An analytical study of narrative techniques in Giono's Regain
- Authors: Abel, Hermione
- Date: 1986
- Subjects: French fiction , Novels , Criticism , Symbolism , Regain , Giono, Jean, 1895-1970 -- Criticism and interpretation
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3561 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002008
- Description: The dominant theme in Regain is that of death leading to rebirth. This dissertation attempts to explore Giono's narrative techniques within this context. No single chapter will be devoted to a specific technique; instead, the various devices used by the author are discussed as they emerge from the structure of the chapters. Justifying the field of study as defined in the "Introduction", the following three chapters outline the passage of life from death to eventual rebirth. With acknowledgement to Frank Kermode, who writes: "A concord of past, present and future three dreams which, as Augustine said, cross in our minds, as in the present of things past, the present of things present, and the present of things future" ¹, the first three chapters bear his terminology for their headings. Chapter One, "The Present of Things Past", deals with Mameche's loss of her husband and son. Chapter Two, "The Present of Things Present", focuses upon Mameche' s realization of Gaubert's departure, and the decision that she must do something to save the dying village of Aubignane. Chapter Three, "The Present of Things Future", sees Mameche setting out in search of a wife for Panturle, and succeeding. This brings to an end Part One of the novel. Interwoven throughout the chapters are paradigms from Greek mythology, rich in universal symbolism, and the author's belief in man's ability to fuse himself with his surroundings. The conclusion summarizes the findings of this study, attempting to show how an analysis of Giono's narrative technique provides an insight into such a novel as Regain. ¹The Sense of an Ending (London: Oxford University Press, 1966), rpt., 1970, p. 50.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1986
- Authors: Abel, Hermione
- Date: 1986
- Subjects: French fiction , Novels , Criticism , Symbolism , Regain , Giono, Jean, 1895-1970 -- Criticism and interpretation
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3561 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002008
- Description: The dominant theme in Regain is that of death leading to rebirth. This dissertation attempts to explore Giono's narrative techniques within this context. No single chapter will be devoted to a specific technique; instead, the various devices used by the author are discussed as they emerge from the structure of the chapters. Justifying the field of study as defined in the "Introduction", the following three chapters outline the passage of life from death to eventual rebirth. With acknowledgement to Frank Kermode, who writes: "A concord of past, present and future three dreams which, as Augustine said, cross in our minds, as in the present of things past, the present of things present, and the present of things future" ¹, the first three chapters bear his terminology for their headings. Chapter One, "The Present of Things Past", deals with Mameche's loss of her husband and son. Chapter Two, "The Present of Things Present", focuses upon Mameche' s realization of Gaubert's departure, and the decision that she must do something to save the dying village of Aubignane. Chapter Three, "The Present of Things Future", sees Mameche setting out in search of a wife for Panturle, and succeeding. This brings to an end Part One of the novel. Interwoven throughout the chapters are paradigms from Greek mythology, rich in universal symbolism, and the author's belief in man's ability to fuse himself with his surroundings. The conclusion summarizes the findings of this study, attempting to show how an analysis of Giono's narrative technique provides an insight into such a novel as Regain. ¹The Sense of an Ending (London: Oxford University Press, 1966), rpt., 1970, p. 50.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1986
Understanding of biological teleology from a naturalistic perspective
- Authors: Abrahams, Sanaa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Teleology , Biology -- Philosophy , Evolution (Biology) -- Philosophy
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140534 , vital:37896
- Description: To the extent that teleological thinking is metaphysically suspect, many theorists attempt to shift the stigma of functional explanations by reducing function ascriptions, and aim thus to de-legitimise an appeal to teleological causal relations in an analysis of function. The point is to dispel the mystery which envelops the application of function concepts by reformulating biological functional explanations so as to dispense with teleology. My project is to interrogate the success with which teleological explanations have thus been eliminated in the biological sciences, and, over the course of this thesis, I conclude that a kind of teleological causation nevertheless remains the most adequate explanatory ground of natural products. My proposal is that functional explanations are causal explanations for the presence and maintenance of self-reproducing systems. I contend that, insofar as the attribution of function presupposes the valuation of a function-bearing system as a causal necessity for its constituent parts, functional explanation references distinct and irreducible holistic properties. Using Kantian metaphysics to frame the discussion, this thesis aims first to explore critically the subject of functional characterisations of biological phenomena, and second, the metaphysical basis of modern science. Its chief contributions to the philosophical function debate reside in proposing novel arguments in justification of what I consider is an improved formulation of an attempted definition of biological function, in which teleological causal powers are explicitly recognised and accommodated in functional explanation. Moreover, this thesis attempts a naturalistic reconstruction of the metaphysical entailments of the real causality of a whole
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Abrahams, Sanaa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Teleology , Biology -- Philosophy , Evolution (Biology) -- Philosophy
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140534 , vital:37896
- Description: To the extent that teleological thinking is metaphysically suspect, many theorists attempt to shift the stigma of functional explanations by reducing function ascriptions, and aim thus to de-legitimise an appeal to teleological causal relations in an analysis of function. The point is to dispel the mystery which envelops the application of function concepts by reformulating biological functional explanations so as to dispense with teleology. My project is to interrogate the success with which teleological explanations have thus been eliminated in the biological sciences, and, over the course of this thesis, I conclude that a kind of teleological causation nevertheless remains the most adequate explanatory ground of natural products. My proposal is that functional explanations are causal explanations for the presence and maintenance of self-reproducing systems. I contend that, insofar as the attribution of function presupposes the valuation of a function-bearing system as a causal necessity for its constituent parts, functional explanation references distinct and irreducible holistic properties. Using Kantian metaphysics to frame the discussion, this thesis aims first to explore critically the subject of functional characterisations of biological phenomena, and second, the metaphysical basis of modern science. Its chief contributions to the philosophical function debate reside in proposing novel arguments in justification of what I consider is an improved formulation of an attempted definition of biological function, in which teleological causal powers are explicitly recognised and accommodated in functional explanation. Moreover, this thesis attempts a naturalistic reconstruction of the metaphysical entailments of the real causality of a whole
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Isolation and structure elucidation of halogenated metabolites from Portieria hornemannii and Portieria tripinnata
- Authors: Adam, Mohammed
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/64674 , vital:28591
- Description: The red marine algal genus, Portieria, is known to produce a number of potent cytotoxic compounds with anticancer potential. The most important anticancer lead produced by this genus is the compound halomon. Unfortunately, the lack of sufficient quantities of this compound hampered its further development. Two Portieria species, Portieria hornemannii and Portieria tripinnata, are found along the South African coastline. Recent studies, based on DNA analysis, suggest that Portieria hornemannii may in fact be divided into several cryptic species. The current project is part of a larger study designed to investigate the use of secondary metabolites to identify new marine algal species. In this study 1H NMR profiles of the organic extracts of selected Portieria spp were compared in order to identify new species. Selected compounds were then isolated and characterised as potential chemotaxonomic markers. Four halogenated monoterpenes were isolated from Portieria hornemannii. Two of these were new compounds 4-(3-bromo-4-chloro-4-methylpentyl)-3-chlorofuran-2(5H)-one, which were isomers of each other. The two known compounds had been previously isolated from Portieria hornemannii samples off the Madagascar coast. These compounds could prove to be useful as chemotaxonomic marker compounds, as they have never been isolated from any other species of marine algae. Three known halogenated monoterpenes were isolated from Portieria tripinnata. These compounds had been previously isolated from different species of marine algae and therefore, could not serve as chemotaxonomic marker compounds for this species of marine alga. Further work needs to be done on Portieria tripinnata, with regards to its chemistry, as it is a species of marine algae that has not been previously researched.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Adam, Mohammed
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/64674 , vital:28591
- Description: The red marine algal genus, Portieria, is known to produce a number of potent cytotoxic compounds with anticancer potential. The most important anticancer lead produced by this genus is the compound halomon. Unfortunately, the lack of sufficient quantities of this compound hampered its further development. Two Portieria species, Portieria hornemannii and Portieria tripinnata, are found along the South African coastline. Recent studies, based on DNA analysis, suggest that Portieria hornemannii may in fact be divided into several cryptic species. The current project is part of a larger study designed to investigate the use of secondary metabolites to identify new marine algal species. In this study 1H NMR profiles of the organic extracts of selected Portieria spp were compared in order to identify new species. Selected compounds were then isolated and characterised as potential chemotaxonomic markers. Four halogenated monoterpenes were isolated from Portieria hornemannii. Two of these were new compounds 4-(3-bromo-4-chloro-4-methylpentyl)-3-chlorofuran-2(5H)-one, which were isomers of each other. The two known compounds had been previously isolated from Portieria hornemannii samples off the Madagascar coast. These compounds could prove to be useful as chemotaxonomic marker compounds, as they have never been isolated from any other species of marine algae. Three known halogenated monoterpenes were isolated from Portieria tripinnata. These compounds had been previously isolated from different species of marine algae and therefore, could not serve as chemotaxonomic marker compounds for this species of marine alga. Further work needs to be done on Portieria tripinnata, with regards to its chemistry, as it is a species of marine algae that has not been previously researched.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Exploring socialities on Black Twitter: an ethnographic study of everyday concerns of South African users in 2018 and 2019
- Authors: Adebayo, Binwe
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Twitter (Firm) , Social media South Africa , Social media and society South Africa , Black people and mass media South Africa , Language and the Internet South Africa , Mass media and culture South Africa , Race in mass media , Ethnicity in mass media , Mass media and minorities South Africa , Mass media Social aspects South Africa , Sex differences in mass media , Social media Political aspects South Africa , South Africa Social conditions , Finance In mass media , Intersectionality (Sociology) South Africa , Black Twitter
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140575 , vital:37900
