Social change and shifting paradigms: the choice of healer among black South Africans in psychological counselling
- Authors: Johnson, Alexandra Blythe
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Healers -- South Africa , Psychotherapy Cross-cultural studies , Xhosa (African people) -- Psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2998 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002507 , Healers -- South Africa , Psychotherapy Cross-cultural studies , Xhosa (African people) -- Psychology
- Description: Social change in South Africa brings to light the multiplicity of world-views operating in our society, which individuals encountering a variety of social contexts are faced with. This raises questions about the choices black South Africans face in response to influences from Western and traditional African culture. This issue was approached through examining helpseeking choices made between different health care sectors that stem from different world-views. This would indicate whether individuals are drawing on a variety of belief systems. The sources of their beliefs are put into context by looking at the communities of practice that influence their local knowledge. Help-seeking is also influenced by the identities the individual may ascribe to, which are derived from the multiple positions held by them in different social contexts. In this research the use of health-care sectors by four black women attending psychotherapy is examined. Their use of these sectors reflects a potential multiplicity of world views. Semistructured interviews were conducted, focusing on participants' prior experience of different help options, and their current perceptions of traditional African healing and psychology. The texts were analysed using a qualitative hermeneutic method, the reading guide. Data was looked at through three main themes, the individual's relationship to the health care sectors, their knowledge of different world views, and the identities they adopted which may be influential in their choice of a healer. It was found that in two participants there was some movement away from traditional beliefs, with one rejecting the traditional healers who did not help her, once she has discovered therapy, and another identifying herself completely with Western medicine. In contrast, one participant illustrated a rediscovery of traditional healing, whilst still attending psychotherapy. This suggests that shifts in knowledge are not necessarily away from traditional beliefs. It was also found that the two participants who had experienced a broader variety of social contexts and identified with multiple belief systems, tended to use a variety of Western and traditional healing sources and selected the healing option they felt was most appropriate to a particular problem. It is argued therefore that having a variety of knowledge and beliefs places individuals in a more powerful position to determine their choice of action than those with a limited range of knowledge.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Johnson, Alexandra Blythe
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Healers -- South Africa , Psychotherapy Cross-cultural studies , Xhosa (African people) -- Psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2998 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002507 , Healers -- South Africa , Psychotherapy Cross-cultural studies , Xhosa (African people) -- Psychology
- Description: Social change in South Africa brings to light the multiplicity of world-views operating in our society, which individuals encountering a variety of social contexts are faced with. This raises questions about the choices black South Africans face in response to influences from Western and traditional African culture. This issue was approached through examining helpseeking choices made between different health care sectors that stem from different world-views. This would indicate whether individuals are drawing on a variety of belief systems. The sources of their beliefs are put into context by looking at the communities of practice that influence their local knowledge. Help-seeking is also influenced by the identities the individual may ascribe to, which are derived from the multiple positions held by them in different social contexts. In this research the use of health-care sectors by four black women attending psychotherapy is examined. Their use of these sectors reflects a potential multiplicity of world views. Semistructured interviews were conducted, focusing on participants' prior experience of different help options, and their current perceptions of traditional African healing and psychology. The texts were analysed using a qualitative hermeneutic method, the reading guide. Data was looked at through three main themes, the individual's relationship to the health care sectors, their knowledge of different world views, and the identities they adopted which may be influential in their choice of a healer. It was found that in two participants there was some movement away from traditional beliefs, with one rejecting the traditional healers who did not help her, once she has discovered therapy, and another identifying herself completely with Western medicine. In contrast, one participant illustrated a rediscovery of traditional healing, whilst still attending psychotherapy. This suggests that shifts in knowledge are not necessarily away from traditional beliefs. It was also found that the two participants who had experienced a broader variety of social contexts and identified with multiple belief systems, tended to use a variety of Western and traditional healing sources and selected the healing option they felt was most appropriate to a particular problem. It is argued therefore that having a variety of knowledge and beliefs places individuals in a more powerful position to determine their choice of action than those with a limited range of knowledge.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Southern African Development Community foreign policy behaviour: the case of trade with external actors
- Authors: Tebu, Perminus Waithaka
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Southern African Development Community , International trade , Africa, Southern -- Foreign relations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2834 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003044 , Southern African Development Community , International trade , Africa, Southern -- Foreign relations
- Description: This thesis is structured around two main and interwoven assumptions operating at two levels. On the one level the external dimension of security threat in Southern Africa is assumed to be the most critical factor for regional renewal and stability. It hinges on pertinent regional issues such as negative trade balances, economic dependence, poverty, unemployment, poor economic growth rates and so forth. The corollary of this assumption is that within the operative framework of SADC, Southern African states are assumed capable of effectively integrating their economies through trade and related arrangements with dominant external actors in the highly competitive global economy. The European Union (EU) and the United States (US) are used as the focal points for illumination. A structured interaction between SADC and the EU within a revised North-South framework of interaction is hypothesized and critically examined. On the other hand, SADC-US interactions are assessed within the context of the new US Africa policy. At another level, the assumption is also made that the post-apartheid democratic state possesses both the political will and the wherewithal to provide regiol].al Leadership. This latter assumption is put to test within the framework of South Africa's regional foreign policy. Adopting an explicit regional unit of analysis, the study utilizes international regime theory as the theoretical and conceptual point of departure. The realist conception of the international system and the underlying assumptions usually considered as obstacles to international cooperation are critically examined in the context of the post-Cold War expanded security agenda. Regime theory is used to provide insight on the motivations that lead states to cooperate in situations of mutual dilemma by institutionalizing patterns of interaction at the regional and international systemic levels. Interstate economic relations at these levels are explained as state actions that are influenced by certain norms and that such norm-governed behaviour is wholly consistent with the pursuit of national interest. Application of the theory explains why such foreign policy behaviour of states is particularly relevant in the post-Cold War era. The thesis has argued that SADC states are capable of conducting a coordinated trade foreign policy in which regional positions are elaborated and adopted. It is argued further that a regional capacity to institute trade and economic policies that reflect local circumstances (necessary for effective integration with the world economy) calls for strong regional developmental democracies in the tradition of social market economy. Regional leadership by South Africa is considered indispensable where Sbuth Africa must find a sustainable balance between its national and regional interests.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Tebu, Perminus Waithaka
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Southern African Development Community , International trade , Africa, Southern -- Foreign relations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2834 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003044 , Southern African Development Community , International trade , Africa, Southern -- Foreign relations
- Description: This thesis is structured around two main and interwoven assumptions operating at two levels. On the one level the external dimension of security threat in Southern Africa is assumed to be the most critical factor for regional renewal and stability. It hinges on pertinent regional issues such as negative trade balances, economic dependence, poverty, unemployment, poor economic growth rates and so forth. The corollary of this assumption is that within the operative framework of SADC, Southern African states are assumed capable of effectively integrating their economies through trade and related arrangements with dominant external actors in the highly competitive global economy. The European Union (EU) and the United States (US) are used as the focal points for illumination. A structured interaction between SADC and the EU within a revised North-South framework of interaction is hypothesized and critically examined. On the other hand, SADC-US interactions are assessed within the context of the new US Africa policy. At another level, the assumption is also made that the post-apartheid democratic state possesses both the political will and the wherewithal to provide regiol].al Leadership. This latter assumption is put to test within the framework of South Africa's regional foreign policy. Adopting an explicit regional unit of analysis, the study utilizes international regime theory as the theoretical and conceptual point of departure. The realist conception of the international system and the underlying assumptions usually considered as obstacles to international cooperation are critically examined in the context of the post-Cold War expanded security agenda. Regime theory is used to provide insight on the motivations that lead states to cooperate in situations of mutual dilemma by institutionalizing patterns of interaction at the regional and international systemic levels. Interstate economic relations at these levels are explained as state actions that are influenced by certain norms and that such norm-governed behaviour is wholly consistent with the pursuit of national interest. Application of the theory explains why such foreign policy behaviour of states is particularly relevant in the post-Cold War era. The thesis has argued that SADC states are capable of conducting a coordinated trade foreign policy in which regional positions are elaborated and adopted. It is argued further that a regional capacity to institute trade and economic policies that reflect local circumstances (necessary for effective integration with the world economy) calls for strong regional developmental democracies in the tradition of social market economy. Regional leadership by South Africa is considered indispensable where Sbuth Africa must find a sustainable balance between its national and regional interests.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Environmental youth clubs in Namibia : what role do, could or should they play in environmental education?
