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A critical assessment of the provincial intervention outcomes in Makana Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province (2012-2014)

  • Authors: Teyisi, Zolani
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Intergovernmental cooperation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/4616 , vital:28467
  • Description: This research conducts a Critical Assessment of the Provincial Intervention Outcomes in Makana Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province (2012-2014) with the overriding objectives to identify factors which cause unsuccessful Provincial intervention on local government affairs and measure the extent to which these factors played a role in the intervention in Makana Local Municipality and assess the outcomes of Provincial intervention in Makana Local Municipality. The entire research process was guided by the above research objectives and questions that strive to assess the outcomes of Provincial intervention in Makana. The study involved a qualitative research approach: conducting interviews and reviewing the Provincial Strategic Plans 2014, Financial Recover Plans 2014, Makana Annual Financial Statement 2015, Makana Budget Analysis 2014 and the Auditor Generals 2014/15 annual report on Makana. The study identified and defined challenges (factors) that contribute to poor outcomes in Provincial interventions and further identified success factors of Provincial intervention. The extent to which these factors played a role in Makana were then measured, and finally, the outcomes of Provincial intervention in Makana Local Municipality were assessed. The findings of the study indicate that the intervention in Makana Local Municipality has produced stability in the municipality and resulted in a degree of successful outcomes. However, there are priority areas that the municipality still needs to work on in order to make certain that the Makana Local Municipality is fully functional in all the areas that have been identified as priority areas of intervention. The study establish that there are many factors that may lead to Provincial interventions failing in Local government, such as lack of monitoring and evaluation during intervention, lack of commitment by the Province, political interferences and lack of budget or funds to implement the strategic plans. These factors can be prevented in order to assure that Provincial intervention in Local government is successful. The study reveals that proper intervention plans, effective implementations of the strategic plans, coordination and communication between municipal Council, Province and municipal officials, monitoring and evaluation during and after intervention can assist the Province to detect whether the interventions are to be successful. Lastly, the study makes recommendations for both Provincial and Local government.
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  • Date Issued: 2016

A phenomenological study of leadership in the Rhodes Unversity Mathematics Education Project (RUMEP)

  • Authors: Michael, Vanessa Jane
  • Date: 2001
  • Subjects: Rhodes University -- Mathematics education project Educational leadership
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1701 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003584
  • Description: Few terms in organisational studies inspire less agreement than leadership. It is a slippery concept and much that is written on the subject is confusing and contradictory. Early theories of leadership have, generally, reduced leadership behaviour to a concern for task balanced against a concern for the well-being of employees. This two-dimensional approach has proved to be a limited conceptualisation of leadership. In response, over the past thirty years, researchers have tried to highlight the less rationalistic, more intangible, aspects of leadership. However, there is still very little in leadership research that conveys a sense of the leader as a person. I have argued, in this study, that the reason for this lies in the fact that most leadership research has been conducted along positivistic lines and, therefore, cannot take into account the values, feelings, morals and life experiences of the human beings being studied. Thus, for the human being to take centre-stage in leadership enquiry, a different research paradigm needs to be explored. I have chosen to use phenomenological enquiry as an avenue for examining how John Stoker, the leader of the Rhodes University Mathematics Education Project (RUMEP), experiences being a leader. This is because phenomenology, in both theory and practice, privileges the nature of the meanings that people construct in their lives and that guide their actions. In adopting such a methodology my research findings have examined a number of issues that are of interest to current leadership researchers, however they have also highlighted a number of concerns that have not been explored thoroughly in the leadership literature. These include the importance of the individual leader’s action, intention and will in shaping an organisation, the complex nature of a leader’s creativity within the organisation and possible differences between educational leaders and business leaders. In adopting a phenomenological perspective the eccentricity and fulness of an individual leader’s action is expressed through the research, however, the research also focusses on how the researcher translates and evolving philosophical understanding into sound methodology. Therefore, interwoven into the discussions on leadership there are reflections on how I applied phenomenological theory. The purpose of these reflections is to deliberate on the appropriateness of applying such a methodology to the eclectic field of leadership and to show how my own developing philosophical attitude has transformed into practice.
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  • Date Issued: 2001

A review of the geology of primary tin deposits with emphasis on the factors that control grade and tonnage

  • Authors: Archer, Paul D
  • Date: 1981
  • Subjects: Tin ores , Granite , Geology , Tonnage
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:4912 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001572
  • Description: "The purpose of this dissertation is ... to review the economic geology of primary tin deposits and the geological factors that control grade and tonnage . The work concludes with a discussian of the implications of these geological controls on evaluation"-- Introd., p. 1
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  • Date Issued: 1981

An analysis of how geogebra can be used as a visualisation tool by selected teachers to develop conceptual understanding of the properties of geometric shapes in grade 9 learners: a case study in Namibia

