Responding to iconic images of risk through reflexive and narrative enquiry represented in a stratified text for environmental education readers
- Authors: Murphy, Mary
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Sustainability -- Study and teaching , Environmental education -- Philosophy , Environmental degradation -- Study and teaching , Environmental degradation -- Philosophy , Reflection (Philosophy) , Archer, Margaret S (Margaret Scotford). Structure, agency, and the internal conversation
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96768 , vital:31318
- Description: This thesis presents a stratified textual strategy to represent meaning developed through reflexive and narrative enquiry of environmental risk. Meaning that emerged in responses to iconic images of risk. Umberto Eco cautioned that iconic images over time become conventional taking over from that which they represent. Representations of risk become embedded through cultural coding. Semiotic theory provided access to the contextual and cultural content of environmental education as experienced during professional work as a radio presenter of “Environmental Matters”, as an environmental educator and activist. Methodological rigour was applied through the application of Margaret Archer's theory of the internal conversation and use of an online content management system. Both the reflexive tool of the internal conversation and the textual mechanism of the blog encouraged commitment to Paul Hart's criteria of trustworthiness and authenticity in the process of building the semiotic structure of the PhD. The Internal Conversation was used as a mediating tool in the PhD process and is presented in practice. Rethinking environmental risk from other species' perspectives through imagined experience was achieved through narrative enquiry. A noted anthropocentric limitation of the inability to interview animals for their experience of human-imposed risk was mitigated through representing the imagined, possible perspectives through story, which invites the reader to join the meaning-making process and open up discussions for and about environmental issues and action. This noted anthropocentrism was evident in debates among the characters about violence and non-violence as a conditioned theme and topic discussed in previous academic research about terrorism in divided societies. The story illustrates how the main character, a penguin called Polo, navigates through emerging meaning within a structure that confronts him with choices that end with a decision to become an agent for change. This story is a narrative example of the morphogenetic process. The multi-textual strategy presents possible methods for the exploration of risk (Vol. 1), reflexivity (Vol. 2) and representation (Vol. 3) for the application and contribution in/to environmental education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Murphy, Mary
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Sustainability -- Study and teaching , Environmental education -- Philosophy , Environmental degradation -- Study and teaching , Environmental degradation -- Philosophy , Reflection (Philosophy) , Archer, Margaret S (Margaret Scotford). Structure, agency, and the internal conversation
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96768 , vital:31318
- Description: This thesis presents a stratified textual strategy to represent meaning developed through reflexive and narrative enquiry of environmental risk. Meaning that emerged in responses to iconic images of risk. Umberto Eco cautioned that iconic images over time become conventional taking over from that which they represent. Representations of risk become embedded through cultural coding. Semiotic theory provided access to the contextual and cultural content of environmental education as experienced during professional work as a radio presenter of “Environmental Matters”, as an environmental educator and activist. Methodological rigour was applied through the application of Margaret Archer's theory of the internal conversation and use of an online content management system. Both the reflexive tool of the internal conversation and the textual mechanism of the blog encouraged commitment to Paul Hart's criteria of trustworthiness and authenticity in the process of building the semiotic structure of the PhD. The Internal Conversation was used as a mediating tool in the PhD process and is presented in practice. Rethinking environmental risk from other species' perspectives through imagined experience was achieved through narrative enquiry. A noted anthropocentric limitation of the inability to interview animals for their experience of human-imposed risk was mitigated through representing the imagined, possible perspectives through story, which invites the reader to join the meaning-making process and open up discussions for and about environmental issues and action. This noted anthropocentrism was evident in debates among the characters about violence and non-violence as a conditioned theme and topic discussed in previous academic research about terrorism in divided societies. The story illustrates how the main character, a penguin called Polo, navigates through emerging meaning within a structure that confronts him with choices that end with a decision to become an agent for change. This story is a narrative example of the morphogenetic process. The multi-textual strategy presents possible methods for the exploration of risk (Vol. 1), reflexivity (Vol. 2) and representation (Vol. 3) for the application and contribution in/to environmental education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Rural food security in Mutare District, Zimbabwe, 1947-2010
- Authors: Kusena, Bernard
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Mutare (Zimbabwe) -- History , Zimbabwe -- History , Food security -- Zimbabwe , Poverty -- Zimbabwe , Rural pooer -- Zimbabwe , Crop losses -- Zimbabwe , Food relief -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92865 , vital:30757
- Description: By taking Mutare District as its lens to explore the dynamics of rural food security in Zimbabwe, this thesis assesses the role of the state in tackling hunger among its rural populations. It examines the impact of colonial and post-colonial food policy on efforts to combat food insecurity. The thesis explores the uneasy options pursued by rural communities in response to droughts and other threats of hunger. It identifies and ranks crop failure as the chief culprit to the district’s efforts towards food security. The thesis illustrates the contestations between the state and its rural people over which sustainable approaches to adopt in order to end hunger and how such debates continually shaped policy. It grapples with questions about the various understandings of food security advanced by scholars within the rural African context. It demonstrates, for instance, that the post-colonial state inherited an erstwhile crop production structure which shunned food crops in favour of cash crops. There was obvious bias against local preferences for a robust, home-grown food regime which did not put rural livelihoods at risk of starvation. The thesis also argues that food can be used as an instrument of war as evidenced during the liberation struggle when the vast majority of people residing in rural areas, particularly women and children, were pushed to the edges of survival. In addition, the thesis demonstrates that the infamous Marange diamonds turned out to be a curse rather than a blessing due to the state’s lack of transparency in the beneficiation chain. It concludes by a detailed examination of the political economy of food aid, demonstrating why donors have not succeeded for long to combat hunger in the district. In light of this background, the thesis provides a more nuanced analysis of the whole question of rural food security using archival material, newspapers, government and civil society reports, interviews and field observation. The thesis benefits from the use of a multi-pronged theoretical framework to capture the disparate themes that form the bedrock of this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Kusena, Bernard
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Mutare (Zimbabwe) -- History , Zimbabwe -- History , Food security -- Zimbabwe , Poverty -- Zimbabwe , Rural pooer -- Zimbabwe , Crop losses -- Zimbabwe , Food relief -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92865 , vital:30757
- Description: By taking Mutare District as its lens to explore the dynamics of rural food security in Zimbabwe, this thesis assesses the role of the state in tackling hunger among its rural populations. It examines the impact of colonial and post-colonial food policy on efforts to combat food insecurity. The thesis explores the uneasy options pursued by rural communities in response to droughts and other threats of hunger. It identifies and ranks crop failure as the chief culprit to the district’s efforts towards food security. The thesis illustrates the contestations between the state and its rural people over which sustainable approaches to adopt in order to end hunger and how such debates continually shaped policy. It grapples with questions about the various understandings of food security advanced by scholars within the rural African context. It demonstrates, for instance, that the post-colonial state inherited an erstwhile crop production structure which shunned food crops in favour of cash crops. There was obvious bias against local preferences for a robust, home-grown food regime which did not put rural livelihoods at risk of starvation. The thesis also argues that food can be used as an instrument of war as evidenced during the liberation struggle when the vast majority of people residing in rural areas, particularly women and children, were pushed to the edges of survival. In addition, the thesis demonstrates that the infamous Marange diamonds turned out to be a curse rather than a blessing due to the state’s lack of transparency in the beneficiation chain. It concludes by a detailed examination of the political economy of food aid, demonstrating why donors have not succeeded for long to combat hunger in the district. In light of this background, the thesis provides a more nuanced analysis of the whole question of rural food security using archival material, newspapers, government and civil society reports, interviews and field observation. The thesis benefits from the use of a multi-pronged theoretical framework to capture the disparate themes that form the bedrock of this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Shifting contexts, shifting identities: a realist exploration of transnational mobility, change and identity construction in South African Higher Education expatriates in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
- Authors: Reid, Gillian Janet
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: College teacher mobility , College teacher mobility -- Abū Ẓaby (United Arab Emirates) , College teachers, Foreign -- Abū Ẓaby (United Arab Emirates) , College teachers -- Psychology , Expatriation -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92898 , vital:30760
- Description: Positioned in relation to the globalization of higher education, this realist study is approached from an interest in identity and focuses on nine South African academics professional contexts in South Africa and Abu Dhabi, UAE. As the context of identity formation and emergence is always local, the intention of this research was never to generalize. Rather, in using Bhaskar’s critical realism as its underpinning philosophy, and Archer’s social realism, theories on self, personal and the development and attainment of social identity - her concept of analytical dualism and her morphogenetic framework, this qualitative case study was designed to explore how global and national powers and mechanism effected change in this sub-group of academic’s respective higher education sectors and institutions in post- 1994 South Africa and in Abu Dhabi between 2008 and 2016. The study suggests that participants perceived their academic roles and role-incumbent professional identities to have been negatively impacted by the changes that were implemented in the South African higher education sector as a result the countries reintroduction to the global stage. Their response to become transnational educators in Abu Dhabi’s presented them with conditions that allied their professional experiences of the transformation of South African’s higher education sector. This led to a continued sense of loss of academic agency and powerlessness. This effecting the emergence, through the personal power of reflectivity, combined with discourse and affinity powers and mechanisms, in a social identity that supplanted their academic identities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Reid, Gillian Janet
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: College teacher mobility , College teacher mobility -- Abū Ẓaby (United Arab Emirates) , College teachers, Foreign -- Abū Ẓaby (United Arab Emirates) , College teachers -- Psychology , Expatriation -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92898 , vital:30760
- Description: Positioned in relation to the globalization of higher education, this realist study is approached from an interest in identity and focuses on nine South African academics professional contexts in South Africa and Abu Dhabi, UAE. As the context of identity formation and emergence is always local, the intention of this research was never to generalize. Rather, in using Bhaskar’s critical realism as its underpinning philosophy, and Archer’s social realism, theories on self, personal and the development and attainment of social identity - her concept of analytical dualism and her morphogenetic framework, this qualitative case study was designed to explore how global and national powers and mechanism effected change in this sub-group of academic’s respective higher education sectors and institutions in post- 1994 South Africa and in Abu Dhabi between 2008 and 2016. The study suggests that participants perceived their academic roles and role-incumbent professional identities to have been negatively impacted by the changes that were implemented in the South African higher education sector as a result the countries reintroduction to the global stage. Their response to become transnational educators in Abu Dhabi’s presented them with conditions that allied their professional experiences of the transformation of South African’s higher education sector. This led to a continued sense of loss of academic agency and powerlessness. This effecting the emergence, through the personal power of reflectivity, combined with discourse and affinity powers and mechanisms, in a social identity that supplanted their academic identities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Stakeholder relationship management of a Chinese Mining Organisation in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Chodokufa, Kudakwashe
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Industrial management -- Zimbabwe , Mineral industries -- Zimbabwe -- Management , Investments, Chinese -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115127 , vital:34080
- Description: Media reports and research has pointed out problems in the way that Chinese mining organisations in Zimbabwe are managing stakeholder relationships. The problems ranging from disgruntled communities and allegations of labour violations. Taking into account the impact that China’s FDI has had on the ailing Zimbabwean economy research into the management of stakeholder relationships becomes imperative to understand how Chinese mining organisations build and manage stakeholder relationships. A review of stakeholder theory has revealed that there is not much emphasis by researchers on how organisations manage their stakeholder relationships, but rather on the identification and analysis of stakeholders. Research that has focused on stakeholder relationships has focused on different elements found in stakeholder relationship management and not necessarily on how stakeholder relationships should be managed. On the other hand, stakeholder theory does not seem to include social licence to operate which is important in stakeholder relationship management within the mining context. The purpose of this study is to develop a multidimensional stakeholder relationship management process for the Chinese mining organisation in Zimbabwe, showing dynamic interactions between multiple stakeholder networks with complementary, competitive and/or cooperative interests, while taking into account the possibility that interests may vary according to the underlying context. Thirteen semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with three stakeholder groups of a Chinese mining organisation as identified from the literature, namely employees, government and the community. The critical incident technique (CIT) was adopted in developing the interview questions and facilitated the data collection process. Participants described 36 critical incidents. According to multiple stakeholders, the findings suggest that, the Chinese managers built the relationship with multiple stakeholders through friendship, negotiation, pretend not to understand, referral, singing a contract, started with problems, they just arrived and through the government. With the same relationship being managed by the Chinese managers by being hard, rough and ruthless, authoritative, Chinese way of doing things, used avoidance, lack of competency, through a third party and resolving conflict when managing stakeholder relationships. Showing that the building and managing of stakeholder relationships is socially constructed and experienced differently by stakeholders. The positive and negative relationship characteristics influenced how stakeholder relationships are managed by the selected Chinese mining organisation. In the presence of positive relationship characteristics which included, friendship,there was flexibility, power dynamics, accountability depends on situations, commitment a show of investment, do cooperate to a certain extent, trust began with an open mind, shared values: hardwork and profit, shared values: culture was associated with the Chinese managing the relationship through being kind, supportive, motivating and understanding; complaint; through a third party; controlling; Chinese way of doing things; and performance and reward management of stakeholder relationships. Whilst negative relationship characteristics which included fear, their hearts were hardened, Chinese had power, intimidaton, not accountable, lack of commitment, communication understanding, connotations and intretations, communication done through a third party; no cooperation want to cut coners; trust are they conveying what is being said; deception and misrepresentation; trust depends on experience; being told lies and not transparent were associated with negative (being authoritative; hard, rough and ruthless; avoidance; blame shifting and pushy) stakeholder relationship management by the Chinese managers. Hence, a proposition that negative or positive relationship characteristics result in negative or positive stakeholder relationship management by the Chinese managers was propossed. The following challenges were experienced in the management of stakeholder relationships namely, communication, corruption, cheating, political environment, working conditions and broken promises. The dynamic multidimensional stakeholder relationship management process was subsequently revised to accommodate the new relationship characteristics and their positive and negative influence on how stakeholder relationships are managed. The main contribution of this study is the dynamic multidimensional stakeholder relationship management process which was developed within the context of a Chinese mining organisation in Africa. It is recommended that practitioners utilise the dynamic multidimensional stakeholder relationship management process to assist them in understanding and conducting research on stakeholder relationships. Further research is suggested on developing the research proposition made in the study and to empirically test the dynamic multidimension stakeholder relationship management process in other industries that posses different or similar contexts as this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Chodokufa, Kudakwashe
