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A medicinal chemistry study in nitrogen containing heterocycles

  • Authors: Lunga, Mayibongwe Junior
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Indole , Tetrazoles , Antimalarials , Heat shock proteins , Plasmodium falciparum
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63521 , vital:28430
  • Description: Heterocyclic structures have found extensive utility in the field of medicinal chemistry, as prominent regions of pharmacophores resulting in numerous drug treatments for many diseases. Accordingly, in this project we explored the respective antimalarial and anticancer activity exhibited by compounds featuring nitrogen containing indole and tetrazole heterocycles respectively. This thesis therefore comprises of two distinct parts. Part 1. Following the development of resistance towards traditional antimalarial therapy such as chloroquine and emerging resistance towards artemisinin combination therapies, the WHO reported the urgent need for new, effective drugs and identification of new drug targets to combat the Plasmodium falciparum parasite. In 2015 the parasite was the cause of 429 000 deaths, the majority occurring in the sub-Saharan region of Africa. This highlights the failing effectiveness of vector control strategies, reiterating the need to develop alternative control and treatment strategies. In response to this need we wanted to expand and further describe the SAR of the indole based series, indolyl-3-ethanone-α- thioethers, previously synthesized in our laboratory. These compounds were found to exhibit antimalarial activity with compounds 2.26 and 2.27 exhibiting activity against P. falciparum 3D7 in the nanomolar range. Based on these compounds we synthesized compounds 3.21 and 3.24 – 3.32 following a three step reaction pathway. Our results in this study, indicate that compound 3.28, a pnitrothiophenol analogue of 2.27 was the most active of the compounds we synthesized and furthermore was superior in activity against Plasmodium compared to 2.27. This result indicated that the presence of p-NO2 is important in enhancing anti-plasmodial activity. Comparing compounds 3.25 and 3.26 with an oxygen on the ether bridge to compounds 3.29 and 3.30 with a sulfur, we observed an increase in hydrophilicity coupled to a decrease in anti-plasmodial activity in the compounds, thus, highlighting the importance of sulfur for enhanced activity. Furthermore, we investigated bioisosteric replacement of the 5-chloro substituent present in hit compounds 2.27 and 3.28, with an electron withdrawing nitrile (3.27) and electron donating methyl (3.29) and methoxy (3.31) substituents. These substituents decreased anti-plasmodial activity, confirming that a chlorine substituent is optimal for biological activity. This study furthered our understanding of the SAR of indolyl-3-ethanone-α- thioethers for the development of potent anti-plasmodial lead compounds. Part 2. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), which disproportionately affects women of sub-Saharan Africa, is unresponsive to hormone-based therapies. This emergence presents a population of patients devoid of effective drug treatment, signaling the urgent need to develop new effective therapies with novel drug targets. Therefore, we identified our target in TNBC cells as the protein-protein interaction between the co-chaperones HOP and HSP90. We reasoned that a disruption of this interaction would ultimately result in cancer cell death via the degradation of essential oncogenic client proteins. Following a fragment screening campaign, which identified several acid and tetrazole containing hits (4.56 – 4.58) which bound to HOP, with low anticancer activity, we sought to develop synthetic methodology to elaborate our fragment hits synthesizing tetrazole containing fragments to target TNBC cell lines. We therefore proceeded to synthesize a range of multi substituted fragments (4.59 – 4.63), utilizing a nitrile (4.66) to access tetrazoles via 1,3-cycloaddition and an acid by nitrile hydrolysis. We successfully synthesized the tetrazole and acid fragments which are currently undergoing characterization for activity against TNBC. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmacy, 2018
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  • Date Issued: 2018

Experiences of Homophobia by the Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual Students in Selected Institutions of Higher Learning in OR Tambo District Municipality, Eastern Cape Province.

