Showing items 201 - 220 of 414

Your selections:

Kaleidoscope configurations for reflectance measurement

- Bangay, Shaun D, Radloff, Judith D

  • Authors: Bangay, Shaun D , Radloff, Judith D
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/432891 , vital:72910 , https://doi.org/10.1145/1029949.1029979
  • Description: Simulations of different configurations of the symmetrical tapered kaleidoscope are performed to assess their merits for measurement of BRDFs and BTFs. The relationship between optimal kaleidoscope layout, and factors such as hardware restrictions and the resolution of the required reflectance function, is derived. The effect on the measurement of the reflectance function of changing these independent variables is examined through the simulation. These experiments highlight issues affecting the measurement of BTFs using kaleidoscopes, and suggest configurations that allow sampling at regular parameter intervals. A number of other kaleidoscope architectures are explored, which offer the benefits of potentially doubling the range of directions that can be sampled, and allowing adaptive control of sample intervals.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004

Knowing what we can't believe

- Viedge, Nikolai

  • Authors: Viedge, Nikolai
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Reason , Reasoning , Truth , Explanation
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2724 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002854 , Reason , Reasoning , Truth , Explanation
  • Description: The aim of this thesis is to examine what affect, if any, finding an argument both unanswerable yet unbelievable has on three purported first-person doxastic constraints. The three proposed constraints are the principle of truth, the principle of adequate reason and the principle of epistemic explanation. In Chapter 1, I lay out the claim of each of these constraints; differentiate them from one another, examine under what conditions they can be said to apply and provide what I take to be the strongest arguments for each of them. In Chapter 2, I explicate what I mean by finding an argument unanswerable yet unbelievable. In Chapters 3, 4 and 5, I detail how it is that finding an argument unanswerable yet unbelievable could constitute a threat to each of these constraints. I conclude that while the principle of adequate reason is undermined in the face of this threat, both the principle of truth and the principle of epistemic explanation fail to be undermined by this challenge.
  • Full Text: false
  • Date Issued: 2004

Kwasa Kwasa

- Group performance, Group Composition, Dargie, Dave

Laboratory investigation of a simulated industrial task pre- and post-ergonomics intervention

- Renz, Miriam Christina

  • Authors: Renz, Miriam Christina
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Human engineering , Musculoskeletal system -- Diseases , Occupational diseases
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:5162 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015806
  • Description: The focus of the present study was on the investigation of the effects of an intervention strategy on an industrial task in situ and a simulation of the same task within a laboratory setting. The task of offloading crates from a truck at a local business was simulated in a laboratory setting for rigorous analysis. The effect of an ergonomically sound intervention on selected physical, physiological and perceptual variables was evaluated in a test - retest experimental set-up using 28 young, healthy male students. Each of the two experimental conditions lasted for 16 minutes. In the pre-intervention task subjects were required to transfer the crates from one point to another by sliding them along the floor. During the execution of the post-intervention task responses to reductions in the stacking height and modifications of the working method were evaluated. Results obtained for spinal kinematics during the simulated industrial task indicated a high biomechanical risk, due to large ranges of motion, high velocities and accelerations in the sagittal and transverse planes. The heavy workload of the task was also evident in elevated physiological responses (HR, RF, VT, VE, VO2, RQ, EE) and perceptual ratings (RPE, Body Discomfort). Assessment of the intervention strategy revealed that the ‘high risk’ industrial task was reduced to ‘moderate acceptable’, with measurements of spinal kinematics, physiological and perceptual variables being significantly reduced. An in situ re-assessment of the workers’ responses to the intervention also elicited reductions in heart rates and perceptual ratings compared to the original task.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004

Language and value: towards accepting a richer linguistic ecology for South Africa

