A preliminary investigation of the toxic principle of Moraea polystachya Ker
- Authors: Dry, L J
- Date: 1954
- Subjects: Iridaceae Moraea polystachya ker
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4461 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011494
- Description: A member of the Iridaceae family, the plant (also known as the Blue Tulp) ... is a monocotyledon. The blue tulp grows profusely in rainy parts of the Union, for example along much of the Cape coastal belt as far east as Grahamstown, in both the Karroos, and in parts of the Transvaal. It is a perennial plant but only appears above the ground once a year for about two months. This is at the start of the rainy season and in Grahamstown the plant appears in April and May, after which it disappears again. Chapter 1, p.1.
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- Date Issued: 1954
Reactor development and process optimisation for the bioremediation of phenolic wastewaters by trametes species
- Authors: Ryan, Daniel Reginald
- Date: 2004-04
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191487 , vital:45103
- Description: In many service industries, the source of a company’s value has shifted from capital to knowledge and ideas, the quality of which is dependent on its employees (Wooldridge, 2006). In fact, human resources can be considered part of factor conditions which can positively impact on a firm’s competitive context. This impact can ultimately translate into improved financial results (Porter and Kramer, 2002). There is therefore a growing interest in ways to attract and retain talent. According to the managers of many big companies, well communicated corporate responsibility practices can improve staff attraction as well as retention rates by improving morale (CSRwire, 2002). To explore this, a small, creative company in Johannesburg which engages in charity work was selected as a case study, with the goal being to understand whether their culture of good deeds has a positive impact on staff wellbeing. While the owner of the company actively attempts to make the company an enjoyable place to work at, he appears to have initiated the philanthropic activities in a true spirit of giving, rather than with the motive of engaging staff in order to make more money. Nevertheless, the researcher’s investigative stance is that of an enlightened egoist, and the study focuses on the business case of giving being beneficial to the giver (ultimately the company) in the long term, as well as to the recipient. While the danger of suggesting that philanthropy could be instrumentalised is acknowledged (Morton, 2004), the investigation explores the possibility because such evidence could persuade other companies to become more socially concerned. Through a qualitative approach involving interviews, observation and analysis of video footage, it becomes apparent that there is clearly value for the staff in the charity work they do. Unfortunately the multiple initiatives undertaken to keep staff morale high at the company make it impossible to establish a clear link between the philanthropy and overall wellbeing, but as the study was conducted in the phenomenological paradigm the main concern was with understanding the experience of participants. However, an unexpected finding was that the employees derive great satisfaction from using their professional skills for charity work rather than just donating money to the charity. They feel that their skills uniquely position them to make significant changes to the lives of others, which gives them a sense of pride and achievement that they don’t necessarily experience in their ordinary activities at work. On the basis of this, it is recommended that companies look to involve staff with projects that require their specific expertise when evaluating philanthropic initiatives. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2004
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- Date Issued: 2004-04
The role of the guidance teacher in preparing young people for personal and social life in Gazankulu
- Authors: Machimana, Albert
- Date: 1986
- Subjects: Counselling , Guidance , Life skills , Secondary education , Self concept , Gazankulu
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1381 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001447
- Description: In the modernising South African society, young people are faced with personal and social problems which make it very difficult for them to adjust positively to life in general. In the end they are frustrated in many situations in life because of their inability to cope with these problems. One of the major problems that the Blacks in South Africa are faced with is that of a poor self-concept. This is a major problem because any adjustment and behaviour in life is, to a large extent, influenced by the self-concept of the individual. This thesis aims at focusing attention on those social issues which play a major role in the development of the self-concept and the lives in general, of Black people in Gazankulu. It is also concerned with the role of the guidance teacher in preparing young people for a more satisfying life (Introduction, p. 1)
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- Date Issued: 1986
Training intervention for volunteers supporting victims of intimate partner violence in South Africa
- Authors: Thomas, Samantha
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Intimate partner violence -- Psychological aspects , Victims of family violence -- Services for -- South Africa , Marital violence , Victims of dating violence , Family violence -- Law and legislation , Non-governmental organizations -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/65079 , vital:28679
- Description: Intimate Partner Violence continues to be a significant social problem in South Africa, requiring a systematised and effective response at multiple levels. The organisation at the centre of this research offers crisis intervention to victims of intimate partner violence, providing basic psychological support, legal information and referrals. The volunteer crisis interventionists are exposed to numerous in-depth accounts of violent and distressing victimisation, making them more vulnerable to vicarious traumatisation. Through this work, their prior assumptions about personal safety, the trustworthiness of other people, and basic justice in the world, are challenged. The challenge to these assumptions increases the likelihood of countertransference victim blaming responses, as it is often easier to hold the client responsible for the tragic event than for the support worker to transform their own assumptions about safety and justice. This victim blaming response is supported by the dominant patriarchal ideology which frequently seeks to maintain the systems of oppression, excusing the perpetrator and placing responsibility on the victim. It was therefore clear that in order to do this work effectively, volunteers needed to be trained to identify their countertransference reactions and emotional responses, as well as undergo a critical re-assessment of their ideas relating to intimate partner violence and victimisation. Using an Intervention Research paradigm, this research designed and developed a training programme based on transformative learning theory, moving away from traditional information models of training to a focus on emotional skills and critical self-insight. The phases of the intervention refined the intervention in order to ensure that the research objectives were met and that the programme could be easily replicated. The evaluation of each phase showed an increased capacity for critical insight, and evidence for a transformative shift in the trainees understanding and approach to intimate partner violence.