  • Authors: Luvo , Kasa
  • Date: 2021-00
  • Subjects: Sex
  • Language: English
  • Type: Masters theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/7950 , vital:57232
  • Description: Sexuality remains one of the most misinterpreted and misunderstood social concepts. The societal norms have had a role to play. The identification and acceptance of heterosexuality as the only sexual practice has created some misconceptions. Furthermore, the role played by religion has a tremendous influence on how people views sexuality. However, the aim of the study is to investigate the experiences of the LGBTQIA society with special reference to students residing in the OR Tambo district municipality. Social Constructionism and Five Faces of Oppression are theories that underpinned this study. Furthermore, the nature of this research is descriptive and explorative and the methodology utilized in this study correlates to the mentioned research design. Therefore, qualitative research method was adopted in this study. A sample of 15 participants was utilized, and Non-probability sampling procedure was used through snowball sampling. An in-depth interview guide was used for data collection and thematic analysis approach was utilized for the analysis. Findings of the study suggests that there is rife homophobia in the IHL; the students subscribing to heteronormativity have been threatening those who were homosexuals and/or aligning with the LGBTQIA community with physical assault. It further found that they showed resilience and consistency when it came to academic performance. This, they attributed to their urge to “prove the naysers wrong” as they have been told that they will never make it in life because of their sexuality. The study recommends that the university should engage external stakeholders on the decriminalization of homosexuality and that the university should protect their students from all sort of harm. , Thesis (Masters) -- Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, 2021
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  • Date Issued: 2021-00

The impact of financial inclusion and institutional quality on economic growth in the BRICS and MINT countries

  • Authors: Matiso, Sibahle
  • Date: 2021-04
  • Subjects: BRIC countries , BRIC countries -- Foreign economic relations. , Economic development -- Developing countries
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/51873 , vital:43380
  • Description: The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between Financial Inclusion, institutional quality, and economic growth in the Brics and Mint emerging economies. Taking six different indicators of financial availability, accessibility and usability, this paper constructed a single financial inclusion index using an approach developed by Sarma (2008). Similarly, taking six governance indicators and five economic freedom indicators we constructed a single Institutional quality index using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method. Thus, using data that spans from 2004 to 2018 we tested the relationship between these two indexes and Economic growth using the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) econometric model. The empirical results showed that there is indeed a positive and significant simultaneous effect of financial Inclusion and Institutional quality on Economic growth in the Brics and Mint emerging economies. This positive relationship between these variables suggests that government agents and policymakers in the Brics and Mint countries need to come up with strategies that will help build efficient state institutions and enhance financial inclusion as these are suitable instruments for the promotion of sustainable future growth and the upliftment of the welfare of their citizens. , Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, Economics, 2021
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  • Date Issued: 2021-04

Classification and clustering based methods for outlier detection of solar resource data

  • Authors: Abrahams, Waldo
  • Date: 2022-04
  • Subjects: Port Elizabeth (South Africa) , Eastern Cape (South Africa) , South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/55423 , vital:51996
  • Description: Almost 90% of the primary global energy demand is serviced from the burning of fossil fuels (Abas, Kalair & Khan, 2015). Owing to the detrimental environmental impact of this, a global energy transition to the use of renewable energy, including solar energy, is needed (Gielen et al., 2019). An important aspect that inhibits the growth of solar energy is accurate solar resource data. Such data is needed because knowledge of the future reliability and quality of energy production is required to analyse a system’s performance and determine financial implications (Sengupta et al., 2017). Existing methods used to detect outliers in solar resource data do not efficiently identify outliers and an accurate and robust approach is required (Eastwood, 2019). Using simulated and real-world data, this study investigates the use of several classification methods, along with a two-stage clustering-classification approach to accurately identify outliers in solar resource data. The Treebag method proves to be an adequate outlier detection method for solar resource data. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, School of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04

