Integrating local knowledge when mediating learning of food preservation in a Namibian multicultural Grade 6 class
- Shetunyenga, Shetunyenga Fillipus
- Authors: Shetunyenga, Shetunyenga Fillipus
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Food -- Preservation -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Namibia , Ethnoscience -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Namibia , Ethnoscience -- Namibia , Education, Elementary -- Namibia , Multicultural education -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163602 , vital:41052
- Description: The challenge posed by multicultural classrooms has been acknowledged in many studies. Some scholars believe that the knowledge learners bring to school from their homes or community forms a basis for the knowledge to be acquired at school. That is, if learners’ cultural experiences and/or indigenous knowledge are integrated into teaching of science, learners might make good sense of science. Even though the Namibian National Curriculum has responded well to the calls of recognising and integrating indigeno us knowledge during teaching and learning, it has failed to provide guidance on how this should be done. Therefore, there is a need to minimise the gap between the intention of the National Curriculum and the implementation of this intended curriculum at classroom level. It is against this background that this study sought to investigate whether or not learners’ conceptions and attitudes are influenced by integrating local or indigenous knowledge when teaching food preservation in a Namibian multicultural classroom context. Underpinned by an interpretive paradigm, the study took the form of a mixed-method case study approach. It was conducted at an urban combined school in the Oshana region, Namibia. The sample consisted of 29 Grade 6 learners doing Agricultural Science, the grade 6 Agricultural Science teacher and four community members from different cultural groups. The community members were invited to demonstrate how they culturally preserve mahangu (wheat), fish, milk, and meat in their respective cultures. Data were generated using the pre-and post-intervention questionnaires, a group activity, observations (videotaped lessons) and learners’ journal reflections. Quantitative data from the pre- and post-intervention questionnaires were analysed deductively and presented in tables and graphs. On the other hand, a thematic approach was used to inductively analyse qualitative data, where Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural theory was used as a theoretical lens focusing on culture, mediation, and social interactions. The findings of this study revealed that learners’ conceptions, attitudes, and interest shifted positively as a result of the integration of local or indigenous knowledge on food preservation. Additionally, during the presentations by the community members, learners were actively engaged, asking questions and showing interest in learning about other cultures. The study thus recommends that Agricultural Science or science teachers should, where possible, make efforts to integrate local or indigenous knowledge in their multicultural classrooms.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Shetunyenga, Shetunyenga Fillipus
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Food -- Preservation -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Namibia , Ethnoscience -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Namibia , Ethnoscience -- Namibia , Education, Elementary -- Namibia , Multicultural education -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163602 , vital:41052
- Description: The challenge posed by multicultural classrooms has been acknowledged in many studies. Some scholars believe that the knowledge learners bring to school from their homes or community forms a basis for the knowledge to be acquired at school. That is, if learners’ cultural experiences and/or indigenous knowledge are integrated into teaching of science, learners might make good sense of science. Even though the Namibian National Curriculum has responded well to the calls of recognising and integrating indigeno us knowledge during teaching and learning, it has failed to provide guidance on how this should be done. Therefore, there is a need to minimise the gap between the intention of the National Curriculum and the implementation of this intended curriculum at classroom level. It is against this background that this study sought to investigate whether or not learners’ conceptions and attitudes are influenced by integrating local or indigenous knowledge when teaching food preservation in a Namibian multicultural classroom context. Underpinned by an interpretive paradigm, the study took the form of a mixed-method case study approach. It was conducted at an urban combined school in the Oshana region, Namibia. The sample consisted of 29 Grade 6 learners doing Agricultural Science, the grade 6 Agricultural Science teacher and four community members from different cultural groups. The community members were invited to demonstrate how they culturally preserve mahangu (wheat), fish, milk, and meat in their respective cultures. Data were generated using the pre-and post-intervention questionnaires, a group activity, observations (videotaped lessons) and learners’ journal reflections. Quantitative data from the pre- and post-intervention questionnaires were analysed deductively and presented in tables and graphs. On the other hand, a thematic approach was used to inductively analyse qualitative data, where Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural theory was used as a theoretical lens focusing on culture, mediation, and social interactions. The findings of this study revealed that learners’ conceptions, attitudes, and interest shifted positively as a result of the integration of local or indigenous knowledge on food preservation. Additionally, during the presentations by the community members, learners were actively engaged, asking questions and showing interest in learning about other cultures. The study thus recommends that Agricultural Science or science teachers should, where possible, make efforts to integrate local or indigenous knowledge in their multicultural classrooms.
- Full Text:
Invasion status and impact potential of Florida bass Micropterus floridanus in South Africa
- Authors: Khosa, Dumisani
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Micropterus floridanus , Florida largemouth bass -- South Africa , Black bass -- South Africa , Micropterus floridanus -- South Africa -- Habitat , Florida largemouth bass -- South Africa -- Habitat , Black bass -- South Africa -- Habitat , Introduced fishes -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/165733 , vital:41276
- Description: In South Africa, the introduction of alien fishes was largely driven by the development of recreational fishing opportunities. Government-backed programmes resulted in the introduction of four Black Bass species: Micropterus salmoides, Micropterus dolomieu, Micropterus punctulatus and Micropterus floridanus. These species are regarded as the primary threat to native biota and there is an urgent need to assess their spread and impacts. This thesis focuses on: assessing the current distribution of all four Black Basses; using genetic techniques to establish the extent of hybridisation between M. salmoides and M. floridanus, and using functional responses to assess the impact potential of M. salmoides and M. floridanus under the context dependence of temperatures and habitat complexity. Maximum entropy modelling of habitat suitability for Black Bass highlighted that M. salmoides had broad climatic suitability across South Africa, while suitability for M. dolomieu and M. punctulatus was restricted to the Cape Fold Ecoregion. An extensive area-based invasion debt was observed for all Micropterus spp. To better understand the dynamics of hybridisation between M. salmoides and M. floridanus, 38 species-diagnostic single nucleotide polymorphism was used to screen Black Bass populations from the Breede River and Kowie River catchments. Micropterus salmoides alleles were more prevalent than M. floridanus in both the Breede River catchments (69.1% and 30.9%, respectively) and Kowie River catchments (63.3% and 36.7%, respectively). However, isolated populations found in dams (reservoirs) remained free from hybridisation. To compare resource utilisation (i.e. per capita effects) between M. salmoides and M. floridanus, two experimental chapters were designed. Chapter 4 focuses on how temperature mitigates per capita effects between the two Black Basses. There was a significant decrease in per capita effects for M. salmoides with increasing temperatures, while the converse was true for M. floridanus. Chapter 5 gives an account of the influence of habitat complexity on per capita effects. The results showed that habitat complexity did mitigate per capita effects, specifically on M. floridanus, which showed a significant drop in per capita effects; however, no significant difference was recorded for M. salmoides. In the two experimental chapters, M. floridanus exhibited a superior per capita effect compared to M. salmoides, implying higher predation impact on native biota.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Khosa, Dumisani
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Micropterus floridanus , Florida largemouth bass -- South Africa , Black bass -- South Africa , Micropterus floridanus -- South Africa -- Habitat , Florida largemouth bass -- South Africa -- Habitat , Black bass -- South Africa -- Habitat , Introduced fishes -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/165733 , vital:41276
- Description: In South Africa, the introduction of alien fishes was largely driven by the development of recreational fishing opportunities. Government-backed programmes resulted in the introduction of four Black Bass species: Micropterus salmoides, Micropterus dolomieu, Micropterus punctulatus and Micropterus floridanus. These species are regarded as the primary threat to native biota and there is an urgent need to assess their spread and impacts. This thesis focuses on: assessing the current distribution of all four Black Basses; using genetic techniques to establish the extent of hybridisation between M. salmoides and M. floridanus, and using functional responses to assess the impact potential of M. salmoides and M. floridanus under the context dependence of temperatures and habitat complexity. Maximum entropy modelling of habitat suitability for Black Bass highlighted that M. salmoides had broad climatic suitability across South Africa, while suitability for M. dolomieu and M. punctulatus was restricted to the Cape Fold Ecoregion. An extensive area-based invasion debt was observed for all Micropterus spp. To better understand the dynamics of hybridisation between M. salmoides and M. floridanus, 38 species-diagnostic single nucleotide polymorphism was used to screen Black Bass populations from the Breede River and Kowie River catchments. Micropterus salmoides alleles were more prevalent than M. floridanus in both the Breede River catchments (69.1% and 30.9%, respectively) and Kowie River catchments (63.3% and 36.7%, respectively). However, isolated populations found in dams (reservoirs) remained free from hybridisation. To compare resource utilisation (i.e. per capita effects) between M. salmoides and M. floridanus, two experimental chapters were designed. Chapter 4 focuses on how temperature mitigates per capita effects between the two Black Basses. There was a significant decrease in per capita effects for M. salmoides with increasing temperatures, while the converse was true for M. floridanus. Chapter 5 gives an account of the influence of habitat complexity on per capita effects. The results showed that habitat complexity did mitigate per capita effects, specifically on M. floridanus, which showed a significant drop in per capita effects; however, no significant difference was recorded for M. salmoides. In the two experimental chapters, M. floridanus exhibited a superior per capita effect compared to M. salmoides, implying higher predation impact on native biota.