  • Authors: Mwiikeni, Eramus
  • Date: 2017
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6989 , vital:21207
  • Description: According to Rosken & Rolka (2006), learning mathematics through visualisations can be a powerful tool to explore mathematical problems and give meaning to mathematical concepts and relationships between them. “Visualisation can reduce the complexity of mathematical problems when dealing with a multitude of information” (p.458). This case study focused on using GeoGebra as a visualisation tool to teach angle properties in Grade 9 geometry. This study set out to analyse how GeoGebra visualisations can be used by selected teachers to teach for conceptual understanding. The research is based on a constructivist view of learning and is oriented within an interpretive paradigm. The methodology used is a qualitative case study. The study was conducted in one school and involved 3 mathematics teachers who were purposefully selected because they showed willingness to use technology in their teaching. I used classroom observations and interviews to collect the data. The study identified a number of factors from the participants that related to using GeoGebra in teaching for conceptual understanding. These include the effective use of dynamic visuals to build on prior knowledge, using multiple representations through image generation and image transformation to make connections and using visuals to justify mathematics ideas. The results from this study indicated that GeoGebra can indeed be used effectively as a teaching tool to teach for conceptual understanding in mathematics.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

An analysis of the turn-of-the-year effect in South African equity returns

  • Authors: Potgieter, Damien
  • Date: 2007
  • Subjects: Johannesburg Stock Exchange , FTSE International , Stock exchanges -- South Africa , Stock price indexes -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
  • Identifier: vital:1063 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007605 , Johannesburg Stock Exchange , FTSE International , Stock exchanges -- South Africa , Stock price indexes -- South Africa
  • Description: This study investigates FTSE/JSE All Share index monthly and daily equity returns for evidence of the January and TY effect. Four different measures of monthly return are analysed for the 1995-2006 period, whilst daily returns are analysed during the 1995-2005 period. In addition to this, analysis is conducted on monthly Fama-MacBeth risk premium estimates tor the FTSE/JSE All Share Index. Descriptive statistics are first analysed, followed by ANOV A or Kruskai-Wallis tests, the paired t-test and finally dummy variable regression analysis in investigating the seasonality of FTSE/JSE All Share Index returns and risk premia. Analysis on monthly returns reveals an absence of the January effect, however a positive slightly statistically significant December effect is found. Thus, investors earn abnormal returns on equity during the month of December. The results from the Fama-MacBeth risk premia estimates reveals highly statistically significant negative risk premia seasonal patterns during March, July and September. Thus, investors are in fact penalised for investing in equities during these months. In addition, the analysis reveals an absence of a December effect in risk premia, which contradicts the risk-return trade-off central to modem finance. The daily return analysis reveals a highly significant Turn-of-the-Year effect (TY), which suggests that investors earn abnormal returns on days at the turn of the year. Therefore, it is concluded that a December effect is apparent in South African equity monthly returns, whilst a March, July and September effect is apparent in South African equity risk premia contradicting the risk-return trade-off central to modem finance. In addition to this, a TY effect is present in South African equity daily returns.
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  • Date Issued: 2007

An investigation into fan identity among supporters of the English soccer premier league in Lusaka, Zambia

  • Authors: Komakoma, Leah
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Soccer -- Zambia -- Lusaka Soccer fans -- Zambia -- Lusaka Soccer -- Social aspects -- Zambia -- Lusaka Mass media and sports -- Zambia -- Lusaka , Sports journalism -- Zambia -- Lusaka , Sports -- Sociological aspects -- Zambia -- Lusaka
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:3448 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002902
  • Description: This study investigates Zambians’ construction of identities based on their following of the English soccer premier league. The study seeks to understand how Zambian supporters of this league construct their identities based on their encounter with foreign teams/players and how they appropriate the meanings obtained through such viewing in their daily lives. The study is informed by the theories of fandom. Using an ethnographic critique of the media imperialism thesis, the study attempts to explore the meanings that the fans of the English soccer league in urban Lusaka make of the mediated soccer games, while in and outside the viewing spaces – the bars – where the games are ritually watched in groups. Based on the qualitative methods of focus group discussions, individual in-depth interviews and observations, the study probes the phenomenon of the consumption of English premier league football in countries abroad, focusing specifically on the experiences of fans in Lusaka, Zambia. Observation of this phenomenon in Lusaka reveals that fans find pleasure in the tactics that the teams in the league display, the professionalism of the players, goal scoring and self-empowerment for the few women supporters. This study probes these issues in greater depth. The foremost conclusion of the research is that it neither completely rejects nor accepts the media imperialism thesis. Instead, meanings should be understood within the context of the lived experience and reality of the fans.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

An investigation into the potential immunogenicity of various extracts of the South African bont tick Amblyomma hebraeum