- Wright, Laurence

  • Authors: Wright, Laurence
  • Date: 2004
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: vital:7042 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007383 , https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.28.2.05wri
  • Description: preprint , Language policy debate is often obscured by two factors: failure to acknowledge different time-frames attending contrasting positions, and failure to recognise that ordinary people are motivated by their perceived best interests in the present. This article argues that the key to more general public acceptance of linguistic ecological diversity in South Africa is to shift the emphasis from policy development to practical language cultivation issues. Provide the requisite cultivation support, and acceptance of a revitalised future for African languages becomes more assured. It should also be understood that the modernisation of African languages in South Africa has a political dimension concerning which South African language commentators are strangely silent. This political thrust may not be entirely congruent with the concerns of those whose brief for African languages is primarily cultural or ecological – if, indeed, they are even aware of it. Finally, it needs to be recognised that language development under conditions of controlled influence, as in the civil service or schooling, is potentially achievable (with whatever difficulty), but that this must be complemented by authentic contemporary intellectual work published in African languages if the linguistic dimension of the African Renaissance is to take off.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004

Language rights, intercultural communication and the law in South Africa

- Kaschula, Russell H, Ralarala, Monwabisi K

  • Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Ralarala, Monwabisi K
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Language policy -- South Africa , Courts interpreting and translating -- South Africa , Intercultural communication -- South Africa , Conduct of court proceedings -- South Africa , Linguistic rights -- South Africa , Multilingualism -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: article , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59434 , vital:27602 , https://doi.org/10.1080/02572117.2004.10587242
  • Description: This article seeks to explore the present language scenario in courts of law. The article makes use of section 6 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996), as a point of departure. At face value this section seems to entrench the language rights of individuals. This would mean that individuals could request trials to be held in their mother tongues, with fluent and competent speakers of that mother tongue sitting on the bench. However, this has not materialised. Contrary to popular opinion, the article argues that individual language rights are to some extent entrenched in the Constitution, but there are no mechanisms to secure such rights in the public domain. The article argues that it is often only language privileges that are preserved in institutions such as the justice system. Legally speaking, there is an obligation on the State to provide interpreters to facilitate access to all eleven official languages in courts of law. This in itself presents numerous challenges. The article argues further that the corollary to this is that there is very little space for intercultural communication in courts of law (as defined by Ting-Toomey, 1999, and Gibson, 2002). There has been little or no capacity building in this regard. It is English, to some extent Afrikaans, and the western cultural paradigm, which prevails. The result is further communication breakdown and language intolerance. In this article, the notion of language rights in courts of law is explored against the backdrop of existing theories of intercultural communication.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004

Law and culture in the new constitutional dispensation with specific reference to the custom of circumcision as practiced in the Eastern Cape

- Momoti, Ndyebo Kingsworth

  • Authors: Momoti, Ndyebo Kingsworth
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs Xhosa (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies Circumcision -- Law and legislation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Initiation rites -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
  • Identifier: vital:3685 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003200
  • Description: This study examines the custom of circumcision in the context of culture, law and the Constitution. In Chapter 1 the writer considers the pervasive role of culture in the context of the current debate in relation to equality versus culture. In Chapter 2 the writer considers the origin, development and the legal significance of the custom of circumcision in the Eastern Cape. In Chapter 3 the writer traces the circumstances leading to the enactment of the Provincial statute governing circumcision of children. In this chapter the writer also poses the question whether an aspect of morality can effectively be regulated by law. Chapter 4 looks at the question of cultural rights in terms of the Constitution and the possible effect of the promulgation of the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities Act 19 of 2000 on the approach of the courts in respect of constitutional challenges directed at some aspects of customary law. Chapter 5 looks at the custom of circumcision and the need for the protection of children. The writer raises the issue of the role of traditional leaders in the eradication of abuses associated with circumcision. The last Chapter comments on the reasons for the failure of the new Act governing circumcision in the Province.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004

Learners' perceptions of creating a collaborative hypermedia product: an exploratory case study at Mount Pleasant Primary School