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Industrial management -- Zimbabwe , Mineral industries -- Zimbabwe -- Management , Investments, Chinese -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115127 , vital:34080
- Description: Media reports and research has pointed out problems in the way that Chinese mining organisations in Zimbabwe are managing stakeholder relationships. The problems ranging from disgruntled communities and allegations of labour violations. Taking into account the impact that China’s FDI has had on the ailing Zimbabwean economy research into the management of stakeholder relationships becomes imperative to understand how Chinese mining organisations build and manage stakeholder relationships. A review of stakeholder theory has revealed that there is not much emphasis by researchers on how organisations manage their stakeholder relationships, but rather on the identification and analysis of stakeholders. Research that has focused on stakeholder relationships has focused on different elements found in stakeholder relationship management and not necessarily on how stakeholder relationships should be managed. On the other hand, stakeholder theory does not seem to include social licence to operate which is important in stakeholder relationship management within the mining context. The purpose of this study is to develop a multidimensional stakeholder relationship management process for the Chinese mining organisation in Zimbabwe, showing dynamic interactions between multiple stakeholder networks with complementary, competitive and/or cooperative interests, while taking into account the possibility that interests may vary according to the underlying context. Thirteen semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with three stakeholder groups of a Chinese mining organisation as identified from the literature, namely employees, government and the community. The critical incident technique (CIT) was adopted in developing the interview questions and facilitated the data collection process. Participants described 36 critical incidents. According to multiple stakeholders, the findings suggest that, the Chinese managers built the relationship with multiple stakeholders through friendship, negotiation, pretend not to understand, referral, singing a contract, started with problems, they just arrived and through the government. With the same relationship being managed by the Chinese managers by being hard, rough and ruthless, authoritative, Chinese way of doing things, used avoidance, lack of competency, through a third party and resolving conflict when managing stakeholder relationships. Showing that the building and managing of stakeholder relationships is socially constructed and experienced differently by stakeholders. The positive and negative relationship characteristics influenced how stakeholder relationships are managed by the selected Chinese mining organisation. In the presence of positive relationship characteristics which included, friendship,there was flexibility, power dynamics, accountability depends on situations, commitment a show of investment, do cooperate to a certain extent, trust began with an open mind, shared values: hardwork and profit, shared values: culture was associated with the Chinese managing the relationship through being kind, supportive, motivating and understanding; complaint; through a third party; controlling; Chinese way of doing things; and performance and reward management of stakeholder relationships. Whilst negative relationship characteristics which included fear, their hearts were hardened, Chinese had power, intimidaton, not accountable, lack of commitment, communication understanding, connotations and intretations, communication done through a third party; no cooperation want to cut coners; trust are they conveying what is being said; deception and misrepresentation; trust depends on experience; being told lies and not transparent were associated with negative (being authoritative; hard, rough and ruthless; avoidance; blame shifting and pushy) stakeholder relationship management by the Chinese managers. Hence, a proposition that negative or positive relationship characteristics result in negative or positive stakeholder relationship management by the Chinese managers was propossed. The following challenges were experienced in the management of stakeholder relationships namely, communication, corruption, cheating, political environment, working conditions and broken promises. The dynamic multidimensional stakeholder relationship management process was subsequently revised to accommodate the new relationship characteristics and their positive and negative influence on how stakeholder relationships are managed. The main contribution of this study is the dynamic multidimensional stakeholder relationship management process which was developed within the context of a Chinese mining organisation in Africa. It is recommended that practitioners utilise the dynamic multidimensional stakeholder relationship management process to assist them in understanding and conducting research on stakeholder relationships. Further research is suggested on developing the research proposition made in the study and to empirically test the dynamic multidimension stakeholder relationship management process in other industries that posses different or similar contexts as this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Statistical Analysis of the Radio-Interferometric Measurement Equation, a derived adaptive weighting scheme, and applications to LOFAR-VLBI observation of the Extended Groth Strip
- Authors: Bonnassieux, Etienne
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Radio astronomy , Astrophysics , Astrophysics -- Instruments -- Calibration , Imaging systems in astronomy , Radio interferometers , Radio telescopes , Astronomy -- Observations
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/93789 , vital:30942
- Description: J.R.R Tolkien wrote, in his Mythopoeia, that “He sees no stars who does not see them first, of living silver made that sudden burst, to flame like flowers beneath the ancient song”. In his defense of myth-making, he formulates the argument that the attribution of meaning is an act of creation - that “trees are not ‘trees’ until so named and seen” - and that this capacity for creation defines the human creature. The scientific endeavour, in this context, can be understood as a social expression of a fundamental feature of humanity, and from this endeavour flows much understanding. This thesis, one thread among many, focuses on the study of astronomical objects as seen by the radio waves they emit. What are radio waves? Electromagnetic waves were theorised by James Clerk Maxwell (Maxwell 1864) in his great theoretical contribution to modern physics, their speed matching the speed of light as measured by Ole Christensen R0mer and, later, James Bradley. It was not until Heinrich Rudolf Hertz’s 1887 experiment that these waves were measured in a laboratory, leading to the dawn of radio communications - and, later, radio astronomy. The link between radio waves and light was one of association: light is known to behave as a wave (Young double-slit experiment), with the same propagation speed as electromagnetic radiation. Light “proper” is also known to exist beyond the optical regime: Herschel’s experiment shows that when diffracted through a prism, sunlight warms even those parts of a desk which are not observed to be lit (first evidence of infrared light). The link between optical light and unseen electromagnetic radiation is then an easy step to make, and one confirmed through countless technological applications (e.g. optical fiber to name but one). And as soon as this link is established, a question immediately comes to the mind of the astronomer: what does the sky, our Universe, look like to the radio “eye”? Radio astronomy has a short but storied history: from Karl Jansky’s serendipitous observation of the centre of the Milky Way, which outshines our Sun in the radio regime, in 1933, to Grote Reber’s hand-built back-yard radio antenna in 1937, which successfully detected radio emission from the Milky Way itself, to such monumental projects as the Square Kilometer Array and its multiple pathfinders, it has led to countless discoveries and the opening of a truly new window on the Universe. The work presented in this thesis is a contribution to this discipline - the culmination of three years of study, which is a rather short time to get a firm grasp of radio interferometry both in theory and in practice. The need for robust, automated methods - which are improving daily, thanks to the tireless labour of the scientists in the field - is becoming ever stronger as the SKA approaches, looming large on the horizon; but even today, in the precursor era of LOFAR, MeerKAT and other pathfinders, it is keenly felt. When I started my doctorate, the sheer scale of the task at hand felt overwhelming - to actually be able to contribute to its resolution seemed daunting indeed! Thankfully, as the saying goes, no society sets for itself material goals which it cannot achieve. This thesis took place at an exciting time for radio interferometry: at the start of my doctorate, the LOFAR international stations were - to my knowledge - only beginning to be used, and even then, only tentatively; MeerKAT had not yet shown its first light; the techniques used throughout my work were still being developed. At the time of writing, great strides have been made. One of the greatest technical challenges of LOFAR - imaging using the international stations - is starting to become reality. This technical challenge is the key problem that this thesis set out to address. While we only achieved partial success so far, it is a testament to the difficulty of the task that it is not yet truly resolved. One of the major results of this thesis is a model of a bright resolved source near a famous extragalactic field: properly modeling this source not only allows the use of international LOFAR stations, but also grants deeper access to the extragalactic field itself, which is otherwise polluted by the 3C source’s sidelobes. This result was only achieved thanks to the other major result of this thesis: the development of a theoretical framework with which to better understand the effect of calibration errors on images made from interferometric data, and an algorithm to strongly mitigate them. The structure of this manuscript is as follows: we begin with an introduction to radio interferometry, LOFAR, and the emission mechanisms which dominate for our field of interest. These introductions are primarily intended to give a brief overview of the technical aspects of the data reduced in this thesis. We follow with an overview of the Measurement Equation formalism, which underpins our theoretical work. This is the keystone of this thesis. We then show the theoretical work that was developed as part of the research work done during the doctorate - which was published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Its practical application - a quality-based weighting scheme - is used throughout our data reduction. This data reduction is the next topic of this thesis: we contextualise the scientific interest of the data we reduce, and explain both the methods and the results we achieve.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Bonnassieux, Etienne
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Radio astronomy , Astrophysics , Astrophysics -- Instruments -- Calibration , Imaging systems in astronomy , Radio interferometers , Radio telescopes , Astronomy -- Observations
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/93789 , vital:30942
- Description: J.R.R Tolkien wrote, in his Mythopoeia, that “He sees no stars who does not see them first, of living silver made that sudden burst, to flame like flowers beneath the ancient song”. In his defense of myth-making, he formulates the argument that the attribution of meaning is an act of creation - that “trees are not ‘trees’ until so named and seen” - and that this capacity for creation defines the human creature. The scientific endeavour, in this context, can be understood as a social expression of a fundamental feature of humanity, and from this endeavour flows much understanding. This thesis, one thread among many, focuses on the study of astronomical objects as seen by the radio waves they emit. What are radio waves? Electromagnetic waves were theorised by James Clerk Maxwell (Maxwell 1864) in his great theoretical contribution to modern physics, their speed matching the speed of light as measured by Ole Christensen R0mer and, later, James Bradley. It was not until Heinrich Rudolf Hertz’s 1887 experiment that these waves were measured in a laboratory, leading to the dawn of radio communications - and, later, radio astronomy. The link between radio waves and light was one of association: light is known to behave as a wave (Young double-slit experiment), with the same propagation speed as electromagnetic radiation. Light “proper” is also known to exist beyond the optical regime: Herschel’s experiment shows that when diffracted through a prism, sunlight warms even those parts of a desk which are not observed to be lit (first evidence of infrared light). The link between optical light and unseen electromagnetic radiation is then an easy step to make, and one confirmed through countless technological applications (e.g. optical fiber to name but one). And as soon as this link is established, a question immediately comes to the mind of the astronomer: what does the sky, our Universe, look like to the radio “eye”? Radio astronomy has a short but storied history: from Karl Jansky’s serendipitous observation of the centre of the Milky Way, which outshines our Sun in the radio regime, in 1933, to Grote Reber’s hand-built back-yard radio antenna in 1937, which successfully detected radio emission from the Milky Way itself, to such monumental projects as the Square Kilometer Array and its multiple pathfinders, it has led to countless discoveries and the opening of a truly new window on the Universe. The work presented in this thesis is a contribution to this discipline - the culmination of three years of study, which is a rather short time to get a firm grasp of radio interferometry both in theory and in practice. The need for robust, automated methods - which are improving daily, thanks to the tireless labour of the scientists in the field - is becoming ever stronger as the SKA approaches, looming large on the horizon; but even today, in the precursor era of LOFAR, MeerKAT and other pathfinders, it is keenly felt. When I started my doctorate, the sheer scale of the task at hand felt overwhelming - to actually be able to contribute to its resolution seemed daunting indeed! Thankfully, as the saying goes, no society sets for itself material goals which it cannot achieve. This thesis took place at an exciting time for radio interferometry: at the start of my doctorate, the LOFAR international stations were - to my knowledge - only beginning to be used, and even then, only tentatively; MeerKAT had not yet shown its first light; the techniques used throughout my work were still being developed. At the time of writing, great strides have been made. One of the greatest technical challenges of LOFAR - imaging using the international stations - is starting to become reality. This technical challenge is the key problem that this thesis set out to address. While we only achieved partial success so far, it is a testament to the difficulty of the task that it is not yet truly resolved. One of the major results of this thesis is a model of a bright resolved source near a famous extragalactic field: properly modeling this source not only allows the use of international LOFAR stations, but also grants deeper access to the extragalactic field itself, which is otherwise polluted by the 3C source’s sidelobes. This result was only achieved thanks to the other major result of this thesis: the development of a theoretical framework with which to better understand the effect of calibration errors on images made from interferometric data, and an algorithm to strongly mitigate them. The structure of this manuscript is as follows: we begin with an introduction to radio interferometry, LOFAR, and the emission mechanisms which dominate for our field of interest. These introductions are primarily intended to give a brief overview of the technical aspects of the data reduced in this thesis. We follow with an overview of the Measurement Equation formalism, which underpins our theoretical work. This is the keystone of this thesis. We then show the theoretical work that was developed as part of the research work done during the doctorate - which was published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Its practical application - a quality-based weighting scheme - is used throughout our data reduction. This data reduction is the next topic of this thesis: we contextualise the scientific interest of the data we reduce, and explain both the methods and the results we achieve.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Synthesis of pH responsive carriers for pulmonary drug delivery of anti-tuberculosis therapeutics: mesoporous silica nanoparticles and gelatin nanoparticles
