratons are usually the most promising exploration targets. Transport of diamonds to the surface is dependant on' the same criteria of preservation. Only kimberlites and lamproites have been recognized as efficient transport media. Their ascent to the surface is conditioned by a multitude of parameters, amongst them the nature of the magma, the speed of ascent, the presence of pre-existing structures in the crust and the availability of ground water in the near-surface environment. The origin of kimberlite magma probably lies near the transition zone. Mixtures of depleted asthenospheric · sources and metasomatically enriched and possibly subducted materials are likely to be at the origin of the different kimberlite magmas. Kimberlite magmatism correlates generally in time with global tectonic events, triggered by either plume activity or by subduction processes, depending of the tectonic school of thought. Kimberlite alignments have been interpreted as hotspot tracks, and kimberlite magmas as volatile-rich melts issued from the remaining plume tail. The plume head produces flood-basalts in an adjacent "thinspot" of the lithosphere, generally on the edges of the cratons. Kimberlite and lamproite ascent to the surface are unconditionally influenced by regional structures. Rift structures, ring structures, transform faults, suture zones and deep-seated faults have been mentioned as controlling or accompanying features of kimberlite magmatism. Nearsurface emplacement constraints are better understood and the ultimate shape of the intrusion(s) depends on the nature of the country rocks, the availability of ground water and the near-surface faulting pattern. The recent discovery of "fissure" kimberlites is one of the more important breakthroughs of the last decade. With a better understanding of the processes involved in diamond formation, preservation and of kimberlite emplacement, major diamond discoveries have recently increased on all the continents. Successful diamond exploration requires today an integration of all geophysical, petrologic, geochemical and structural information available. The particular study of the northwestern Australian lamproite and kimberlite fields, the Brazilian kimberlites, the easternNorth American kimberlite fields, the Lac de Gras kimberlite field, the South African rich kimberlite provinces, and the Yakutian kimberlite fields provide concrete examples of the geotectonic controls on primary diamond deposits. Area selection criteria based on the previous models and examples, are expected to yield to many more discoveries in the coming years. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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The suspension of mastery and the desire for imaginary : applying Jacques Lacan's theory of the imaginary to the beholder/image dialectic as realised in selected paintings by Lucy Cobern and Gerhard Richter
- Authors: Cobern, Lucy Rebecca
- Date: 2013-05-21
- Subjects: Lacan, Jacques, 1901-1981 -- Criticism and interpretation Richter, Gerhard, 1932- -- Criticism and interpretation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3174 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007806
- Description: This dissertation seeks to explore the nature of the self/other, subject/object dialectic that can be found in Jacques Lacan's theory of the Minor Stage and his notion of Imaginary mastery, and how this relationship can be re-read in terms of a beholder/image relationship. What I seek to demonstrate in exploring the relationship between the beholder and the image is the staging of two opposing emotions, aggression and desire and the consequential tussle for mastery that arises from the self/other, and hence the beholder/image, dichotomy. I seek to explore the reasons why such a beholder/image relationship becomes ambivalent, due to veiled, obscured and fragmented images. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Authors: Cobern, Lucy Rebecca
- Date: 2013-05-21
- Subjects: Lacan, Jacques, 1901-1981 -- Criticism and interpretation Richter, Gerhard, 1932- -- Criticism and interpretation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3174 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007806
- Description: This dissertation seeks to explore the nature of the self/other, subject/object dialectic that can be found in Jacques Lacan's theory of the Minor Stage and his notion of Imaginary mastery, and how this relationship can be re-read in terms of a beholder/image relationship. What I seek to demonstrate in exploring the relationship between the beholder and the image is the staging of two opposing emotions, aggression and desire and the consequential tussle for mastery that arises from the self/other, and hence the beholder/image, dichotomy. I seek to explore the reasons why such a beholder/image relationship becomes ambivalent, due to veiled, obscured and fragmented images. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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Versions of virginity : an exploration of university students' narrative accounts of first sexual experience
- Authors: Ebden, Tiffany
- Date: 2013-05-21
- Subjects: College students -- South Africa -- Sexual behavior Sexual intercourse -- Psychological aspects Virginity
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3170 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007797
