The effect of piospheres on the ecology of insectivorous birds and their arthropod prey
- Authors: Balmer, Natasha Louise
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Desertification South Africa Eastern Cape , Environmental degradation , Arid regions ecology , Insectivores , Arthropoda , Birds Food , Plants Effect of grazing on South Africa Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/424380 , vital:72148
- Description: Desertification is the degradation of arid ecosystems that result in the loss of biodiversity. Piospheres are areas of local degradation around a central point due to overgrazing and increased herbivore presence. There is a paucity of information regarding the effect of localised degradation on arthropods and insectivorous birds. Both of these organisms play crucial roles in ecosystem functioning and stability and can be used as models to study ecosystem functioning. I investigated the effect of piospheres on arthropods and birds in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. I found that the abundance and diversity of arthropods were significantly reduced inside the piospheres due to the lack of vegetation. Termites were a group specifically negatively impacted by piospheres, with a significant reduction in their presence inside the piosphere. The family composition of arthropods also changed inside and outside the piospheres, with Caelifera, Diptera and Formicidae being the most dominant groups. The diversity of birds was also significantly reduced due to the degradation inside the piospheres. Looking at insectivorous birds, I found that the reduction in both vegetation and arthropod prey availability resulted in non-random avoidance of piospheres. This shows that piospheres negatively impact both arthropods and birds. The results from my study are supported by other literature studying the effects of habitat degradation associated with desertification. Due to the similarities of degradation between piospheres and desertification I make the argument that piospheres can be studied as localised models of desertification. The decrease in vegetation and arthropod abundance and diversity was found to further impact the feeding success of insectivorous birds. Using piospheres as a model for desertification, I found that the foraging effort of birds is significantly reduced within a degraded area due to the lack of vegetation providing safety to arthropod prey species. In addition to this, the foraging efficiency of insectivorous birds is significantly reduced inside the piospheres due to the decreased arthropod abundance and diversity. This shows that inside the piospheres birds spend less time searching for insects and have fewer successful feeds. This has implications for desertification of arid environments where birds face hyperthermia. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Zoology and Entomology, 2023
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The impacts of game farming on worker’s livelihoods: a case of a private game reserve in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province
- Authors: Ngcoza, Nkosiphendule Mbasa
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Game reserves South Africa , Land use South Africa , Agriculture Economic aspects South Africa , Wildlife tourism , Rural development South Africa , Rural development Sociological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425182 , vital:72217
- Description: Land use shifts from commercial agricultural farming to game farming through wildlife tourism, has been prevalent in post-apartheid South Africa. Scholars have argued that wildlife tourism to be more profitable than other forms of commercial farming. As such, game farming has been promoted as a community-engaged vehicle for rural development through the creation of better employment opportunities. This study explored the implications of these shifts on the livelihoods of farm workers living on the game farms. Unlike labour tenants, farm workers who live on the private game, earn a wage. However, farm workers’ accommodation on the game farm is dependent on them being employed on the farm. The aim of the study was to explore the impacts of game farms on the livelihoods of farm workers since the shift from commercial agricultural practices to tourism services in the form of private game reserves. A case study research design was used to gather in-depth information about the multiple realities of the participants, not only about their employment relationships, but also their experiences living on the property on which they are employed. I collected data mainly through semi-structured interviews. I also collected and analysed company documents. The study adopted a Sustainable Livelihoods Framework as a theoretical schema to analyse the livelihood assets readily available to the farm dwellers and the various livelihood strategies they used to make ends meet. The findings of the study revealed that residing on the game farm, although it provided access to free accommodation, tended to pose several challenges to the workers, including i) exploitative employment structures and ii) insecure land rights. The findings also revealed human capital development initiatives mandated for employees were not formally documented. As a result, employees were confined in their current employment. Consequently, the study revealed that participants who had been employed by the game farm for over a decade showed little evidence of enhanced livelihoods. The livelihood strategies of the participants were their basic employment wage, the use of money borrowing systems through stokvels, and informal trading such as selling sweets and chips in the game reserve villages where other workers live with their families. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2023
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The obligation of South Africa to provide social security to refugees and asylum seekers during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Authors: Dekeda, Awethu Zethu