- Authors: Botma, Connie
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Environmental education -- Namibia Environmental education -- Study and teaching -- Namibia Youth -- Societies and clubs Youth -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1519 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003401
- Description: Although the existence of wildlife clubs in Africa dates back to the start of the environmental movement in the 1970s, youth involvement through environmental clubs only commenced in Namibia in 1992. I became involved with the clubs in 1995 when I was employed by the Rossing Foundation Environmental Education Project to encourage, support and coordinate environmental clubs in Namibia. During the last three years the number of Namibian clubs has increased from 20 to ±85, and they are now established in most geographical regions of the country. During my involvement with the clubs I became increasingly interested in the philosophical underpinnings of youth movements like clubs and started questioning what we could expect from the youth and what could be achieved through the clubs. One of my main concerns was whether youth could make a significant improvement to the quality of their lives and their environment through these clubs. The aim of my research was therefore to describe and reflect critically on the role of environmental youth clubs in environmental education in Namibia. My study was guided by a socially critical orientation which emphasises the construction of meaning through social dialogue and critical reflection. I chose an interpretative research strategy and generated data mainly through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, a focus-group discussion and a workshop. Due to the focus of the research I purposefully selected the sample of existing youth clubs to be included in the study. The iterative strategy of gathering and interpreting data in successive cycles allowed for continuous reflection throughout the research process. It also allowed me to identify key patterns and trends in analysing and interpreting the data. The study findings suggest that environmental clubs do playa role in learning about environmental issues; in developing personal and social identity, confidence and a sense of purpose in society; in establishing new and supportive relationships between teachers and learners and with other community resourde people; in creating opportunities and enabling exposure to diverse learning environments, options and alternatives; and ih fostering the orientation and skills needed to effect meaningful d1'inges in the environment. The findings also suggest that environmental clubs could make a significant contribution to environmental education, providing that they incorporate a socially critical orientation, gain greater recognition from significant adults and education officials, collaborate with other projects and organisations, and use guidelines of models such as the action research framework to ensure relevant and effective action projects. The main challenges to environmental clubs in Namibia include changing perceptions that youth do not have much to contribute; improving relationships between clubs, schools and communities; dealing with the tension between the possible disempowering effect of central control and the need for more formalised structures in order to gain official recognition; and developing strategies to ensure the clubs' sustainability in the future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Botma, Connie
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Environmental education -- Namibia Environmental education -- Study and teaching -- Namibia Youth -- Societies and clubs Youth -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1519 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003401
- Description: Although the existence of wildlife clubs in Africa dates back to the start of the environmental movement in the 1970s, youth involvement through environmental clubs only commenced in Namibia in 1992. I became involved with the clubs in 1995 when I was employed by the Rossing Foundation Environmental Education Project to encourage, support and coordinate environmental clubs in Namibia. During the last three years the number of Namibian clubs has increased from 20 to ±85, and they are now established in most geographical regions of the country. During my involvement with the clubs I became increasingly interested in the philosophical underpinnings of youth movements like clubs and started questioning what we could expect from the youth and what could be achieved through the clubs. One of my main concerns was whether youth could make a significant improvement to the quality of their lives and their environment through these clubs. The aim of my research was therefore to describe and reflect critically on the role of environmental youth clubs in environmental education in Namibia. My study was guided by a socially critical orientation which emphasises the construction of meaning through social dialogue and critical reflection. I chose an interpretative research strategy and generated data mainly through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, a focus-group discussion and a workshop. Due to the focus of the research I purposefully selected the sample of existing youth clubs to be included in the study. The iterative strategy of gathering and interpreting data in successive cycles allowed for continuous reflection throughout the research process. It also allowed me to identify key patterns and trends in analysing and interpreting the data. The study findings suggest that environmental clubs do playa role in learning about environmental issues; in developing personal and social identity, confidence and a sense of purpose in society; in establishing new and supportive relationships between teachers and learners and with other community resourde people; in creating opportunities and enabling exposure to diverse learning environments, options and alternatives; and ih fostering the orientation and skills needed to effect meaningful d1'inges in the environment. The findings also suggest that environmental clubs could make a significant contribution to environmental education, providing that they incorporate a socially critical orientation, gain greater recognition from significant adults and education officials, collaborate with other projects and organisations, and use guidelines of models such as the action research framework to ensure relevant and effective action projects. The main challenges to environmental clubs in Namibia include changing perceptions that youth do not have much to contribute; improving relationships between clubs, schools and communities; dealing with the tension between the possible disempowering effect of central control and the need for more formalised structures in order to gain official recognition; and developing strategies to ensure the clubs' sustainability in the future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
The geomorphological impacts of impoundments, with particular reference to tributary bar development on the Keiskamma River, Eastern Cape
- Authors: McGregor, Gillian Kathleen
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Rivers--South Africa--Regulation , Rivers--South Africa--Regulation--Environmental aspects , Rivers--South Africa--Eastern Cape , Geomorphology--South Africa--Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4835 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005510 , Rivers--South Africa--Regulation , Rivers--South Africa--Regulation--Environmental aspects , Rivers--South Africa--Eastern Cape , Geomorphology--South Africa--Eastern Cape
- Description: The primary aim of this research was to develop and test a conceptual model of the geomorphological impacts of river regulation, based on a review of relevant international literature. It was motivated by the fact that there is very little local information on the topic, and it was intended that the model might provide a starting point for assessing the impact of impoundments on South African river systems. At present most research in South Africa on the impact of impoundments is undertaken from an ecological perspective. In order to manage our water resources sustainably it is necessary to have a better understanding of our river systems. South Africa is characterised by a variable climatic regime and, in order to supply water to the various user sectors of the nation, dams have to be larger than elsewhere in the world, to trap most of the mean annual runoff and provide a reliable water store (Alexander, 1985). South African dams have been designed to reduce the variability of a naturally variable regime. The impact of flow regulation in dryland rivers has been described as 'ecologically catastrophic at every level.' It is therefore hardly surprising that the impact of these dams on the natural functioning of rivers is substantial. The conceptual model showed that there are many responses to river impoundment, which are varied and complex, both in time and space. Responses or secondary impacts depended on the nature and degree of the primary impact or process alteration, on the sediment and flow regime of the river. High flows were affected in all cases and low flows were affected in most cases. The simplest form of change was Petts' (1979) concept of 'accommodation' of the regulated flow within the existing channel form. More complex responses occUrred where the channel perimeter was unstable, or where tributaries introduced fresh sediment loads. The river could adjust its long profile, cross sectional area and substrate composition by aggradation or degradation. The conceptual model was used in the Building Block Methodology to predict impoundment impacts at Instream Flow Requirement workshops on the Berg, Komati and Bivane rivers. It was also used in assessing the impact of the Sandile Dam on the Keiskamma river. Tributary junctions were identified as likely sites of change, and the morphology of bars at these junctions was investigated. Due to the number of variables affecting the sediment and flow regime in the system, and due to the fact that the primary impacts were not substantial, it was not possible to come to any decisive conclusions. It would seem that the dam is well located in the catchment, and, because the water is not heavily utilised, the secondary impacts are not great. The conceptual model was found to be a useful basic tool which might contribute to a better understanding of our river systems, and ultimately to improved sustainable resource management.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: McGregor, Gillian Kathleen
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Rivers--South Africa--Regulation , Rivers--South Africa--Regulation--Environmental aspects , Rivers--South Africa--Eastern Cape , Geomorphology--South Africa--Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4835 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005510 , Rivers--South Africa--Regulation , Rivers--South Africa--Regulation--Environmental aspects , Rivers--South Africa--Eastern Cape , Geomorphology--South Africa--Eastern Cape
- Description: The primary aim of this research was to develop and test a conceptual model of the geomorphological impacts of river regulation, based on a review of relevant international literature. It was motivated by the fact that there is very little local information on the topic, and it was intended that the model might provide a starting point for assessing the impact of impoundments on South African river systems. At present most research in South Africa on the impact of impoundments is undertaken from an ecological perspective. In order to manage our water resources sustainably it is necessary to have a better understanding of our river systems. South Africa is characterised by a variable climatic regime and, in order to supply water to the various user sectors of the nation, dams have to be larger than elsewhere in the world, to trap most of the mean annual runoff and provide a reliable water store (Alexander, 1985). South African dams have been designed to reduce the variability of a naturally variable regime. The impact of flow regulation in dryland rivers has been described as 'ecologically catastrophic at every level.' It is therefore hardly surprising that the impact of these dams on the natural functioning of rivers is substantial. The conceptual model showed that there are many responses to river impoundment, which are varied and complex, both in time and space. Responses or secondary impacts depended on the nature and degree of the primary impact or process alteration, on the sediment and flow regime of the river. High flows were affected in all cases and low flows were affected in most cases. The simplest form of change was Petts' (1979) concept of 'accommodation' of the regulated flow within the existing channel form. More complex responses occUrred where the channel perimeter was unstable, or where tributaries introduced fresh sediment loads. The river could adjust its long profile, cross sectional area and substrate composition by aggradation or degradation. The conceptual model was used in the Building Block Methodology to predict impoundment impacts at Instream Flow Requirement workshops on the Berg, Komati and Bivane rivers. It was also used in assessing the impact of the Sandile Dam on the Keiskamma river. Tributary junctions were identified as likely sites of change, and the morphology of bars at these junctions was investigated. Due to the number of variables affecting the sediment and flow regime in the system, and due to the fact that the primary impacts were not substantial, it was not possible to come to any decisive conclusions. It would seem that the dam is well located in the catchment, and, because the water is not heavily utilised, the secondary impacts are not great. The conceptual model was found to be a useful basic tool which might contribute to a better understanding of our river systems, and ultimately to improved sustainable resource management.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Environmental art and its contribution to establishing an awareness of the sacred in nature
- Matthews, Elaine Katherine Simone
- Authors: Matthews, Elaine Katherine Simone
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Installations (Art) Art, Modern -- 20th century Nature (Aesthetics)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2413 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002209
- Description: The introduction establishes the goal of the research, which is to discover that art concerned with re-evaluating the relationship to the environment and spirituality can serve to connect people to one another, and to the environment. The context of the research is the contemporary ecological and spiritual crisis of the postmodern world. The background places the discussion within the contexts of modernism and postmodernism. The historical background focuses on the period from the 1960s to the present day. Land and Environmental artists who work in a manner that is conscious of environmental issues and who suggest a sacred and creative attitude to ecology are discussed. My own creative work which is a response to both ancient and contemporary sites as well as to contemporary theories of art and spirituality is discussed. The four projects, are discussed in chronological order, they are: Quest - A journey into Sacred Space; Gaika's Kop - Sacred Mountain; Labyrinth - Journeys to the Centre; and Transforming the Centre. The conclusion shows that the multi-faceted, intertextual and relativistic philosophy of postmodernism has brought about a significant change in the attitude of humanity towards the environment. Artists who reject the modernist aesthetic and philosophy are making art that emphasises relationship to, rather than separation from the natural world.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Matthews, Elaine Katherine Simone