- Authors: Ngoepe, Mpho Phehello
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Drug delivery systems , Pulmonary pharmacology , Nanosilicon , Nanomedicine , Nanoparticles , Mesoporous materials , Silica , Tuberculosis -- Treatment
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76519 , vital:30590
- Description: Pulmonary drug delivery has historically been used as a route for delivery of therapeutics for respiratory disease management. However, while there are many advantages, there are also some serious limitations, arising mostly from the physical aspects of the inhaler devices. This is more profound when the devices are the driving force for controlling particle size generation, which results in non-uniform particles that end up being swallowed/wasted/expelled. One promising solution to overcome this limitation is to pre-formulate nano/microscale particles with a high degree of manufacturing control. Nanomedicine has advanced such that there are already several nanoparticle formulations commercially available. In the case of tuberculosis treatment, there is an opportunity not only to examine the use of nanoparticles for inhalation therapy, but to take advantage of the fact that the physiochemical environment of diseased tissue is significantly different to health lung tissue (lower pH and increased enzyme concentrations). We formulated two series of nanoparticles, whose design included moieties that could respond to pH and enzymes. To address variability, a Box-Behnken statistical approach was followed to construct mesoporous silica nanoparticles. These “hard nanoparticles” can entrap both lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs and were coated with a pH-sensitive hydrazone linker. It was observed that pH, calcination temperature and ratio of water to silica source played the greatest role, not only in controlling the physicochemical properties of the nanoparticles but also the drug release rate. A second series of nanoparticles were synthesized based on gelatin. This was done partly to add support the comparison of hard (inorganic silica) versus soft, organic particles, but also to enable enzymatic degradation and drug release. Again, diseased lung tissue expresses increased concentrations of gelatinase enzymes that could be used to stimulate drug release at the site of the disease. In addition, it was observed that the non-ionic surfactant C12E10 could interact with the protein via hydrophobic interactions thus affecting the gelatin folding. The folding states affected crosslinking with the pH responsive linker, which in turn affected the rate of drug release. To support the synthetic work, we sought to develop a unique 3D lung model directly from MRI data of tuberculosis infected lungs. This would not only permit the evaluation of our nanoparticles but could be used as a proxy for in-vivo studies in future to predict lung deposition in diseased lung. Thus, this study shows that it is possible to synthesize pH and enzyme sensitive nanoparticles for pulmonary drug delivery in the treatment and management of pulmonary tuberculosis. These particles could be loaded with either hydrophobic or hydrophilic drugs and their distribution in the airway modelled using an in-silico 3D model based on real data. Further development and verification of these results should improve treatment for pulmonary diseases and conditions such as tuberculosis. This is especially urgent in the face of multi-drug resistance and poor side effects profiles for current treatment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Ngoepe, Mpho Phehello
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Drug delivery systems , Pulmonary pharmacology , Nanosilicon , Nanomedicine , Nanoparticles , Mesoporous materials , Silica , Tuberculosis -- Treatment
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76519 , vital:30590
- Description: Pulmonary drug delivery has historically been used as a route for delivery of therapeutics for respiratory disease management. However, while there are many advantages, there are also some serious limitations, arising mostly from the physical aspects of the inhaler devices. This is more profound when the devices are the driving force for controlling particle size generation, which results in non-uniform particles that end up being swallowed/wasted/expelled. One promising solution to overcome this limitation is to pre-formulate nano/microscale particles with a high degree of manufacturing control. Nanomedicine has advanced such that there are already several nanoparticle formulations commercially available. In the case of tuberculosis treatment, there is an opportunity not only to examine the use of nanoparticles for inhalation therapy, but to take advantage of the fact that the physiochemical environment of diseased tissue is significantly different to health lung tissue (lower pH and increased enzyme concentrations). We formulated two series of nanoparticles, whose design included moieties that could respond to pH and enzymes. To address variability, a Box-Behnken statistical approach was followed to construct mesoporous silica nanoparticles. These “hard nanoparticles” can entrap both lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs and were coated with a pH-sensitive hydrazone linker. It was observed that pH, calcination temperature and ratio of water to silica source played the greatest role, not only in controlling the physicochemical properties of the nanoparticles but also the drug release rate. A second series of nanoparticles were synthesized based on gelatin. This was done partly to add support the comparison of hard (inorganic silica) versus soft, organic particles, but also to enable enzymatic degradation and drug release. Again, diseased lung tissue expresses increased concentrations of gelatinase enzymes that could be used to stimulate drug release at the site of the disease. In addition, it was observed that the non-ionic surfactant C12E10 could interact with the protein via hydrophobic interactions thus affecting the gelatin folding. The folding states affected crosslinking with the pH responsive linker, which in turn affected the rate of drug release. To support the synthetic work, we sought to develop a unique 3D lung model directly from MRI data of tuberculosis infected lungs. This would not only permit the evaluation of our nanoparticles but could be used as a proxy for in-vivo studies in future to predict lung deposition in diseased lung. Thus, this study shows that it is possible to synthesize pH and enzyme sensitive nanoparticles for pulmonary drug delivery in the treatment and management of pulmonary tuberculosis. These particles could be loaded with either hydrophobic or hydrophilic drugs and their distribution in the airway modelled using an in-silico 3D model based on real data. Further development and verification of these results should improve treatment for pulmonary diseases and conditions such as tuberculosis. This is especially urgent in the face of multi-drug resistance and poor side effects profiles for current treatment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Synthesis, characterisation and biological evaluation of novel anti-infective compounds bearing ferrocene, arylpyrrole, thiazolidinedione, quinoline and triazole moieties
- Authors: Oderinlo, Ogunyemi Olajide
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/114714 , vital:34016 , 10.21504/10962/114714
- Description: Expected release date-April 2022
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Oderinlo, Ogunyemi Olajide
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/114714 , vital:34016 , 10.21504/10962/114714
- Description: Expected release date-April 2022
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2019
The Afropolitan flâneur: literary representations of the city and contemporary urban identities in selected African and transnational texts
- Authors: Leff, Carol Willa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: City and town life in literature , African literature (English) -- History and criticism , Flaneurs in literature
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115082 , vital:34076
- Description: When an individual walks the urban landscape there is a unique symbiosis between self and city. It is through walking the cityscape and observing the crowd and the surrounding environment that the archetypal literary figure of the European flâneur acts as a mirror of a particular time and space. But how might such a flâneur walk and observe the city in contemporary African and transnational literary texts? I argue that there is a literary re-imagining and repurposing of the flâneur figure which has hitherto not been acknowledged and explored: an Afropolitan flâneur. ‘Afropolitan’ is a term popularised by Taiye Selasi in a 2005 essay to refer to a ‘scattered tribe’ of ‘Africans of the world’ (n. pag.). In this dissertation, the entanglement of the Afropolitan subject and the European flâneur brings together past and present, Africa and the West. I first provide a historical and theoretical framework to illustrate how the flâneur figure ‘migrated’ from Europe to Africa, and how this figure is to be understood as a literary construct, in relation to current considerations of Afropolitanism. I go on to discuss a wide range of texts that engage with Afropolitan flâneurs who traverse cities in Africa (such as Johannesburg, Cape Town and Lagos), or global north cities (New York, Paris and London). While some of the Afropolitan flâneurs depicted in these texts are migrants or homeless individuals who struggle to adapt easily to a new environment, others, despite being more privileged, also sometimes experience uncomfortable assimilation in their new or strange city space. There are also those who seem to feel equally at home wherever they find themselves. As these Afropolitan flâneurs walk their way through the urban landscape in the texts under examination, they reflect different ways of being in the city. By problematising the binaries of local/global, national/transnational, black/white, slum/paradise, this dissertation seeks to address issues of belonging or not belonging and gestures towards new ways of understanding what it means to be an African in the world.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Leff, Carol Willa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: City and town life in literature , African literature (English) -- History and criticism , Flaneurs in literature
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115082 , vital:34076
- Description: When an individual walks the urban landscape there is a unique symbiosis between self and city. It is through walking the cityscape and observing the crowd and the surrounding environment that the archetypal literary figure of the European flâneur acts as a mirror of a particular time and space. But how might such a flâneur walk and observe the city in contemporary African and transnational literary texts? I argue that there is a literary re-imagining and repurposing of the flâneur figure which has hitherto not been acknowledged and explored: an Afropolitan flâneur. ‘Afropolitan’ is a term popularised by Taiye Selasi in a 2005 essay to refer to a ‘scattered tribe’ of ‘Africans of the world’ (n. pag.). In this dissertation, the entanglement of the Afropolitan subject and the European flâneur brings together past and present, Africa and the West. I first provide a historical and theoretical framework to illustrate how the flâneur figure ‘migrated’ from Europe to Africa, and how this figure is to be understood as a literary construct, in relation to current considerations of Afropolitanism. I go on to discuss a wide range of texts that engage with Afropolitan flâneurs who traverse cities in Africa (such as Johannesburg, Cape Town and Lagos), or global north cities (New York, Paris and London). While some of the Afropolitan flâneurs depicted in these texts are migrants or homeless individuals who struggle to adapt easily to a new environment, others, despite being more privileged, also sometimes experience uncomfortable assimilation in their new or strange city space. There are also those who seem to feel equally at home wherever they find themselves. As these Afropolitan flâneurs walk their way through the urban landscape in the texts under examination, they reflect different ways of being in the city. By problematising the binaries of local/global, national/transnational, black/white, slum/paradise, this dissertation seeks to address issues of belonging or not belonging and gestures towards new ways of understanding what it means to be an African in the world.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
The Chase: historical and ethnographic observations on ‘Traditional Horse Racing’ in the Eastern Cape, c. 1850 to the present
- Authors: Paterson, Craig John
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Horse racing -- South Africa -- Homelands , Masculinity -- South Africa – Homelands -- History , Migrant labor -- South Africa , Masculinity in sports -- South Africa -- Homelands Group identity -- South Africa – Homelands -- History , South Africa -- Social conditions -- 1961-1994 , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 20th century
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115328 , vital:34114
- Description: This thesis examines the development of a horse racing sport, umdyarho wamahashe, as it is practised in the former-bantustans of the Eastern Cape Province. Using varied source material – ethnographic, archival and oral – it provides a guide to understanding the historical development of umdyarho events and their meaning to participants. By drawing together available ‘fragments’ of material on horses and horse racing in the former-bantustans of Transkei and Ciskei, it argues that horse racing is derived from a pre-colonial cattle racing tradition which was made impossible by a collision of environmental pressures and colonial responses to them. It goes on to show how horses came to take on a ‘symbol set’ of masculine power and “growing up.” The nexus of horses, rapidly assimilated into daily life, and the changing material conditions confronting the people of the Eastern Cape, made horse racing an ideal outlet through which men might regain a sense of power in conditions which eroded their sense of control over their daily lives, and, as a result, their perceived masculinity. This thesis argues that through horse races, people of the Eastern Cape were provided an space in which they could at once celebrate their legacy (by acting as their ‘forebears’ did) and their potential (by showing who they would like to be, through the deployment of the horse as a symbol). It concludes by discussing and how the imposition of change from outside threatens the ‘spirit’ of this sport.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Paterson, Craig John
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Horse racing -- South Africa -- Homelands , Masculinity -- South Africa – Homelands -- History , Migrant labor -- South Africa , Masculinity in sports -- South Africa -- Homelands Group identity -- South Africa – Homelands -- History , South Africa -- Social conditions -- 1961-1994 , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 20th century
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115328 , vital:34114
- Description: This thesis examines the development of a horse racing sport, umdyarho wamahashe, as it is practised in the former-bantustans of the Eastern Cape Province. Using varied source material – ethnographic, archival and oral – it provides a guide to understanding the historical development of umdyarho events and their meaning to participants. By drawing together available ‘fragments’ of material on horses and horse racing in the former-bantustans of Transkei and Ciskei, it argues that horse racing is derived from a pre-colonial cattle racing tradition which was made impossible by a collision of environmental pressures and colonial responses to them. It goes on to show how horses came to take on a ‘symbol set’ of masculine power and “growing up.” The nexus of horses, rapidly assimilated into daily life, and the changing material conditions confronting the people of the Eastern Cape, made horse racing an ideal outlet through which men might regain a sense of power in conditions which eroded their sense of control over their daily lives, and, as a result, their perceived masculinity. This thesis argues that through horse races, people of the Eastern Cape were provided an space in which they could at once celebrate their legacy (by acting as their ‘forebears’ did) and their potential (by showing who they would like to be, through the deployment of the horse as a symbol). It concludes by discussing and how the imposition of change from outside threatens the ‘spirit’ of this sport.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
The conservation, ecology, and distribution of the critically endangered Encephalartos latifrons Lehm
- Authors: Swart, Carin
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Encephalartos , Cycadaceae , Cycads -- Conservation -- South Africa , Botany, Economic -- South Africa , Rare plants -- South Africa , Endangered plants -- South Africa , Wild plant trade -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/94483 , vital:31049