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Social security Law and legislation South Africa , Human rights South Africa , Refugees Government policy South Africa , Political refugees South Africa , COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Influence
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/424119 , vital:72125
- Description: Covid-19 a novel pandemic, has wreaked havoc globally, threatening the livelihoods of all, including refugees and asylum seekers. Like all other countries globally, South Africa has gone to great lengths to mitigate the challenges that this pandemic has caused. However, it is far from clear whether these responses are according due regard to the rights of some of the most vulnerable in society, amongst which are refugees. This thesis deals with South Africa’s obligation to provide social security to refugees during the Covid-19 pandemic. It specifically assesses whether South Africa's responses to the Covid-19 pandemic were in adherence to fundamental refugee law principles relevant to the protection of refugees. The study commences with a general introduction, followed by an analysis of the international human rights and refugee law framework relevant to protection of refugees. This framework is used to assess South Africa’s responses. Subsequently, the discussion delves into South Africa’s own national framework on social security. Using the standards identified in both the national and international frameworks, the thesis then proceeds to measure South Africa’s Covid-19 related responses regarding social security to resolve the issue of whether South Africa adhered to these standards in as far the protection of refugees’ right to social security is concerned. , Thesis (LLM) -- Faculty of Law, Law, 2023
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The perspectives of some amaXhosa healthcare workers regarding mental distress: an interpretive phenomenological analysis
- Authors: Ngqamfana, Siphosethu
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Mental distress , Xhosa (African people) Social life and customs , Stigma (Social psychology) , Health professional , Eurocentrism , Afrocentrism , Sociocultural perspective
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425031 , vital:72203
- Description: Mental distress is a universal phenomenon experienced by many individuals despite age, race, gender, occupation, or socio-cultural context and is slowly becoming a major contributor to the burden of disease in South Africa. However, mental distress fails to take precedence in SA because of inherent intricacies in understandings about it, as a result of ways of being conceptualised and interpreted differently across cultures. This research study explored amaXhosa healthcare workers’ understandings, knowledge, practices, and attitudes regarding mental distress amongst some amaXhosa people. The study aimed to investigate what mental distress means for some people who belong to the amaXhosa ethnic group, to uncover how they conceptualise mental distress, seek help or what behaviours prevent help-seeking. It aimed to highlight any prevalent attitudes of stigma and discrimination, to build insight into overlooked aspects in psychotherapy practice especially when dealing with non-western populations. The study utilised interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) as its analytical lens; to explore and to enter as far as possible into the worlds of participants to generate rich data and in-depth analysis. Four participants were recruited through both purposive and snowball sampling and data were gathered using individual semi-structured interviews. From the data collected, the findings illustrate a limited understanding of mental distress amongst some amaXhosa people due to lack of education and awareness on the subject, leading to the apparent silence in discussing such matters and inadvertently predisposing it to being viewed as taboo. The predominant themes as evidenced by the data were the use of language that sensationalises mental distress; misinformation; Afrocentric beliefs that rationalise mental distress; alienation and segregation of those affected; and the primary healthcare system as a source of reinforcing prevalent stigma and discrimination. The findings show a link between constructs around mental distress and the prevalent socioiii cultural environment, denoting that some perspectives can be linked to observations or modelling in childhood, from people in the respective communities in which people live. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2023
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The relevance of career counselling in higher education: a study following students at a South African university
- Authors: Lewis, Christine
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/432347 , vital:72863 , DOI 10.21504/10962/432348
- Description: Very few students in South Africa (SA) receive adequate career counselling at school and often arrive at institutions of higher learning without a clear sense of what their prospective careers will entail. The limited access to career counselling and assessment is further compounded by criticisms of popular career assessment instruments used in SA, where the primary goal of career counselling and assessment is to match clients to careers for job placement. This approach no longer serves the needs of a diverse SA population and disregards contextual influences on careers. Therefore, a need exists to understand and inform career counselling interventions and to guard against the provision of de-contextualised and contextually insensitive approaches. Moreover, changes in the workplace, where career change has become the norm as the world of work has moved away from stability and permanency to fluidity, calls for a contemporary response from career counselling theories, practitioners as well as researchers, to equip clients with the necessary skills to respond to these changes. Thus, SA institutions of higher learning need to innovate their practices to more inclusively, effectively, and