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Installations (Art) Art, Modern -- 20th century Nature (Aesthetics)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2413 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002209
- Description: The introduction establishes the goal of the research, which is to discover that art concerned with re-evaluating the relationship to the environment and spirituality can serve to connect people to one another, and to the environment. The context of the research is the contemporary ecological and spiritual crisis of the postmodern world. The background places the discussion within the contexts of modernism and postmodernism. The historical background focuses on the period from the 1960s to the present day. Land and Environmental artists who work in a manner that is conscious of environmental issues and who suggest a sacred and creative attitude to ecology are discussed. My own creative work which is a response to both ancient and contemporary sites as well as to contemporary theories of art and spirituality is discussed. The four projects, are discussed in chronological order, they are: Quest - A journey into Sacred Space; Gaika's Kop - Sacred Mountain; Labyrinth - Journeys to the Centre; and Transforming the Centre. The conclusion shows that the multi-faceted, intertextual and relativistic philosophy of postmodernism has brought about a significant change in the attitude of humanity towards the environment. Artists who reject the modernist aesthetic and philosophy are making art that emphasises relationship to, rather than separation from the natural world.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
An investigation of learners' perceptions of homework in relation to the learning of mathematics : case studies in the northern townships of Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Wendt, Gabriele Erika
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Homework -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Case studies Education and state -- South Africa Education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1635 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003517
- Description: Matriculation pass rates in South Africa, especially in Mathematics, have been poor. The literature and personal experience suggests that a problem with homework may be a factor in this. In order to discover how Port Elizabeth learners from ex-DET schools perceived and experienced Mathematics homework, and the nature of such homework, ten case studies of Grade 11 learners were done. While conducting and analyzing the case studies, a pattern emerged from the findings, which together with some new questions, needed to be explored on a larger sample population. In order to do this and to be able to generalize the findings, four follow-up studies in the form of surveys on Mathematics homework were conducted at nine schools. These studies involved a learner questionnaire, a teacher questionnaire, the timing of learners as they did set Mathematical problems and the analysis of common errors made by the learners while doing the problems. The findings revealed that learners received too little homework too infrequently and did it inefficiently and ineffectively. The learners worked too slowly, did not complete the homework, left out the difficult problems and made numerous unnecessary mistakes. However, most of the learners claimed to have enough time available to do their homework and spent approximately one hour on Mathematics homework when it had been assigned. Many of the misconceptions and the resultant errors originated from work that should have been well covered in previous grades. However, parts of the syllabi were omitted in previous grades and completion of the syllabus and homework was only seriously considered in Grade 12. Some implications of the findings for educational practice and further research are discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Wendt, Gabriele Erika
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Homework -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Case studies Education and state -- South Africa Education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1635 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003517
- Description: Matriculation pass rates in South Africa, especially in Mathematics, have been poor. The literature and personal experience suggests that a problem with homework may be a factor in this. In order to discover how Port Elizabeth learners from ex-DET schools perceived and experienced Mathematics homework, and the nature of such homework, ten case studies of Grade 11 learners were done. While conducting and analyzing the case studies, a pattern emerged from the findings, which together with some new questions, needed to be explored on a larger sample population. In order to do this and to be able to generalize the findings, four follow-up studies in the form of surveys on Mathematics homework were conducted at nine schools. These studies involved a learner questionnaire, a teacher questionnaire, the timing of learners as they did set Mathematical problems and the analysis of common errors made by the learners while doing the problems. The findings revealed that learners received too little homework too infrequently and did it inefficiently and ineffectively. The learners worked too slowly, did not complete the homework, left out the difficult problems and made numerous unnecessary mistakes. However, most of the learners claimed to have enough time available to do their homework and spent approximately one hour on Mathematics homework when it had been assigned. Many of the misconceptions and the resultant errors originated from work that should have been well covered in previous grades. However, parts of the syllabi were omitted in previous grades and completion of the syllabus and homework was only seriously considered in Grade 12. Some implications of the findings for educational practice and further research are discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Constitutional frameworks and democratization in Africa since independence
- Authors: Neirynck, Karim
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Democracy -- Africa , Constitutions -- Africa , Africa -- Politics and government -- 1960-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2816 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003026 , Democracy -- Africa , Constitutions -- Africa , Africa -- Politics and government -- 1960-
- Description: The subject of this thesis is international studies, specifically a study of constitutional frameworks in Africa in the second half of the 20th century, focussing on a statistical correlation between constitutional frameworks, party systems, electoral systems and the Index of Democracy. The struggle to consolidate new democracies - especially those in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia - has given rise to a wide-ranging debate about the hard choices concerning democratic political institutions and political markets. According to Stepan and Skach " this literature has produced provocative hypotheses about the effects of institutions on democracy" (Stepan and Skach, 1993 : 1). It forms part of the' new institutionalism I literature in comparative politics that'holds as a premise that political democracy depends not only on economic and social conditions but also on the design of political institutions (Koelble, 1995 : 231-243). " One fundamental political-institutional question that has only received serious scholarly attention concerns the impact of different constitutional frameworks on democratic consolidation. Although the topic has been increasingly debated and discussed, little systematic cross-regional evidence [especially for our field of research: Africa] has been brought to bear on it " (Stepan and Skach, 1993 : 1-2). So far, only the book"on regime transitions in Africa written by Bratton and Van De Walle seeks to fill this empirical gap (Bratton and Van De Walle, 1997, preface xiii). In this thesis, we paid particular attention to the dichotomy between (pure) parliamentarism and (pure) presidentialism. Each type has fundamental characteristics, and for the purposes of classification these characteristics are necessary and sufficient. It was not our purpose to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of parliamentarism and presidentialism. Our intention was to report and analyse different sources of data, and we based our case exclusively on statistic correlatiohs between regime type and the record of democratic success and failure. We collected a data set about constitutional frameworks (matrix1), democracy indices (matrix2), party systems (matrix3) and election systems (matrix4). The basis for matrix 1 was the constitutions of the African countries (over time) and relevant literature. The basis for matrix 2 was the annual Freedom House ratings made by Raymond D. Gastil and others. The basis for matrix 3 and 4 was relevant literature. Once these matrices had been composed, we compared them and calculated statistic correlations. This long-dyration model allowed us to estimate whether African constitutional frameworks, party systems and electoral systems exhibit positive or negative correlation with the index of democracy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Neirynck, Karim
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Democracy -- Africa , Constitutions -- Africa , Africa -- Politics and government -- 1960-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2816 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003026 , Democracy -- Africa , Constitutions -- Africa , Africa -- Politics and government -- 1960-
- Description: The subject of this thesis is international studies, specifically a study of constitutional frameworks in Africa in the second half of the 20th century, focussing on a statistical correlation between constitutional frameworks, party systems, electoral systems and the Index of Democracy. The struggle to consolidate new democracies - especially those in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia - has given rise to a wide-ranging debate about the hard choices concerning democratic political institutions and political markets. According to Stepan and Skach " this literature has produced provocative hypotheses about the effects of institutions on democracy" (Stepan and Skach, 1993 : 1). It forms part of the' new institutionalism I literature in comparative politics that'holds as a premise that political democracy depends not only on economic and social conditions but also on the design of political institutions (Koelble, 1995 : 231-243). " One fundamental political-institutional question that has only received serious scholarly attention concerns the impact of different constitutional frameworks on democratic consolidation. Although the topic has been increasingly debated and discussed, little systematic cross-regional evidence [especially for our field of research: Africa] has been brought to bear on it " (Stepan and Skach, 1993 : 1-2). So far, only the book"on regime transitions in Africa written by Bratton and Van De Walle seeks to fill this empirical gap (Bratton and Van De Walle, 1997, preface xiii). In this thesis, we paid particular attention to the dichotomy between (pure) parliamentarism and (pure) presidentialism. Each type has fundamental characteristics, and for the purposes of classification these characteristics are necessary and sufficient. It was not our purpose to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of parliamentarism and presidentialism. Our intention was to report and analyse different sources of data, and we based our case exclusively on statistic correlatiohs between regime type and the record of democratic success and failure. We collected a data set about constitutional frameworks (matrix1), democracy indices (matrix2), party systems (matrix3) and election systems (matrix4). The basis for matrix 1 was the constitutions of the African countries (over time) and relevant literature. The basis for matrix 2 was the annual Freedom House ratings made by Raymond D. Gastil and others. The basis for matrix 3 and 4 was relevant literature. Once these matrices had been composed, we compared them and calculated statistic correlations. This long-dyration model allowed us to estimate whether African constitutional frameworks, party systems and electoral systems exhibit positive or negative correlation with the index of democracy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Geographically distributed requirements elicitation
- Authors: Vat, Nicholas
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Management information systems -- Management , Information resources management , System design , System analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1136 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002764 , Management information systems -- Management , Information resources management , System design , System analysis
- Description: The technology revolution has transformed the way in which many organisations do their business. The resultant information systems have increased the decision making powers of executives, leading to increased effectiveness and ultimately to improved product delivery. The process of information systems development is, however, complex. Furthermore, it has a poor track record in terms of on-time and within-budget delivery, but more significantly in terms of low user acceptance frequently attributable to poor user requirements specification. Consequently, much attention has been given to the process of requirements elicitation, with both researchers and businessmen seeking new, innovative and effective methods. These methods usually involve large numbers of participants who are drawn from within the client and developer organisations. This is a financially costly characteristic of the requirements elicitation process. Besides information systems, the technology revolution has also brought sophisticated communication technologies into the marketplace. These communication technologies allow people to communicate with one another in a variety of different time and space scenarios. An important spin-off of this is the ability for people located in significantly different geographical locations to work collaboratively on a project. It is claimed that this approach to work has significant cost and productivity advantages. This study draws the requirements elicitation process into the realm of collaborative work. Important project management, communication, and collaborative working principles are examined in detail, and a model is developed which represents these issues as they pertain to the requirements elicitation process. An empirical study (conducted in South Africa) is performed in order to examine the principles of the model and the relationships between its constituent elements. A model of geographically distributed requirements elicitation (GDRE) is developed on the basis of the findings of this investigation. The model of GDRE is presented as a 3-phased approach to requirements elicitation, namely planning, implementation, and termination. Significantly, the model suggests the use of interviews, structured workshops, and prototyping as the chief requirements elicitation methods to be adopted in appropriate conditions. Although a detailed study of communications technology was not performed, this thesis suggests that each individual GDRE implementation requires a different mix of communication technologies to support its implementation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Vat, Nicholas