- Full Text:
Investigating conceptual teaching of word problems through visualisation processes: a case of selected Grad 9 mathematics teachers
- Authors: John, Ssennyomo Bernard
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , Pythagorean theorem -- Study and teaching (Secondary) , Mathematics teachers -- South Africa , Visualization
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167497 , vital:41486
- Description: This study investigated how selected grade 9 mathematics teachers used visualisation strategies to conceptually teach Pythagoras' theorem word problems as a result of an intervention program. This research project is an integral component of the ViProMaths project whose goal is to research the effective use of visualisation strategies in the mathematics classroom in the Southern African region. This case study of mathematics teachers in the John Taolo Gaetsewe (JTG) District in the Northern Cape Province, used a social constructivist theory. The study is grounded within an interpretive paradigm and used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. It surveyed eighty-seven mathematics teachers from all the secondary schools in the JTG District, focusing on their experiences when using visualisation approaches to teach Pythagoras’ theorem word problems. After the survey, three teachers purposively selected from three different schools in the district took part in the intervention programme. I used a survey questionnaire, classroom observations and interviews to collect the data from the study participants. The data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings from survey data revealed that while teachers in the JTG District acknowledge the importance and value of visualisation strategies in the teaching of Pythagoras’ theorem word problems, many of them are either using visuals minimally or not using them at all. Challenges such as lack of resources in schools, time constrains, a lack of support from subject advisers, among others were noted. This thus necessitated a need for an intervention with some teachers in the district, specifically focusing on the use of visualisation tools and skills to teach Pythagoras’ theorem word problems for conceptual understanding. Lessons observations showed that all observed teachers used visual models to generate images and used the models to develop mathematical ideas. The teachers used the images to create platforms for classroom discussions. The discussions were driven by questions which teachers asked both for ascertaining learners’ prior knowledge and for finding out if they understood what the teachers were teaching. Interviews revealed that teachers’ perceptions had changed because they now know how to make and use different models to build on learners’ prior knowledge, extend what they are teaching to real life and make sense of Pythagoras’ proposition in multiple ways and to establish connections among a rich set of mathematics concepts when teaching Pythagoras’ theorem word problems. This study concludes that the use of visual strategies has the potential of enhancing conceptual teaching of Pythagoras’ theorem word problems. The implications for teachers are that learners need to be taught how to create visual representations (both internally and externally) of the relations between objects in a word problem as this will help them in maximising understanding. Furthermore, it is hoped that the results of this study could be used by various stake holders who include inter alia, mathematics subject advisers and teacher training institutions to improve the teaching of Pythagoras’ theorem word problems.
- Full Text:
- Authors: John, Ssennyomo Bernard
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , Pythagorean theorem -- Study and teaching (Secondary) , Mathematics teachers -- South Africa , Visualization
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167497 , vital:41486
- Description: This study investigated how selected grade 9 mathematics teachers used visualisation strategies to conceptually teach Pythagoras' theorem word problems as a result of an intervention program. This research project is an integral component of the ViProMaths project whose goal is to research the effective use of visualisation strategies in the mathematics classroom in the Southern African region. This case study of mathematics teachers in the John Taolo Gaetsewe (JTG) District in the Northern Cape Province, used a social constructivist theory. The study is grounded within an interpretive paradigm and used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. It surveyed eighty-seven mathematics teachers from all the secondary schools in the JTG District, focusing on their experiences when using visualisation approaches to teach Pythagoras’ theorem word problems. After the survey, three teachers purposively selected from three different schools in the district took part in the intervention programme. I used a survey questionnaire, classroom observations and interviews to collect the data from the study participants. The data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings from survey data revealed that while teachers in the JTG District acknowledge the importance and value of visualisation strategies in the teaching of Pythagoras’ theorem word problems, many of them are either using visuals minimally or not using them at all. Challenges such as lack of resources in schools, time constrains, a lack of support from subject advisers, among others were noted. This thus necessitated a need for an intervention with some teachers in the district, specifically focusing on the use of visualisation tools and skills to teach Pythagoras’ theorem word problems for conceptual understanding. Lessons observations showed that all observed teachers used visual models to generate images and used the models to develop mathematical ideas. The teachers used the images to create platforms for classroom discussions. The discussions were driven by questions which teachers asked both for ascertaining learners’ prior knowledge and for finding out if they understood what the teachers were teaching. Interviews revealed that teachers’ perceptions had changed because they now know how to make and use different models to build on learners’ prior knowledge, extend what they are teaching to real life and make sense of Pythagoras’ proposition in multiple ways and to establish connections among a rich set of mathematics concepts when teaching Pythagoras’ theorem word problems. This study concludes that the use of visual strategies has the potential of enhancing conceptual teaching of Pythagoras’ theorem word problems. The implications for teachers are that learners need to be taught how to create visual representations (both internally and externally) of the relations between objects in a word problem as this will help them in maximising understanding. Furthermore, it is hoped that the results of this study could be used by various stake holders who include inter alia, mathematics subject advisers and teacher training institutions to improve the teaching of Pythagoras’ theorem word problems.
- Full Text:
Investigating how teacher leadership can be developed among teachers in a rural school Namibia
- Authors: Shapange, Laban
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Technical education -- South Africa , Vocational education -- South Africa , Educational leadership -- South Africa , Postsecondary education -- South Africa -- Administration
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144728 , vital:38374
- Description: In established democracies, the notion of ‘singular’ school leadership practised by the principal has been challenged and a more expansive approach to leadership, which includes teacher leadership, is now widely accepted. However, in Namibia, as with many countries on the African continent, the idea of ‘singular’ school leadership embedded in the position of principal still prevails. Effective leadership is generally accepted as being core to effective school improvement. The evidence from the school improvement literature constantly highlights that productive leaders exercise an indirect influence on a school’s ability and potential to improve and enhance the achievement of learners. This influence does not necessarily come from senior managers only, but partly lies in the strength of middle level leaders and teachers. Research has shown that when teachers assume shared leadership in the redesign of the school, mentor their colleagues, engage in problem solving at the school level and provide professional growth opportunities for their colleagues, they can be effective in bringing about positive change. These findings triggered my interest to study the potential of this approach to teacher leadership development in Namibia. In this context, this study investigated how teacher leadership can be developed among the teachers in a combined school in rural Namibia. The study examined both the understanding of the concept and the practices of teacher leadership among the teachers and school management team and also aimed at bringing about transformation in their practice. The study was a qualitative case study, which took an interventionist approach, framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory as the theoretical and analytical framework. In addition, the study also used Grant’s Model of Teacher Leadership as an analytical tool. Eleven teachers and three members of the management team took part in the study as research participants and were selected by means of the purposive sampling method. Data were generated from two different phases. The first phase of the study examined perceptions and practices of leadership, while in the second phase of the study, a series of intervention Change Laboratory Workshops were conducted. Document analysis, observations, focus group interviews and closed-ended questionnaires were used as data gathering tools. The study lasted for a period of six weeks. Data were analysed using inductive and abductive approaches. The main findings of the study revealed that teacher leadership is understood as an ability to influence and inspire both learners and other teachers. Furthermore, although the participants demonstrated an understanding of teacher leadership as a concept, their understanding of teacher leaders’ roles was more on classroom management and control of learners. Teacher leadership development was understood as the process of empowering teachers to take-up various roles and delegated functions through school structures such as committees and within the community. The study further revealed a number of cultural-historic contextual tensions that led to constraints of teacher leadership practice in the case study school. For example, school management team members were seen as a barrier to teacher leadership practice and development. Factors such as limited involvement of teachers in decision-making in the school and lack of school-based continuous professional development programmes for teachers emerged as causes that constrained teacher leadership practice and development in the case study school. The Change Laboratory Workshop findings suggested that in the participants’ view, the revival of the different school committees would especially make a positive contribution to teacher leadership practice and development at the case study school.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Shapange, Laban
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Technical education -- South Africa , Vocational education -- South Africa , Educational leadership -- South Africa , Postsecondary education -- South Africa -- Administration
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144728 , vital:38374
- Description: In established democracies, the notion of ‘singular’ school leadership practised by the principal has been challenged and a more expansive approach to leadership, which includes teacher leadership, is now widely accepted. However, in Namibia, as with many countries on the African continent, the idea of ‘singular’ school leadership embedded in the position of principal still prevails. Effective leadership is generally accepted as being core to effective school improvement. The evidence from the school improvement literature constantly highlights that productive leaders exercise an indirect influence on a school’s ability and potential to improve and enhance the achievement of learners. This influence does not necessarily come from senior managers only, but partly lies in the strength of middle level leaders and teachers. Research has shown that when teachers assume shared leadership in the redesign of the school, mentor their colleagues, engage in problem solving at the school level and provide professional growth opportunities for their colleagues, they can be effective in bringing about positive change. These findings triggered my interest to study the potential of this approach to teacher leadership development in Namibia. In this context, this study investigated how teacher leadership can be developed among the teachers in a combined school in rural Namibia. The study examined both the understanding of the concept and the practices of teacher leadership among the teachers and school management team and also aimed at bringing about transformation in their practice. The study was a qualitative case study, which took an interventionist approach, framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory as the theoretical and analytical framework. In addition, the study also used Grant’s Model of Teacher Leadership as an analytical tool. Eleven teachers and three members of the management team took part in the study as research participants and were selected by means of the purposive sampling method. Data were generated from two different phases. The first phase of the study examined perceptions and practices of leadership, while in the second phase of the study, a series of intervention Change Laboratory Workshops were conducted. Document analysis, observations, focus group interviews and closed-ended questionnaires were used as data gathering tools. The study lasted for a period of six weeks. Data were analysed using inductive and abductive approaches. The main findings of the study revealed that teacher leadership is understood as an ability to influence and inspire both learners and other teachers. Furthermore, although the participants demonstrated an understanding of teacher leadership as a concept, their understanding of teacher leaders’ roles was more on classroom management and control of learners. Teacher leadership development was understood as the process of empowering teachers to take-up various roles and delegated functions through school structures such as committees and within the community. The study further revealed a number of cultural-historic contextual tensions that led to constraints of teacher leadership practice in the case study school. For example, school management team members were seen as a barrier to teacher leadership practice and development. Factors such as limited involvement of teachers in decision-making in the school and lack of school-based continuous professional development programmes for teachers emerged as causes that constrained teacher leadership practice and development in the case study school. The Change Laboratory Workshop findings suggested that in the participants’ view, the revival of the different school committees would especially make a positive contribution to teacher leadership practice and development at the case study school.