- du Plessis, André

  • Authors: du Plessis, André
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Computer-assisted instruction -- South Africa Computers -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Education, Elementary -- Activity programs Competency-based education -- South Africa Educational technology -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1663 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003546
  • Description: The Ministry of Education (SICTE, 2002) states that the widespread introduction of computers in schools should support Curriculum 2005 and that computer technology is part and parcel of making schools the center of community life. The vision is to establish Smart Schools: schools that are reinvented in terms of teaching-learning practices to prepare learners for the information era (SICTE, 2002). Kafai (1996:71) has found that conventional school assignments rarely give learners the opportunity to spend a great deal of time on complex projects. As a result, many learners have little experience in design: planning, problem solving, researching, dealing with time constraints, modifying expectations and synthesizing everything in a project. Research by Carver, Lehrer, Connell and Erickson (1992); Lehrer, (1993); Lehrer, Erickson and Connell (1994); Kafai (1996); Liu and Hsiao (2002) and Liu (2002) indicates that the design of hypermedia artefacts can assist in providing experience in design. To date, no equivalent research has been conducted in South Africa to ascertain the perceptions of learners regarding the creation of a hypermedia artefact over an extended period of time and whether some of the critical outcomes specified in Curriculum 2005 can be addressed in such a learning-by-design hypermedia project. This study shows that design skills and aspects related to the critical outcomes of Curriculum 2005 can be achieved. Furthermore, it indicates that this kind of project encourages interest, motivation and collaboration. In addition, it suggests that learners experience the role of the teacher as different and prefer such a learning environment. In spite of the positive results, some aspects that need attention for future implementation are suggested.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004

Lessons Learned In The Global Deployment Of An Open Source Security Solution

- Irwin, Barry V W

  • Authors: Irwin, Barry V W
  • Date: 2004
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/428830 , vital:72539 , https://digifors.cs.up.ac.za/issa/2004/Proceedings/Research/023.pdf
  • Description: This paper covers the lessons learned, and the challenges facing the deployment of an Open Source derivative firewall and Virtual Private Network (VPN) solution into the established commercially driven Tele-communications arena. The lessons learned and issues discussed are drawn from the author’s own experiences having worked for a global Wireless Application Service Provider over a three year period. Focus is placed on the issues surrounding the integration of the open source equipment with that of the established global Telecommunications players, where compliance to existing network standards was a re-quirement for connectivity. Major stumbling blocks to the acceptance and success of the open source product were the concerns expressed by the Telecommunications Operators relating to interoperability and troubleshooting facilities when interfaced to their existing commercially available equipment and existing rigid telecommunications networks. The processes resulting in the initial decision to utilise an open source solution in preference to commercial offerings are also explored. An open source solution was found to offer higher flexibility and functionali-ty and greater return on investment whilst maintaining a significantly re-duced cost in comparison to commercial solutions available.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004