- Description: The research assumes a narrative constructionist and feminist perspective in order to explore stories concerning men and women's first sexual experience. Such a metatheoretical stance is concerned with the ways that lives are constructed and storied through language. There is a concern for the myriad voices, both personal and social, that speaks through individuals' stories and for the manner in which these voices are represented. Three men and three women were interviewed to elicit narratives of first sexual experience. The analysis of interview transcripts tells first sexual experience as a rite of passage described in terms of certain mythic elements. That is, the experience of first sex concerns three stages. Firstly the individual is detached from the experience of sex while still a virgin. Secondly the experience itself is one that is ineffable and diffuse. Thirdly the individual must make sense of the experience. Participants' experience could be characterised as containing elements of demonic, heavenly or earthly myths about sexual relationships: demonic elements concerned the base , physical and painful experiences of first sex; the myth of heavenly love emphasises the mental and emotional connection between partners; an earthly myth tells sex as a predestined meeting of two partners. The manner in which stories were constructed was different for male and for female participants, and these differences have implications for the power dynamics at play between genders in the context of sexual interaction, especially first sex. Further the research's storied and ritualised approach to these gender differences suggests the performative aspect of gender. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Authors: Ebden, Tiffany
- Date: 2013-05-21
- Subjects: College students -- South Africa -- Sexual behavior Sexual intercourse -- Psychological aspects Virginity
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3170 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007797
- Description: The research assumes a narrative constructionist and feminist perspective in order to explore stories concerning men and women's first sexual experience. Such a metatheoretical stance is concerned with the ways that lives are constructed and storied through language. There is a concern for the myriad voices, both personal and social, that speaks through individuals' stories and for the manner in which these voices are represented. Three men and three women were interviewed to elicit narratives of first sexual experience. The analysis of interview transcripts tells first sexual experience as a rite of passage described in terms of certain mythic elements. That is, the experience of first sex concerns three stages. Firstly the individual is detached from the experience of sex while still a virgin. Secondly the experience itself is one that is ineffable and diffuse. Thirdly the individual must make sense of the experience. Participants' experience could be characterised as containing elements of demonic, heavenly or earthly myths about sexual relationships: demonic elements concerned the base , physical and painful experiences of first sex; the myth of heavenly love emphasises the mental and emotional connection between partners; an earthly myth tells sex as a predestined meeting of two partners. The manner in which stories were constructed was different for male and for female participants, and these differences have implications for the power dynamics at play between genders in the context of sexual interaction, especially first sex. Further the research's storied and ritualised approach to these gender differences suggests the performative aspect of gender. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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A multivariate model of the offence behaviours of South African serial killers
- Authors: Hodgskiss, Brin Allan
- Date: 2013-05-14
- Subjects: Serial murderers -- South Africa -- Psychology Criminal behavior
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3169 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007793
- Description: It was hypothesised that there would be behavioural consistencies in the offences of South African serial killers. The themes underlying these observable differences can help us understand the nature of these offences. Crime scene data was ohtained from police records, and structured, in-depth offender interviews. 73 offences, committed by 13 offenders, were analysed. The analysis used Smallest Space Analysis (SSA), a Multidimensional scaling (MDS) procedure. This analysis revealed systematic patterns of behaviour in the offences. It was found that the focus of these offences is an impersonal, hostile, and act-focused murder were the victim is treated as a depersonalised object. Empirical support for an underlying thematic structure to these offences was also provided. The offence themes identified relate to the nature of the actions committed during the offence, and the function these actions had for the offender. These fmdings thus support the hypothesis that these offences will display meaningful behavioural variation. These findings have direct utility in the investigation and study of serial killing in South Aflica. They also provide the basis for comparison with previously suggested typologies of serial killing, and indicate directions for future research into this phenomenon in the South African setting. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Authors: Hodgskiss, Brin Allan
- Date: 2013-05-14
- Subjects: Serial murderers -- South Africa -- Psychology Criminal behavior
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3169 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007793