- Description: In this thesis, I examine the phenomenon of Black Twitter, as it exists in South Africa. Drawing on its socio-cultural and linguistic elements, I analyse the kinds of socialities which are constituted on the platform. In the study, I do this by focusing on the key issues which drive the space by evaluating the key everyday concerns as expressed by its users. As such, the overarching lens focuses on three elements: Firstly, the idea of socialities and the way in which they manifest in online spaces; a focus on the everyday as an important site for social inquiry; and lastly the issue of ‘blackness’, in terms of the way it is used and understood in the South African Black Twitter context. Historically, the Black Twitter space has been linked almost exclusively to its broad base of African American users, who are significant both in terms of their numbers, and their impact on online social culture. However, in this study I engage with the ways in which Black Twitter has been adopted, co-opted and used by young South Africans. As a bona fide ‘member’ of South African Black Twitter, my approach to the study was cyberethnographic. Drawing on my access to the space, my knowledge of many of its members and dynamics, I engaged in participant observation as my primary methodology. My discussion focuses on three areas of everyday concerns, namely: gender and sexuality; race and politics; finances and the economy. These three areas emerge both as prominent sites of discussion, but also give the best insight into the ways in which young South Africans are grappling with these issues. My analysis focuses on how everyday concerns are handled on the platform, and I focus on the deployment of solidarity, formal language, platform-based language and the invocation of blackness. I argue in my conclusion that while the structure of the broad Black Twitter space reflects a leaning towards a digital public sphere, that the process and construction of Black Twitter’s ideas and content are approached via an incomplete, fluid convivial approach.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Adebayo, Binwe
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Twitter (Firm) , Social media South Africa , Social media and society South Africa , Black people and mass media South Africa , Language and the Internet South Africa , Mass media and culture South Africa , Race in mass media , Ethnicity in mass media , Mass media and minorities South Africa , Mass media Social aspects South Africa , Sex differences in mass media , Social media Political aspects South Africa , South Africa Social conditions , Finance In mass media , Intersectionality (Sociology) South Africa , Black Twitter
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140575 , vital:37900
- Description: In this thesis, I examine the phenomenon of Black Twitter, as it exists in South Africa. Drawing on its socio-cultural and linguistic elements, I analyse the kinds of socialities which are constituted on the platform. In the study, I do this by focusing on the key issues which drive the space by evaluating the key everyday concerns as expressed by its users. As such, the overarching lens focuses on three elements: Firstly, the idea of socialities and the way in which they manifest in online spaces; a focus on the everyday as an important site for social inquiry; and lastly the issue of ‘blackness’, in terms of the way it is used and understood in the South African Black Twitter context. Historically, the Black Twitter space has been linked almost exclusively to its broad base of African American users, who are significant both in terms of their numbers, and their impact on online social culture. However, in this study I engage with the ways in which Black Twitter has been adopted, co-opted and used by young South Africans. As a bona fide ‘member’ of South African Black Twitter, my approach to the study was cyberethnographic. Drawing on my access to the space, my knowledge of many of its members and dynamics, I engaged in participant observation as my primary methodology. My discussion focuses on three areas of everyday concerns, namely: gender and sexuality; race and politics; finances and the economy. These three areas emerge both as prominent sites of discussion, but also give the best insight into the ways in which young South Africans are grappling with these issues. My analysis focuses on how everyday concerns are handled on the platform, and I focus on the deployment of solidarity, formal language, platform-based language and the invocation of blackness. I argue in my conclusion that while the structure of the broad Black Twitter space reflects a leaning towards a digital public sphere, that the process and construction of Black Twitter’s ideas and content are approached via an incomplete, fluid convivial approach.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Studies towards the development of novel antimalarial agents
- Authors: Adeyemi, Christiana Modupe
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Antimalarials , Malaria , Drug resistance , Drug development , Enzyme inhibitors , Plasmodium
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54645 , vital:26596
- Description: Considerable efforts have been made in the modification of existing antimalarial drugs, and the support of incentive programmes have led to a drastic decrease in malaria cases reported by WHO during the past 6 years. However, the development of drug resistance threatens the eradication of this deadly disease and has prompted research on the synthesis of novel antimalarial drugs. Our research has involved the design and synthesis of novel benzylated phosphonate esters as potential 1-deoxy-D-xylose-5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR) inhibitors. A series of amidoalkylphosphonate esters were obtained by reacting various 3-subsituted anilines and heterocyclic amines with chloroalkanoyl chlorides and reacting the resulting chloroalkanamides with triethyl phosphite using Michaelis-Arbuzov methodology. Benzylation of the phosphonate esters afforded a series of novel N-benzylated derivatives in good yields and these compounds were fully characterised by NMR and HRMS methods. Several approaches to the introduction of a benzyl group at the C-2 position of the phosphonate ester derivatives have been explored, leading unexpectedly to the isolation of unprecedented tetrahydrofuranyl derivatives. Studies towards the preparation of potential bi-functional PfDXR / HIV-1 RT inhibitors have also been initiated. Preliminary in silico docking studies of selected non-benzylated and benzylated phosphonated derivatives into the Pf-DXR active-site has provided useful insight into the binding potential of these ligands. Bioassays have revealed a very low toxicity for all the synthesised phosphonated compounds and a number of these ligands also exhibit a promising inhibitory activity against the Plasmodium parasite.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Adeyemi, Christiana Modupe
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Antimalarials , Malaria , Drug resistance , Drug development , Enzyme inhibitors , Plasmodium
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54645 , vital:26596
- Description: Considerable efforts have been made in the modification of existing antimalarial drugs, and the support of incentive programmes have led to a drastic decrease in malaria cases reported by WHO during the past 6 years. However, the development of drug resistance threatens the eradication of this deadly disease and has prompted research on the synthesis of novel antimalarial drugs. Our research has involved the design and synthesis of novel benzylated phosphonate esters as potential 1-deoxy-D-xylose-5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR) inhibitors. A series of amidoalkylphosphonate esters were obtained by reacting various 3-subsituted anilines and heterocyclic amines with chloroalkanoyl chlorides and reacting the resulting chloroalkanamides with triethyl phosphite using Michaelis-Arbuzov methodology. Benzylation of the phosphonate esters afforded a series of novel N-benzylated derivatives in good yields and these compounds were fully characterised by NMR and HRMS methods. Several approaches to the introduction of a benzyl group at the C-2 position of the phosphonate ester derivatives have been explored, leading unexpectedly to the isolation of unprecedented tetrahydrofuranyl derivatives. Studies towards the preparation of potential bi-functional PfDXR / HIV-1 RT inhibitors have also been initiated. Preliminary in silico docking studies of selected non-benzylated and benzylated phosphonated derivatives into the Pf-DXR active-site has provided useful insight into the binding potential of these ligands. Bioassays have revealed a very low toxicity for all the synthesised phosphonated compounds and a number of these ligands also exhibit a promising inhibitory activity against the Plasmodium parasite.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
300 grams
- Authors: Ainslie, Michelle
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140597 , vital:37903
- Description: This document consists of two (2) parts:Part A: Thesis (Creative Work)Part B: Portfolio.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Ainslie, Michelle
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140597 , vital:37903
- Description: This document consists of two (2) parts:Part A: Thesis (Creative Work)Part B: Portfolio.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Taxonomic and trait-based responses of the orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Odonata, And Trichoptera (EPOT) to sediment stress in the Tsitsa River and its tributaries, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Akamagwuna, Frank Chukwuzuoke
- Authors: Akamagwuna, Frank Chukwuzuoke
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68082 , vital:29196
- Description: Increased urbanization and industrialisation due to human population growth and associated high demand for food have led to widespread disturbances of freshwater ecosystems and associated resources. A widely recognised consequence of these disturbances is the excessive delivery of sediments into the freshwater ecosystems, which severely affects the functioning and integrity of these systems.. The major water quality impairment in the Tsitsa River and its tributaries, situated in the Mzimvubu catchment in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, is known to be excessive sediment input. In this study, the application of macroinvertebrates taxonomic-based and trait-based approaches was used to assess the responses and vulnerability of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Odonata and Trichoptera (EPOT) species to settled and suspended sediments stress in eight selected sampling sites in the Tsitsa River and its tributaries. The eight selected sites were Site 1 (Tsitsa upstream), Site 2 (Tsitsa downstream), Site 3 (Qurana tributary), Site 4 (Pot River upstream), Site 5 (Pot River downstream), Site 6 (Little Pot River), Site 7 (Millstream upstream) and Site 8 (Millstream downstream). The methods used in this study involved the analysis of water physico-chemical variables as well as sediment characteristics, derivation of five EPOT metrics, EPOT species-level taxonomic analysis, individual EPOT trait analysis and the development of a novel trait-based approach using a combination of traits. The sampling of EPOT taxa was done using the SASS5 protocols. Identification of EPOT was done to genus/species level and all data were subjected to relevant statistical analysis. The results of ecological categories derived for the physico-chemical variables generally indicated the ecological categories A and B, which was indicative of good water quality conditions. The result of sediment particle analysis revealed four distinct site groups: site group 1 (Tsitsa River upstream and Qurana tributary), site group 2 (Tsitsa River downstream and Millstream upstream), site group 3 (Pot River, both upstream and downstream, and Millstream downstream) and site group 4 (Little Pot River). The species-level taxonomic analysis of EPOT revealed that site group 1 was the most sediment-influenced sites whereas site group 4 was the least sediment-influenced. Species such as Paragopmhus sp., Aeshna sp. and Baetis sp. were considered sediment-tolerant with strong positive association with site group 1. The novel trait-based approach developed in this study proved useful in predicting the responses of EPOT species to sediment stress, and further discriminated between the study sites. The approach was used to group EPOT species into four vulnerability classes. The result showed that filter feeding EPOT species that have filamentous gills, preferring stone biotopes and feeding on detritus (FPOM) were mostly classified as highly vulnerable to sediment stress and indicated no significant association with the highly sediment-influenced site group 1. The TBA largely corresponded well to the predictions made with the relative abundance of the vulnerable class decreasing in the sediment-influenced sites compared to the tolerant and highly tolerant classes. Overall, the study revealed the importance of the complementary use of taxonomic and trait-based approaches to biomonitoring.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Akamagwuna, Frank Chukwuzuoke