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Investigating meaningful and critical teaching of poetry in English First Additional Language: a case of two Grade 11 classrooms in Lusikisiki District, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Dlamini, Sibongile Melody
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Poetry -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Lusikisiki , Second language acquisition , Critical discourse analysis , Literacy -- South Africa -- Lusikisiki , Culturally relevant pedagogy -- South Africa -- Lusikisiki
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/130636 , vital:36449
- Description: Poetry stands out among literary genres as a rich resource for language teaching and learning (Danesh & Shirkhani, 2015). However, according to some reports on Grade 12 English First Additional Language in the Eastern Cape, poetry is a particularly challenging genre to both teachers and learners. This background has given rise to this study, which aimed to investigate the critical and meaningful teaching of poetry in Grade 11, a class preparing learners for Grade 12. This interpretive qualitative case study drew on Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural theory of cognitive development, which states that learners’ best knowledge is produced when co-operative learning takes place, with the help of the teacher. Purposive sampling was used to select two high schools from Lusikisiki district in the Eastern Cape, and one Grade 11 class and one teacher from each school. Lesson observations, document analysis, semi-structured interviews with the teachers, and focus group discussions with the learners were used to collect data. Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, Critical Discourse Analysis, Dutta’s (2001) model of poetry learning, as well as insights from Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory were used to analyse data. In addition, Four Reader Roles by Freebody and Luke (1990) were employed as a data analysis tool to find out the degree to which the poetry teaching developed learners into code breakers, text users, text participants and text analysts. The data revealed that both teachers and learners had a limited understanding of and negative attitudes towards poetry, and this affects the way teachers teach as well as how learners learn poetry. It also indicated that a teacher-centred approach constrains meaning and critical poetry teaching and learning. The findings suggested that in place of the traditional way of poetry teaching, teachers need to learn, develop and use innovative teaching strategies to strengthen poetry understanding in learners.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Dlamini, Sibongile Melody
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Poetry -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Lusikisiki , Second language acquisition , Critical discourse analysis , Literacy -- South Africa -- Lusikisiki , Culturally relevant pedagogy -- South Africa -- Lusikisiki
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/130636 , vital:36449
- Description: Poetry stands out among literary genres as a rich resource for language teaching and learning (Danesh & Shirkhani, 2015). However, according to some reports on Grade 12 English First Additional Language in the Eastern Cape, poetry is a particularly challenging genre to both teachers and learners. This background has given rise to this study, which aimed to investigate the critical and meaningful teaching of poetry in Grade 11, a class preparing learners for Grade 12. This interpretive qualitative case study drew on Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural theory of cognitive development, which states that learners’ best knowledge is produced when co-operative learning takes place, with the help of the teacher. Purposive sampling was used to select two high schools from Lusikisiki district in the Eastern Cape, and one Grade 11 class and one teacher from each school. Lesson observations, document analysis, semi-structured interviews with the teachers, and focus group discussions with the learners were used to collect data. Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, Critical Discourse Analysis, Dutta’s (2001) model of poetry learning, as well as insights from Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory were used to analyse data. In addition, Four Reader Roles by Freebody and Luke (1990) were employed as a data analysis tool to find out the degree to which the poetry teaching developed learners into code breakers, text users, text participants and text analysts. The data revealed that both teachers and learners had a limited understanding of and negative attitudes towards poetry, and this affects the way teachers teach as well as how learners learn poetry. It also indicated that a teacher-centred approach constrains meaning and critical poetry teaching and learning. The findings suggested that in place of the traditional way of poetry teaching, teachers need to learn, develop and use innovative teaching strategies to strengthen poetry understanding in learners.
- Full Text:
Investigating visual literacy development through advertisements: a case of Grade 7 English Language Teaching in Mount Frere District, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Mbuqe, Zolile Patrick
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Visual literacy , English language -- Study and teaching -- Audio-visual aids , Second language acquisition -- South Africa , English language -- Study and teaching -- Activity programs , Advertising -- Study and teaching , Visual learning , English language -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143458 , vital:38248
- Description: Although the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement lists visual literacy as one of the aspects of English First Additional Language in Grades 4-12, many teachers face challenges in teaching it. This study aimed to investigate visual literacy development through advertisements. Drawing on Cultural Historical Activity Theory, this qualitative intervention designed two research phases in which data was collected and analysed. The first phase, a pre-intervention, included lesson observation, analysis of documents and post-lesson semi-structured interviews. Based on Phase One findings and using advertisements as an entry point in developing visual literacy, Phase Two occurred at a change laboratory workshop and engaged eight teachers with the dynamics of meaning making and teaching. This data was analysed using elements of social semiotics and Serafini’s resource practices. The key findings are that despite low visual literacy understanding and practices, rigorous formative intervention indicated advancement in teachers’ understanding of visual literacy. In addition, through this intervention, teachers developed agency in dealing with schooling adversities such as lack of resources and knowledge hence further formative intervention research in visual literacy is recommended for both EFAL subject advisors and teachers.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mbuqe, Zolile Patrick
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Visual literacy , English language -- Study and teaching -- Audio-visual aids , Second language acquisition -- South Africa , English language -- Study and teaching -- Activity programs , Advertising -- Study and teaching , Visual learning , English language -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143458 , vital:38248
- Description: Although the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement lists visual literacy as one of the aspects of English First Additional Language in Grades 4-12, many teachers face challenges in teaching it. This study aimed to investigate visual literacy development through advertisements. Drawing on Cultural Historical Activity Theory, this qualitative intervention designed two research phases in which data was collected and analysed. The first phase, a pre-intervention, included lesson observation, analysis of documents and post-lesson semi-structured interviews. Based on Phase One findings and using advertisements as an entry point in developing visual literacy, Phase Two occurred at a change laboratory workshop and engaged eight teachers with the dynamics of meaning making and teaching. This data was analysed using elements of social semiotics and Serafini’s resource practices. The key findings are that despite low visual literacy understanding and practices, rigorous formative intervention indicated advancement in teachers’ understanding of visual literacy. In addition, through this intervention, teachers developed agency in dealing with schooling adversities such as lack of resources and knowledge hence further formative intervention research in visual literacy is recommended for both EFAL subject advisors and teachers.
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Investigation into the influence of an alien plant species on the soil microbiota of the sub-Antarctic, Marion Island
- Authors: Pienaar, Robert Daniel
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124039 , vital:35531
- Description: Embargo applied. Embargo period to expire in April of 2021.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Pienaar, Robert Daniel
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124039 , vital:35531
- Description: Embargo applied. Embargo period to expire in April of 2021.