  • Authors: Adamson, Deborah Jane
  • Date: 1993
  • Subjects: Amblyomma -- South Africa , Ticks -- South Africa , Ticks -- Control -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:4127 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015640
  • Description: Rabbits and goats were inoculated with crude, membrane-associated and soluble components extracted from unengorged adult females and nymphs of the bont tick Amblyomma hebraeum. Inoculation provided some protection against nymphal infestation, however it had little effect on adult feeding. Histological examination of adults fed on inoculated hosts showed evidence of gut damage. Skin provocation testing with tick extracts elicited a Type I immediate hypersensitivity which was influenced by antihistamine. A delayed skin reaction was also evident. Whether this was attributable to Type III Arthus reaction or Type IV cell-mediated hypersensitivity was not determined. A comparative histological study of sites of tick extract injection, on inoculated and naive hosts, demonstrated the role of eosinophils in the hosts response to tick feeding. Serological examination revealed elevated anti-A hebraeum lgG titres following inoculation. These titres were found to decrease in the ten weeks after inoculation, despite the hosts being repeatedly infested with A hebraeum. Although the IgG titres of naive control hosts increased after each tick infestation, they failed to reach the titres achieved through inoculation. Western blot analysis of serum from inoculated hosts recognized most of the A. hebraeum proteins against which it was screened.
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  • Date Issued: 1993

An investigation into the use of traditional Xhosa dance to teach mathematics: a case study in a Grade 7 class

  • Authors: Mbusi, Nokwanda Princess
  • Date: 2012
  • Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Primary) Teaching -- Aids and devices -- Research Xhosa (African people) -- Music Education, Primary -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Music in mathematics education
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1617 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003499
  • Description: This study seeks to explore mathematical concepts embedded in traditional Xhosa dance and how these concepts can be incorporated into a learning programme for the teaching and learning of mathematics. The study seeks to gain insight into whether learners could benefit from the implementation of such a learning programme. Learners from a Grade 7 class in a rural school performed traditional Xhosa dances and their performances were captured through video recording. The video recordings were then observed and analysed to determine the mathematical concepts embedded in the dances. These concepts were then linked to those found in the Grade 7 mathematics curriculum. A learning programme integrating mathematical concepts from the dance activities with mathematical concepts from the Grade 7 curriculum was then designed. The learning programme contained mathematical problem solving activities that required learners to re-enact the dance performances in order to find the required solutions. The learning programme was then implemented with the learners over a period of three weeks. During the implementation, learners’ behaviour towards the learning experience was observed, their engagement with the problem solving activities as well as their strategies for solving the problems, were carefully observed. Also, their interactions with each other were noted. After the implementation of the learning programme, focus group interviews were held with learners to determine their opinions, attitudes and feelings about their experience of learning mathematics through traditional Xhosa dance. Key findings indicated that traditional Xhosa dance can be used as a medium for learning many concepts in the mathematics curriculum; the use of the dance gave learners an opportunity to learn mathematics from a familiar context and to participate actively and collaboratively in their learning. Also, it emerged that the use of dance to teach mathematics had potential to help improve learners’ attitudes towards mathematics. Conclusions were reached that the dance had potential for use as a means for the meaningful learning of mathematics. However, limitations and challenges with the study were identified, such as its limited replicability in other mathematics classrooms.
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  • Date Issued: 2012

An investigation of the intention to leave or stay of health care professionals at St. Andrews Hospital

  • Authors: Amanambu, Rochelle Aneeta
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Medical personnel -- Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies Medical personnel -- Job stress -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies Hospitals -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Administration Hospitals -- Medical staff -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Hospitals -- Officials and employees -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Turnover Health services administration -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Health planning -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: vital:823 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011091
  • Description: Background: The demand for and retention of talent worldwide is aggravated by revolutionary trends that include global competition, demographic changes and technological advances. In South Africa this phenomenon according to Frost (2002) is further challenged by the emigration of skilled people; the relative scarcity of specialist and managerial employees; employment equity and affirmative action procedures. But the development of strategies first requires an understanding of the factors which influence decisions to leave or stay particularly in rural and remote areas. St. Andrews Hospital is a rural district hospital in Ugu District, KZN. Its remoteness from urban areas and the lack of resources contributes towards challenges of attracting and retaining health care professionals to the area. It is the aim of this study to identify the ten most prevalent turnover and retention factors in a rural district hospital with the intention of making recommendations towards strategies to mitigate turnover and improve retention of health care professionals. This study will not only serve the local Human Resource Department but may also be used to inform district and provincial policies as well as departments’ decisions in the design or the review of current retention strategies aimed at reducing turnover. Method: The survey method was used to collect the primary data by distribution of self-administered questionnaires to Health Care Professionals at St. Andrews Hospital. Of the one hundred and fifty questionnaires distributed, one hundred and seven were returned (71% response rate) and formed the basis of the study. Results: Based on the impact scores, the top three turnover factors identified were, the way the organisation is led by top management (0.934); the size of the workload (0.862); and the way problems are dealt with by managers in the organisation (0.817). No statistically significant relationships were found between turnover factors and biographical variable. Availability of quality health services was ranked as the external factor that had the highest influence (78%) on turnover, while geographical location was ranked the lowest. The main reason given by respondents for leaving their previous employment was promotion, followed by distance and personal/family reasons. The top three retention factors identified from the impact scores were the quality of relationships with colleagues (1.698); the amount of support received from managers and colleagues (1.484); and the level of engagement and involvement with the job (1.390). This demonstrates that the salary package often thought to be a first priority factor Mobley, Horner and Hollingsworth (1978); Mobley (1982) and Herzberg (2003) is far less of a determining factor at St. Andrews Hospital than management support, job involvement and person-organisation fit as well as the social relationships formed in the workplace. A positive relationship was found between leadership and job dimension factors at the 1% level of significance. This supports the strong social bond (person-organisation fit) formed in the work environment between management and colleagues that supports retention and increases level of commitment. An important result of the study was that 46% of the respondents were thinking of leaving the town within the year while 29% were considering resigning from St. Andrews Hospital within the year. Conclusion: The results reveal a complex interaction of factors impacting on turnover and retention. The Human Resource Management function has a pivotal role to play in improving its ability to attract and retain professionals through developing comprehensive strategies based on external and internal and environmental factors. The study conveys to the St. Andrews Hospital management that turnover and retention factors are unique to the location and the working environment and differs amongst Health Care Professionals – this should be deliberated on when formulating Hospital Human Resource retention policies.
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  • Date Issued: 2014

