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"Fit for purpose": towards tracking the quality of university education of entry-level journalists

  • Authors: Berger, Guy
  • Date: 2010
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/159835 , vital:40348 , DOI: 10.1080/02560054.2005.9653329
  • Description: Debate about the extent to which university education should serve industry is an important consideration for institutions of higher learning in a transforming South Africa, and particularly for those teaching would-be journalists. This issue can also be profitably analysed with reference to the current framework of the South African education authorities who argue that the quality of higher education institutions should be measured in terms of their “fit for purpose” to missions aligned to stakeholder interests in the transformation of the country as a whole. This criterion for quality assessment tends to focus on the educative processes within a university, but it can be argued that it ought to extend into the examination of the output consequences of journalism teaching. This would amount to not just fitness for purpose, but also achievement of purpose – and the latter including a creative and critical impact.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

"I don't think it's the whole story!": a case study of the linguistic face management strategies of dyslexic adults

  • Authors: Henderson, Layle
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Dyslexia Case studies Dyslexia -- Social aspects Dyslexia -- Psychological aspects Politeness (Linguistics) Sociolinguistics
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2347 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002629
  • Description: Dyslexia is primarily a neurobiological disorder and much research has been conducted on this (see for example Coltheart 1996; Shaywitz and Shaywitz 2000 and 2004). However, little has been done which investigates the social construction of dyslexia. Because dyslexia affects reading, writing and spelling to varying degrees, although it may originate from genetic inheritance, it manifests itself in social spheres. Brown and Levinson‟s (1987) Face Theory states that people use strategies to minimise the damage to the positive face of others. My research focuses on how dyslexic individuals use linguistic strategies to minimise potential face-threatening acts or FTAs against themselves and in so doing preserve their own positive face. Using elements of Face Theory and APPRAISAL I constructed a typology reflecting these linguistic face management devices of adults with dyslexia. With this research I hope to contribute to the field in an innovative and meaningful manner through an exploration of the linguistic face management strategies used in the management of positive face.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

"Rape and cable theft on the increase": interrogating Grocott's Mail coverage of rape through participatory action research

"Tell me how you read and I will tell you who you are": children's literature and moral development

  • Authors: Van der Nest, Megan
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Children's literature -- Philosophy Children's literature -- Moral and ethical aspects Children's literature -- History and criticism Literature and morals Ethics in literature Reader-response criticism Moral conditions in literature Literature -- Study and teaching
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2722 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002852
  • Description: It is a common intuition that we can learn something of moral importance from literature, and one of the ways in which we teach our children about morality is through stories. In selecting books for children to read a primary concern is often the effect that the moral content of the story will have on the morality of the child reader. In this thesis I argue in order to take advantage of the contribution that literature can make to moral development, we need to teach children to read in a particular way. As a basis for this argument I use an account of moral agency that places emphasis on the development of moral skills - the ability to critically assess moral rules and systems, and the capacity to perceive and respond to the particulars of individual situations and to choose the right course of action in each - rather than on any particular kind of moral content. In order to make the most of the contribution that literature can make to the development of these skills, we need to teach children to immerse themselves in the story, rather than focusing on literary criticism. I argue that, contrary to the standard view of literary criticism as the only form of protection against possible negative effects, an immersed reading will help to prevent the child reader from taking any moral claims made in the story out of context, and so provide some measure of protection against possible negative moral effects of the story. Finally I argue that there are certain kinds of stories - recognisable by features that contribute to a high literary quality - that will enrich the experience of an immersed reading, and will therefore make a greater contribution to moral development than others.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

"The secret rapport between photography and philosophy" considering the South African photographic apparatus through Veleko, Rose, Goldblatt, Ractliffe and Mofokeng

  • Authors: Mountain, Michelle Fiona
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Veleko, Nontsikelelo Rose, Tracy Goldblatt, David Ractliffe, Jo 1961- Mofokeng, Santu, 1956- Photographers -- South Africa Photography -- Philosophy Photography -- Social aspects -- South Africa Apartheid in art Documentary photography -- South Africa Space (Art) -- South Africa South Africa Social conditions
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2415 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002211
  • Description: This thesis is an attempt at understanding South African photography through the lens of Nontsikelelo “Lolo” Veleko, Tracy Rose, David Goldblatt, Jo Ractliffe and Santu Mofokeng. Through the works discussed this thesis intends to unpack photography as a complex medium similar to that of language and text, as well as attempt to understand how exploring South African experiences and spaces through the lens of photography shapes and mediates them. Furthermore it also attempts to understand how these experiences and spaces conversely affect the discourse of photography or at the very least our perception of it. Through these photographers and their works it is hoped that ultimately the interconnected relationship of exchanging codes that takes place between photography and society will be highlighted. The example of connectivity or dialogue I believe exists between the medium of photography and the physical/social and psychological spaces it photographs will be mediated through Deleuze and Guattari‟s conception of “the wasp and the orchid” where “the wasp becomes the orchid, just as the orchid becomes the wasp...an exchanging or capturing of each other‟s codes”. Other theorists I will be looking at include Vilém Flusser, focusing in particular on his book Towards a Philosophy of Photography, as well as Susan Sontag, Roland Barthes and others. The main aims and objectives of this thesis are to understand the veracity of the documentary image and whether or not the image harbours any objective truth, as well as whether truth, if it can truly be said to exist in the world, resides between the camera and the seen world. This dichotomy is further complicated by the matter of subject-hood and technical and philosophical understandings of the camera as an apparatus. At no point do I aim to be conclusive, rather it is hoped that by developing the dynamic tension between the theory and the image world that I will be able to bring fresh insight into the reading of a changing South African condition and the subject position of the photographer in relation to this condition.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