- Description: Cycads have attracted global attention both as horticulturally interesting and often valuable plants; but also as some of the most threatened organisms on the planet. In this thesis I investigate the conservation management, biology, reproductive ecology and distribution of Encephalartos latifrons populations in the wild and draw out conclusions on how best to conserve global cycad biodiversity. I also employ computer-modelling techniques in some of the chapters of this thesis to demonstrate how to improve conservation outcomes for E. latifrons and endangered species in general, where information on the distribution, biology and habitat requirements of such species are inherently limited, often precluding robust conservation decision-making. In Chapter 1 of this thesis I introduce the concept of extinction debt and elucidate the importance of in situ cycad conservation. I explain how the concept of extinction debt relates to single species, as well as give details on the mechanisms causing extinction debt in cycad populations. I introduce the six extinction trajectory threshold model and how this relates to extinction debt in cycads. I discuss the vulnerability of cycads to extinction and give an overview of biodiversity policy in South Africa. I expand on how national and global policies contribute to cycad conservation and present various global initiatives that support threatened species conservation. I conclude Chapter 1 by explaining how computer-based models can assist conservation decision-making for rare, threatened, and endangered species in the face of uncertainty. Chapter 2 of this thesis illustrates how a modelling approach, using limited available historical and present day locality information, is a feasible method to determine areas of suitable habitat for E. latifrons and other critically endangered cycad species where locality information is inherently uncommon. Results from this chapter show that conservation planning through structured decision-making may be improved by the use of computer models, even when locality data are limited. These results may be incorporated into biodiversity conservation plans or used to assist conservation-decision makers when undertaking recovery efforts for E. latifrons and may provide guidance to conservation planners and policy makers when undertaking conservation plans to improve cycad biodiversity both nationally and globally. There was limited information available in the biology and ecological requirements of E. latifrons. This information is important when making policy decisions such as the publication of non-detriment findings and compiling biodiversity management plans for this and other cycad species. Chapter 3 investigates the life-history, population structure, fire response and survival of an in situ E. latifrons population. A demographic census was undertaken between 2013 and 2017 on a previously undiscovered population. Population characteristics of the “new” population were compared to the demographics of a well-known and intensively managed population. Results of this chapter show that at least one in situ E. latifrons population is stable and increasing under current environmental conditions. Importantly, the population is naturally recruiting seedlings without the need for artificial pollination. Demographic information described in this chapter is a necessary precursor to undertaking a Population Viability Assessment for the species. This will assist conservation decision-makers when determining the best conservation management strategy for E. latifrons. It may also be useful to apply generalisatons to other cycad species (with similar life-histories and habitat requirements) where there is limited information available on the species biological and ecological requirements, restricting robust policy conservation decision-making. It was important for this study to determine the extent and variety of cone fauna within existing E. latifrons wild populations. Previous anecdotal evidence suggested that E. latifrons is functionally extinct as a species, but evidence to the contrary was found when a healthy, self-sustaining wild population was discovered to be naturally recruiting. It was important to establish the existence and diversity of male cone faunal species (an important breeding site for weevil pollinators) within wild populations. Chapter 4 set out to determine if potential pollinators exist in the wild and if so, how diverse are they and in what numbers. This is the first comprehensive analysis of cone fauna present in wild E. latifrons populations. Equally important was the need to determine if wild populations are capable of producing viable seeds under conditions conducive to natural pollination. Results of this chapter show that there is a relatively high diversity of insect fauna in the male cones of some wild E. latifrons populations. Furthermore, some wild populations are capable of producing viable seeds through natural pollination; even though they may not be naturally recruiting seedlings into the population. A staggered germination pattern displayed by one of the wild E. latifrons populations was studied, suggesting the evolution of an adaptive trait given the stochastic environment (climatically and disturbances such as fire) within which E. latifrons populations may be found. Species recovery (restoration and/or population augmentation) may be the only conservation solution remaining to save endangered species such as E. latifrons from extinction in the wild. Chapter 5 involves the return of 25 seedlings germinated as part of a seed viability experiment (see Chapter 4) back into a wild population from where they originated. The primary threat to seedling survival at the site was livestock activity (grazing/trampling). The population was subsequently fenced off to mitigate this threat and seedlings planted both inside and outside a fenced area to establish if there was a difference in seedling survival between the unprotected and protected sites. A high percentage (92%) of seedlings planted perished in total. None of the seedlings planted outside the fenced area survived over the monitoring period, while only two seedlings planted within the fenced area survived. Survival of the seedlings inside the fenced area was only after placing individual cages on the seedlings to prevent further losses. The primary causes of death for all seedlings included uprooting, and defoliation with some of the seedlings missing completely. This chapter found that the lack of natural seedling recruitment at the site was as a result of livestock activity. Grazing by livestock poses a significant threat to natural recruitment in some E. latifrons populations. Alternative restoration methods are suggested and protection of seedlings while undertaking a restoration/augmentation programme is emphasised. Developing conservation management plans for rare and/or endangered species is often met with high levels of uncertainty, particularly if there is limited information available on the biology and ecological requirements for the species concerned. Population viability analysis (PVA) is often suggested as a tool to determine conservation management scenarios that may enhance wild population persistence. The standard PVA approach is however problematic as it is a time-consuming process requiring the collection of demographic data over long time periods. In addition, the PVA approach does not take in to account non-biological factors which may impede the effective implementation of conservation plans. Chapter 6 of this thesis makes use of a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach called the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to decide on the best conservation management strategy for an E. latifrons population. Sensitivity analysis was completed to test the robustness of the decision and to identify which criteria influenced the original results. In this study, the development of the decision tree and criteria judgements, were made solely by the researcher. It is emphasised that the decision outcome may be biased if not conducted as part of a multi-stakeholder workshop using the same approach. Nevertheless, it is recommended that a Population Viability Risk Management (PVRM) assessment be undertaken for E. latifrons using an MCDM approach such as AHP as a prestudy, before the revision of the Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP) for E. latifrons. This method is particularly useful when non-biological criteria are to be incorporated into the decision-making process. It is also a viable and holistic alternative to the standard PVA approach when developing conservation management plans for rare and endangered species. In Chapter 7 I review the concept of extinction debt in cycads using E. latifrons as an example. I assimilate historical information to understand mechanisms that may have impacted on E. latifrons populations in the past. This was done to understand the scale of extinction time lags on E. latifrons and to relate this to its present position on the exitinction trajectory. I recommend aligning South African policies and biodiversity assessments with international initiatives and draw out general conclusions for the conservation of global cycad biodiversity. I conclude by recommending further research for E. latifrons.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Swart, Carin
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Encephalartos , Cycadaceae , Cycads -- Conservation -- South Africa , Botany, Economic -- South Africa , Rare plants -- South Africa , Endangered plants -- South Africa , Wild plant trade -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/94483 , vital:31049
- Description: Cycads have attracted global attention both as horticulturally interesting and often valuable plants; but also as some of the most threatened organisms on the planet. In this thesis I investigate the conservation management, biology, reproductive ecology and distribution of Encephalartos latifrons populations in the wild and draw out conclusions on how best to conserve global cycad biodiversity. I also employ computer-modelling techniques in some of the chapters of this thesis to demonstrate how to improve conservation outcomes for E. latifrons and endangered species in general, where information on the distribution, biology and habitat requirements of such species are inherently limited, often precluding robust conservation decision-making. In Chapter 1 of this thesis I introduce the concept of extinction debt and elucidate the importance of in situ cycad conservation. I explain how the concept of extinction debt relates to single species, as well as give details on the mechanisms causing extinction debt in cycad populations. I introduce the six extinction trajectory threshold model and how this relates to extinction debt in cycads. I discuss the vulnerability of cycads to extinction and give an overview of biodiversity policy in South Africa. I expand on how national and global policies contribute to cycad conservation and present various global initiatives that support threatened species conservation. I conclude Chapter 1 by explaining how computer-based models can assist conservation decision-making for rare, threatened, and endangered species in the face of uncertainty. Chapter 2 of this thesis illustrates how a modelling approach, using limited available historical and present day locality information, is a feasible method to determine areas of suitable habitat for E. latifrons and other critically endangered cycad species where locality information is inherently uncommon. Results from this chapter show that conservation planning through structured decision-making may be improved by the use of computer models, even when locality data are limited. These results may be incorporated into biodiversity conservation plans or used to assist conservation-decision makers when undertaking recovery efforts for E. latifrons and may provide guidance to conservation planners and policy makers when undertaking conservation plans to improve cycad biodiversity both nationally and globally. There was limited information available in the biology and ecological requirements of E. latifrons. This information is important when making policy decisions such as the publication of non-detriment findings and compiling biodiversity management plans for this and other cycad species. Chapter 3 investigates the life-history, population structure, fire response and survival of an in situ E. latifrons population. A demographic census was undertaken between 2013 and 2017 on a previously undiscovered population. Population characteristics of the “new” population were compared to the demographics of a well-known and intensively managed population. Results of this chapter show that at least one in situ E. latifrons population is stable and increasing under current environmental conditions. Importantly, the population is naturally recruiting seedlings without the need for artificial pollination. Demographic information described in this chapter is a necessary precursor to undertaking a Population Viability Assessment for the species. This will assist conservation decision-makers when determining the best conservation management strategy for E. latifrons. It may also be useful to apply generalisatons to other cycad species (with similar life-histories and habitat requirements) where there is limited information available on the species biological and ecological requirements, restricting robust policy conservation decision-making. It was important for this study to determine the extent and variety of cone fauna within existing E. latifrons wild populations. Previous anecdotal evidence suggested that E. latifrons is functionally extinct as a species, but evidence to the contrary was found when a healthy, self-sustaining wild population was discovered to be naturally recruiting. It was important to establish the existence and diversity of male cone faunal species (an important breeding site for weevil pollinators) within wild populations. Chapter 4 set out to determine if potential pollinators exist in the wild and if so, how diverse are they and in what numbers. This is the first comprehensive analysis of cone fauna present in wild E. latifrons populations. Equally important was the need to determine if wild populations are capable of producing viable seeds under conditions conducive to natural pollination. Results of this chapter show that there is a relatively high diversity of insect fauna in the male cones of some wild E. latifrons populations. Furthermore, some wild populations are capable of producing viable seeds through natural pollination; even though they may not be naturally recruiting seedlings into the population. A staggered germination pattern displayed by one of the wild E. latifrons populations was studied, suggesting the evolution of an adaptive trait given the stochastic environment (climatically and disturbances such as fire) within which E. latifrons populations may be found. Species recovery (restoration and/or population augmentation) may be the only conservation solution remaining to save endangered species such as E. latifrons from extinction in the wild. Chapter 5 involves the return of 25 seedlings germinated as part of a seed viability experiment (see Chapter 4) back into a wild population from where they originated. The primary threat to seedling survival at the site was livestock activity (grazing/trampling). The population was subsequently fenced off to mitigate this threat and seedlings planted both inside and outside a fenced area to establish if there was a difference in seedling survival between the unprotected and protected sites. A high percentage (92%) of seedlings planted perished in total. None of the seedlings planted outside the fenced area survived over the monitoring period, while only two seedlings planted within the fenced area survived. Survival of the seedlings inside the fenced area was only after placing individual cages on the seedlings to prevent further losses. The primary causes of death for all seedlings included uprooting, and defoliation with some of the seedlings missing completely. This chapter found that the lack of natural seedling recruitment at the site was as a result of livestock activity. Grazing by livestock poses a significant threat to natural recruitment in some E. latifrons populations. Alternative restoration methods are suggested and protection of seedlings while undertaking a restoration/augmentation programme is emphasised. Developing conservation management plans for rare and/or endangered species is often met with high levels of uncertainty, particularly if there is limited information available on the biology and ecological requirements for the species concerned. Population viability analysis (PVA) is often suggested as a tool to determine conservation management scenarios that may enhance wild population persistence. The standard PVA approach is however problematic as it is a time-consuming process requiring the collection of demographic data over long time periods. In addition, the PVA approach does not take in to account non-biological factors which may impede the effective implementation of conservation plans. Chapter 6 of this thesis makes use of a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach called the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to decide on the best conservation management strategy for an E. latifrons population. Sensitivity analysis was completed to test the robustness of the decision and to identify which criteria influenced the original results. In this study, the development of the decision tree and criteria judgements, were made solely by the researcher. It is emphasised that the decision outcome may be biased if not conducted as part of a multi-stakeholder workshop using the same approach. Nevertheless, it is recommended that a Population Viability Risk Management (PVRM) assessment be undertaken for E. latifrons using an MCDM approach such as AHP as a prestudy, before the revision of the Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP) for E. latifrons. This method is particularly useful when non-biological criteria are to be incorporated into the decision-making process. It is also a viable and holistic alternative to the standard PVA approach when developing conservation management plans for rare and endangered species. In Chapter 7 I review the concept of extinction debt in cycads using E. latifrons as an example. I assimilate historical information to understand mechanisms that may have impacted on E. latifrons populations in the past. This was done to understand the scale of extinction time lags on E. latifrons and to relate this to its present position on the exitinction trajectory. I recommend aligning South African policies and biodiversity assessments with international initiatives and draw out general conclusions for the conservation of global cycad biodiversity. I conclude by recommending further research for E. latifrons.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
The impact of land restitution and resettlement in the Eastern Cape, South Africa: restoring dignity without strengthening livelihoods?