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68082 , vital:29196
- Description: Increased urbanization and industrialisation due to human population growth and associated high demand for food have led to widespread disturbances of freshwater ecosystems and associated resources. A widely recognised consequence of these disturbances is the excessive delivery of sediments into the freshwater ecosystems, which severely affects the functioning and integrity of these systems.. The major water quality impairment in the Tsitsa River and its tributaries, situated in the Mzimvubu catchment in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, is known to be excessive sediment input. In this study, the application of macroinvertebrates taxonomic-based and trait-based approaches was used to assess the responses and vulnerability of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Odonata and Trichoptera (EPOT) species to settled and suspended sediments stress in eight selected sampling sites in the Tsitsa River and its tributaries. The eight selected sites were Site 1 (Tsitsa upstream), Site 2 (Tsitsa downstream), Site 3 (Qurana tributary), Site 4 (Pot River upstream), Site 5 (Pot River downstream), Site 6 (Little Pot River), Site 7 (Millstream upstream) and Site 8 (Millstream downstream). The methods used in this study involved the analysis of water physico-chemical variables as well as sediment characteristics, derivation of five EPOT metrics, EPOT species-level taxonomic analysis, individual EPOT trait analysis and the development of a novel trait-based approach using a combination of traits. The sampling of EPOT taxa was done using the SASS5 protocols. Identification of EPOT was done to genus/species level and all data were subjected to relevant statistical analysis. The results of ecological categories derived for the physico-chemical variables generally indicated the ecological categories A and B, which was indicative of good water quality conditions. The result of sediment particle analysis revealed four distinct site groups: site group 1 (Tsitsa River upstream and Qurana tributary), site group 2 (Tsitsa River downstream and Millstream upstream), site group 3 (Pot River, both upstream and downstream, and Millstream downstream) and site group 4 (Little Pot River). The species-level taxonomic analysis of EPOT revealed that site group 1 was the most sediment-influenced sites whereas site group 4 was the least sediment-influenced. Species such as Paragopmhus sp., Aeshna sp. and Baetis sp. were considered sediment-tolerant with strong positive association with site group 1. The novel trait-based approach developed in this study proved useful in predicting the responses of EPOT species to sediment stress, and further discriminated between the study sites. The approach was used to group EPOT species into four vulnerability classes. The result showed that filter feeding EPOT species that have filamentous gills, preferring stone biotopes and feeding on detritus (FPOM) were mostly classified as highly vulnerable to sediment stress and indicated no significant association with the highly sediment-influenced site group 1. The TBA largely corresponded well to the predictions made with the relative abundance of the vulnerable class decreasing in the sediment-influenced sites compared to the tolerant and highly tolerant classes. Overall, the study revealed the importance of the complementary use of taxonomic and trait-based approaches to biomonitoring.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A pilot wide-field VLBI survey of the GOODS-North field
- Authors: Akoto-Danso, Alexander
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Radio astronomy , Very long baseline interferometry , Radio interometers , Imaging systems in astronomy , Hubble Space Telescope (Spacecraft) -- Observations
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/72296 , vital:30027
- Description: Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) has significant advantages in disentangling active galactic nuclei (AGN) from star formation, particularly at intermediate to high-redshift due to its high angular resolution and insensitivity to dust. Surveys using VLBI arrays are only just becoming practical over wide areas with numerous developments and innovations (such as multi-phase centre techniques) in observation and data analysis techniques. However, fully automated pipelines for VLBI data analysis are based on old software packages and are unable to incorporate new calibration and imaging algorithms. In this work, the researcher developed a pipeline for VLBI data analysis which integrates a recent wide-field imaging algorithm, RFI excision, and a purpose-built source finding algorithm specifically developed for the 64kx64k wide-field VLBI images. The researcher used this novel pipeline to process 6% (~ 9 arcmin2 of the total 160 arcmin2) of the data from the CANDELS GOODS- North extragalactic field at 1.6 GHz. The milli-arcsec scale images have an average rms of a ~ 10 uJy/beam. Forty four (44) candidate sources were detected, most of which are at sub-mJy flux densities, having brightness temperatures and luminosities of >5x105 K and >6x1021 W Hz-1 respectively. This work demonstrates that automated post-processing pipelines for wide-field, uniform sensitivity VLBI surveys are feasible and indeed made more efficient with new software, wide-field imaging algorithms and more purpose-built source- finders. This broadens the discovery space for future wide-field surveys with upcoming arrays such as the African VLBI Network (AVN), MeerKAT and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Akoto-Danso, Alexander
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Radio astronomy , Very long baseline interferometry , Radio interometers , Imaging systems in astronomy , Hubble Space Telescope (Spacecraft) -- Observations
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/72296 , vital:30027
- Description: Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) has significant advantages in disentangling active galactic nuclei (AGN) from star formation, particularly at intermediate to high-redshift due to its high angular resolution and insensitivity to dust. Surveys using VLBI arrays are only just becoming practical over wide areas with numerous developments and innovations (such as multi-phase centre techniques) in observation and data analysis techniques. However, fully automated pipelines for VLBI data analysis are based on old software packages and are unable to incorporate new calibration and imaging algorithms. In this work, the researcher developed a pipeline for VLBI data analysis which integrates a recent wide-field imaging algorithm, RFI excision, and a purpose-built source finding algorithm specifically developed for the 64kx64k wide-field VLBI images. The researcher used this novel pipeline to process 6% (~ 9 arcmin2 of the total 160 arcmin2) of the data from the CANDELS GOODS- North extragalactic field at 1.6 GHz. The milli-arcsec scale images have an average rms of a ~ 10 uJy/beam. Forty four (44) candidate sources were detected, most of which are at sub-mJy flux densities, having brightness temperatures and luminosities of >5x105 K and >6x1021 W Hz-1 respectively. This work demonstrates that automated post-processing pipelines for wide-field, uniform sensitivity VLBI surveys are feasible and indeed made more efficient with new software, wide-field imaging algorithms and more purpose-built source- finders. This broadens the discovery space for future wide-field surveys with upcoming arrays such as the African VLBI Network (AVN), MeerKAT and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
An investigation of the influence of knowledge-production and learning processes on complex practices in a community-driven citizen science initiative: A nature conservation case study
- Authors: Alexander, Jaclyn
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Science -- Citizen participation , Western Leopard Toad Conservation Committee , Environmental education , Frogs -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/138173 , vital:37603
- Description: Community-driven citizen science initiatives have become an increasingly popular tool for combating social-ecological challenges that arise within communities. Scientific protocols have been designed to strengthen and support the accuracy and reliability of data collection and information sharing; however, little is understood of the dynamic social processes that reinforce and co-ordinate such community-driven action. This qualitative case study was undertaken to identify and understand complex organisational, political and socio-cultural processes (in particular knowledge-production and learning processes) that have guided, sustained and informed complex practices in a community driven citizen science initiative. The study aimed to inform the development of a social protocol that might be transferable to other citizen science contexts. The study drew on the theory of ‘Landscapes of Practice’, which highlights how multiple communities of practice overlap, interrelate, share knowledge and cross boundaries to create potential learning across a landscape. Additionally, ideas and typologies in recent citizen science literature offered perspective on the community-driven citizen science practices. This qualitative case study focused on the bounded case of the Western Leopard Toad Conservation Committee. Specific data generation tools (interviews, observations, document analysis and diagrams) were used from multiple perspectives over time to provide rigor and depth to the data. The study demonstrated how multiple ‘nexes of practice’ co-engaged in collective knowledge creation practices, which helped to enhance ‘knowledgeability’ across the landscape. This coordinated effort, however, was sporadic and inconsistent. Recommendations are made for the development of social protocols that could assist collaborators in citizen science initiatives to scrutinise and rethink their practices and to examine both their successes and shortfalls towards their shared interest.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Alexander, Jaclyn
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Science -- Citizen participation , Western Leopard Toad Conservation Committee , Environmental education , Frogs -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/138173 , vital:37603
- Description: Community-driven citizen science initiatives have become an increasingly popular tool for combating social-ecological challenges that arise within communities. Scientific protocols have been designed to strengthen and support the accuracy and reliability of data collection and information sharing; however, little is understood of the dynamic social processes that reinforce and co-ordinate such community-driven action. This qualitative case study was undertaken to identify and understand complex organisational, political and socio-cultural processes (in particular knowledge-production and learning processes) that have guided, sustained and informed complex practices in a community driven citizen science initiative. The study aimed to inform the development of a social protocol that might be transferable to other citizen science contexts. The study drew on the theory of ‘Landscapes of Practice’, which highlights how multiple communities of practice overlap, interrelate, share knowledge and cross boundaries to create potential learning across a landscape. Additionally, ideas and typologies in recent citizen science literature offered perspective on the community-driven citizen science practices. This qualitative case study focused on the bounded case of the Western Leopard Toad Conservation Committee. Specific data generation tools (interviews, observations, document analysis and diagrams) were used from multiple perspectives over time to provide rigor and depth to the data. The study demonstrated how multiple ‘nexes of practice’ co-engaged in collective knowledge creation practices, which helped to enhance ‘knowledgeability’ across the landscape. This coordinated effort, however, was sporadic and inconsistent. Recommendations are made for the development of social protocols that could assist collaborators in citizen science initiatives to scrutinise and rethink their practices and to examine both their successes and shortfalls towards their shared interest.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Where dreams become reality: professionalism in flight training in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Allison, Martin
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Professional socialization , Flight training -- South Africa , Flight schools -- South Africa -- Case studies , Air pilots -- Training of -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/95376 , vital:31150