Studying the brightest radio sources in the southern sky

  • Authors: Sejake, Precious Katlego
  • Date: 2022-04-06
  • Subjects: Galaxies Formation , Galaxies Evolution , Active galaxies , Radio galaxies , Radio sources (Astronomy) , Southern sky (Astronomy)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/455350 , vital:75423
  • Description: Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are among the most remarkable and powerful extragalactic radio sources in the Universe. The study of AGN enables us to understand better the critical mechanisms leading to the launch of radio jets, and its link to the central engine. Radio jets are thought to impact their host galaxy by promoting or suppressing star formation. By studying AGN, we can better understand their formation, evolution, and environment. The host galaxy cross-identification is a crucial step to be carried out to build a multi-wavelength analysis of powerful radio sources; AGN. The GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky Murchison Widefield Array (GLEAM) 4Jy (G4Jy) Sample comprises 1,863 of the powerful radio sources in the southern sky. However, 140 sources from the G4Jy Sample were followed-up with the Open Time on MeerKAT. Of these 140 sources, 126 had an ambiguous host galaxy, and 13 had an identified host galaxy; however, there were some discrepancies in the literature concerning the host galaxy. The host-galaxy identification of these sources is limited by the poor resolution of radio data at 25" to 45". This study aims to assess the radio morphology of these 140 sources and identify their host galaxy using the ⇠ 7” resolution images from MeerKAT in conjunction with datasets at other wavelengths. This analysis is carried out by visually inspecting the overlays. The overlays comprise radio contours from 150 MHz, 200 MHz, 843/1400 MHz and 1300 MHz overlaid on the mid-infrared image (3.4 μm). The MeerKAT images reveal sources with various radio morphologies. While most of the sources have radio morphology of typical symmetric lobes, 10 radio sources have head-tail morphology, 14 are wide-angle tail (WAT), and 5 have X-, S- /Z-shaped morphology. Overall, we find host galaxies for 70% of the sources in the sample, with the remainder comprising sources with ambiguous host galaxy (20.7%) and sources with a faint mid-infrared host galaxy (9.3%). These results highlight the importance of angular resolution and sensitivity for morphological classification and host galaxy cross-identification. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Physics and Electronics, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-06

Identification of selective novel hits against Mycobacterium tuberculosis KasA potential allosteric sites using bioinformatics approaches

  • Authors: Hare, Fadzayi Faith
  • Date: 2022-10-14
  • Subjects: Tuberculosis , Docking , Molecules Models , Virtual screening , Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis , Fatty acids Synthesis , Drugs Design
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/362842 , vital:65367
  • Description: Tuberculosis (TB) is a global health threat that has led to approximately 1.5 million deaths annually. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), TB is among the top ten deadly diseases and is the leading cause of death due to a single infectious agent. The main challenge in the effective treatment and control of TB is the ongoing emergence of resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) which lead to multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extensive-drug resistant (XDR) TB. Hence, the identification and characterization of novel drug targets and drugs that modulate the activity of the pathogen are an urgent priority. The current situation even necessitates the reengineering or repurposing of drugs in order to achieve effective control. The β-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase I (KasA) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an essential enzyme in the mycobacterial fatty acid synthesis (FAS-II) pathway and is believed to be a promising target for drug discovery in TB. It is one of the five main proteins of the FAS-II pathway and catalyzes a key condensation reaction in the synthesis of meromycolate chains, the precursors of mycolic acids involved in cell wall formation. Although this protein has been extensively studied, little research has been devoted to the allosteric inhibition of potential drug compounds. The main aim of this research was to identify the allosteric sites on the protein that could be involved in the inhibition of substrate binding activities and novel drug compounds that bind to these sites by use of in-silico approaches. The bioinformatics approaches used in this study were divided into four main objectives namely identification of KasA homolog sequences, sequence analysis and protein characterization, allosteric site search and lastly virtual screening of DrugBank compounds via molecular docking. Fifteen homolog sequences were identified from the BLASTP analysis and were derived from bacteria, fungi and mammals. In order to discover important residues and regions within the KasA proteins, sequence alignment, motif analysis and phylogenetic studies were performed using Mtb KasA as a reference. Sequence alignment revealed conserved residues in all KasA proteins that have functional importance such as the catalytic triad residues (Cys171, His311 and His345). Motif analysis identified 18 highly conserved motifs within the KasA proteins with structural and functional roles. In addition, motifs unique to the Mtb KasA protein were also identified and explored for inhibitor drug design purposes. Phylogenetic analysis of the homolog sequences showed a distinct clustering of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. A distinctive clustering was also observed for species belonging to the same genus. Since the mechanism of action of most drugs involves the active site, allosteric site search was conducted on Mtb KasA and the human homolog protein using a combination of pocket detection algorithms with the aim of identifying sites that could be utilized in allosteric modulator drug discovery. This was followed by the virtual screening of 2089 FDA approved DrugBank compounds against the entire protein surfaces of Mtb KasA and Hsmt KasA, performed via molecular docking using AutoDock Vina. Screening of the compounds was based on the binding energies, with more focus on identifying ligands that bound exclusively to the acyl-binding tunnel of Mtb KasA. This reduced the data set to 27 promising drug compounds with a relatively high binding affinity for Mtb KasA, however, further experiments need to be performed to validate this result. Among these compounds were DB08889, DB06755, DB09270, DB11226, DB00392, DB12278, DB08936, DB00781, DB13720 and DB00392, which displayed relatively low binding energies for Mtb KasA when compared to the human homolog protein. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-10-14