'I won't be squeezed into someone else's frame': Stories of supervisor selection

  • Authors: Harrison, Liz , McKenna, Sioux , Searle, Ruth
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/187395 , vital:44629 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC15100"
  • Description: Using a collection of stories from a group of women who belong to a PhD support group, this article tracks the issue of choosing a supervisor. These women are all academics and therefore had some claim to an "insider" status but as novice researchers they were also "outsiders". Their discussions around how and why they chose their supervisors highlight issues often underplayed or ignored in textbooks on postgraduate supervision. In particular, this article examines issues of knowledge, embodied subjectivity and power by following three questions that arise from the data : whose knowing is important; who should I be, and whose PhD is it?
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  • Date Issued: 2010

'n Eenvormige dissiplinestelsel vir skole in die Bitou 10-streek

  • Authors: Freislich, Maria Francina
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: School discipline -- South Africa , School boards -- South Africa
  • Language: Afrikaans
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:9506 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1236 , School discipline -- South Africa , School boards -- South Africa
  • Description: Discipline in the government schools in South Africa has deteriorated during the past fifteen years. There are many different reasons for that. The aim of this study was to develop a uniform programme of discipline which can be used for application in all ten schools in the Bitou area. To reach this aim, the following procedures were followed: • A study has been done regarding the supporting role of the Bitou 10 foundation in the designing and management of a uniform discipline program. • A summary of the disciplinary problems in government schools has been given with possible reasons why discipline has deteriorated. • A study has also been made of various programs of discipline which have been used in various countries in the past. Certain aspects of those programmes have been used in this study to compile an effective programme of discipline for all the schools in the Bitou area. • Criteria for a positive discipline program have been put together. This study has been done in the Plettenberg Bay area. This area has ten schools which include primary- and high schools, single medium- and double medium schools, multi-cultural and mono-cultural schools and also some schools which have hostels. This study showed that not all schools in the Bitou area follow the same disciplinary programme. This study also makes recommendations on the possible implementing of such a uniform system of discipline. This study does not only show what the role is of the principal and teachers responsible for discipline, but also indicates the role and task of the parents and the community. Research on the application of discipline can never end because new ideas and methods will always be found to create an ideal programme in order to make the process more effective.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

'n Vergelykende studie van Ingrid Winterbach se Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat (2006) en Etienne van Heerden se Asbesmiddag (2007)

  • Authors: Strydom, Gideon Louwrens
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Winterbach, Ingrid. Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat , Van Heerden, Etienne 1954- . Asbesmiddag , Afrikaans literature -- 21st century -- History and criticism
  • Language: Afrikaans
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:8449 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1419 , Winterbach, Ingrid. Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat , Van Heerden, Etienne 1954- . Asbesmiddag , Afrikaans literature -- 21st century -- History and criticism
  • Description: The focus of this dissertation is a comparative study of Ingrid Winterbach's Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat (2006) [The Book of Happenstance (2008)] and Etienne van Heerden's Asbesmiddag (2007) [Asbestos Afternoon] within an intertextual and socio-political framework. Both novels show strong links to the literary traditions of which they form part through a high degree of intertextuality with literary predecessors (intertexts from Afrikaans and South African English literature, but also classical intertexts emanating from the larger field of world literature). Both texts exhibit an overt metatextual consciousness. The protagonists in each of these novels are portrayed as novelists. One of the main aims of the study is to interrogate the implied ideological perspectives in both novels - the nature and extent of the reflection of the current South African socio-political system. Winterbach and Van Heerden‘s texts may both be read as fictionalised forms of "protest" against the extrinsic South African socio-political order. These forms of protest focus on the inevitable change from one stage/era to the next, the old South Africa to the new, in a quest for artistic (creative writing and literature) and cultural (Afrikaner identity and language) survival. Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat (2006) and Asbesmiddag (2007) contribute to contemporary discourse by offering implied ideological insights into specific socio-political and metatextual phenomena. This is done in fictional guise - through the characters populating the fictional world of the novel, and also through the authors' implied ideological views. Both novels are intensely concerned with language issues, as well as the status of literature as cultural product. On the metatextual level theoretical issues concerning literature are in the focus, such as the precarious position of the novelist (and the academic) in contemporary South African society, and the status of literature and Afrikaans as a minority language. The purpose of this comparative study is to look at the metatextual, ideological and linguistic aspects of the novels through an extensive intertextual study, in order to interrogate and illustrate the socio-political discourse embedded in them.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