- Description: This study explores the construction of the identity of professional pilots through a case study of a flying school in South Africa. Here, a 15-20-month period of intensive study and training of students, fresh from school or college, leads in most cases to the attainment of a Commercial or Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence. The construction of identity is a continuous process and a lifelong project and hence this study can only reflect upon the factors influencing the early stages of a pilot’s career, until the point where the licenced Pilot leaves the Air School and enters full time employment with a commercial undertaking, but it is argued that this is a crucial step in the formation of professional identity, habitus in Bourdieu’s terms. The culture of the air School reflects the military background of the founders of the school and the staff employed in senior positions. The school, which is residential, observes a strict regime of Ground School and Practical Flying Training and a high standard of performance and personal conduct is demanded, both during training and in off duty hours and excessive consumption of alcohol and smoking are discouraged, and drug use absolutely taboo. Progress with training at the school is closely monitored and a disciplined environment maintained by surveillance cameras, house monitors and security guards; in Foucauldian terms, a modern version of the Panopticon, but somewhat less than Goffman’s Total Institution. It was found that the construction of a flying identity for most of the students entering the air school commenced in childhood or early adulthood, through the influence of friends and relatives and they enter the school with the firm intention of becoming Professional pilots. Full participation of the author in the Ground School revealed how professionalization is implemented through the discipline and rigor of the training methods employed. Through mastery of a complex body of theoretical knowledge in the Ground School and the practical skill of learning to fly in a one-on-one relationship with an instructor, the students gain confidence and efficacy which contributes to their self-respect and maturity. The international reputation of the school, confers prestige upon its graduates and they benefit from membership of a profession which commands respect and a high level of income. In large measure, the thesis shows, the success of the School is a function of the founders’ ‘invention of tradition’ focusing on the wartime training school that existed on the site and the many echoes of those times in the (re)construction of its buildings and facilities, continuing in the approach of the multinational that now owns the School.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Allison, Martin
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Professional socialization , Flight training -- South Africa , Flight schools -- South Africa -- Case studies , Air pilots -- Training of -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/95376 , vital:31150
- Description: This study explores the construction of the identity of professional pilots through a case study of a flying school in South Africa. Here, a 15-20-month period of intensive study and training of students, fresh from school or college, leads in most cases to the attainment of a Commercial or Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence. The construction of identity is a continuous process and a lifelong project and hence this study can only reflect upon the factors influencing the early stages of a pilot’s career, until the point where the licenced Pilot leaves the Air School and enters full time employment with a commercial undertaking, but it is argued that this is a crucial step in the formation of professional identity, habitus in Bourdieu’s terms. The culture of the air School reflects the military background of the founders of the school and the staff employed in senior positions. The school, which is residential, observes a strict regime of Ground School and Practical Flying Training and a high standard of performance and personal conduct is demanded, both during training and in off duty hours and excessive consumption of alcohol and smoking are discouraged, and drug use absolutely taboo. Progress with training at the school is closely monitored and a disciplined environment maintained by surveillance cameras, house monitors and security guards; in Foucauldian terms, a modern version of the Panopticon, but somewhat less than Goffman’s Total Institution. It was found that the construction of a flying identity for most of the students entering the air school commenced in childhood or early adulthood, through the influence of friends and relatives and they enter the school with the firm intention of becoming Professional pilots. Full participation of the author in the Ground School revealed how professionalization is implemented through the discipline and rigor of the training methods employed. Through mastery of a complex body of theoretical knowledge in the Ground School and the practical skill of learning to fly in a one-on-one relationship with an instructor, the students gain confidence and efficacy which contributes to their self-respect and maturity. The international reputation of the school, confers prestige upon its graduates and they benefit from membership of a profession which commands respect and a high level of income. In large measure, the thesis shows, the success of the School is a function of the founders’ ‘invention of tradition’ focusing on the wartime training school that existed on the site and the many echoes of those times in the (re)construction of its buildings and facilities, continuing in the approach of the multinational that now owns the School.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A formative intervention for developing Learner Representative Council (LRC) voice and leadership in a newly established school in Namibia
- Authors: Amadhila, Linda
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61744 , vital:28054
- Description: In Namibian schools, learner voice and leadership are being promoted through the policy document entitled the Education Act 16 of2001 which provides an opportunity to establish Learner Representative Councils (LRCs) in secondary schools. However, recent studies have found that this body of learner leaders do not function all that effectively and sometimes exist for the sake of adhering to the policy. This prompted me to conduct an activity theoretical interventionist case- study within the critical paradigm, to develop LRC voice and leadership in a newly established Namibian school. Framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory, the study was divided into two phases to answer the over-arching question: How can LRC voice and leadership be developed in a school? Phase one was largely interpretive, the contextual profiling phase, where document analysis, individual interviews, questionnaires and observations were used to generate data to answer the following research sub-questions: How is learner leadership understood in the school? What leadership development opportunities for the LRC currently exist in the school? What underlying factors constrain the development of LRC voice and leadership in the newly established school? Phase two of the study was the expansive learning phase, which consisted of three intervention workshops. The Change Laboratory method and a focus group interview were used to generate data in response to the last research sub-question: In what ways can LRC participation in a Change Laboratory process contribute to their leadership development? Data generated were inductively and deductively analysed, using the activity theoretical principles of contradictions and double stimulation. Data revealed that learner leadership was largely understood as managerial roles carried out by the LRC in the school. Unlike many schools in Namibia, this case-study school offered numerous leadership development opportunities for the LRC. The community networking events such as: School Exchange Programmes, Town Council breakfast and Junior Regional Council, were opportunities offered to the LRC to solicit information, exchange ideas and discuss matters of common interest with the LRCs of the fully established schools. However, there were a number of challenges that constrained LRC voice and leadership development, the major one being the fact that this was a newly established school. Of significance was that LRC participation in the Change Laboratory process contributed positively to the development of voice and leadership in learners. During this Change Laboratory process, the LRC developed a new artefact - the vision and mission statement of the school - this signified that the learners expansively transformed the object of their activity. Recommendations emerging out of the study included that the School Management Team see the ‘newly established’ status of the school as an opportunity for development, rather than a limitation, and therefore invite the LRC to participate in the different leadership practices as the school becomes established. A significant recommendation for school leadership research is to use the third generation of CHAT to expand the unit of analysis, in order to understand the leadership relations and power dynamics between multiple activity systems in schools as complex organisations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Amadhila, Linda
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61744 , vital:28054
- Description: In Namibian schools, learner voice and leadership are being promoted through the policy document entitled the Education Act 16 of2001 which provides an opportunity to establish Learner Representative Councils (LRCs) in secondary schools. However, recent studies have found that this body of learner leaders do not function all that effectively and sometimes exist for the sake of adhering to the policy. This prompted me to conduct an activity theoretical interventionist case- study within the critical paradigm, to develop LRC voice and leadership in a newly established Namibian school. Framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory, the study was divided into two phases to answer the over-arching question: How can LRC voice and leadership be developed in a school? Phase one was largely interpretive, the contextual profiling phase, where document analysis, individual interviews, questionnaires and observations were used to generate data to answer the following research sub-questions: How is learner leadership understood in the school? What leadership development opportunities for the LRC currently exist in the school? What underlying factors constrain the development of LRC voice and leadership in the newly established school? Phase two of the study was the expansive learning phase, which consisted of three intervention workshops. The Change Laboratory method and a focus group interview were used to generate data in response to the last research sub-question: In what ways can LRC participation in a Change Laboratory process contribute to their leadership development? Data generated were inductively and deductively analysed, using the activity theoretical principles of contradictions and double stimulation. Data revealed that learner leadership was largely understood as managerial roles carried out by the LRC in the school. Unlike many schools in Namibia, this case-study school offered numerous leadership development opportunities for the LRC. The community networking events such as: School Exchange Programmes, Town Council breakfast and Junior Regional Council, were opportunities offered to the LRC to solicit information, exchange ideas and discuss matters of common interest with the LRCs of the fully established schools. However, there were a number of challenges that constrained LRC voice and leadership development, the major one being the fact that this was a newly established school. Of significance was that LRC participation in the Change Laboratory process contributed positively to the development of voice and leadership in learners. During this Change Laboratory process, the LRC developed a new artefact - the vision and mission statement of the school - this signified that the learners expansively transformed the object of their activity. Recommendations emerging out of the study included that the School Management Team see the ‘newly established’ status of the school as an opportunity for development, rather than a limitation, and therefore invite the LRC to participate in the different leadership practices as the school becomes established. A significant recommendation for school leadership research is to use the third generation of CHAT to expand the unit of analysis, in order to understand the leadership relations and power dynamics between multiple activity systems in schools as complex organisations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
In silico analysis of plasmodium falciparum Hsp70-x for potential binding sites and hits
- Authors: Amusengeri, Arnold
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59136 , vital:27435
- Description: Restricted access-thesis embargoed for 1 year - release date April 2019
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Amusengeri, Arnold
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59136 , vital:27435
- Description: Restricted access-thesis embargoed for 1 year - release date April 2019
