Observing and evaluating creative mathematical reasoning through selected VITALmaths video clips and collaborative argumentation
- Authors: Kellen, Matthew Earl
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Mathematics Study and teaching (Secondary) South Africa Grahamstown , Mathematics Study and teaching (Secondary) Audio-visual aids , Reasoning , Mathematical ability
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6107 , vital:21032
- Description: Creative mathematical reasoning is a definition that the NCS policies allude to when they indicate the necessity for students to, “identify and solve problems and make decisions using critical and creative thinking.”(NCS, 2011: 9). Silver (1997) and Lithner (2008) focus on creativity of reasoning in terms of the flexibility, fluency and novelty in which one approaches a mathematical problem. Learners who can creatively select appropriate strategies that are mathematically founded, and justify their answers use creative mathematical reasoning. This research uses Visual Technology for the Autonomous Learning of Mathematics (VITALmaths) video clips that pose mathematics problems to stimulate articulated reasoning among small multi-age, multi-ability Grade 9 peer groups. Using VITALmaths clips that pose visual and open-ended task, set the stage for collaborative argumentation between peers. This study observes creative mathematical reasoning in two ways: Firstly by observing the interaction between peers in the process of arriving at an answer, and secondly by examining the end product of the peer group’s justification of their solution. (Ball & Bass, 2003) Six grade 8 and 9 learners from no-fee public schools in the township of Grahamstown, South Africa were selected for this case study. Participants were a mixed ability, mixed gendered, sample group from an after-school programme which focused on creating a space for autonomous learning. The six participants were split into two groups and audio and video recorded as they solved selected VITALmaths tasks and presented their evidence and solutions to the tasks. Audio and video recordings and written work were used to translate, transcribe, and code participant interactions according to a framework adapted from Krummheuer (2007) and Lithner (2008) and Silver (1997) and Toulmin (1954). This constituted the analysis of the process of creative mathematical reasoning. Group presentations of evidence and solutions to the VITALmaths tasks, were used in conjunction with an evaluation framework adapted from Lithner (2008) and Campos (2010). This was the product analysis of creative mathematical reasoning. This research found that there was significant evidence of creative mathematical reasoning in the process and product evaluation of group interactions and solutions. Process analysis showed that participants were very active, engaged, and creative in their participation, but struggled to integrate and implement ideas cohesively. Product analysis similarly showed that depth and concentration of strategies implemented are key to correct and exhaustive mathematically grounded solutions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Kellen, Matthew Earl
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Mathematics Study and teaching (Secondary) South Africa Grahamstown , Mathematics Study and teaching (Secondary) Audio-visual aids , Reasoning , Mathematical ability
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6107 , vital:21032
- Description: Creative mathematical reasoning is a definition that the NCS policies allude to when they indicate the necessity for students to, “identify and solve problems and make decisions using critical and creative thinking.”(NCS, 2011: 9). Silver (1997) and Lithner (2008) focus on creativity of reasoning in terms of the flexibility, fluency and novelty in which one approaches a mathematical problem. Learners who can creatively select appropriate strategies that are mathematically founded, and justify their answers use creative mathematical reasoning. This research uses Visual Technology for the Autonomous Learning of Mathematics (VITALmaths) video clips that pose mathematics problems to stimulate articulated reasoning among small multi-age, multi-ability Grade 9 peer groups. Using VITALmaths clips that pose visual and open-ended task, set the stage for collaborative argumentation between peers. This study observes creative mathematical reasoning in two ways: Firstly by observing the interaction between peers in the process of arriving at an answer, and secondly by examining the end product of the peer group’s justification of their solution. (Ball & Bass, 2003) Six grade 8 and 9 learners from no-fee public schools in the township of Grahamstown, South Africa were selected for this case study. Participants were a mixed ability, mixed gendered, sample group from an after-school programme which focused on creating a space for autonomous learning. The six participants were split into two groups and audio and video recorded as they solved selected VITALmaths tasks and presented their evidence and solutions to the tasks. Audio and video recordings and written work were used to translate, transcribe, and code participant interactions according to a framework adapted from Krummheuer (2007) and Lithner (2008) and Silver (1997) and Toulmin (1954). This constituted the analysis of the process of creative mathematical reasoning. Group presentations of evidence and solutions to the VITALmaths tasks, were used in conjunction with an evaluation framework adapted from Lithner (2008) and Campos (2010). This was the product analysis of creative mathematical reasoning. This research found that there was significant evidence of creative mathematical reasoning in the process and product evaluation of group interactions and solutions. Process analysis showed that participants were very active, engaged, and creative in their participation, but struggled to integrate and implement ideas cohesively. Product analysis similarly showed that depth and concentration of strategies implemented are key to correct and exhaustive mathematically grounded solutions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
L’etude comparative des elements merveilleux dans trois epopees africaines: Soundjata ou I’epopee mandingue, Emperor Shaka The Great: a Zulu Epic et Nsongo’a Lianja: I’epopee nationale des Nkundo
- Authors: Nkaongami, Josue Bosange
- Date: 2017
- Language: French , English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5590 , vital:20944
- Description: This thesis is a comparative study in Francophone literature which analyses the supernatural factors in three African epics, namely the Sundiata or Mandingo Epic from West Africa by Djibril Tasmir Niane (1960), Emperor Shaka The Great : A Zulu Epic from Southern Africa by Mazisi Kunene (1979), and Nsongo’a Lianja : the National Epic of Nkundo People from Central Africa by Edmond Boelaert (1949). The study analyses similarities and differences between the supernatural figures in these epics and their respective societies using contextual and socio-critical theories. In this thesis it is demonstrated that the presence of supernatural forces is a sine qua non condition for the existence of the epic in the sense that : “the essential mark of the heroic personality in many African folk epics is its reliance on supernatural resources” (Okpewho 1979 : 119). This study shows that in Africa, supernatural forces play vital roles in the society and therefore dominate the African oral epic traditions. Furthermore, the study is significant in the sense that it tries to describe the worldview, especially the religious and cultural beliefs of the particular society or group that produces the epic. The thesis is made up of six chapters. In the first chapter, I outline the study’s subject matter, its aims and objectives, its significance, its assumptions and methodology. In the second chapter, I examine the impact of supernatural devices on the lives of the epic heroes Sundiata, Shaka, and Lianja, the predictions and divinations about their births, childhoods, exiles or epic journeys, their ascension to the throne as well as their genealogies and deaths. Such analysis allows one to identify the supernatural factors surrounding each stage of the life of the heroes, and to understand further the importance of supernatural forces in the communities and institutions where the heroes exercise their powers. In the third chapter, I discuss the typology of the supernatural forces in the heroic epics Sundiata, Shaka and Lianja, using Greimas’s theory of actants. I divide the characters into protagonists, accessories and opponents. In the fourth chapter, I examine the sources of the supernatural forces prevailing on Sundiata, Shaka, and Lianja. The chapter shows how supernatural agents act on the epic heroes and how these supernatural beings make or mar them in the course of the narratives. In the fifth chapter, I investigate the supernatural factors acting on the heroes’ opponents, and in chapter six, I examine the supernatural forces and heroism of the women in the three epics. In the conclusion, I demonstrate that this analysis of supernatural factors enables us not only to appreciate their place and function in the three African epics under study, but also opens a window onto the culture of the Mandingo, Zulu, and Mongo People’s : their activities, beliefs, taboos and the rules which organise their respective societies. , This thesis is presented in two parts: French and English.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Nkaongami, Josue Bosange
- Date: 2017
- Language: French , English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5590 , vital:20944
- Description: This thesis is a comparative study in Francophone literature which analyses the supernatural factors in three African epics, namely the Sundiata or Mandingo Epic from West Africa by Djibril Tasmir Niane (1960), Emperor Shaka The Great : A Zulu Epic from Southern Africa by Mazisi Kunene (1979), and Nsongo’a Lianja : the National Epic of Nkundo People from Central Africa by Edmond Boelaert (1949). The study analyses similarities and differences between the supernatural figures in these epics and their respective societies using contextual and socio-critical theories. In this thesis it is demonstrated that the presence of supernatural forces is a sine qua non condition for the existence of the epic in the sense that : “the essential mark of the heroic personality in many African folk epics is its reliance on supernatural resources” (Okpewho 1979 : 119). This study shows that in Africa, supernatural forces play vital roles in the society and therefore dominate the African oral epic traditions. Furthermore, the study is significant in the sense that it tries to describe the worldview, especially the religious and cultural beliefs of the particular society or group that produces the epic. The thesis is made up of six chapters. In the first chapter, I outline the study’s subject matter, its aims and objectives, its significance, its assumptions and methodology. In the second chapter, I examine the impact of supernatural devices on the lives of the epic heroes Sundiata, Shaka, and Lianja, the predictions and divinations about their births, childhoods, exiles or epic journeys, their ascension to the throne as well as their genealogies and deaths. Such analysis allows one to identify the supernatural factors surrounding each stage of the life of the heroes, and to understand further the importance of supernatural forces in the communities and institutions where the heroes exercise their powers. In the third chapter, I discuss the typology of the supernatural forces in the heroic epics Sundiata, Shaka and Lianja, using Greimas’s theory of actants. I divide the characters into protagonists, accessories and opponents. In the fourth chapter, I examine the sources of the supernatural forces prevailing on Sundiata, Shaka, and Lianja. The chapter shows how supernatural agents act on the epic heroes and how these supernatural beings make or mar them in the course of the narratives. In the fifth chapter, I investigate the supernatural factors acting on the heroes’ opponents, and in chapter six, I examine the supernatural forces and heroism of the women in the three epics. In the conclusion, I demonstrate that this analysis of supernatural factors enables us not only to appreciate their place and function in the three African epics under study, but also opens a window onto the culture of the Mandingo, Zulu, and Mongo People’s : their activities, beliefs, taboos and the rules which organise their respective societies. , This thesis is presented in two parts: French and English.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Synthesis, characterisation and evaluation of novel ferrocene-thiazole derivatives as antiplasmodial agents
- Authors: Hakizimana, Emmanuel Victor
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Plasmodium , Malaria -- Chemotherapy , Plasmodium falciparum , Plasmodium -- Inhibitors , Drug resistance in microorganisms , Thiaszoles
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5304 , vital:20807
- Description: Malaria is mosquito-transmitted disease which continues to pose threat to humanity, despite the efforts undertaken by the scientific community, government entities and international organizations. The major problem is that Plasmodium species have developed resistance against available drugs. In order to counter this problem, antimalarial drugs that are efficacious and with novel mode of action are of great necessity. Thiazole derivatives, in particular aminomethylthiazole analogues, have been shown to exhibit promising antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum strains. Previous studies reported the hit compound MMV010539, which showed good antimalarial activity against both K1 (CQ and multidrug resistant strains) and NF54 (CQ sensitive strain). In this study, MMV010539 was deemed to be as an attractive compound to generate novel analogues by addition of ferrocenyl organometallic unit. The ferrocene based compounds have shown biological activity; and with ferroquine currently in clinical trials there has been increasing research into identifying new ferrocenyl-containing molecules as potential antimalarial agents. Herein, thiazole ferrocene based molecules 3.22a-e were synthesised in low to good yields. Their structural identities were confirmed using conventional spectroscopic techniques (¹H and ¹³C NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry). The cell cytotoxicity assay of all final compounds confirmed that all ferrocene-thiazole blends 3.22a-e were non-toxic against HeLa cell lines. However, the in vitro biological assay revealed that despite the absence of cell cytotoxicity these compounds poorly inhibited the growth of Plasmodium falciparum parasite. As the aim was to expand further the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of MMV010539, this study confirmed the previous findings that there is a limited structural modification that could be accommodated as indicated in Figure 3.3 (Panel C). Moreover, the combination of ferrocenyl moiety and various alkylamines resulted in compounds with poor antiplasmodial potency, further suggesting that the free amine (Panel A, Figure 3.3) is important for activity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Hakizimana, Emmanuel Victor
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Plasmodium , Malaria -- Chemotherapy , Plasmodium falciparum , Plasmodium -- Inhibitors , Drug resistance in microorganisms , Thiaszoles
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5304 , vital:20807