- Authors: Xaba, Mzingaye Brilliant
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Reparations for historic injustices -- South Africa , Land reform -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Land reform -- South Africa -- Social aspects , Agricultural development projects -- South Africa -- Social aspects , Land tenure -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96336 , vital:31264
- Description: Land reform in South Africa, which is comprised of land redistribution, land tenure reform, and land restitution, continues to be an emotive subject and has largely racially polarised South Africa. The slow pace of land reform, expropriation, the amount of land to be returned to black people, debates around the role of the Constitution in land reform, the market-based approach and the perceived negative attitude of white farmers have dominated the debates on land reform. There is, therefore, a huge chorus on the struggles for land acquisition and less on what happens when people are given land. A few studies on post-settlement livelihoods experience have managed to close this gap slightly in the literature by showing that land reform has contributed little or no material and livelihood benefits to beneficiaries and that many farms are lying idle after land reform, especially land restitution, projects. These studies on post-settlement livelihoods experiences of land reform beneficiaries have not managed to capture fully the “voices” of beneficiaries on land and livelihoods. This dissertation seeks to provide a sociological documentation of the post-settlement livelihood experiences of land restitution beneficiaries. It does this by primarily tracing the ability and/or the inability of land restitution beneficiaries of Macleantown, about 40 kilometres northwest of East London, in the Eastern Cape to reconstruct livelihoods after resettlement, bearing in mind that these land restitution beneficiaries have been resettled twice, during forced removals in the 1970s and after land restitution, post-1994. Therefore, the study engages with questions of whether or in what ways land compensated restitution beneficiaries have managed to reconstruct livelihoods after land transfer. To capture the livelihood experiences of land restitution beneficiaries fully, I also studied the Salem restitution case, which is 20km away from Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape. Because land restitution involves resettlement, I decided to use two resettlement theories, namely Thayer Scudder’s four stages model and Michael Cernea’s Impoverishment Risks and Reconstruction (IRR), to understand risks associated with resettlement. Additionally, since this dissertation seeks to understand and document livelihood reconstruction and poverty reduction within the context of restitution resettlement, I also utilised the Sustainable Livelihoods approach and Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach. This thesis is based on multiple research methods that include documentary study, focus group discussions, conversations, archival research, in-depth interviews, transect walks, participant observation and life histories. My findings show that land transfer under the land restitution programme has largely not enabled land beneficiaries in Macleantown and Salem to reconstruct land-based livelihoods after settlement. I also established that land restitution beneficiaries face risks that are identified by resettlement theorists such as lack of proper planning, resettling trauma, struggles in community reconstruction and poverty. Beneficiaries have not managed to reap any meaningful benefits from the land, meaning that restitution has not led to self-sufficiency for these beneficiaries because all land beneficiaries are heavily dependent on social grants. However, one needs to emphasize that land restitution has restored the dignity of beneficiaries because beneficiaries have accessed their forefathers’ land that they fought for. This is because beneficiaries believed that it was their duty to fight for their land on behalf of their ancestors. I reach the conclusion that the whole idea that restitution claimants who are scattered all over can be grouped into a Community Property Association (CPA) and farm collectively as a ‘community’ to improve livelihoods is a misleading romanticisation of the envisaged outcomes of the land restitution project. Time has passed after land dispossession and land claimants are different human beings to what they were before land dispossession, i.e. far from the agrarian society they were before land dispossession. Group dynamics, lack of adequate post-settlement support (PSS), land reform designs, lack of commercial agricultural skills, as well as entitlement syndrome, old age of beneficiaries, infighting and marginality of agricultural business has made it nearly impossible for restitution beneficiaries to reconstruct land-based livelihoods. Additionally, the government appears to be more interested in ‘correcting apartheid’ rather than creating viable farms. It is important to state that this thesis does not advocate for the erasure of the restitution programme or to belittle land beneficiaries but argues for the rethinking of the restitution model in the context of massive failures, as well as coming up with a new and flexible model of land restitution that will meet the modern needs of beneficiaries. This thesis contributes to an understanding of the risks and the challenges of livelihoods reconstruction faced by resettling communities through an investigation into the post-settlement livelihoods experiences of land restitution beneficiaries through ‘thick descriptions’.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Xaba, Mzingaye Brilliant
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Reparations for historic injustices -- South Africa , Land reform -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Land reform -- South Africa -- Social aspects , Agricultural development projects -- South Africa -- Social aspects , Land tenure -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96336 , vital:31264
- Description: Land reform in South Africa, which is comprised of land redistribution, land tenure reform, and land restitution, continues to be an emotive subject and has largely racially polarised South Africa. The slow pace of land reform, expropriation, the amount of land to be returned to black people, debates around the role of the Constitution in land reform, the market-based approach and the perceived negative attitude of white farmers have dominated the debates on land reform. There is, therefore, a huge chorus on the struggles for land acquisition and less on what happens when people are given land. A few studies on post-settlement livelihoods experience have managed to close this gap slightly in the literature by showing that land reform has contributed little or no material and livelihood benefits to beneficiaries and that many farms are lying idle after land reform, especially land restitution, projects. These studies on post-settlement livelihoods experiences of land reform beneficiaries have not managed to capture fully the “voices” of beneficiaries on land and livelihoods. This dissertation seeks to provide a sociological documentation of the post-settlement livelihood experiences of land restitution beneficiaries. It does this by primarily tracing the ability and/or the inability of land restitution beneficiaries of Macleantown, about 40 kilometres northwest of East London, in the Eastern Cape to reconstruct livelihoods after resettlement, bearing in mind that these land restitution beneficiaries have been resettled twice, during forced removals in the 1970s and after land restitution, post-1994. Therefore, the study engages with questions of whether or in what ways land compensated restitution beneficiaries have managed to reconstruct livelihoods after land transfer. To capture the livelihood experiences of land restitution beneficiaries fully, I also studied the Salem restitution case, which is 20km away from Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape. Because land restitution involves resettlement, I decided to use two resettlement theories, namely Thayer Scudder’s four stages model and Michael Cernea’s Impoverishment Risks and Reconstruction (IRR), to understand risks associated with resettlement. Additionally, since this dissertation seeks to understand and document livelihood reconstruction and poverty reduction within the context of restitution resettlement, I also utilised the Sustainable Livelihoods approach and Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach. This thesis is based on multiple research methods that include documentary study, focus group discussions, conversations, archival research, in-depth interviews, transect walks, participant observation and life histories. My findings show that land transfer under the land restitution programme has largely not enabled land beneficiaries in Macleantown and Salem to reconstruct land-based livelihoods after settlement. I also established that land restitution beneficiaries face risks that are identified by resettlement theorists such as lack of proper planning, resettling trauma, struggles in community reconstruction and poverty. Beneficiaries have not managed to reap any meaningful benefits from the land, meaning that restitution has not led to self-sufficiency for these beneficiaries because all land beneficiaries are heavily dependent on social grants. However, one needs to emphasize that land restitution has restored the dignity of beneficiaries because beneficiaries have accessed their forefathers’ land that they fought for. This is because beneficiaries believed that it was their duty to fight for their land on behalf of their ancestors. I reach the conclusion that the whole idea that restitution claimants who are scattered all over can be grouped into a Community Property Association (CPA) and farm collectively as a ‘community’ to improve livelihoods is a misleading romanticisation of the envisaged outcomes of the land restitution project. Time has passed after land dispossession and land claimants are different human beings to what they were before land dispossession, i.e. far from the agrarian society they were before land dispossession. Group dynamics, lack of adequate post-settlement support (PSS), land reform designs, lack of commercial agricultural skills, as well as entitlement syndrome, old age of beneficiaries, infighting and marginality of agricultural business has made it nearly impossible for restitution beneficiaries to reconstruct land-based livelihoods. Additionally, the government appears to be more interested in ‘correcting apartheid’ rather than creating viable farms. It is important to state that this thesis does not advocate for the erasure of the restitution programme or to belittle land beneficiaries but argues for the rethinking of the restitution model in the context of massive failures, as well as coming up with a new and flexible model of land restitution that will meet the modern needs of beneficiaries. This thesis contributes to an understanding of the risks and the challenges of livelihoods reconstruction faced by resettling communities through an investigation into the post-settlement livelihoods experiences of land restitution beneficiaries through ‘thick descriptions’.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
The impact of policies on development-induced resettlement processes and outcomes: a Lesotho-India comparative study
- Tsietsi, Teboho Priscilla Mosuoe
- Authors: Tsietsi, Teboho Priscilla Mosuoe
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Forced migration -- Lesotho , Forced migration -- India , Dams -- Social aspects -- Lesotho , Dams -- Social aspects -- India , Irrigation projects -- Economic aspects -- Lesotho , Irrigation projects -- Economic aspects -- India , Land settlement -- Government policy -- Lesotho , Land settlement -- Government policy -- India
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/72307 , vital:30032
- Description: The practice of Development-Induced Displacement and Resettlement (DIDR), historically, has often led to negative consequences for those affected by development projects, including but not limited to, the construction of large dams. Although DIDR arises from the need to provide goods and services that characterise development, it often leaves those who are forced to give up their assets, resources, and long standing social networks in dire socio-economic conditions as a result of resettlement. In many such cases, the provision for losses suffered by those primarily affected is often insufficient, leading to further losses experienced as a result of the complete life change experienced by those affected by resettlement. Research has shown that the insufficiency of such provisions for losses is attributable to not only the value of the provision itself, but also the manner in which resettlement processes are implemented. While early on, researchers believed that the development of policies would have a significant, positive impact on the practice of resettlement and its outcomes, evidence would later show that the development of policies alone is not a panacea for all challenges associated with forced resettlement. Further research revealed that resettlement is characterised by inherent and active complexities which are often at play, and may impede effective implementation. Hence, while the development of policies is essential, both the development and implementation of policies must be undertaken in a manner that seeks to actively address the inherent complexities of resettlement. This thesis aims to explore the implementation of resettlement policies in two case studies, where in one case, resettlement was informed by national policy, and in the other, by policies developed by a parastatal tasked with the responsibility of executing resettlement. The study makes a comparative analysis between the two cases, and explores the factors at play in the implementation of resettlement policies – whether such factors serve to facilitate or impede effective implementation – as well as the nature of the outcomes on the ground. As an overarching goal, the research aims to provide a basis upon which a framework for the development of a national level policy of resettlement may be developed. In this regard, the thesis undertakes a comparison of the Indian resettlement case with the Lesotho case. The former, in addition to having developed a resettlement policy at the national level, has a long history of experience in forced resettlement and displacement, from which invaluable lessons have been learned. The latter, on the other hand, has no resettlement policy at the national level, although the country has also experienced forced resettlement dating back to nearly three decades ago. Although India and Lesotho have distinct social, cultural, economic and demographic characteristics, research has shown that the complexities of forced resettlement, and their outcomes on affected people, are largely applicable across the different contexts. Hence, certain dimensions and lessons can be transferable from the Indian case to the Lesotho case, and vice versa. However, for the purpose of this thesis, the focus is on providing a basis for national policy development in Lesotho, in light of Indian policies and practice. The empirical basis of the thesis is an ethnographic study undertaken in relation to the Chandil Dam resettlement case in Jharkhand, India and the Mohale Dam resettlement case in Maseru, Lesotho. The thesis engaged both qualitative and quantitative research methods, as well as four, complementary theoretical tools that analyse the effects of forced resettlement on affected people. The thesis reveals that the negative consequences of forced resettlement resulting from its inherent complexities continue to manifest with concerning effects on the lives of those affected. It shows that the implementation of policies is a complex process that requires collaborative effort from a wide range of stakeholders in a given context. National policies of resettlement are, thus, instrumental in this regard, as they can create an enabling environment for the facilitation of collaborative efforts towards sustainable livelihood re-establishment for those who involuntarily suffer losses to resettlement.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Tsietsi, Teboho Priscilla Mosuoe
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Forced migration -- Lesotho , Forced migration -- India , Dams -- Social aspects -- Lesotho , Dams -- Social aspects -- India , Irrigation projects -- Economic aspects -- Lesotho , Irrigation projects -- Economic aspects -- India , Land settlement -- Government policy -- Lesotho , Land settlement -- Government policy -- India
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/72307 , vital:30032