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Macro-locational determinants and motive of Chinese foreign direct investment in Cameroon
- Authors: Andangnui, Quintabella
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Investments, Foreign -- Cameroon , Investments, Chinese -- Cameroon , Corporations, Foreign -- Cameroon , Industrial location -- Cameroon
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163157 , vital:41014
- Description: This research falls under the general themes of macro-locational determinants and motives of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and the challenges faced by FDIs. Specifically, the research focuses on macro-locational determinants of FDI and the motives of Chinese FDI in Cameroon, and the challenges faced by Chinese FDI in Cameroon. This research is motivated by China’s interest in African countries as well as the reciprocal interest in Chinese FDI by African countries, especially Cameroon. While various FDI theories and previous empirical studies indicate that macro-locational determinants of FDI constitute a country’s principal comparative advantage to attract FDI, there is still no universally acceptable set of macro-locational determinants of FDI. Furthermore, some empirical studies assert that Chinese FDI does not follow conventional FDI theories or western approaches to FDI, especially when investing in African countries. It is suggested that some widely accepted macro-locational determinants of FDI are frequently ignored by Chinese FDI. While FDI theories identify four motives for FDI (resource-, market-, efficiency-, and strategic asset-seeking) as the main motives for investing in a foreign country, the motives for Chinese FDI, especially in Africa, have been questioned by some scholars, the media and politicians, due to the significant but seemingly counterintuitive investments made by Chinese state-owned FDI in politically unstable resource-rich African countries. Furthermore, differences in the motives of Chinese privately owned and state-owned firms identified in previous empirical studies have raised concerns, particularly regarding the motives of state-owned Chinese firms in Africa which suggest a stance of neo-colonialism by Chinese state-owned FDI. The research aims to identify the significant macro-locational determinants of Chinese FDI in Cameroon, to provide clarity on the motives of Chinese FDI and to identify the challenges faced by Chinese FDI in Cameroon. To achieve the aim of this research, hypothetical relationships based on FDI theory and previous empirical research were formulated between Chinese FDI and the proposed macro-locational determinants of FDI and the four identified motives of FDI. In this research, a positivist research paradigm using quantitative methods was followed. Accordingly, the research design and methodology was underpinned by the positivist paradigm. A descriptive and analytical survey methodology was utilised, using both primary and secondary data sources. Secondary data was collected from reliable and credible databases for the period 2004 to 2018 to generate a time series to test the hypothetical relationships pertaining to the macro-locational determinants of Chinese FDI in Cameroon. To test the hypothetical relationships pertaining to the motives of Chinese FDI and to identify the challenges of Chinese FDI in Cameroon, primary data was collected by means of a questionnaire using convenience and snowball sampling techniques. The validity of the findings on the macro-locational determinants of FDI was confirmed through unit root and cointegration tests. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were used to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings on the motives of FDI. To assess the hypothetical relationships on the motives for Chinese FDI, the hypothetical relationship on the macro-locational determinants of FDI was determined using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, descriptive statistics and logistic regression. In addition, descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data on the challenges of Chinese FDI. The findings indicated that the main macro-locational determinants of Chinese FDI in Cameroon included market size, political risk, limited trade openness, real effective exchange rate, interest rate and human capital. The findings also indicated that market-seeking constitutes the main motive of privately owned Chinese FDI in Cameroon. The findings also indicated that the top four challenges faced by Chinese FDI in Cameroon include corruption, the ambiguity of the legal system of Cameroon, the difficulty to negotiate with government and privatisation officials and high levels of taxes. The findings of this research serve as a test of theory, given that they determine whether the macro-locational determinants identified from FDI theories are also significant macro-locational determinants of Chinese FDI. Furthermore, the findings have the potential to assist in policy formulation aimed at encouraging Chinese FDI into Cameroon. The findings could also assist the Cameroonian government to allocate national resources efficiently by prioritising identified macro-locational determinants. The findings provide clarity on the motives of Chinese FDI in Cameroon and could assist the government to negotiate better deals that may enable Cameroon to benefit optimally from Chinese FDI.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Andangnui, Quintabella
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Investments, Foreign -- Cameroon , Investments, Chinese -- Cameroon , Corporations, Foreign -- Cameroon , Industrial location -- Cameroon
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163157 , vital:41014
- Description: This research falls under the general themes of macro-locational determinants and motives of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and the challenges faced by FDIs. Specifically, the research focuses on macro-locational determinants of FDI and the motives of Chinese FDI in Cameroon, and the challenges faced by Chinese FDI in Cameroon. This research is motivated by China’s interest in African countries as well as the reciprocal interest in Chinese FDI by African countries, especially Cameroon. While various FDI theories and previous empirical studies indicate that macro-locational determinants of FDI constitute a country’s principal comparative advantage to attract FDI, there is still no universally acceptable set of macro-locational determinants of FDI. Furthermore, some empirical studies assert that Chinese FDI does not follow conventional FDI theories or western approaches to FDI, especially when investing in African countries. It is suggested that some widely accepted macro-locational determinants of FDI are frequently ignored by Chinese FDI. While FDI theories identify four motives for FDI (resource-, market-, efficiency-, and strategic asset-seeking) as the main motives for investing in a foreign country, the motives for Chinese FDI, especially in Africa, have been questioned by some scholars, the media and politicians, due to the significant but seemingly counterintuitive investments made by Chinese state-owned FDI in politically unstable resource-rich African countries. Furthermore, differences in the motives of Chinese privately owned and state-owned firms identified in previous empirical studies have raised concerns, particularly regarding the motives of state-owned Chinese firms in Africa which suggest a stance of neo-colonialism by Chinese state-owned FDI. The research aims to identify the significant macro-locational determinants of Chinese FDI in Cameroon, to provide clarity on the motives of Chinese FDI and to identify the challenges faced by Chinese FDI in Cameroon. To achieve the aim of this research, hypothetical relationships based on FDI theory and previous empirical research were formulated between Chinese FDI and the proposed macro-locational determinants of FDI and the four identified motives of FDI. In this research, a positivist research paradigm using quantitative methods was followed. Accordingly, the research design and methodology was underpinned by the positivist paradigm. A descriptive and analytical survey methodology was utilised, using both primary and secondary data sources. Secondary data was collected from reliable and credible databases for the period 2004 to 2018 to generate a time series to test the hypothetical relationships pertaining to the macro-locational determinants of Chinese FDI in Cameroon. To test the hypothetical relationships pertaining to the motives of Chinese FDI and to identify the challenges of Chinese FDI in Cameroon, primary data was collected by means of a questionnaire using convenience and snowball sampling techniques. The validity of the findings on the macro-locational determinants of FDI was confirmed through unit root and cointegration tests. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were used to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings on the motives of FDI. To assess the hypothetical relationships on the motives for Chinese FDI, the hypothetical relationship on the macro-locational determinants of FDI was determined using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, descriptive statistics and logistic regression. In addition, descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data on the challenges of Chinese FDI. The findings indicated that the main macro-locational determinants of Chinese FDI in Cameroon included market size, political risk, limited trade openness, real effective exchange rate, interest rate and human capital. The findings also indicated that market-seeking constitutes the main motive of privately owned Chinese FDI in Cameroon. The findings also indicated that the top four challenges faced by Chinese FDI in Cameroon include corruption, the ambiguity of the legal system of Cameroon, the difficulty to negotiate with government and privatisation officials and high levels of taxes. The findings of this research serve as a test of theory, given that they determine whether the macro-locational determinants identified from FDI theories are also significant macro-locational determinants of Chinese FDI. Furthermore, the findings have the potential to assist in policy formulation aimed at encouraging Chinese FDI into Cameroon. The findings could also assist the Cameroonian government to allocate national resources efficiently by prioritising identified macro-locational determinants. The findings provide clarity on the motives of Chinese FDI in Cameroon and could assist the government to negotiate better deals that may enable Cameroon to benefit optimally from Chinese FDI.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Growth and photosynthetic responses of Acacia (Vachellia) seedlings to atmospheric CO2 increased from glacial to current concentrations: underlying mechanisms and ecological implications
- Authors: Anderson, Bruce Maurice
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Acacia vachellia , Acacia vachellia -- Growth , Acacia -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/138182 , vital:37604
- Description: The African Acacia species Vachellia karroo, V. robusta, V. nilotica, and V. tortilis are some of the most invasive species implicated in bush encroachment and woody thickening of historically open savannas in southern Africa. This is partially explained by historic increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, which are proposed to have promoted the growth and survivorship of C3 tree seedlings relative to C4 grasses. However, the uniformity of CO2 responsiveness and differences among Vachellia species remain largely undetermined. Here we investigate the growth and photosynthetic responses of four Vachellia species, all implicated in woody encroachment, but originating from distinct climatic niches. Exposing these species to a range of sub-ambient CO2 concentrations (12 – 40 Pa) showed that V. karroo, V. robusta, V. nilotica and V. tortilis all responded strongly and fairly consistently to increasing CO2 concentrations, acting as a ‘functional type’ despite being selected from different geographic regions and having different climatic niches. Combined average net CO2 assimilation rates increased by 130% despite significant, but low levels of down-regulation and decreased stomatal conductance. The increased photosynthetic rates stimulated growth and biomass production in all compartments, with no significant differences in interspecific above and below ground allocation. Growth rates and dry biomass increased by 50% and 186%, respectively, while leaf level water use efficiency (ratio of net CO2 assimilation rate to transpiration rate) increased by an average of 218%. When this was scaled to the whole plant level, this stimulation was decreased to 80%. The decrease was the result of the CO2 stimulated increase in canopy areas, which increased leaf area for water loss. The seedlings’ total number of spinescent physical defenses, as well as the average mass and spine mass fraction also increased with rising CO2. These thicker spines could act as better deterrents against vertebrate browsers. Spine density was unchanged, however, showing