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Investigations into biological control options for Lycium ferocissimum Miers, African Boxthorn (Solanaceae) for Australia
- Authors: Mauda, Evans Vusani
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Lycium ferocissimum , Solanaceae -- Biological control -- Australia , Weeds -- Control -- Australia , Invasive plants -- Biological control -- Australia , Insects as biological pest control agents -- Australia , Insect-plant relationships
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167142 , vital:41441
- Description: Lycium ferocissimum Miers (Solanaceae) (African boxthorn or boxthorn) is a shrub native to South Africa,and has become naturalised and invasive in Australia and New Zealand. The plant is listed on the Noxious Weed List for Australian States and territories. Although other control methods are available, biological control presents a potentially sustainable intervention for reducing populations of this weed in Australia. In South Africa, the plant has been recorded from two allopatric populations, one in the Eastern Cape Province, the other in the Western Cape Provinces, however, there taxonomic and morphological uncertainties are reported in the literature. Therefore, before native range surveys for potential biological control agents could be considered, the taxonomic uncertainty needed to be resolved. The two geographically distinct areas, as well as the Australia population were sampled to assess morphological and genetic variation. All samples collected in Australia were confirmed as L.ferocissimum, with no evidence of hybridisation with any other Lycium species. Nuclear and chloroplast genetic diversity within L.ferocissimum across South Africa was high, and Australia was low, with no evidence of genetic seperation. One ehaplotypes found across Australia was found at only two sites in South Africa, both in the Western Cape, suggesting that the Australian lineage may have originated from this region. Ten samples from South Africa, putatively identified in the field as L.ferocissimum, were genetically characterised as different (unidentified) Lycium species. The majority of plants sampled were confirmed as L.ferocissimum, sharing a common haplotype (haplotype 5) with sampled specimens from Australia. Morphological analyses across different Lycium species in South Africa did not identify any leaf or floral characteristics unique to L.ferocissimum, and thus morphological identification in the native range remains problematic. Surveys for phytophagous in sects on L.ferocissimum were carried out regularly over a two-year period in the two regions. The number of insect species found in the Eastern Cape Province (55) was higher than in the Western Cape Province (41), but insect diversity based on Shannon indices was highest in the Western Cape Province. Indicator species analysis revealed eight insect herbivore species driving the differences in the herbivore communities between the two provinces. Based on insect distribution, abundance, feeding preference and available literature, three species were prioritised as potential biological control agents. These include the leaf-chewing beetles, Cassida distinguenda Spaeth (Chrysomelidae) and Cleta eckloni Mulsant (Coccinellidae), and the leaf-mining weevil, Neoplatygaster serietuberculata Gyllenhal (Curculionidae). Native range studies such as this are perhaps the most technically difficult and logistically time-consuming part of the biological control programme. Yet, the entire outcome of a programme depends on the suite of potential agents feeding on the weed. The information gained during this stage significantly contributed to the prioritization of agents for further host-range testing and possible release. Here we showed how molecular and genetic characterisations of the target weed can be us ed to accurately define the identity and phylogeny of the target species. In addition, the study also highlighted the importance of considering plant morphology and how phenotypic plasticity may influence infield plant identifications while conducting native range surveys. By gaining further information during long-term and wide spread native range surveys we were not just able to provide a list of herbivorous insect fauna and fungi associated with the plant, but were able to prioritise the phytophagous species that held the most potential as biological control agents.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mauda, Evans Vusani
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Lycium ferocissimum , Solanaceae -- Biological control -- Australia , Weeds -- Control -- Australia , Invasive plants -- Biological control -- Australia , Insects as biological pest control agents -- Australia , Insect-plant relationships
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167142 , vital:41441
- Description: Lycium ferocissimum Miers (Solanaceae) (African boxthorn or boxthorn) is a shrub native to South Africa,and has become naturalised and invasive in Australia and New Zealand. The plant is listed on the Noxious Weed List for Australian States and territories. Although other control methods are available, biological control presents a potentially sustainable intervention for reducing populations of this weed in Australia. In South Africa, the plant has been recorded from two allopatric populations, one in the Eastern Cape Province, the other in the Western Cape Provinces, however, there taxonomic and morphological uncertainties are reported in the literature. Therefore, before native range surveys for potential biological control agents could be considered, the taxonomic uncertainty needed to be resolved. The two geographically distinct areas, as well as the Australia population were sampled to assess morphological and genetic variation. All samples collected in Australia were confirmed as L.ferocissimum, with no evidence of hybridisation with any other Lycium species. Nuclear and chloroplast genetic diversity within L.ferocissimum across South Africa was high, and Australia was low, with no evidence of genetic seperation. One ehaplotypes found across Australia was found at only two sites in South Africa, both in the Western Cape, suggesting that the Australian lineage may have originated from this region. Ten samples from South Africa, putatively identified in the field as L.ferocissimum, were genetically characterised as different (unidentified) Lycium species. The majority of plants sampled were confirmed as L.ferocissimum, sharing a common haplotype (haplotype 5) with sampled specimens from Australia. Morphological analyses across different Lycium species in South Africa did not identify any leaf or floral characteristics unique to L.ferocissimum, and thus morphological identification in the native range remains problematic. Surveys for phytophagous in sects on L.ferocissimum were carried out regularly over a two-year period in the two regions. The number of insect species found in the Eastern Cape Province (55) was higher than in the Western Cape Province (41), but insect diversity based on Shannon indices was highest in the Western Cape Province. Indicator species analysis revealed eight insect herbivore species driving the differences in the herbivore communities between the two provinces. Based on insect distribution, abundance, feeding preference and available literature, three species were prioritised as potential biological control agents. These include the leaf-chewing beetles, Cassida distinguenda Spaeth (Chrysomelidae) and Cleta eckloni Mulsant (Coccinellidae), and the leaf-mining weevil, Neoplatygaster serietuberculata Gyllenhal (Curculionidae). Native range studies such as this are perhaps the most technically difficult and logistically time-consuming part of the biological control programme. Yet, the entire outcome of a programme depends on the suite of potential agents feeding on the weed. The information gained during this stage significantly contributed to the prioritization of agents for further host-range testing and possible release. Here we showed how molecular and genetic characterisations of the target weed can be us ed to accurately define the identity and phylogeny of the target species. In addition, the study also highlighted the importance of considering plant morphology and how phenotypic plasticity may influence infield plant identifications while conducting native range surveys. By gaining further information during long-term and wide spread native range surveys we were not just able to provide a list of herbivorous insect fauna and fungi associated with the plant, but were able to prioritise the phytophagous species that held the most potential as biological control agents.
- Full Text:
IsiXhosa as the language of teaching and learning mathematics in Grade Six: investigating the mother tongue based bilingual education mathematics pilot in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
- Authors: Mbude, Naledi Ntombizanele
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa , Education, Bilingual -- South Africa , Native language and education -- South Africa , Language policy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PHD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143262 , vital:38215
- Description: This study is an investigation on lessons learnt when the language of learners is maintained for teaching and learning mathematics beyond Grade 3 for another 3 years. It is undertaken in Cofimvaba, a rural village of the Eastern Cape in South Africa. We investigate lessons that can be learnt from the Mother Tongue based- Bilingual Education (MTbBE) strategy, that can be replicated. South Africa post-1994 has a Language-in-Education Policy (1997) that provides for the use of all official languages as Languages of Teaching and Learning (LoLT), this has remained on paper as the schooling system focusses on an early –exit model of three years of the Mother Tongue Education (MTE) for the Foundation Phase (FP) then exit to English instruction in Grade 4; this applies to African language learners only. English and Afrikaans speakers have mother tongue education from cradle to university; a benefit they have enjoyed pre- and post-apartheid. Various studies have been conducted to understand the relationship between language and mathematics learning as it is crucial to design mathematics instruction for students who are English Learners (ELs) and/or bilingual. However, in South Africa, there had not been a direct exploration of the achievement of learners in mathematics when their mother tongue is used and sustained throughout the first six years of learning mathematics, while English is a supportive resource. This is the focus of this study. The study lends itself to the adoption of a mixed methods design (QUALT+QUANT), while also employing documents, observation and test scores of learners to obtain data. Content analysis and thematic analysis approaches were used in analyzing the qualitative-type data while a statistical approach was used in the analysis of quantitative data. The main aim of the study was to establish whether in the Cofimvaba pilot, there is any evidence to make a case for extending Mother Tongue Based-bilingual Education (MTBBE) beyond Grade 3 for black African children. Another aim, was to highlight and document the effort that was the first of its kind in South Africa, undertaken in a small rural area to develop isiXhosa as language of Mathematics and Science. The most salient of this effort was the fact that it was underpinned by deliberate theoretical and empirical foundations central to language policy and planning. The finding of this study is that the use of isiXhosa for MTbBE was effective for boosting mathematical and science skills in the mother tongue and English in Grade 6 as demonstrated in Chapter 7 and 8. Lastly, this study demonstrates the power of political will and how a decision backed by financial investment can transform the wider system despite the challenges of transformation. For the first time in the history of education; a poor department has stuck to its guns; unwearied by the negativity surrounding the development of African languages. It committed to the cause of improving the academic achievement of the poorest of the poor. Historically, in implementing a Mathematics Curriculum, the Department of Education (both officials and teachers) has never efficiently implemented the LiEP (1997) in the manner spelt out in its policy documents viz, multilingualism as the norm. The focus has been on a perspective of learners who are learning and must English, then mathematics and ways to get them to know English at all costs. This view creates inequities in the classroom because it places emphasis on what learners don’t know or can’t do. In contrast, this study proposes a sociocultural perspective that shifts away from deficiency models of bilingual learners and instead focuses on describing the resources bilingual students use to communicate mathematically (Moskovich, 1988). Without this shift we will have a limited view of these learners and will design instruction that neglects the competencies they bring to mathematics classrooms. If, instead, we learn to recognize the mathematical ideas these students express in spite of their accents, code-switching, or missing vocabulary, then instruction can build on students’ competencies and resources (Moskovich, 1998). This study recommends a plethora of strategies that must be taken by the Department of Education to widen epistemological access to mathematics for African language learners using MTbBE as a viable strategy.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mbude, Naledi Ntombizanele
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa , Education, Bilingual -- South Africa , Native language and education -- South Africa , Language policy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PHD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143262 , vital:38215
- Description: This study is an investigation on lessons learnt when the language of learners is maintained for teaching and learning mathematics beyond Grade 3 for another 3 years. It is undertaken in Cofimvaba, a rural village of the Eastern Cape in South Africa. We investigate lessons that can be learnt from the Mother Tongue based- Bilingual Education (MTbBE) strategy, that can be replicated. South Africa post-1994 has a Language-in-Education Policy (1997) that provides for the use of all official languages as Languages of Teaching and Learning (LoLT), this has remained on paper as the schooling system focusses on an early –exit model of three years of the Mother Tongue Education (MTE) for the Foundation Phase (FP) then exit to English instruction in Grade 4; this applies to African language learners only. English and Afrikaans speakers have mother tongue education from cradle to university; a benefit they have enjoyed pre- and post-apartheid. Various studies have been conducted to understand the relationship between language and mathematics learning as it is crucial to design mathematics instruction for students who are English Learners (ELs) and/or bilingual. However, in South Africa, there had not been a direct exploration of the achievement of learners in mathematics when their mother tongue is used and sustained throughout the first six years of learning mathematics, while English is a supportive resource. This is the focus of this study. The study lends itself to the adoption of a mixed methods design (QUALT+QUANT), while also employing documents, observation and test scores of learners to obtain data. Content analysis and thematic analysis approaches were used in analyzing the qualitative-type data while a statistical approach was used in the analysis of quantitative data. The main aim of the study was to establish whether in the Cofimvaba pilot, there is any evidence to make a case for extending Mother Tongue Based-bilingual Education (MTBBE) beyond Grade 3 for black African children. Another aim, was to highlight and document the effort that was the first of its kind in South Africa, undertaken in a small rural area to develop isiXhosa as language of Mathematics and Science. The most salient of this effort was the fact that it was underpinned by deliberate theoretical and empirical foundations central to language policy and planning. The finding of this study is that the use of isiXhosa for MTbBE was effective for boosting mathematical and science skills in the mother tongue and English in Grade 6 as demonstrated in Chapter 7 and 8. Lastly, this study demonstrates the power of political will and how a decision backed by financial investment can transform the wider system despite the challenges of transformation. For the first time in the history of education; a poor department has stuck to its guns; unwearied by the negativity surrounding the development of African languages. It committed to the cause of improving the academic achievement of the poorest of the poor. Historically, in implementing a Mathematics Curriculum, the Department of Education (both officials and teachers) has never efficiently implemented the LiEP (1997) in the manner spelt out in its policy documents viz, multilingualism as the norm. The focus has been on a perspective of learners who are learning and must English, then mathematics and ways to get them to know English at all costs. This view creates inequities in the classroom because it places emphasis on what learners don’t know or can’t do. In contrast, this study proposes a sociocultural perspective that shifts away from deficiency models of bilingual learners and instead focuses on describing the resources bilingual students use to communicate mathematically (Moskovich, 1988). Without this shift we will have a limited view of these learners and will design instruction that neglects the competencies they bring to mathematics classrooms. If, instead, we learn to recognize the mathematical ideas these students express in spite of their accents, code-switching, or missing vocabulary, then instruction can build on students’ competencies and resources (Moskovich, 1998). This study recommends a plethora of strategies that must be taken by the Department of Education to widen epistemological access to mathematics for African language learners using MTbBE as a viable strategy.