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- Date Issued: 2019
'Show and tell': a discursive analysis of women's written accounts of their self-injuring practices
- Authors: Morison, Tracy
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Self-injurious behavior , Psychology, Pathological
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3026 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002535 , Self-injurious behavior , Psychology, Pathological
- Description: Self-injuring is a practice that involves self-administered damage to one’s body, most commonly cutting of the skin on the forearms. (The practice is distinguished from other intentional and in/direct self-harmful or self-damaging behaviours that cause bodily harm). Dominant psychiatric, psychological or medical approaches construct self-injuring as deviant, socially unacceptable or abnormal behaviour that is indicative of more or less severe psychopathology, and importantly as a stereotypically female practice. This research is conducted within a post-essentialist framework and views self-injuring, and the injured body, as discursively constituted as well as a cultural and political act. It therefore moves away from pathologising discourses in which those who self-injure typically find themselves and their own accounts of their behaviour invalidated and silenced. Instead, the mental health perspective is viewed as one party among many that may contribute to the conceptualisation of ‘self-injuring’ practices as socially meaningful and thus self-injuring is critically interpreted without reliance on a medical model of ‘normalcy’. As part of attempts to challenge medical models and cultural ideals of normalcy, this research presents a critical discursive analysis of a series of narratives provided by 5 female participants in which they record their own experiences, feelings and thoughts related to their practices of selfinjuring. It makes use of critical discourse analytic methodology to identify certain characteristics of these narratives as representations of larger collective meaning systems. It analyses the ways in which self-injuring is constructed in women’s stories of their self-injuring experiences, focusing particularly on the subject positions available in these discourses, as well as their ideological effects. The analysis focuses particularly on constructions of the body and subject positions as they enable or undermines the self-injuring subject’s agency. Finally, it attempts to determine the limitations of certain accounts of self-injuring, pursuing multiple meanings of self-injuring and illuminating new dimensions of talk on self-injuring and novel ways of conceptualising and understanding the practice.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Strategies used by subject advisors and facilitators to support lesson planning with an environmental learning focus : a case study of the Eastern Cape Neep-Get cluster
- Authors: Mbambisa, Nomaledi Peggy
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Educational change -- South Africa Education and state -- South Africa Environmental education -- South Africa Competency-based education Curriculum change -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1926 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007586
- Description: Over the past ten years, South Africa has undergone substantial changes, following the advent of democracy. Key amongst these changes being the transformation of educational policy. These policy changes have introduced new structural frameworks within which we operate (including myself as a subject advisor) and new roles for educators. These policy changes affect all the levels of the education system, and have an impact at school level, where teachers are now responsible for learning programme development (including a focus on lesson planning). Lesson planning in an outcomes-based education framework is a challenging aspect of policy implementation. South Africa is faced with the challenges associated with policy change and implementation. The role of the subject advisors and facilitators who support the teachers to make sense of the curriculum is crucial, as they provide the interface between policy and practice. They are the people who work most with teachers, and have a responsibility for curriculum implementation. This study aimed to explore the strategies which are used by subject advisors and facilitators to support teachers develop lesson plans with an environmental learning focus. A qualitative case study was conducted in which I looked at how the support processes were provided by the subject advisors and facilitators in the Eastern Cape in particular the NEEP-GET cluster in the Makana district. The study employed a range of data producing techniques such as questionnaires, interviews, document analysis and observation. The data was analysed to report the findings. The research indicates that some strategies are used to provide curriculum and pedagogical support and guidance, but that these are superficially treated and others have not been attempted at all. This therefore shows that further growth in this area is possible amongst the subject advisors. Recommendations relevant to both the subject advisors and the Department of Education so as to enhance the support processes and professional development of subject advisors have been made.