Exploring challenges that hinder the effective rendering of formal education programmes at four correctional centresin South Africa

  • Authors: Mafilika, Mandisi
  • Date: 2023-01
  • Language: English
  • Type: Masters theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/11109 , vital:75919
  • Description: The study was conducted in the Eastern Cape Region and specifically in the Mthatha Management Area in a correctional services setting. The Eastern Cape is one of the most under-developed provinces of South Africa. The researcher was alarmed by the persistent dropout rate of offender learners, low engagement of offenders in education and training programmes as well as the diminishing zeal of prison educators to perform well in their area of delivery. The study used a qualitative research approach wherein a case study design was chosen. Six correctional services educators, eight learners, six security officials and four managers from four centres were purposively selected. The study used behaviourist theory as a theoretical lens; Behaviourism is also known as behavioural psychology for its potential to change both the social behaviours of offenders engaged in programmes and security officials’ perspective towards prison education and redeems educators’ self-esteem that will augment their enthusiasm to deliver on their area of specialisation. Data were collected through interviews and observation. The findings of the study indicate that the government has simply not rectified the imbalances of the past by rebuilding prisons to accommodate rehabilitative needs. This is one of the causes of the challenges experienced by prison educators. With a general shortage of educators, the ones employed are overloaded with work that goes beyond tuition and school administrative duties. The study revealed that an unconducive teaching and learning environment was characterized by the absence of classrooms for tuition, with cells and open courtyards being used, a severe shortage of educators, a lack of relevant teacher training as well as a lack of much-needed support from management. The researcher recommends that the Department of Correctional Services should put more effort into improving the conditions for education in correctional centres in historically-disadvantaged areas, recognise the education of offenders as a human right and employ and train more educators for a very unique correctional services setting in order to help rehabilitate offenders and prevent recidivism. vi KEY WORDS Prison educator, Recidivism, Reintegration, Illiteracy, Learner Offender, Rehabilitation, Incarceration, Courtyard, Custodial Official, Dropout, Hindrances, Training. , Thesis (Masters) -- Faculty of Education, 2023
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  • Date Issued: 2023-01

Technology acceptance model perceptions of operational staff on the implementation of advanced radiography equipment