Assessing the vulnerability of resource-poor households to disasters associated with climate variability using remote sensing and GIS techniques in the Nkonkobe Local Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

  • Authors: Chari, Martin Munashe
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Climatic changes -- Forecasting Natural resources -- Remote sensing Droughts -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2425 , vital:27837
  • Description: The main objective of the study was to assess the extent to which resource-poor households in selected villages of Nkonkobe Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa are vulnerable to drought by using an improvised remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS)-based mapping approach. The research methodology was comprised of 1) assessment of vulnerability levels and 2) the calculation of established drought assessment indices comprising the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) from wet-season Landsat images covering a period of 29 years from 1985 to 2014 in order to objectively determine the temporal recurrence of drought in Nkonkobe Local Municipality. Vulnerability of households to drought was determined by using a multi-step GIS-based mapping approach in which 3 components comprising exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity were simultaneously analysed and averaged to determine the magnitude of vulnerability. Thereafter, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to establish weighted contributions of these components to vulnerability. The weights applied to the AHP were obtained from the 2012 - 2017 Nkonkobe Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and perceptions that were solicited from key informants who were judged to be knowledgeable about the subject. A Kruskal-Wallis H test on demographic data for water access revealed that the demographic results are independent of choice of data acquired from different data providers (χ2(2) = 1.26, p = 0.533, with a mean ranked population scores of 7.4 for ECSECC, 6.8 for Quantec and 9.8 for StatsSA). Simple linear regression analysis revealed strong positive correlations between NDWI and NDVI ((r = 0.99609375, R2 = 1, for 1985), 1995 (r = 0.99609375, R2 = 1 for 1995), (r = 0.99609375, R2 = 1 for 2005) and (r = 0.99609375, R2 = 1 for 2014). The regression analysis proved that vegetation condition depends on surface water arising from rainfall. The results indicate that the whole of Nkonkobe Local Municipality is susceptible to drought with villages in south eastern part being most vulnerable to droughts due to high sensitivity and low adaptive capacity.
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  • Date Issued: 2016

Audience observations of art, identity and schizophrenia : possibilities for identity movement

  • Authors: Farquharson, Kirsten Leigh
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Mental illness -- Social aspects , Stigma (Social psychology) , Identity (Psychology) , Schizophrenia -- Treatment , Art therapy -- Research , Art, South African -- 21st century -- Exhibitions
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:3223 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012992
  • Description: This research situates itself in the study of stigma in mental illness. In particular, the aim is to explore the potential that art making and exhibiting has in reducing stigma for those with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The research explores one aspect (the exhibition stage) of an "art as therapy" project. The exhibiting of one’s artwork aims to counter limiting "patient" identities by allowing those labelled as psychiatric patients to extend their self-identity to an alternative identity of the "artist". However, this idea only stands strong if the artwork created is not discriminated against as "naïve art" and is accepted or at least considered for acceptance as legitimate nonprofessional artwork. This research explores the ways in which art created by inpatients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia is received by the general art-viewing public at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa. The study uses a discourse analytic framework to analyse the interviews of members of the public who attended the art exhibition of patient artwork. It will examine the ways in which the public construct the artworks and how they position the makers of this art across a continuum, from patient to artist. The results of this thesis have implications for rehabilitation practices for people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia particularly with regard to opportunities to "perform" alternative identities in public spaces.
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  • Date Issued: 2014

Born free: an exploration of national identity construction in post-apartheid South Africa: the case of the youth born from 1990