- Description: The practice of Development-Induced Displacement and Resettlement (DIDR), historically, has often led to negative consequences for those affected by development projects, including but not limited to, the construction of large dams. Although DIDR arises from the need to provide goods and services that characterise development, it often leaves those who are forced to give up their assets, resources, and long standing social networks in dire socio-economic conditions as a result of resettlement. In many such cases, the provision for losses suffered by those primarily affected is often insufficient, leading to further losses experienced as a result of the complete life change experienced by those affected by resettlement. Research has shown that the insufficiency of such provisions for losses is attributable to not only the value of the provision itself, but also the manner in which resettlement processes are implemented. While early on, researchers believed that the development of policies would have a significant, positive impact on the practice of resettlement and its outcomes, evidence would later show that the development of policies alone is not a panacea for all challenges associated with forced resettlement. Further research revealed that resettlement is characterised by inherent and active complexities which are often at play, and may impede effective implementation. Hence, while the development of policies is essential, both the development and implementation of policies must be undertaken in a manner that seeks to actively address the inherent complexities of resettlement. This thesis aims to explore the implementation of resettlement policies in two case studies, where in one case, resettlement was informed by national policy, and in the other, by policies developed by a parastatal tasked with the responsibility of executing resettlement. The study makes a comparative analysis between the two cases, and explores the factors at play in the implementation of resettlement policies – whether such factors serve to facilitate or impede effective implementation – as well as the nature of the outcomes on the ground. As an overarching goal, the research aims to provide a basis upon which a framework for the development of a national level policy of resettlement may be developed. In this regard, the thesis undertakes a comparison of the Indian resettlement case with the Lesotho case. The former, in addition to having developed a resettlement policy at the national level, has a long history of experience in forced resettlement and displacement, from which invaluable lessons have been learned. The latter, on the other hand, has no resettlement policy at the national level, although the country has also experienced forced resettlement dating back to nearly three decades ago. Although India and Lesotho have distinct social, cultural, economic and demographic characteristics, research has shown that the complexities of forced resettlement, and their outcomes on affected people, are largely applicable across the different contexts. Hence, certain dimensions and lessons can be transferable from the Indian case to the Lesotho case, and vice versa. However, for the purpose of this thesis, the focus is on providing a basis for national policy development in Lesotho, in light of Indian policies and practice. The empirical basis of the thesis is an ethnographic study undertaken in relation to the Chandil Dam resettlement case in Jharkhand, India and the Mohale Dam resettlement case in Maseru, Lesotho. The thesis engaged both qualitative and quantitative research methods, as well as four, complementary theoretical tools that analyse the effects of forced resettlement on affected people. The thesis reveals that the negative consequences of forced resettlement resulting from its inherent complexities continue to manifest with concerning effects on the lives of those affected. It shows that the implementation of policies is a complex process that requires collaborative effort from a wide range of stakeholders in a given context. National policies of resettlement are, thus, instrumental in this regard, as they can create an enabling environment for the facilitation of collaborative efforts towards sustainable livelihood re-establishment for those who involuntarily suffer losses to resettlement.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
The morphological complexity of L1 Arabic-speaking children
- Authors: Issa, Iyad
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Cognition in children , Reading , Arabic language -- Orthography and spelling , Arabic language -- Orthography and spelling -- Study and teaching , Arabic language -- Study and teaching , Arabic language -- Phonetics
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92831 , vital:30754
- Description: Spelling poses a challenge to Arabic-speaking learners due to the complexity of the morphological and orthographic system in Arabic. Arabic morphology has been argued to play a critical role in spelling since its morphological operations are built on a system consisting of a root that is interlocking into different patterns of vowels to form different categories of words. In addition, Arabic orthography is considered to be loyal to the morphographic principle (Ravid, 2012), where morphemes correspond to graphic representation regardless of the pronunciation, especially in the non-vowelized texts. This study made a detailed classification of spelling errors in a word dictation task, based on morphological structures, undertaken by 107 Typically-developing learners (TD) and learners with learning disabiities (LD) attending the same schools. All participants ranged in age from 7 years, 3 months to 15 years, 2 months (grades 2 to 8). The spelling task was made up of 400 common words representing all morphological forms in different conjugations and grammatical classes. The results indicated that learners made three types of errors: errors with respect to the root, errors with respect to the word pattern, and errors with respect to both the root and the word pattern. The results also showed that TD and LD learners follow a similar pattern of complexity even though the LD group produced more errors than the TD group. The results revealed that MA and PA exhibited significant positive regression (b= 9.398, 16.106 respectively) with spelling, indicating that learners with higher scores in PA and MA have higher scores in spelling. The results argued for the crucial contribution that morphological awareness makes towards the general spelling abilities among learners and provide additional evidence for the nonlinear growth of morphological knowedge in spelling. In addition, spelling errors suggested that the spelling process goes in a hierarchical way where words can be accessed and processed either according to the root or according to the stem. Intact verbs are processed according to their root and word pattern. Some weak verb forms, whose radicals undergo modifications, are processed according to their stem, while those whose radicals are fully represented in the spoken word, are processed according to their root and word patterns. Therefore, roots or stems are firstly accessed and attached to basic word patterns (the grapheme without diacritics and affixes). Thereafter, prefixes and, then, suffixes are attached to the word pattern and, finally, diacritics are accessed and attached to the word pattern.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Issa, Iyad
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Cognition in children , Reading , Arabic language -- Orthography and spelling , Arabic language -- Orthography and spelling -- Study and teaching , Arabic language -- Study and teaching , Arabic language -- Phonetics
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92831 , vital:30754
- Description: Spelling poses a challenge to Arabic-speaking learners due to the complexity of the morphological and orthographic system in Arabic. Arabic morphology has been argued to play a critical role in spelling since its morphological operations are built on a system consisting of a root that is interlocking into different patterns of vowels to form different categories of words. In addition, Arabic orthography is considered to be loyal to the morphographic principle (Ravid, 2012), where morphemes correspond to graphic representation regardless of the pronunciation, especially in the non-vowelized texts. This study made a detailed classification of spelling errors in a word dictation task, based on morphological structures, undertaken by 107 Typically-developing learners (TD) and learners with learning disabiities (LD) attending the same schools. All participants ranged in age from 7 years, 3 months to 15 years, 2 months (grades 2 to 8). The spelling task was made up of 400 common words representing all morphological forms in different conjugations and grammatical classes. The results indicated that learners made three types of errors: errors with respect to the root, errors with respect to the word pattern, and errors with respect to both the root and the word pattern. The results also showed that TD and LD learners follow a similar pattern of complexity even though the LD group produced more errors than the TD group. The results revealed that MA and PA exhibited significant positive regression (b= 9.398, 16.106 respectively) with spelling, indicating that learners with higher scores in PA and MA have higher scores in spelling. The results argued for the crucial contribution that morphological awareness makes towards the general spelling abilities among learners and provide additional evidence for the nonlinear growth of morphological knowedge in spelling. In addition, spelling errors suggested that the spelling process goes in a hierarchical way where words can be accessed and processed either according to the root or according to the stem. Intact verbs are processed according to their root and word pattern. Some weak verb forms, whose radicals undergo modifications, are processed according to their stem, while those whose radicals are fully represented in the spoken word, are processed according to their root and word patterns. Therefore, roots or stems are firstly accessed and attached to basic word patterns (the grapheme without diacritics and affixes). Thereafter, prefixes and, then, suffixes are attached to the word pattern and, finally, diacritics are accessed and attached to the word pattern.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
The performance and preference of a specialist herbivore, Catorhintha schaffneri (Coreidae), on its polytypic host plant, Pereskia aculeata (Cactaceae)
- Authors: Egbon, Ikponmwosa Nathaniel
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Insects and biological pest control agents -- South Africa , Pereskia -- Biological control -- South Africa , Cactus -- Biological control -- South Africa , Coreida-- South Africa , Invasive plants -- Biological control -- South Africa , Catorhintha schaffneri
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68250 , vital:29223
- Description: Plant species moved beyond their natural ranges may be liberated into enemy-free spaces, where they increase resource allocation to fitness, rather than defence against natural enemies, and become invasive as suggested by the Evolution of Increased Competitive Ability (EICA) Hypothesis. Several cacti are notable invaders and are targeted for biological control. The leafy cactus, Pereskia aculeata Miller, introduced into South Africa from South America, has become a target for biological control after becoming invasive. The absence of natural enemies of P. aculeata in the introduced range may be the reason for its invasiveness. This thesis seeks to investigate the role of the evolution of increased competitive ability (enemy release) as the probable driver of P. aculeata’s success, and ascertain how the plant’s intraspecific variation influences the impact, fitness of, and preference by its biological control agent, Catorhintha schaffneri Brailovsky and Garcia (Coreidae), in South Africa. Enemy release and evolution of traits in P. aculeata were examined by quantifying plant growth parameters of fifteen genotypes of P. aculeata from both the native and invaded distribution of the plant. Ten genotypes of P. aculeata were used in testing the effect of agent herbivory (impact and damage) under similar conditions. These studies indicated that most invaded-range genotypes were more vigorous than the native genotypes. Rapid growth may account for the quick access of invasive genotypes of P. aculeata to tree canopies. Catorhintha schaffneri damage varied between genotypes but differences in the damage and impact from the agent could not be explained by whether the plant originated in the introduced or native distribution. In sum, while the growth of the invasive genotypes largely conforms to the EICA hypothesis, the impact of C. schaffneri did not support the hypothesis. The influence of host variation in P. aculeata on the fitness of C. schaffneri within the context of local adaptation to plant genotypes from different localities was tested using agent survival, stage-specific and total developmental time, and the extent of damage to ten host genotypes. Maw’s Host Suitability Index (HIS) and Dobie’s Susceptibility Index (DSI) showed the preference by and performance of C. schaffneri on the different genotypes of the plant. Catorhintha schaffneri survived to the adult stage on 70% of genotypes tested. Evidence consistent with the assumption that C. schaffneri would be fitter on the native genotypes than the invasive genotypes due to local adaptation was not found. In addition, there was no evidence in support of fitter agents on the invasive genotypes than on the native genotypes as proposed by EICA hypothesis. Catorhintha schaffneri developed equally well on the invasive genotypes of P. aculeata as on the native genotypes. To establish whether host variation would affect diet selection by C. schaffneri, both nymphs and adults were examined in paired-choice and multiple-choice trials. The nymphs and adults chose their hosts regardless of host genotype differences. The agent may be good at selecting good succulent shoots from bad shoots, but is incapable of distinguishing a good host genotype from a poorer one. This thesis shows, therefore, that P. aculeata and its array of genotypes in South Africa could be effectively controlled by C. schaffneri, as it has the potential to suitably utilise and impact the different genotypes of the weed in South Africa with neither any demonstrable preference nor local adaptation for the native genotypes. Consequently, the use of C. schaffneri, as a biological control agent in the weed biological control programme of P. aculeata remains promising, as the agent is insensitive to the intraspecific variation of the invasive host plants.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Egbon, Ikponmwosa Nathaniel
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Insects and biological pest control agents -- South Africa , Pereskia -- Biological control -- South Africa , Cactus -- Biological control -- South Africa , Coreida-- South Africa , Invasive plants -- Biological control -- South Africa , Catorhintha schaffneri
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68250 , vital:29223
- Description: Plant species moved beyond their natural ranges may be liberated into enemy-free spaces, where they increase resource allocation to fitness, rather than defence against natural enemies, and become invasive as suggested by the Evolution of Increased Competitive Ability (EICA) Hypothesis. Several cacti are notable invaders and are targeted for biological control. The leafy cactus, Pereskia aculeata Miller, introduced into South Africa from South America, has become a target for biological control after becoming invasive. The absence of natural enemies of P. aculeata in the introduced range may be the reason for its invasiveness. This thesis seeks to investigate the role of the evolution of increased competitive ability (enemy release) as the probable driver of P. aculeata’s success, and ascertain how the plant’s intraspecific variation influences the impact, fitness of, and preference by its biological control agent, Catorhintha schaffneri Brailovsky and Garcia (Coreidae), in South Africa. Enemy release and evolution of traits in P. aculeata were examined by quantifying plant growth parameters of fifteen genotypes of P. aculeata from both the native and invaded distribution of the plant. Ten genotypes of P. aculeata were used in testing the effect of agent herbivory (impact and damage) under similar conditions. These studies indicated that most invaded-range genotypes were more vigorous than the native genotypes. Rapid growth may account for the quick access of invasive genotypes of P. aculeata to tree canopies. Catorhintha schaffneri damage varied between genotypes but differences in the damage and impact from the agent could not be explained by whether the plant originated in the introduced or native distribution. In sum, while the growth of the invasive genotypes largely conforms to the EICA hypothesis, the impact of C. schaffneri did not support the hypothesis. The influence of host variation in P. aculeata on the fitness of C. schaffneri within the context of local adaptation to plant genotypes from different localities was tested using agent survival, stage-specific and total developmental time, and the extent of damage to ten host genotypes. Maw’s Host Suitability Index (HIS) and Dobie’s Susceptibility Index (DSI) showed the preference by and performance of C. schaffneri on the different genotypes of the plant. Catorhintha schaffneri survived to the adult stage on 70% of genotypes tested. Evidence consistent with the assumption that C. schaffneri would be fitter on the native genotypes than the invasive genotypes due to local adaptation was not found. In addition, there was no evidence in support of fitter agents on the invasive genotypes than on the native genotypes as proposed by EICA hypothesis. Catorhintha schaffneri developed equally well on the invasive genotypes of P. aculeata as on the native genotypes. To establish whether host variation would affect diet selection by C. schaffneri, both nymphs and adults were examined in paired-choice and multiple-choice trials. The nymphs and adults chose their hosts regardless of host genotype differences. The agent may be good at selecting good succulent shoots from bad shoots, but is incapable of distinguishing a good host genotype from a poorer one. This thesis shows, therefore, that P. aculeata and its array of genotypes in South Africa could be effectively controlled by C. schaffneri, as it has the potential to suitably utilise and impact the different genotypes of the weed in South Africa with neither any demonstrable preference nor local adaptation for the native genotypes. Consequently, the use of C. schaffneri, as a biological control agent in the weed biological control programme of P. aculeata remains promising, as the agent is insensitive to the intraspecific variation of the invasive host plants.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
The Trope of the Child: Rereading Trauma, Subjectivity and Embodiment in Contemporary Child-Centred African Narratives by Ahmadou Kourouma, Chris Abani, K. Sello Duiker and Yvonne Vera
- Authors: Njovane, Thandokazi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: thesis , text , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/164557 , vital:41134 , doi:10.21504/10962/164557
- Description: Thesis (PhD)--Rhodes University, Humanities, Literary Studies in English, 2019
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Njovane, Thandokazi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: thesis , text , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/164557 , vital:41134 , doi:10.21504/10962/164557
- Description: Thesis (PhD)--Rhodes University, Humanities, Literary Studies in English, 2019
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
The trophic and spatial ecology of a sympatric dasyatid community at a remote Atoll, Seychelles
- Authors: Elston, Chantel
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Dasyatidae -- Seychelles -- Ecology , Rays (Fishes) -- Seychelles -- Ecology , Ecology -- Seychelles , Dasyatidae -- Seychelles -- Conservation , Pastinachus sephen , Urogymnus granulatus , Urogymnus asperrimus
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/95756 , vital:31196 , DOI https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/95756