- Description: It was hypothesised that there would be behavioural consistencies in the offences of South African serial killers. The themes underlying these observable differences can help us understand the nature of these offences. Crime scene data was ohtained from police records, and structured, in-depth offender interviews. 73 offences, committed by 13 offenders, were analysed. The analysis used Smallest Space Analysis (SSA), a Multidimensional scaling (MDS) procedure. This analysis revealed systematic patterns of behaviour in the offences. It was found that the focus of these offences is an impersonal, hostile, and act-focused murder were the victim is treated as a depersonalised object. Empirical support for an underlying thematic structure to these offences was also provided. The offence themes identified relate to the nature of the actions committed during the offence, and the function these actions had for the offender. These fmdings thus support the hypothesis that these offences will display meaningful behavioural variation. These findings have direct utility in the investigation and study of serial killing in South Aflica. They also provide the basis for comparison with previously suggested typologies of serial killing, and indicate directions for future research into this phenomenon in the South African setting. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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An assessment of intellectual development in a group of black mineworkers
- Authors: Liddle, Richard Allan
- Date: 2013-03-22
- Subjects: Piaget, Jean, 1896-1980 Intellect Gold miners -- Psychology Black people -- Intelligence levels -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3122 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006115
- Description: The aim of this research is to investigate intellectual development of a group of Black mineworkers on a South African gold mine, in the light of their exposure to a technical industrial environment. The research was conducted within a Piagetian framework and attempts to establish:- 1. A conceptual profile which would highlight the subject's conceptual abilities in relation to job skill requirements. 2. An empirical analysis of combined Behavioural and 3. Explanatory responses to support the hypothesis that experienced Black mineworkers should perform better on the diagnostic battery than novices: the main reason for this being the contention that conceptual development is facilitated by cognitive adaptation to the demands of a selectively different technological environment. Whether the battery of Piagetian conservation tasks could be evaluated for use as conservation scales with sound statistical properties. A random sample of fifty six Black mine workers was realised and their performance indicated that:- a ) The concept of Force is not actively developed by mining. b) There was no significant difference in the performance of Novice and Experienced subjects. c) The diagnostic battery in its present form is inadequate and would have to undergo some relative modifications. d) Conceptual profiles showed that concept areas tapped were not developed past the stage of Concrete operations, and that in some instances subjects did not conserve concepts which are relevant to the occupation they were selected for on the Classification Test Battery. e) Piagetian methodology could only be selectively applied to the mining industry for purposes of selection and placement. f) Conservation scales were not realised because of anomalies found in the composition of sub-concepts in the battery. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Authors: Liddle, Richard Allan
- Date: 2013-03-22
- Subjects: Piaget, Jean, 1896-1980 Intellect Gold miners -- Psychology Black people -- Intelligence levels -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3122 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006115
- Description: The aim of this research is to investigate intellectual development of a group of Black mineworkers on a South African gold mine, in the light of their exposure to a technical industrial environment. The research was conducted within a Piagetian framework and attempts to establish:- 1. A conceptual profile which would highlight the subject's conceptual abilities in relation to job skill requirements. 2. An empirical analysis of combined Behavioural and 3. Explanatory responses to support the hypothesis that experienced Black mineworkers should perform better on the diagnostic battery than novices: the main reason for this being the contention that conceptual development is facilitated by cognitive adaptation to the demands of a selectively different technological environment. Whether the battery of Piagetian conservation tasks could be evaluated for use as conservation scales with sound statistical properties. A random sample of fifty six Black mine workers was realised and their performance indicated that:- a ) The concept of Force is not actively developed by mining. b) There was no significant difference in the performance of Novice and Experienced subjects. c) The diagnostic battery in its present form is inadequate and would have to undergo some relative modifications. d) Conceptual profiles showed that concept areas tapped were not developed past the stage of Concrete operations, and that in some instances subjects did not conserve concepts which are relevant to the occupation they were selected for on the Classification Test Battery. e) Piagetian methodology could only be selectively applied to the mining industry for purposes of selection and placement. f) Conservation scales were not realised because of anomalies found in the composition of sub-concepts in the battery. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in
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A contribution to the ecology and systematics of the genus Petrotilapia (Pisces : Cichlidae) in Lake Malawi
- Authors: Marsh, Alan Clive
- Date: 2013-03-20
- Subjects: Cichlids -- Nyasa, Lake , Petrotilapia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5355 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009513 , Cichlids -- Nyasa, Lake , Petrotilapia