'Rich man poor man': inter-household and community factors influencing the use of wild plant resources amongst rural households in South Africa

  • Authors: Cocks, Michelle L , Bangay, Lindsey , Shackleton, Charlie M , Wiersum, K Freerk
  • Date: 2010
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141211 , vital:37953 , DOI: 10.3843/SusDev.15.3:3
  • Description: Biodiversity is recognised as an integral part of people's daily livelihoods. This study therefore aims to understand the use of NTFPs at an intricate level by determining what role these resources fulfil in six rural villages and 1011 households' livelihoods. It examines how the use of NTFPs are influenced by intra-household variables, such as wealth and gender, and inter-community variables, such as accessibility to the natural resource. The results reveal that approximately 4453 kg of wild material is used annually per household, of which 1598 kg is used for cultural purposes. The influence of vegetation type and differences between villages are statistically more significant than inter-household variables. At an inter-household level, an increase in the financial status of households did not result in a decrease in the use of natural resources, nor in the quantity of material used.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

'Visible hectares, vanishing livelihoods': a case of the fast track land reform and resettlement programme in Southern Matabeleland- Zimbabwe

  • Authors: Mabhena, Clifford
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Sustainable development -- Zimbabwe , Rural poor -- Zimbabwe , Rural development -- Zimbabwe , Land tenure -- Zimbabwe , Land reform beneficiaries -- Zimbabwe , Livestock -- Breeding -- Zimbabwe , Land settlement -- Zimbabwe
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , D Soc Sc
  • Identifier: vital:11423 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1001193 , Sustainable development -- Zimbabwe , Rural poor -- Zimbabwe , Rural development -- Zimbabwe , Land tenure -- Zimbabwe , Land reform beneficiaries -- Zimbabwe , Livestock -- Breeding -- Zimbabwe , Land settlement -- Zimbabwe
  • Description: Land reform has been going on in Zimbabwe since the state attained independence from Britain in 1980 as a way of enhancing agrarian livelihoods for the formerly marginalized people. This study argues that, the Land Reform Programme in Southern Matabeleland rather than enhancing agrarian livelihoods, well established livelihoods have actually been drastically reduced. This has been exacerbated by the state programme of land re-distribution that prescribes a „one size fits all‟ model. Yet this is contrary to the thinking in development discourse that equitable land distribution increases rural livelihoods. As a way of gathering data this study utilized ethnography and case study methodologies. I spent two years interacting and interviewing purposively selected new resettles, communal residents, migrant workers and gold panners in this region. Results from this study confirm that, land reform has greatly reduced livelihoods, particularly agrarian livelihoods. Also, this research has found out that, the majority of residents now depend on off-farm livelihoods such as gold panning and migration to neighbouring South Africa. This thesis therefore concludes that, despite a massive expropriation of former commercial farms, people of Southern Matabeleland have not benefitted much as the village settlements (A1) and the small size farms (A2) have not received support from this live-stocking community. People in this region pin their hopes on livestock rearing to sustain their livelihoods and this study therefore recommends that, any agrarian transformation programmes should address the issues that promote livestock rearing
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  • Date Issued: 2010

25 years of training doctors at WSU: how have we responded to the 1983 UNITRA Council Guidelines?

  • Authors: Kwizera, E N
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Medical education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Clinical medical -- Teaching and learning
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Lectures
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/801 , vital:29826
  • Description: More importantly, Mr VC, Sir, some relatively more recent improvisations have been in the roles I have played in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the Problem-based, and Community-based MB ChB curriculum at the then UNITRA (and now WSU) from 1989 to date4-33; particularly my successful introduction of ‘one tutor per tutorial group’ in our programme8,10,12,14. As I will elaborate in due course, one of the secrets of our success as a medical school has been the adaptation of ideas and practices from diverse parts of the world to make them fit in our settings; and needless to say, this has involved a lot of improvisation.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

31P NMR kinetic study of the tandem cleavage of phosphonate esters by bromotrimethylsilane

  • Authors: Conibear, Anne C , Lobb, Kevin A , Kaye, Perry T
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/449304 , vital:74810 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tet.2010.08.058"
  • Description: 1H and 31P NMR methods have been used to access rate constants and activation parameters for each of the consecutive second-order silylation reactions involved in the overall transformation (1a→3a→4a), while computational optimisation of the rate constants obtained from the initial, linear phase of each reaction has permitted an excellent fit with the experimental data for the entire course of the reaction.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