- Description: Batoid populations are declining globally but the paucity of information makes management or conservation efforts difficult. Additionally, batoids are mesopredators and are hypothesised to play important ecological roles, but a comprehensive understanding of these roles is also limited. Therefore, information on batoid habitat use, foraging ecology, and resource partitioning is needed. St. Joseph Atoll is a relatively pristine ecosystem that hosts a sympatric dasyatid community (Pastinachus sephen, Urogymnus granulatus, and U. asperrimus). Passive acoustic telemetry identified high levels of long-term site affinity by both juvenile and adult dasyatids to St. Joseph Atoll. Dispersal from the atoll by larger juveniles was also evident. Juveniles displayed restricted horizontal movements in the atoll, but the extent of these movements differed seasonally. Stomach content and stable isotope analyses identified inter-specific prey partitioning (P. sephen juveniles were mollusc specialists and U. granulatus juveniles were crustacean specialists) and intra-specific prey partitioning. Juveniles were reliant upon a seagrass-based food web, whereas adults were reliant on phytoplankton-based food web. Adults fed at higher trophic levels compared to juveniles (mean of 4.6 and 3.4 respectively). Juvenile dasyatids preferentially selected the shallow reef at habitat of the atoll, where there was no evidence for inter-specific habitat partitioning (individuals co-occurred randomly with con-and hetero-specifics). Conversely, resident adults were more reliant on the deeper lagoon. Juveniles selected the reef at habitat likely because it provided refuge from predation and foraging opportunities. However, juveniles were also detected in the lagoon habitat and this appeared to be necessitated by physical factors as they were detected more frequently in the lagoon at low tides and when temperatures on the reef fats became too warm or too cold. All results together suggest that St. Joseph Atoll is a nursery area for these dasyatids. Juveniles may be limited by resources as prey was partitioned between species. However, top-down control by larger sharks was likely a significant influence on habitat selection, as was the physical effects of tide and temperature. Finally, St. Joseph Atoll is suitable for the designation of a Marine Protected Area, which would likely confer high conservation benefits to this dasyatid community.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Elston, Chantel
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Dasyatidae -- Seychelles -- Ecology , Rays (Fishes) -- Seychelles -- Ecology , Ecology -- Seychelles , Dasyatidae -- Seychelles -- Conservation , Pastinachus sephen , Urogymnus granulatus , Urogymnus asperrimus
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/95756 , vital:31196 , DOI https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/95756
- Description: Batoid populations are declining globally but the paucity of information makes management or conservation efforts difficult. Additionally, batoids are mesopredators and are hypothesised to play important ecological roles, but a comprehensive understanding of these roles is also limited. Therefore, information on batoid habitat use, foraging ecology, and resource partitioning is needed. St. Joseph Atoll is a relatively pristine ecosystem that hosts a sympatric dasyatid community (Pastinachus sephen, Urogymnus granulatus, and U. asperrimus). Passive acoustic telemetry identified high levels of long-term site affinity by both juvenile and adult dasyatids to St. Joseph Atoll. Dispersal from the atoll by larger juveniles was also evident. Juveniles displayed restricted horizontal movements in the atoll, but the extent of these movements differed seasonally. Stomach content and stable isotope analyses identified inter-specific prey partitioning (P. sephen juveniles were mollusc specialists and U. granulatus juveniles were crustacean specialists) and intra-specific prey partitioning. Juveniles were reliant upon a seagrass-based food web, whereas adults were reliant on phytoplankton-based food web. Adults fed at higher trophic levels compared to juveniles (mean of 4.6 and 3.4 respectively). Juvenile dasyatids preferentially selected the shallow reef at habitat of the atoll, where there was no evidence for inter-specific habitat partitioning (individuals co-occurred randomly with con-and hetero-specifics). Conversely, resident adults were more reliant on the deeper lagoon. Juveniles selected the reef at habitat likely because it provided refuge from predation and foraging opportunities. However, juveniles were also detected in the lagoon habitat and this appeared to be necessitated by physical factors as they were detected more frequently in the lagoon at low tides and when temperatures on the reef fats became too warm or too cold. All results together suggest that St. Joseph Atoll is a nursery area for these dasyatids. Juveniles may be limited by resources as prey was partitioned between species. However, top-down control by larger sharks was likely a significant influence on habitat selection, as was the physical effects of tide and temperature. Finally, St. Joseph Atoll is suitable for the designation of a Marine Protected Area, which would likely confer high conservation benefits to this dasyatid community.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
The tropical environment and malaria in southwestern Nigeria, 1861 – 1960
- Authors: Adetiba, Adedamola Seun
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Diseases and history -- Africa , Diseases and history -- Nigeria , Medical anthropology -- Africa , Medical anthropology -- Nigeria , Malaria -- Social aspects -- Nigeria , Malaria -- Nigeria -- History , Nigeria -- History , Imperialism -- Health aspects , Medicine -- Colonies -- Great Britain -- History
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76564 , vital:30605
- Description: This thesis is a social history of malaria in southwestern Nigeria. It contributes to the burgeoning literature in the historiography of medicine, specifically the medicine and empire debate. Key to the issues raised in this thesis is the extent to which the limitations in colonial medical policies, most especially malaria control programmes, inspired critical and ingenious responses from African nationalists, doctors, patients, research volunteers, and indigenous medical practitioners. Challenged by a wide range of diseases and a paucity of health facilities and disease control schemes, African rural dwellers became medical pluralists in the ways they imagined and appropriated ideas of Western medicine alongside their indigenous medical practices. Beginning with a detailed historical exploration of the issues that informed the introduction of curative and preventive medicine in southwestern Nigeria, this thesis reveals the focus of colonial medicine. It exposes the one-sided nature of medical services in colonial spaces like southwestern Nigeria and the ways it shaped multifaceted responses from Africans, who were specifically side-lined till the 1950s when the rural medical service scheme was introduced. The focus of colonial medicine is drawn from relatively rich but often subjective historical evidence, such as a plethora of official reports of the department of medical and sanitary services, official correspondences within the colonial government in Lagos and Nigeria, and between the colonial government and the colonial office in the United Kingdom. Details of African responses to medical policies were garnered from newspaper publications and correspondences between the African public and the colonial government in Lagos. They reveal very interesting details of the ways Africans imagined, reimagined, and appropriated malaria control ideas and schemes. The central argument in this thesis is that attempts to control malaria in southwestern Nigeria till the 1950s, were shaped by a single concern to ameliorate the implications of the disease on the colonial state. It argues that this one-sided nature of malaria control programme informed the basis for medical pluralism in most rural spaces where African communities became patrons and sponsors of Western medicine and at the same time custodians of their indigenous medical practices. The series of justifications for the sustenance of these services were reinforced on the basis of the failure of the colonial state to guarantee the health needs of their colonial subjects. The aim of the thesis is to reinforce arguments that portray colonial medicine as a “tool of empire” but goes a bit further to explain the extent to which Africans related to this reality. It states quite categorically that Africans were not docile and silent, but that they acted decisively in ways that suited their varied interests and courses.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Adetiba, Adedamola Seun
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Diseases and history -- Africa , Diseases and history -- Nigeria , Medical anthropology -- Africa , Medical anthropology -- Nigeria , Malaria -- Social aspects -- Nigeria , Malaria -- Nigeria -- History , Nigeria -- History , Imperialism -- Health aspects , Medicine -- Colonies -- Great Britain -- History
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76564 , vital:30605
- Description: This thesis is a social history of malaria in southwestern Nigeria. It contributes to the burgeoning literature in the historiography of medicine, specifically the medicine and empire debate. Key to the issues raised in this thesis is the extent to which the limitations in colonial medical policies, most especially malaria control programmes, inspired critical and ingenious responses from African nationalists, doctors, patients, research volunteers, and indigenous medical practitioners. Challenged by a wide range of diseases and a paucity of health facilities and disease control schemes, African rural dwellers became medical pluralists in the ways they imagined and appropriated ideas of Western medicine alongside their indigenous medical practices. Beginning with a detailed historical exploration of the issues that informed the introduction of curative and preventive medicine in southwestern Nigeria, this thesis reveals the focus of colonial medicine. It exposes the one-sided nature of medical services in colonial spaces like southwestern Nigeria and the ways it shaped multifaceted responses from Africans, who were specifically side-lined till the 1950s when the rural medical service scheme was introduced. The focus of colonial medicine is drawn from relatively rich but often subjective historical evidence, such as a plethora of official reports of the department of medical and sanitary services, official correspondences within the colonial government in Lagos and Nigeria, and between the colonial government and the colonial office in the United Kingdom. Details of African responses to medical policies were garnered from newspaper publications and correspondences between the African public and the colonial government in Lagos. They reveal very interesting details of the ways Africans imagined, reimagined, and appropriated malaria control ideas and schemes. The central argument in this thesis is that attempts to control malaria in southwestern Nigeria till the 1950s, were shaped by a single concern to ameliorate the implications of the disease on the colonial state. It argues that this one-sided nature of malaria control programme informed the basis for medical pluralism in most rural spaces where African communities became patrons and sponsors of Western medicine and at the same time custodians of their indigenous medical practices. The series of justifications for the sustenance of these services were reinforced on the basis of the failure of the colonial state to guarantee the health needs of their colonial subjects. The aim of the thesis is to reinforce arguments that portray colonial medicine as a “tool of empire” but goes a bit further to explain the extent to which Africans related to this reality. It states quite categorically that Africans were not docile and silent, but that they acted decisively in ways that suited their varied interests and courses.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Towards a norm of compliance in recreational fisheries
- Authors: Bova, Christopher S
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Fishing -- Management -- South Africa , Fishery law and legislation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/95909 , vital:31213
- Description: The activity of fishing can be traced back to prehistoric times. However, only in the last century has there been a focus on the management of fisheries. Fishery regulations are tools used by resource managers with the aim of protecting the long-term sustainability of fishery resources. Although there is an overwhelming amount of evidence demonstrating the decline of fisheries, non-compliance with these regulations by fishers continues to manifest, which can exacerbate the negative ecological impacts of fisheries. Popular methods towards the measurement of noncompliance in fisheries derived from previous human dimensions literature may be flawed. Theories on improving compliance behaviour have typically relied on theory, which has at times proved paradoxical. Addressing the issues of non-compliance within a fishery of interest requires measuring the levels of non-compliance within the fishery and determining the relevant sociopsychological drivers behind the non-compliant behaviour. The data collection methods used during these assessments are limited in human dimensions research and are often case and context specific, requiring researchers to identify which approach is most practical for the specific fishery of interest. By identifying relevant behavioural drivers of non-compliance, a more effective approach aimed at improving compliance can be tailored. The recreational marine-based shore fishery (MBSF) in South Africa is not impervious to noncomplaint behaviour. In fact, it has been estimated to have relatively high rates of non-compliance. This high level of non-compliance makes the South African MBSF a unique and optimal context in which to undertake research that aims to formulate a framework towards compliance assessments and that develops a suitable approach for improving compliance rates. Using surveys to obtain compliance data can provide a range of details about violators, however they are susceptible to social desirability bias (SDB). Choosing the best method for controlling SDB required an assessment of existing methods for doing so. In this first part of the study, only fishers who were covertly observed breaking the rules were surveyed, using one of three methods for reducing SDB, to ground-truth the responses. Ground-truthing was done to determine which method would be most effective for a large-scale study within the same fishery. Of the methods used, which include the direct questioning method (DQM), the random response technique (RRT) and the ballot box method (BBM), all contained some level of SDB. However, the BBM provided a significantly higher level of response accuracy (79.6% ± 11.9) than the DQM (46.5% ± 14.9) and the RRT (44.3% ± 12.5). Random-stratified roving creel compliance surveys that employed the BBM were then undertaken at various locations along South Africa’s coastline to estimate current rates of non-compliance, and the face-to-face results were compared to results from an identical online survey to determine the suitability of online surveys as a replacement. The results indicated that online surveys only represent a subgroup of the fisher population within the MBSF, suggesting that face-to-face survey methods are required to obtain a more comprehensive sample and a more robust estimate of noncompliance. The results, based on 453 face-to-face surveys, showed a high level of overall self-reported noncompliance (48.3%) within the fishery. Responses to Likert scale survey questions on various aspects of the fishery, including angler motivations for fishing, were then modelled to test the relationship between the anglers’ responses and their compliance behaviour. In the South African MBSF context, the most significant behavioural drivers behind non-compliance related to normative concepts. Specifically, the poor perceptions of management and value-based legitimacy as well as low levels of moral obligation to adhere to the regulations appeared to contribute most to the observed non-compliant behaviour. Angler motivations for fishing also played a significant role in determining the compliance behaviour of anglers, with those fishing for food being more likely to violate regulations. In most countries, regardless of economic context, interventions to improve recreational fishery compliance have been developed around the instrumental concept. However, these findings suggest that for recreational fisheries, managers would do well to evaluate the impact of normative concepts on compliance and to design interventions aimed at addressing these. In the case of the South African MBSF, interventions that address angler perceptions of legitimacy and aim to correct misperceptions about social norms of compliance may provide a more practical and cost- effective method for improving poor compliance behaviour.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Bova, Christopher S
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Fishing -- Management -- South Africa , Fishery law and legislation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/95909 , vital:31213