- Description: Malaria is mosquito-transmitted disease which continues to pose threat to humanity, despite the efforts undertaken by the scientific community, government entities and international organizations. The major problem is that Plasmodium species have developed resistance against available drugs. In order to counter this problem, antimalarial drugs that are efficacious and with novel mode of action are of great necessity. Thiazole derivatives, in particular aminomethylthiazole analogues, have been shown to exhibit promising antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum strains. Previous studies reported the hit compound MMV010539, which showed good antimalarial activity against both K1 (CQ and multidrug resistant strains) and NF54 (CQ sensitive strain). In this study, MMV010539 was deemed to be as an attractive compound to generate novel analogues by addition of ferrocenyl organometallic unit. The ferrocene based compounds have shown biological activity; and with ferroquine currently in clinical trials there has been increasing research into identifying new ferrocenyl-containing molecules as potential antimalarial agents. Herein, thiazole ferrocene based molecules 3.22a-e were synthesised in low to good yields. Their structural identities were confirmed using conventional spectroscopic techniques (¹H and ¹³C NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry). The cell cytotoxicity assay of all final compounds confirmed that all ferrocene-thiazole blends 3.22a-e were non-toxic against HeLa cell lines. However, the in vitro biological assay revealed that despite the absence of cell cytotoxicity these compounds poorly inhibited the growth of Plasmodium falciparum parasite. As the aim was to expand further the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of MMV010539, this study confirmed the previous findings that there is a limited structural modification that could be accommodated as indicated in Figure 3.3 (Panel C). Moreover, the combination of ferrocenyl moiety and various alkylamines resulted in compounds with poor antiplasmodial potency, further suggesting that the free amine (Panel A, Figure 3.3) is important for activity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A bulk and fraction-specific geochemical study of the origin of diverse high-grade hematitic iron ores from the Transvaal Supergroup, Northern Cape Province, South Africa
- Authors: Moloto, William
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Iron ore -- South Africa -- Transvaal Supergroup , Hematite -- South Africa -- Transvaal Supergroup , Transvaal Supergroup (South Africa)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/50546 , vital:25998
- Description: The Paleoproterozoic Transvaal Supergroup in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa is host to high-grade, Banded Iron Formation-hosted hematite iron-ore deposits and is the country’s most important source of iron to date. Previous studies suggest the origin of these iron ores to be ancient supergene, and that the ore forming process would have therefore pre-dated deposition of the basal Mapedi shales of the Olifansthoek Supergroup that unconformably overlies the Transvaal strata. The nature of the protolith to the ores has been suggested to be largely BIF of the Asbestos Hills Subgroup, and mainly the Kuruman BIF. The work presented in this thesis seeks to provide insights into the diversity of processes that are likely to have been involved during the genesis of these high-grade iron ores, in the context of constraining the pre-ore lithologies and the relative role of supergene-style, largely residual enrichment processes versus any possible metasomatic hydrothermal effects. This study had as primary focus the application of combined bulk and fraction-specific geochemical applications on representative iron-ore samples from four different localities in the Northern Cape Province, namely King/Khumani, Beeshoek, Heuninkranz and Hotazel. The collected samples show a variety of textures and also capture different pre-unconformity stratigraphic sections of BIF. The key objective was to assess whether the fraction-specific analytical results could provide any firm constraints for the origin of the ferrous and non-ferrous matrix fractions of the ores, namely whether they represent any combinations of protolith residue, allochtonously-introduced detritus or hydrothermally-derived material, and whether the results are comparable and consistent across all samples studied. In particular, constraints were sought as to whether the ore protolith was exclusively BIF or may potentially have contained at least a fraction of other lithologic types, such as shale; and whether there is sufficient evidence to support solely a supergene model for the ores or the data suggest other more epigenetic models of ore formation involving the action of hydrothermal fluids Bulk-rock geochemical analyses reveal the overwhelming dominance of Fe-oxide (as hematite) in all samples, at concentrations as high as 99 wt.% Fe2O3. Major and trace-element abundances of all samples were re-calculated assuming only iron addition from the postulated protolith (average BIF and shale), and the results revealed atypical enrichments in the iron ores by comparison to average BIF, and more shale-like relative abundances when normalised against the Post-Archaean Average Shale (PAAS). Specifically, BIF-normalised diagrams show relative enrichments by as much as 53-95% for Al2O3; 11-86% for TiO2; and 4-60% for P2O5. By contrast, PAAS-normalised values display enrichments of 1-3% for Al2O3, 0.2-3% for TiO2, and 3-13% for P2O5. Similar observations can be made for the greatest majority of trace elements when normalised against average BIF as compared to normalisation against PAAS. A suite of trace element that include alkali earths (e.g. Ba, Sr) and transition metals (e.g. Ni, Zn) show enrichments that are unrelated to the apparently detrital siliciclastic fraction of the ores, and are therefore linked to a possible hydrothermal input. Fraction-specific extractions were performed via the adaptation of existing dissolution protocols using oxalic acid (iron-oxide fraction) followed by HF digestion (silicate-fraction). The analyses of the produced aliquots using ICP-MS techniques, focused mainly on the REE abundances of the separated ferrous and non-ferrous matrix fractions and their comparisons to bulk-rock REE signatures. The results lend further support to the suggestion that the ore samples contain a predominant shale-like signal which does not directly compare to published REE signatures for supergene or hydrothermal BIF-hosted iron-ore deposits alike. The data therefore collectively point to a post-unconformity epigenetic hydrothermal event/s of iron ore-formation that would have exploited not only BIF but also shale as suitable pre-ore protolith.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Moloto, William
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Iron ore -- South Africa -- Transvaal Supergroup , Hematite -- South Africa -- Transvaal Supergroup , Transvaal Supergroup (South Africa)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/50546 , vital:25998
- Description: The Paleoproterozoic Transvaal Supergroup in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa is host to high-grade, Banded Iron Formation-hosted hematite iron-ore deposits and is the country’s most important source of iron to date. Previous studies suggest the origin of these iron ores to be ancient supergene, and that the ore forming process would have therefore pre-dated deposition of the basal Mapedi shales of the Olifansthoek Supergroup that unconformably overlies the Transvaal strata. The nature of the protolith to the ores has been suggested to be largely BIF of the Asbestos Hills Subgroup, and mainly the Kuruman BIF. The work presented in this thesis seeks to provide insights into the diversity of processes that are likely to have been involved during the genesis of these high-grade iron ores, in the context of constraining the pre-ore lithologies and the relative role of supergene-style, largely residual enrichment processes versus any possible metasomatic hydrothermal effects. This study had as primary focus the application of combined bulk and fraction-specific geochemical applications on representative iron-ore samples from four different localities in the Northern Cape Province, namely King/Khumani, Beeshoek, Heuninkranz and Hotazel. The collected samples show a variety of textures and also capture different pre-unconformity stratigraphic sections of BIF. The key objective was to assess whether the fraction-specific analytical results could provide any firm constraints for the origin of the ferrous and non-ferrous matrix fractions of the ores, namely whether they represent any combinations of protolith residue, allochtonously-introduced detritus or hydrothermally-derived material, and whether the results are comparable and consistent across all samples studied. In particular, constraints were sought as to whether the ore protolith was exclusively BIF or may potentially have contained at least a fraction of other lithologic types, such as shale; and whether there is sufficient evidence to support solely a supergene model for the ores or the data suggest other more epigenetic models of ore formation involving the action of hydrothermal fluids Bulk-rock geochemical analyses reveal the overwhelming dominance of Fe-oxide (as hematite) in all samples, at concentrations as high as 99 wt.% Fe2O3. Major and trace-element abundances of all samples were re-calculated assuming only iron addition from the postulated protolith (average BIF and shale), and the results revealed atypical enrichments in the iron ores by comparison to average BIF, and more shale-like relative abundances when normalised against the Post-Archaean Average Shale (PAAS). Specifically, BIF-normalised diagrams show relative enrichments by as much as 53-95% for Al2O3; 11-86% for TiO2; and 4-60% for P2O5. By contrast, PAAS-normalised values display enrichments of 1-3% for Al2O3, 0.2-3% for TiO2, and 3-13% for P2O5. Similar observations can be made for the greatest majority of trace elements when normalised against average BIF as compared to normalisation against PAAS. A suite of trace element that include alkali earths (e.g. Ba, Sr) and transition metals (e.g. Ni, Zn) show enrichments that are unrelated to the apparently detrital siliciclastic fraction of the ores, and are therefore linked to a possible hydrothermal input. Fraction-specific extractions were performed via the adaptation of existing dissolution protocols using oxalic acid (iron-oxide fraction) followed by HF digestion (silicate-fraction). The analyses of the produced aliquots using ICP-MS techniques, focused mainly on the REE abundances of the separated ferrous and non-ferrous matrix fractions and their comparisons to bulk-rock REE signatures. The results lend further support to the suggestion that the ore samples contain a predominant shale-like signal which does not directly compare to published REE signatures for supergene or hydrothermal BIF-hosted iron-ore deposits alike. The data therefore collectively point to a post-unconformity epigenetic hydrothermal event/s of iron ore-formation that would have exploited not only BIF but also shale as suitable pre-ore protolith.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A case-control approach to assess variability in distribution of distance between transcription factor binding site and transcription start site
- Authors: Moos, Abdul Ragmaan
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Transcription factors , Proteomics , Chromatin , Chromatin immunoprecipitation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5315 , vital:20808
- Description: Using the in-silico approach, with ENCODE ChIP-seq data for various transcription factors and different cell types; we systematically compared the distance between the transcription factor binding site (TFBS) and the transcription start (TSS). Our aim was to determine if the same transcription factor binds at a different position relative to the TSS in a normal and an abnormal cell type. We compare distribution of distance of binding sites from the TSS; to make description less verbose we call this “distance” where there is no possibility of confusion. We used a case-control methodology where the distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the normal, non-cancerous or untreated cell type is the control. The distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the cancerous or treated cell type is the case. We use the distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the control as the standard. We compared the distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the case and the control. If the distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the control was greater than the distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the case, we can infer the following. The transcription factor in the case binds closer to the TSS compared to the control. If the distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the control is smaller than the distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the case, we can infer the following. The TF in the case binds further away from the TSS compared to the control. Our method is a screening method whereby we compare ChIP-seq data to determine if there is a difference in the distribution distance between the TFBS and the TSS for normal and abnormal cell types. We used the R package ChIP-Enrich to compare the distribution of distance between ChIP-seq peak and the nearest TSS. ChIP-Enrich produces a histogram with the number of ChIP-seq peaks at a certain distance from the TSS. The results indicate for some transcription factors like GM12878-cMyc and K562-cMyc there is a difference between the distribution of distance between the TFBS and the nearest TSS. cMyc has more binding sites within a distance of 1kb from the TSS in GM12878 when compared to K562. GM12878-CTCF and K562-CTCF have slight differences when comparing their distribution of distance from the TSS. This means CTCF binds almost the same distance from the TSS in both GM12878 and K562. A549-gr treated with dexamethasone is interesting because with increase dose of dexamethasone the distribution of distance from the TSS changes as well.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Moos, Abdul Ragmaan
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Transcription factors , Proteomics , Chromatin , Chromatin immunoprecipitation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5315 , vital:20808
- Description: Using the in-silico approach, with ENCODE ChIP-seq data for various transcription factors and different cell types; we systematically compared the distance between the transcription factor binding site (TFBS) and the transcription start (TSS). Our aim was to determine if the same transcription factor binds at a different position relative to the TSS in a normal and an abnormal cell type. We compare distribution of distance of binding sites from the TSS; to make description less verbose we call this “distance” where there is no possibility of confusion. We used a case-control methodology where the distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the normal, non-cancerous or untreated cell type is the control. The distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the cancerous or treated cell type is the case. We use the distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the control as the standard. We compared the distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the case and the control. If the distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the control was greater than the distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the case, we can infer the following. The transcription factor in the case binds closer to the TSS compared to the control. If the distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the control is smaller than the distance between the TFBS and the TSS in the case, we can infer the following. The TF in the case binds further away from the TSS compared to the control. Our method is a screening method whereby we compare ChIP-seq data to determine if there is a difference in the distribution distance between the TFBS and the TSS for normal and abnormal cell types. We used the R package ChIP-Enrich to compare the distribution of distance between ChIP-seq peak and the nearest TSS. ChIP-Enrich produces a histogram with the number of ChIP-seq peaks at a certain distance from the TSS. The results indicate for some transcription factors like GM12878-cMyc and K562-cMyc there is a difference between the distribution of distance between the TFBS and the nearest TSS. cMyc has more binding sites within a distance of 1kb from the TSS in GM12878 when compared to K562. GM12878-CTCF and K562-CTCF have slight differences when comparing their distribution of distance from the TSS. This means CTCF binds almost the same distance from the TSS in both GM12878 and K562. A549-gr treated with dexamethasone is interesting because with increase dose of dexamethasone the distribution of distance from the TSS changes as well.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
An investigation into the causes of disparities in literacy readiness of learners: perceptions of pre-primary teachers
- Authors: Haingura, Hildefonsia
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Early childhood education -- South Africa , Language arts (Early childhood) -- South Africa , Literacy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7854 , vital:21311