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- Date Issued: 2005
Trends in fish community structure and recruitment in a temporarily open/closed South African estuary
- Authors: James, Nicola Caroline
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Fish communities -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Marine fishes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Estuarine fishes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Estuarine ecology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5332 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005178
- Description: Long-term interannual changes in richness, abundance, diversity and structure of the fish community in the temporarily open/closed East Kleinemonde Estuary, Eastern Cape, are described and the recruitment success of two estuary-dependent marine species assessed. In addition, laboratory experiments were conducted to assess the possible role of olfaction in the recruitment process of an estuary-dependent marine fish species. Multivariate analyses of the annual marine fish communites identified two distinct groups with more species recorded during years that succeeded spring (September to November) mouth opening events than in years following no mouth opening events in spring. Interannual community stability (IMD) and seriation (IMS) also increased from the ‘other’ to the ‘spring’ years. These results highlight the importance of the timing of mouth opening to the marine fish community in a temporarily open/closed estuary. This study also made use of long-term records of daily mouth state and linked them to the recruitment of distinct year-class cohorts in two spardis with contrasting lifehistory characteristics. Lithognathus lithognathus only recruited into the estuary in years when the mouth opened between late August and January. This was linked to the limited spawning season of this species and its inability to enter closed estuaries via wave overwash events. In contrast, recruitment by Rhabdosargus holubi juveniles appeared to be uninterrupted and was not determined by the seasonality of mouth opening. This species dominates the marine-spawning component of the East Kleinemonde Estuary and its success is attributed to an extended spawning season and its ability to recruit into estuaries during both overwash and open mouth conditions. Attraction of postflexion Rhabdosargus holubi larvae to estuary, surf zone and river water was also measured using a rectangular choice chamber. In two sets of experiments, conducted during peak recruitment periods, larvae from both the surf zone and estuary mouth region selected estuary water with a significantly higher frequency than sea water. Larvae collected in the mouth region showed a stronger preference for river water than those collected in the surf zone, thus suggesting that these fish are more attracted to freshwater influenced nursery areas once they have entered the estuary than those in the surf zone. Larvae collected in the marine environment also selected surf zone water with significantly higher frequencies than estuary water or offshore sea water, thus confirming the importance of the surf zone as an interim nursery area for postflexion R. holubi.
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- Date Issued: 2007
On the Wiener index of bicyclic graphs and graphs with fixed segment sequence
- Authors: Xhanti, Sinoxolo
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Graph theory , Chemistry Mathematics , Chemistry Graphic methods , Wiener index , Bicyclic graphs , Fixed segment sequence , Degree sequence , Circumference , Core
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190700 , vital:45019
- Description: Wiener index is defined as the sum of the distances between all unordered pairs of vertices in a graph. The study of the Wiener index is motivated by its application in chemistry. This thesis focuses on finding extremal bicyclic graphs relative to Wiener index under various conditions such as fixed circumference (length of the longest cycle) or fixed size of the core (maximal subgraph with no degree less than 2). A segment of a graph G is either a path whose end vertices have degree 1 or at least 3 in G and all the internal vertices have degree 2 in G, or a cycle where all the vertices have degree 2 in G except possibly one. The lengths of all the segments of G form it segment sequence. We also discuss extremal graphs with given segment sequence. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Mathematics, 2021
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- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
The doctrine of the holy spirit in pentecostalism and neo-pentecostalism, with special reference to the work of Frederick Dale Bruner
- Authors: Higgs, Michael John
- Date: 1974
- Subjects: Bruner, Frederick Dale Pentecostalism Holy Spirit -- Biblical teaching Baptism in the Holy Spirit
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Bachelor , BDiv
- Identifier: vital:1259 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012269
- Description: The problem of 'authority' is of paramount importance in determining the theological stance of any religious movement and not least is this the case where the movement is labelled 'fundamentalist' both by its protagonists and its antagonists. Intro. p. 1.
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- Date Issued: 1974
Estimating erosion of cretaceous-aged kimberlites in the Republic of South Africa through the examination of upper-crustal xenoliths
- Authors: Hanson, Emily Kate
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Kimberlite -- South Africa , Igneous rocks -- Inclusions -- South Africa , Erosion -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4942 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005554 , Kimberlite -- South Africa , Igneous rocks -- Inclusions -- South Africa , Erosion -- South Africa
- Description: he estimation of post-emplacement kimberlite erosion in South Africa through the study of upper-crustal xenoliths is relatively unexplored; however the presence of these xenoliths has been recognized for well over 100 years. Post-emplacement erosion levels of a small number of South African kimberlite pipes have been inferred through the study of the degree of country-rock diagenesis, the depth of sill formation, the depth of the initiation of the diatreme and fission track studies. Through these studies, several estimates were proposed for the Group I Kimberley kimberlites. Although the 1400 m estimate of erosion remains widely accepted today, this estimate relies on the presence of Karoo-like basalt xenoliths in the Group I Kimberley kimberlites, as their presence proves that basalt existed in the Kimberley area when the kimberlites were emplaced. Basaltic xenoliths were described during the early stages of mining in Kimberley, though only one of these descriptions suggests that the ‘basaltic’ boulders correlate with the Karoo basalts. Because of the discrepancy between these early documentations of upper-crustal xenoliths and because the occurrence of Karoo-like basalt