Liberal aristocracy & the limits of democracy

- Wareham, Christopher

  • Authors: Wareham, Christopher
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Plato , Aristocracy (Political science) , Liberalism , Democracy , Constitutional law , Civil rights -- Philosophy
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2725 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002855 , Plato , Aristocracy (Political science) , Liberalism , Democracy , Constitutional law , Civil rights -- Philosophy
  • Description: I define and defend a non-democratic authority with the power to annul the decisions of democratic branches of government when such decisions infringe upon citizens’ basic rights and liberties. I refer to this non-democratic authority as Liberal Aristocracy. The argument for Liberal Aristocracy has two parts: the first part demonstrates that Liberal Aristocracy will arrive at decisions that further the moral end of sustaining citizens’ rights; the second part holds that Liberal Aristocracy is a moral means to this end. First, I discuss two existing arguments for non-democratic authorities – Platonic Aristocracy and Constitutional Court Judges. I claim that Plato’s argument is unsuccessful because it relies on controversial metaethical premises that are unlikely to provide a basis for rights. Liberal justifications of the power of Constitutional Courts are argued to be incomplete because they do not designate an authority that is qualified to decide when citizens’ rights are infringed by democratic branches of government. Nor do they show that such an authority is in fact required if citizens’ rights are to be protected. In order to supplement the liberal argument for the power of Constitutional Courts I develop an account of Liberal Aristocracy, which rests on the idea that Constitutional Court Judges should possess moral expertise. I claim that (i) moral expertise qualifies Judges to decide when citizens’ rights are violated by democratic decisions. Furthermore, I argue that (ii) decisions taken democratically will sometimes encroach on citizens’ rights. Claims (i) and (ii) are shown to justify the non-democratic authority of Liberal Aristocracy. The second part of the argument for Liberal Aristocracy examines arguments to the effect that only democratic procedures can be morally legitimate, even if other decision procedures arrive at outcomes that provide greater support for citizens’ rights. Three claims are offered in support of this idea. First, democracy is claimed to be necessary to support deliberation. Second, democracy is seen as the only procedure that can uphold the value of autonomy by securing citizens’ consent. Third, it is argued that non-democratic procedures will not recognise the equal status of citizens. I hold that these three claims are false and that Liberal Aristocratic procedures can be morally legitimate.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004

Linda implementations in Java for concurrent systems

- Wells, George C, Chalmers, A G, Clayton, Peter G

  • Authors: Wells, George C , Chalmers, A G , Clayton, Peter G
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/430555 , vital:72699 , https://doi.org/10.1002/cpe.794
  • Description: This paper surveys a number of the implementations of Linda that are available in Java. It provides some discussion of their strengths and weaknesses, and pre-sents the results from benchmarking experiments using a network of commodity workstations. Some extensions to the original Linda programming model are also presented and discussed, together with examples of their application to parallel processing problems.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004

Livelihood benefits from the local level commercialization of savanna resources: a case study of the new and expanding trade in marula (Sclerocarya birrea) beer in Bushbuckridge, South Africa

- Shackleton, Sheona E

  • Authors: Shackleton, Sheona E
  • Date: 2004
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6649 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007060
  • Description: In the face of economic hardship and poverty, rural people in South Africa and globally are increasingly turning to the natural resource base to generate income. One product that has recently entered into local commercial markets is a traditional alcoholic beverage brewed from the fruits of Sclerocarya birrea (marula), commonly known as marula beer. It was rarely traded in the past due to customary taboos prohibiting its sale. In Bushbuckridge, Limpopo province, rural women have been selling marula beer in the business centres of the district and along the roadside since 1998. A survey of these markets was undertaken in 2002, to discover the commercialization process involved, from raw material harvesting to marketing, and to assess the importance of the trade for household livelihoods and poverty alleviation. Fifty-one traders were interviewed, who indicated that the sale of marula beer provides a vital source of income to several hundred households from amongst the poorest sector of the Bushbuckridge community. Of particular importance were the low barriers of entry to the trade, as the resource is abundant and freely accessible and there are few costs to produce marula beer. Incomes earned were modest, averaging a net R500 per season, and highly seasonal, but came at a critical point in the household calendar, after the festive season and when cash was required for the new school year. Income bridging, livelihood diversification, and the provision of a safety net for the poorest members of society are some of the key benefits of the beer trade.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004

Living with crime: Does crime affect victims' perceived quality of life?

- Moller, Valerie

  • Authors: Moller, Valerie
  • Date: 2004
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:21018 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6027 , http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2413-3108/2004/v0i9a1032
  • Description: Crime is thought to be a major concern that shapes the everyday lives of South Africans. But what impact does living with high levels of crime have on the mindset of ordinary citizens? A recent household crime victimisation study conducted in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality provides tentative answers to this question.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004

Local development : a response to economic challenges in Noordhoek Valley, Cape Town