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Management information systems -- Management , Information resources management , System design , System analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1136 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002764 , Management information systems -- Management , Information resources management , System design , System analysis
- Description: The technology revolution has transformed the way in which many organisations do their business. The resultant information systems have increased the decision making powers of executives, leading to increased effectiveness and ultimately to improved product delivery. The process of information systems development is, however, complex. Furthermore, it has a poor track record in terms of on-time and within-budget delivery, but more significantly in terms of low user acceptance frequently attributable to poor user requirements specification. Consequently, much attention has been given to the process of requirements elicitation, with both researchers and businessmen seeking new, innovative and effective methods. These methods usually involve large numbers of participants who are drawn from within the client and developer organisations. This is a financially costly characteristic of the requirements elicitation process. Besides information systems, the technology revolution has also brought sophisticated communication technologies into the marketplace. These communication technologies allow people to communicate with one another in a variety of different time and space scenarios. An important spin-off of this is the ability for people located in significantly different geographical locations to work collaboratively on a project. It is claimed that this approach to work has significant cost and productivity advantages. This study draws the requirements elicitation process into the realm of collaborative work. Important project management, communication, and collaborative working principles are examined in detail, and a model is developed which represents these issues as they pertain to the requirements elicitation process. An empirical study (conducted in South Africa) is performed in order to examine the principles of the model and the relationships between its constituent elements. A model of geographically distributed requirements elicitation (GDRE) is developed on the basis of the findings of this investigation. The model of GDRE is presented as a 3-phased approach to requirements elicitation, namely planning, implementation, and termination. Significantly, the model suggests the use of interviews, structured workshops, and prototyping as the chief requirements elicitation methods to be adopted in appropriate conditions. Although a detailed study of communications technology was not performed, this thesis suggests that each individual GDRE implementation requires a different mix of communication technologies to support its implementation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
The evolution of the Brosterlea Volcanic Complex, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Surtees, Grant Bradley
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Volcanism , Geology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Brosterlea Volcanic Complex , Geology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Flood basalts , Geology, Structural -- South Africa , Formations (Geology) -- South Africa , Geology, Structural -- Maps , Geological mapping
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4944 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005556 , Volcanism , Geology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Brosterlea Volcanic Complex , Geology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Flood basalts , Geology, Structural -- South Africa , Formations (Geology) -- South Africa , Geology, Structural -- Maps , Geological mapping
- Description: Detailed field mapping (Map, Appendix B) has been conducted in and around the boundaries of a 14x18km, volcanic complex 35km northeast of Molteno in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The structure is interpreted as a subsidence structure, and is filled with two volcaniclastic breccias, numerous lava flows, a number of sedimentary facies, and lies on a base of Clarens Formation overlying Elliot Formation rocks. This is an important study because 'widespread, voluminous fields of basaltic breccias are very rare (see Hanson and Elliot, 1996) and this is the first time that this type of volcanic complex and its deposits have been described. Detailed analyses of the two volcaniclastic breccias revealed changes in colour, clast types, clast sizes, and degree of alteration over relatively short distances both vertically and laterally within a single breccia unit. The variation in clast sizes implies a lack of sorting of the breccias. The lower of the two volcaniclastic breccias fills the subsidence structure, and outcrops between the Stormberg sedimentary sequence and the overlying Drakensberg basalts and was produced from phreatomagmatic eruptions signalling the start of the break-up of Gondwanaland in the mid-Jurassic. The upper volcaniclastic breccia is interbedded with the flood basalts and is separated from the lower breccia by up to 100m of lava flows in places, it is finer-grained than the lower volcaniclastic breccia, and it extends over 10km south, and over 100km north from the volcanic complex. The upper breccia is inferred to have been transported from outside the study area, from a source presumably similar to the subsidence structure in the volcanic complex. The pyroclastic material forming the upper breccia was transported to the subsidence structure as a laharic debris flow, based on its poorly sorted, unwelded and matrix-supported appearance. However, both breccias are unlikely to have been derived from epiclastic reworking of lava flows as they contain glass shards which are atypical of those derived from the autoclastic component of lava flows. The breccias are therefore not "secondary" lahars. There is also no evidence of any palaeotopographic highs from which the breccias could have been derived as gravity-driven flows. Based on the occurrence of three, 1m thick lacustrine deposits, localised peperite, fluvial reworking of sandstone and breccia in an outcrop to the south of the subsidence structure, and channel-lags encountered only in the upper units of the Clarens Formation and only within the subsidence structure, the palaeoenvironment inferred for the subsidence structure is one of wet sediment, possibly a shallow lake, in a topographic depression fed by small streams. Magmatic intrusions below the subsidence structure heated the water-laden, partly consolidated Clarens Formation sandstones, causing the circulation of pore fluid which resulted in the precipitation of minerals forming pisoliths in the sandstones. Intruding magma mixed, nonexplosively, with the wet, unconsolidated sediments near the base of the Clarens Formation (at approximately 100m below the surface), forming fluidal peperite by a process of sediment fluidisation where magma replaces wet sediment and cools slowly enough to prevent the magma fracturing brittly. Formation of fluidal peperite may have been a precursor to the development of FCIs (Fuel Coolant Interactions) (Busby-Spera and White, 1987). The breccias may represent the products of FCIs and may be the erupted equivalents of the peperites, suggesting a possible genetic link between the two. The peperites may have given way to FCI eruptions due to a number of factors including the drying out of the sediments and/or an increase in the volume of intruded magma below the subsidence structure which may have resulted in a more explosive interaction between sediment and magma. Phreatic activity fragmented and erupted the Clarens Formation sandstone, and stream flows reworked the angular sandstone fragments, pisoliths and sand grains into channelised deposits. With an increase in magmatic activity below the subsidence structure, phreatic activity became phreatomagmatic. The wet, partly consolidated Clarens Formation, and underlying, fully consolidated Elliot Formation sediments were erupted and fragmented. Clasts and individual grains of these sediments were redeposited with juvenile and non-juvenile basaltic material probably by a combination of back fall, where clasts erupted into the air fell directly back into the structure, and backflow where material was erupted out of the structure, but immediately flowed back in as lahars. This material formed the lower volcaniclastic breccia. A fault plane is identified along the southwestern margin of the subsidence structure, and is believed to continue up the western margin to the northwestern corner. A large dolerite body has intruded along the inferred fault plane on the western margin of the structure, and may be related to the formation of the lower volcaniclastic breccia, either directly through fluidisation of wet sediment during its intrusion, or as a dyke extending upwards from a network of sill-like intrusions below the subsidence structure. Geochemical analysis of the Drakensberg basalt lava flows by Mitchell (1980) and Masokwane (1997) revealed four distinct basalt types; the Moshesh's Ford, the Tafelkop, the Roodehoek, and the Vaalkop basalts. Basalt clasts sampled from the lower volcaniclastic breccia were shown to belong to the Moshesh's Ford basalt type which does not outcrop in situ within the subsidence structure. This implies that the Moshesh's Ford basalts were emplaced prior to the formation of the lower volcaniclastic breccia, and may have acted as a "cap-rock" over the system, allowing pressure from the vaporised fluids, heated by intruding basalt, to build up. The Moshesh's Ford basalt type was erupted prior to the resultant phreatomagmatic events forming the lower volcaniclastic breccia.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Surtees, Grant Bradley
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Volcanism , Geology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Brosterlea Volcanic Complex , Geology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Flood basalts , Geology, Structural -- South Africa , Formations (Geology) -- South Africa , Geology, Structural -- Maps , Geological mapping
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4944 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005556 , Volcanism , Geology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Brosterlea Volcanic Complex , Geology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Flood basalts , Geology, Structural -- South Africa , Formations (Geology) -- South Africa , Geology, Structural -- Maps , Geological mapping
- Description: Detailed field mapping (Map, Appendix B) has been conducted in and around the boundaries of a 14x18km, volcanic complex 35km northeast of Molteno in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The structure is interpreted as a subsidence structure, and is filled with two volcaniclastic breccias, numerous lava flows, a number of sedimentary facies, and lies on a base of Clarens Formation overlying Elliot Formation rocks. This is an important study because 'widespread, voluminous fields of basaltic breccias are very rare (see Hanson and Elliot, 1996) and this is the first time that this type of volcanic complex and its deposits have been described. Detailed analyses of the two volcaniclastic breccias revealed changes in colour, clast types, clast sizes, and degree of alteration over relatively short distances both vertically and laterally within a single breccia unit. The variation in clast sizes implies a lack of sorting of the breccias. The lower of the two volcaniclastic breccias fills the subsidence structure, and outcrops between the Stormberg sedimentary sequence and the overlying Drakensberg basalts and was produced from phreatomagmatic eruptions signalling the start of the break-up of Gondwanaland in the mid-Jurassic. The upper volcaniclastic breccia is interbedded with the flood basalts and is separated from the lower breccia by up to 100m of lava flows in places, it is finer-grained than the lower volcaniclastic breccia, and it extends over 10km south, and over 100km north from the volcanic complex. The upper breccia is inferred to have been transported from outside the study area, from a source presumably similar to the subsidence structure in the volcanic complex. The pyroclastic material forming the upper breccia was transported to the subsidence structure as a laharic debris flow, based on its poorly sorted, unwelded and matrix-supported appearance. However, both breccias are unlikely to have been derived from epiclastic reworking of lava flows as they contain glass shards which are atypical of those derived from the autoclastic component of lava flows. The breccias are therefore not "secondary" lahars. There is also no evidence of any palaeotopographic highs from which the breccias could have been derived as gravity-driven flows. Based on the occurrence of three, 1m thick lacustrine deposits, localised peperite, fluvial reworking of sandstone and breccia in an outcrop to the south of the subsidence structure, and channel-lags encountered only in the upper units of the Clarens Formation and only within the subsidence structure, the palaeoenvironment inferred for the subsidence structure is one of wet sediment, possibly a shallow lake, in a topographic depression fed by small streams. Magmatic intrusions below the subsidence structure heated the water-laden, partly consolidated Clarens Formation sandstones, causing the circulation of pore fluid which resulted in the precipitation of minerals forming pisoliths in the sandstones. Intruding magma mixed, nonexplosively, with the wet, unconsolidated sediments near the base of the Clarens Formation (at approximately 100m below the surface), forming fluidal peperite by a process of sediment fluidisation where magma replaces wet sediment and cools slowly enough to prevent the magma fracturing brittly. Formation of fluidal peperite may have been a precursor to the development of FCIs (Fuel Coolant Interactions) (Busby-Spera and White, 1987). The breccias may represent the products of FCIs and may be the erupted equivalents of the peperites, suggesting a possible genetic link between the two. The peperites may have given way to FCI eruptions due to a number of factors including the drying out of the sediments and/or an increase in the volume of intruded magma below the subsidence structure which may have resulted in a more explosive interaction between sediment and magma. Phreatic activity fragmented and erupted the Clarens Formation sandstone, and stream flows reworked the angular sandstone fragments, pisoliths and sand grains into channelised deposits. With an increase in magmatic activity below the subsidence structure, phreatic activity became phreatomagmatic. The wet, partly consolidated Clarens Formation, and underlying, fully consolidated Elliot Formation sediments were erupted and fragmented. Clasts and individual grains of these sediments were redeposited with juvenile and non-juvenile basaltic material probably by a combination of back fall, where clasts erupted into the air fell directly back into the structure, and backflow where material was erupted out of the structure, but immediately flowed back in as lahars. This material formed the lower volcaniclastic breccia. A fault plane is identified along the southwestern margin of the subsidence structure, and is believed to continue up the western margin to the northwestern corner. A large dolerite body has intruded along the inferred fault plane on the western margin of the structure, and may be related to the formation of the lower volcaniclastic breccia, either directly through fluidisation of wet sediment during its intrusion, or as a dyke extending upwards from a network of sill-like intrusions below the subsidence structure. Geochemical analysis of the Drakensberg basalt lava flows by Mitchell (1980) and Masokwane (1997) revealed four distinct basalt types; the Moshesh's Ford, the Tafelkop, the Roodehoek, and the Vaalkop basalts. Basalt clasts sampled from the lower volcaniclastic breccia were shown to belong to the Moshesh's Ford basalt type which does not outcrop in situ within the subsidence structure. This implies that the Moshesh's Ford basalts were emplaced prior to the formation of the lower volcaniclastic breccia, and may have acted as a "cap-rock" over the system, allowing pressure from the vaporised fluids, heated by intruding basalt, to build up. The Moshesh's Ford basalt type was erupted prior to the resultant phreatomagmatic events forming the lower volcaniclastic breccia.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Nyau masquerade performance : shifting the imperial gaze
