The antecedents of customer satisfaction in a financial institution : a qualitative study
- Authors: Bleske, Adrian
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Standard Bank Properties , Banks and banking -- South Africa , Banks and banking -- Customer services -- South Africa , Financial services industry -- South Africa , Bank management -- South Africa , Banks and banking -- Customer services -- Effect of marketing on
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:840 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015482
- Description: The following is a case study report on the Cape Town business unit of Standard Bank Properties. The research project falls within the ambit of services marketing which introduces several unique management challenges for service businesses that sell services as a core offering. The principal aim of the case study is to gain an understanding of why customers bank at the business unit and to discover what aspects are critical to customer satisfaction. A further goal of the research is to examine how the business unit could improve customer satisfaction and to highlight any impediments to further improving customer satisfaction at the business unit. It is generally regarded that quality customer service is essential to building customer relationships and hence the research project emphasis on services marketing and customer satisfaction within a financial services context. The paper commences with an overview of the South African Banking Sector and its unique challenges such as the Financial Service Charter and newly introduced legislation such as Financial Intelligence Centre Act. The case study will specifically investigate the property finance industry and a detailed analysis of the business unit's operations and process flow will also be undertaken. The reason for this background information is to assist the reader to understand how the business unit operates. The research project will investigate four unique differences between goods marketing and services marketing whereafter three theoretical propositions are introduced, namely the dyadic interaction and service encounter, the Service Profit Chain and finally Relationship Marketing. Evidence in the form of a narrative will be led from insights obtained from interviews conducted with customers and staff at the business unit against these propositions with support (or otherwise) from independent surveys and documents from the business unit. The result of this analysis is the identification of several areas of concern specifically: New employees and the service encounter, Problems with FICA, Lack of a customer complaint handling system, Empowerment issues, Turnaround times, Reliance on key staff These insights together with the evidence from the literature review will be analysed and several recommendations made to improve customer service and ultimately customer satisfaction at the business unit. Several recommendations for further research are offered as well as the identification of limitations including but not limited to the specificity of the case study report.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Journalists' appropriation of ICTs in news-gathering and processing: a case study of Grocott's Mail
- Authors: Dugo, Habtamu Tesfaye
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Grocott's Mail (Grahamstown, South Africa) Journalism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalists -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Electronic news gathering -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalism -- Data processing -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Information technology -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Reporters and reporting -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Communication and technology -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3427 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002881
- Description: This study set out to investigate Grocott’s Mail journalists’ appropriation of information and communication technologies in news-gathering and processing using the social shaping of technology as a theoretical lens. It mainly focuses on digital ICTs that journalists use in news-gathering and processing including the Internet, electronic mail, and mobile telephony. Grocott’s Mail is a small-scale newspaper based in Grahamstown, South Africa. Using qualitative research method and the case study as its sub-method, the research reveals that Grocott’s Mail journalists’ appropriation of ICTs involves various opportunities and challenges in news-gathering and processing. In terms of the state of the existing technological infrastructure, the study reveals that since it embraced the digital ICTs in 2003, Grocott’s Mail boasts an adequate ICT infrastructure for a small-scale African newspaper with 30 PCs and one laptop, and professional software for 28 permanent employees. On the other hand, the research reveals serious constraints with the existing ICTs: a huge need for staff training and capacity building to fully utilise the ICTs, and the need to look for ways of raising funds to either upgrade or replace the existing ICTs. Grocott’s Mail journalists use the Internet to do background research on news stories, to verify the accuracy of information, and to check competition across other media. These are the merits of the Internet in news-gathering and processing. On the other hand, there are specific unintended consequences of the Internet such as wasting the company’s working time, and its use leading to lazy/press release journalism. Informants unanimously indicate that the main problems of the Internet are heavy dependence on other online news-sources and wasting time on online entertainment. In terms of using email in news-gathering, the research finds email technology as having advantages such as being a tool of flexibility and speed, a tool for email interviews, and as a technology that promotes participatory journalism. On the other hand, challenges related to email include its limitations because of what interviewees view as its supplementary and small-scale use because of its low contextual richness as opposed to face to face interviews. In terms of cellular telephony, the study finds that regardless of the ubiquity of cell phones and cell phone networks, they have not yet been deployed in news-gathering and processing due to various constraints. These are cell phones not being a big factor in reporting, lack of a proper funding and refunding scheme, prevalence of negative attitudes towards cell phones, and lack of a business model. Thus, cellular phones seem to have little or no relevance in news-gathering and processing at Grocott’s Mail presently.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Solar cycle effects on GNSS-derived ionospheric total electron content observed over Southern Africa
- Authors: Moeketsi, Daniel Mojalefa
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Ionosphere -- Africa, Southern Electrons Ionospheric electron density -- Africa, Southern Ionosondes -- Africa, Southern Electromagnetic waves
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5489 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005275