justly serve the needs of a diverse student population for work success in a developing nation and a complex world. This study aimed to evaluate the relevance and effectiveness of a university’s career counselling services from the students’ perspectives. It focuses on gaining an indication of the perceived effectiveness of assessment measures used, and to ascertain the influences that impact on individual students’ career decision-making over the course of undergraduate studies. Due to the increasing recognition for the need to develop a contextualised approach to career development interventions, this study included the SACII, a locally developed interest inventory as part of a career assessment battery, with a group of university students. A pragmatic approach using mixed-methods was used. Multiple case studies of the career trajectories of a cohort of undergraduate students who had undertaken career assessments at the university career centre, were tracked longitudinally over the course of undergraduate studies. Data were generated through vignettes that included the 13 participants' career assessment reports, a service evaluation questionnaire and two successive follow-up interviews. Each participant's first follow-up interview occurred six months after their career assessment feedback session; and the second follow-up was in the final year of undergraduate studies, after eighteen months. Descriptive statistical analysis summarised the basic features of the quantitative data from the evaluation questionnaire. Thematic analysis was used for organisation and analysis of the follow-up interview data. Findings were that the career counselling and assessment facilitated greater self-knowledge in relation to career decision-making, assisted with selecting degree major subjects and enhanced career planning abilities. Using locally developed assessment measures in career counselling proved to be useful. Exploring career development from an overarching developmental contextual framework that is applicable and well-suited to the SA context provided a deeper understanding of contextual influences that impact on students' career decision-making processes. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2023
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The use of dynamic software to potentially enhance conceptual understanding and a productive disposition in the visual learning of algebra: an interventionist case study
- Authors: Junius, Daniel Franscius
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/431542 , vital:72784 , DOI 10.21504/10962/431542
- Description: Over the decades, the didactics and practice of teaching mathematics has offered many unique challenges and opportunities for exploration and understanding. The introduction and development of technology into mathematics is one of the occurrences which has also contributed to a new discourse in teaching mathematics – in this case the teaching of algebra. Algebra is still seen as a gatekeeper and remains as one of the key reasons for a negative disposition amongst learners towards learning the subject. Across the globe psychologists, philosophers and educators continue to engage in debates and research projects in search of answers and solutions for the improvement of algebra teaching and an improvement in dispositions towards learning algebra. This thesis reports on a research project that focused on the use of dynamic software to enhance the conceptual understanding and productive dispositions of selected learners through the visual learning of abstract algebraic concepts. The research was executed as an interventionist case study. A case study methodological strategy was adopted with two groups of 30 Grade 9 learners. One group was a Grade 9 mathematics class of a school in Windhoek who scored above average in algebra but showed a very low disposition score, while the other group was made up of learners from a community project who scored high on the disposition scale but achieved below average results in algebra. The analytical framework of the case study is structured around a combination of complementary algebraic topics presented through visual learning, with GeoGebra as a medium of instruction. With the focus on visualisation and the use of technology the study investigated and attempted to understand how participants processed and internalised algebraic concepts to make sense of abstract algebraic concepts and eventually gain sustained conceptual understanding. The study was framed by the theoretical theories of constructivism and the Dual Coding Theory. For the collection of data, a mixed methods approach was adopted following three cycles. Three algebraic topics were taught with GeoGebra applets yielding both qualitative and quantitative data, through the observation of participants, screen captures and reflective interviews, using instruments designed specifically for the study and collecting quantitative achievement test results. The study, a journey that both the participants and the researcher embarked upon, revealed that the use of technology enhanced conceptual understanding for both groups and both groups showed a positive change in disposition towards learning algebra. The intervention with GeoGebra consistently and progressively improved in terms of conceptual understanding and dispositions towards learning algebra significant improvements in results were achieved. The findings showed that this approach to teaching algebra yielded positive results and gave new insights into visual teaching with technology. New opportunities for further research were created. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, Secondary and Post-School Education, 2023
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Understanding critical concepts in engaged research to promote health resilience: the case of a systems analysis and epistemically just rural health development project in South Africa
- Authors: Duxbury, Theodore Orlando
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/431509 , vital:72781