- Authors: Guhrs, Tamara
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Masquerades -- Malawi , Masquerades -- Zambia , Malawi -- Religion , Zambia -- Religion , Masks, Chewa , Chewa (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Nyanja (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Secret societies -- Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2140 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002372 , Masquerades -- Malawi , Masquerades -- Zambia , Malawi -- Religion , Zambia -- Religion , Masks, Chewa , Chewa (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Nyanja (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Secret societies -- Africa
- Description: Nyau Masquerades have been studied by missionaries, anthropologists and religious specialists, but have seldom been documented by theatre and performance specialists. This dissertation argues for the acceptance of Ny au performance as a contemporary world theatre form rooted in tradition. Charting the uneasy relationship between the Nyau and those who have sought to record their performances, the author delineates a vivid dramaturgy of this art form. In doing so, the boundaries of what define theatre as it has traditionally been understood in dominant discourses are made more fluid. Nyau performances have been affected by Colonial processes in varied ways. They were banned by the former government of Northern Rhodesia and severely censored by Catholic Mission teachings in the former Nyasaland. Other forms of vilification have been more subtle. Information about performance in Africa has often been collected and arranged in ways which limit the understanding of these genres. Images of Africa which cluster around the notion of the 'Primitive Other' have enabled a representation of Ny au masking as a superstitious and outdated practice with no relevance for contemporary Africa. This work calls for a new examination of the Nyau, through the lens of local discourse as well as contemporary global understandings of performance. Chapter One examines the issue of primitivism and the ways in which Africa has historically been posited as the exotic Other to Europe. Chapter Two examines the Nyau ih terms of specific dramaturgical elements, adjusting previous misconceptions surrounding the theatr~ forms of Chewa and Nyanja people. Chapter Three is devoted to a discussion of space in ritual theatre and Nyau performance, while Chapter Four explores masking and questions of transformation and liminality. In conclusion, it is seen that the use of the mask is a metaphor for the suspension of rigid boundaries separating subject/object, self/other, ritual/theatre, a suspension which needs to take place before an enriched understanding of performance in Africa can be reached.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Guhrs, Tamara
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Masquerades -- Malawi , Masquerades -- Zambia , Malawi -- Religion , Zambia -- Religion , Masks, Chewa , Chewa (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Nyanja (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Secret societies -- Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2140 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002372 , Masquerades -- Malawi , Masquerades -- Zambia , Malawi -- Religion , Zambia -- Religion , Masks, Chewa , Chewa (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Nyanja (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Secret societies -- Africa
- Description: Nyau Masquerades have been studied by missionaries, anthropologists and religious specialists, but have seldom been documented by theatre and performance specialists. This dissertation argues for the acceptance of Ny au performance as a contemporary world theatre form rooted in tradition. Charting the uneasy relationship between the Nyau and those who have sought to record their performances, the author delineates a vivid dramaturgy of this art form. In doing so, the boundaries of what define theatre as it has traditionally been understood in dominant discourses are made more fluid. Nyau performances have been affected by Colonial processes in varied ways. They were banned by the former government of Northern Rhodesia and severely censored by Catholic Mission teachings in the former Nyasaland. Other forms of vilification have been more subtle. Information about performance in Africa has often been collected and arranged in ways which limit the understanding of these genres. Images of Africa which cluster around the notion of the 'Primitive Other' have enabled a representation of Ny au masking as a superstitious and outdated practice with no relevance for contemporary Africa. This work calls for a new examination of the Nyau, through the lens of local discourse as well as contemporary global understandings of performance. Chapter One examines the issue of primitivism and the ways in which Africa has historically been posited as the exotic Other to Europe. Chapter Two examines the Nyau ih terms of specific dramaturgical elements, adjusting previous misconceptions surrounding the theatr~ forms of Chewa and Nyanja people. Chapter Three is devoted to a discussion of space in ritual theatre and Nyau performance, while Chapter Four explores masking and questions of transformation and liminality. In conclusion, it is seen that the use of the mask is a metaphor for the suspension of rigid boundaries separating subject/object, self/other, ritual/theatre, a suspension which needs to take place before an enriched understanding of performance in Africa can be reached.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Therapists' constructs of healthy functioning as aspirational goal in transformative psychotherapy
- Authors: Steyn, Reinette
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Psychotherapy , Mental health -- South Africa , Mental health
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3064 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002573 , Psychotherapy , Mental health -- South Africa , Mental health
- Description: This dissertation reviews the ways in which psychotherapists working in relatively long-term 'transformational' therapies construct the outcome goals of their interventions. It is generally accepted that a therapist's beliefs about what constitutes mental health will influence the client, and will therefore facilitate a certain outcome accordingly. A problem in a long-term, 'non-directive' therapy is that the eventual outcome is not always visible in the interim development of the client or in the business of individual sessions. Without a clearly defined 'plan' or 'goal' there is a real danger of the intervention having opposite results to what would have been desirable, or no noticeably beneficial results, both of which can be an abuse of the client's investment and trust in the process. The absence of clearly constructed goals makes it difficult to assess efficacy of a therapeutic method used to attain an improved state of mental health that will be lasting, i.e. a positive 'transformation'; it also problematises comparisons across orientations. The identification of explicit goals is of special importance in a developing 'third-world' community like South Africa, where western ('European') concepts of mental health are being offered as an alternative to so-called 'indigenous healing' and where different cultural communities may have different expectations, needs or demands of their members 'in health'. Individual-based therapeutic orientations included in the research were psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapies, including object-relational therapies with various emphases and self psychology, as well as transformative types of hypnosis, Gestalt therapy, client-centred therapy and transactional analysis. Twenty of the semi-structured interviews with 52 therapists working in one or more of these areas were selected for construct analysis. Through analysis of the constructs of mental health as aspirational goal that emerged in therapists' talking about their experience of the process and the consequences of therapy observed in their patients, it appeared that there are generalisable constructs across various orientations in the transformative therapies. It is hoped that these constructs may serve as a foundation for further research in the problem areas indicated, but also that therapists working in the field may use this research not only as a basis for self-evaluation, but for adding to the constructs from their own experience, to the further enrichment of the whole field of work.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Steyn, Reinette
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Psychotherapy , Mental health -- South Africa , Mental health
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3064 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002573 , Psychotherapy , Mental health -- South Africa , Mental health
- Description: This dissertation reviews the ways in which psychotherapists working in relatively long-term 'transformational' therapies construct the outcome goals of their interventions. It is generally accepted that a therapist's beliefs about what constitutes mental health will influence the client, and will therefore facilitate a certain outcome accordingly. A problem in a long-term, 'non-directive' therapy is that the eventual outcome is not always visible in the interim development of the client or in the business of individual sessions. Without a clearly defined 'plan' or 'goal' there is a real danger of the intervention having opposite results to what would have been desirable, or no noticeably beneficial results, both of which can be an abuse of the client's investment and trust in the process. The absence of clearly constructed goals makes it difficult to assess efficacy of a therapeutic method used to attain an improved state of mental health that will be lasting, i.e. a positive 'transformation'; it also problematises comparisons across orientations. The identification of explicit goals is of special importance in a developing 'third-world' community like South Africa, where western ('European') concepts of mental health are being offered as an alternative to so-called 'indigenous healing' and where different cultural communities may have different expectations, needs or demands of their members 'in health'. Individual-based therapeutic orientations included in the research were psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapies, including object-relational therapies with various emphases and self psychology, as well as transformative types of hypnosis, Gestalt therapy, client-centred therapy and transactional analysis. Twenty of the semi-structured interviews with 52 therapists working in one or more of these areas were selected for construct analysis. Through analysis of the constructs of mental health as aspirational goal that emerged in therapists' talking about their experience of the process and the consequences of therapy observed in their patients, it appeared that there are generalisable constructs across various orientations in the transformative therapies. It is hoped that these constructs may serve as a foundation for further research in the problem areas indicated, but also that therapists working in the field may use this research not only as a basis for self-evaluation, but for adding to the constructs from their own experience, to the further enrichment of the whole field of work.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Aspects of the ecology and reproductive biology of the limpet, Helcion pruinosus (Gastropoda : prosobranchia)
- Authors: Henninger, Tony Oskar
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Prosobranchia , Limpets -- Reproduction , Limpets -- Ecology , Prosobranchia -- Ecology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5641 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005323 , Prosobranchia , Limpets -- Reproduction , Limpets -- Ecology , Prosobranchia -- Ecology
- Description: Helcion pruinosus, the rayed limpet, is found in the midshore region of the intertidal zone, (i.e. the Balanoid zone) of rocky shores, from Saldanha Bay to Sodwana Bay along the coast of South Africa. At Gonubie (32°57'S/25°01'E) this species of limpet was found under boulders, (when not feeding), and could reach average densities of 85/ m². The limpets prefer smooth boulders, avoiding those encrusted by coralline algae or boulders with a rough texture. There was no habitat segregation between adult and juvenile H. pruinosus, i.e. there was no sign of up-shore migration by larger individuals. Males out-numbered females by, on average 1.4 : 1, which was a similar sex ratio to that of the congeneric species, H. pectunculus (Gray, 996). Unlike H. pectunculus, there were no differences in shell lengths between males and females (p = 0.946 at Gonubie, south-east coast and p = 0.961 at Kommetjie, south-west coast; t-test). Shell height could also not be used as a criterion to differentiate between the sexes. The average maximum shell length of H. pruinosus at Gonubie and Kommetjie was 25 mm, but the maximum shell lengths found were 30 mm, (one individual in each case), on both the southeast coast and west coast. Growth occurred most rapidly in the first year of life, with individuals reaching 15 mm after 1 year. In the second year limpet growth slowed to only 7 mm. Sexual maturity was reached at a shell length of between 11 to 14 mm (at an age of 8 months to 1 year). The life-span of H. pruinosus was determined at 2.55 years on the south-east coast and 2.9 years on the south-west coast. Micro-growth bands were produced tidally. Growth occurred allometrically, i.e. shell length increased at a faster rate than shell height. The limpets foraged during low tide, at night, presumably feeding on epilithic algae on the boulders. A second smaller peak of limpet activity was often recorded during the day, when low tide coincided with dawn). More limpets (up to ten times more) were active at spring tides compared to neap tides. Limpet activity was greatest during the spring tides of autumn. During all seasons limpet activity peaked 30 minutes before low water, after which numbers decreased rapidly. All limpets had retreated beneath the boulders before being covered by the flooding tide. It was concluded that the limpets were responding to both endogenous and exogenous cues, but the actual stimulus for retreat could not be determined. The limpets did not return to a fixed scar nor did they return rigidly to a home site. H. pruinosus was found to be gonochoristic. Sexes could be separated, on dissection, according to the colour of their gonads (males had white gonads, whilst that of the females was olive-green). Gonads were present throughout the year in most individuals, i.e. totally spent animals were never observed. Reproductive seasonality was similar in west coast and south-east coast animals. The gonad indices of the west coast limpets were higher, (maximum of 35%), compared to that on the southeast coast, (25%). The animals were probably trickle spawners, with some individuals liberating gametes throughout the year. There was however synchrony in gametogenesis between male and female limpets on both the west coast and south-east coast lines. Gonad indices peaked in the summer months (October to December) with a second minor peak in April/May. These peaks occurred before the release of the gametes in spawning events. The gonad index was lowest in winter, (July). The ovaries were full of mature eggs (oocytes having a diameter of 200 to 250 ~) prior to spawning. The acinal wall thickness had been decreasing prior to spawning. After spawning there was an increase in previtellogenic eggs « 100 μm) in females, and an increase in the acinal wall thickness to indicate spermatogenesis. The two populations are subjected to different environmental conditions and the actual cue for stimulating the release of gametes could not be determined. Finally, a table of differences between H pruinosus and its sister species, H pectunculus was created to show the life-style of H pruinosus.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Henninger, Tony Oskar