- Description: This study investigated pre-primary teachers’ perceptions of the causes of disparities in the literacy readiness of pre-primary learners. The aim was to understand the reasons that teachers ascribe to differences in literacy readiness; ways in which teachers’ understanding of the causes may relate to their practices and to learners’ literacy readiness levels. The study drew from Bernstein’s pedagogic discourse as the theoretical framing and analytical tool for engaging with the data. The participants in the study were three pre-primary teachers practising in a variety of schooling contexts. In a quest for a deeper understanding of the causes, data for the study was generated using multiple sources. Structured interviews were employed to get the teachers perceptions, while classroom observations were aimed at discovering ways in which the teachers’ points of view related to their practices in the actual classroom. An analysis of documentary evidence was carried out to understand ways in which teachers’ practices adhered to the curriculum intentions, as well as ways in which their plans and curriculum documents supported the development of the emerging literacy skills of the learners. Findings of this study indicated that teachers attributed disparities in the literacy readiness of learners to factors external to the classroom and it was found that their pedagogic practices, as a result of these perceptions, were not supportive to the development of literacy skills that are pivotal for transitioning to Grade 1. The study has implications for curriculum reform, sensitization of stakeholders and teacher training in order to ensure a solid and promising academic foundation, and consequently, a successful academic future for all pre-primary learners.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Haingura, Hildefonsia
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Early childhood education -- South Africa , Language arts (Early childhood) -- South Africa , Literacy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7854 , vital:21311
- Description: This study investigated pre-primary teachers’ perceptions of the causes of disparities in the literacy readiness of pre-primary learners. The aim was to understand the reasons that teachers ascribe to differences in literacy readiness; ways in which teachers’ understanding of the causes may relate to their practices and to learners’ literacy readiness levels. The study drew from Bernstein’s pedagogic discourse as the theoretical framing and analytical tool for engaging with the data. The participants in the study were three pre-primary teachers practising in a variety of schooling contexts. In a quest for a deeper understanding of the causes, data for the study was generated using multiple sources. Structured interviews were employed to get the teachers perceptions, while classroom observations were aimed at discovering ways in which the teachers’ points of view related to their practices in the actual classroom. An analysis of documentary evidence was carried out to understand ways in which teachers’ practices adhered to the curriculum intentions, as well as ways in which their plans and curriculum documents supported the development of the emerging literacy skills of the learners. Findings of this study indicated that teachers attributed disparities in the literacy readiness of learners to factors external to the classroom and it was found that their pedagogic practices, as a result of these perceptions, were not supportive to the development of literacy skills that are pivotal for transitioning to Grade 1. The study has implications for curriculum reform, sensitization of stakeholders and teacher training in order to ensure a solid and promising academic foundation, and consequently, a successful academic future for all pre-primary learners.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Airline revenue management performance measurement of South African Airways origin-destination revenue management
- Authors: Githiri, Duncan Wanjau
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Revenue management , Airlines Finance , Performance Measurement , Airlines Rates Mathematical models , South African Airways
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59188 , vital:27455
- Description: Revenue Management (RM) in the airline industry is the practise of selling fixed capacity as a service over a finite time horizon. The market is characterised by the customers’ willingness to pay different prices for the service. This creates the opportunity to target different customer segments and use price differential to attain the optimal passenger fare mix to maximise revenue. The aim is to maximise revenue and an airline can expect revenue increase of between 3 to 7 percent with the successful implementation of a Revenue Management system. The question of whether the revenue increase can be attributed to the RMS is crucial in determining its level of success and validating the optimisation strategy applied (Rannou and Melli, 2003). South African Airways (SAA) migration from Leg-based optimisation to Origin-Destination (O&D) network based revenue management optimisation created the opportunity for this study to measure and evaluate the RMS performance. Revenue performance measuring tools using inventory systems data to measure RMS performance, ASK (Available Seat Kilometre), RASK (Revenue per Available Seat Kilometre), CASK (Cost per Available Seat Kilometre), RPK (Revenue Passenger Kilometre) and cabin factor yield. The limitations relating to the performance measuring tools utilising inventory system data, is the inability for continuous measurement and the isolation of the impact to revenue due to the RMS on its own. In seeking to gauge the performance of the O&D optimisation, the Revenue Opportunity Model (ROM) is applied. ROM is a post departure measuring tool utilised to continuously measure and isolate the contribution of the RMS on SAA’s O&D network. The revenue opportunity achieved versus the potential revenue was assessed. A revenue comparison of the airlines 2014 and 2015 financial year is performed. The results of the analysis showed the O&D optimisation yielded positive revenue capture on routes that applied the correct optimisation strategy. Recommendations on the optimisation strategy to be applied on routes having average or low revenues captured are presented. The aim is to provide the SAA revenue management department with tangible solutions that would result in increased revenue for the SAA network.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Githiri, Duncan Wanjau
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Revenue management , Airlines Finance , Performance Measurement , Airlines Rates Mathematical models , South African Airways
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59188 , vital:27455
- Description: Revenue Management (RM) in the airline industry is the practise of selling fixed capacity as a service over a finite time horizon. The market is characterised by the customers’ willingness to pay different prices for the service. This creates the opportunity to target different customer segments and use price differential to attain the optimal passenger fare mix to maximise revenue. The aim is to maximise revenue and an airline can expect revenue increase of between 3 to 7 percent with the successful implementation of a Revenue Management system. The question of whether the revenue increase can be attributed to the RMS is crucial in determining its level of success and validating the optimisation strategy applied (Rannou and Melli, 2003). South African Airways (SAA) migration from Leg-based optimisation to Origin-Destination (O&D) network based revenue management optimisation created the opportunity for this study to measure and evaluate the RMS performance. Revenue performance measuring tools using inventory systems data to measure RMS performance, ASK (Available Seat Kilometre), RASK (Revenue per Available Seat Kilometre), CASK (Cost per Available Seat Kilometre), RPK (Revenue Passenger Kilometre) and cabin factor yield. The limitations relating to the performance measuring tools utilising inventory system data, is the inability for continuous measurement and the isolation of the impact to revenue due to the RMS on its own. In seeking to gauge the performance of the O&D optimisation, the Revenue Opportunity Model (ROM) is applied. ROM is a post departure measuring tool utilised to continuously measure and isolate the contribution of the RMS on SAA’s O&D network. The revenue opportunity achieved versus the potential revenue was assessed. A revenue comparison of the airlines 2014 and 2015 financial year is performed. The results of the analysis showed the O&D optimisation yielded positive revenue capture on routes that applied the correct optimisation strategy. Recommendations on the optimisation strategy to be applied on routes having average or low revenues captured are presented. The aim is to provide the SAA revenue management department with tangible solutions that would result in increased revenue for the SAA network.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A critical realist dialectical understanding of learning pathways associated with two scarce skill environmental occupations within a transitioning systems frame
- Authors: Ramsarup, Presha
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5937 , vital:20992
- Description: Policy, environmental, social and economic factors are all driving South Africa's transition to sustainable development and a greener economy. Various policies have been developed to foster sustainable development in the post-apartheid era in South Africa (i.e. since 1994) and there are various projections on potential job creation for a green economy. However, there is a problem related to both the achievement of sustainable development and green economy objectives: South Africa is said to lack adequately qualified people to implement these goals resulting in what is termed 'scarce skills' in the environmental and sustainable development sector. This problem has, in turn, prompted various skills development studies in the environmental sector, including a national Environmental Sector Skills Plan produced in 2010. All these studies point to a reactive skills development system that provides inadequate learning pathways for existing and newly emerging green occupations, which provided the impetus for a more proactive, transformative praxis oriented system of skills development that supports environmental learning pathways in South Africa. A second problem is that the concept of 'learning pathway' is poorly defined in the South African environmental education and wider education and training policy context. This term is often used in policy discourse within the notion of 'seamless learning pathways' and is only vaguely defined. This study set out to investigate selected occupationally directed environmental learning pathways in the South African National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and green transitioning context. In attempting to characterise the nature of the environmental pathway, the study utilised critical realist metatheory which serves as an underlabourer for domain specific theory of transitioning societies and systems, life-course transitions and career development. This theoretical work allowed the characterisation of environmental learning pathways as educational and occupational progression. The study investigated the nature of learning and work transitions across the life- course of selected environmental professionals in two key occupational categories - environmental engineer and environmental scientist - both of which have been defined as scarce skills in South Africa. This enabled a nuanced examination of the formation of what emerged as 'boundaryless' career stories of professionals engaged in these two occupations. The study also sought to engage with a methodological problem in learning pathways research, notably that studies are generally framed either at the micro level career story, emphasising agency of individuals (voluntarism), or at the policy level, emphasising structural aspects of the skills development system (determinism). This study sought to bridge the macro-micro problem drawing on critical realist retroductive analysis; this facilitated the shift from a focus on events and experiences that can be empirically observed (captured in case study approaches) to the causal mechanisms influencing environmental learning pathways in these two scarce skill occupations (discussed and analysed using dialectical critical realism), shedding light on how systemic and structural dynamics and mechanisms shape and influence the emergence of learning pathways as experienced in scarce skill occupations in the environmental sector. The opening chapters of the thesis provide an historical view of how the South African education and training system, itself in a transitioning process, has had to grapple with how to respond to and meaningfully take up the new emerging environmental / sustainable development mandate, which is increasingly framed within a multi-levelled transitioning social-ecological system perspective in post-apartheid South Africa. These transitioning systems are shaped by substantive policy imperatives for societal transformation, social justice, sustainable development and equity. Since 1994, various transformations have been taking place, often in paradoxical forms, in both the environmental and educational sectors, shaping a complex multi-levelled transitioning systems perspective for the study. This background work on transitioning systems provides the foundation for the first data chapter, which provides a descriptive outline of key supply side systemic elements as these pertain to environmental learning pathways more broadly (qualifications; occupational framing; career systems; sector skills planning). It also points to the lack of adequate mechanisms for analysing demand for environmental occupations, and highlights some of the contradictions in the supply- demand relation as these pertain to newly emerging environmental occupations. This helps to explain the empirical findings of previous environmental sector studies on the slow and reactive defining of environmental education and training for environmental occupations within the transforming education and training system in South Africa. The next two chapters, using case-based qualitative data, present the analysis of the two scarce skill occupations investigated - environmental engineer and environmental scientist. These chapters outline the dominant institutional educational pathway and the key supply platforms that support these pathways (career guidance; qualifications, occupational framings, skills planning) and the learning and work transitions of professionals within the occupation. The chapters highlight the factors and causal mechanisms influencing these learning pathways and thus provide insight into the multi-level dynamics that underpin learning pathways. The final chapter uses dialectical critical realism to outline generative mechanisms influencing the construction of the learning pathways. It also highlights key absences that are shaping the emergence (or not) of environmental learning pathways, thus pointing to opportunities for how the NQF might respond to the two scarce skill occupations under study, and to the emergence of environmental learning pathways more broadly within the framework of society-in-transition. Through this, the study links the career stories as analysed within the framework of learning pathways and skills system transitioning literature, to generative mechanisms and system development elements. The study concludes with providing occupational and systemic insights into absences and disjunctures that characterise the emergence (or not) of occupationally oriented environmental learning pathways. It also provides insight into what leads to these absences, and how they are kept in place and suggests possibilities and openings for transformative praxis within a multi-levelled transitioning system framework. The study makes the following contributions: At a theoretical level, the study has shown that environmental learning pathways need to be viewed as a complex phenomenon that is emergent in open systems and constituted by dialectically interdependent planes. A deeper understanding of environmental learning pathways is driven by both educational and occupational progression. It utilises key contemporary ideas around learning and work transitions but links them to the broader analyses of transitioning societies influencing the environmental sector, indicating the significance of how environmental education and training system development is situated within the wider transitioning process oriented towards social-ecological sustainability, social justice and greener economies. This study has further identified green skills as an important focus in research work on transitioning societies. At a methodological level, the study has shown how macro-micro and laminated system research can be useful in studying transitioning systems. As a laminated systems study with a focus on transitioning societies, it provides a baseline for further systems study on green work and green skills. At a practical level, the study has made actual contributions to the conceptualisation of learning pathways in the South African NQF context, to building and informing future green skill developments in the South African post-school system, the environmental sector and to informing conceptualising in the emergent Green Skills project.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Ramsarup, Presha