  • Authors: Ngonyama, Lulama Smuts
  • Date: 2012
  • Subjects: Nationalism -- South Africa , Youth -- Political activity -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:8327 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020349
  • Description: National identity in South Africa is, and has been, a complex concept, with diverse and contested attempts at its embodiment. This research extends the discourse of identity politics in the post 1994 democratic South Africa to beyond the discourse of racial politics, and notions of oppressor and oppressed to the complexities of resistance and the eventual establishment of a democratic South Africa. The research draws on the views and experiences of young South Africans, born after 1990, regarding what constitutes a South African identity. The research participants represent the socio-cultural and economic spectrum of the city of Cape Town, in the Western Province of South Africa. Schools were chosen across this spectrum to allow for heterogeneity of research sample to reflect the different population groups that comprise the South African population. The areas the schools were chosen from included those that existed during the apartheid era and those that have since been developed. Schools included were those historically delineated according to apartheid-constructed racial groups, and one that was established after 1994 as a non-state school. The exploration of the data reveals a population of young people who have moved beyond the imposed identities created by the apartheid system to an actively inclusive conception of what it means to be a South African in a post-apartheid context. Additionally, the research shows that this inclusive national identity also allows for the acknowledgement and expression of the diversity of cultures and languages existent in South African society. There is also an understanding that socio-economic issues such as poverty, poor education and continued imbalances from the Apartheid era need to be addressed to ensure a stable and unified South Africa. Therefore, the research found that this research contends that young people born after 1990 are committed to a respectful and representative national identity that affords all South Africans an equal place in society.
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  • Date Issued: 2012

Choice of market channels by smallholder vegetable farmers in King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa

  • Authors: Yokwana, Aphelele Lucia
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Vegetables -- Marketing Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Vegetable trade -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MAgric
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11906 , vital:39117
  • Description: The study investigates the choice of market channels by smallholder vegetable farmers in King Sabatha Dalindyebo Municipality, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Vegetables as a group of horticultural crops are important for their contribution as an income support to a large proportion of the rural households. However, enhancing vegetable farmers to reach markets and actively engage in the markets is a key challenge influencing vegetable production in South Africa. The perishable nature of vegetables demands effective marketing channels. The main objective of the study was to investigate factors affecting vegetable farmers’ choice of market channels in King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province. The study adopted a multistage stratified sampling method. Multi-stage sampling was done in which the first stage involved selecting respondents from the different wards in the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality. This was done through stratification by separating vegetable smallholder farmers and homesteads within that area (different villages within the area). This was followed by employing quota sampling through the different households and smallholder farmers within those areas in order to determine households and smallholder farmers that are able to provide the needed information concerning the choice of market channels. By stratified random sampling based on village, project membership and smallholder farmers, a sample of 110 heads of households was chosen for the study in eight different wards of KSD. The sampling for this study was based on a large sampling technique of n ≥ 30 as there is no information regarding the population of the total number of homesteads and smallholder farmers that are under each traditional leader (chief) in these study sites. This sample comprises homesteads and smallholder farmers that took part in vegetable production. A structured questionnaire together with field observations and measurements were adopted for obtaining information from household respondents. Descriptive statistics (percentages, means, frequency tables and figures) and a Multinomial logistic regression model have been used to analyze the data. From the Multinomial logistic regression results, farming experience is positively related to choice of farm gate market channel at 1percent level of significance. The age of vegetable farmers was positively related to the choice of direct to consumer market channel at 5percent significance level. The level of education of the vegetable farmers was positively related to the choice of direct to consumer market channel at 5percent significance level. Moreover, the results also showed that the inputs used are positively related to the choice of farm-gate as well as direct to consumer market channels at 5percent significance level. Similarly, means of transportation used and choice of marketing channel of the vegetable farmers are positively related at 1percent significance level at the direct to consumer choice of market channel. Furthermore, access to extension services indicated a positive relationship to the choice of market channel amongst the smallholder vegetable farmers for the direct to consumer at 5percent level of significance which is insignificant for that of the farm-gate. There is therefore, need for strong extension support in assisting the farmers to diversify their production, provide market information thereby enhancing production and opening up channels for market accessibility. This is seen to enhance rural households’ livelihood outcomes in agricultural production thereby improving the choice of market channels by smallholder vegetable farmers and alleviating poverty and improving food security. More so, the government and research institutes need to organize workshops and extension programs in famer’ training for more efficiency in their vegetable production and marketing.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