- Description: The nominal species Petrotilapia tridentiger Trewavas, a rock-frequenting fish from Lake Malawi, occurs in three distinct male and female colour forms at Monkey Bay. Field observations on courtship and aggression indicate that the three colour forms are distinct species. The taxonomy of the three species of Petrotilapia that occur at Monkey Bay is revised. R. tridentiger is redescribed and two new species, P. genalutea and P. nigra, are described. The three species are very similar morphologically and are considered to be sibling species. The only morphological character which reliably separates the three sibling species is live coloration: Live coloration is considered to be an important component of the specific mate recognition systems in Petrotilapia species. The coloration of a further fourteen forms of Petrotilapia is described and it is suggested that these forms are valid species. Space resource partitioning plays an important role in facilitating the coexistence of Petrotilapia sibling species. Space is partially partitioned in terms of depth range. In shallow water, where all three species are sympatric, there are differences in the feeding sites used by the various Petrotilapia forms. Changes in niche breadth and overlap, which are associated with changes in the abundance of epilithic algae, indicate that competition for feeding space occurs between the three Petrotilapia species. The Petrotilapia species partition their resources according to a social dominance hierarchy. Dominant forms, such as territorial males, R. tridentiger females and schooling R. genalutea females, have access to rich food supplies which occur within the territories of certain highly aggressive Pseudotronheus species. are facultative and opportunistic .feeders. Petrotilapia species Speciation in allopatry is considered to be the mechanism which adequately explains the current diversity of the genus Petrotilapia. The importance of an integrative approach to future systematic and ecological research on Lake Malawi cichlids is stressed. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Authors: Marsh, Alan Clive
- Date: 2013-03-20
- Subjects: Cichlids -- Nyasa, Lake , Petrotilapia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5355 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009513 , Cichlids -- Nyasa, Lake , Petrotilapia
- Description: The nominal species Petrotilapia tridentiger Trewavas, a rock-frequenting fish from Lake Malawi, occurs in three distinct male and female colour forms at Monkey Bay. Field observations on courtship and aggression indicate that the three colour forms are distinct species. The taxonomy of the three species of Petrotilapia that occur at Monkey Bay is revised. R. tridentiger is redescribed and two new species, P. genalutea and P. nigra, are described. The three species are very similar morphologically and are considered to be sibling species. The only morphological character which reliably separates the three sibling species is live coloration: Live coloration is considered to be an important component of the specific mate recognition systems in Petrotilapia species. The coloration of a further fourteen forms of Petrotilapia is described and it is suggested that these forms are valid species. Space resource partitioning plays an important role in facilitating the coexistence of Petrotilapia sibling species. Space is partially partitioned in terms of depth range. In shallow water, where all three species are sympatric, there are differences in the feeding sites used by the various Petrotilapia forms. Changes in niche breadth and overlap, which are associated with changes in the abundance of epilithic algae, indicate that competition for feeding space occurs between the three Petrotilapia species. The Petrotilapia species partition their resources according to a social dominance hierarchy. Dominant forms, such as territorial males, R. tridentiger females and schooling R. genalutea females, have access to rich food supplies which occur within the territories of certain highly aggressive Pseudotronheus species. are facultative and opportunistic .feeders. Petrotilapia species Speciation in allopatry is considered to be the mechanism which adequately explains the current diversity of the genus Petrotilapia. The importance of an integrative approach to future systematic and ecological research on Lake Malawi cichlids is stressed. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in
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"The great foes of reality" : attitudes to language in selected novels by Joseph Conrad
- Authors: McDonald, Peter
- Date: 2013-02-19
- Subjects: Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2183 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001836 , Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924
- Description: This dissertation examines Conrad's ambivalent attitude to the value of words in human affairs. Though his critical attitude is the main focus of the argument, his positive attitude will also be considered in some detail. In the first chapter, on The Nigger of the 'Narcissus', the critical attitude is primary. In this story language is seen in relation to silence and action, and in both cases the non- linguistic element is celebrated, while words are censured. Yet the values implied by the tale leave the writer of fiction, and the narrator who emerges at the end of the story, in an uncertain position: the world presented in the novel undermines the mode of presentation which is the novel. This paradox is to some extent resolved in the following two chapters which deal with Conrad's complex response to the culture of European imperialism. Chapter 2, on Heart of Darkness, examines the ways in which words contribute to the systematic lies that sustain the nineteenth-century civilizing mission. The story is, however, not wholly critical of language, since the value of Marlow's spoken narrative is clearly endorsed. Chapter 3 offers a more detailed account of the relationship between the story-teller and his society, and of the value of Marlow's words. In Lord Jim, Marlow's account of Jim is contrasted with the account of him given by the court of inquiry, and with the notion of the hero projected in the romantic fictions which Jim reads. Once again Marlow's use of language is affirmed, while other uses are shown to be reductive, or simply spurious. The final chapter deals with Under Western Eyes. Of the four novels selected for this thesis, Conrad's "Russian novel" offers the most explicit and sustained critique of language. The novel suggests that any simplistic identification of language with "communication" is naive, if not misleading. In the conclusion I discuss Conrad's understanding of the nature and function of his own words, as set out in the preface to The Nigger of the 'Narcissus' and A Personal Record