  • Authors: James, Bryan Gerard Anthony
  • Date: 2023-04
  • Subjects: Medical technology , Radiography--Equipment and supplies
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/61393 , vital:70634
  • Description: Throughout the recent history of South Africa, the increasing requirements from state and private sector healthcare institutions have relied heavily upon medical imaging technologies for the purposes of improved patient healthcare and service quality standards. Developments in this field of healthcare have seen many interesting and challenging operational changes: from the first implementation and use of X-ray equipment demonstrated in Krugersdorp in 1899; to the current advanced digital systems found in the medical imaging services sector of healthcare. This research study measured the medical imaging operational staff perceptions about new advanced medical imaging equipment and technologies. The theory crossed the academic disciplines through a quantitative survey about technology, operations management and healthcare. Together with staff perceptions about future medical imaging technologies’ usefulness and ease of use, the findings may impact their daily operations within a conducive technology acceptance management paradigm. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, 2023
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  • Date Issued: 2023-04

HI View of the Norma Galaxy Cluster with MeerKAT

  • Authors: Mophahlane, Koketso Vincent
  • Date: 2023-10-13
  • Subjects: Norma Cluster , MeerKAT , Galaxies Motion in line of sight , Galaxies Clusters , Star formation
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/432530 , vital:72878
  • Description: Studies reveal that galaxies assemble into clusters as gas-rich, active star-forming disks and eventually settle in the virialized core as quenched early-type galaxies with depleted gas. To examine environmental effects responsible for the quenched population in the cluster core, we exploit the higher sensitivity of the MeerKAT telescope to probe Hi properties of galaxies in the Norma cluster. The Norma cluster is an ideal laboratory for this study since it is a rich and massive cluster of nearby galaxies. The Hi data cube used covers a velocity range of 483 − 11, 113 km/s, with a noise rms sensitivity of 0.09 mJy/beam and an angular resolution of ∼ 14.65′′ × 9.28′′. A total of 25 reliable Hi sources were detected over the entire velocity range. The Hi detections reveal two major galaxy overdensities located at vrad ∼ 2096 − 7646 km/s and vrad ∼ 10, 000 km/s. The first is associated with the Norma cluster gravitational potential and indicates a substructure in its velocity distribution; the other is a population of background galaxies. In this work, the Norma cluster has 13 cluster members detected in Hi and 130 galaxies from optical surveys. The spatial distribution of cluster members covers a field that is 2/3 × RA, where RA = 2.02 Mpc at cz = 4871 km/s. From the spatial distribution, optical galaxies are densely populated in the central regions, while most galaxies in Hi were detected on the outskirts. From the phase-space diagram, 6 galaxies detected in Hi are found in the virialised region, while the rest of the detections are infalling for the first time. Hi detections that are not yet virialised have asymmetrical morphologies, while virialised detections have truncated gas disks. Most cluster members that were found to have asymmetrical gas disks are also Hi deficient by 0.8 − 1.2 dex but show excess SFR efficiency for the amount of Hi detected. The results demonstrate that the initial phase of galaxy-ICM interactions might be responsible for morphological transformation and enhancement of star formation activity. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Physics and Electronics, 2023
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  • Date Issued: 2023-10-13

Natural Language Processing with machine learning for anomaly detection on system call logs

  • Authors: Goosen, Christo
  • Date: 2023-10-13
  • Subjects: Natural language processing (Computer science) , Machine learning , Information security , Anomaly detection (Computer security) , Host-based intrusion detection system
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/424699 , vital:72176
  • Description: Host intrusion detection systems and machine learning have been studied for many years especially on datasets like KDD99. Current research and systems are focused on low training and processing complex problems such as system call returns, which lack the system call arguments and potential traces of exploits run against a system. With respect to malware and vulnerabilities, signatures are relied upon, and the potential for natural language processing of the resulting logs and system call traces needs further experimentation. This research looks at unstructured raw system call traces from x86_64 bit GNU Linux operating systems with natural language processing and supervised and unsupervised machine learning techniques to identify current and unseen threats. The research explores whether these tools are within the skill set of information security professionals, or require data science professionals. The research makes use of an academic and modern system call dataset from Leipzig University and applies two machine learning models based on decision trees. Random Forest as the supervised algorithm is compared to the unsupervised Isolation Forest algorithm for this research, with each experiment repeated after hyper-parameter tuning. The research finds conclusive evidence that the Isolation Forest Tree algorithm is effective, when paired with a Principal Component Analysis, in identifying anomalies in the modern Leipzig Intrusion Detection Data Set (LID-DS) dataset combined with samples of executed malware from the Virus Total Academic dataset. The base or default model parameters produce sub-optimal results, whereas using a hyper-parameter tuning technique increases the accuracy to within promising levels for anomaly and potential zero day detection. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Computer Science, 2023
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  • Date Issued: 2023-10-13