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Prosobranchia , Limpets -- Reproduction , Limpets -- Ecology , Prosobranchia -- Ecology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5641 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005323 , Prosobranchia , Limpets -- Reproduction , Limpets -- Ecology , Prosobranchia -- Ecology
- Description: Helcion pruinosus, the rayed limpet, is found in the midshore region of the intertidal zone, (i.e. the Balanoid zone) of rocky shores, from Saldanha Bay to Sodwana Bay along the coast of South Africa. At Gonubie (32°57'S/25°01'E) this species of limpet was found under boulders, (when not feeding), and could reach average densities of 85/ m². The limpets prefer smooth boulders, avoiding those encrusted by coralline algae or boulders with a rough texture. There was no habitat segregation between adult and juvenile H. pruinosus, i.e. there was no sign of up-shore migration by larger individuals. Males out-numbered females by, on average 1.4 : 1, which was a similar sex ratio to that of the congeneric species, H. pectunculus (Gray, 996). Unlike H. pectunculus, there were no differences in shell lengths between males and females (p = 0.946 at Gonubie, south-east coast and p = 0.961 at Kommetjie, south-west coast; t-test). Shell height could also not be used as a criterion to differentiate between the sexes. The average maximum shell length of H. pruinosus at Gonubie and Kommetjie was 25 mm, but the maximum shell lengths found were 30 mm, (one individual in each case), on both the southeast coast and west coast. Growth occurred most rapidly in the first year of life, with individuals reaching 15 mm after 1 year. In the second year limpet growth slowed to only 7 mm. Sexual maturity was reached at a shell length of between 11 to 14 mm (at an age of 8 months to 1 year). The life-span of H. pruinosus was determined at 2.55 years on the south-east coast and 2.9 years on the south-west coast. Micro-growth bands were produced tidally. Growth occurred allometrically, i.e. shell length increased at a faster rate than shell height. The limpets foraged during low tide, at night, presumably feeding on epilithic algae on the boulders. A second smaller peak of limpet activity was often recorded during the day, when low tide coincided with dawn). More limpets (up to ten times more) were active at spring tides compared to neap tides. Limpet activity was greatest during the spring tides of autumn. During all seasons limpet activity peaked 30 minutes before low water, after which numbers decreased rapidly. All limpets had retreated beneath the boulders before being covered by the flooding tide. It was concluded that the limpets were responding to both endogenous and exogenous cues, but the actual stimulus for retreat could not be determined. The limpets did not return to a fixed scar nor did they return rigidly to a home site. H. pruinosus was found to be gonochoristic. Sexes could be separated, on dissection, according to the colour of their gonads (males had white gonads, whilst that of the females was olive-green). Gonads were present throughout the year in most individuals, i.e. totally spent animals were never observed. Reproductive seasonality was similar in west coast and south-east coast animals. The gonad indices of the west coast limpets were higher, (maximum of 35%), compared to that on the southeast coast, (25%). The animals were probably trickle spawners, with some individuals liberating gametes throughout the year. There was however synchrony in gametogenesis between male and female limpets on both the west coast and south-east coast lines. Gonad indices peaked in the summer months (October to December) with a second minor peak in April/May. These peaks occurred before the release of the gametes in spawning events. The gonad index was lowest in winter, (July). The ovaries were full of mature eggs (oocytes having a diameter of 200 to 250 ~) prior to spawning. The acinal wall thickness had been decreasing prior to spawning. After spawning there was an increase in previtellogenic eggs « 100 μm) in females, and an increase in the acinal wall thickness to indicate spermatogenesis. The two populations are subjected to different environmental conditions and the actual cue for stimulating the release of gametes could not be determined. Finally, a table of differences between H pruinosus and its sister species, H pectunculus was created to show the life-style of H pruinosus.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Female school principals=perceptions of leadership in a male dominated education environment
- Authors: Mwingi, Mweru P
- Date: 2000
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/326 , vital:19948
- Description: Many well-known studies on leadership have ignored the perspective of women yet bear an emphasis on the importance of portraying leadership in its entirety. This would mean that all leadership perspectives are included and that leaders are allowed to speak for themselves and about themselves. It is this connection I have sought to establish how women perceive leadership by relating the experiences of four women in school principalship. I have used a factual questionnaire to establish the background of each one but, it is the in-depth interviews that yield the leadership perceptions. Borrowing from phenomenological procedures, the leadership experiences are related as Natural Meaning Units (NMUS) whereby all prior knowledge and possible bias are bracketed out. Reinforced by their journal entries, it is only the voice of the women that is heard. My study reinforces the observation of researchers and feminist scholars that women leaders are not only marginalised but also viewed from a perspective that is not their own. From the study, however, the one element about leadership that emerges as unique is the functioning of transformational leadership elements among women leaders in educational set-ups that are inherently traditional, bureaucratic and hierarchical. This is significant because there is an indication that women leaders are inclined to transformational leadership because it favours their feminine qualities. There is also evidence that school principals can embrace leadership diversity and finally, that leadership and the structures of leadership operation are not developed from without but from within the person of the leader and this is an incorporation of their vision and beliefs. In the context of South Africa, this study should be of potential significance because of the change that is taking place in the development and training of school principals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Mwingi, Mweru P
- Date: 2000
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/326 , vital:19948
- Description: Many well-known studies on leadership have ignored the perspective of women yet bear an emphasis on the importance of portraying leadership in its entirety. This would mean that all leadership perspectives are included and that leaders are allowed to speak for themselves and about themselves. It is this connection I have sought to establish how women perceive leadership by relating the experiences of four women in school principalship. I have used a factual questionnaire to establish the background of each one but, it is the in-depth interviews that yield the leadership perceptions. Borrowing from phenomenological procedures, the leadership experiences are related as Natural Meaning Units (NMUS) whereby all prior knowledge and possible bias are bracketed out. Reinforced by their journal entries, it is only the voice of the women that is heard. My study reinforces the observation of researchers and feminist scholars that women leaders are not only marginalised but also viewed from a perspective that is not their own. From the study, however, the one element about leadership that emerges as unique is the functioning of transformational leadership elements among women leaders in educational set-ups that are inherently traditional, bureaucratic and hierarchical. This is significant because there is an indication that women leaders are inclined to transformational leadership because it favours their feminine qualities. There is also evidence that school principals can embrace leadership diversity and finally, that leadership and the structures of leadership operation are not developed from without but from within the person of the leader and this is an incorporation of their vision and beliefs. In the context of South Africa, this study should be of potential significance because of the change that is taking place in the development and training of school principals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Road culture : an investigation of the road as a means of mental and physical exploration
- Authors: Meistre, Brent Arthur
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Roads in art , Travel in art , Travel -- Psychological aspects , Travelers -- Psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2414 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002210 , Roads in art , Travel in art , Travel -- Psychological aspects , Travelers -- Psychology
- Description: Chapter one considers various manifestations of the concept of ‘journey’ and how they have changed over history. The Odyssean journey that the hero undertakes to reach a point of self-realisation is investigated. This leads to a other discussion of types of journeys such as pilgrimages, as well as ‘wandering’. These are contrasted with the twentieth century perceptions of journey. Questions of travel are then dealt with: how the nature of the traveller's path has changed over the centuries, various points of travel and gender, and how in the last century solitary travel has been transformed into mass tourism. The second chapter deals specifically with the motorcar, the mobility it enables and how it has led to the rise of a roadside culture. Different factors that influenced the rise of the motorcar are looked at. The motorcar as a cell and eroticism and the car are also investigated. The twentieth century city, it's restructuring, as well as the highway systems is discussed. In Chapter Three, the sense of freedom that the motorcar created is considered in particular reference to escape, aimlessness, and road weariness, as well as the landscape as a symbol of freedom. This leads to a discussion on the notion of speed, the sense of power and the romanticisation of death in car crashes. Chapter Four investigates masculinity and the road. The frontier as a place in the psyche of the male is also dealt with. The road as a means of testing and regaining masculinity in the mid-twentieth century is considered. Issues of the male domination of the land and the feminine are discussed, with the chapter ending with a brief examination of the woman as traveller. Lastly the masters’ submission exhibition, entitled RODE is discussed with direct reference to the theories investigated in the previous chapters. Individual works as well as the methodology are looked at closely.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Meistre, Brent Arthur
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Roads in art , Travel in art , Travel -- Psychological aspects , Travelers -- Psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2414 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002210 , Roads in art , Travel in art , Travel -- Psychological aspects , Travelers -- Psychology
- Description: Chapter one considers various manifestations of the concept of ‘journey’ and how they have changed over history. The Odyssean journey that the hero undertakes to reach a point of self-realisation is investigated. This leads to a other discussion of types of journeys such as pilgrimages, as well as ‘wandering’. These are contrasted with the twentieth century perceptions of journey. Questions of travel are then dealt with: how the nature of the traveller's path has changed over the centuries, various points of travel and gender, and how in the last century solitary travel has been transformed into mass tourism. The second chapter deals specifically with the motorcar, the mobility it enables and how it has led to the rise of a roadside culture. Different factors that influenced the rise of the motorcar are looked at. The motorcar as a cell and eroticism and the car are also investigated. The twentieth century city, it's restructuring, as well as the highway systems is discussed. In Chapter Three, the sense of freedom that the motorcar created is considered in particular reference to escape, aimlessness, and road weariness, as well as the landscape as a symbol of freedom. This leads to a discussion on the notion of speed, the sense of power and the romanticisation of death in car crashes. Chapter Four investigates masculinity and the road. The frontier as a place in the psyche of the male is also dealt with. The road as a means of testing and regaining masculinity in the mid-twentieth century is considered. Issues of the male domination of the land and the feminine are discussed, with the chapter ending with a brief examination of the woman as traveller. Lastly the masters’ submission exhibition, entitled RODE is discussed with direct reference to the theories investigated in the previous chapters. Individual works as well as the methodology are looked at closely.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
The nature and control of organic compounds in soda ash evaporate production
- Masemola, Patricia Mmoniemang
- Authors: Masemola, Patricia Mmoniemang
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Organic compounds , Biotic communities , Sua Pan Soda Ash Project -- Botswana
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3902 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003961 , Organic compounds , Biotic communities , Sua Pan Soda Ash Project -- Botswana