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- Authors: McDonald, Peter
- Date: 2013-02-19
- Subjects: Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2183 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001836 , Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924
- Description: This dissertation examines Conrad's ambivalent attitude to the value of words in human affairs. Though his critical attitude is the main focus of the argument, his positive attitude will also be considered in some detail. In the first chapter, on The Nigger of the 'Narcissus', the critical attitude is primary. In this story language is seen in relation to silence and action, and in both cases the non- linguistic element is celebrated, while words are censured. Yet the values implied by the tale leave the writer of fiction, and the narrator who emerges at the end of the story, in an uncertain position: the world presented in the novel undermines the mode of presentation which is the novel. This paradox is to some extent resolved in the following two chapters which deal with Conrad's complex response to the culture of European imperialism. Chapter 2, on Heart of Darkness, examines the ways in which words contribute to the systematic lies that sustain the nineteenth-century civilizing mission. The story is, however, not wholly critical of language, since the value of Marlow's spoken narrative is clearly endorsed. Chapter 3 offers a more detailed account of the relationship between the story-teller and his society, and of the value of Marlow's words. In Lord Jim, Marlow's account of Jim is contrasted with the account of him given by the court of inquiry, and with the notion of the hero projected in the romantic fictions which Jim reads. Once again Marlow's use of language is affirmed, while other uses are shown to be reductive, or simply spurious. The final chapter deals with Under Western Eyes. Of the four novels selected for this thesis, Conrad's "Russian novel" offers the most explicit and sustained critique of language. The novel suggests that any simplistic identification of language with "communication" is naive, if not misleading. In the conclusion I discuss Conrad's understanding of the nature and function of his own words, as set out in the preface to The Nigger of the 'Narcissus' and A Personal Record
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Perspectives on isolation: the relation of narrative technique to theme in selected works by Joseph Conrad
- Authors: Gaylard, Robin Peter
- Date: 2013-02-13
- Subjects: Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2182 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001833 , Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924
- Description: " ... the central concern of this thesis, which is to investigate the ways in which Conrad uses a particular technique (that of the first-person narrator ) to focus our attention, to secure our involvement, and to direct our sympathies. At the same time I wish to examine the extent to which the central themes or concerns of each work derive from the interaction between the narrator and the man whose experience he confronts, from "the challenging interplay of two frames of reference, two schemes of values, two sets of attitudes" that the use of a dramatized narrator makes possible." (Introd., p. 5) , Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Authors: Gaylard, Robin Peter
- Date: 2013-02-13
- Subjects: Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2182 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001833 , Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924
- Description: " ... the central concern of this thesis, which is to investigate the ways in which Conrad uses a particular technique (that of the first-person narrator ) to focus our attention, to secure our involvement, and to direct our sympathies. At the same time I wish to examine the extent to which the central themes or concerns of each work derive from the interaction between the narrator and the man whose experience he confronts, from "the challenging interplay of two frames of reference, two schemes of values, two sets of attitudes" that the use of a dramatized narrator makes possible." (Introd., p. 5) , Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in
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Aspects of the bioavailability of topical corticosteroid formulations
- Authors: Magnus, Ashley Denis
- Date: 2013-02-12
- Subjects: Adrenocortical hormones -- Therapeutic use , Dermatologic agents , Transdermal medication -- Evaluation , Dermatopharmacology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3843 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009516 , Adrenocortical hormones -- Therapeutic use , Dermatologic agents , Transdermal medication -- Evaluation , Dermatopharmacology