- Description: The South African Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) network of dual frequency receivers provide an opportunity to investigate solar cycle effects on ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) over the South Africa region by taking advantage of the dispersive nature of the ionospheric medium. For this task, the global University of New Brunswick Ionospheric Modelling Technique (UNB-IMT) was adopted, modified and applied to compute TEC using data from the southern African GNSS Network. TEC values were compared with CODE International GNSS services TEC predictions and Ionosonde-derived TEC (ITEC) measurements to test and validate the UNB-IMT results over South Africa. It was found that the variation trends of GTEC and ITEC over all stations are in good agreement and show pronounced seasonal variations with high TEC values around equinoxes for a year near solar maximum and less pronounced around solar minimum. Signature TEC depletions and enhanced spikes were prevalently evident around equinoxes, particularly for a year near solar maximum. These observations were investigated and further discussed with an analysis of the midday Disturbance Storm Time (DST) index of geomagnetic activity. The residual GTEC – ITEC corresponding to plasmaspheric electron content and equivalent ionospheric foF2 and total slab thickness parameters were computed and comprehensively discussed. The results verified the use of UNB-IMT as one of the tools for ionospheric research over South Africa. The UNB-IMT algorithm was applied to investigate TEC variability during different epochs of solar cycle 23. The results were investigated and further discussed by analyzing the GOES 8 and 10 satellites X-ray flux (0.1 – 0.8 nm) and SOHO Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Monitor higher resolution data. Comparison of UNB-IMT TEC derived from collocated HRAO and HARB GNSS receivers was undertaken for the solar X17 and X9 flare events, which occurred on day 301, 2003 and day 339, 2006. It was found that there exist considerable TEC differences between the two collocated receivers with some evidence of solar cycle dependence. Furthermore, the daytime UNB TEC compared with the International Reference Ionosphere 2001 predicted TEC found both models to show a good agreement. The UNB-IMT TEC was further applied to investigate the capabilities of geodetic Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) derived TEC using the Vienna TEC Model for space weather monitoring over HartRAO during the CONT02 and CONT05 campaigns conducted during the years 2002 (near solar maximum) and 005 (near solar minimum). The results verified the use of geodetic VLBI as one of the possible instruments for monitoring space weather impacts on the ionosphere over South Africa.
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- Date Issued: 2008
On academic freedom
- Authors: Pityana, Barney
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Academic Freedom -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa Equality Liberty Education and state -- South Africa Education, Higher -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/751 , vital:19987
- Description: Traditionally, higher education has formed the vanguard of ideological persuasion and even indoctrination, in support of political and social change. We should not be surprised then, that the converse also applies. Where an existing order is threatened, those intellectuals who do not toe the line are often vilified, marginalised and even worse. Many of the great revolutions have commenced with a thorough purging of intellectuals. History will testify to that. Furthermore, where the State funds higher education institutions, then notions of academic freedom will always be tempered by the expectation of some sort of reciprocal loyalty.
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- Date Issued: 2008
An investigation into the synergistic association between the major Clostridium cellulovorans cellulosomal endoglucanase and two hemicellulases on plant cell wall degradation
- Authors: Beukes, Natasha
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Clostridium , Cellulose , Hemicellulose , Cellulase , Biomass conversion , Biomass energy -- South Africa , Energy crops -- South Africa , Bagasse -- Biodegradation , Pineapple -- Biodegradation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3968 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004027 , Clostridium , Cellulose , Hemicellulose , Cellulase , Biomass conversion , Biomass energy -- South Africa , Energy crops -- South Africa , Bagasse -- Biodegradation , Pineapple -- Biodegradation
- Description: The cellulosome is a multimeric enzyme complex that has the ability to metabolise a wide variety of carbonaceous compounds. Cellulosomal composition may vary according to the microbe’s nutritional requirement and allows for the anaerobic degradation of complex substrates. The complex substrates of interest in this research study were sugarcane bagasse and pineapple fibre waste, as they represent two important lignocellulosic, South African agricultural crops. The effective degradation of complex plant biomass wastes may present a valuable source of renewable compounds for the production of a variety of biofuels, for example bioethanol, and a variety of biocomposites of industrial importance. The identification of renewable energy sources for the production of biofuels is becoming increasingly important, as a result of the rapid depletion of the fossil fuels that are traditionally used as energy sources. An effective means of completely degrading lignocellulose biomass still remains elusive due to the complex heterogeneity of the substrate structure, and the fact that the effective degradation of the substrate requires a consortium of enzymes. The cellulosome not only provides a variety of enzymes with varying specificities, but also promote a close proximity between the catalytic components (enzymes). The close proximity between the enzymes promotes the synergistic degradation of complex plant biomass for the production of valuable energy products. Previous synergy studies have focused predominantly on the synergistic associations between cellulases; however, the synergy between hemicellulases has occasionally been documented. This research project established the synergistic associations between two Clostridium cellulovorans hemicellulases that may be incorporated into the cellulosome and a cellulosomal endoglucanase that is conserved in all cellulosomes. This research study indicated that there was indeed a synergistic degradation of the complex plant biomass (sugarcane bagasse and pineapple fibre). The degrees of synergy and the ratio of the enzymes varied between the two complex substrates. The initial degradation of the bagasse required the presence of all the enzymes and proceeded at an enhanced rate under sulphidogenic conditions; however, there was a low production of fermentable sugars. The low quantity of fermentable sugars produced by the degradation of the bagasse may be related to the chemical composition of the substrate. The sugarcane contains a high percentage of lignin forming a protective layer around the holocellulose, thus the glycosidic bonds are shielded extensively from enzymatic attack. In comparison, the initial degradation of the pineapple fibre required the action of hemicellulases, and proceeded at an enhanced rate under sulphidogenic conditions. The initial degradation of the pineapple fibre produced a substantially larger quantity of fermentable sugars in comparison to the bagasse. The higher production of fermentable sugars from the degradation of the pineapple fibre may be explained by the fact that this substrate may have a lower percentage of lignin than the bagasse, thus allowing a larger percentage of the glycosidic bonds to be exposed to enzymatic attack. The data obtained also indicated that the glycosidic bonds from the hemicellulosic components of the pineapple fibre shielded the glycosidic bonds of the cellulose component. The identification of the chemical components of the different substrates may allow for the initial development of an ideal enzyme complex (designer cellulosome) with enzymes in an ideal ratio with optimal synergy that will effectively degrade the complex plant biomass substrate.