- Full Text:
It's my hand that wrote!
- Authors: Magade, Mncedi
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142551 , vital:38090
- Description: This collection of short stories experiments with the idea of the text as it constitutes the world just as much as it is constituted by the world. These short stories use the text as a way to respond to struggles faced by people whose identities do not conform to society’s standards. The stories in here navigate between fantastic and experiential writing which allows the text to speak in its own language. The writing is influenced by that of Mthuthuzeli Matshoba for the realist approach in telling the stories. Ayi Kwei Armah’s writing in Fragments for experientialism that focuses on the dead and the living and which makes specific references to the idea of home – particularly for those who always find it hard to belong. And that of Bruce Sterling’s creation of explosive imagery in science fiction that sticks in the reader’s mind as portrayed in his short story we see things differently. Angela Carter’s brilliance in writing short stories and her approach to magical realism has also been a powerful influence. In telling these stories using a hybrid/fluid approach, I hope to come to terms with being a different “being”. It is to find ways of telling myself that it is okay to be queer, that to be a misfit is no sin. To say this in a language that gives meaning to my own struggles of being. This work is a combination of three disjointed moments of the narrator’s life experiences which are exposed in three sections; It’s My Hand That Wrote, (Un)Tying The Knot and Thoughts. The aim of creating these three moments is to let the reader dive a variety of “truths” of the narrator’s life, instead of aiming to achieve a coherent single “Truth” about one’s life. It’s My Hand That Wrote explores both the unusual and inconsistency of life in a chaotic but explorative fashion.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Magade, Mncedi
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142551 , vital:38090
- Description: This collection of short stories experiments with the idea of the text as it constitutes the world just as much as it is constituted by the world. These short stories use the text as a way to respond to struggles faced by people whose identities do not conform to society’s standards. The stories in here navigate between fantastic and experiential writing which allows the text to speak in its own language. The writing is influenced by that of Mthuthuzeli Matshoba for the realist approach in telling the stories. Ayi Kwei Armah’s writing in Fragments for experientialism that focuses on the dead and the living and which makes specific references to the idea of home – particularly for those who always find it hard to belong. And that of Bruce Sterling’s creation of explosive imagery in science fiction that sticks in the reader’s mind as portrayed in his short story we see things differently. Angela Carter’s brilliance in writing short stories and her approach to magical realism has also been a powerful influence. In telling these stories using a hybrid/fluid approach, I hope to come to terms with being a different “being”. It is to find ways of telling myself that it is okay to be queer, that to be a misfit is no sin. To say this in a language that gives meaning to my own struggles of being. This work is a combination of three disjointed moments of the narrator’s life experiences which are exposed in three sections; It’s My Hand That Wrote, (Un)Tying The Knot and Thoughts. The aim of creating these three moments is to let the reader dive a variety of “truths” of the narrator’s life, instead of aiming to achieve a coherent single “Truth” about one’s life. It’s My Hand That Wrote explores both the unusual and inconsistency of life in a chaotic but explorative fashion.
- Full Text:
Johannesburg as dystopia: South African science fiction as political criticism
- Authors: Kirsten, Ashton Lauren
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Science fiction, South African -- History and criticism , Johannesburg (South Africa) -- Fiction , Science fiction films -- History and criticism , Dystopias in literature , Dystopian films , Politics in literature , Politics in motion pictures , Beukes, Lauren -- Zoo City , Blomkamp, Neill, 1979- -- Chappie , Miller, Andrew K., 1974 or 1975- -- Dub steps
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/147671 , vital:38659
- Description: This thesis will interrogate the spatial dynamics and configurations of one of the country’s most prominent cities: Johannesburg. Johannesburg has been, and continues to be, a central focus in the nation’s imaginary. There is a trend within South African science fiction (sf) – both literature and film – to portray Johannesburg as a dystopian, post-law, poverty-stricken space as a means of conceptualising the socioeconomic situation within the country. This study will isolate Johannesburg-based works of sf and interrogate why authors and filmmakers disproportionately return to this setting. Investigated are three contemporary works, namely, Zoo City (2010) by Lauren Beukes, Neill Blomkamp’s film, Chappie (2015), and Dub Steps (2015) by Andrew Miller. This study explores the ways in which South African works of sf serve as social and political critique in the post-apartheid era of financial disparity, the formation of new boundaries, divisions of space and privilege, and the dereliction of critical infrastructure. The primary methodology of this thesis is that of Marxist literary analysis (specifically with reference to Louis Althusser’s theoretical models), which will be conducted alongside discussions of authentic history of the country as well as political developments in order to illustrate how South African sf critically engages with, and succinctly critiques, its context. The aesthetics of African sf are inseparable from the politics of the past and the current moment and through the aesthetics of the future, South Africans can reimagine the politics of the now. This study therefore also revisits a selection of non-sf Johannesburg-set novels published post-1925 and argues that these texts can be studied as early examples of South African dystopian writing. In doing so, this study illustrates that dystopian writing about and in South Africa is not an advent of the 21st century, but an extension of a long history of critical engagement. This thesis suggests that the dystopian genre is helpful in reframing the issues of the present (and the past) so that some form of meaningful change is theorized. The underlying impulse of dystopian cultural production is ultimately hopeful: a worse context is imagined to warn society of its follies so that these shortcomings and issues can be corrected, thereby avoiding the disastrous world(s) portrayed in the fiction. In this way, this study contends that local sf should not be inextricably linked to the melancholia that thoughts of dystopia bring about. Rather, the nuanced criticism contained within these dystopian texts is testament to the country’s ever-enduring spirit of change and transformation.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Kirsten, Ashton Lauren
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Science fiction, South African -- History and criticism , Johannesburg (South Africa) -- Fiction , Science fiction films -- History and criticism , Dystopias in literature , Dystopian films , Politics in literature , Politics in motion pictures , Beukes, Lauren -- Zoo City , Blomkamp, Neill, 1979- -- Chappie , Miller, Andrew K., 1974 or 1975- -- Dub steps
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/147671 , vital:38659
- Description: This thesis will interrogate the spatial dynamics and configurations of one of the country’s most prominent cities: Johannesburg. Johannesburg has been, and continues to be, a central focus in the nation’s imaginary. There is a trend within South African science fiction (sf) – both literature and film – to portray Johannesburg as a dystopian, post-law, poverty-stricken space as a means of conceptualising the socioeconomic situation within the country. This study will isolate Johannesburg-based works of sf and interrogate why authors and filmmakers disproportionately return to this setting. Investigated are three contemporary works, namely, Zoo City (2010) by Lauren Beukes, Neill Blomkamp’s film, Chappie (2015), and Dub Steps (2015) by Andrew Miller. This study explores the ways in which South African works of sf serve as social and political critique in the post-apartheid era of financial disparity, the formation of new boundaries, divisions of space and privilege, and the dereliction of critical infrastructure. The primary methodology of this thesis is that of Marxist literary analysis (specifically with reference to Louis Althusser’s theoretical models), which will be conducted alongside discussions of authentic history of the country as well as political developments in order to illustrate how South African sf critically engages with, and succinctly critiques, its context. The aesthetics of African sf are inseparable from the politics of the past and the current moment and through the aesthetics of the future, South Africans can reimagine the politics of the now. This study therefore also revisits a selection of non-sf Johannesburg-set novels published post-1925 and argues that these texts can be studied as early examples of South African dystopian writing. In doing so, this study illustrates that dystopian writing about and in South Africa is not an advent of the 21st century, but an extension of a long history of critical engagement. This thesis suggests that the dystopian genre is helpful in reframing the issues of the present (and the past) so that some form of meaningful change is theorized. The underlying impulse of dystopian cultural production is ultimately hopeful: a worse context is imagined to warn society of its follies so that these shortcomings and issues can be corrected, thereby avoiding the disastrous world(s) portrayed in the fiction. In this way, this study contends that local sf should not be inextricably linked to the melancholia that thoughts of dystopia bring about. Rather, the nuanced criticism contained within these dystopian texts is testament to the country’s ever-enduring spirit of change and transformation.