that the increased spine numbers were associated with larger seedlings at higher CO2 rather than an increase in the number of spines per stem length. The stimulatory effects of increasing CO2 concentrations since the last glacial maximum and resultant increases in seedling growth and biomass are likely to have had important consequences for the survival and establishment of Acacia seedlings. Tolerance of drought and disturbance has been related to seedling size, hence stimulating the growth rate could confer disturbance tolerance and this tolerance would develop more rapidly with increasing CO2 concentrations. Furthermore, increased nitrogen and water use efficiency have the potential to support seedling establishment in environments where these resources would otherwise be limited at lower atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Resulting in a larger proportion of CO2 fertilization responsive woody seedlings surviving the seedling size classes, and persisting within historically open savannas. Where interspecific differences occurred they are likely to have arisen from adaptation to specific climates where these species are native and selection would have been driven by factors such climate, resource availability, levels of disturbance and competitive interactions. V. karroo had the highest growth rates and strong CO2 driven increases in biomass accumulation, despite having the lowest inherent photosynthetic rates. V. karroo also had the lowest increase in water use efficiency and high transpiration rates could potentially increase access to soil nutrients through mass flow. This species had the highest mean spine mass and showed significant increases in spine mass fraction at elevated CO2 concentrations, which may be important for deterring herbivores. V. robusta’s distribution to the mesic east coast of Africa suggests that water is an important limitation to its distribution. Hence, the CO2 stimulated increase in water use efficiency at both leaf and whole canopy level allows speculation that this may be an important driver of this species’ range expansion, which might continue if increasing levels of CO2 continue to promote water use efficiency. V. nilotica occupies a broad range of habitats, inhabiting large areas of the subtropics both north and south of the equator, with the strongest climatic correlates being the precipitation of the wettest quarter followed by high temperature seasonality. In response to increasing CO2, V. nilotica showed overall strong increases in growth, water use efficiency, and physical defenses. These responses may explain why V. nilotica has been such a successful encroacher in a broad range of habitats where limitations are likely to include multiple climatic factors and disturbances. V. tortilis has the widest distribution of all the species studied, covering broad ranges of Africa and only being excluded from the wettest parts of the equator and driest parts of the deserts. In these experiments this species showed the lowest biomass responsiveness to CO2, but had especially large increases in water use efficiency at both the leaf and canopy level. This may have been an important driver for this species’ encroachment into the more arid parts of its distribution, however this link will need to be verified with further experimentation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Anderson, Bruce Maurice
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Acacia vachellia , Acacia vachellia -- Growth , Acacia -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/138182 , vital:37604
- Description: The African Acacia species Vachellia karroo, V. robusta, V. nilotica, and V. tortilis are some of the most invasive species implicated in bush encroachment and woody thickening of historically open savannas in southern Africa. This is partially explained by historic increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, which are proposed to have promoted the growth and survivorship of C3 tree seedlings relative to C4 grasses. However, the uniformity of CO2 responsiveness and differences among Vachellia species remain largely undetermined. Here we investigate the growth and photosynthetic responses of four Vachellia species, all implicated in woody encroachment, but originating from distinct climatic niches. Exposing these species to a range of sub-ambient CO2 concentrations (12 – 40 Pa) showed that V. karroo, V. robusta, V. nilotica and V. tortilis all responded strongly and fairly consistently to increasing CO2 concentrations, acting as a ‘functional type’ despite being selected from different geographic regions and having different climatic niches. Combined average net CO2 assimilation rates increased by 130% despite significant, but low levels of down-regulation and decreased stomatal conductance. The increased photosynthetic rates stimulated growth and biomass production in all compartments, with no significant differences in interspecific above and below ground allocation. Growth rates and dry biomass increased by 50% and 186%, respectively, while leaf level water use efficiency (ratio of net CO2 assimilation rate to transpiration rate) increased by an average of 218%. When this was scaled to the whole plant level, this stimulation was decreased to 80%. The decrease was the result of the CO2 stimulated increase in canopy areas, which increased leaf area for water loss. The seedlings’ total number of spinescent physical defenses, as well as the average mass and spine mass fraction also increased with rising CO2. These thicker spines could act as better deterrents against vertebrate browsers. Spine density was unchanged, however, showing that the increased spine numbers were associated with larger seedlings at higher CO2 rather than an increase in the number of spines per stem length. The stimulatory effects of increasing CO2 concentrations since the last glacial maximum and resultant increases in seedling growth and biomass are likely to have had important consequences for the survival and establishment of Acacia seedlings. Tolerance of drought and disturbance has been related to seedling size, hence stimulating the growth rate could confer disturbance tolerance and this tolerance would develop more rapidly with increasing CO2 concentrations. Furthermore, increased nitrogen and water use efficiency have the potential to support seedling establishment in environments where these resources would otherwise be limited at lower atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Resulting in a larger proportion of CO2 fertilization responsive woody seedlings surviving the seedling size classes, and persisting within historically open savannas. Where interspecific differences occurred they are likely to have arisen from adaptation to specific climates where these species are native and selection would have been driven by factors such climate, resource availability, levels of disturbance and competitive interactions. V. karroo had the highest growth rates and strong CO2 driven increases in biomass accumulation, despite having the lowest inherent photosynthetic rates. V. karroo also had the lowest increase in water use efficiency and high transpiration rates could potentially increase access to soil nutrients through mass flow. This species had the highest mean spine mass and showed significant increases in spine mass fraction at elevated CO2 concentrations, which may be important for deterring herbivores. V. robusta’s distribution to the mesic east coast of Africa suggests that water is an important limitation to its distribution. Hence, the CO2 stimulated increase in water use efficiency at both leaf and whole canopy level allows speculation that this may be an important driver of this species’ range expansion, which might continue if increasing levels of CO2 continue to promote water use efficiency. V. nilotica occupies a broad range of habitats, inhabiting large areas of the subtropics both north and south of the equator, with the strongest climatic correlates being the precipitation of the wettest quarter followed by high temperature seasonality. In response to increasing CO2, V. nilotica showed overall strong increases in growth, water use efficiency, and physical defenses. These responses may explain why V. nilotica has been such a successful encroacher in a broad range of habitats where limitations are likely to include multiple climatic factors and disturbances. V. tortilis has the widest distribution of all the species studied, covering broad ranges of Africa and only being excluded from the wettest parts of the equator and driest parts of the deserts. In these experiments this species showed the lowest biomass responsiveness to CO2, but had especially large increases in water use efficiency at both the leaf and canopy level. This may have been an important driver for this species’ encroachment into the more arid parts of its distribution, however this link will need to be verified with further experimentation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
On becoming a psychotherapist
- Authors: Anema, Margaret Catherine
- Date: 1982
- Subjects: Psychotherapist and patient , Psychotherapy , Psychotherapists
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2913 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002078
- Description: From Introduction: To learn to focus on the other, I first have to learn my natural limits. Unless my natural limits are found, I cannot focus on myself or the other with freedom. I will either draw back or intrude. As I learn my natural limits, I free the energy I previously used in questioning limits. Having recognised that I am bounded, the effect of my released energy is to deepen my space. The infinity which used to lie beyond the horizon is brought into the realm of the human where it can be useful. As a psychotherapist the deepening (that is differentiation) of my own space is very important. It means that the space I share with the other is better explored and better known. The raw data for this thesis is a record of 2½ weeks of intensive psychotherapy and 3 weeks of intensive explication. During this time I explored the interrelated themes of my own limits and the particular shadowedness of the space I shared with Tony, the person in psychotherapy with me.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1982
- Authors: Anema, Margaret Catherine
- Date: 1982
- Subjects: Psychotherapist and patient , Psychotherapy , Psychotherapists
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2913 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002078
- Description: From Introduction: To learn to focus on the other, I first have to learn my natural limits. Unless my natural limits are found, I cannot focus on myself or the other with freedom. I will either draw back or intrude. As I learn my natural limits, I free the energy I previously used in questioning limits. Having recognised that I am bounded, the effect of my released energy is to deepen my space. The infinity which used to lie beyond the horizon is brought into the realm of the human where it can be useful. As a psychotherapist the deepening (that is differentiation) of my own space is very important. It means that the space I share with the other is better explored and better known. The raw data for this thesis is a record of 2½ weeks of intensive psychotherapy and 3 weeks of intensive explication. During this time I explored the interrelated themes of my own limits and the particular shadowedness of the space I shared with Tony, the person in psychotherapy with me.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1982
Citizen science, treatment and microbial compliance monitoring in rainwater harvesting in Namibia
- Angala, Hallo Angaleni Nameya
- Authors: Angala, Hallo Angaleni Nameya
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62082 , vital:28105
- Description: Expected release date-April 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Angala, Hallo Angaleni Nameya
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62082 , vital:28105
- Description: Expected release date-April 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Factors influencing parents’ decisions when choosing a private school
- Authors: Arendse, David
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: School choice -- South Africa -- Case studies , Competition -- South Africa , Private schools -- South Africa , Consumer behavior , VRIO framework (Valuable, Rare, Imitable and Organized) , St. Stithians College
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92628 , vital:30738