A biochemical study of the antidiabetic and anticogulant effects of Tulbaghia Violacea

  • Authors: Davison, Candice
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Medicinal plants -- South Africa , Diabetes -- Alternative treatment -- South Africa , Violaceae -- Therapeutic use -- South Africa , Anticoagulants (Medicine) , Plants -- Analysis
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:10311 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1523 , Medicinal plants -- South Africa , Diabetes -- Alternative treatment -- South Africa , Violaceae -- Therapeutic use -- South Africa , Anticoagulants (Medicine) , Plants -- Analysis
  • Description: Secondary metabolites derived from plants, especially those used by traditional healers, are at the forefront of new drug development in combating diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Garlic is employed in indigenous medicine all over the world for the treatment of a variety of diseases. Dietary garlic has been recognized for its beneficial health effects. In particular, garlic consumption has been correlated with (i) reduction of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and cancer, (ii) stimulation of immune function, (iii) enhanced detoxification of foreign compounds, (iv) hepatoprotection, (v) antimicrobial effects, (vi) antioxidant effects, and most importantly (vii) its hypoglycemic and anticoagulant properties. Due to these beneficial properties, garlic and its closely related genera which includes Tulbaghia violacea, may be useful as coadjuvant therapy in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and some of its physiological complications. The aim of this study was to determine if T. violacea has antidiabetic and anticoagulant properties. This was performed in vitro using both aqueous and organic extracts of the roots, leaves and bulbs. An organic extract was able to improve glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in INS-1 pancreatic β-cells and glucose uptake in Chang liver cells. The BO extract had no effect on the glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 an adipose cell line and reduced glucose utilisation in C2C12, a skeletal muscle cell line. Some of the properties displayed by T. violacea in this study are consistent with those found in similar studies with garlic extracts. It was observed that the BO extract increased the membrane potential and Glut-2 expression in INS-1 cells cultured at hyperglycemic levels, however, at normoglycemic levels a reduction was observed. The oxygen consumption increased at both glycemic levels due to treatment with the BO extract. Platelets were exposed to the extracts to determine their effects upon platelet aggregation, adhesion and protein secretion. Since the BO extract displayed the highest potential at inhibiting platelet aggregation and adhesion. A rat model was used in ex vivo studies to determine if the extract exhibited the same effect in a physiological model. It was noted that the BO extract exhibited a higher degree of inhibition on platelet aggregation and adhesion than the positive control, aspirin. The BO extract reduced clotting times in the prothrombin time (PT) test, but prolonged the clotting time in the actived partial thromboplastin time (APTT) assay in the ex vivo model; however, it had no affect on these clotting assays in the in vitro model using human blood. The BO extract increased the D-dimer and Fibrinogen-C levels in the in vitro model, but had no effect on the D-dimer concentrations and lowered the Fibrinogen-C levels in the ex vivo model. The active compounds in the extract remain to be elucidated.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

A bioinorganic investigation of some metal complexes of the Schiff base, N,N'-bis(3-methoxysalicylaldimine)propan-2-ol