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- Date Issued: 2008
The role of values in educational leadership: an interpretive study
- Authors: Drake, Melanie Lee
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- South Africa Leadership -- South Africa Values -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1756 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003640
- Description: This study set out to investigate the role of values in educational leadership. The renewed interest in values in both educational and corporate environments in South Africa places new pressures on members in leadership positions especially in school life. Schools are described as the ‘nurseries’ of values. The understanding of the abstract nature of values, as well as instrumentalising and implementing values in vision statements and organisational life, poses challenges to present and future school leaders. This study, based in the interpretive paradigm, is an in-depth investigation into the role of values at a former model C primary school in the Eastern Cape. Through the use of observations, document analysis, focus groups and interviews as data collection tools, this research highlights the importance of values in school leadership and how this impacts the life of the school leader. This case-study research combines theoretical and contextual frameworks to question the nature of values in leadership and uses the real-life experiences of these school leaders to resonate with current understandings of values in leadership and organisational culture. The importance of understanding these complexities in the lives and experiences of these school leaders cannot be underestimated. My findings highlight the tensions between leading successful schools (task/person efficiency) and remaining congruent with the need for leadership for social justice in post-apartheid educational institutions. The uniqueness of the school environment (‘families’ and ‘communities’) is also featured and resonates with previous literature. Through the lens of emerging leadership trends, we discover these school leaders’ understandings of values in their daily lives: they do what they are and this is reflected in this school’s unique organisational culture, which could be said to ‘transcend’ present leaders’ influence. Finally I propose that further research is necessary in order to broaden our understanding of the unique role of values in educational leadership in South Africa.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Performance of Mhande song-dance: a contextualized and comparative analysis
- Authors: Rutsate, Jerry
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Karanga (African people) -- Music Shona (African people) -- Music Folk music -- Zimbabwe Music -- Zimbabwe Folk songs, Shona Mhande Dance music -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2655 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002321
- Description: This thesis is an investigation of the significance of Mhande song-dance in two performance contexts: the Mutoro ritual of the Karanga and the Chibuku Neshamwari Traditional Dance Competition. In addition, I undertake comparative analysis of the structure of Mhande music in relation to the structure of selected genres of Shona indigenous music. The position of Mhande in the larger context of Shona music is determined through analysis of transcriptions of the rhythmic, melodic and harmonic elements of chizambi mouth bow, karimba mbira, ngororombe panpipes, ngano story songs, game, hunting, war, and love songs. Mhande is an indigenous song-dance performed for the mutoro ceremony, the annual rain ritual of the Karanga. The Mhande repertoire consists of distinctive songs and rhythms used for communicating with the majukwa rain spirits. The rain spirits in turn communicate with God (Mwari) the provider of rain, on behalf of the Karanga. Mhande song-dance is performed exactly the same way in the annual Chibuku Neshamwari Traditional Dance Competitions as in the ritual context of the mutoro ceremony. However, in the context of the Competition, it is used for the expression of joy and as a form of cultural identity. The Competition is a forum in which Karanga songdance traditions such as Mhande, compete with other Shona song-dance traditions such as mbakumba, shangara and chinyambera. I contextualize and analyse Mhande song-dance by using the ‘Matonjeni Model’, which in terms of Karanga epistemology, is culture specific. This Model is grounded in description, interpretation and analysis; the primary methods in my research process.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Towards a corpus of Indian South African English (ISAE) : an investigation of lexical and syntactic features in a spoken corpus of contemporary ISAE
- Authors: Pienaar, Cheryl Leelavathie
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: English language -- South Africa Computational linguistics -- Methodology Discourse analysis -- Data processing English language -- Syntax -- South Africa English language -- Usage -- South Africa East Indians -- South Africa -- Language Lexicology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2357 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002640
- Description: There is consensus among scholars that there is not just one English language but a family of “World Englishes”. The umbrella-term “World Englishes” provides a conceptual framework to accommodate the different varieties of English that have evolved as a result of the linguistic cross-fertilization attendant upon colonization, migration, trade and transplantation of the original “strain” or variety. Various theoretical models have emerged in an attempt to understand and classify the extant and emerging varieties of this global language. The hierarchically based model of English, which classifies world English as “First Language”, “Second Language” and “Foreign Language”, has been challenged by more equitably-conceived models which refer to the emerging varieties as New Englishes. The situation in a country such as multi-lingual South Africa is a complex one: there are 11 official languages, one of which is English. However the English used in South Africa (or “South African English”), is not a homogeneous variety, since its speakers include those for whom it is a first language, those for whom it is an additional language and those for whom it is a replacement language. The Indian population in South Africa are amongst the latter group, as theirs is a case where English has ousted the traditional Indian languages and become a de facto first language, which has retained strong community resonances. This study was undertaken using the methodology of corpus linguistics to initiate the creation of a repository of linguistic evidence (or corpus), of Indian South African English, a sub-variety of South African English (Mesthrie 1992b, 1996, 