- Gibb, Matthew William

  • Authors: Gibb, Matthew William
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Deindustrialization -- South Africa -- Western Cape -- Economic aspects Community development -- South Africa -- Western Cape Community development, Urban -- South Africa -- Western Cape Economic development -- South Africa -- Western Cape Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Western Cape Labor supply -- South Africa -- Western Cape Local government -- South Africa -- Western Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
  • Identifier: vital:4869 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007848
  • Description: De-industrialisation and rising unemployment amongst the world's developed countries' manual labourers as well as continued economic stagnation in developing countries has resulted in many localities experiencing mounting economic hardships and uncertain futures. As a direct result, the time has come that localities are being called upon to take charge of their own futures using local resources for local solutions. Local development has appeared in various guises in different countries. Many agents in the developed North favour pro-business interventions that emphasise enterprise development, responsible local government, and investment in skills training. Stakeholders in developing nations however tend to favour bottom-up approaches focusing on participation in self-reliant activities, providing basic needs, and facilitating micro-enterprises. In addition to the actual nature of applied interventions, qualities such as commitment, innovation, co-operation, social capital and entrepreneurship are equally essential for over-all success. South Africa has recently devolved more autonomy to its localities to enable them to conduct local development as a way of coping with local socio-economic difficulties and is applying both pro-growth and pro-poor approaches. The Noordhoek Valley in the City of Cape Town is a locality where a community driven project seeks to promote both economic growth and poverty alleviation. The establishment of a skills training institution has equipped local residents with the skills to find jobs and become entrepreneurs. To date, over 1000 residents have received training and have earned over R5 million for the community. Although locality-based development is relatively new in South Africa, the activities and results achieved in the Noordhoek Valley indicate that with the appropriate approach and mentality local development and skills development are indeed possible.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004

Making sense of science through two languages: a South African case study

- Probyn, Margie J

  • Authors: Probyn, Margie J
  • Date: 2004
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Article
  • Identifier: vital:7025 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007209
  • Description: Mzamo Senior Secondary School (not its real name) looks like any typical township school in South Africa: modern face-brick classroom blocks which conceal a serious lack of resources, material and human. Under apartheid the disparities in spending on white and African students meant hugely different teaching and learning contexts - including infrastructure, teacher training, pupil: teacher ratios and teaching materials. Today, 10 years into the new democracy and despite government’s efforts to equalize spending, the historic inequalities persist. The school is surrounded by township houses and shacks that reflect the high poverty levels in the Eastern Cape Province. Students at schools like this face an additional but less obvious problem – that of the language medium. Although in the Eastern Cape, Xhosa is the home language of 83,8% of the population and English speakers comprise only 3.7%, the official language medium in schools is English from the beginning of Grade 4 in the majority of schools. South Africa is a multilingual country with 11 official languages recognized in the Constitution of 1996 – 9 indigenous languages and the two colonial languages, English and Afrikaans.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004

Mandela

- Nduna, S., Magibisela, J., Dubeni, N., Rodolo, L. S., Mngesi, N. M., Mgeni, N., Dubeni, T., Letsika, S. T., Hangana, S., Mgidi, A., Composer not specified, Dargie, Dave

Manganji

- Nduna, S., Xakayi, S., Rodolo, L. S., Mgidi, A., Ncozana, J., Composer not specified, Dargie, Dave

Manganji

- Nduna, S., Xakayi, S., Rodolo, L. S., Mgidi, A., Composer not specified, Dargie, Dave

Mapping the Radio KC community : a case study assessing the impact of participatory research methods in assisting community radio producers to identify programming content