xenoliths in the Group I Kimberley kimberlites is under question, a re-investigation of the erosion levels and the upper crustal xenolith suites in South African, Cretaceous-aged kimberlites, including Melton Wold, Voorspoed, Roberts Victor, West End, Record Stone Quarry, Finsch, Markt, Frank Smith, Pampoenpoort, Uintjiesberg, Koffiefontein / Ebenheuyser, Monastery, Kimberley (Big Hole), Kamfersdam , Jagersfontein, Kaal Vallei, De Beers, Bultfontein, Lushof, Britstown Cluster, Hebron and Lovedale, was conducted. This study presents the analytical results for upper-crustal sandstone and basalt xenoliths collected from dumps, excavation pits and borehole core at the above-mentioned kimberlites, and demonstrates that they correlate with stratigraphic units of the Karoo Supergroup on the basis of mineral and geochemical compositions. These upper-crustal xenoliths are incorporated into kimberlites and down-rafted to levels below their stratigraphic position during kimberlite emplacement, consequently recording the broad stratigraphy into which each kimberlite is emplaced. Therefore, the Cretaceous lateral extent of the Karoo Supergroup is inferred and post-emplacement erosion estimated by reconstructing the stratigraphy based on upper-crustal xenolith suites for each kimberlite and calculating the total thickness of the now-eroded units. The distribution of sandstone xenoliths indicates that during the Cretaceous the lateral extent of the Dwyka, Ecca and Beaufort Groups encompassed all of the examined kimberlites, while the ‘Stormberg’ Group was constrained to an area outlined by the Voorspoed and Monastery kimberlites. Similarly, basalt xenoliths occur in all of the Group II and transitional (143 – 100 Ma) kimberlites but only in the Group I (90 – 74 Ma) kimberlites that lie within close proximity to the western outcrop margin of the outcrop area of the Drakensberg Group basalts (Lesotho Remnant), namely Monastery, Jagersfontein and Kaal Vallei. This trend implies an eastward-retreat of the inland erosion front of the Karoo basalts between 140 and 90 Ma and subsequent erosion of the underlying sedimentary units. It also suggests that a thicker succession of Karoo strata was present at the time of Group II and transitional kimberlite emplacement and that there has been more post-emplacement erosion in these kimberlites than the younger Group I kimberlites, except for Monastery, Jagersfontein and Kaal Vallei. Estimates are unique to each kimberlite as they are dependent on both stratigraphic location, elevation and present country rock, and range from approximately 1000 – 2500 m for the older kimberlites and less than 700 m to 1400 m for the younger kimberlites. Furthermore, the upper-crustal xenoliths found at the Group I Kimberley kimberlites and the coinciding trend of basalt erosion demonstrate that Karoo basalts were eroded from the Kimberley area by the time the Group I Kimberley kimberlites erupted (~85 Ma). Therefore, basalts are omitted from the Group I Kimberley kimberlites post-emplacement erosion estimate, and the upper Beaufort Group is considered the upper limit of the stratigraphy that was present at the time of the eruption of the Group I Kimberley pipes. Therefore, the erosion estimates decrease from a previous estimate of 1400 m down to 400 to 1100 m, where 850 m is considered a dependable intermediate estimate.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
A social history of midwifery practices in colonial Ibadan, Nigeria, 1893 - 1960
- Authors: Olorunnibe, Folaranmi Flourish
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Midwifery Nigeria Ibadan , Nigeria History 1900-1960 , Nigeria Politics and government To 1960 , Nigeria Social conditions To 1960 , Maternal health services Nigeria Ibadan , Ibadan (Nigeria) Colonial influence
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408716 , vital:70519 , DOI 10.21504/10962/408716
- Description: This thesis examines the introduction and development of western medical practices in colonial spaces with particular reference to midwifery practices in colonial Ibadan, Nigeria, from 1893 to 1960. This has become necessary because of the importance placed on childbirth and maternal healthcare in the twentieth century. The trends and changes in midwifery and midwifery practices in colonial Ibadan are seen as reflections of other transformations in British African colonies at large. The study begins with a detailed historical analysis of the major metropolitan and local factors that informed the introduction and development of Western obstetrics in colonial Ibadan, Nigeria. It proceeds to examine the development of Western midwifery practices in colonial Ibadan; highlighting the contributions of the Ibadan people to the development of Western midwifery practices and emphasizing policies affecting development, and implementation of Western obstetrics. The thesis goes further to reveal the prejudiced nature of colonial medical policies, and the ways it shaped various responses especially from rural folks who were particularly marginalized since the 1920s when maternal healthcare policies was implemented in the urban areas till the 1950s when a reformed policy for rural medical service scheme was introduced to the rural folks. Thus, influencing the ways they imagined and appropriated ideas of western obstetrics alongside African traditional midwifery practices. The idea is to demonstrate in this thesis the extent to which the precincts in colonial medical policies, most especially the establishment of maternity hospitals, clinics and dispensaries, and the institutionalization of western obstetrics, inspired critical and ingenious responses from colonial doctors, colonial officials, the missionaries, patients, African trained midwives, traditional medical practitioners and the African population in general. Placing all of these historical events within a wider context, this thesis borrows insights from the social history of medicine in an attempt to reconstruct the colonial medical practices in Ibadan, Nigeria, through the sites of midwifery practices and maternal welfare services from 1893 to 1960. This is in addition to its dependence on a comparatively rich, but skewed historical evidence, including a plethora of annual medical reports, official reports of the department of medical and sanitary services, official correspondences within the colonial government in Ibadan and Nigeria, and between the colonial government and the colonial office in the United Kingdom. Details of African responses to medical policies were garnered from oral testimonies, newspaper publications and correspondences between the African public and the colonial government in Ibadan. In exploring this historical evidence, the thesis reveals very interesting details of colonial perceptions about African health and their underlining motives for introducing western medical ideas, the various medical schemes and policies used in driving colonial interest and the ways Africans imagined, re-imagined, and appropriated Western medical practices. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, History, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