2002). Although small (approximately 60 000 words), and representing a narrow age band of young adults, the resulting corpus of spoken data confirmed the existence of robust features identified in prior research into the sub-variety. These features include the use of ‘y’all’ as a second person plural pronoun, the use of but in a sentence-final position, and ‘lakker’ /'lVk@/ as a pronunciation variant of ‘lekker’ (meaning ‘good’, ‘nice’ or great’). An examination of lexical frequency lists revealed examples of general South African English such as the colloquially pervasive ‘ja’, ‘bladdy’ (for bloody) and jol(ling) (for partying or enjoying oneself) together with neologisms such as ‘eish’, the latter previously associated with speakers of Black South African English. The frequency lists facilitated cross-corpora comparisons with data from the British National Corpus and the Corpus of London Teenage Language and similarities and differences were noted and discussed. The study also used discourse analysis frameworks to investigate the role of high frequency lexical items such as ‘like’ in the data. In recent times ‘like’ has emerged globally as a lexicalized discourse marker, and its appearance in the corpus of Indian South African English confirms this trend. The corpus built as part of this study is intended as the first building block towards a full corpus of Indian South African English which could serve as a standard for referencing research into the sub-variety. Ultimately, it is argued that the establishment of similar corpora of other known sub-varieties of South African English could contribute towards the creation of a truly representative large corpus of South African English and a more nuanced understanding and definition of this important variety of World English.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Revised parameter estimation methods for the Pitman monthly rainfall-runoff model
- Authors: Kapangaziwiri, Evison
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Rain and rainfall -- Mathematical models , Runoff -- Mathematical models , Hydrology -- Mathematical models , Water supply -- South Africa , Water resources development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:6033 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006172 , Rain and rainfall -- Mathematical models , Runoff -- Mathematical models , Hydrology -- Mathematical models , Water supply -- South Africa , Water resources development -- South Africa
- Description: In recent years, increased demands have been placed on hydrologists to find the most effective methods of making predictions of hydrologic variables in ungauged basins. A huge part of the southern African region is ungauged and, in gauged basins, the extent to which observed flows represent natural flows is unknown, given unquantified upstream activities. The need to exploit water resources for social and economic development, considered in the light of water scarcity forecasts for the region, makes the reliable quantification of water resources a priority. Contemporary approaches to the problem of hydrological prediction in ungauged basins in the region have relied heavily on calibration against a limited gauged streamflow database and somewhat subjective parameter regionalizations using areas of assumed hydrological similarity. The reliance of these approaches on limited historical records, often of dubious quality, introduces uncertainty in water resources decisions. Thus, it is necessary to develop methods of estimating model parameters that are less reliant on calibration. This thesis addresses the question of whether physical basin properties and the role they play in runoff generation processes can be used directly in the estimation of parameter values of the Pitman monthly rainfall-runoff model. A physically-based approach to estimating the soil moisture accounting and runoff parameters of a conceptual, monthly time-step rainfall-runoff model is proposed. The study investigates the physical meaning of the model parameters, establishes linkages between parameter values and basin physical properties and develops relationships and equations for estimating the parameters taking into account the spatial and temporal scales used in typical model applications. The estimationmethods are then tested in selected gauged basins in southern Africa and the results of model simulations evaluated against historical observed flows. The results of 71 basins chosen from the southern African region suggest that it is possible to directly estimate hydrologically relevant parameters for the Pitman model from physical basin attributes. For South Africa, the statistical and visual fit of the simulations using the revised parameters were at least as good as the current regional sets, albeit the parameter sets being different. In the other countries where no regionalized parameter sets currently exist, simulations were equally good. The availability, within the southern African region, of the appropriate physical basin data and the disparities in the spatial scales and the levels of detail of the data currently available were identified as potential sources of uncertainty. GIS and remote sensing technologies and a widespread use of this revised approach are expected to facilitate access to these data.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Optimisation of a sampling protocol for long-term monitoring of temperate reef fishes
- Authors: Bennett, Rhett Hamilton
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Marine parks and reserves -- South Africa , Coastal zone management -- South Africa , Fishery management -- South Africa , Reef fishes -- South Africa , Fish communities -- South Africa , Fish stock assessment
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5309 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005154 , Marine parks and reserves -- South Africa , Coastal zone management -- South Africa , Fishery management -- South Africa , Reef fishes -- South Africa , Fish communities -- South Africa , Fish stock assessment