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5937 , vital:20992
- Description: Policy, environmental, social and economic factors are all driving South Africa's transition to sustainable development and a greener economy. Various policies have been developed to foster sustainable development in the post-apartheid era in South Africa (i.e. since 1994) and there are various projections on potential job creation for a green economy. However, there is a problem related to both the achievement of sustainable development and green economy objectives: South Africa is said to lack adequately qualified people to implement these goals resulting in what is termed 'scarce skills' in the environmental and sustainable development sector. This problem has, in turn, prompted various skills development studies in the environmental sector, including a national Environmental Sector Skills Plan produced in 2010. All these studies point to a reactive skills development system that provides inadequate learning pathways for existing and newly emerging green occupations, which provided the impetus for a more proactive, transformative praxis oriented system of skills development that supports environmental learning pathways in South Africa. A second problem is that the concept of 'learning pathway' is poorly defined in the South African environmental education and wider education and training policy context. This term is often used in policy discourse within the notion of 'seamless learning pathways' and is only vaguely defined. This study set out to investigate selected occupationally directed environmental learning pathways in the South African National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and green transitioning context. In attempting to characterise the nature of the environmental pathway, the study utilised critical realist metatheory which serves as an underlabourer for domain specific theory of transitioning societies and systems, life-course transitions and career development. This theoretical work allowed the characterisation of environmental learning pathways as educational and occupational progression. The study investigated the nature of learning and work transitions across the life- course of selected environmental professionals in two key occupational categories - environmental engineer and environmental scientist - both of which have been defined as scarce skills in South Africa. This enabled a nuanced examination of the formation of what emerged as 'boundaryless' career stories of professionals engaged in these two occupations. The study also sought to engage with a methodological problem in learning pathways research, notably that studies are generally framed either at the micro level career story, emphasising agency of individuals (voluntarism), or at the policy level, emphasising structural aspects of the skills development system (determinism). This study sought to bridge the macro-micro problem drawing on critical realist retroductive analysis; this facilitated the shift from a focus on events and experiences that can be empirically observed (captured in case study approaches) to the causal mechanisms influencing environmental learning pathways in these two scarce skill occupations (discussed and analysed using dialectical critical realism), shedding light on how systemic and structural dynamics and mechanisms shape and influence the emergence of learning pathways as experienced in scarce skill occupations in the environmental sector. The opening chapters of the thesis provide an historical view of how the South African education and training system, itself in a transitioning process, has had to grapple with how to respond to and meaningfully take up the new emerging environmental / sustainable development mandate, which is increasingly framed within a multi-levelled transitioning social-ecological system perspective in post-apartheid South Africa. These transitioning systems are shaped by substantive policy imperatives for societal transformation, social justice, sustainable development and equity. Since 1994, various transformations have been taking place, often in paradoxical forms, in both the environmental and educational sectors, shaping a complex multi-levelled transitioning systems perspective for the study. This background work on transitioning systems provides the foundation for the first data chapter, which provides a descriptive outline of key supply side systemic elements as these pertain to environmental learning pathways more broadly (qualifications; occupational framing; career systems; sector skills planning). It also points to the lack of adequate mechanisms for analysing demand for environmental occupations, and highlights some of the contradictions in the supply- demand relation as these pertain to newly emerging environmental occupations. This helps to explain the empirical findings of previous environmental sector studies on the slow and reactive defining of environmental education and training for environmental occupations within the transforming education and training system in South Africa. The next two chapters, using case-based qualitative data, present the analysis of the two scarce skill occupations investigated - environmental engineer and environmental scientist. These chapters outline the dominant institutional educational pathway and the key supply platforms that support these pathways (career guidance; qualifications, occupational framings, skills planning) and the learning and work transitions of professionals within the occupation. The chapters highlight the factors and causal mechanisms influencing these learning pathways and thus provide insight into the multi-level dynamics that underpin learning pathways. The final chapter uses dialectical critical realism to outline generative mechanisms influencing the construction of the learning pathways. It also highlights key absences that are shaping the emergence (or not) of environmental learning pathways, thus pointing to opportunities for how the NQF might respond to the two scarce skill occupations under study, and to the emergence of environmental learning pathways more broadly within the framework of society-in-transition. Through this, the study links the career stories as analysed within the framework of learning pathways and skills system transitioning literature, to generative mechanisms and system development elements. The study concludes with providing occupational and systemic insights into absences and disjunctures that characterise the emergence (or not) of occupationally oriented environmental learning pathways. It also provides insight into what leads to these absences, and how they are kept in place and suggests possibilities and openings for transformative praxis within a multi-levelled transitioning system framework. The study makes the following contributions: At a theoretical level, the study has shown that environmental learning pathways need to be viewed as a complex phenomenon that is emergent in open systems and constituted by dialectically interdependent planes. A deeper understanding of environmental learning pathways is driven by both educational and occupational progression. It utilises key contemporary ideas around learning and work transitions but links them to the broader analyses of transitioning societies influencing the environmental sector, indicating the significance of how environmental education and training system development is situated within the wider transitioning process oriented towards social-ecological sustainability, social justice and greener economies. This study has further identified green skills as an important focus in research work on transitioning societies. At a methodological level, the study has shown how macro-micro and laminated system research can be useful in studying transitioning systems. As a laminated systems study with a focus on transitioning societies, it provides a baseline for further systems study on green work and green skills. At a practical level, the study has made actual contributions to the conceptualisation of learning pathways in the South African NQF context, to building and informing future green skill developments in the South African post-school system, the environmental sector and to informing conceptualising in the emergent Green Skills project.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
An energy, water and disease disaster management module: a technoeconomic feasibility analysis
- Authors: Nicholson, Thomas J
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSC
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/65167 , vital:28700
- Description: Intermittent energy and water supply are current challenges faced by many residents in South Africa. South Africa is one of the more water scarce countries in the world; this coupled with the lack of infrastructure makes it challenging to provide every citizen with their right to basic water and sanitation. With millennium development goal 7C not being addressed in many areas, residents experience sub-standard living conditions, which drastically increases the vulnerability of marginalised groups to epidemics. In the sustainable development goals improving sanitation and drinking water has been identified as one of the most effective and least expensive means of reducing fatalities and increasing public health. There is a need for a mobile laboratory that demonstrates power and water self-sufficiency, which is capable of on-site diagnosis and water treatment. The unit will have the ability to perform independent compliance monitoring of municipal water supply, treat inadequate water and provide surplus electricity to surrounding areas. A literature-based study was performed utilizing several scientific databases to identify current methods of power and water production in previous disaster management and humanitarian relief situations. Based on findings three example laboratories were theoretically designed; structural modelling, systems simulation and optimization and sensitivity analyses were performed with HOMER Pro, PackVol and SketchUp. A cost benefit analysis was performed with the social return on investment methodology. Novel human waste processing was performed with fly ash and simulated faeces. Bacterial species identification in ice samples was performed with the API 20E protocol and limited equipment as a proof of concept for field deployment. A hybrid system consisting of PV panels, a wind turbine and biomass generator showed promise for displaced humanitarian relief camps; with every 1 ZAR capital invested resulting in 3.13 ZAR social benefit. A system consisting of PV panels and a battery bank proved to have the least environmental impact and the grid supply laboratory showed a cheaper cost of energy alternative for needs provision. Fly ash showed potential as in nutrient recovery and as a fertility aid to soil. The units developed function as a means to increase disaster preparedness and humanitarian relief as well a means to improve quality of life for rural marginalize populations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Nicholson, Thomas J
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSC
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/65167 , vital:28700
- Description: Intermittent energy and water supply are current challenges faced by many residents in South Africa. South Africa is one of the more water scarce countries in the world; this coupled with the lack of infrastructure makes it challenging to provide every citizen with their right to basic water and sanitation. With millennium development goal 7C not being addressed in many areas, residents experience sub-standard living conditions, which drastically increases the vulnerability of marginalised groups to epidemics. In the sustainable development goals improving sanitation and drinking water has been identified as one of the most effective and least expensive means of reducing fatalities and increasing public health. There is a need for a mobile laboratory that demonstrates power and water self-sufficiency, which is capable of on-site diagnosis and water treatment. The unit will have the ability to perform independent compliance monitoring of municipal water supply, treat inadequate water and provide surplus electricity to surrounding areas. A literature-based study was performed utilizing several scientific databases to identify current methods of power and water production in previous disaster management and humanitarian relief situations. Based on findings three example laboratories were theoretically designed; structural modelling, systems simulation and optimization and sensitivity analyses were performed with HOMER Pro, PackVol and SketchUp. A cost benefit analysis was performed with the social return on investment methodology. Novel human waste processing was performed with fly ash and simulated faeces. Bacterial species identification in ice samples was performed with the API 20E protocol and limited equipment as a proof of concept for field deployment. A hybrid system consisting of PV panels, a wind turbine and biomass generator showed promise for displaced humanitarian relief camps; with every 1 ZAR capital invested resulting in 3.13 ZAR social benefit. A system consisting of PV panels and a battery bank proved to have the least environmental impact and the grid supply laboratory showed a cheaper cost of energy alternative for needs provision. Fly ash showed potential as in nutrient recovery and as a fertility aid to soil. The units developed function as a means to increase disaster preparedness and humanitarian relief as well a means to improve quality of life for rural marginalize populations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Development and assessment of ketoconazole intravaginal thermosetting hydrogel formulations
- Authors: Ramanah, Ashmita
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5198 , vital:20785