  • Authors: Mopp, Estelle
  • Date: 2010 , 2012-04-13
  • Subjects: Schiff bases , Bioinorganic chemistry , Metal complexes , Transition metal complexes , Transition metals , Cancer -- Chemotherapy , Ligands -- Toxicity , Antineoplastic agents
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:4413 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006768 , Schiff bases , Bioinorganic chemistry , Metal complexes , Transition metal complexes , Transition metals , Cancer -- Chemotherapy , Ligands -- Toxicity , Antineoplastic agents
  • Description: This thesis includes the synthesis, characterisation, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Cu(II)-, Co(II)- and Co(III) complexes with N,N'-bis(3- methoxysalicylaldimine)propan-2-ol, 2-OH-oVANPN. The Schiff base ligand, 2-OHoVANPN, is derived from o-vanillin and 1,3-diaminopropan-2-ol. The o-vanillin condensed with 1,3-diaminopropan-2-ol in a 2:1 molar ratio yields this potential tetraor pentadentate ligand. The complexes synthesized are tetra (or penta or hexa) coordinated. Formation of the complexes is symbolized as follows:- MX₂ + 2-OH-oVANPN (2:1) -> [M(2-OH-oVANPN)Xn] + HnX MX₂ + 2-OH-oVANPN (2:1) -> [Mn(2-OH-oVANPN)OH] + H₂X₂ MX₂ + (o-vanillin : diaminopropanol) (1:1) -> [M(1:1)X₂] MX₂ + (o-vanillin : diaminopropanol) (1:1) -> [M₃(1:1)X₄] M = Cu(II), Co(II) or Co(III); X = Cl; n = 1, 2. Their structural features have been deduced from their elemental analytical data, IR spectral data, and electronic spectral data. With the exception of {Cu₃(C₁₁H₁₄N₂O₃)(Cl)₄(H₂O)₆}(A4), the Cu(II) complexes were monomeric with 2-OH-oVANPN acting as a tetradentate ligand. A binuclear Co(II) complex, [Co₂(C₁₉H₁₉N₂O₅)(OH)] (B1), was synthesised and the rest of the Co(II) and Co(III) complexes were monomeric with chloride ions coordinating to the metal centre in some cases. Electronic data suggest that the cobalt(II) complexes have octahedral geometries and the copper(II) complexes have square planar structures – Co(III) is likely to be octahedral. Thermal analyses, which included the copper-block-method for determining sublimation temperatures, revealed that some copper(II) and cobalt(II) complexes are hygroscopic and sublime at 200 °C and below. DSC analyses of the Cu(II) complexes gave exotherms around 300 °C for complexes K[Cu(C₁₉H₂₀N₂O₅)(OH)]·2H₂O (A1) and [Cu(C₁₁H15N₂O₃)(Cl)₂]·2H₂O (A2) and above 400 °C for [Cu(C₁₁H₁₆N₂O₃)(Cl)₂] (A3) and {Cu₃(C₁₁H₁₄N₂O₃)(Cl)₄(H₂O)₆} (A4). Antioxidant studies were carried out against the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH·). The cobalt(II) complex, [Co₂(C₁₉H₁₉N₂O₅)(OH)] (B1), which was synthesized in the presence of KOH, had no antioxidant activity, whilst the other cobalt(II) complexes, [Co(C₁₇H₁₇N₂O₅(Cl))]·1½H₂O (B2), [Co(C₁₉H₂₂N₂O₅) (Cl)₂]·5½H₂O (B3) and [Co(C₁₉H₂₂N₂O₅)(Cl)₂]·5½H₂O (B4), which were synthesised in the absence of KOH, demonstrated antioxidant activity. The latter complexes are candidates for cancer cell line testing, while [Cu(C₁₁H₁₆N₂O₃)(Cl)₂] (A3), {Cu₃(C₁₁H₁₄N₂O₃)(Cl)₄(H₂O)₆} (A4), [Co(C₁₉H₂₁N₂O₅)(Cl)₂ ]·5H₂O (C2) and [Co(C₁₉H₂₀N₂O₅)(Cl)]·3H₂O (C3) may show anticancer activity through possible hydrolysis products. Most of the complexes synthesized displayed antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans. The results indicated that complexes [Cu(C₁₁H₁₆N₂O₃)(Cl)₂](A3), [Co(C₁₉H₂₂N₂O₅)(Cl)₂]·5½H₂O (B3) and [Co(C₁₉H₂₁N₂O₅)(Cl)₂ ]·5H₂O (C2) are active against the Gram-negative Ps. aeruginosa and that the ligand, 2-OH-oVANPN, did not have any activity. The same trend was observed with 2-OH-oVANPN, {Cu₃(C₁₁H₁₄N₂O₃)(Cl)4(H₂O)₆} (A4) and [Co(C₁₉H₂₀N₂O₅)(Cl)]·3H₂O (C3) against the Gram-positive S. aureus. As for activity against E. coli and C. albicans, some complexes showed more activity than the ligand. There is an observed trend here that the metal complexes are more active (toxic) than the corresponding ligand, which is in agreement with Tweedy’s chelation theory.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

A case study : exploring a DVD driven approach for teaching and learning mathematics, at secondary school level, with a framework of blended learning

  • Authors: Padayachee, Pragashni
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Matehmatics -- Study and Teaching (Secondary) -- Audio-visual aids , Matehmatics -- Study and Teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:10504 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1384 , Matehmatics -- Study and Teaching (Secondary) -- Audio-visual aids , Matehmatics -- Study and Teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
  • Description: Post-apartheid South Africa is witnessing an education crisis of significant proportions. The new outcomes-based education system has failed to deliver and universities are suffering the consequences of under-preparation of learners for tertiary studies especially in mathematics. The educator corps is lacking and it has become common practice for universities to deploy augmented programmes in mathematics for secondary school learners in the surrounding areas. This thesis describes a particular approach of blended learning, devised for the Incubator School Project (ISP), an initiative of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The defining feature of this blended approach is that it incorporates DVD technology, which offers an affordable and accessible option for the particular group of learners and the schools they attend. The thesis poses the research question: How did the use of the DVD approach within a blended learning environment support the learning of mathematics? This case study explores the particular blended approach and reports six fold on the approach – qualitatively based firstly on a questionnaire completed by learners and secondly on interviews of learners, thirdly on the facilitators reports, fourthly quantitatively on learner performance before and after the intervention. Fifthly six schools are used as a case study where the mathematics performance of the learners who participated in the ISP is compared to those who did not participate in the ISP. Finally the scope of blending of this model is evaluated by means of a radar chart, adapted from an existing radar measure. This research revealed that using the DVD approach within a blended learning environment did lead to an improvement in learners perceptions about mathematics, an improvement in the manner in which they learned mathematics, an extension in their mathematics knowledge and provided learners with a supportive environment in which to learn mathematics. The elements which supported learning in this approach are presented. The findings of the study suggest that this approach impacted favourably on the mathematics learning and enhanced the mathematics learning and performance of these learners. Recommendations are offered for practice, teachers and schools and for further research possibilities.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