The effects of extracellular and intracellular Hop on cell migration processes
- Authors: Contu, Lara
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Heat shock proteins , Metastasis , Cancer Chemotherapy , Molecular chaperones , Cell migration
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193961 , vital:45410
- Description: The Hsp70/Hsp90-organising protein (Hop) is a 60 kDa co-chaperone that acts as an adaptor molecule, facilitating the transfer of client proteins between the Hsp70 and Hsp90 chaperone systems. Hop functions both intracellularly and extracellularly and has been implicated in many processes involved in cancer progression, including cell migration and invasion. Little is known about the mechanisms or domains by which extracellular Hop functions. In addition, little is known about the effects of Hop on signalling molecules involved in cell migration and invasion through regulation of actin dynamics. It was hypothesised that both extracellular and intracellular pools of Hop would regulate distinct cell migration processes by activation of cell signalling pathways or direct interactions with signalling intermediates. HS578T cells were treated with recombinant full length and truncated murine Hop proteins (overexpressed and purified in this study) to determine the effects of extracellular Hop and the independent domains on cell migration processes. Additionally, RNA interference (RNAi) techniques were used to determine the effect of Hop knockdown on cell migration related signalling intermediates and cell morphologies. A short hairpin RNA (shRNA) system for the stable knockdown of Hop was developed and used for a number of these studies. Treatment of HS578T cells with the TPR2A2B and TPR1 domains of Hop resulted in a significant decrease in cell migration and caused changes in the actin cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix proteins, gelatin and fibronectin. RhoC immunoprecipitated in a common complex with Hop and Hsp90. Hop knockdown reduced levels of actin and total RhoC, as well as active RhoC. In addition, knockdown of Hop resulted in a reduced migratory phenotype. We interpreted these data to indicate that intracellular Hop played a role in cell migration through regulation of RhoC activity, either through a direct interaction between Hop and RhoC, or an indirect interaction of RhoC with the Hsp90 multichaperone heterocomplex. Taken together, the data suggested that extracellular and intracellular Hop played distinct roles in extracellular and intracellular processes that lead to actin dynamics and cell migration. Understanding the mechanistic role of Hop in these processes is essential as it would aid in assessing the viability of Hop as a potential drug target for the treatment of metastatic cancers. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2014
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- Date Issued: 2014
The development of a scale to measure sexual orientation and an examination of its psychometric properties
- Authors: Heath, Lance Julien
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Sexual orientation , Sexual orientation -- Research -- Psychological aspects , Psychometrics
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3145 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007408 , Sexual orientation , Sexual orientation -- Research -- Psychological aspects , Psychometrics
- Description: The purpose of the study was to develop a scale to measure sexual orientation and to examine its psychometric properties. Previous scales were critically examined and compared and the need for a scale which simultaneously measures same and opposite sex responsiveness independently, and accounts for dynamic changes over time, while testing a number of overt and covert dimensions of sexual orientations, was established. A 48-item scale was designed to tap self-reported intensity and frequency of Emotional Attachment, Sexual Fantasy, Sexual Attraction and Sexual Contact towards males and females in the Past, Present and Future. An initial study was conducted with 13 undergraduate university students of both genders, representing a variety of sexual orientations and nationalities, and qualitative feedback was obtained and utilized to make appropriate adjustments and refinements to the scale. The scale was then administered to 133 Rhodes University undergraduate psychology students to obtain quantitative data with regard to its internal structure. The scale was found to have a good internal consistency reliability Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.8106. Existing sub-scales had lower alpha coefficients. Factor analysis, a form of construct validation, was performed and four factors emerged. These had very good internal consistency reliability alpha coefficients: Sexual Responsiveness to Females (0.9894), Sexual Responsiveness to Males (0.9741), Emotional Attachment to Females (0.8403) and Emotional Attachment to Males (0.8372). These factors were further statistically analysed to ascertain how they relate to one another and to the demographics of gender, age, relational status and sexual orientation identity. Future research will need to assess other forms of reliability and validity and focus on larger and more varied samples.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
Synthetic and spectrometric studies of benzodioxepinone derivatives
- Authors: Gelebe, Aifheli Carlson
- Date: 1995
- Subjects: Benzodiazepines -- Research Flavonoids -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4382 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005047
- Description: An extensive range of oxygen and sulphur substituted benzodiazepine analogues has been synthesised via Baeyer-Villiger and Schmidt reactions of specially prepared flavanone and N-acetyl-4-quinolone precursors. Alternative, cyclisation routes have also been used to prepare some of these compounds. Ring-opening reactions of 1,5-benzodioxepinones have been investigated and a detailed kinetic-mechanistic study of the Baeyer-Villiger reaction of flavanones has been carried out using 1 H NMR spectroscopy to explain the observed regiochemistry of oxygen insertion. The electron-impact mass spectrometric fragmentation patterns of series of 4-aryl-l ,5-benzoxathiepinones, 3-aryl-4, I-benzoxathiepinones and 3-aryl-4,1-benzoxathiepines have been studied using a combination of low-resolution, highresolution and metastable-peak analyses. The 170 NMR spectroscopic properties of various oxygenated analogues have also been studied. The binding affinities of selected benzodiazepine analogues for rat brain benzodiazepine receptors have been evaluated using a radioreceptor assay technique; at certain concentrations, some of test compounds exhibited remarkable potentiation of diazepam binding, others the ability to displace diazepam from benzodiazepine receptors. A conformational analysis of the 7-membered ring systems has been undertaken, using lH NMR spectroscopic, computer modelling and x-ray crystallographic techniques, and certain conformational preferences have been identified.