Contributions to the theory of group rings

  • Authors: Groenewald, Nicolas Johannes
  • Date: 1979
  • Subjects: Group rings Group theory -- Mathematics
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:5391 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001980
  • Description: Chapter 1 is a short review of the main results in some areas of the theory of group rings. In the first half of Chapter 2 we determine the ideal theoretic structure of the group ring RG where G is the direct product of a finite Abelian group and an ordered group with R a completely primary ring. Our choice of rings and groups entails that the study centres mainly on zero divisor ideals of group rings and hence it contributes in a small way to the zero divisor problem. We show that if R is a completely primary ring, then there exists a one-one correspondence of the prime zero divisor ideals in RG and RG¯, G finite cyclic of order n. If R is a ring with the property α, β € R, then αβ = 0 implies βα = 0, and S is an ordered semigroup, we show that if ∑α¡s¡ ∈ RS is a divisor of zero, then the coefficients α¡ belong to a zero divisor ideal in R. The converse is proved in the case where R is a commutative Noetherian ring. These results are applied to give an account of the zero divisors in the group ring over the direct product of a finite Abelian group and an ordered group with coefficients in a completely primary ring. In the second half of Chapter 2 we determine the units of the group ring RG where R is not necessarily commutative and G is an ordered group. If R is a ring such that if α, β € R and αβ = 0, then βα = 0, and if G is an ordered group, then we show that ∑αg(subscript)g is a unit in RG if and only if there exists ∑βh(subscript)h in RG such that∑αg(subscript)βg(subscript)-1 = 1 and αg(subscriptβh is nilpotent whenever GH≠1. We also show that if R is a ring with no nilpotent elements ≠0 and no idempotents ≠0,1, then RG has only trivial units. In this chapter we also consider strongly prime rings. We prove that RG is strongly prime if R is strongly prime and G is an unique product (u.p.) group. If H ⊲ G such that G/H is right ordered, then it is shown that RG is strongly prime if RH is strongly prime. In Chapter 3 results are derived to indicate the relations between certain classes of ideals in R and RG. If δ is a property of ideals defined for ideals in R and RG, then the "going up" condition holds for δ-ideals if Q being a δ-ideal in R implies that QG is a δ-ideal in RG. The "going down" condition is satisfied if P being a δ-ideal in RG implies that P∩ R is a δ-ideal in R. We proved that the "going up" and "going down" conditions are satisfied for prime ideals, ℓ-prime ideals, q-semiprime ideals and strongly prime ideals. These results are then applied to obtain certain relations between different radicals of the ring R and the group ring (semigroup ring) RG (RS). Similarly, results about the relation between the ideals and the radicals of the group rings RH and RG, where H is a central subgroup of G, are obtained. For the upper nil radical we prove that ⋃(RG) (RH) ⊆ RG, H a central subgroup of G, if G/H is an ordered group . If S is an ordered semigroup, however, then ⋃(RS) ⊆ ⋃(R)S for any ring R. In Chapter 4 we determine relations between various radicals in certain classes of group rings. In Section 4.3, as an extension of a result of Tan, we prove that P(R)G = P(RG) , R a ring with identity , if and only if the order of no finite normal subgroup of G is a zero divisor in R/P(R). If R is any ring with identity and H a normal subgroup of G such that G/H is an ordered group, we show that ⊓(RH)·RG = ⋃(RG) = ⊓(RG) , if ⋃(RH) is nilpotent. Similar results are obtained for the semigroup ring RS, S ordered. It is also shown if R is commutative and G finite of order n, then J(R)G = J(RG) if and only if n is not a zero divisor in R/J(R), J(R) being the Jacobson radical of R. For the Brown HcCoy radical we determine the following: If R is Brown McCoy semisimple or if R is a simple ring with identity, then B(RG) = (0), where G is a finitely generated torsion free Abelian group. In the last section we determine further relations between some of the previously defined radicals, in particular between P(R), U(R) and J(R). Among other results, the following relations between the abovementioned radicals are obtained: U(RS) = U(R)S = P(RS) = J(RS) where R is a left Goldie ring and S an ordered semigroup with unity
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  • Date Issued: 1979

Electrochemical studies of gold bioaccumulation by yeast cell wall components

  • Authors: Lack, Barbara Anne
  • Date: 1999
  • Subjects: Hydrometallurgy , Electrochemical analysis , Gold ores , Gold
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:4311 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004969 , Hydrometallurgy , Electrochemical analysis , Gold ores , Gold
  • Description: Gold, amongst other group 11 metals, was almost certainly one of the first three metals known to man. In addition to the economic importance of the metal, gold has a wide variety of applications in the medical, electrocatalytical and micro-electronics fields. However, the determination of gold ions in solution, with accuracy, precision, sensitivity and selectivity is still an interesting and much debated topic in analytical chemistry. A system whereby gold ions have been successfully detected employing an electrochemical technique, known as stripping voltammetry, has been developed. The electrochemical method was chosen over other available techniques for the sensitivity, particularly at low concentrations, and selectivity properties; notably in the presence of other metal ions. Under acidic conditions, the electrochemical technique was applied and the presence of gold(III), at a concentration of 2.53 x 10⁻⁵ mol dm⁻³ in a mine waste water sample, was detected. Biomass, in particular yeast and algal types, have been successfully employed in extracting low concentrations of gold ions from industrial effluents. The manipulation of the biological facility for mineral interaction, biohydrometallurgy, may yield numerous potential new technologies. South Africa in particular would benefit from this area of research, since the country is a major ore and metal refining country and if the output and the efficiency of the mines could be improved, even by a small percentage, the financial rewards would be vast. In this study, the application of adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (AdCSV) of gold(III) in the presence of various Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell wall components, was investigated to determine which, if any, were involved specifically in the chemical binding of the gold ions. The chitin and mannan extracts showed the most promise with detection limits of 1.10 x 10⁻⁶ mol dm⁻³ and 9 x 10⁻⁹ mol dm⁻³, respectively; employing the AdCSV technique. A modification of the stripping voltammetry technique, Osteryoung square wave stripping voltammetry (OSWSV), provided the lowest detection limit, for gold(IIl) in the presence of mannan, of 1.70 x 10⁻¹¹ mol dm⁻³ ; utilising a modified carbon paste electrode. The detection of gold(III) has been shown to be dependent on the type of electrode employed, the electrolyte solution and the presence of interfering agents. The effect of copper(II) and silver(I) on the detection of the gold(III) in solution was investigated; whilst the silver(I) has shown no detrimental effects on gold (III) detection systems, copper(II) has indicated the possibility of forming an inter-metallic compound with the gold(III). However, mannan has shown to selectively and preferentially bind the gold(III) in the presence of a ten-fold excess of copper(II). Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy, as well as computer modelling techniques were employed to further investIgate the mannan-gold(III) interaction and proposed complex formed. The NMR, IR and computer modelling data are in agreement with the electrochemical data on proposing a mannan-gold(III) complex. The co-ordination site was established to be in the vicinity of the H-I and H-2 protons and the gold(III) adopts a square-planar geometry upon co-ordination. The benefits of the research are useful from a biological perspective (i. e. as more is known about the binding sites, microbiologists/biochemists may work on the optimisation of parameters for these sites or work could be furthered into the enhanced expression of the sites) and an industrial one. In addition to the' two major benefits, an improved understanding of gold and its chemistry would be achieved, which is advantageous for other fields of research as well.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1999