- Description: Two possible variables of the McKenzie/Stoughton blanching assay, namely amount applied to the test site and occlusion time have been investigated. Subsequently, two topical steroid preparations, Synalar cream (0,025% fluocinolone acetonide) and Betnovate cream (0,1% betamethasone 17-valer ate) were extemporaneously diluted with five and six placebo bases respectively. Taking cognizance of the two possible variables, these diluted preparations were assessed in vivo using a modified version of the McKenzie/Stoughton blanching assay for blanching activity over a 14 month period. It was found that the base E45, which is slightly alkali, had the greatest effect on both preparations. In the case of betamethasone 17-valerate this base c aused the conversion to the less active isomer, betamethasone 21-valerate whereas at the end of the 14 month test period it was found that the Synalar/E45 dilution contained no fluocinolone acetonide. Quantitative analysis of all the diluted preparations by high performance liquid chromatography using a reverse-phase system was performed. The data obtained f r om the systematic stUdies of the effects of varying concentrations and occlusion times were presented at the Eleventh National Congress of the South African Pharmacological Society. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Authors: Magnus, Ashley Denis
- Date: 2013-02-12
- Subjects: Adrenocortical hormones -- Therapeutic use , Dermatologic agents , Transdermal medication -- Evaluation , Dermatopharmacology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3843 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009516 , Adrenocortical hormones -- Therapeutic use , Dermatologic agents , Transdermal medication -- Evaluation , Dermatopharmacology
- Description: Two possible variables of the McKenzie/Stoughton blanching assay, namely amount applied to the test site and occlusion time have been investigated. Subsequently, two topical steroid preparations, Synalar cream (0,025% fluocinolone acetonide) and Betnovate cream (0,1% betamethasone 17-valer ate) were extemporaneously diluted with five and six placebo bases respectively. Taking cognizance of the two possible variables, these diluted preparations were assessed in vivo using a modified version of the McKenzie/Stoughton blanching assay for blanching activity over a 14 month period. It was found that the base E45, which is slightly alkali, had the greatest effect on both preparations. In the case of betamethasone 17-valerate this base c aused the conversion to the less active isomer, betamethasone 21-valerate whereas at the end of the 14 month test period it was found that the Synalar/E45 dilution contained no fluocinolone acetonide. Quantitative analysis of all the diluted preparations by high performance liquid chromatography using a reverse-phase system was performed. The data obtained f r om the systematic stUdies of the effects of varying concentrations and occlusion times were presented at the Eleventh National Congress of the South African Pharmacological Society. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in
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"Giving voice" to the bereaved : family grief and resilience after a child has died
- Authors: Scheepers, Lucas Johannes
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Bereavement -- Psychological aspects , Death -- Psychological aspects , Loss (Psychology) , Grief
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9977 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021096
- Description: This study investigated family grief and resilience following a child’s death. Representing 23 families, 35 bereaved parents completed biographical questionnaires, the Family Hardiness Index, and the Family Attachment and Changeability Index 8. Significant positive correlations were found between family hardiness and family adaptation, and between parents’ age and family hardiness. Using grounded theory, interviews allowed for the formulation of categories including grief, continuing bonds, external support, religion, and family hardiness. The study reveals the need for exploring unique experiences of families bereaved by children’s deaths and identifies family hardiness as a potential resilience factor for this population
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- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Scheepers, Lucas Johannes
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Bereavement -- Psychological aspects , Death -- Psychological aspects , Loss (Psychology) , Grief
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9977 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021096
- Description: This study investigated family grief and resilience following a child’s death. Representing 23 families, 35 bereaved parents completed biographical questionnaires, the Family Hardiness Index, and the Family Attachment and Changeability Index 8. Significant positive correlations were found between family hardiness and family adaptation, and between parents’ age and family hardiness. Using grounded theory, interviews allowed for the formulation of categories including grief, continuing bonds, external support, religion, and family hardiness. The study reveals the need for exploring unique experiences of families bereaved by children’s deaths and identifies family hardiness as a potential resilience factor for this population
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- Date Issued: 2013
"The wings of whipped butterflies" : trauma, silence and representation of the suffering child in selected contemporary African short fiction
- Authors: Njovane, Thandokazi
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Children in literature Psychic trauma in literature Short stories, African (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2253 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004214