- Description: Imidazole compounds are commonly used as antifungal therapies and ketoconazole was the first broad spectrum orally active azole identified and registered. However, the risks of hepatotoxicity and drug interactions following systemic delivery and absorption of ketoconazole outweigh the therapeutic benefits and ketoconazole was therefore discontinued as first line systemic antifungal therapy in many countries. Although not yet banned in South Africa, the South African Medicine Formulary has ceased to recommend the use of ketoconazole for systemic treatment. Topical use of ketoconazole is, however, regarded as safe following extensive human use as low systemic absorption occurs following topical administration. Vulvo-vaginal candidiasis is a yeast infection that affects a large number of women, some of whom present with several infections annually. The topical treatment options for vulvo-vaginal candidiasis include the use of vaginal tablets, capsules, ovules and creams administered as a single dose or one to three times daily for three to fourteen days either alone or in combination with another dosage form depending on the regimen. Administration of the dose nightly is recommended for most vaginal creams and ovule formulation due to leakage and the uncomfortable feel of the dosage form if administered during the day. A thermosetting gel that remains in the vagina following administration and prolongs the release of ketoconazole from a once daily dose would be a useful addition to the arsenal for intra-vaginal antifungal therapy. Thermosetting gels would be more comfortable to administer as the gel would set in a form similar to naturally occurring mucous in the vagina and, if formulated with a low pH, irritation of the sensitive and fissured tissue would be minimised. A further benefit would be that once set the gel would loosely take on the anatomical shape of the vagina. A simple, precise, accurate, reproducible and sensitive stability-indicating reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatographic method using ultraviolet detection for the quantitation of ketoconazole was developed and validated. The method was specific and was applied to the determination of ketoconazole in commercial and experimental formulations in addition to samples from degradation studies and in vitro release testing. Product performance characteristics of commercial products were investigated with the goal to provide a strategy for the development of a novel intra vaginal gel in the shortest possible time. Characterisation of Xolegel®, Kez® shampoo and Ketazol® cream included an evaluation of pH, viscosity and assay, in addition to spectroscopic and thermal analysis, to identify ideal characteristics of topical products that could be used as targets during formulation development of the gel. An in vitro release method was developed and validated for precision and accuracy and the in vitro release profiles of commercial ketoconazole products were compared using analysis of variance, model dependent and independent approaches. Ketoconazole release data from test gel manufactured during formulation development were investigated to obtain information about the relationship between formulation content and drug release. Poloxamers marketed as Pluronic® and Lutrol® are synthetic non-ionic tri-block copolymers that consist of hydrophobic propylene oxide and hydrophilic polyethylene oxide blocks, which in solution interact to exhibit thermo-reversible behaviour. In situ forming hydrogels consisting of poloxamers, more specifically poloxamer 407, are activated following a temperature stimulus and undergo a sol to gel transition. This approach was used to produce a thermosetting vaginal gel that would exhibit a long residence time in the vagina with an associated enhancement of therapeutic efficacy. Ketoconazole- excipient compatibility was investigated during preformulation studies using spectroscopic and thermal analysis to enable the selection of excipients best suited for the production of a novel dosage form prior to formulation development activities. No obvious interactions between ketoconazole and excipient were observed and ketoconazole was found in an amorphous form when in combination with polysorbate 80 and poloxamers. A two-level factorial design was used to produce solvent systems with different amounts of polysorbate 80, citric acid and ethanol to identify a vehicle in which ketoconazole exhibited optimum solubility and at a pH that would be least irritating to the vaginal mucosa with a low content of excipients. The optimised vehicle consisted of 4% m/v citric acid, 1.5% v/v polysorbate 80 and 9.5% v/v ethanol made up to 50 g with citrate-phosphate buffer adjusted to pH 5.0, resulted in a vehicle of pH of 3.5 in which 71.41 mg of ketoconazole was dissolved per mL. A Central Composite Design was used to evaluate compositions for the modulation of viscosity of the thermosetting dosage form such that it was a liquid at 22 °C that rapidly formed a stiff gel when heated to 37 °C (intra-vaginal temperature) using different amounts of the poloxamer grades 407, 188 and 237. Thermosetting gels containing 2% m/v ketoconazole were manufactured using specifications generated using the Central Composite Design and the viscosity at 22 °C and 37 °C, solution to gel transition time, potency and ketoconazole release at 24, 48 and 72 hours investigated. Contour and three-dimensional response surface plots and mathematical relationships with target ranges set for responses were identified and with the aid of Central Composite Design the optimisation of a desirable thermosetting gel was achieved. The optimised composition included 16% m/v poloxamer 407, 10% m/v poloxamer 188 and 6% m/v poloxamer 237 in the gel that was used as the basis for further optimisation studies. The low ketoconazole release for ketoconazole observed indicated that the poloxamers had formed a gel matrix that sustained the release of ketoconazole and would therefore ensure that once daily administration of the gel was possible. The sol-gel transition test may be used as a simple and cheap alternative to viscosity testing for thermosetting formulations when expensive viscometers and rheometers are unavailable and was successfully used for this purpose.Ketoconazole is photolabile and is prone to degradation in aqueous solutions. The hydrophobic core of micelles formed in these dosage forms are believed to shield ketoconazole molecules and improve stability in aqueous solutions and acidic gels. The thermosetting gel optimised for poloxamer content was subjected to a further Central Composite Design in which sodium metabisulphite content and vehicle pH were investigated. The length of storage was used as a numeric variable and storage condition as a categoric variable at two levels to monitor the stability of the gels. The formulations were investigated at sample times of 0, 1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks at 5 °C, 25 °C and 40 °C. The use of a Central Composite Design facilitated an understanding of the interactions between input variables and their impact on the responses analysed including ketoconazole content, release at 24, 48 and 72 hours, gel pH and viscosity at 22 °C and 37 °C. Design of Experiments may be used as a rapid cost effective tool for an overall assessment of the stability of novel topical dosage forms. However, a more thorough assessment of stability may be required for product registration. Ketoconazole was found to be unstable in the acidic thermosetting gels despite the addition of antioxidant. The gels in liquid form at 5 °C and 25 °C have a low number of micelles for ketoconazole incorporation and therefore additional optimisation studies would be required to enhance the shelf-life of this product.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Ramanah, Ashmita
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5198 , vital:20785
- Description: Imidazole compounds are commonly used as antifungal therapies and ketoconazole was the first broad spectrum orally active azole identified and registered. However, the risks of hepatotoxicity and drug interactions following systemic delivery and absorption of ketoconazole outweigh the therapeutic benefits and ketoconazole was therefore discontinued as first line systemic antifungal therapy in many countries. Although not yet banned in South Africa, the South African Medicine Formulary has ceased to recommend the use of ketoconazole for systemic treatment. Topical use of ketoconazole is, however, regarded as safe following extensive human use as low systemic absorption occurs following topical administration. Vulvo-vaginal candidiasis is a yeast infection that affects a large number of women, some of whom present with several infections annually. The topical treatment options for vulvo-vaginal candidiasis include the use of vaginal tablets, capsules, ovules and creams administered as a single dose or one to three times daily for three to fourteen days either alone or in combination with another dosage form depending on the regimen. Administration of the dose nightly is recommended for most vaginal creams and ovule formulation due to leakage and the uncomfortable feel of the dosage form if administered during the day. A thermosetting gel that remains in the vagina following administration and prolongs the release of ketoconazole from a once daily dose would be a useful addition to the arsenal for intra-vaginal antifungal therapy. Thermosetting gels would be more comfortable to administer as the gel would set in a form similar to naturally occurring mucous in the vagina and, if formulated with a low pH, irritation of the sensitive and fissured tissue would be minimised. A further benefit would be that once set the gel would loosely take on the anatomical shape of the vagina. A simple, precise, accurate, reproducible and sensitive stability-indicating reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatographic method using ultraviolet detection for the quantitation of ketoconazole was developed and validated. The method was specific and was applied to the determination of ketoconazole in commercial and experimental formulations in addition to samples from degradation studies and in vitro release testing. Product performance characteristics of commercial products were investigated with the goal to provide a strategy for the development of a novel intra vaginal gel in the shortest possible time. Characterisation of Xolegel®, Kez® shampoo and Ketazol® cream included an evaluation of pH, viscosity and assay, in addition to spectroscopic and thermal analysis, to identify ideal characteristics of topical products that could be used as targets during formulation development of the gel. An in vitro release method was developed and validated for precision and accuracy and the in vitro release profiles of commercial ketoconazole products were compared using analysis of variance, model dependent and independent approaches. Ketoconazole release data from test gel manufactured during formulation development were investigated to obtain information about the relationship between formulation content and drug release. Poloxamers marketed as Pluronic® and Lutrol® are synthetic non-ionic tri-block copolymers that consist of hydrophobic propylene oxide and hydrophilic polyethylene oxide blocks, which in solution interact to exhibit thermo-reversible behaviour. In situ forming hydrogels consisting of poloxamers, more specifically poloxamer 407, are activated following a temperature stimulus and undergo a sol to gel transition. This approach was used to produce a thermosetting vaginal gel that would exhibit a long residence time in the vagina with an associated enhancement of therapeutic efficacy. Ketoconazole- excipient compatibility was investigated during preformulation studies using spectroscopic and thermal analysis to enable the selection of excipients best suited for the production of a novel dosage form prior to formulation development activities. No obvious interactions between ketoconazole and excipient were observed and ketoconazole was found in an amorphous form when in combination with polysorbate 80 and poloxamers. A two-level factorial design was used to produce solvent systems with different amounts of polysorbate 80, citric acid and ethanol to identify a vehicle in which ketoconazole exhibited optimum solubility and at a pH that would be least irritating to the vaginal mucosa with a low content of excipients. The optimised vehicle consisted of 4% m/v citric acid, 1.5% v/v polysorbate 80 and 9.5% v/v ethanol made up to 50 g with citrate-phosphate buffer adjusted to pH 5.0, resulted in a vehicle of pH of 3.5 in which 71.41 mg of ketoconazole was dissolved per mL. A Central Composite Design was used to evaluate compositions for the modulation of viscosity of the thermosetting dosage form such that it was a liquid at 22 °C that rapidly formed a stiff gel when heated to 37 °C (intra-vaginal temperature) using different amounts of the poloxamer grades 407, 188 and 237. Thermosetting gels containing 2% m/v ketoconazole were manufactured using specifications generated using the Central Composite Design and the viscosity at 22 °C and 37 °C, solution to gel transition time, potency and ketoconazole release at 24, 48 and 72 hours investigated. Contour and three-dimensional response surface plots and mathematical relationships with target ranges set for responses were identified and with the aid of Central Composite Design the optimisation of a desirable thermosetting gel was achieved. The optimised composition included 16% m/v poloxamer 407, 10% m/v poloxamer 188 and 6% m/v poloxamer 237 in the gel that was used as the basis for further optimisation studies. The low ketoconazole release for ketoconazole observed indicated that the poloxamers had formed a gel matrix that sustained the release of ketoconazole and would therefore ensure that once daily administration of the gel was possible. The sol-gel transition test may be used as a simple and cheap alternative to viscosity testing for thermosetting formulations when expensive viscometers and rheometers are unavailable and was successfully used for this purpose.Ketoconazole is photolabile and is prone to degradation in aqueous solutions. The hydrophobic core of micelles formed in these dosage forms are believed to shield ketoconazole molecules and improve stability in aqueous solutions and acidic gels. The thermosetting gel optimised for poloxamer content was subjected to a further Central Composite Design in which sodium metabisulphite content and vehicle pH were investigated. The length of storage was used as a numeric variable and storage condition as a categoric variable at two levels to monitor the stability of the gels. The formulations were investigated at sample times of 0, 1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks at 5 °C, 25 °C and 40 °C. The use of a Central Composite Design facilitated an understanding of the interactions between input variables and their impact on the responses analysed including ketoconazole content, release at 24, 48 and 72 hours, gel pH and viscosity at 22 °C and 37 °C. Design of Experiments may be used as a rapid cost effective tool for an overall assessment of the stability of novel topical dosage forms. However, a more thorough assessment of stability may be required for product registration. Ketoconazole was found to be unstable in the acidic thermosetting gels despite the addition of antioxidant. The gels in liquid form at 5 °C and 25 °C have a low number of micelles for ketoconazole incorporation and therefore additional optimisation studies would be required to enhance the shelf-life of this product.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
IsiXhosa ulwimi lwabantu abangesosininzi eZimbabwe: ukuphila nokulondolozwa kwaso
- Authors: Kunju, Hleze Welsh
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Language policy Zimbabwe , Xhosa (African people) Zimbabwe , Xhosa (African people) Social life and customs Zimbabwe , Xhosa language Zimbabwe , Language spread , Culture diffusion
- Language: Xhosa
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7370 , vital:21250
- Description: Kuqikelelwa ukuba kukho amaXhosa (amaMfengu) angcambu zawo ziseMzantsi Afrika amalunga namakhulu amabini amawaka azinze eZimbabwe ukususela kwiminyaka yoo-18001900. Uninzi lwawo lufumaneka eMbembesi, eFort Rixon, eFilabusi, eKenilworth naseMotapa eBubi. Imbali ithi, inxalenye yala maXhosa ngawaseMpuma Kapa, afudukela eZimbabwe noCecil John Rhodes eqhuba iinqwelo kananjalo esebenzela uRhodes ngeminyaka yoo-1800. Le thisisi yongeza kulwazi olutsha malunga nala maXhosa aseZimbabwe, iphonononga ubume bolwimi, imbali nemvelaphi yala maXhosa azinze eZimbabwe lo gama ibonisa ukuba naphantsi kwayiphi na imeko, ulwimi luyakwazi ukuphila ngaphaya kwemida. Ulwimi nenkcubeko zingumtya nethunga, ngenxa yoko le thisisi yayame kakhulu kwinkcubeko. Iethinografi nembali yomlomo zisetyenziswe njengendlela okanye imethodi yokuqhuba olu phando. Iziphumo zolu phando zibonisa ukuba umhlaba, inkcubeko, iingoma, inkolo yobuKrestu, iincwadi ezingaphelelwa xesha zoncwadi lwesiXhosa, iteknoloji namakhasi onxibelelwano nomgaqo-siseko waseZimbabwe (2013) zibe zizixhobo ezidlale indima ebonakalayo ekulondolozeni nasekuphuhliseni isiXhosa eZimbabwe. Imiba ephathelele kumgaqo-nkqubo wesiXhosa eZimbabwe nayo iyaphononongwa, njengokuba isiXhosa ilulwimi oluthathwa njengolusesikweni eZimbabwe.Kusetyenziswa iithiyori ngeethiyori ezingobuni, kuquka nethiyori kaCollier (1997) apho abona ubuni njengolunamacala amabini; avowal kunye ne-ascription. Ubuni bamaXhosa aseZimbabwe buxoxwe ngokwayama kwi-avowal njengokuba uCollier (Ibid.) eyicacisa. Kwizindululo eziqulathwe kolu phando, kuboniswa ukuba ikho imfuneko yokuba iintsapho zaseZimbabwe zidityaniswe nezizalwane zazo eziseMzantsi Afrika. Ukufundiswa kwesiXhosa kwaneenzame zokusebenzisa isiXhosa njengolwimi lokufunda nokufundisa kwizikolo zamaXhosa ezikumabanga aphantsi kuyafuneka nako ukuba kuphandwe nzulu. , There are an estimated two hundred thousand South African amaXhosa who are mostly amaMfengu descendants living in Zimbabwe since the late 1800s-1900s. The majority are found in the areas of Mbembesi, Fort Rixon in Filabusi, Kenilworth and the Motapa area in Bubi. It is stated that some of the amaXhosa living in Zimbabwe came from the Eastern Cape with Cecil John Rhodes as domestic workers and on wagons during the 1800s. Therefore, this thesis provides new knowledge about amaXhosa living in Zimbabwe and gives an analysis of the sociolinguistic and historical background of the amaXhosa living in Zimbabwe while showing how a cross-border language can survive against all odds. The subject of culture has been dealt with as there is a reciprocal relationship between language and culture. Ethnography and Oral History have been used as methods for this research. The findings reveal that land, culture, songs, religion, South African Xhosa literature classic books, technology and social media, as well as the 2013 Zimbabwean constitution, are tools that have played a role in the survival and maintenance of isiXhosa in Zimbabwe. It also assesses Language Policy issues as isiXhosa is now an officially recognized language in Zimbabwe. Drawing on various theories on identity, including Collier’s (1997) understanding that identity is divided into avowal and ascription, the identity of the amaXhosa of Zimbabwe has been discussed in this thesis with an emphasis on avowal as discussed by Collier (Ibid.). Among other recommendations, this study further recommends that a research that looks at the reunion of the Zimbabwean amaXhosa with their South African relatives needs to be undertaken. It also recommends that the teaching of isiXhosa as well as attempts to make isiXhosa the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) in the amaXhosa primary schools and pre-schools also needs to be researched further.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Kunju, Hleze Welsh