- Description: Solar evaporite systems are man-managed ecosystems which are highly vulnerable to biological,physical and chemical disturbances. The problems encountered in such systems are in many cases found to be associated with the microbial ecology and the design of the system. This project focussed on investigating the nature of organic compounds contaminating soda ash produced at a solar evaporite production system located at Sua Pan in Botswana. Several years after the plant was commissioned, problems, including accumulation of total organic carbon (TOC) and discolouration of the soda ash product were encountered. The salt produced also retained high moisture content and was coloured pink. These phenomena impacted severely on the economic performance of the enterprise. This study was aimed at determining the origin and fate of these organic compounds within the system in order to elucidate the nature of the problem and also to conceptualise a remediation strategy suitable to reducing its impact. This was achieved by analysis of both dialysed and solvent extracts of the influent brine (well-brine), brine in the ponds (T-brine) and the bicarbonate filter cake. Although complete identification of the organic compounds isolated was not undertaken in this study, spectroscopic analysis of compounds isolated, by UV, IR, NMR and MS, strongly indicated that fulvic acids, a component of the influent well-brine organics, contribute to the organic contamination of the final product. Part of this component, however, is degraded during the ponding process. It was shown that an extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) produced by Dunaliella. spp., which proliferates in the evaporation ponds, contributes in a major way to the accumulation of TOC in the system. This was demonstrated by relating the sugar profile of carbohydrates isolated from the pond brine and final product, being arabinose, xylose, 2-o-methyl hexose, mannose, glucose and galactose. Studies reported show that EPS production was enhanced when algal cultures were exposed to stress conditions of high illumination, increasing salinity and temperature, and nitrogen limitation. Studies undertaken for the development of a remediation process for this system have shown that nutrient stripping and bacterial systems could be applied to deal with the dissolved TOC fraction, whereas adsorption systems could deal with the particulate fractions. Algal systems showed most potential for the removal of nutrients in the influent well-brine compared to chemical processes.Complete removal of ammonium and phosphorus removal efficiencies of pproximately 50% were achieved in an unoptimised pilot-scale Dunaliella-based HRAP. While similar effects were demonstrated for chemical processes, some economic constraints were noted. The potential of halophilic bacterial systems for the degradation of organic compounds in brine was also demonstrated. The limitations on the performance of such systems, associated with the low metabolic diversity, and poor immobilisation of physico-chemical processes were found to have a very low impact on the dissolved TOC fraction of the brine, the removal of the particulate material was found to result in a 35% TOC reduction in the final soda ash product and the production of a white final product.halobacteria, however, were noted. Although physico-chemical processes were found to have a very low impact on the dissolved TOC fraction of the brine, the removal of the particulate material was found to result in a 35% TOC reduction in the final soda ash product and the production of a white final product. Apart from a description of the microbial ecology of the ponds and the identification of major contributions to the TOC of the final product, a number of remediation strategies were evaluated and are described. These include chemical and biological stripping of nutrients sustaining microbial TOC production in the ponds, and also biological and physico-chemical processes for their removal once formed. Future studies to undertake the further development of these proposals has been described
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Masemola, Patricia Mmoniemang
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Organic compounds , Biotic communities , Sua Pan Soda Ash Project -- Botswana
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3902 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003961 , Organic compounds , Biotic communities , Sua Pan Soda Ash Project -- Botswana
- Description: Solar evaporite systems are man-managed ecosystems which are highly vulnerable to biological,physical and chemical disturbances. The problems encountered in such systems are in many cases found to be associated with the microbial ecology and the design of the system. This project focussed on investigating the nature of organic compounds contaminating soda ash produced at a solar evaporite production system located at Sua Pan in Botswana. Several years after the plant was commissioned, problems, including accumulation of total organic carbon (TOC) and discolouration of the soda ash product were encountered. The salt produced also retained high moisture content and was coloured pink. These phenomena impacted severely on the economic performance of the enterprise. This study was aimed at determining the origin and fate of these organic compounds within the system in order to elucidate the nature of the problem and also to conceptualise a remediation strategy suitable to reducing its impact. This was achieved by analysis of both dialysed and solvent extracts of the influent brine (well-brine), brine in the ponds (T-brine) and the bicarbonate filter cake. Although complete identification of the organic compounds isolated was not undertaken in this study, spectroscopic analysis of compounds isolated, by UV, IR, NMR and MS, strongly indicated that fulvic acids, a component of the influent well-brine organics, contribute to the organic contamination of the final product. Part of this component, however, is degraded during the ponding process. It was shown that an extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) produced by Dunaliella. spp., which proliferates in the evaporation ponds, contributes in a major way to the accumulation of TOC in the system. This was demonstrated by relating the sugar profile of carbohydrates isolated from the pond brine and final product, being arabinose, xylose, 2-o-methyl hexose, mannose, glucose and galactose. Studies reported show that EPS production was enhanced when algal cultures were exposed to stress conditions of high illumination, increasing salinity and temperature, and nitrogen limitation. Studies undertaken for the development of a remediation process for this system have shown that nutrient stripping and bacterial systems could be applied to deal with the dissolved TOC fraction, whereas adsorption systems could deal with the particulate fractions. Algal systems showed most potential for the removal of nutrients in the influent well-brine compared to chemical processes.Complete removal of ammonium and phosphorus removal efficiencies of pproximately 50% were achieved in an unoptimised pilot-scale Dunaliella-based HRAP. While similar effects were demonstrated for chemical processes, some economic constraints were noted. The potential of halophilic bacterial systems for the degradation of organic compounds in brine was also demonstrated. The limitations on the performance of such systems, associated with the low metabolic diversity, and poor immobilisation of physico-chemical processes were found to have a very low impact on the dissolved TOC fraction of the brine, the removal of the particulate material was found to result in a 35% TOC reduction in the final soda ash product and the production of a white final product.halobacteria, however, were noted. Although physico-chemical processes were found to have a very low impact on the dissolved TOC fraction of the brine, the removal of the particulate material was found to result in a 35% TOC reduction in the final soda ash product and the production of a white final product. Apart from a description of the microbial ecology of the ponds and the identification of major contributions to the TOC of the final product, a number of remediation strategies were evaluated and are described. These include chemical and biological stripping of nutrients sustaining microbial TOC production in the ponds, and also biological and physico-chemical processes for their removal once formed. Future studies to undertake the further development of these proposals has been described
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Towards an understanding of the role of commercialisation in programming at the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation from 1995 to 1998 : a case study
- Chikunkhuzeni, Francis Chim'ndomo
- Authors: Chikunkhuzeni, Francis Chim'ndomo
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Malawi Broadcasting Corporation , Broadcasting -- Malawi , Public broadcasting -- Malawi , Broadcasting policy -- Malawi , Broadcast advertising -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3422 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002875 , Malawi Broadcasting Corporation , Broadcasting -- Malawi , Public broadcasting -- Malawi , Broadcasting policy -- Malawi , Broadcast advertising -- Malawi
- Description: Competition in many market-driven media systems in advanced industrial countries can sometimes compromise traditional public service broadcast values such as programming for diversity, citizenship, minority interests and national identity. This study investigates the presence and effects of commercial-logic in a state-owned broadcaster in a developing country: the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation. Using indepth interviews and analysis of records on finance and programme schedules, the study finds overwhelming indicators of the presence of commercial logic, not driven by competition, but a commitment to provide a public service under deteriorating financial conditions. Distinguishing between the impacts of advertising and sponsorship markets on media output, the study finds contradictory effects of commercialisation. Some effects confirm some of the adverse effects of commercialisation such as heavy sponsorinfluence on programme content, self-censorship among programme producers who avoid injuring sponsors and producers paying more attention to sponsored programmes at the expense ofthe quality of some non-sponsored public service programmes. However, effects are not always contrary to public service broadcasting but may Indeed reinforce such broadcasting. Commercialisation in some instances has led to the sustenance of a range of non-sponsored public service programmes including programmes to promote culture and civic rights. In general, this study highlights the need to focus on what is realistically possible within the dynamics of the Malawi Society as a precondition for a proactive and elaborate strategy for commercialisation ofthe country's public broadcaster.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Chikunkhuzeni, Francis Chim'ndomo
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Malawi Broadcasting Corporation , Broadcasting -- Malawi , Public broadcasting -- Malawi , Broadcasting policy -- Malawi , Broadcast advertising -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3422 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002875 , Malawi Broadcasting Corporation , Broadcasting -- Malawi , Public broadcasting -- Malawi , Broadcasting policy -- Malawi , Broadcast advertising -- Malawi
- Description: Competition in many market-driven media systems in advanced industrial countries can sometimes compromise traditional public service broadcast values such as programming for diversity, citizenship, minority interests and national identity. This study investigates the presence and effects of commercial-logic in a state-owned broadcaster in a developing country: the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation. Using indepth interviews and analysis of records on finance and programme schedules, the study finds overwhelming indicators of the presence of commercial logic, not driven by competition, but a commitment to provide a public service under deteriorating financial conditions. Distinguishing between the impacts of advertising and sponsorship markets on media output, the study finds contradictory effects of commercialisation. Some effects confirm some of the adverse effects of commercialisation such as heavy sponsorinfluence on programme content, self-censorship among programme producers who avoid injuring sponsors and producers paying more attention to sponsored programmes at the expense ofthe quality of some non-sponsored public service programmes. However, effects are not always contrary to public service broadcasting but may Indeed reinforce such broadcasting. Commercialisation in some instances has led to the sustenance of a range of non-sponsored public service programmes including programmes to promote culture and civic rights. In general, this study highlights the need to focus on what is realistically possible within the dynamics of the Malawi Society as a precondition for a proactive and elaborate strategy for commercialisation ofthe country's public broadcaster.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
The protein requirements of the South African abalone, Haliotis midae
- Authors: Shipton, Thomas A
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Abalones -- Nutrition Abalones -- Digestion
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5314 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005159