Evaluating support service co-operation in the Netcare-Settlers public private partnership, Grahamstown, South Africa

  • Authors: Mahote, Tulisa
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Settlers Hospital , Netcare 911 , Public-private sector cooperation -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Privatization -- South Africa , Medical care -- Privatization -- South Africa , Health services accessibility -- South Africa , Contracting out -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
  • Identifier: vital:3408 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020834
  • Description: The neo-liberal restructuring of state assets and facilities, which has taken place internationally over the past three decades, as well as in South Africa, has been a matter of great controversy. Privatisation, in particular, has been a polarising issue, especially when applied to fields like healthcare. Supporters of privatisation view it as cutting costs, mobilising funding, expertise and innovation, resulting in improved delivery, and opening possibilities for a spread of ownership. Critics claim the process involves retrenchments, declining services for the (poorer) majority of people, and a focus on the elites as citizens become transformed into customers, and with any economic empowerment going to the already prosperous. This thesis examines these issues by looking at the privatisation of hospitals in South Africa, with a case study of the Netcare-Settlers Public Private Partnership (PPP) (also known as the Settlers Private Hospital) in Grahamstown, South Africa. Netcare is South Africa’s largest private hospital company, and also has substantial operations in the United Kingdom. The thesis sets out the context: a highly inequitable healthcare system in the country, the rise of privatisation in the apartheid and post-apartheid eras, and healthcare privatisation. In terms of the Netcare-Settlers PPP, the thesis examines how the PPP was structured and developed, focusing on the impact of the PPP on non-clinical operations. The thesis argues that the results of the PPP are mixed, that it has greatly improved areas like facilities, maintenance, cleaning and catering, performed less well in increasing the doctor/ patient ratio or in attracting specialists, and is associated with the widespread and problematic use of outsourcing of service workers like cleaners and security. Overall, the PPP has improved healthcare, with some effective sharing of resources between the public and private parts of the hospital, but also relies on a pool of relatively low waged, under-unionised, labour. In terms of the general debate over privatisation, the Netcare-Settlers PPP shows that both supporters and critics have some valid points, and that privatisation in practice is not an either/ or, black/ white, good/ bad proposition, but something more complex. The success and failure of PPPs depend on the details of the contracts, and these can be used to maximise the performance of both the public and private partners. Better contracts may help avoid the uneven results seen at institutions like the Netcare-Settlers PPP.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

Factors contributing to paediatric HIV diclosure by caregivers

  • Authors: Van der Meulen, Christine
  • Date: 2016X
  • Subjects: HIV-positive children -- Care -- South Africa. Caregivers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape. , Highly active antiretroviral therapy
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13359 , vital:27178
  • Description: Due to the increasing availability of ART (antiretroviral therapy),HIV is starting to be seen as a chronic disease. This has several effects on families, one of which is the need to disclose their HIV status to children who were born with the illness. Potential barriers and available support structures with regards to paediatric HIV disclosure need to be considered before specific guidelines can be given to caretakers and health care providers. This study aimed to explore and describe the patterns of paediatric HIV disclosure or non-disclosure using a sample of caretakers or parents of children/adolescents who were born with HIV. The Disclosure Decision Making Model (DDMM) was used as a framework to understand the decision-making process that leads to either disclosure or non-disclosure. Qualitative data was gathered by means of in-depth, semi-structured interviews, conducted in English. Ten participants were recruited from a community health care centre that offers HIV counselling and testing in the Nelson Mandela Bay Health District. Data gathered was transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Lincoln and Guba’s model was used to determine the trustworthiness of the data. The two themes that emerged from the study were (1) caretakers wish to disclose HIV status to the child but identified barriers to doing this and, (2) caretakers identified factors that helped them to disclose the child’s status. This study provides a more in-depth understanding of the factors that influence disclosure in a resource-limited setting in the Eastern Cape.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2016X