- Full Text:
Journeying home, exile and transnationalism in Noni Jabavu and Sisonke Msimang’s memoirs
- Authors: Masola, Athambile
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Home in literature , Exile (Punishment) in literature , Women authors, Black -- South Africa -- History and criticism , Jabavu, Noni -- Criticism and interpretation , Msimang, Sisonke -- Criticism and interpretation
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/166529 , vital:41376
- Description: This thesis examines the memoirs of two South Africa female writers: Noni Jabavu and Sisonke Msimang. In analysing their memoirs, this thesis sets out to contribute to the scholarship which centres the voices of Black women writers. It explores how both writers interrogate the concepts of home, exile and transnationalism. My focus is on the ways in which the writers theorise questions of belonging, and the extent to which their writing provides the opportunity to give voice to the complex nature of belonging. I read the narratives from these two writers alongside each other, as Noni Jabavu is Sisonke Msimang’s literary ancestor. By looking at their works alongside each other, this thesis becomes an intergenerational conversation between the past and the present. Using Black feminist thought and migratory subjectivity, this thesis examines the ways in which these writers connect the personal and the political. Noni and Sisonke navigate the private spaces of home in conversation with the political experience of exile and the nation. In the second chapter, I explore home as ekhaya, isizwe and an imaginary homeland. Ekhaya is the isiXhosa word denoting the family home, where there is a network of family rather than a nuclear family. Home is also isizwe: the isiXhosa word which evokes the nation state, which takes on layered meanings in the context of colonialism and apartheid. Home can also be an imaginary homeland, which is an imagined version of home after a long absence such as exile. In the third chapter, I examine three forms of exile: internal exile, estrangement and political exile. Finally, in chapter four, I analyse transnationalism: a border-crossing which raises questions of power, mobility and kinship. Looking at home, exile and transnationalism together allows for an exploration which challenges taken-for-granted ideas about place and identity. These memoirs illuminate the ways in which Black women constitute and reconstitute their identities according to the places which they access through travel.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Masola, Athambile
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Home in literature , Exile (Punishment) in literature , Women authors, Black -- South Africa -- History and criticism , Jabavu, Noni -- Criticism and interpretation , Msimang, Sisonke -- Criticism and interpretation
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/166529 , vital:41376
- Description: This thesis examines the memoirs of two South Africa female writers: Noni Jabavu and Sisonke Msimang. In analysing their memoirs, this thesis sets out to contribute to the scholarship which centres the voices of Black women writers. It explores how both writers interrogate the concepts of home, exile and transnationalism. My focus is on the ways in which the writers theorise questions of belonging, and the extent to which their writing provides the opportunity to give voice to the complex nature of belonging. I read the narratives from these two writers alongside each other, as Noni Jabavu is Sisonke Msimang’s literary ancestor. By looking at their works alongside each other, this thesis becomes an intergenerational conversation between the past and the present. Using Black feminist thought and migratory subjectivity, this thesis examines the ways in which these writers connect the personal and the political. Noni and Sisonke navigate the private spaces of home in conversation with the political experience of exile and the nation. In the second chapter, I explore home as ekhaya, isizwe and an imaginary homeland. Ekhaya is the isiXhosa word denoting the family home, where there is a network of family rather than a nuclear family. Home is also isizwe: the isiXhosa word which evokes the nation state, which takes on layered meanings in the context of colonialism and apartheid. Home can also be an imaginary homeland, which is an imagined version of home after a long absence such as exile. In the third chapter, I examine three forms of exile: internal exile, estrangement and political exile. Finally, in chapter four, I analyse transnationalism: a border-crossing which raises questions of power, mobility and kinship. Looking at home, exile and transnationalism together allows for an exploration which challenges taken-for-granted ideas about place and identity. These memoirs illuminate the ways in which Black women constitute and reconstitute their identities according to the places which they access through travel.
- Full Text:
Khoekhoe lexical borrowing in Namaqualand Afrikaans
- Authors: Christie, Camilla Rose
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Code switching (Linguistics) , Afrikaans language -- Foreign elements -- Nama , Nama language -- Foreign elements -- Afrikaans , Afrikaans language -- Phonology , Nama language -- Phonology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/168385 , vital:41576
- Description: Although several languages in the Khoekhoe branch were historically spoken alongside Afrikaans in bilingual speech communities throughout the Western and Northern Cape, the last century has seen abrupt and catastrophic language loss, resulting in a shift from a bilingual to a monolingual paradigm. However, a number of ethnobotanical surveys conducted in the Namaqualand region of the Northern Cape over the last forty years have recorded the retention of Khoekhoe-branch plant names by monolingual Afrikaans speakers. Such surveys make no attempt to source these loanwords to their Khoekhoe-branch targets, do not make use of the standardised Namibian Khoekhoe orthography, and often resort to transcribing loaned click consonants using only ‘t’. This study undertakes a sociohistorical linguistic investigation into the etymological origins and contemporary usage of these loaned plant names in order to develop a clearer understanding of language contact and lexical borrowing in the Namaqualand region. Following the lexicographical compilation of a representative corpus of loanwords, this study conducts a series of semi-structured interviews with monolingual speakers of Namaqualand Afrikaans. Qualitative sociolinguistic analysis of these interviews reveals that, although loanwords are perceived to be of Nama origin, they are semantically opaque beyond pragmatic reference. Preliminary phonological observations identify a loss of phonemic contrastivity in loaned clicks coupled with a high incidence of variability, and suggest epenthetic stop insertion and epenthetic nasalisation as two possible strategies facilitating click loan. Synthesising these ob servations, this study speculates that the use of loanwords hosting clicks may enjoy a degree of covert prestige in Namaqualand Afrikaans, which may in turn shed light on historical sociolinguistic processes of click diffusion. It recommends that urgent and immediate attention be focused on the usage, sociolinguistic status, and regional variation of Nama within the Northern Cape, and advocates strongly for cooperation and improved communication between linguists and ethnobotanists.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Christie, Camilla Rose
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Code switching (Linguistics) , Afrikaans language -- Foreign elements -- Nama , Nama language -- Foreign elements -- Afrikaans , Afrikaans language -- Phonology , Nama language -- Phonology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/168385 , vital:41576
- Description: Although several languages in the Khoekhoe branch were historically spoken alongside Afrikaans in bilingual speech communities throughout the Western and Northern Cape, the last century has seen abrupt and catastrophic language loss, resulting in a shift from a bilingual to a monolingual paradigm. However, a number of ethnobotanical surveys conducted in the Namaqualand region of the Northern Cape over the last forty years have recorded the retention of Khoekhoe-branch plant names by monolingual Afrikaans speakers. Such surveys make no attempt to source these loanwords to their Khoekhoe-branch targets, do not make use of the standardised Namibian Khoekhoe orthography, and often resort to transcribing loaned click consonants using only ‘t’. This study undertakes a sociohistorical linguistic investigation into the etymological origins and contemporary usage of these loaned plant names in order to develop a clearer understanding of language contact and lexical borrowing in the Namaqualand region. Following the lexicographical compilation of a representative corpus of loanwords, this study conducts a series of semi-structured interviews with monolingual speakers of Namaqualand Afrikaans. Qualitative sociolinguistic analysis of these interviews reveals that, although loanwords are perceived to be of Nama origin, they are semantically opaque beyond pragmatic reference. Preliminary phonological observations identify a loss of phonemic contrastivity in loaned clicks coupled with a high incidence of variability, and suggest epenthetic stop insertion and epenthetic nasalisation as two possible strategies facilitating click loan. Synthesising these ob servations, this study speculates that the use of loanwords hosting clicks may enjoy a degree of covert prestige in Namaqualand Afrikaans, which may in turn shed light on historical sociolinguistic processes of click diffusion. It recommends that urgent and immediate attention be focused on the usage, sociolinguistic status, and regional variation of Nama within the Northern Cape, and advocates strongly for cooperation and improved communication between linguists and ethnobotanists.