- Description: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries management (EAF) and Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) have been identified as possible alternatives to traditional linefish management measures, which have largely failed. Monitoring and assessment of fish communities on a long-term basis is necessary, and will provide a means to evaluate the effectiveness of such management measures. Therefore, standardised protocols and optimal sampling methods for long-term monitoring (LTM) and assessment of coastal fish communities are essential. This study aimed to identify suitable methods and develop a protocol for assessment of inshore reef fish communities. A suitable location for evaluation of proposed methods was identified in the warm temperate biogeographical region of South Africa, encompassing the well-established Tsitsikamma Coastal National Park MPA and an adjacent exploited area. Chrysoblephus laticeps (roman) was identified as an indicator species for the study, as it has been well-studied and is well represented in the area. Underwater visual census (UVC) and controlled fishing were identified as suitable methods. UVC transects were found to be superior to point counts, in terms of sampling efficiency, variability, bias and required sample size. An effort of two angler hours per fishing station was shown to provide low catch variability, while at the same time a representative catch and low overall cost and required time. The methods were incorporated in a proposed sampling protocol, and evaluated. The methods were able to detect known differences between protected and exploited communities. It is recommended that LTM within protected areas, for detection of natural change, be focused on community-level indicators, while LTM in exploited areas, aimed at detection of anthropogenic change, be focused on species-level indicators. The proposed protocol with standardised methods will allow for comparisons across a network of LTM sites and provide the opportunity for a broad-scale assessment of the effects of environmental variables on reef fish stocks. The protocol developed in this study has application in other biogeographical regions in South Africa, and other parts of the world. Shift in the focus of much marine research, in South Africa and elsewhere, to LTM, highlights the relevance and timeous nature of this study.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Rhodes University Graduation Ceremony 2008
- Authors: Rhodes University
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: vital:8139 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007251
- Description: Rhodes University Graduation Ceremony [at the] 1820 Settlers National Monument Thursday, 27 March at 18:00 [and] Friday, 28 March at 10:30; 14:30 & 18:00 [and] Saturday, 29 March at 10:30
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- Date Issued: 2008
Larval fish dynamics in the shallow nearshore of Eastern Algoa Bay with particular emphasis on the effects of currents and swimming abilities on dispersal
- Authors: Pattrick, Paula
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Fishes -- Larvae -- Eastern Cape -- Algoa Bay , Marine parks and reserves -- Eastern Cape -- Algoa Bay , Fishes -- Larvae -- Ecology -- Eastern Cape -- Algoa Bay , Fishes -- Larvae -- Dispersal -- Eastern Cape -- Algoa Bay , Fishes -- Development -- Eastern Cape -- Algoa Bay
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5294 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005139 , Fishes -- Larvae -- Eastern Cape -- Algoa Bay , Marine parks and reserves -- Eastern Cape -- Algoa Bay , Fishes -- Larvae -- Ecology -- Eastern Cape -- Algoa Bay , Fishes -- Larvae -- Dispersal -- Eastern Cape -- Algoa Bay , Fishes -- Development -- Eastern Cape -- Algoa Bay
- Description: The larval fish assemblage in the shallow, nearshore region of a proposed marine protected area (MPA) in eastern Algoa Bay, temperate South Africa was investigated. Current velocities and direction and the swimming abilities of late-stage larvae were further assessed to determine potential larval movement to and from the MPA. In total, 6045 larval fishes were collected along two depth contours (~5m and ~15m) in the shallow nearshore of eastern Algoa Bay using stepped-oblique bongo net tows, twice per season for two years (March 2005 – January 2007). These larvae represented 32 families and 78 species. The Gobiidae, Cynoglossidae, Clupeidae, Engraulidae and Sparidae were the dominant fish families. Catches varied significantly between seasons peaking in spring with a mean of 64 larvae/100m3. Preflexion stage larvae dominated catches (75%). All developmental stages of Diplodus capensis, Engraulis capensis, Heteromycteris capensis, Sardinops sagax and Pomadasys species were found in the study area. It appears that these species use the shallow nearshore as a nursery area. Analysis of 12 months (May 2006 – May 2007) data from a bottom-moored Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler within the study area showed that offshore south eastward (39%) and onshore north westward currents (33%) dominated. The south westward current (15%) and north eastward current (12%) occurred less frequently. Current velocity decreased with depth in the nearshore, with a mean velocity of ~29 cms⁻¹ recorded at a depth of 4 m and a mean velocity of ~11 cms⁻¹ recorded at a depth of 14 m. Understanding the dispersal and movement of marine fish larvae in coastal habitats requires knowledge of active swimming abilities. The critical speed and endurance swimming of late stage larvae of two common inshore species occurring in the study area, Diplodus capensis and Sarpa salpa (Family Sparidae), were measured in a laboratory swimming chamber. The mean U-crit value for D. capensis (18.6 cms⁻¹) was similar to that of S. salpa (18.0 cms⁻¹), whereas mean endurance (km swum) was greater in S. salpa (8.4 km) than D. capensis (5.9 km). These swimming abilities exceed the average current velocities observed in the shallow nearshore providing larvae with the ability to greatly alter their passive dispersal trajectories and ultimately influence their distribution in the nearshore.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Synthesis, photochemical and photophysical properties of gallium and indium phthalocyanine derivatives
- Authors: Chauke, Vongani Portia
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Phthalocyanines , Photochemotherapy , Electrochemistry , Gallium , Indium
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4375 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005040 , Phthalocyanines , Photochemotherapy , Electrochemistry , Gallium , Indium
- Description: The syntheses of octasubstituted and unsusbstitituted Gallium(III) chloride and indium(III) chloride phthalocyanines (GaPc and InPc), their photophysical, photochemical and nonlinear optical parameters are hereby presented. The photocatalytic oxidation of 1-hexene using the synthesized GaPc and InPc complexes as well as electrochemical characterization is also presented in this thesis. Fluorescence quantum yields do not vary much among the four Ga complexes, except for complex 21c; therefore it was concluded that the effect of substituents is not significant among them. Solvents however, had an effect on the results. Lower Φ[subscript F] values were obtained in low viscosity solvents like toluene, relative to highly viscous solvents, such as DMSO. The triplet quantum yields were found to be lower in DMSO than in DMF and toluene. The rate constants for fluorescence, intersystem crossing and internal conversion as well as fluorescence and triplet lifetimes are reported. Photodegradation and singlet oxygen quantum yields have also been reported. There was no