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- Date Issued: 1995
Sexy sports: a reception study of the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) Olympics website coverage of women's beach volleyball at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
- Authors: Tajdin, Wafa Mohamed
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Olympics National Broadcasting Company Sports journalism Mass media and sports Volleyball for women Beach volleyball Feminism and mass media Cyberfeminism Sexism in mass media Women athletes Sports for women Sex role in mass media Women in mass media
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3486 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002941
- Description: Sexy Sports: A reception study of the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) Olympics website coverage of women’s beach volleyball at the 2008 Beijing Olympics involves an examination of the sporting media and its reportage of the female athlete. The thesis will focus on the reception of the NBC Olympics website coverage of women’s beach volleyball at the 2008 Beijing Olympics by viewing groups constituted by the researcher. The reason for this is that it would be difficult to find naturally constituted audiences for this website, but its reception is never-the-less of research interest. My hypothesis is that the nature of the images and text on the website is overdetermined by the construction of women on other popular texts such as men’s magazines etc. In focusing on the meanings obtained from the content of the website (texts and images), the study will investigate how these meanings are naturalised in specific moments of production as well as through their intertextual relationships with similar texts involved in the glamorisation of female athletes. Specifically the study explores the meanings obtained from the content of the website (texts and images) and how in turn these meanings are naturalised by the consumers of the website. The study will utilise a qualitative research design to unpack the content of the website through the use of qualitative content analysis, focus group interviews and individual in-depth interviews. The research will be informed via a theoretical framework that draws from feminist theory, sport feminism, the concept of intertextuality between media texts, ideology and Stuart Hall’s model of preferred reading. Increasingly mainstream media uses the image of a woman’s body to sell almost anything from men’s razors to margarine and in so far as the reporting of women’s sports is concerned this holds true. Through the research I intend to account for the connotative power of other texts i.e. the men’s magazines and pornography, and how this is likely to be carried through into shaping the meanings that are read off the website. Arguably the production of the NBC texts and images are overdetermined by the existence of similar texts already in transmission in the circuit of culture.
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- Date Issued: 2010
Gender discourse and Malawian rural communities: a study of the meaning the people of traditional authority Likoswe of Chiradzulo make from human rights and gender messages
- Authors: Manda, Levi Zeleza
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Human rights -- Malawi , Mass media in community development -- Malawi , Communication in community development -- Malawi , Mass media -- Social aspects -- Malawi , Mass media criticism -- Malawi , Women's rights -- Malawi , Sex role -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3456 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002910 , Human rights -- Malawi , Mass media in community development -- Malawi , Communication in community development -- Malawi , Mass media -- Social aspects -- Malawi , Mass media criticism -- Malawi , Women's rights -- Malawi , Sex role -- Malawi
- Description: Contrary to earlier beliefs and media theories such as the hypodermic needle or magic bullet, the audience of public communication is not a passive homogenous mass that easily succumbs to media influence. The audience is active, that is, it makes an effort to interpret media content. Depending on predisposing cultural, political, religious, or economic factors the audience makes different meanings from media texts. Media messages are not wholly controlled by producers, although the producers have their preferred and expected readings. Using qualitative research techniques associated with ethnographic and cultural studies (notably focus group discussions), this study sought to explore the meanings rural people in Malawi make out of human rights and gender messages broadcast on radio and through music. Interpreted against Stuart Hall's (1974b) Encoding and Decoding model, the study concludes that while rural communities understand and appreciate the new sociopolitical discourse, they take a negotiated stance because they have their own doubts and fears. They fear losing their cultural identity. Additionally, men, in particular, negotiate the messages because they fear losing their social power over land, property and family.