- Description: Purpose: Consumers make decisions based on multiple factors that influence their decision-making process. These decisions can be influenced by deep personal reflection to the simple impulsive purchase done to fulfil a need or want. This research study explored the relationship between the resource-based view and the factors considered by parents when selecting a school for their child/children. The Valuable, Rare, Imitable and Organized (VRIO) framework as developed by Barney, J. (1991) outlines the framework through which an organisations resources can be assessed in terms of their potential competitive advantage. The research study was interested in understanding how an educational institution can identify and then leverage its resources to create a competitive advantage. Methodology: Each family that has one or more child enrolled at St Stithians College, which is a private school in Gauteng, South Africa, was invited to participate in the study. This represented a potential population size of 1 700 families, however a sample of 334 was used. The educational institution caters to both boys and girls from Grade R to 12 (Matric). Each family was requested to participate in the study as they had already chosen to have at least one child enrolled. A self-administered close-ended questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection and the questionnaire was broken into two sections. Section A focused on building a profile of the respondent while section B assessed the level of influence the factors had on a parent’s decision. Section B’s questions were structured as Likert-Scale questions requiring a response between 1 and 5, with 5 being the highest influence, and 1 being the lowest. The responses to the questions were then grouped into the factors they spoke to and the average results per factor were assessed via an ANOVA table to test the null hypothesis that parents do not consider factors when choosing a school for their children. Findings: As a paper, this study set out to discover what the competitive advantage was of a private education institution in South Africa. It did so by identifying what the key factors were when parents selected the school of their choice and then analysed these findings against the resources of the given institution. The ANOVA table analysis of the responses identified that parents do consider factors and that the factor that they were most influenced by was convenience factor, represented by location of the institution and the distance to it. While there are multiple private education suppliers in South Africa, no other provider has the location that St Stithians College has, and as such, its location is its competitive advantage. Significant: This research study will expand the existing but limited competitive advantage body of knowledge in the South African education sector. South African educational institutions will be able to develop similar studies which will then assist in identifying their own competitive advantages. This can better enable education providers to entice consumers to their education services.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Arendse, David
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: School choice -- South Africa -- Case studies , Competition -- South Africa , Private schools -- South Africa , Consumer behavior , VRIO framework (Valuable, Rare, Imitable and Organized) , St. Stithians College
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92628 , vital:30738
- Description: Purpose: Consumers make decisions based on multiple factors that influence their decision-making process. These decisions can be influenced by deep personal reflection to the simple impulsive purchase done to fulfil a need or want. This research study explored the relationship between the resource-based view and the factors considered by parents when selecting a school for their child/children. The Valuable, Rare, Imitable and Organized (VRIO) framework as developed by Barney, J. (1991) outlines the framework through which an organisations resources can be assessed in terms of their potential competitive advantage. The research study was interested in understanding how an educational institution can identify and then leverage its resources to create a competitive advantage. Methodology: Each family that has one or more child enrolled at St Stithians College, which is a private school in Gauteng, South Africa, was invited to participate in the study. This represented a potential population size of 1 700 families, however a sample of 334 was used. The educational institution caters to both boys and girls from Grade R to 12 (Matric). Each family was requested to participate in the study as they had already chosen to have at least one child enrolled. A self-administered close-ended questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection and the questionnaire was broken into two sections. Section A focused on building a profile of the respondent while section B assessed the level of influence the factors had on a parent’s decision. Section B’s questions were structured as Likert-Scale questions requiring a response between 1 and 5, with 5 being the highest influence, and 1 being the lowest. The responses to the questions were then grouped into the factors they spoke to and the average results per factor were assessed via an ANOVA table to test the null hypothesis that parents do not consider factors when choosing a school for their children. Findings: As a paper, this study set out to discover what the competitive advantage was of a private education institution in South Africa. It did so by identifying what the key factors were when parents selected the school of their choice and then analysed these findings against the resources of the given institution. The ANOVA table analysis of the responses identified that parents do consider factors and that the factor that they were most influenced by was convenience factor, represented by location of the institution and the distance to it. While there are multiple private education suppliers in South Africa, no other provider has the location that St Stithians College has, and as such, its location is its competitive advantage. Significant: This research study will expand the existing but limited competitive advantage body of knowledge in the South African education sector. South African educational institutions will be able to develop similar studies which will then assist in identifying their own competitive advantages. This can better enable education providers to entice consumers to their education services.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Towards a capability maturity model for a cyber range
- Authors: Aschmann, Michael Joseph
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Computer software -- Development , Computer security
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163142 , vital:41013
- Description: This work describes research undertaken towards the development of a Capability Maturity Model (CMM) for Cyber Ranges (CRs) focused on cyber security. Global cyber security needs are on the rise, and the need for attribution within the cyber domain is of particular concern. This has prompted major efforts to enhance cyber capabilities within organisations to increase their total cyber resilience posture. These efforts include, but are not limited to, the testing of computational devices, networks, and applications, and cyber skills training focused on prevention, detection and cyber attack response. A cyber range allows for the testing of the computational environment. By developing cyber events within a confined virtual or sand-boxed cyber environment, a cyber range can prepare the next generation of cyber security specialists to handle a variety of potential cyber attacks. Cyber ranges have different purposes, each designed to fulfil a different computational testing and cyber training goal; consequently, cyber ranges can vary greatly in the level of variety, capability, maturity and complexity. As cyber ranges proliferate and become more and more valued as tools for cyber security, a method to classify or rate them becomes essential. Yet while a universal criteria for measuring cyber ranges in terms of their capability maturity levels becomes more critical, there are currently very limited resources for researchers aiming to perform this kind of work. For this reason, this work proposes and describes a CMM, designed to give organisations the ability to benchmark the capability maturity of a given cyber range. This research adopted a synthesised approach to the development of a CMM, grounded in prior research and focused on the production of a conceptual model that provides a useful level of abstraction. In order to achieve this goal, the core capability elements of a cyber range are defined with their relative importance, allowing for the development of a proposed classification cyber range levels. An analysis of data gathered during the course of an expert review, together with other research, further supported the development of the conceptual model. In the context of cyber range capability, classification will include the ability of the cyber range to perform its functions optimally with different core capability elements, focusing on the Measurement of Capability (MoC) with its elements, namely effect, performance and threat ability. Cyber range maturity can evolve over time and can be defined through the Measurement of Maturity (MoM) with its elements, namely people, processes, technology. The combination of these measurements utilising the CMM for a CR determines the capability maturity level of a CR. The primary outcome of this research is the proposed level-based CMM framework for a cyber range, developed using adopted and synthesised CMMs, the analysis of an expert review, and the mapping of the results.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Aschmann, Michael Joseph
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Computer software -- Development , Computer security
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163142 , vital:41013
- Description: This work describes research undertaken towards the development of a Capability Maturity Model (CMM) for Cyber Ranges (CRs) focused on cyber security. Global cyber security needs are on the rise, and the need for attribution within the cyber domain is of particular concern. This has prompted major efforts to enhance cyber capabilities within organisations to increase their total cyber resilience posture. These efforts include, but are not limited to, the testing of computational devices, networks, and applications, and cyber skills training focused on prevention, detection and cyber attack response. A cyber range allows for the testing of the computational environment. By developing cyber events within a confined virtual or sand-boxed cyber environment, a cyber range can prepare the next generation of cyber security specialists to handle a variety of potential cyber attacks. Cyber ranges have different purposes, each designed to fulfil a different computational testing and cyber training goal; consequently, cyber ranges can vary greatly in the level of variety, capability, maturity and complexity. As cyber ranges proliferate and become more and more valued as tools for cyber security, a method to classify or rate them becomes essential. Yet while a universal criteria for measuring cyber ranges in terms of their capability maturity levels becomes more critical, there are currently very limited resources for researchers aiming to perform this kind of work. For this reason, this work proposes and describes a CMM, designed to give organisations the ability to benchmark the capability maturity of a given cyber range. This research adopted a synthesised approach to the development of a CMM, grounded in prior research and focused on the production of a conceptual model that provides a useful level of abstraction. In order to achieve this goal, the core capability elements of a cyber range are defined with their relative importance, allowing for the development of a proposed classification cyber range levels. An analysis of data gathered during the course of an expert review, together with other research, further supported the development of the conceptual model. In the context of cyber range capability, classification will include the ability of the cyber range to perform its functions optimally with different core capability elements, focusing on the Measurement of Capability (MoC) with its elements, namely effect, performance and threat ability. Cyber range maturity can evolve over time and can be defined through the Measurement of Maturity (MoM) with its elements, namely people, processes, technology. The combination of these measurements utilising the CMM for a CR determines the capability maturity level of a CR. The primary outcome of this research is the proposed level-based CMM framework for a cyber range, developed using adopted and synthesised CMMs, the analysis of an expert review, and the mapping of the results.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Between past and future: memory and mourning in the stories of Okwiri Oduor and Ndinda Kioko
- Authors: Awuor, Nicholas Amol
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Women authors, Kenyan , Oduor, Okwiri -- The plea bargain , Oduor, Okwiri -- My father's head , Oduor, Okwiri -- Rag doll , Kioko, Ndinda -- Sometime before Maulidi , Kioko, Ndinda -- Some freedom dreams , Women and literature -- Africa , Bereavement -- Fiction , Culture in literature , Liberty in literature
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/161229 , vital:40608