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Language policy Zimbabwe , Xhosa (African people) Zimbabwe , Xhosa (African people) Social life and customs Zimbabwe , Xhosa language Zimbabwe , Language spread , Culture diffusion
- Language: Xhosa
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7370 , vital:21250
- Description: Kuqikelelwa ukuba kukho amaXhosa (amaMfengu) angcambu zawo ziseMzantsi Afrika amalunga namakhulu amabini amawaka azinze eZimbabwe ukususela kwiminyaka yoo-18001900. Uninzi lwawo lufumaneka eMbembesi, eFort Rixon, eFilabusi, eKenilworth naseMotapa eBubi. Imbali ithi, inxalenye yala maXhosa ngawaseMpuma Kapa, afudukela eZimbabwe noCecil John Rhodes eqhuba iinqwelo kananjalo esebenzela uRhodes ngeminyaka yoo-1800. Le thisisi yongeza kulwazi olutsha malunga nala maXhosa aseZimbabwe, iphonononga ubume bolwimi, imbali nemvelaphi yala maXhosa azinze eZimbabwe lo gama ibonisa ukuba naphantsi kwayiphi na imeko, ulwimi luyakwazi ukuphila ngaphaya kwemida. Ulwimi nenkcubeko zingumtya nethunga, ngenxa yoko le thisisi yayame kakhulu kwinkcubeko. Iethinografi nembali yomlomo zisetyenziswe njengendlela okanye imethodi yokuqhuba olu phando. Iziphumo zolu phando zibonisa ukuba umhlaba, inkcubeko, iingoma, inkolo yobuKrestu, iincwadi ezingaphelelwa xesha zoncwadi lwesiXhosa, iteknoloji namakhasi onxibelelwano nomgaqo-siseko waseZimbabwe (2013) zibe zizixhobo ezidlale indima ebonakalayo ekulondolozeni nasekuphuhliseni isiXhosa eZimbabwe. Imiba ephathelele kumgaqo-nkqubo wesiXhosa eZimbabwe nayo iyaphononongwa, njengokuba isiXhosa ilulwimi oluthathwa njengolusesikweni eZimbabwe.Kusetyenziswa iithiyori ngeethiyori ezingobuni, kuquka nethiyori kaCollier (1997) apho abona ubuni njengolunamacala amabini; avowal kunye ne-ascription. Ubuni bamaXhosa aseZimbabwe buxoxwe ngokwayama kwi-avowal njengokuba uCollier (Ibid.) eyicacisa. Kwizindululo eziqulathwe kolu phando, kuboniswa ukuba ikho imfuneko yokuba iintsapho zaseZimbabwe zidityaniswe nezizalwane zazo eziseMzantsi Afrika. Ukufundiswa kwesiXhosa kwaneenzame zokusebenzisa isiXhosa njengolwimi lokufunda nokufundisa kwizikolo zamaXhosa ezikumabanga aphantsi kuyafuneka nako ukuba kuphandwe nzulu. , There are an estimated two hundred thousand South African amaXhosa who are mostly amaMfengu descendants living in Zimbabwe since the late 1800s-1900s. The majority are found in the areas of Mbembesi, Fort Rixon in Filabusi, Kenilworth and the Motapa area in Bubi. It is stated that some of the amaXhosa living in Zimbabwe came from the Eastern Cape with Cecil John Rhodes as domestic workers and on wagons during the 1800s. Therefore, this thesis provides new knowledge about amaXhosa living in Zimbabwe and gives an analysis of the sociolinguistic and historical background of the amaXhosa living in Zimbabwe while showing how a cross-border language can survive against all odds. The subject of culture has been dealt with as there is a reciprocal relationship between language and culture. Ethnography and Oral History have been used as methods for this research. The findings reveal that land, culture, songs, religion, South African Xhosa literature classic books, technology and social media, as well as the 2013 Zimbabwean constitution, are tools that have played a role in the survival and maintenance of isiXhosa in Zimbabwe. It also assesses Language Policy issues as isiXhosa is now an officially recognized language in Zimbabwe. Drawing on various theories on identity, including Collier’s (1997) understanding that identity is divided into avowal and ascription, the identity of the amaXhosa of Zimbabwe has been discussed in this thesis with an emphasis on avowal as discussed by Collier (Ibid.). Among other recommendations, this study further recommends that a research that looks at the reunion of the Zimbabwean amaXhosa with their South African relatives needs to be undertaken. It also recommends that the teaching of isiXhosa as well as attempts to make isiXhosa the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) in the amaXhosa primary schools and pre-schools also needs to be researched further.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
An investigation into the utility of the ImPACT neurocognitive screening tool with patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
- Authors: Wurz, Carl
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5366 , vital:20918
- Description: Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the utility of the Immediate Post Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) assessment tool in the neurocognitive screening of patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Participants and Method: Patients diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (n = 29) were compared with a healthy control group (n = 20) of equivalent age, years of education, quality of education and estimated premorbid IQ. Measures included five ImPACT composite scores, the ImPACT Design Memory Delayed Recall subtest, the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) that has shown prior sensitivity to cognitive dysfunction in MS groups, and the SDMT Delayed Recall test. T-test analyses compared test performances of the MS patient group with the control group; correlational analyses investigated the construct similarities between the ImPACT and SDMT tests. Results: There was a consistent trend for the MS patient group to perform worse than controls on all the neurocognitive tests. Significant differences accompanied by medium to high effect sizes were in evidence for ImPACT Reaction Time, ImPACT Cognitive Efficiency Index, ImPACT Design Memory Delayed Recall, SDMT, and SDMT Delayed Recall test. Correlational analyses revealed construct comparability between the ImPACT tests calling upon processing speed and the SDMT, as well as the IMPACT and SDMT delayed recall tasks. Conclusions: The results support the utility of the ImPACT test as a screening instrument for the detection of cognitive dysfunction in patients with MS. Tests tapping general cognitive efficiency, processing speed, reaction time, and delayed recall rather than immediate recall reveal particular utility as neurocognitive screening aids for patients with MS.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Wurz, Carl
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5366 , vital:20918
- Description: Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the utility of the Immediate Post Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) assessment tool in the neurocognitive screening of patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Participants and Method: Patients diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (n = 29) were compared with a healthy control group (n = 20) of equivalent age, years of education, quality of education and estimated premorbid IQ. Measures included five ImPACT composite scores, the ImPACT Design Memory Delayed Recall subtest, the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) that has shown prior sensitivity to cognitive dysfunction in MS groups, and the SDMT Delayed Recall test. T-test analyses compared test performances of the MS patient group with the control group; correlational analyses investigated the construct similarities between the ImPACT and SDMT tests. Results: There was a consistent trend for the MS patient group to perform worse than controls on all the neurocognitive tests. Significant differences accompanied by medium to high effect sizes were in evidence for ImPACT Reaction Time, ImPACT Cognitive Efficiency Index, ImPACT Design Memory Delayed Recall, SDMT, and SDMT Delayed Recall test. Correlational analyses revealed construct comparability between the ImPACT tests calling upon processing speed and the SDMT, as well as the IMPACT and SDMT delayed recall tasks. Conclusions: The results support the utility of the ImPACT test as a screening instrument for the detection of cognitive dysfunction in patients with MS. Tests tapping general cognitive efficiency, processing speed, reaction time, and delayed recall rather than immediate recall reveal particular utility as neurocognitive screening aids for patients with MS.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
An investigation of the Sowetan “enough is enough-take back your dignity” campaign to challenge violence against women and children
- Ndabezitha, Nomthandazo Sibusisiwe Mary-Angel
- Authors: Ndabezitha, Nomthandazo Sibusisiwe Mary-Angel
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4521 , vital:20685
- Description: This investigation of the Sowetan “Enough is Enough - take back your dignity” campaign to challenge sexual violence explores whether the South African daily newspaper’s sustained anti-rape coverage challenges or reinforces the social order. It locates the Sowetan campaign’s response within two troubling contradictions. First, while South Africa is a democracy with arguably the most liberally progressive constitution in the world, the epidemically high rape statistics indicate that South African women and children inhabit an environment in which they are effectively denied the same freedoms and rights as men. The Sowetan anti-rape campaign responds to this paradox. Second, heightened exposure and coverage in the news media of rape incidents do not seem to correlate directly with a decrease in incidents of sexual violence. My observation of these contradictions leads me to question whether the anti-rape campaign can be socially transformative. Informed by the Foucauldian insights that the meaning of things is not inherent but exists in discourse, which has the power to make itself true, this study investigates what discourses are articulated in the representation of masculinities and femininities. In this regard, my investigation is informed by cultural studies and gender studies theories. Recognising rape as an enactment of a particular type of masculinity makes it clear that rapists are not deviant monsters, but are men embodying a discourse of male sexual entitlement legitimated by the social order. As the campaign coverage largely represents rape in historically black locations such as townships and villages, I argue that rape is an enactment of a particular violent masculinity within a particular socio-economically marginalised postcolonial context. Hence I also use postcolonial studies and gender studies to inform my theory. This qualitative research takes the form of a case study which entails a critical discourse analysis of 19 texts purposively sampled in order to identify whether the campaign challenges or reinforces the social order. I argue that rehearsing the narratives of prevalent rape and horror at this epidemic without addressing the social order of gender inequality that enables rape is inadequate. The findings indicate that the campaign has limited socially transformative potential, as, while it sometimes challenges the discourse of female passivity, it does not go so far as to critically engage with masculinities and questioning how violent ones are produced in the social order.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Ndabezitha, Nomthandazo Sibusisiwe Mary-Angel
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4521 , vital:20685
- Description: This investigation of the Sowetan “Enough is Enough - take back your dignity” campaign to challenge sexual violence explores whether the South African daily newspaper’s sustained anti-rape coverage challenges or reinforces the social order. It locates the Sowetan campaign’s response within two troubling contradictions. First, while South Africa is a democracy with arguably the most liberally progressive constitution in the world, the epidemically high rape statistics indicate that South African women and children inhabit an environment in which they are effectively denied the same freedoms and rights as men. The Sowetan anti-rape campaign responds to this paradox. Second, heightened exposure and coverage in the news media of rape incidents do not seem to correlate directly with a decrease in incidents of sexual violence. My observation of these contradictions leads me to question whether the anti-rape campaign can be socially transformative. Informed by the Foucauldian insights that the meaning of things is not inherent but exists in discourse, which has the power to make itself true, this study investigates what discourses are articulated in the representation of masculinities and femininities. In this regard, my investigation is informed by cultural studies and gender studies theories. Recognising rape as an enactment of a particular type of masculinity makes it clear that rapists are not deviant monsters, but are men embodying a discourse of male sexual entitlement legitimated by the social order. As the campaign coverage largely represents rape in historically black locations such as townships and villages, I argue that rape is an enactment of a particular violent masculinity within a particular socio-economically marginalised postcolonial context. Hence I also use postcolonial studies and gender studies to inform my theory. This qualitative research takes the form of a case study which entails a critical discourse analysis of 19 texts purposively sampled in order to identify whether the campaign challenges or reinforces the social order. I argue that rehearsing the narratives of prevalent rape and horror at this epidemic without addressing the social order of gender inequality that enables rape is inadequate. The findings indicate that the campaign has limited socially transformative potential, as, while it sometimes challenges the discourse of female passivity, it does not go so far as to critically engage with masculinities and questioning how violent ones are produced in the social order.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
The effects of changing western worldviews on morals and ethics in economics: a protestant perspective
- Authors: Appalraju, Nerusha
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Economics -- Moral and ethical aspects , Neoclassical school of economics , Capitalism -- Religious aspects -- Protestant churches , Feminist economics , Economics -- Religious aspects , Environmental economics -- Moral and ethical aspects , Smith, Adam, 1723-1790 , Weber, Max, 1864-1920
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/32480 , vital:24050
- Description: The World Economics Association held an online conference in 2012 where they published many papers on ethics in economics. The topic of ethics in economics became more serious and popular following the 2008 financial crisis. However the case for a professional code of ethics in economics is difficult to introduce and implement due to the multidisciplinary approach of the discipline. Therefore authors such as Dow (2012), De Martino (2012), Freeman (2012) and Earl (2012) urged economists to start thinking about ethics in economics from a pluralistic view. This thesis studied the effects of changing Western worldviews on morals and ethics in economics from a Protestant perspective. Numerous authoritative sources were considered and used to create a discussion and analysis of how diverse Western worldviews impact on the type of economics which is prescribed and practiced. It was found that different Western worldviews create various standards of understanding and evaluation, which result in varying opinions on what constitutes as morally or ethically acceptable within the discipline of economics.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Appalraju, Nerusha