- Description: This dissertation, which examines the literary representation of childhood trauma, is held together by three threads of inquiry. Firstly, I examine the stylistic devices through which three contemporary African writers – NoViolet Bulawayo, Uwem Akpan, and Mia Couto – engage with the subject of childhood trauma in five of their short stories: “Hitting Budapest”; “My Parents’ Bedroom” and “Fattening for Gabon”; and “The Day Mabata-bata Exploded” and “The Bird-Dreaming Baobab,” respectively. In each of these narratives, the use of ingén(u)s in the form of child narrators and/or focalisers instantiates a degree of structural irony, premised on the cognitive discrepancy between the protagonists’ perceptions and those of the implied reader. This structural irony then serves to underscore the reality that, though in a general sense the precise nature of traumatic experience cannot be directly communicated in language, this is exacerbated in the case of children, because children’s physical and psychological frameworks are underdeveloped. Consequently, children’s exposure to trauma and atrocity results in disruptions of both personal and communal notions of safety and security which are even more severe than those experienced by adults. Secondly, I analyse the political, cultural and economic factors which give rise to the traumatic incidents depicted in the stories, and the child characters’ interpretations and responses to these exigencies. Notions of subjectivity and intersubjectivity, identity and community, victimhood and survival, agency and disempowerment are discussed here in relation to the context of postcolonial Africa and the contemporary realities of chronic poverty, genocide, child-trafficking, the aftermath of civil war, and the legacies of colonialism and racism. Thirdly, this dissertation inspects the areas of congruence and divergence between trauma theory, literary scholarship on trauma narratives, and literary attempts to represent atrocity and trauma despite what is widely held to be the inadequacy of language – and therefore representation – to this task. There are certain differences between the three authors’ depictions of children’s experiences of trauma, despite the fact that the texts all grapple with the aporetic nature of trauma and the paradox of representing the unrepresentable. To this end, they utilise various strategies – temporal disjunctions and fragmentations, silences and lacunae, elements of the fantastical and surreal, magical realism, and instances of abjection and dissociation – to gesture towards the inexpressible, or that which is incommensurable with language. I argue that, ultimately, it is the endings of these stories which suggest the unrepresentable nature of trauma. Traumatic experience poses a challenge to representational conventions and, in its resistance, encourages a realisation that new ways of writing and speaking about trauma in the African continent, particularly with regards to children, are needed. , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Njovane, Thandokazi
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Children in literature Psychic trauma in literature Short stories, African (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2253 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004214
- Description: This dissertation, which examines the literary representation of childhood trauma, is held together by three threads of inquiry. Firstly, I examine the stylistic devices through which three contemporary African writers – NoViolet Bulawayo, Uwem Akpan, and Mia Couto – engage with the subject of childhood trauma in five of their short stories: “Hitting Budapest”; “My Parents’ Bedroom” and “Fattening for Gabon”; and “The Day Mabata-bata Exploded” and “The Bird-Dreaming Baobab,” respectively. In each of these narratives, the use of ingén(u)s in the form of child narrators and/or focalisers instantiates a degree of structural irony, premised on the cognitive discrepancy between the protagonists’ perceptions and those of the implied reader. This structural irony then serves to underscore the reality that, though in a general sense the precise nature of traumatic experience cannot be directly communicated in language, this is exacerbated in the case of children, because children’s physical and psychological frameworks are underdeveloped. Consequently, children’s exposure to trauma and atrocity results in disruptions of both personal and communal notions of safety and security which are even more severe than those experienced by adults. Secondly, I analyse the political, cultural and economic factors which give rise to the traumatic incidents depicted in the stories, and the child characters’ interpretations and responses to these exigencies. Notions of subjectivity and intersubjectivity, identity and community, victimhood and survival, agency and disempowerment are discussed here in relation to the context of postcolonial Africa and the contemporary realities of chronic poverty, genocide, child-trafficking, the aftermath of civil war, and the legacies of colonialism and racism. Thirdly, this dissertation inspects the areas of congruence and divergence between trauma theory, literary scholarship on trauma narratives, and literary attempts to represent atrocity and trauma despite what is widely held to be the inadequacy of language – and therefore representation – to this task. There are certain differences between the three authors’ depictions of children’s experiences of trauma, despite the fact that the texts all grapple with the aporetic nature of trauma and the paradox of representing the unrepresentable. To this end, they utilise various strategies – temporal disjunctions and fragmentations, silences and lacunae, elements of the fantastical and surreal, magical realism, and instances of abjection and dissociation – to gesture towards the inexpressible, or that which is incommensurable with language. I argue that, ultimately, it is the endings of these stories which suggest the unrepresentable nature of trauma. Traumatic experience poses a challenge to representational conventions and, in its resistance, encourages a realisation that new ways of writing and speaking about trauma in the African continent, particularly with regards to children, are needed. , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Date Issued: 2013