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- Date Issued: 2002
The perceived visual impacts and attitudes of the Grahamstown community towards the Waainek Wind-Farm
- Authors: Cruickshank, Kyle Mark
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Renewable energy sources -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Wind power plants -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Public opinion Wind power plants -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Wind power plants -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Wind power plants -- Economic aspects -- South Africa Wind turbines -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEcon
- Identifier: vital:1085 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011768
- Description: Renewable energy has become an important feature of most modern economies with clean and non-exhaustible sources of power being given a greater significance. Wind energy is one of the favoured renewable, as it is (2013) generally the cheapest and most mature technology available for commercial use. The South African government, as outlined by the Department of Energy's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), aims to install 5 GW (Gigawatts) of wind energy by 2020. However, South Africa has had little experience in the wind energy industry which is limited to two projects, Klipheuwel (2002) and Darling (2008). Much effort has been dedicated to calculating balance sheet costs, which carries uncertainty due to the high reliance on country specific and site specific variables. An aspect which deserves more attention, and is often ignored, is the public‟s attitudes towards local wind farm developments, which have been known to "make or break" a project during the planning stages. Public backlashes have mostly been concerned with the visual "intrusiveness" of wind farms in the landscape. Detrimental effects on scenery, while seemingly innocuous, are acknowledged as being the single largest barrier to successful wind farm development. Individuals within an area become sentimentally attached to their surroundings, where significant rapid changes in the landscape are viewed as "damage". Economics recognises such declines in scenic resources as market failures, where an externalised cost is passed on to the public and is often not accounted for by private parties responsible for the liability. The primary objective therefore was to measure the magnitude of the visual impact, caused by the Waainek Wind Farm, on the Grahamstown community. Conventional NIMBY¹ (not in my back yard) reasoning, which seeks to explain local wind farm resistance, has attracted criticism with regard to its simplistic approach to wind farm problem identification. Contemporary arguments propose that NIMBY is a poor explanation for the trouble experienced on the local level because it groups problems into one all-encompassing term, leaving much of the discontent unexplained. Instead, the NIMBY explanation is really a broad set of unattended problems, largely resulting from the unsound practices present in the public participation process. Insufficient community involvement and disparities in the negotiation power structures have become the recent focus in wind farm literature. Essentially, these disparities force opposition groups to select factors which may seem more serious to developers, leading to ineffective remedial measures because the core underlying problems are not being remedied. Thus these considerations formed an additional area of investigation. No NIMBY effect was found for the Grahamstown community, as support for both the local and general level was roughly 80%. The public participation process on the other hand revealed that while many found the practices of the developer to be unfair, attitudes towards the wind farm were not adversely affected, especially for the lower income Grahamstown East areas. While the public participation process in this instance did not have any effect on people’s attitudes, careful inspection of the circumstances need to be given. Wind farms are new to South Africa, where the novelty and benefits are the focus of enthusiasm. Job opportunities as well as clean energy are positive drivers for attitudes; however given time, once the anticipation for wind farms dulls, real problems may be revealed. Thus it is crucial to implement good practice procedures during the public participation process, especially when national adoption rates of wind energy are low. Early implementation of an effective public participation process system will ensure that when major problems do arise in future projects, experience and institutional processes would have had ample opportunity to evolve appropriately over a period of time. The double bounded Contingent Valuation Method was used to value the impact of the wind farm on the Waainek scenery through a hypothetical scenario based procedure which presented pictures of the landscape before and after the wind farm had been installed. Based on the perceived impact of the wind farm, respondents were asked their Willingness to Pay to relocate the development, based solely on visual impacts. Learning design Contingent Valuation (Bateman et al., 2008) is a novel technique employed to familiarize respondents with the hypothetical market institution as well as the scenic goods being valued. Average Willingness to Pay was found to be R67 per month, with a final total monthly negative visual impact of R104,000 to R121,000 per month for the entire Grahamstown community. Grahamstown Central (middle-high income) residents were more likely to pay than Grahamstown East (low-middle income) East residents because of socio-economic differences present in each area. A ranking exercise determined that while negative visual impacts are present, the overall benefits derived from the wind farm are potentially much higher. Additionally, positive scenic improvements were found, but were not measured due to time constraints, and would have worked to reduce the net visual impact of the Waainek Wind Farm. ¹Problem where individuals support the general concept of wind power, but when it comes to local implementation, opposition to the development arises within the same group.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Spatial and temporal patterns in the hyperbenthic community structure in a permanently open Eastern Cape estuary, South Africa
- Authors: Heyns, Elodie R