- Davidson, Brett Russell

  • Authors: Davidson, Brett Russell
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Radio broadcasting -- South Africa -- Paarl , Radio stations -- South Africa -- Paarl , Radio journalism -- South Africa -- Paarl , Radio broadcasters -- Research -- South Africa -- Paarl , Mass media -- Political aspects -- South Africa , Mass media -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Radio in community development
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:3497 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003716 , Radio broadcasting -- South Africa -- Paarl , Radio stations -- South Africa -- Paarl , Radio journalism -- South Africa -- Paarl , Radio broadcasters -- Research -- South Africa -- Paarl , Mass media -- Political aspects -- South Africa , Mass media -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Radio in community development
  • Description: This thesis deals with the introduction of participatory research methods to programming staff working at Radio KC, a South African community radio station based in Paarl, in the Western Cape province. The focus is on a series of workshops conducted at the station, dealing with research tools developed to enable station workers to undertake research of their community. The aim was to determine, by means ofa case study, whether the introduction of participatory research methods could improve the ability of community broadcasters to facilitate democratic participation among the communities in which they operate. More particularly, the thesis assesses whether the application of such methods has improved the ability of the programming staff that were involved in this case study to identify a wider range of stories and voices within their target community, for inclusion in programming content. The participatory research techniques that are applied at the radio station are based on ideas in 'civic mapping' developed by Harwood and McCrehan (1996) under the auspices of The Pew Center for Civic Journalism, and supplemented by insights from Friedland (2001) and Downs and Stea (1977) about the cognitive, normative and imagined dimensions of community. All of the ideas and techniques were adapted for the South African situation. The findings of the research project illustrate that for community stations, the key concepts of 'community' and 'participation' are highly complex ones and that stations need assistance to apply these concepts in their everyday practice. The account of the intervention at Radio KC shows that the process did indeed assist the individual research participants to better deal with the application of these concepts. It did not, however, make much impact on the station as a whole. Reasons for this are believed to lie in the organisational dynamics of the station, and the fact that the model as applied in this case did not provide a means for tackling the agendas, investments and power relations that define the activities of individuals at a given community radio station - what Hochheimer (1993) talks about as the entrenchment of power and personalities. In order to address these shortcomings, an attempt is made to develop a model for future application, which places the mapping process within the context of a broader strategic planning process, focussed on a station's programming schedule.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004

Market profiles and trade in medicinal plants in the Lowveld, South Africa

- Botha, Jenny, Witkowski, Ed T F, Shackleton, Charlie M

  • Authors: Botha, Jenny , Witkowski, Ed T F , Shackleton, Charlie M
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Kruger National Park
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6625 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006817
  • Description: Rising demand for medicinal plants has led to increased pressure on wild plant populations. This, combined with shrinking habitats, means that many species in South Africa are now facing local extinction. In 1997, a study was initiated to determine the extent of trade in medicinal plants in the South African Lowveld (the low lying plains to the east of the Drakensberg escarpment), and to investigate socio-economic factors influencing trade and resource management. Trade was not as extensive in the Lowveld as in major urban markets such as Durban or the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg and surrounding towns), either in terms of the quantity, number or range of species sold, or the numbers of people relying on the trade for an income. In markets assessed in Mpumalanga Province, 176 species were identified (71% of the vernacular names encountered in the market place), representing 69 plant families. In Limpopo, 70 different species were identified (84% of the vernacular names encountered in the market place), representing 40 families. Imports were significant in Mpumalanga (33% of the plants on offer), mainly from Mozambique. A detrended correspondence analysis showed substantial differences between species traded in Mpumalanga and those sold in Limpopo. There was little variation in the species stocked by vendors in Mpumalanga, regardless of the season, the attributes of the seller, or whether business was carried out in urban or rural areas. In contrast, there was considerable variation in the stock inventories of the Limpopo traders. Despite the lower levels of local trade, increased harvesting pressure is being experienced regionally, to meet demand in metropolitan centres such as the Witwatersrand. This study showed considerable local variation and complexities in the harvesting and marketing of medicinal plants, with both a national and an international dimension. This dual spatial scale presents both opportunities and challenges in the management of these plants, which need to be addressed simultaneously, particularly with respect to research requirements and development of predictive models and capacity. Cooperation in conservation strategies and policies is required at regional, national and international levels, while ensuring that management initiatives take into account local market conditions and the socio-economic realities facing both consumers and those who depend on the trade for their livelihoods.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Contact