- Full Text:
Kwakhe kwanje phi na?
- Authors: Qwesha, Mziwonke
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: South African drama (Xhosa) -- 21st century , Xhosa drama -- 21st century
- Language: Xhosa
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144476 , vital:38349
- Description: Creative work portfolio - drama in isiXhosa.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Qwesha, Mziwonke
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: South African drama (Xhosa) -- 21st century , Xhosa drama -- 21st century
- Language: Xhosa
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144476 , vital:38349
- Description: Creative work portfolio - drama in isiXhosa.
- Full Text:
Learning about volunteering: an exploration of literacy volunteers' experiences
- Authors: Yendall, Kaitlin Amy
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Literacy -- Study and teaching -- South Africa , Literacy programs -- South Africa , Voluntarism -- South Africa , Volunteer workers in community development -- Training of , Service learning , Language and education -- South Africa , Language arts (Primary) , English language -- Study and teaching (Elementary) , Volunteer workers in Education -- Training of
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/138336 , vital:37623
- Description: After almost 25 years of democracy in South Africa, not everyone has access to the same quality education. The responsibility of creating a literate society however cannot rely on the national government and schools alone, but instead needs to fall on the shoulders of various stakeholders. Volunteers in particular have an important role to play in remedying the current literacy crisis experienced in South Africa. This study takes the form of a case study approach and examines the experiences of Project Read literacy volunteers. A telephonic survey and two focus group discussions were conducted in order to determine who it is that volunteers for the programme; what prompts these particular individuals to volunteer; the perceived benefits of volunteering; and how volunteers report on their volunteering experiences. Although the Project Read programme is focused on the early literacy development of learners, volunteers seemed to undergo a developmental process themselves – something they had not anticipated at the start of their volunteering journey. This study illustrates the power of meaningful relationships in breaking down artificial categories and in bringing about important change with regards to the perceptions and attitudes of individuals towards community engagement. It is hoped that the data generated through this study will assist in recruiting and retaining more literacy volunteers through feedback to the NGO. In this way more children will be assisted to enhance their literacy competencies, from which they can build and achieve.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Yendall, Kaitlin Amy
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Literacy -- Study and teaching -- South Africa , Literacy programs -- South Africa , Voluntarism -- South Africa , Volunteer workers in community development -- Training of , Service learning , Language and education -- South Africa , Language arts (Primary) , English language -- Study and teaching (Elementary) , Volunteer workers in Education -- Training of
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/138336 , vital:37623
- Description: After almost 25 years of democracy in South Africa, not everyone has access to the same quality education. The responsibility of creating a literate society however cannot rely on the national government and schools alone, but instead needs to fall on the shoulders of various stakeholders. Volunteers in particular have an important role to play in remedying the current literacy crisis experienced in South Africa. This study takes the form of a case study approach and examines the experiences of Project Read literacy volunteers. A telephonic survey and two focus group discussions were conducted in order to determine who it is that volunteers for the programme; what prompts these particular individuals to volunteer; the perceived benefits of volunteering; and how volunteers report on their volunteering experiences. Although the Project Read programme is focused on the early literacy development of learners, volunteers seemed to undergo a developmental process themselves – something they had not anticipated at the start of their volunteering journey. This study illustrates the power of meaningful relationships in breaking down artificial categories and in bringing about important change with regards to the perceptions and attitudes of individuals towards community engagement. It is hoped that the data generated through this study will assist in recruiting and retaining more literacy volunteers through feedback to the NGO. In this way more children will be assisted to enhance their literacy competencies, from which they can build and achieve.
- Full Text:
Life after training: professional experiences of recently qualified clinical and counselling psychologists in South Africa
- Authors: Haine, Phillipa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Clinical psychologists – South Africa , Counseling psychologists – South Africa , Psychologists -- Job stress -- South Africa , Psychologists -- Employment -- South Africa , Career development -- South Africa , Psychologists -- Training of -- South Africa , Life change events , Qualitative research
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142421 , vital:38078
- Description: Professional psychology in South Africa has experienced numerous transformations since its tainted historical affiliation with the apartheid regime. However, despite the profession’s attempts to respond to the burgeoning mental health needs of the country, psychologists in South Africa continue to be confronted by a number of challenges within the professional field. International research suggests that early career psychologists, in particular, experience further challenges in adjusting to new professional careers. Considering the dearth of research on this topic within local literature, the aim of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived professional experiences of recently qualified clinical and counselling psychologists in South Africa, following training. An interpretive phenomenological method was employed to investigate the fundamental early career professional experiences of participants, as well as the meanings participants attributed to these experiences. Four participants were recruited using purposive sampling. Data was collected through the use of semi-structured, one-on-one, Skype interviews, and the interview data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The study revealed four super-ordinate themes, including: (i) Training as a ‘rite of passage’; (ii) Expectations for a professional future; (iii) Professional psychology: Entering the work space; and (iv) Future directions. The findings suggest that clinical and counselling psychologists’ experiences as recently qualified professionals in South Africa are both positive and negative, with the overall experience being positive. Emerging themes suggest that early career psychologists are faced by a number of personal and professional challenges on entering the work place. Furthermore, findings suggest that the early career experiences of recently qualified clinical and counselling psychologists in South Africa might not necessarily be due to personal choice, but rather due to greater systemic factors, such as limited available posts, maladministration, the devalued status of mental healthcare in comparison to other healthcare concerns in the country, an unresponsive marketplace and limited efforts by government to accommodate psychologists in different contexts
- Full Text:
- Authors: Haine, Phillipa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Clinical psychologists – South Africa , Counseling psychologists – South Africa , Psychologists -- Job stress -- South Africa , Psychologists -- Employment -- South Africa , Career development -- South Africa , Psychologists -- Training of -- South Africa , Life change events , Qualitative research
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142421 , vital:38078
- Description: Professional psychology in South Africa has experienced numerous transformations since its tainted historical affiliation with the apartheid regime. However, despite the profession’s attempts to respond to the burgeoning mental health needs of the country, psychologists in South Africa continue to be confronted by a number of challenges within the professional field. International research suggests that early career psychologists, in particular, experience further challenges in adjusting to new professional careers. Considering the dearth of research on this topic within local literature, the aim of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived professional experiences of recently qualified clinical and counselling psychologists in South Africa, following training. An interpretive phenomenological method was employed to investigate the fundamental early career professional experiences of participants, as well as the meanings participants attributed to these experiences. Four participants were recruited using purposive sampling. Data was collected through the use of semi-structured, one-on-one, Skype interviews, and the interview data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The study revealed four super-ordinate themes, including: (i) Training as a ‘rite of passage’; (ii) Expectations for a professional future; (iii) Professional psychology: Entering the work space; and (iv) Future directions. The findings suggest that clinical and counselling psychologists’ experiences as recently qualified professionals in South Africa are both positive and negative, with the overall experience being positive. Emerging themes suggest that early career psychologists are faced by a number of personal and professional challenges on entering the work place. Furthermore, findings suggest that the early career experiences of recently qualified clinical and counselling psychologists in South Africa might not necessarily be due to personal choice, but rather due to greater systemic factors, such as limited available posts, maladministration, the devalued status of mental healthcare in comparison to other healthcare concerns in the country, an unresponsive marketplace and limited efforts by government to accommodate psychologists in different contexts
- Full Text:
Localising the global: the use of a postmodernist aesthetic in the fiction of Alain Mabanckou
- Authors: Ngulube, Innocent Akilimale
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- , Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- -- Blue, white, red , Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- -- African psycho , Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- -- Broken glass , Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- -- Memoirs of a porcupine , Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- -- The Lights of Pointe-Noire , Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- -- Tomorrow I'll be twenty , Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- Black bazaar , Postcolonialism in literature , African fiction (French) -- History and criticism , Postmodernism (Literature)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167153 , vital:41442
- Description: This thesis explores the use of a postmodernist aesth etic in Alain Mabanckou’s oeuvre, namely Blue White Red, African Psycho, Broken Glass, Memoirs of a Porcupine, Black Bazaar, Tomorrow I’ll Be Twenty, The Lights of Pointe-Noire, and Black Moses. In particular, I show how and why this Afrodiasporic author localises strategies associated with Western postmodernist writing in an African postcolonial context. My central argument is that if postmodernism is a critique of modernity in the West, then it must also be a respon se to enforced modernity in the African postcolonial context. In mounting this argument, I conduct a close reading of Mabanckou’s novels from within the theoretical frameworks of postmodernism and postcolonialism. I demonstrate that Mabanckou’s writing adu mbrates the possibility of a postcolonial postmodernism. Since he is a French-Congolese citizen, his writing evinces aesthetic glocalisation. That is, as a postcolonial writer, he conceives of, and inflects, postmodernism differently from a Western writer, for his experiences of and responses to modernity differ from the latter’s. Far from replicating a politics of disillusionment and despair that informs, even characterises, Western postmodernist fiction, Mabanckou invests hi s African postcolonial writing with a politics of decolonis ation which problematises the effects of enforced modernity. Postmodernism, in other words, accords Mabanckou an ambivalent position from which he interrogates both Western modernity and its African version. Significantly, in this regard, Mabanckou’s writing presents both an extension of and a departure from the pioneering influence of the first generation of African writers such as Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, and Wole Soyinka.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Ngulube, Innocent Akilimale
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- , Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- -- Blue, white, red , Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- -- African psycho , Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- -- Broken glass , Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- -- Memoirs of a porcupine , Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- -- The Lights of Pointe-Noire , Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- -- Tomorrow I'll be twenty , Mabanckou, Alain, 1966- Black bazaar , Postcolonialism in literature , African fiction (French) -- History and criticism , Postmodernism (Literature)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167153 , vital:41442
- Description: This thesis explores the use of a postmodernist aesth etic in Alain Mabanckou’s oeuvre, namely Blue White Red, African Psycho, Broken Glass, Memoirs of a Porcupine, Black Bazaar, Tomorrow I’ll Be Twenty, The Lights of Pointe-Noire, and Black Moses. In particular, I show how and why this Afrodiasporic author localises strategies associated with Western postmodernist writing in an African postcolonial context. My central argument is that if postmodernism is a critique of modernity in the West, then it must also be a respon se to enforced modernity in the African postcolonial context. In mounting this argument, I conduct a close reading of Mabanckou’s novels from within the theoretical frameworks of postmodernism and postcolonialism. I demonstrate that Mabanckou’s writing adu mbrates the possibility of a postcolonial postmodernism. Since he is a French-Congolese citizen, his writing evinces aesthetic glocalisation. That is, as a postcolonial writer, he conceives of, and inflects, postmodernism differently from a Western writer, for his experiences of and responses to modernity differ from the latter’s. Far from replicating a politics of disillusionment and despair that informs, even characterises, Western postmodernist fiction, Mabanckou invests hi s African postcolonial writing with a politics of decolonis ation which problematises the effects of enforced modernity. Postmodernism, in other words, accords Mabanckou an ambivalent position from which he interrogates both Western modernity and its African version. Significantly, in this regard, Mabanckou’s writing presents both an extension of and a departure from the pioneering influence of the first generation of African writers such as Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, and Wole Soyinka.