A chemo-enzymatic process for the production of beta-thymidine, a key intermediate in antiretrovirol manufacture

  • Authors: Gordon, Gregory Ernest Robert
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: HIV infections -- Treatment -- South Africa , HIV infections -- South Africa -- Prevention , Antiretroviral agents
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DTech
  • Identifier: vital:10423 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1016217
  • Description: The socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS on South Africa has resulted in lower gross domestic product, loss of skills in key sectors such as education, and increased health-care costs in providing access to treatment. Currently active pharmaceutical ingredients (API’s) such as stavudine (d4T) and azidothymidine (AZT) are imported from India and China, while formulation is conducted locally. A strategy was initiated between CSIR Biosciences and LIFElab under the auspices of Arvir Technologies to investigate the feasibility of local antiretroviral manufacture (d4T and AZT) or the manufacture of a key intermediate such as β- thymidine (dT). Several advantages associated with successful implementation of this strategy include ensuring a local supply of API’s, thus reducing reliance on procurement from foreign sources and reducing the effect of foreign exchange rate fluctuations on providing cost effective access to treatment. A local supply source would also reduce the imports and thus aid the balance of payments deficit, and in addition to this, provide stimulus in the local pharmaceutical manufacturing industry (which has been in decline for several decades), resulting in increased skills and employment opportunities. This thesis describes the development of a superior chemo-enzymatic process for the production of β-thymidine (72 percent yield, prior to isolation), a key intermediate in the preparation of anti-retrovirals. Alternative processes based purely on chemical or bioprocess transformations to prepare either 5-methyluridine (5-MU) or dT suffer from several disadvantages: lengthy transformations due to protection/deprotection strategies, low selectivties and product yields (30 percent in the chemical process) and isolation of the product from dilute process streams requiring the use of large uneconomical reactors (bioprocesss). This contributes significantly to the cost of d4T and AZT manufacture. Our novel chemoenzymatic process comprises of a biocatalytic reaction for the production of 5-MU, with subsequent chemical transformation into dT (3 steps) negating and circumventing the limitations of the chemical or bioprocess routes. During the course of this project development, the β-thymidine selling price declined from 175 $/kg (2005) to 100 $/kg (2008). However, the process described in this work is still competitive based on the current β- thymidine selling price of 100 $/kg. The process economics show that with further optimization and increasing the isolated dT yield from 70 percent to 90 percent, the variable cost decreases from 136 $/kg to 110 $/kg. The increase in isolated yield is highly probable, based on solubility data of β-thymidine. The decrease in β-thymidine selling price and technological improvement in dT manufacture should translate into lower API manufacture costs and more cost effective access to treatment. Our novel biocatalytic process producing 5-MU uses a coupled enzyme system employing PNP, Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase and PyNP, Pyrimidine Nucleoside Phosphorylase. The overall transglycosylation reaction may be decoupled into the phosphorolysis reaction (PNP) and synthesis reaction (PyNP). During the phosphorolysis reaction, guanosine is converted into guanine and ribose-1-phosphate (R-1-P) in the presence of PNP enzyme. The reaction intermediate R-1-P is then coupled to thymine in the presence of PyNP enzyme during the synthesis reaction, producing 5-MU. The process was scaled up from lab-scale to bench-scale (10 - 20 L) and demonstrated to be robust and reproducible. This is evident from the average guanosine conversion (94.7 percent ± 2.03) and 5-MU yield (88.2 percent ± 6.21) and mole balance (104 percent ± 7.61) which were obtained at bench-scale (3 replicates, 10 L). The reaction was carried out at reactor productivities of between 7 – 11 g.L-1.h-1. The integration of the biocatalytic process and chemical processes was successfully carried out, showing that 5-MU produced using our novel biocatalytic process behaved similarly to commercially available 5- MU (ex. Dayang Chemicals, China). A PCT patent application (Ref. No. P44422PC01) on this chemo-enzymatic process has been filed and currently public private partnerships are being explored through Arvir Technologies to evaluate and validate this technology at one ton scale.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

A combination of platinum anticancer drugs and mangiferin causes increased efficacy in cancer cell lines