clear correlation between the latter parameters. It was however established that the four gallium MPcs were stable, within the allowed stability range for phthalocyanines. High quantum yields of triplet state (Φ[subscript T] ranging from 0.70 to 0.91 in dimethysulfoxide, DMSO) and singlet oxygen generation (Φ[subscript greek capital letter delta], ranging from 0.61 to 0.79 in DMSO) were obtained. Short triplet lifetimes 50 to 60 μs were obtained in DMSO). Calculated non-linear parameters of these complexes are compared with those of the corresponding GaPc derivatives and tetrasubstituted GaPc and InPc complexes. The optical limiting threshold intensity (I[subscript lim]) values for the InPc and GaPc derivatives were calculated and compared with those of corresponding tetrasubstituted InPc and GaPc complexes. The octasubstituted were found to be better optical limiters. Photocatalytic oxidation of 1-hexene by GaPc (21a-c) and InPc (22a-c) derivatives is also presented. The photocatalytic oxidation products for 1-hexene were 1,2- epoxyhexane and 1-hexen-3-ol. The % conversion values of 1-hexene and % selectivity of 1,2-epoxyhexane were generally higher for InPc derivatives. Even though InPc derivatives showed better photocatalytic results than GaPc derivatives, the former were less stable relative to the latter. Both type I and type II mechanism were implicated in the photocatalysis mechanism.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Camphor derivatives in asymmetric synthesis: a synthetic, mechanistic and theoretical study
- Authors: Lobb, Kevin Alan
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Chemistry, Organic -- Research Esters Organic compounds -- Synthesis Alkylation Chemical reactions -- Computer simulation Chemical kinetics Camphor Cinnamomum
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4414 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006770
- Description: A series of 3,3-ethylenedioxy-exo- and endo- bornyl esters have been prepared and subjected to α-benzylation using lithium diisopropylamide and benzyl bromide. In the exo-series of esters the diastereofacial selectivity of benzylation was found to improve (up to 34% d.e.) as the steric bulk of the O-alkyl group increased, whereas in the endo-series, a surprising decrease in stereoselectivity was observed as the steric bulk increased – an observation attributed to flexibility of the metal-coordinated endo-enolate system, compared to the relative rigidity of the exo analogues. The conformational options for each series was explored at the density functional theory level. Reductive cyclization of a range of specially prepared N-carbobenzyloxy-amino acid esters has been shown to afford the corresponding derivatives, contrary to previous reports that the cyclization is limited to the glycine derivative. The cyclization sequence has been explored in detail, and the yield has been shown to be critically dependent on the stereochemistry of the α-amino acid moiety. Moreover, it seems that reductive cyclization occurs more readily with the endo- rather than the exo-bornyl N-CBZ-amino acid esters. Molecular modelling of relevant transition states at the DFT levels indicates that L-amino acid-derived systems should cyclize preferably in the exo-series and D-amino acid-derived systems should cyclize preferably in the endo series. Studies of alkylation of an iminolactone system have reported an interesting anomaly - exo-methylation is observed while endo-alkylation predominates for larger alkyl groups. This has been studied in detail at the DFT level, and the anomaly is attributed to thermodynamic control in the methyl case, whereas kinetic control is the norm in this system. Preliminary computer modelling of the intramolecular rearrangement of a 3,3-xylylbornyl system at the HF/STO-3G level raised doubts concerning the structure assigned by Evans to one of the rearrangement products, prompting an X-ray crystallographic analysis and leading to the revision of its structure from a pinene to a camphene derivative. The previously elusive spiro[bornane-3,2’-indan]-2-exo-tosylate has been successfully isolated, and the kinetics of its ready decomposition to the two camphene products has been followed by 1H NMR spectroscopy. The endo-tosylate analogue, on the other hand, was found to be remarkably stable. Kinetic data obtained for rearrangement of this exo-bornyl tosylate have indicated the operation of tandem autocatalytic and pseudo-first-order transformations leading sequentially to the two isomeric camphene products. An extensive coset analysis of all possible rearrangement processes of the initially-formed cation formed from decomposition of the exo-tosylate has afforded a graph containing 336 classical cations (modelled at the AM1 and B3LYP levels) and 526 transition-state complexes (modelled at the AM1 level). This analysis afforded a viable 4-step classical mechanism connecting the first camphene product with the second. A more realistic study, involving non-classical carbocations, has afforded a graph of all possible (classical and non-classical) cations that could be formed by rearrangment of the initiallyformed cation. The resulting graph confirms that the only energetically feasible path corresponds to the classical mechanism, but simply involves two steps, including a novel, concerted Wagner-Meerwein – 6,2-hydride shift – Wagner-Meerwein rearrangement.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Contextual obstacles to the delivery of effective psychological treatment of PTSD in a South African community setting
- Authors: Swartz, Kerry
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Post-traumatic stress disorder -- Treatment -- South Africa Rape victims -- Counseling of -- South Africa Psychic trauma -- Treatment HIV infections -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3068 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002577
- Description: The present study presents three individual cases; all three clients had endured a traumatic event, namely rape, and all three met the criteria for PTSD. Despite the fact that each of the clients was initially assessed as being a suitable candidate for psychological treatment, none of the cases proceeded to the therapy phase of treatment. A number of obstacles, both personal and contextual, were encountered during treatment implementation, preventing or limiting a successful outcome of psychological treatment in each case. An examination of these cases highlights a few of the many obstacles frequently faced when delivering psychological treatment to the South African context. In so doing, this research provides an opportunity to consider the possible reasons for the limited documentation of treatment efficacy within the South African context, as well as to enhance our understanding of and sensitivity towards the cultural and contextual factors playing a role in psychological treatment.