- Full Text:
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:
- 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:
Making sense of a scam: MMM Mutual Fund participants in Kagiso negotiate dissenting mainstream new coverage on social media
- Authors: Boqo, Bella Makhulu
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Ponzi schemes -- South Africa , Fraud -- South Africa , Social media -- Influence -- South Africa , Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox -- In mass media
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145771 , vital:38465
- Description: Pyramid, Ponzi and various fraudulent investment schemes are common feature in post-apartheid South Africa. The record levels of participation have generated much discussion in public discourse. Newspapers often abound with reports of participants who’ve lost large sums of money – in many instances their life savings. While on social media, thousands debate the merits and threats of new ventures as they emerge, in some instances using these platforms as the newest recruitment platforms. The sheer size and frequency of their appearance especially in post-revolutionary societies – those which experienced dramatic structural transformation following the end of the Cold War and growth of a neoliberal market economy – has drawn substantive scholarly attention. Much like media reports, however, this research often points to the morality of such practices, asking questions like what factors lead people to make the apparently irrational decision to participate in a scam? This study, however, contributes to a different body of emerging literature concerned with the larger structural contexts in which such forms of economic practice and organisation exist, and the meanings participants make of their involvement. Looking at the recently high profile of case of Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (MMM), it employs a qualitative research methodology rooted in cultural studies to examine how participants based in the Johannesburg township of Kagiso used social media, specifically WhatsApp, to make sense of and contest the dissenting mainstream news coverage about MMM. Ultimately, it is a question of how their participation in particularly illegal pyramid or Ponzi type schemes and opposition to traditional news reports are rooted in their lived experiences, and what opportunities social media offer as alternate platforms for meaning-making, deliberation and public contestation.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Boqo, Bella Makhulu
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Ponzi schemes -- South Africa , Fraud -- South Africa , Social media -- Influence -- South Africa , Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox -- In mass media
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145771 , vital:38465
- Description: Pyramid, Ponzi and various fraudulent investment schemes are common feature in post-apartheid South Africa. The record levels of participation have generated much discussion in public discourse. Newspapers often abound with reports of participants who’ve lost large sums of money – in many instances their life savings. While on social media, thousands debate the merits and threats of new ventures as they emerge, in some instances using these platforms as the newest recruitment platforms. The sheer size and frequency of their appearance especially in post-revolutionary societies – those which experienced dramatic structural transformation following the end of the Cold War and growth of a neoliberal market economy – has drawn substantive scholarly attention. Much like media reports, however, this research often points to the morality of such practices, asking questions like what factors lead people to make the apparently irrational decision to participate in a scam? This study, however, contributes to a different body of emerging literature concerned with the larger structural contexts in which such forms of economic practice and organisation exist, and the meanings participants make of their involvement. Looking at the recently high profile of case of Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (MMM), it employs a qualitative research methodology rooted in cultural studies to examine how participants based in the Johannesburg township of Kagiso used social media, specifically WhatsApp, to make sense of and contest the dissenting mainstream news coverage about MMM. Ultimately, it is a question of how their participation in particularly illegal pyramid or Ponzi type schemes and opposition to traditional news reports are rooted in their lived experiences, and what opportunities social media offer as alternate platforms for meaning-making, deliberation and public contestation.
- Full Text:
Making South African tertiary education multilingual: the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of SANTED Multilingualism Projects 2007 – 2010
- Authors: Nosilela, Bulelwa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: South Africa-Norway Tertiary Education Development Programme , Language policy -- South Africa , Multilingual education -- South Africa , Language and education -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Social aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PHD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140513 , vital:37895
- Description: This thesis focuses on multilingualism as it applies to education, particularly higher education in South Africa. The thesis suggests that language must be seen as critical in education (Obanya, 2004; Wolff, 2006). This thesis also suggests that there is a link between a person’s general competence in an educational environment, and that person’s language competence. In support of other scholars, this thesis also finds that learners from low social classes in society have a restricted linguistic code and therefore the learners from these social classes lack the ability to express themselves in an elaborative manner in a cognitive situation while learners from upper social class have an elaborate linguistic repertoire in the language of instruction, namely English. Even though general policy in South Africa and Africa as a whole recognises this relationship between language and education, this thesis finds that very little is being done to implement these well-meaning policies. The SANTED (South Africa-Norway-Tertiary-Education) programme, which forms the focus of this thesis, is seen as an exception. While there is an increase in the number of learners and students accessing centres of learning, especially those from historically-disadvantaged backgrounds (CHE Higher Education Monitor, 2008), there is at the same time rigorous debate in South Africa at the moment as to whether these learners and students benefit optimally from knowledge offered in centres of learning, and are therefore, not accomplishing success expected from them (Boughey, 2008). This thesis suggests that at the centre of this debate is the understanding that, while there are a variety of factors that might affect their success, for example social and economic status, schooling background in case of students in higher education, language plays a pivotal role. This thesis analyses the challenges and successes which faced the SANTED programme at a number of South African institutions where language issues were brought to the centre of the learning process. The thesis also assesses best practices in various African countries and makes recommendations regarding language-use in Higher Education, as part of a transformationprocess. The collaboration between the South African and Norwegian governments provided impetus to policy implementation. It also had other focus areas such as capacity building, access, success and retention and collaboration with Southern African Developing Countries (SADC). This thesis shows, through a critical analysis of SANTED, that it represented an important intervention regarding the promotion of multilingualism.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Nosilela, Bulelwa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: South Africa-Norway Tertiary Education Development Programme , Language policy -- South Africa , Multilingual education -- South Africa , Language and education -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Social aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PHD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140513 , vital:37895
- Description: This thesis focuses on multilingualism as it applies to education, particularly higher education in South Africa. The thesis suggests that language must be seen as critical in education (Obanya, 2004; Wolff, 2006). This thesis also suggests that there is a link between a person’s general competence in an educational environment, and that person’s language competence. In support of other scholars, this thesis also finds that learners from low social classes in society have a restricted linguistic code and therefore the learners from these social classes lack the ability to express themselves in an elaborative manner in a cognitive situation while learners from upper social class have an elaborate linguistic repertoire in the language of instruction, namely English. Even though general policy in South Africa and Africa as a whole recognises this relationship between language and education, this thesis finds that very little is being done to implement these well-meaning policies. The SANTED (South Africa-Norway-Tertiary-Education) programme, which forms the focus of this thesis, is seen as an exception. While there is an increase in the number of learners and students accessing centres of learning, especially those from historically-disadvantaged backgrounds (CHE Higher Education Monitor, 2008), there is at the same time rigorous debate in South Africa at the moment as to whether these learners and students benefit optimally from knowledge offered in centres of learning, and are therefore, not accomplishing success expected from them (Boughey, 2008). This thesis suggests that at the centre of this debate is the understanding that, while there are a variety of factors that might affect their success, for example social and economic status, schooling background in case of students in higher education, language plays a pivotal role. This thesis analyses the challenges and successes which faced the SANTED programme at a number of South African institutions where language issues were brought to the centre of the learning process. The thesis also assesses best practices in various African countries and makes recommendations regarding language-use in Higher Education, as part of a transformationprocess. The collaboration between the South African and Norwegian governments provided impetus to policy implementation. It also had other focus areas such as capacity building, access, success and retention and collaboration with Southern African Developing Countries (SADC). This thesis shows, through a critical analysis of SANTED, that it represented an important intervention regarding the promotion of multilingualism.
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