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Economics -- Moral and ethical aspects , Neoclassical school of economics , Capitalism -- Religious aspects -- Protestant churches , Feminist economics , Economics -- Religious aspects , Environmental economics -- Moral and ethical aspects , Smith, Adam, 1723-1790 , Weber, Max, 1864-1920
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/32480 , vital:24050
- Description: The World Economics Association held an online conference in 2012 where they published many papers on ethics in economics. The topic of ethics in economics became more serious and popular following the 2008 financial crisis. However the case for a professional code of ethics in economics is difficult to introduce and implement due to the multidisciplinary approach of the discipline. Therefore authors such as Dow (2012), De Martino (2012), Freeman (2012) and Earl (2012) urged economists to start thinking about ethics in economics from a pluralistic view. This thesis studied the effects of changing Western worldviews on morals and ethics in economics from a Protestant perspective. Numerous authoritative sources were considered and used to create a discussion and analysis of how diverse Western worldviews impact on the type of economics which is prescribed and practiced. It was found that different Western worldviews create various standards of understanding and evaluation, which result in varying opinions on what constitutes as morally or ethically acceptable within the discipline of economics.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Forest governance, conservation and livelihoods: the case of forest protected areas and local communities in north-western Zimbabwe
- Authors: Mutekwa, Vurayai
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7396 , vital:21254
- Description: Forest protected areas (FPAs) constitute one of the main strategies for achieving the triple benefits of biodiversity conservation, livelihoods sustenance and climate regulation. The quality of FPA governance plays a major role in the achievement of these conservation objectives. Governance encompasses policies, institutions, actors, processes and power and how they interplay to determine conservation outcomes. Currently, no research has systematically explored the historical and contemporary governance of Zimbabwe’s protected indigenous forests and its implications on forest condition and local communities’ livelihoods. This is despite the fact that improving forest governance depends on learning from those that prevailed in the past as well as those currently obtaining on the ground in terms of how they have performed in relation to conservation and livelihood sustenance. This study assessed Zimbabwe’s historical and contemporary FPA governance and its implications on social and ecological outcomes. The overall rationale of the study was to provide evidence of the impact of past governance arrangements on forest condition and local communities’ livelihoods, improve understanding of the current governance arrangements and propose future FPA governance strategies and mechanisms to enhance conservation and local communities’ livelihood outcomes. Accordingly, the specific objectives of the study were to: 1) characterize and collate historical governance of FPAs in western Zimbabwe, 2) evaluate the impact of governance on forest condition and local communities’ livelihoods, 3) explore the nature of contemporary governance at the forest level, and 4) propose the governance model for Zimbabwe’s FPAs into the future. The study employed a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods including the systematic literature review methodology. Using specific case studies of indigenous FPAs in western Zimbabwe as examples, the study initially evaluated through literature review (Chapter 2) the history of forest governance in Zimbabwe showing how four main powers (force, regulation, market and legitimation) led to different types of local community exclusion and how community agency countered exclusion especially from the year 2000 to date. Chapter 3 uses six case study forests to assess the quality of historical FPA governance by analyzing the application of seven governance principles. The results showed that the quality of governance was high during precolonial times, deteriorated with the inception of colonialism and remained poor after independence in 1980. Forest condition also varied in tandem with the quality of governance variations showing a positive relationship between the two variables. Participation in decision making, fairness in sharing benefits and effective rule enforcement emerged as key principles for FPA authorities to earn local community support and improve forest condition. Chapter 4 employed remote sensing techniques to determine the impact of governance on FPA land cover change by comparing FPAs with in situ and ex situ inhabitants. Results revealed that there was a significant relationship between governance quality and land cover change. FPAs with in situ inhabitants experienced higher forest loss than those with ex situ inhabitants. Poor governance accelerated forest conversion to other land uses particularly agriculture and settlement. Chapter 5 explored contemporary FPA governance at the forest level. Results showed that human agency that led to the invasion of FPAs from the year 2000 onwards disrupted the governance arrangements that were previously in place subjecting Zimbabwe’s FPAs to near open access by local communities and other actors. The FPAs’ contemporary governance is characterized by involvement of multiple actors with diverse interests, lack of Forestry Commission legitimacy, very low levels of local people’s participation in decision making and rule enforcement, lack of compliance with FPA rules and actual benefits that do not match local communities’ expectations. Overall, the study has revealed the ineffectiveness of the conventional centralized FPA governance in achieving positive conservation and local communities’ livelihoods outcomes. The study recommended a shift from conventional centralized governance to pro-people adaptive collaborative management (ACM). This has the potential to address most of the governance ills affecting Zimbabwe’s FPAs if it is designed and implemented with the full commitment of all relevant actors. This governance approach should, however, avoid some of the pitfalls such as elite capture, corruption in benefit sharing, gender inequality and technocratic professional management approaches that have characterized some collaborative governance systems in developing countries further perpetuating marginalization and poverty amongst local communities. Forestry Commission must also exercise visionary leadership and motivation. ACM becomes possible through leadership, vision, establishment and maintenance of links through culture and management and high levels of motivation. Designing and implementing ACM avoiding the highlighted pitfalls improves the capacity of the FPAs to continue providing social and ecological benefits such as improvement of local communities’ livelihoods, biodiversity protection and climate change mitigation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Mutekwa, Vurayai
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7396 , vital:21254
- Description: Forest protected areas (FPAs) constitute one of the main strategies for achieving the triple benefits of biodiversity conservation, livelihoods sustenance and climate regulation. The quality of FPA governance plays a major role in the achievement of these conservation objectives. Governance encompasses policies, institutions, actors, processes and power and how they interplay to determine conservation outcomes. Currently, no research has systematically explored the historical and contemporary governance of Zimbabwe’s protected indigenous forests and its implications on forest condition and local communities’ livelihoods. This is despite the fact that improving forest governance depends on learning from those that prevailed in the past as well as those currently obtaining on the ground in terms of how they have performed in relation to conservation and livelihood sustenance. This study assessed Zimbabwe’s historical and contemporary FPA governance and its implications on social and ecological outcomes. The overall rationale of the study was to provide evidence of the impact of past governance arrangements on forest condition and local communities’ livelihoods, improve understanding of the current governance arrangements and propose future FPA governance strategies and mechanisms to enhance conservation and local communities’ livelihood outcomes. Accordingly, the specific objectives of the study were to: 1) characterize and collate historical governance of FPAs in western Zimbabwe, 2) evaluate the impact of governance on forest condition and local communities’ livelihoods, 3) explore the nature of contemporary governance at the forest level, and 4) propose the governance model for Zimbabwe’s FPAs into the future. The study employed a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods including the systematic literature review methodology. Using specific case studies of indigenous FPAs in western Zimbabwe as examples, the study initially evaluated through literature review (Chapter 2) the history of forest governance in Zimbabwe showing how four main powers (force, regulation, market and legitimation) led to different types of local community exclusion and how community agency countered exclusion especially from the year 2000 to date. Chapter 3 uses six case study forests to assess the quality of historical FPA governance by analyzing the application of seven governance principles. The results showed that the quality of governance was high during precolonial times, deteriorated with the inception of colonialism and remained poor after independence in 1980. Forest condition also varied in tandem with the quality of governance variations showing a positive relationship between the two variables. Participation in decision making, fairness in sharing benefits and effective rule enforcement emerged as key principles for FPA authorities to earn local community support and improve forest condition. Chapter 4 employed remote sensing techniques to determine the impact of governance on FPA land cover change by comparing FPAs with in situ and ex situ inhabitants. Results revealed that there was a significant relationship between governance quality and land cover change. FPAs with in situ inhabitants experienced higher forest loss than those with ex situ inhabitants. Poor governance accelerated forest conversion to other land uses particularly agriculture and settlement. Chapter 5 explored contemporary FPA governance at the forest level. Results showed that human agency that led to the invasion of FPAs from the year 2000 onwards disrupted the governance arrangements that were previously in place subjecting Zimbabwe’s FPAs to near open access by local communities and other actors. The FPAs’ contemporary governance is characterized by involvement of multiple actors with diverse interests, lack of Forestry Commission legitimacy, very low levels of local people’s participation in decision making and rule enforcement, lack of compliance with FPA rules and actual benefits that do not match local communities’ expectations. Overall, the study has revealed the ineffectiveness of the conventional centralized FPA governance in achieving positive conservation and local communities’ livelihoods outcomes. The study recommended a shift from conventional centralized governance to pro-people adaptive collaborative management (ACM). This has the potential to address most of the governance ills affecting Zimbabwe’s FPAs if it is designed and implemented with the full commitment of all relevant actors. This governance approach should, however, avoid some of the pitfalls such as elite capture, corruption in benefit sharing, gender inequality and technocratic professional management approaches that have characterized some collaborative governance systems in developing countries further perpetuating marginalization and poverty amongst local communities. Forestry Commission must also exercise visionary leadership and motivation. ACM becomes possible through leadership, vision, establishment and maintenance of links through culture and management and high levels of motivation. Designing and implementing ACM avoiding the highlighted pitfalls improves the capacity of the FPAs to continue providing social and ecological benefits such as improvement of local communities’ livelihoods, biodiversity protection and climate change mitigation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Vice-Chancellor's Welcome address to New Students and Parents 2017
- Authors: Mabizela, Sizwe
- Date: 2017-02
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:21304 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7823
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mabizela, Sizwe
- Date: 2017-02
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:21304 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7823
- Full Text:
An exploration of employee readiness for change at Walter Sisulu University
- Authors: Mpepo, Bulelwa N
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Walter Sisulu University for Technology & Science -- Employees -- Attitudes , Education, Higher -- South Africa -- Case studies , Educational change -- South Africa -- Case studies , Organizational change -- South Africa -- Case studies , Programme and qualification mix
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4455 , vital:20673
- Description: Higher education institutions are faced with pressure to change to meet academic as well as socio-economic needs. These changes are often aimed at achieving financial viability, increased institutional efficiency, and solving problems of fragmentation in the university. Universities can change in their structure, operations, systems, or and in the use or adoption of technology. The effective implementation and management of these requisite changes is the key challenge to organisations facing change. Walter Sisulu University, a comprehensive university in the Eastern Cape, has formulated a strategy to turn the university around. Included in the strategy is a project on the academic enterprise. The level of readiness for change is viewed to be a determining factor in making any change successful. Since readiness is not automatic, there is a need to prepare individuals to have a positive attitude towards the change and to embrace the proposed change initiative. This study is informed by the quest to know what will encourage and prepare employees for the implementation of the new Programme and Qualification Mix (PQM) at the University. The study therefore sought as its main purpose to explore factors influencing individual readiness for change in the PQM at Walter Sisulu University. A qualitative approach was adopted in the study. Models of change readiness were reviewed to identify themes that would be used to explore the levels of readiness amongst university academic employees who were to implement the new Programme and Qualification Mix. Documents were analysed to understand the change in PQM and face-to-face, semi-structured interviews held to solicit the views of academic employees regarding enablers or inhibiters of their readiness. Results highlighted the poor preparation of academic employees at Walter Sisulu University to support and implement the change. Key concerns of employees included dissatisfaction with the inadequate and inappropriate communication strategies, uncertainty about the suitability of the changed PQM, doubt regarding leadership support for change, as well as the perceived risk of the change. However, the main enablers were the comprehension by WSU employees of the need for a new PQM to address the poor alignment with university vision and HEQSF requirements, an appreciation of the lack of social relevance of the programmes, and confidence that they have the requisite skills and qualifications. The perceived benefits for the institution provided the needed spur for embracing the new PQM.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Mpepo, Bulelwa N
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Walter Sisulu University for Technology & Science -- Employees -- Attitudes , Education, Higher -- South Africa -- Case studies , Educational change -- South Africa -- Case studies , Organizational change -- South Africa -- Case studies , Programme and qualification mix
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4455 , vital:20673