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- Date Issued: 2008
A comparison between the South African "source rules" in relation to income tax and the "permanent establishment rules" as contained in double taxation agreements
- Authors: Fourie, Leonie
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Income tax -- South Africa , Income tax -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Double taxation -- South Africa , Business enterprises -- Taxation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:905 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008203
- Description: South Africa's right to tax the income of a non-resident is determined in terms of the South African "source rules" established by court decisions in relation to the imposition of tax in terms of the Income Tax Act. Unless a non-resident's income is captured by the South African "source rules" (on the basis that hi slits income is derived from a South African source), South Africa would have no right to tax such income, even if such non-resident creates a permanent establishment in South Africa by performing business activities within South Africa which could be considered essential (but not dominant) in nature. In such scenario the activities performed by the non-resident in South Africa may utilise the natural resources and the infrastructure of South Africa, but the South African fiscus would be deprived of the right to any tax revenues attributable to the income produced partly by such activities within South Africa. The South African "source rules" refer only to the main or dominant activities giving rise to the income for the purpose of determining the source of such income (and accordingly the right to tax such income). On the other hand, the "permanent establishment rules" as set out under the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital refer to all the taxpayer's essential business activities for the purpose of determining whether or not such activities create a pennanent establishment. The result of the narrow nature of the South African "source rules" is that, under certain circumstances, the South African fiscus would not necessarily be granted the right to tax all income produced partly within South Africa. The research demonstrated that incorporating the principles underlying the "pennanent establishment rules" into South African legislation would be a reasonable and logical solution to the problem of detennining the source of income. In so doing, the South African "source rules" would determine the source of income, and consequently South Africa's taxing rights, with reference to the essential business activities giving rise to such income. In such case South Africa would be afforded the right to tax the income of a non-resident in the event that it performs any of its essential business activities within South Africa, albeit not the dominant or main activities giving rise to the income.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Namibian school principals' perceptions of their management needs
- Authors: Kapapero, Fanuel
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: School principals -- Self-rating of -- Namibia School principals -- Rating of -- Namibia School principals -- Management -- Namibia School principals -- Development -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia Educational leadership -- Namibia School supervision -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1674 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003557
- Description: The Namibian education system is at the crossroads as a result of the demands of the Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP), a programme initiated by the Government to address shortcomings in the education and training sector. ETSIP requires that school principals play a much more significant role to realize the goal of quality education, which is one of the major goals of education reform. In view of the ever-increasing responsibilities of the principals for ensuring the quality of education, the need for management development has become more apparent. Although management development for principals in the African context is a recent phenomenon, it has been a subject of extensive research over the years in many developed countries. The findings of these studies suggest that it has the potential to improve the quality of school leadership and ultimately lead to school improvement. In Namibia, literature suggests that little has been done to determine the needs of school principals with regards to their management development. This study therefore seeks to address that need. The study is situated in the interpretive research paradigm whose central purpose is to interpret and understand the phenomenon through the perceptions and experience of the participants. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings generally suggest that principals perceive management development as vehicle to empowerment and capacity building. The findings further suggest that principals would prefer management programmes that are more experienced-based and offer opportunities for reflection. The findings also brought to light the aspect of monitoring and support as a critical element in the success of management development programmes. As far as the management development needs of school principals are concerned, the findings highlighted the following needs: the need to be trained on how to manage change which include the new curriculum and policies, training in information communication and technology and training in the management of human and financial resources which include instructional leadership and budgeting.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Normative indications for Xhosa-speaking unskilled workers on the trail making test and the stroop test
- Authors: Andrews, Karen Anne Hope
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Neuropsychology , Neuropsychological tests -- Sex differences , Educational tests and measurements -- Sex differences , Xhosa (African people) -- Education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:2926 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002435 , Neuropsychology , Neuropsychological tests -- Sex differences , Educational tests and measurements -- Sex differences , Xhosa (African people) -- Education
- Description: The aim of the study was to produce preliminary normative indications for the Trail Making Test and the Stroop Test, administered in English, on a non-clinical sample of black, Xhosa-speaking, unskilled individuals (N = 33), with an educational level of 11 – 12 years, in two age categories (18 –29 and 30 – 40 years). The sample was equally distributed for gender and level of education. Participants, who were required to have a basic proficiency in English, were from traditionally black township schools with relatively disadvantaged quality of education. Within-sample age and gender effects were investigated. There were no significant age effects on the Trail Making Test, whereas there was one significant difference between age groups on the Stroop Test with respect to the Color-Word task, and a result that strongly approached significance on the Word task, with the younger group performing better than the older group. There were no significant gender effects on the Trail Making Test, whereas there was one significant difference between genders on the Stroop Test with respect to the Word task, and a result that approached significance on the Color task, with females performing better than males. Normative indications for both measures were compared to available normative data on western populations with higher levels and more advantaged quality of education. This comparison revealed consistently poorer performances for both the Trail Making Test and the Stroop Test, confirming the need for localised normative datasets to facilitate accurate neuropsychological diagnoses on culturally disadvantaged individuals.