The effectiveness of prolonged exposure therapy for the treatment of PTSD and suicide ideation: a case study

  • Authors: Mhlane, Zuziwe Gloria
  • Date: 2023-10-13
  • Subjects: Post-traumatic stress disorder South Africa , Suicidal ideation , Prolonged exposure therapy , Post-traumatic stress disorder in adolescence South Africa , Emotional process , Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation , Beck Depression Inventory , Beck Anxiety Inventory , CORE-OM
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/424997 , vital:72200
  • Description: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is regarded as a public health burden in South Africa (SA) (Atwoli et al., 2013; Kagee, Bantjies & Saal 2017; Koenen et al.; 2017; Williams et al., 2007). According to McGowan & Kagee (2013), young adults in SA are a high-risk group of trauma. Exposure to trauma is also associated to comorbid conditions such as depression, anxiety suicidal ideation (SI) experienced by a large population (Bantjes, McGowan, Kagee & Steel, 2016). Prolonged Exposure (PE) is empirically supported and evaluated trauma therapy for PTSD (Foa, Hembree, & Rothbaum, 2007). However, there has been limited to no studies conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of PE in SA. Therefore, this study investigated whether PE is effective treatment for PTSD symptom reduction and suicide ideation in South Africa. Three participants were recruited from Focus on the Family SA (FOTF SA SA) through purposive sampling, and single-case experimental design (SCED) was utilised. PE was implemented online through zoom for 6 sessions on each client. At baseline, all the participants met the criteria for PTSD as per the Post-traumatic stress disorder symptom scale interview for DSM-5 (PSSI-5): Participant 1 (PSSI-5 - 63), Participant 2 (PSSI-5 - 53), Participant 3 (PSSI-5 - 63) and the clinical cut off score is 23. Furthermore, all participants were screened for suicide ideation (SI) using the Beck Suicide Inventory (BSI). All participants’ BSI score ranges were mild to moderate. Participants were also screened for depression using the Beck Depression Inventory second edition (BDI-II) and anxiety using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). The score ranges for both BDI-II and BAI were moderate to severe. The Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) was also used to assess general psychological distress. The CORE-OM scores for all the participants for trauma, depression and anxiety were severe. However, the risk to self/SI for all the participants was minimal. During the intervention phase, all the participants scores showed a downtrend of PTSD symptomology, as per the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). The PCL-5 scores went down from PCL-5 score of 58 to final session PCL-5 score of 3. The clinical cut off score is 31-33. They were also screened using the BSI, BDI and BAI and the score ranges were mild. The CORE-OM scores for trauma, anxiety, depression, and risk to self/SI were also minimal. Overall, the preliminary result of this study supports the notion that adults with symptoms of PTSD and SI had improved at the end of a brief 6-session PE intervention. The comorbid depression also showed a downtrend. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2023
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  • Date Issued: 2023-10-13

The portrayal of migrants and liminality in Nadifa Mohamed’s Black Mamba Boy, The Orchard of Lost Souls and The Fortune Men