- Description: Higher education institutions are faced with pressure to change to meet academic as well as socio-economic needs. These changes are often aimed at achieving financial viability, increased institutional efficiency, and solving problems of fragmentation in the university. Universities can change in their structure, operations, systems, or and in the use or adoption of technology. The effective implementation and management of these requisite changes is the key challenge to organisations facing change. Walter Sisulu University, a comprehensive university in the Eastern Cape, has formulated a strategy to turn the university around. Included in the strategy is a project on the academic enterprise. The level of readiness for change is viewed to be a determining factor in making any change successful. Since readiness is not automatic, there is a need to prepare individuals to have a positive attitude towards the change and to embrace the proposed change initiative. This study is informed by the quest to know what will encourage and prepare employees for the implementation of the new Programme and Qualification Mix (PQM) at the University. The study therefore sought as its main purpose to explore factors influencing individual readiness for change in the PQM at Walter Sisulu University. A qualitative approach was adopted in the study. Models of change readiness were reviewed to identify themes that would be used to explore the levels of readiness amongst university academic employees who were to implement the new Programme and Qualification Mix. Documents were analysed to understand the change in PQM and face-to-face, semi-structured interviews held to solicit the views of academic employees regarding enablers or inhibiters of their readiness. Results highlighted the poor preparation of academic employees at Walter Sisulu University to support and implement the change. Key concerns of employees included dissatisfaction with the inadequate and inappropriate communication strategies, uncertainty about the suitability of the changed PQM, doubt regarding leadership support for change, as well as the perceived risk of the change. However, the main enablers were the comprehension by WSU employees of the need for a new PQM to address the poor alignment with university vision and HEQSF requirements, an appreciation of the lack of social relevance of the programmes, and confidence that they have the requisite skills and qualifications. The perceived benefits for the institution provided the needed spur for embracing the new PQM.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
An exploration of the prior conceptual understanding of measurement of first year national certificate (vocational) Engineering students
- Authors: Vale, Pamela
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/8033 , vital:21337
- Description: Measurement is acknowledged to be a critical component in mathematics education and is particularly important for vocational Engineering students, for whom this is a key skill required in the workplace. The goal of this research was to explore the existing measurement conceptualisations of vocational Engineering students at the outset of their course, as evident in their engagement with mediated measurement tasks. The focus on students’ prior knowledge in measurement, was for the value that this awareness holds in understanding the learning needs of the students. Students participated in five measurement tasks. Four took the form of dynamically assessed task-based interviews, and the fifth was a written test assessing what they had learned during their Mathematics classes. Domains of measurement that were assessed in these tasks included length, area, surface area, volume and flow rate. The interviewer took the role of mediator and students were assessed according to the number of moments of mediation and the degree of mediation required to successfully complete the task. Students’ responsiveness to this mediation provided insight as to their conceptualisations of the measurements relevant to the task. This research was exploratory in nature and adopted an open and flexible approach to the data analysis. Critical incidents were identified and coded according to the mediation offered and the actions of the students during the measuring activity. This allowed patterns to emerge that revealed stable and emerging conceptualisations that related to embodied and symbolic aspects of measurement. Evidence was found that for many of these students the link between the embodied and symbolic aspects of the concept was broken. This insight allowed suggestions to be formulated about how better to facilitate these students’ learning of measurement.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Vale, Pamela
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/8033 , vital:21337
- Description: Measurement is acknowledged to be a critical component in mathematics education and is particularly important for vocational Engineering students, for whom this is a key skill required in the workplace. The goal of this research was to explore the existing measurement conceptualisations of vocational Engineering students at the outset of their course, as evident in their engagement with mediated measurement tasks. The focus on students’ prior knowledge in measurement, was for the value that this awareness holds in understanding the learning needs of the students. Students participated in five measurement tasks. Four took the form of dynamically assessed task-based interviews, and the fifth was a written test assessing what they had learned during their Mathematics classes. Domains of measurement that were assessed in these tasks included length, area, surface area, volume and flow rate. The interviewer took the role of mediator and students were assessed according to the number of moments of mediation and the degree of mediation required to successfully complete the task. Students’ responsiveness to this mediation provided insight as to their conceptualisations of the measurements relevant to the task. This research was exploratory in nature and adopted an open and flexible approach to the data analysis. Critical incidents were identified and coded according to the mediation offered and the actions of the students during the measuring activity. This allowed patterns to emerge that revealed stable and emerging conceptualisations that related to embodied and symbolic aspects of measurement. Evidence was found that for many of these students the link between the embodied and symbolic aspects of the concept was broken. This insight allowed suggestions to be formulated about how better to facilitate these students’ learning of measurement.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Biogeomorphic aspects of lichen colonisation in part of western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica
- Authors: Ayres, Gabrielle Alexzena
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Lichen communities -- Queen Maud Land , Lichens -- Ecology -- Queen Maud Land , Polar regions , Ecology -- Polar regions , Antarctica , Ecology -- Antarctica
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/19713 , vital:22477
- Description: Ice-free regions in Antarctica provide natural laboratories for investigating and modelling change in landscapes and ecosystems. The terrestrial ecosystems in western Dronning Maud Land are potentially critical to improve current understanding of polar ecosystems, however, they remain poorly represented and under-protected. Lichen habitats were used to elucidate geomorphic-biological feedbacks that shape the landscape’s topography and biodiversity, which in turn promote environmental heterogeneity. Environmental parameters acting on two landforms were measured to determine the colonisation and growth of lichens in niche habitats. The habitats were identified and characterised, and topographic heterogeneity was found to control lichen colonisation. Micro-topographical niches provide the most stable environments for colonisation, and are preferred habitats. Lichen-habitat interactions were species specific, and closely related to insolation and moisture availability. The bidirectional relationships between rock weathering and lichen colonisation was ascertained. Results showed that lichens are good indicators of landform heterogeneity, but also promote landform heterogeneity. Given the habitat preferences of specific lichen species, they provide proxy to evaluating environmental responses, especially environmental change. The findings of this research are to be used as baseline data for future studies exploring ecosystem development in emerging landforms.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Ayres, Gabrielle Alexzena
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Lichen communities -- Queen Maud Land , Lichens -- Ecology -- Queen Maud Land , Polar regions , Ecology -- Polar regions , Antarctica , Ecology -- Antarctica
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/19713 , vital:22477
- Description: Ice-free regions in Antarctica provide natural laboratories for investigating and modelling change in landscapes and ecosystems. The terrestrial ecosystems in western Dronning Maud Land are potentially critical to improve current understanding of polar ecosystems, however, they remain poorly represented and under-protected. Lichen habitats were used to elucidate geomorphic-biological feedbacks that shape the landscape’s topography and biodiversity, which in turn promote environmental heterogeneity. Environmental parameters acting on two landforms were measured to determine the colonisation and growth of lichens in niche habitats. The habitats were identified and characterised, and topographic heterogeneity was found to control lichen colonisation. Micro-topographical niches provide the most stable environments for colonisation, and are preferred habitats. Lichen-habitat interactions were species specific, and closely related to insolation and moisture availability. The bidirectional relationships between rock weathering and lichen colonisation was ascertained. Results showed that lichens are good indicators of landform heterogeneity, but also promote landform heterogeneity. Given the habitat preferences of specific lichen species, they provide proxy to evaluating environmental responses, especially environmental change. The findings of this research are to be used as baseline data for future studies exploring ecosystem development in emerging landforms.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Pushing the bounds of possibility: South African academics narrate their experiences of having agency to effect transformation
- Authors: Idahosa, Grace Ese-Osa
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Educational change -- South Africa , Higher education and state -- South Africa , Rhodes University
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5845 , vital:20981
- Description: Over 20 years after the first democratic elections, the institutional cultures and structures of many South African universities remain un-transformed; they are embedded with racist and sexist discourses and attitudes that allow for the marginalisation and exclusion of students and staff (Department of Education 2008; Soudien 2010; van Wyk and Alexander 2010; Akoojee and Nkomo 2007; Hemson and Singh 2010). In order to effect change, research has noted the importance of leadership and staff involvement in the transformation process (Van-Der Westhuizen 2006; Portnoi 2009; Niemann 2010; Viljoen and Rothmann 2002). These studies argue that both leaders and staff members must be interested, and actively involved in, the transformation process. This suggests that the extent to which leaders and individual staff members have agency to effect transformatory practices determines the success of transformation policies. But what motivates this interest in transformation? While a number of studies have focused on the imperative to transform, few studies have focused on the role of individual agency in the transformation process. After all the world and in some ways structural properties are given to us and at the same time ‘actively constituted by us’ (van Manen 1997, XI). Drawing on interviews with academic staff members at one university in South Africa, this study uses a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to understand the nature of having agency to enable transformation drawing on the experiences of academic staff members. In the context of studies on the agency- structure divide and the need for a structural and cultural change in universities in South Africa, the project aimed to find out how transformation happens, when it does happen. I was interested in how individual agents are able to use their agency to ensure transformation amid limiting and rigid structures and cultures in the university. Given the fact that structures are only revealed in human action, the individual experience of transformation at once gives insight into the dominant structures, the social context and how their capacity to act was deployed to enable a change in such structures - at least in their own experience and understanding. This may help our understanding of transformation and what is needed to effect the transformation of deeply embedded apartheid legacies in university structures and cultures. This study aimed to reveal moments at which individuals embedded in what have been identified as rigid structures and cultures perceive themselves as having had the agency to interrupt and transform them despite their rigid nature. The study was interested in what characterises these moments and what individual and institutional contexts make them more or less possible/likely.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Idahosa, Grace Ese-Osa
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Educational change -- South Africa , Higher education and state -- South Africa , Rhodes University
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5845 , vital:20981
- Description: Over 20 years after the first democratic elections, the institutional cultures and structures of many South African universities remain un-transformed; they are embedded with racist and sexist discourses and attitudes that allow for the marginalisation and exclusion of students and staff (Department of Education 2008; Soudien 2010; van Wyk and Alexander 2010; Akoojee and Nkomo 2007; Hemson and Singh 2010). In order to effect change, research has noted the importance of leadership and staff involvement in the transformation process (Van-Der Westhuizen 2006; Portnoi 2009; Niemann 2010; Viljoen and Rothmann 2002). These studies argue that both leaders and staff members must be interested, and actively involved in, the transformation process. This suggests that the extent to which leaders and individual staff members have agency to effect transformatory practices determines the success of transformation policies. But what motivates this interest in transformation? While a number of studies have focused on the imperative to transform, few studies have focused on the role of individual agency in the transformation process. After all the world and in some ways structural properties are given to us and at the same time ‘actively constituted by us’ (van Manen 1997, XI). Drawing on interviews with academic staff members at one university in South Africa, this study uses a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to understand the nature of having agency to enable transformation drawing on the experiences of academic staff members. In the context of studies on the agency- structure divide and the need for a structural and cultural change in universities in South Africa, the project aimed to find out how transformation happens, when it does happen. I was interested in how individual agents are able to use their agency to ensure transformation amid limiting and rigid structures and cultures in the university. Given the fact that structures are only revealed in human action, the individual experience of transformation at once gives insight into the dominant structures, the social context and how their capacity to act was deployed to enable a change in such structures - at least in their own experience and understanding. This may help our understanding of transformation and what is needed to effect the transformation of deeply embedded apartheid legacies in university structures and cultures. This study aimed to reveal moments at which individuals embedded in what have been identified as rigid structures and cultures perceive themselves as having had the agency to interrupt and transform them despite their rigid nature. The study was interested in what characterises these moments and what individual and institutional contexts make them more or less possible/likely.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017