  • Authors: Du Plessis-Stoman, Debbie
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Cancer -- Chemotherapy , Antineoplastic agents , Platinum compounds -- Therapeutic use , Cancer cells
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:10338 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1016160
  • Description: This thesis mainly deals with some biochemical aspects regarding the efficacy of novel platinum anticancer compounds alone and in combination with mangiferin, as part of a broader study in which both chemistry and biochemistry are involved. Various novel diamine and N-S donor chelate compounds of platinum II and IV have been developed in which factors such as stereochemistry, ligand exchange rate and biocompatibility were considered as additional parameters. In the first order testing, each of these compounds was tested with reference to their “killing” potential by comparing their rate of killing, over a period of 48 hours with those of cisplatin and oxaliplatin. Numerous novel compounds were tested in this way, using the MTT cell viability assay and the three cancer cell lines MCF7, HT29 and HeLa. Although only a few could be regarded as equal to or even better than cisplatin, CPA7 and oxaliplatin, the testing of these compounds on cancer cells provided useful knowledge for the further development of novel compounds. Three of the better compounds, namely Yol 25, Yol 29.1 and Mar 4.1.4 were selected for further studies, together with oxaliplatin and CPA7 as positive controls, to obtain more detailed knowledge of their anticancer action, both alone and when applied in combination with mangiferin. In addition to the above, resistant cells were produced for each of the three different cell lines tested and all the selected compounds, both in the presence and absence of mangiferin. The effects of these treatments on the activation of NFĸB when applied to normal and resistant cell lines were also investigated. All the compounds induced apoptosis in the cell lines tested as well as alter the DNA cycle at one or more phase. Additionally, combination of these compounds with mangiferin enhanced the above-mentioned effects. Mangiferin decreases the IC50 values of the platinum drugs by up to 3.4 times and, although mangiferin alone did not induce cell cycle arrest, the presence of mangiferin in combination with oxaliplatin and Yol 25 shows an earlier and greatly enhanced delay in the S-phase, while cells treated with CPA7, Yol 29.1 and Mar 4.1.4 in combination with mangiferin showed a later, but greatly enhanced delay in the S-phase. It was also found that mangiferin acts as an NFĸB inhibitor when applied in combination with these drugs, which, in turn, reduces the occurrence of resistance in the cell lines. Resistance to oxaliplatin was counteracted by the combination with mangiferin in HeLa and HT29, but not in MCF7 cells, while resistance to CPA7 was only counteracted in the MCF7 cell line. Yol 25 and Mar 4.1.4 did not seem to induce resistance in HeLa and MCF7 cells, but did in HT29 cells, whereas Yol 29.1 caused resistance in HeLa and HT29 cells, but not in MCF7 cells. Finally, an effort was made to evaluate the different compounds by comparing them with respect to their properties relating to anticancer action with and without the addition of mangiferin.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

A comparison between the written English of deaf and hearing children in the Nelson Mandela Metropole

  • Authors: Weir, Carolyn Louise
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Deaf children -- Education -- South Africa , English language -- Written English
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:8361 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1083 , Deaf children -- Education -- South Africa , English language -- Written English
  • Description: The main purposes of this thesis are to investigate the difference between the written English of deaf children and the written English of hearing children and to make recommendations on how to improve the writing of deaf children. In order to achieve this goal, both quantitative and qualitative research was done. The comparison of the writing of deaf and hearing children relies on quantitative research while the recommendations are based on qualitative analysis. The dissertation is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter discusses the problem, the significance of the research, the purpose of the study, the background to the problem and the theoretical framework. This chapter indicates the prevalence of deafness worldwide and in South Africa and its negative impact on the writing abilities of children. The second chapter provides a literature review on the theory behind reading and writing, with specific emphasis on emergent literacy and its relevance to the language acquisition and print language learning of deaf children. Another aspect of this chapter is the effect of different aspects of deafness on language acquisition and learning. The chapter also highlights the challenges for deaf children in South Africa and debates regarding the language of instruction that should be used to teach deaf children writing/reading, as well as arguments concerning bottom-up, top-down, and interactive approaches to writing. The third chapter provides the overall philosophical framework for the quantitative and qualitative research as well as the methodology used for the qualitative research. This is followed by the results of the quantitative research and a discussion of these results in Chapter 4. The fifth chapter is in the form of a second literature review that contains recommendations for improving the writing of deaf children. Following this, in Chapter 6, is a discussion of some of the theory behind interview interaction, as well as an analysis of how to develop a valid study. The researcher also sets out the interview structure. The seventh chapter contains a discussion of the findings of the interview to see if they confirm the findings in Chapter 5, as well as overall conclusions about assisting deaf children with their writing, a reflection on the study as a whole and suggestions for future research. This study argues that in order for deaf children in South Africa to develop their writing, immediate government assistance is necessary in order to implement countrywide newborn hearing screening, followed by medical and/or language-based ii intervention to minimise the impact of deafness on the language and writing abilities of deaf children. This is an essential foundation from which parents and teachers can build and play a key role in helping their children reach age-appropriate levels of written English.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