Factors contributing to paediatric HIV diclosure by caregivers

  • Authors: Van der Meulen, Christine
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: HIV-positive children -- Care -- South Africa Caregivers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Highly active antiretroviral therapy
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45514 , vital:38623
  • Description: Due to the increasing availability of ART (antiretroviral therapy), HIV is starting to be seen as a chronic disease. This has several effects on families, one of which is the need to disclose their HIV status to children who were born with the illness. Potential barriers and available support structures with regards to paediatric HIV disclosure need to be considered before specific guidelines can be given to caretakers and health care providers. This study aimed to explore and describe the patterns of paediatric HIV disclosure or non-disclosure using a sample of caretakers or parents of Children/adolescents who were born with HIV. The Disclosure Decision Making Model (DDMM) was used as a framework to understand the decision-making process that leads to either disclosure or non-disclosure. Qualitative data was gathered by means of in-depth, semi-structured interviews, conducted in English. Ten participants were recruited from a community health care centre that offers HIV counselling and testing in the Nelson Mandela Bay Health District. Data gathered was transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Lincoln and Guba’s model were used to determine the trustworthiness of the data. The two themes that emerged from the study were (1) caretakers wish to disclose HIV status to the child but identified barriers to doing this and, (2) caretakers identified factors that helped them to disclose the child’s status. This study provides a more in-depth understanding of the factors that influence disclosure in a resource-limited setting in the Eastern Cape.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2016

Hippocampus: seahorse; brain-structure; spatial map; concept

  • Authors: Armstrong, Beth Diane
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Hippocampus (Brain) Sea horses -- Symbolic representation Meaning (Philosophy) Deleuze, Gilles, 1925-1995 Escher, M C (Maurits Cornelis), 1898-1972 Visual perception Space perception Optical art Art -- Themes, motives
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
  • Identifier: vital:2427 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002224
  • Description: Through an exploration of both sculptural and thought processes undertaken in making my Masters exhibition, ‘Hippocampus’, I unpack some possibilities, instabilities, and limitations inherent in representation and visual perception. This thesis explores the Hippocampus as image (seahorse) and concept (brain-structure involved in cognitive mapping of space). Looking at Gilles Deleuze’s writings on representation, I will expand on the notion of the map as being that which does not define and fix a structure or meaning, but rather is open, extendable and experimental. I explore the becoming, rather than the being, of image and concept. The emphasis here is on process, non-representation, and fluidity of meaning. This is supportive of my personal affirmation of the practice and process of art-making as research. I will refer to the graphic prints of Maurits Cornelis Escher as a means to elucidate a visual contextualization of my practical work, particularly with regard to the play with two- and three-dimensional space perception. Through precisely calculated ‘experiments’ that show up the partiality of our visual perception of space, Escher alludes to things that either cannot actually exist as spatial objects or do exist, but resist representation. Similarly I will explore how my own sculptures, although existing in space resist a fixed representation and suggest ideas of other spaces, non-spaces; an in-between space that does not pin itself down and become fixed to any particular image, idea, objector representation.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2010

Investigation into the extended capabilities of the new DPS-4D ionosonde

  • Authors: Ssessanga, Nicholas
  • Date: 2011
  • Subjects: Ionosondes , Ionosphere , Ionosphere -- Observations -- South Africa -- Hermanus (Cape of Good Hope) , Ionosphere -- Research -- South Africa -- Hermanus (Cape of Good Hope)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:5472 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005257 , Ionosondes , Ionosphere , Ionosphere -- Observations -- South Africa -- Hermanus (Cape of Good Hope) , Ionosphere -- Research -- South Africa -- Hermanus (Cape of Good Hope)
  • Description: The DPS-4D is the latest version of digital ionosonde developed by the UMLCAR (University of Massachusetts in Lowell Center for Atmospheric Research) in 2008. This new ionosonde has advances in both the hardware and software which allows for the promised advanced capabilities. The aim of this thesis was to present results from an experiment undertaken using the Hermanus DPS-4D (34.4°S 19.2°E, South Africa), the first of this version to be installed globally, to answer a science question outside of the normally expected capabilities of an ionosonde. The science question posed focused on the ability of the DPS-4D to provide information on day-time Pc3 pulsations evident in the ionosphere. Day-time Pc3 ULF waves propagating down through the ionosphere cause oscillations in the Doppler shift of High Frequency (HF) radio transmissions that are correlated with the magnetic pulsations recorded on the ground. Evidence is presented which shows that no correlation exists between the ground magnetic pulsation data and DPS-4D ionospheric data. The conclusion was reached that although the DPS-4D is more advanced in its eld of technology than its predecessors it may not be used to observe Pc3 pulsations.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2011
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