- Description: This study investigates the literary activities of two emerging female Kenyan writers, Claudette Okwiri Oduor and Jacqueline Ndinda Kioko, both of whom are award-winning authors. Oduor won the 2014 Caine Prize for African Writing while Kioko bagged the Wasafiri New Writing Fiction Award 2017. It examines specifically how the writers deal with memory and mourning in negotiating between the past and future. I explore how their fictional and non-fictional narratives assist individuals and groups to confront loss, reconstruct new identities, and renegotiate belonging amidst personal and social upheaval. The fictional narratives at the centre of this research are Oduor’s “The Plea Bargain” (2011), “My Father’s Head” (2013) and “Rag Doll” (2014), and Kioko’s “Sometime Before Maulidi” (2014) and “Some Freedom Dreams” (2017). The study explores the themes of mental illness, existential crisis, and fragmentation, and considers bereavement, queer relationships, cultural freedom, and social recognition. The research further considers the active participation of these two writers in Kenya’s contemporary literary-cultural conversations, which span different genres and various media platforms, including blogs, YouTube clips, online magazines, and social media networks in dialogue with other writers. . I trace the significance of the literary-cultural link these authors have with their local, continental, and global counterparts in countries like Uganda, Nigeria, and South Africa. The link finds expression through their (in)direct association with some of the new online publishing outlets in Kenya like Jalada Africa, Enkare Review, and Kikwetu. More importantly, their shared participation in and association with such international awards and scholarships as the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, Kwani Trust Manuscript Project, and Miles Morland Foundation is integral in apprehending contemporary literary exchanges and multidirectional flows of publishing in Africa and beyond. I equally illustrate how mentorship of younger writers through local writers’ organisations and collectives like AMKA and Writivism help in the formation of an alternative canon other than the mainstream. The study affirms that the authors seem to transcend the boundaries of production and circulation by fluidly moving between electronic and non-electronic platforms, thus mimicking the memory production of remembering, repeating, and working through.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Awuor, Nicholas Amol
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Women authors, Kenyan , Oduor, Okwiri -- The plea bargain , Oduor, Okwiri -- My father's head , Oduor, Okwiri -- Rag doll , Kioko, Ndinda -- Sometime before Maulidi , Kioko, Ndinda -- Some freedom dreams , Women and literature -- Africa , Bereavement -- Fiction , Culture in literature , Liberty in literature
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/161229 , vital:40608
- Description: This study investigates the literary activities of two emerging female Kenyan writers, Claudette Okwiri Oduor and Jacqueline Ndinda Kioko, both of whom are award-winning authors. Oduor won the 2014 Caine Prize for African Writing while Kioko bagged the Wasafiri New Writing Fiction Award 2017. It examines specifically how the writers deal with memory and mourning in negotiating between the past and future. I explore how their fictional and non-fictional narratives assist individuals and groups to confront loss, reconstruct new identities, and renegotiate belonging amidst personal and social upheaval. The fictional narratives at the centre of this research are Oduor’s “The Plea Bargain” (2011), “My Father’s Head” (2013) and “Rag Doll” (2014), and Kioko’s “Sometime Before Maulidi” (2014) and “Some Freedom Dreams” (2017). The study explores the themes of mental illness, existential crisis, and fragmentation, and considers bereavement, queer relationships, cultural freedom, and social recognition. The research further considers the active participation of these two writers in Kenya’s contemporary literary-cultural conversations, which span different genres and various media platforms, including blogs, YouTube clips, online magazines, and social media networks in dialogue with other writers. . I trace the significance of the literary-cultural link these authors have with their local, continental, and global counterparts in countries like Uganda, Nigeria, and South Africa. The link finds expression through their (in)direct association with some of the new online publishing outlets in Kenya like Jalada Africa, Enkare Review, and Kikwetu. More importantly, their shared participation in and association with such international awards and scholarships as the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, Kwani Trust Manuscript Project, and Miles Morland Foundation is integral in apprehending contemporary literary exchanges and multidirectional flows of publishing in Africa and beyond. I equally illustrate how mentorship of younger writers through local writers’ organisations and collectives like AMKA and Writivism help in the formation of an alternative canon other than the mainstream. The study affirms that the authors seem to transcend the boundaries of production and circulation by fluidly moving between electronic and non-electronic platforms, thus mimicking the memory production of remembering, repeating, and working through.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Investigating the nature of grade six after school mathematics club learners’ shifts in mathematical number sense and procedural fluency
- Authors: Baart, Noluntu Via
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa -- Case studies , Numeracy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96825 , vital:31326
- Description: A wide range of research locally points to intermediate phase learners having extremely weak basic number sense resulting in the dominance of inefficient strategies for calculations with the four operations, irrespective of the number range. The grade six Annual National Assessments (ANA) diagnostic reports for 2012 to 2014 also point to errors and misconceptions that tend to dominate learners’ computations in the four basic operations; such errors are often attributed to the use of either tallies or incorrectly applied mathematical procedures. Having the above context in mind and following informal conversations with teachers in the Uitenhage Education District, five teachers expressed an interest in running the afterschool mathematics clubs based on the South African Numeracy Chair (SANC) project model. The SANC project team ran workshops in April, May and June 2016 with nine teachers (five as facilitators and four others as co-facilitators in five different club sites) in which teachers were provided with key resources for use in their clubs. Fifteen club sessions ran in each club with grade six learners across the 2nd and 3rd terms. These clubs form the empirical field for this research, which aims to investigate the nature of learners’ evolving number sense, procedural fluency and teachers’ experiences of working with learners in the club space. The unit of analysis in this study is both the shifts evident in learners’ number sense and procedural fluency as a result of participating in the clubs and the teacher’s experiences of working with learners in those clubs as club facilitators. A social constructivist perspective of learning guides this study. Especially Vygotsky’s (1978) notion that cognitive development stems from social interactions and guided learning within the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) of children, guided by more knowledgeable others. Furthermore, Kilpatrick et al.’s (2001) strands of mathematical proficiency provide the conceptual frame with a particular focus on procedural fluency and number sense. A mixed method approach to data collection was used. Quantitative data has been drawn from learner’s scores on pre- and post- assessments on four basic operations. Visual progression spectra have been adopted from the Pushing for Progression (PfP) Programme which is an intervention Programme developed by the SANC project for club facilitators. They provide explanations of learner progression trajectories and how to analyse learner methods. Qualitative narratives were drawn from learner progression data, as well as teacher post club questionnaires and one-to-one teacher interviews. The findings of this research suggest that learner workings when used in conjunction with visual progression spectra can provide important clues to researchers and teachers. This in turn contributes to an understanding of where learners are in their mathematical learning and gives ideas for how to support learners to progress using more flexible methods of calculation, particularly for poor performing learners. Included, is the discussion of the effectiveness of the club space to enable such shifts and improve learner flexibility, fluency and performance as displayed in learner methods and scores of the pre- and post- assessments. The teachers’ observations about the relaxed atmosphere in the club space, small sized groups, learning through play with co-members may have enabled the shifts in procedural fluency and number sense in club learners. Additionally, implications of the study are discussed, and tentative recommendations are made for the DBE to consider.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Baart, Noluntu Via
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa -- Case studies , Numeracy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96825 , vital:31326
- Description: A wide range of research locally points to intermediate phase learners having extremely weak basic number sense resulting in the dominance of inefficient strategies for calculations with the four operations, irrespective of the number range. The grade six Annual National Assessments (ANA) diagnostic reports for 2012 to 2014 also point to errors and misconceptions that tend to dominate learners’ computations in the four basic operations; such errors are often attributed to the use of either tallies or incorrectly applied mathematical procedures. Having the above context in mind and following informal conversations with teachers in the Uitenhage Education District, five teachers expressed an interest in running the afterschool mathematics clubs based on the South African Numeracy Chair (SANC) project model. The SANC project team ran workshops in April, May and June 2016 with nine teachers (five as facilitators and four others as co-facilitators in five different club sites) in which teachers were provided with key resources for use in their clubs. Fifteen club sessions ran in each club with grade six learners across the 2nd and 3rd terms. These clubs form the empirical field for this research, which aims to investigate the nature of learners’ evolving number sense, procedural fluency and teachers’ experiences of working with learners in the club space. The unit of analysis in this study is both the shifts evident in learners’ number sense and procedural fluency as a result of participating in the clubs and the teacher’s experiences of working with learners in those clubs as club facilitators. A social constructivist perspective of learning guides this study. Especially Vygotsky’s (1978) notion that cognitive development stems from social interactions and guided learning within the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) of children, guided by more knowledgeable others. Furthermore, Kilpatrick et al.’s (2001) strands of mathematical proficiency provide the conceptual frame with a particular focus on procedural fluency and number sense. A mixed method approach to data collection was used. Quantitative data has been drawn from learner’s scores on pre- and post- assessments on four basic operations. Visual progression spectra have been adopted from the Pushing for Progression (PfP) Programme which is an intervention Programme developed by the SANC project for club facilitators. They provide explanations of learner progression trajectories and how to analyse learner methods. Qualitative narratives were drawn from learner progression data, as well as teacher post club questionnaires and one-to-one teacher interviews. The findings of this research suggest that learner workings when used in conjunction with visual progression spectra can provide important clues to researchers and teachers. This in turn contributes to an understanding of where learners are in their mathematical learning and gives ideas for how to support learners to progress using more flexible methods of calculation, particularly for poor performing learners. Included, is the discussion of the effectiveness of the club space to enable such shifts and improve learner flexibility, fluency and performance as displayed in learner methods and scores of the pre- and post- assessments. The teachers’ observations about the relaxed atmosphere in the club space, small sized groups, learning through play with co-members may have enabled the shifts in procedural fluency and number sense in club learners. Additionally, implications of the study are discussed, and tentative recommendations are made for the DBE to consider.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019