  • Authors: Fühner, Melissa Ashleigh
  • Date: 2023-10-13
  • Subjects: Mohamed, Nadifa, 1981- Criticism and interpretation , Diaspora , Transnationalism in literature , Migration studies , Liminality in literature , African literature (English) History and criticism
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425056 , vital:72205
  • Description: This thesis argues that the characters in Nadifa Mohamed’s oeuvre exhibit both vulnerability and agency and that their position in society oscillates as if between two poles, as they cross social and spatial boundaries. There is no existing scholarly research that focuses on child migrants in Mohamed’s texts specifically. Here, Black Mamba Boy, The Orchard of Lost Souls and The Fortune Men are analysed and compared with a central focus on the child migrant characters to examine her portrayal of conflict-induced migration and its impact on vulnerable communities. In Black Mamba Boy, Mohamed portrays Jama’s exilic journey where he leaves his homeland of Hargeisa and migrates across territorial borders in Northeast Africa to find his father. His quest brings him from Somaliland to Sudan as he walks through countries that are devastated by the war between the British and Italian colonial forces in the 1930s. As Jama attempts to cross the spatial distance between himself and his father he also treads the invisible line between life and death. Along his journey, Jama is exploited and abused by colonial troops and traumatised by the conflict he witnesses. Mohamed revisits her father’s precarious journey not to portray him as a victim but to make him “a hero, not the fighting or romantic kind but the real deal, the starved child who survives every sling and arrow that shameless fortune throws at them” (1). Thus, the text is an account of Jama’s strength as he miraculously survives the brutalities of war. Similarly, in The Orchard of Lost Souls, the child protagonist, Deqo, is a refugee with parents. She internally migrates through Hargeisa at the moment the region breaks out into the Somali Civil War. Deqo attempts to keep herself out of harm’s way as the town is destroyed by soldiers and rebel groups who have opened fire against civilians. As a female child migrant Deqo occupies a particularly vulnerable position as she navigates a space where gender-based violence is used as a method of war. Despite the dangers around her, Deqo actively seeks out safety and a path that will free her from the tightening grip of the war. The Fortune Men depicts Mahmood’s journey of migration as an adult. When he attempts to cross the border into Wales he is ostracised, abused, and dehumanised because of his difference. Jama and Deqo’s exilic journeys are compared to Mahmood’s unsuccessful migration and the children cross borders that adults cannot cross because they use their vulnerability to seek out opportunities and change their environment. This thesis is situated within the theoretical framework of transnational and diasporic literature with a specific focus on the impact of forced migration on child migrants. Through close engagement and comparison of the three primary ii texts mentioned, this thesis demonstrates the vulnerabilities and fluctuating agencies of characters to highlight their liminal positioning. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Literary Studies in English 2023
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  • Date Issued: 2023-10-13

“Rwanda cannot be exorcised”: representations of the trauma of the Rwandan Genocide in selected films and novels