- Description: The activity of fishing can be traced back to prehistoric times. However, only in the last century has there been a focus on the management of fisheries. Fishery regulations are tools used by resource managers with the aim of protecting the long-term sustainability of fishery resources. Although there is an overwhelming amount of evidence demonstrating the decline of fisheries, non-compliance with these regulations by fishers continues to manifest, which can exacerbate the negative ecological impacts of fisheries. Popular methods towards the measurement of noncompliance in fisheries derived from previous human dimensions literature may be flawed. Theories on improving compliance behaviour have typically relied on theory, which has at times proved paradoxical. Addressing the issues of non-compliance within a fishery of interest requires measuring the levels of non-compliance within the fishery and determining the relevant sociopsychological drivers behind the non-compliant behaviour. The data collection methods used during these assessments are limited in human dimensions research and are often case and context specific, requiring researchers to identify which approach is most practical for the specific fishery of interest. By identifying relevant behavioural drivers of non-compliance, a more effective approach aimed at improving compliance can be tailored. The recreational marine-based shore fishery (MBSF) in South Africa is not impervious to noncomplaint behaviour. In fact, it has been estimated to have relatively high rates of non-compliance. This high level of non-compliance makes the South African MBSF a unique and optimal context in which to undertake research that aims to formulate a framework towards compliance assessments and that develops a suitable approach for improving compliance rates. Using surveys to obtain compliance data can provide a range of details about violators, however they are susceptible to social desirability bias (SDB). Choosing the best method for controlling SDB required an assessment of existing methods for doing so. In this first part of the study, only fishers who were covertly observed breaking the rules were surveyed, using one of three methods for reducing SDB, to ground-truth the responses. Ground-truthing was done to determine which method would be most effective for a large-scale study within the same fishery. Of the methods used, which include the direct questioning method (DQM), the random response technique (RRT) and the ballot box method (BBM), all contained some level of SDB. However, the BBM provided a significantly higher level of response accuracy (79.6% ± 11.9) than the DQM (46.5% ± 14.9) and the RRT (44.3% ± 12.5). Random-stratified roving creel compliance surveys that employed the BBM were then undertaken at various locations along South Africa’s coastline to estimate current rates of non-compliance, and the face-to-face results were compared to results from an identical online survey to determine the suitability of online surveys as a replacement. The results indicated that online surveys only represent a subgroup of the fisher population within the MBSF, suggesting that face-to-face survey methods are required to obtain a more comprehensive sample and a more robust estimate of noncompliance. The results, based on 453 face-to-face surveys, showed a high level of overall self-reported noncompliance (48.3%) within the fishery. Responses to Likert scale survey questions on various aspects of the fishery, including angler motivations for fishing, were then modelled to test the relationship between the anglers’ responses and their compliance behaviour. In the South African MBSF context, the most significant behavioural drivers behind non-compliance related to normative concepts. Specifically, the poor perceptions of management and value-based legitimacy as well as low levels of moral obligation to adhere to the regulations appeared to contribute most to the observed non-compliant behaviour. Angler motivations for fishing also played a significant role in determining the compliance behaviour of anglers, with those fishing for food being more likely to violate regulations. In most countries, regardless of economic context, interventions to improve recreational fishery compliance have been developed around the instrumental concept. However, these findings suggest that for recreational fisheries, managers would do well to evaluate the impact of normative concepts on compliance and to design interventions aimed at addressing these. In the case of the South African MBSF, interventions that address angler perceptions of legitimacy and aim to correct misperceptions about social norms of compliance may provide a more practical and cost- effective method for improving poor compliance behaviour.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Training intervention for volunteers supporting victims of intimate partner violence in South Africa
- Authors: Thomas, Samantha
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Intimate partner violence -- Psychological aspects , Victims of family violence -- Services for -- South Africa , Marital violence , Victims of dating violence , Family violence -- Law and legislation , Non-governmental organizations -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/65079 , vital:28679
- Description: Intimate Partner Violence continues to be a significant social problem in South Africa, requiring a systematised and effective response at multiple levels. The organisation at the centre of this research offers crisis intervention to victims of intimate partner violence, providing basic psychological support, legal information and referrals. The volunteer crisis interventionists are exposed to numerous in-depth accounts of violent and distressing victimisation, making them more vulnerable to vicarious traumatisation. Through this work, their prior assumptions about personal safety, the trustworthiness of other people, and basic justice in the world, are challenged. The challenge to these assumptions increases the likelihood of countertransference victim blaming responses, as it is often easier to hold the client responsible for the tragic event than for the support worker to transform their own assumptions about safety and justice. This victim blaming response is supported by the dominant patriarchal ideology which frequently seeks to maintain the systems of oppression, excusing the perpetrator and placing responsibility on the victim. It was therefore clear that in order to do this work effectively, volunteers needed to be trained to identify their countertransference reactions and emotional responses, as well as undergo a critical re-assessment of their ideas relating to intimate partner violence and victimisation. Using an Intervention Research paradigm, this research designed and developed a training programme based on transformative learning theory, moving away from traditional information models of training to a focus on emotional skills and critical self-insight. The phases of the intervention refined the intervention in order to ensure that the research objectives were met and that the programme could be easily replicated. The evaluation of each phase showed an increased capacity for critical insight, and evidence for a transformative shift in the trainees understanding and approach to intimate partner violence.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Training intervention for volunteers supporting victims of intimate partner violence in South Africa
- Authors: Thomas, Samantha
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Intimate partner violence -- Psychological aspects , Victims of family violence -- Services for -- South Africa , Marital violence , Victims of dating violence , Family violence -- Law and legislation , Non-governmental organizations -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/65079 , vital:28679
- Description: Intimate Partner Violence continues to be a significant social problem in South Africa, requiring a systematised and effective response at multiple levels. The organisation at the centre of this research offers crisis intervention to victims of intimate partner violence, providing basic psychological support, legal information and referrals. The volunteer crisis interventionists are exposed to numerous in-depth accounts of violent and distressing victimisation, making them more vulnerable to vicarious traumatisation. Through this work, their prior assumptions about personal safety, the trustworthiness of other people, and basic justice in the world, are challenged. The challenge to these assumptions increases the likelihood of countertransference victim blaming responses, as it is often easier to hold the client responsible for the tragic event than for the support worker to transform their own assumptions about safety and justice. This victim blaming response is supported by the dominant patriarchal ideology which frequently seeks to maintain the systems of oppression, excusing the perpetrator and placing responsibility on the victim. It was therefore clear that in order to do this work effectively, volunteers needed to be trained to identify their countertransference reactions and emotional responses, as well as undergo a critical re-assessment of their ideas relating to intimate partner violence and victimisation. Using an Intervention Research paradigm, this research designed and developed a training programme based on transformative learning theory, moving away from traditional information models of training to a focus on emotional skills and critical self-insight. The phases of the intervention refined the intervention in order to ensure that the research objectives were met and that the programme could be easily replicated. The evaluation of each phase showed an increased capacity for critical insight, and evidence for a transformative shift in the trainees understanding and approach to intimate partner violence.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Understanding defiant identities: an ethnography of gays and lesbians in Harare, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Muparamoto, Nelson
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Gays -- Zimbabwe , Gays -- Abuse of -- Zimbabwe , Homosexuality -- Zimbabwe , Homosexuality -- Political aspects -- Zimbabwe , Homosexuality -- Social aspects -- Zimbabwe , Homosexuality -- Religious aspects -- Zimbabwe , Homophobia -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67720 , vital:29133
- Description: Over the years, western and local media have mediated a narrative of a thoroughly homophobic Zimbabwe, not the least emanating from the former president Robert Mugabe’s ongoing homocritical utterances which recurrently generated global news stories. The country does indeed have a protracted history characterised by various forms of attacks on Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, its membership, and the general lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. A dominant discourse has framed homosexual identities as on or beyond the border of what is acceptable, giving the clear message that they should not be tolerated. However, the narrative needs a more nuanced analysis than what has been popularised. That homophobia has played a significant role in Zimbabwe is of great import, but it is not and cannot be all there is to say about LGBT lives in the country. And, while scholarship on Zimbabwean homosexualities has engaged with debates about its indigeneity, morality and acceptability, it has as of yet not significantly explored the lived realities of non-heterosexual individuals from their own point of view. This thesis aims to begin doing exactly that, addressing the experiences of same-sex loving and attracted individuals in Harare. Drawing on ethnographic sociology, the thesis focuses on understanding how gay and lesbian identities are constructed, negotiated and experienced within an environment that is in many ways overtly homophobic, where, for example, the risk for social exclusion is considerable. It explores what characterises and shapes gay and lesbian identities in Harare in an attempt to interrogate how they reinforce, modify and challenge dominant social categories and relate to globally circulating queer identity categories. The thesis demonstrates that the construction of identities among same sex loving people in Harare variously draws on both locally and globally circulating ideas and insights. The thesis reveals that beyond the considerable attacks on homosexual identities in Zimbabwe, the intersection of local and international discourses on gay and lesbian identities produces identities that are to varying degrees emergent, fluid and perhaps fragmented. Despite attempts to expunge non-heterosexuals from Zimbabwean citizenry by drawing borders on the basis of sexual orientation, same sex loving individuals in Harare have defiantly expressed, negotiated and managed their sexual identities. The thesis describes and analyses things like dating patterns, decision making in same sex relations as well as family and religious experiences. Invoking Goffman’s concept of self-presentation enables one to understand how participants expressed themselves in the midst of like-minded or homo-tolerant individuals and how they deployed themselves in ‘spaces’ considered homocritical or where resentment was likely to be provoked by them openly expressing their sexual orientation. Crucially, same-sex loving and attracted individuals are agentic individuals who have variously stretched the traditional meanings associated with gender and sexuality in a context characterised by heteronormativity. This thesis usefully deploys Giddens’ (1991, 1992) theorisation of late modernity as characterised by conditions allowing a profusion of competing and sometimes contradictory identity discourses which offers the opportunity for self-reflexivity and identity negotiation. This helps us to understand the defiant identities. Whereas western circulating identity politics tout ‘coming out of the closet’, for most of the participants overt indiscriminate disclosure was to be avoided with participants therein deploying strategies that would help them to remain closeted to some family members as well as in religious circles. The consequences of ‘outing’ or disclosure are ostensibly not straightforward but complex, thus requiring a nuanced analysis that goes beyond the binary categories framed as either negative or positive. The thesis shows that experiences of same sex loving people in their families are complex rather than simply situated on the polar ends of either rejection or acceptance. Whilst dominant discourse has depicted religion as fuelling homophobia as it depicts a Christian identity and queer identities as incompatible, the thesis also explores how some participants challenge the borders drawn in religious circles and maintain a relatively active religious life but not always without conflict.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Muparamoto, Nelson
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Gays -- Zimbabwe , Gays -- Abuse of -- Zimbabwe , Homosexuality -- Zimbabwe , Homosexuality -- Political aspects -- Zimbabwe , Homosexuality -- Social aspects -- Zimbabwe , Homosexuality -- Religious aspects -- Zimbabwe , Homophobia -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67720 , vital:29133
- Description: Over the years, western and local media have mediated a narrative of a thoroughly homophobic Zimbabwe, not the least emanating from the former president Robert Mugabe’s ongoing homocritical utterances which recurrently generated global news stories. The country does indeed have a protracted history characterised by various forms of attacks on Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, its membership, and the general lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. A dominant discourse has framed homosexual identities as on or beyond the border of what is acceptable, giving the clear message that they should not be tolerated. However, the narrative needs a more nuanced analysis than what has been popularised. That homophobia has played a significant role in Zimbabwe is of great import, but it is not and cannot be all there is to say about LGBT lives in the country. And, while scholarship on Zimbabwean homosexualities has engaged with debates about its indigeneity, morality and acceptability, it has as of yet not significantly explored the lived realities of non-heterosexual individuals from their own point of view. This thesis aims to begin doing exactly that, addressing the experiences of same-sex loving and attracted individuals in Harare. Drawing on ethnographic sociology, the thesis focuses on understanding how gay and lesbian identities are constructed, negotiated and experienced within an environment that is in many ways overtly homophobic, where, for example, the risk for social exclusion is considerable. It explores what characterises and shapes gay and lesbian identities in Harare in an attempt to interrogate how they reinforce, modify and challenge dominant social categories and relate to globally circulating queer identity categories. The thesis demonstrates that the construction of identities among same sex loving people in Harare variously draws on both locally and globally circulating ideas and insights. The thesis reveals that beyond the considerable attacks on homosexual identities in Zimbabwe, the intersection of local and international discourses on gay and lesbian identities produces identities that are to varying degrees emergent, fluid and perhaps fragmented. Despite attempts to expunge non-heterosexuals from Zimbabwean citizenry by drawing borders on the basis of sexual orientation, same sex loving individuals in Harare have defiantly expressed, negotiated and managed their sexual identities. The thesis describes and analyses things like dating patterns, decision making in same sex relations as well as family and religious experiences. Invoking Goffman’s concept of self-presentation enables one to understand how participants expressed themselves in the midst of like-minded or homo-tolerant individuals and how they deployed themselves in ‘spaces’ considered homocritical or where resentment was likely to be provoked by them openly expressing their sexual orientation. Crucially, same-sex loving and attracted individuals are agentic individuals who have variously stretched the traditional meanings associated with gender and sexuality in a context characterised by heteronormativity. This thesis usefully deploys Giddens’ (1991, 1992) theorisation of late modernity as characterised by conditions allowing a profusion of competing and sometimes contradictory identity discourses which offers the opportunity for self-reflexivity and identity negotiation. This helps us to understand the defiant identities. Whereas western circulating identity politics tout ‘coming out of the closet’, for most of the participants overt indiscriminate disclosure was to be avoided with participants therein deploying strategies that would help them to remain closeted to some family members as well as in religious circles. The consequences of ‘outing’ or disclosure are ostensibly not straightforward but complex, thus requiring a nuanced analysis that goes beyond the binary categories framed as either negative or positive. The thesis shows that experiences of same sex loving people in their families are complex rather than simply situated on the polar ends of either rejection or acceptance. Whilst dominant discourse has depicted religion as fuelling homophobia as it depicts a Christian identity and queer identities as incompatible, the thesis also explores how some participants challenge the borders drawn in religious circles and maintain a relatively active religious life but not always without conflict.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019