A comparison of ecosystem health and services provided by subtropical thicket in and around the Bathurst commonage

  • Authors: Stickler, Meredith Mercedes
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Ecosystem services -- South Africa -- Bathurst , Ecosystem management , Commons -- South Africa -- Bathurst , Natural resources, Communal -- South Africa -- Bathurst , Land use, Rural -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Ecosystem health -- South Africa -- Bathurst
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:4766 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007169 , Ecosystem services -- South Africa -- Bathurst , Ecosystem management , Commons -- South Africa -- Bathurst , Natural resources, Communal -- South Africa -- Bathurst , Land use, Rural -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Ecosystem health -- South Africa -- Bathurst
  • Description: Municipal commonage in South Africa offers previously disadvantaged, landless residents access to both direct ecosystem goods and services (EGS) that provide additional income options and indirect social and cultural services. Given that EGS production is a function of ecosystem health, it is imperative that commonage land be managed to maximize current local benefit streams while ensuring future options through the maintenance of natural ecosystem functions. The payments for ecosystem services (PES) model potentially offers an opportunity for contributing to local economic development while providing fiscal incentives for environmentally sustainable natural resource management. PES depends on the demonstration of quantifiable changes in EGS delivery due to improvement in or maintenance of high ecosystem health that are a verifiable result of modifications in management behavior. This thesis therefore compared spatial variations in (i) ecosystem health and (ii) nine direct and indirect EGS values derived from natural resources on the Bathurst municipal commonage and neighboring Waters Meeting Nature Reserve (NR) to explore how different land use intensities affect ecosystem health and the resulting provision of EGS. The results indicate that the total economic value of annually produced EGS on the study site is nearly R 9.8 million (US$ 1.2 million), with a standing stock of natural capital worth some R 28 million (US$ 3.4 million). Nearly 45% of the total annual production is attributed to Waters Meeting NR, with roughly 34% from the low use zone of the commonage and the remaining 22% from the high use zone. Of the total annual production value on the study site, roughly 59% is derived from indirect (non-consumptive) uses of wildlife for the study site as a whole, though this proportion varies from 25% in the high use zone of the commonage to 94% on Waters Meeting NR. The two largest annual production values on the study site derive from ecotourism (R 3.5 million, US$ 0.4 million) and livestock production (R 2.6 million, US$ 0.3 million), suggesting that while increased production of indirect EGS could generate significant additional revenues, especially on Waters Meeting NR and in the low use zone of the commonage, direct (consumptive) EGS will likely remain an important component of land use on the commonage. A PES project to support the adoption of silvo-pastoral practices could provide positive incentives for improved land use practices on the commonage and potentially be financed by conservation-friendly residents of the Kowie River catchment and/or increased ecotourism revenues from Waters Meeting NR. Allowing carefully designed and monitored local access to natural resources within Waters Meeting NR could also reduce pressure on commonage resources. Together, these approaches could lead to a more sustainable subtropical thicket landscape and ensure that critical natural resources remain available to support local livelihoods in the long-term.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

A comparison of two sampling methods for surveying mammalian herbivore impacts on beetle communities in the canopy of Acacia drepanolobium in Kenya

  • Authors: Kuria, Simon K , Villet, Martin H , Palmer, T M , Stanton, M L
  • Date: 2010
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6860 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011150
  • Description: Even though several methods are used to sample and monitor canopy arthropods, there are no studies to indicate which of these methods is more effective.We compared the efficacy of the beating and canopy fogging methods in collecting beetles that inhabit Acacia drepanolobium (Harms) tree canopies at Mpala Research Centre in Laikipia district, Kenya. These trees grow naturally on the black cotton soils of the Laikipia ecosystem, accounting for more than 98%of the overstorey at the study site, and are important for local cattle and wildlife production. The ultimate objective of this study was to determine the effect of differential grazing and browsing pressure from large mammalian herbivores on the beetle communities of A. drepanolobium. Seven hundred and twenty trees 1.0–2.5 m tall were sampled using each method, making a total of 1440 trees. Sampling using the two methods was done concurrently and repeated quarterly over a period of 14 months. In total, 4320 individuals were collected, 1456 by beating and 2864 by fogging. The methods jointly yielded beetle specimens from 13 families and 55 morphospecies. Fogging collected significantly more beetle morphospecies than beating, and there was a significant interaction effect between method and sampling date. We found that numerically Anthicidae and Curculionidae responded positively to the presence of cattle.We also found that Anthicidae sp. A and Myllocerus sp. A numbers significantly increased in plots where livestock were grazed.
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  • Date Issued: 2010
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