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- Date Issued: 2008
That-has-been a discussion on the body cast as that which fixes a subject in time, in relation to notions surrounding the photograph
- Authors: Maree, Christine Fae
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Barthes, Roland. Camera Lucida Photography, Artistic Photography -- Philosophy Photographic criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2412 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002208
- Description: Much like a photograph, a casts creates a replica of its referent, thereby immobilising the subject in time. While the subject continues in time and hence ages and inevitably dies the replica does not. With this basic notion of fixing a subject, I have built an argument to contextualise my sculptures, which are made using casts of elderly people. In this discussion I have looked at my works through the ideas of different theorists. The main theorist I have cited is Roland Barthes, specifically with regards to his notion of the photograph as discussed in his book Camera Lucida. I have also referenced three particular artists: Rachel Whiteread, Diane Arbus and Churchill Madikida, as I have found each of their works relate to my work in various ways, creating a different reading from each viewpoint.
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- Date Issued: 2008
An assessment of the service quality expectations and perceptions of the patients of Awali Hospital in the Kingdom of Bahrain
- Authors: Luke, Gary Joseph
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Awali Hospital Hospitals, Proprietary -- Bahrain Hospital care -- Quality control -- Bahrain Hospital care -- Evaluation -- Bahrain Customer services -- Rating of -- Bahrain Quality assurance
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:730 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003850
- Description: The quality of service from a hospital is the number one factor that will either turn a customer/patient away or make one for life. More and more hospitals are competing for greater shares in the market and customer-driven quality management is becoming the preferred method for improving their performance. Awali hospital is a private hospital in the Kingdom of Bahrain. It is a small 35-bed hospital that offers private medical services to the public. The hospital was originally built to serve the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) refinery workers but later opened its doors to the public. With the introduction of private patients came higher expectations of quality and higher demands on the overall services. A number of service quality shortfalls were identified over the years but never identified quantitatively by a patient evaluation survey. An English and Arabic version of the questionnaire based on SERVQUAL (Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry, 1988) was developed and placed in Awali hospital to test these service quality shortfalls. This study intends to evaluate these areas by answering questions about the relevant areas of service provided by the hospital. It measured patient satisfaction by looking at human aspects of service (responsiveness, reliability, empathy and assurance) with only one factor of the instrument being devoted to the non-human aspect of care rendered (tangibles). The SERVQUAL instrument has five dimensions that were measured by 21 pairs of item statements. One statement from each pair reflects perceptions, the other expectations. Measurement was accomplished by subtracting expectation from perceptions resulting in a service quality score. Positive or zero scores would reflect ideal or adequate service quality offered by the hospital. A negative score would be indicative of a service experience that did not meet customer expectations. Using the SERVQUAL questionnaire provided, quantifiable reasoning to the research questions in each dimension could be obtained so that precision, objectivity and rigour replaced hunches, experience and intuition as a means of investigating problem areas. Customers were first asked to supply some additional demographic information, for example gender, number of hospital visits, nationality, patient type (Bapco worker, general practitioner referred or private) and type of visit (inpatient, outpatient or both). They werethen asked to rate the hospital service on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Agree (7) to Strongly Disagree (1). At the end of the questionnaire was space to write open comments. In total 600 paper questionnaires were distributed in the hospital, 300 English and 300 Arabic. Another 150 electronic questionnaires via emails were sent to refinery workers. Of the total 750 questionnaires distributed 162 were returned of which 156 (or 21.6%) could be statistically analysed. The empirical data results showed that the perception scores were significantly different at the p < 0.05 level from expectation scores. All the service quality differences (SQ=P-E) were negatively scored. This indicated that patients were not satisfied in all five dimensions of services offered by the hospital. Of the five dimensions responsiveness had the largest difference with assurance and reliability following with no significant differences between them. The demographic information revealed some interesting differences between the groups. Of all the demographic groups the most significant differences were between groups, “patient types” and “types of visit”, which showed differences between private patients and refinery workers and patients who used the hospital only as an outpatient and patients who used both services, outpatient and inpatient. In terms of the managerial implications, it was recommended that Awali hospital look to closing Gaps 1-4 of the SERVQUAL gap model which would result in closing the consumer gap, Gap 5. A process model for continuous measurement and improvement of service quality was recommended that looks at asking questions about how the hospital is performing. By adopting some of the recommendations identified in the research questions, Awali hospital could improve their quality of service, and as a consequence, their customer satisfaction and loyalty.
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- Date Issued: 2008