  • Authors: Jennings, Kathleen
  • Date: 2023-10-13
  • Subjects: Rwandan Genocide, Rwanda, 1994 , Genocide in literature , Genocide in motion pictures , Psychic trauma , Postcolonialism , Collective memory Rwanda
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425067 , vital:72206
  • Description: Although the Rwandan genocide (itsembabwoko in Kinyarwanda) has often been compared with the Holocaust, in terms of literary and cinematic narratives it has been largely underrepresented, with the notable exception of the release of the films Hotel Rwanda (2004) and Sometimes in April (2005), as well as novels such as Gil Courtemanche’s A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali (2003). However, although there is now a larger oeuvre of works on the subject, they are often not widely known or disseminated beyond their countries of origin. Of even greater concern is the fact that most cinematic narratives on itsembabwoko rely on Western narrative structures in their approach to storytelling. As a result, trauma in these narratives largely tends to focus on the experiences of Western protagonists or on Rwandan protagonists from a Western point of view. This tendency can be tied to the use of Western trauma theory in exploring the effects of the genocide on its witnesses and survivors, at the expense of arguably more relevant postcolonial trauma theory. This presents a problem in theorising the trauma of itsembabwoko, which occurred in a highly specific historical context involving the processes of colonization and decolonization, and in which the difficulties in unifying a population which had been split along socio-economic lines since pre-colonial times remained unresolved. Despite its shortcomings in the postcolonial African context, it would be a mistake to dismiss Yale trauma theory entirely, however, since theorists such as Cathy Caruth still provide valuable insights into the effects of trauma on both the individual and the collective. As a result, I have sought to find commonalities between the two schools of thought, so as to create a more nuanced view of itsembabwoko, its repercussions and the violence preceding it. In writing this thesis, I have selected mostly Rwandan authors, often survivors of the genocide, whose works provide an alternative view of Rwanda’s violent history to that presented in the works mentioned above. Given that the majority of the texts I focus on have been released more recently – mostly the mid-2010s – and are less well-known than their Western counterparts, they provide the opportunity to compare first-hand accounts with those that can only partially recreate the terror of anti-Tutsi violence in Rwanda. My analysis hopefully provides a new perspective on the dominant narratives which have shaped the way in which non-Rwandan (predominantly Western) audiences understand the genocide. The overall aim of this thesis, then, is to demonstrate the importance of placing the genocide and its resultant trauma in a broader historical context, with a view to establishing that it is shortsighted to ignore the impact of pre- and post-genocide trauma on the Rwandan people when discussing itsembabwoko. Though this has been achieved in socio-historical studies, such as Mahmood Mamdani’s When Victims Become Killers: Colonialism, Nativism, and the Genocide in Rwanda, very little has been produced on literary and cinematic representations of the genocide. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Literary Studies in English 2023
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  • Date Issued: 2023-10-13

The ontological reality of spirit and its ways of knowing as a form of embodied intangible cultural heritage: a case of the oGobela teaching approaches and techniques within Ubungoma practice

  • Authors: Jacobs, Venetia Rose
  • Date: 2024-10-11
  • Subjects: Uncatalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/463570 , vital:76421
  • Description: This study uses an ethnographic lens to explore the lived experiences, learning processes and experiential knowledge of oGobela (spiritual teachers). The study explores oGobela teaching approaches, techniques, and ways of knowing in Ubungoma1 practice which is known as Ukuthwasa2, which is understood as a modality or expression of Isintu. Furthermore, Isintu is defined as Indigenous knowledge systems and ancestral wisdom traditions which include Indigenous expressions of African peoples’ interactions with the cosmos, nature, earth and knowledge systems. The study reveals how esoteric knowledge (knowledge from ancestors and divinities) is translated into attainable knowledge in the form of healing techniques. This study aims to dismantle a largely European pedagogy when it pertains to the understanding of religious practices. An ethnographic lens layered with a decolonial intent worked together as a counter-hegemonic practice in the recentralisation of marginal voices, in this case, the voices of Izangoma narrating their lived experiences. Izangoma refer to people who have graduated as healers from initiation school. The theoretical framework used to guide the study was the sociocultural theory and decolonial theory. The decolonial theory was useful in my study to re-examine imperial histories through the harmful lens of colonialism. Sociocultural theory is geared towards looking at how learners actually learn as opposed to the way learners are expected to learn. This Vygotskian school of thought believes that human development is not isolated from historical, cultural and social contexts. My methodology made use of the case study, narrative analysis and criticalethnographic approaches involving semi-structured interviews with approximately seven Izangoma. This included radical embodied participation and reflexive journalling. I also drew on emerging studies on Indigenous knowledge systems such as the “anthropology of dreaming” (Tedlock, 1987, p. 1) and the “institution of drumming and dreaming in Ngoma” (Janzen, 1991, p. 291) to reflect on my experience as an initiate (Gogo Ukukhanya KweMhlaba) and my observations of my Gobela and other oGobela learning processes. The study draws a sample pool of both Izangoma and oGobela, to provide a holistic view of the role of oGobela from a teacher and learner perspective. It is important to note that not everyone who is a Sangoma is a Gobela. Becoming a Gobela is an additional calling based on specific instructions from your ancestors. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Secondary and Post-School Education, 2024
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  • Date Issued: 2024-10-11
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