- Description: Access restricted. Expected release date 2025. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmacy, 2023
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Vernacular sound technologies: experimenting with reverb in isiXhosa choral recordings
- Authors: Ncanywa, Sibusiso
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/432147 , vital:72846
- Description: Access restricted. Expected release date 2025. , Thesis (MMus) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 2023
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Visual representations of linear algebraic expressions: a case study in a Grade 9 after-school mathematics club
- Authors: Herbert, Sindisiwe
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/424019 , vital:72116
- Description: Visualisation is commonly used as a tool in introducing algebra through visual or kinaesthetic sequences designed to prompt learners' development of a general rule for moving from a term's position to its output value. Fluency in both the concepts and the conventions of elementary algebra are essential to learners, as algebra forms the language in which many advanced mathematical ideas are encoded. Moreover, algebraic fluency is often associated with an ability to think abstractly about arithmetic processes. In many classrooms, however, research has shown that learners often focus on fluency in algebraic conventions rather than concepts, learning how to manipulate expressions without understanding the algorithms they are taught to follow. This trend can be linked to several causes, including teacher-centred mathematics classrooms in which learners are – whether implicitly or explicitly – encouraged to copy formulae and methods in order to ‘get it right in a test’ without necessarily grasping the underlying logical relationships. This case study, therefore, aimed to determine whether there was value in using visual, kinaesthetic models to broaden and deepen learners' use of algebra. To that end, in the context of an extra-curricular mathematics club that aimed to decentre the teachers and demand innovative ideas of the participants, six pairs of Grade 9 learners were tasked with creating visual representations of a linear algebraic expression using coloured building cubes. The responses to this task over the course of five assignments were many and varied and almost universally displayed a sustained internal logic that the learners were able to explain and develop. Most pairs began with a visual list of terms arranged in sets of towers, pyramids or, in one case, a spiral. At the end of the study, all but one of the pairs had settled on a Visual Expression, in which various colours were used to represent elements of the algebra such as the values of the coefficient, the variable and the constant term. The participants' representations grew in complexity over the course of the study and the conformity of the final responses showed that the club was a collaborative space in which learners shared ideas. However, the structure of the Visual Expressions and their own confessions of nerves about ‘getting it wrong’ in the interviews suggest that the participants were stuck in a mindset that led them to seek out and idealise the representation closest to the original algebra, even though that representation revealed little about the structural relationship underlying the expression. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Secondary and Post-School Education, 2023
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Year-end oversight in Local Government: a case study of water and sanitation service delivery at Amathole District Municipality
- Authors: Seoke, Duncan
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425206 , vital:72219
- Description: Poor service delivery is a challenge that has continued to plague the constitutional democracy of South Africa. Legislation has, in response, been passed to ensure efficient service delivery. Despite this legislation, municipal service delivery has been alarmingly poor, and reports on municipal performance and newspaper articles have corroborated this. On the causes of poor service delivery, the existing literature appears to have focused on financial mismanagement, corruption, and the incapacity of officials. Absent from existing literature are discussions on how municipal service delivery is affected by the lack of interrelatedness between municipal public resource management processes (such as revenue collection, expenditure management and oversight). This dissertation addresses this gap by examining the municipal public resource management processes from an oversight perspective. The study sought to analyse the effectiveness of year-end oversight at Amathole District Municipality (ADM) over water and sanitation services. This research aimed to study the year-end oversight over service delivery with reference to the Municipal Public Resource Management (MPRM) model. According to the model, effective service delivery includes inter alia effective oversight, as oversight forms part of the entire system of the municipal resource management cycle. Thus, for the MPRM model, oversight should be exercised on all these processes. The research was a desktop analysis that used both a qualitative and quantitative research methodology. The primary document analysed was the ADM Oversight Report (OR). This report is produced by the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) and reflects the year-end oversight conducted by the MPAC on the municipality's activities. In the analysis of the OR, it was concluded that the ADM MPAC had failed to conduct effective year-end oversight of W&S services. The efficacy of the ADM MPAC's year-end oversight was measured against guidelines for effective year-end oversight from the National Treasury and the MPRM model. The findings suggested that there were inefficiencies in the manner that the ADM MPAC exercised its year-end oversight. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2023
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