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Sundays Estuary -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Groundfishes -- South Africa -- Eatern Cape , Estuaries -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5768 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005456
- Description: The spatial and temporal (seasonal and diel) patterns in the hyperbenthic community structure (>500 μm) was investigated in the warm temperate, permanently open Kariega Estuary situated along the south-eastern coastline of South Africa. Spatial and seasonal patterns in the hyperbenthic community structure were assessed monthly at six stations along the length of the estuary over a period of twelve months. Data were collected using a modified hyperbenthic sledge, comprising two super-imposed nets. Physico-chemical data indicate the presence of a constant reverse salinity gradient, with highest salinities measured in the upper reaches and lowest at the mouth of the estuary. Strong seasonal patterns in temperature, dissolved oxygen and total chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentrations were evident. Total average hyperbenthic densities ranged between 0.04 and 166 ind.m-3 in the lower net and between 0.12 and 225 ind.m-3 in the upper net. Hyperbenthic biomass values ranged between 0.02 and 11.9 mg.dry weight.m-3 in the lower net and between 0.02 and 17.4 mg.dry weight.m-3 in the upper net. A spatial and temporal pattern in total densities was detected with an increase in abundance over the period of September to October 2008 particularly in the middle reaches (Stations 3 and 4). Both the lower and upper nets were numerically dominated by decapods (mainly brachyuran crab zoeae) with the exception of June and July 2008 when mysids (mainly Mesopodopsis wooldridgei) dominated, making up 72.4 ± 58.14% of the total abundance in the lower net. A redundancy analysis (RDA) indicated that 99.2% of the variance in the hyperbenthic community structure could be explained by the first two canonical axes. Axis one, which accounted for 96.8% of the total variation detected in the ordination plot was highly correlated with sedimentary organic content and to a lesser extent the chl-a concentration within the Kariega Estuary. The correlations with the second canonical axis (2.4%) were less obvious, however, salinity and seston concentration were weakly correlated with this axis. Diel variability in the hyperbenthic community structure was assessed during March 2009. Samples were collected during the day and night (n = 6 for each period) using sampling gear described above. Total average hyperbenthic densities during the day (497.9 ± 254.1 ind.m-3) were significantly higher than night-time estimates (129.9 ± 38.5 ind.m-3; p<0.05). There were no significant differences in the average dayand night-time estimates of hyperbenthic biomass (p>0.05). A hierarchical cluster analysis identified two significantly distinct groupings, designated the day and night samples. Results from the SIMPER procedure indicated that the high densities of crab zoeae recorded during the day-time accounted for the majority of the dissimilarity between the day and night groupings (44.7%). In addition, it is apparent that several benthic species, especially from the cumacean and isopod orders, were absent from the hyperbenthos during the day-time and emerged into the water column at night.
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- Date Issued: 2010
African art and myth
- Authors: Till, C M
- Date: 1977
- Subjects: Art, African , Art and mythology , Mythology, African
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2494 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013306
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1977
Aspects of the structure and function of some gastropod columellar muscles (Mollusca)
- Authors: Frescura, Mandy
- Date: 1991
- Subjects: Gastropoda -- Research Mollusks -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5642 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005324
- Description: The columellar muscle of both limpets and coiled shell gastropods is of the paramyosin smooth type. Collagen forms an integral part of the musculature constituting about 35% of the tissue. In limpets, muscle organisation is typical of a muscular hydrostat. Tightly packed blocks of muscle, dense arrays of cross-linked collagen, large muscle cells (9 µm diameter) and thick filaments (70 nm diameter, 30 µm long) produce a tough, relatively rigid but powerful muscle. In coiled shell gastropods, muscle organisation is intermediate between a muscular and a fluid hydrostat. Finer muscle cells (6 µm diameter), thick filaments (60 nm diameter) and a loose intercellular network of collagen interspersed with fluid vesicles are features of a more pliable and extensible muscle. In addition, ultrastructural differences, such as larger numbers of mitochondria and sarcolemmal invaginations distinguish the tarsal from the columellar muscle in both limpets and coiled shell gastropods. About 25% of muscle cells in most species examined, contain a novel arrangement of thin filaments with periodic electron-dense regions. These are similar in appearance to intrafusal cells and stress-fibres of non-muscle cells. Structural analysis of isolated filaments, optical diffraction and SDS gel electrophoresis confirm the, large dimensions and the paramyosin nature of the thick filaments. Microdensitometry of the gel proteins confirms the high proportion of collagen present. No significant differences in muscle ultrastructure were found between limpets from different tidal heights. Muscle attachment areas are shown to be species-specific and positively correlated to tenacity and wave exposure. The muscle attachment mechanism is similar to that described for other molluscs. It consists of a special epithelial layer and a mucous-like material at the muscle-shell interface that possibly has an adhesive function. Although the ultrastructure of Patella is very similar to that of the anterior byssus retractor of Mytilus, its mechanical behaviour is not. The muscle has a narrow working range where maximum tensions and "catch-like" contractions develop. This narrow length range is co-incident with the in situ length at which clamping occurs. It is suggested that the large component of collagen has an important influence over the mechanical behaviour of the muscle during clamping, by cross-linking in a manner similar to that described for some echinoderm connective tissues.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1991