- Description: The potential to reduce feed formulation costs by the replacement of existing proteinsources in artificial feeds for Haliotis midae was assessed. A comparison between the efficacy of the direct method and chromic oxide marker techniques in determining apparent protein digestibility coefficients, revealed that while the former was not a suitable methodology for use with this species, the latter produced replicable and reliable results. It was established that the chromic oxide marker is inert, is not absorbed by the abalone, does not interfere with the digestive processes and moves through the intestine at the same rate to the protein. However, as this method was time consuming and expensive to implement, a multienzyme pH-stat in vitro protein digestibility technique using a three enzyme system was employed to rapidly assess the protein quality of 34 protein sources. The efficacy of the technique was established by correlating the in vitro digestibility estimates with in vivo digestibility coefficients obtained using the chromic oxide marker technique. The highest degree of in vivo predictability was attained when protein sources were separated according to origin, and significant correlations between either animal (r²=0.89, P<0.004) or plant (r²=0.79, P<0.04) protein sources were found. The effect of animal size on the qualitative protein requirements of two size classes of H.midae was assessed by feeding 12 isonitrogenous and isoenergetic single protein diets to juvenile and young adult animals (10-20 and 40-50mm shell length). The criteria for protein source selection were their bioavailability as determined using the pH-stat in vitro digestibility technique, and their cost and availability within South Africa. The protein sources identified for the trial comprised four fishmeals, casein, spirulina, abalone viscera silage, brewery waste, torula yeast, carcass, sunflower and cotton meals. The results indicated that in terms of growth and feed efficiency, the fishmeals and spirulina were the most suitable candidates as primary protein sources in formulated feeds for H.midae, and with the exceptions of the carcass meal and brewery waste, the remaining protein sources demonstrated promise as partial primary protein source replacements. The smaller size class of abalone displayed significantly reduced growth, feed and protein efficiency than their larger counterparts. In terms of feed conversion and growth response, two-way analysis of variance revealed significant interactions between protein source and animal size, suggesting that qualitative differences exist between the dietary protein requirements of the juvenile and young adult abalone. The commercial implication of thisfinding was discussed. An evaluation was undertaken to determine the effects of the partial and total replacement of dietary fishmeal with selected plant protein sources on growth and nutritional indices of juvenile H.midae. A commercial “Abfeed” formulation in which 100% of the protein component comprised LT-fishmeal was employed as a control. Fifteen isonitrogenous experimental diets were formulated in which the LT fishmeal was substituted at either 10, 15, 30, 50, 75 or 100% with either spirulina, semolina, ground maize, torula yeast, soya, sunflower or corn gluten meals or combinations thereof. No significant differences were found in the growth rates between the control diet and those diets in which 30% of the fishmeal component had been replaced by either soya, sunflower meal, or torula yeast. In addition, 50% of the fishmeal component could be substituted with either soya meal or spirulina without affecting growth. Replacement of either 75 or 100% of the fishmeal had a significant negative affect on growth. Pearson product moment correlations between dietary lysine levels and either growth rates or protein efficiency ratios revealed positive correlations (r=0.77, P=0.0005; r=0.52, P=0.04 respectively) suggesting that lysine may have been the first limiting amino acid in these diets. Carcass analysis revealed that dietary protein source had no significant effect on body composition. An assessment of the dietary arginine requirement of juvenile H.midae using whole proteins to supply graded levels of dietary arginine did not promote a growth response. It was concluded that arginine is probably not the first limiting amino acid in formulated feeds for H.midae. An assessment of the dietary lysine requirement of juvenile H.midae using two micro-encapsulation techniques (gelatin/acacia colloid or cellulose acetate phthalate) was not successful. The efficacy of the encapsulation techniques were established and an assessment of the degree of lysine supplementation undertaken. Failure of the crystalline lysine enriched diets to promote growth suggests that the prospects for using crystalline amino acids in essential amino acid requirement studies in H.midae is low. The results of the present study indicate that the prospects for replacing fishmeal with cheaper alternative protein sources in artificial feeds for H.midae is promising. Furthermore, while the technical difficulties such as the determination of the essential amino acid requirements of the abalone precluded the application of “least cost” programming, the prospects for its future application are promising.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Shipton, Thomas A
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Abalones -- Nutrition Abalones -- Digestion
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5314 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005159
- Description: The potential to reduce feed formulation costs by the replacement of existing proteinsources in artificial feeds for Haliotis midae was assessed. A comparison between the efficacy of the direct method and chromic oxide marker techniques in determining apparent protein digestibility coefficients, revealed that while the former was not a suitable methodology for use with this species, the latter produced replicable and reliable results. It was established that the chromic oxide marker is inert, is not absorbed by the abalone, does not interfere with the digestive processes and moves through the intestine at the same rate to the protein. However, as this method was time consuming and expensive to implement, a multienzyme pH-stat in vitro protein digestibility technique using a three enzyme system was employed to rapidly assess the protein quality of 34 protein sources. The efficacy of the technique was established by correlating the in vitro digestibility estimates with in vivo digestibility coefficients obtained using the chromic oxide marker technique. The highest degree of in vivo predictability was attained when protein sources were separated according to origin, and significant correlations between either animal (r²=0.89, P<0.004) or plant (r²=0.79, P<0.04) protein sources were found. The effect of animal size on the qualitative protein requirements of two size classes of H.midae was assessed by feeding 12 isonitrogenous and isoenergetic single protein diets to juvenile and young adult animals (10-20 and 40-50mm shell length). The criteria for protein source selection were their bioavailability as determined using the pH-stat in vitro digestibility technique, and their cost and availability within South Africa. The protein sources identified for the trial comprised four fishmeals, casein, spirulina, abalone viscera silage, brewery waste, torula yeast, carcass, sunflower and cotton meals. The results indicated that in terms of growth and feed efficiency, the fishmeals and spirulina were the most suitable candidates as primary protein sources in formulated feeds for H.midae, and with the exceptions of the carcass meal and brewery waste, the remaining protein sources demonstrated promise as partial primary protein source replacements. The smaller size class of abalone displayed significantly reduced growth, feed and protein efficiency than their larger counterparts. In terms of feed conversion and growth response, two-way analysis of variance revealed significant interactions between protein source and animal size, suggesting that qualitative differences exist between the dietary protein requirements of the juvenile and young adult abalone. The commercial implication of thisfinding was discussed. An evaluation was undertaken to determine the effects of the partial and total replacement of dietary fishmeal with selected plant protein sources on growth and nutritional indices of juvenile H.midae. A commercial “Abfeed” formulation in which 100% of the protein component comprised LT-fishmeal was employed as a control. Fifteen isonitrogenous experimental diets were formulated in which the LT fishmeal was substituted at either 10, 15, 30, 50, 75 or 100% with either spirulina, semolina, ground maize, torula yeast, soya, sunflower or corn gluten meals or combinations thereof. No significant differences were found in the growth rates between the control diet and those diets in which 30% of the fishmeal component had been replaced by either soya, sunflower meal, or torula yeast. In addition, 50% of the fishmeal component could be substituted with either soya meal or spirulina without affecting growth. Replacement of either 75 or 100% of the fishmeal had a significant negative affect on growth. Pearson product moment correlations between dietary lysine levels and either growth rates or protein efficiency ratios revealed positive correlations (r=0.77, P=0.0005; r=0.52, P=0.04 respectively) suggesting that lysine may have been the first limiting amino acid in these diets. Carcass analysis revealed that dietary protein source had no significant effect on body composition. An assessment of the dietary arginine requirement of juvenile H.midae using whole proteins to supply graded levels of dietary arginine did not promote a growth response. It was concluded that arginine is probably not the first limiting amino acid in formulated feeds for H.midae. An assessment of the dietary lysine requirement of juvenile H.midae using two micro-encapsulation techniques (gelatin/acacia colloid or cellulose acetate phthalate) was not successful. The efficacy of the encapsulation techniques were established and an assessment of the degree of lysine supplementation undertaken. Failure of the crystalline lysine enriched diets to promote growth suggests that the prospects for using crystalline amino acids in essential amino acid requirement studies in H.midae is low. The results of the present study indicate that the prospects for replacing fishmeal with cheaper alternative protein sources in artificial feeds for H.midae is promising. Furthermore, while the technical difficulties such as the determination of the essential amino acid requirements of the abalone precluded the application of “least cost” programming, the prospects for its future application are promising.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
An investigation of male and female cognitive ability on the WAIS-III
- Authors: Muirhead, Joanne
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale , Sex differences (Psychology) , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3028 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002537 , Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale , Sex differences (Psychology) , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Description: This study, which formed part of a larger research project, investigated the effect of gender on test performance on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Third Edition (WAIS-III). The WAIS-III was administered to a sample of 68 participants in the Eastern Cape following the initiative of the Human Sciences Research Council to standardise the WAIS-III for a South African population. The participants, aged 19 to 30, were stratified according to language of origin (African or English First Language), educational attainment (matriculant or graduate), quality of education (Department of Education and Training or private/"Model C" school) and gender. Analyses of variance and two sample t tests were used to compare male and female test performance. For the total sample, no significant difference between males and females on Verbal, Performance and Full Scale IQ were found. On the factor indices, females scored marginally higher than males on Processing Speed at a level which was approaching significance (p = 0.105), but no significant differences were found. On subtest performance, females significantly outperformed males on Digit Symbol (p = 0.020). Differences which were approaching significance were found on Information (p = 0.133) in favour of males, and on Matrix Reasoning (p = 0.092) in favour of females. For subgroups of the total sample, the most significant differences in test performance were found for the African First Language private/"Model C" school cohort in favour of females. Thus the overriding implication that emerged from this research was that on this relatively highly educated sample, no significant gender differences in cognitive ability were apparent.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Muirhead, Joanne
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale , Sex differences (Psychology) , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3028 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002537 , Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale , Sex differences (Psychology) , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Description: This study, which formed part of a larger research project, investigated the effect of gender on test performance on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Third Edition (WAIS-III). The WAIS-III was administered to a sample of 68 participants in the Eastern Cape following the initiative of the Human Sciences Research Council to standardise the WAIS-III for a South African population. The participants, aged 19 to 30, were stratified according to language of origin (African or English First Language), educational attainment (matriculant or graduate), quality of education (Department of Education and Training or private/"Model C" school) and gender. Analyses of variance and two sample t tests were used to compare male and female test performance. For the total sample, no significant difference between males and females on Verbal, Performance and Full Scale IQ were found. On the factor indices, females scored marginally higher than males on Processing Speed at a level which was approaching significance (p = 0.105), but no significant differences were found. On subtest performance, females significantly outperformed males on Digit Symbol (p = 0.020). Differences which were approaching significance were found on Information (p = 0.133) in favour of males, and on Matrix Reasoning (p = 0.092) in favour of females. For subgroups of the total sample, the most significant differences in test performance were found for the African First Language private/"Model C" school cohort in favour of females. Thus the overriding implication that emerged from this research was that on this relatively highly educated sample, no significant gender differences in cognitive ability were apparent.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Rural students' local knowledge of learning in formal and informal contexts
- Authors: Visser, Alvin-Jon
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Non-formal education -- South Africa , Education and state -- South Africa , Rural children -- Education -- South Africa , Black people -- Education -- South Africa , Community and school -- South Africa , Education, Rural -- Social Aspects -- South Africa , Rural schools -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3079 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002588 , Non-formal education -- South Africa , Education and state -- South Africa , Rural children -- Education -- South Africa , Black people -- Education -- South Africa , Community and school -- South Africa , Education, Rural -- Social Aspects -- South Africa , Rural schools -- South Africa
- Description: The general aim of this thesis is to illuminate the process of learning as it occurs in formal and informal contexts. The study focuses on South African scholars attending school in rural areas where the contrast between learning in formal and informal learning contexts is more pronounced than that in urban areas. The research draws on rural scholars' local knowledge of formal and informal learning contexts in order to gain a rich insight into how cognition is situated in different learning contexts. This is accomplished through investigating the structure of the respective learning tasks, the mediators involved, the task objectives and the means for achieving these objectives in the different learning contexts. The thesis draws on a socio-cultural approach to the study of cognitive development to probe the activity of learning in a formal and informal learning context. Through the use of a context sensitive methodological methods especially Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools and techniques, it was possible to illuminate tacit local knowledge structures and to get participants to actively explicate their understandings related to learning in different contexts The research results illustrate the assertion that the activity of learning is fundamentally situated in the learning context from which it arises. Learning is framed by the community of practice which structures affordances for situated learning, through mediation, within zones of proximal development. Learning in a formal context such as the school is often abstract, rule-based, standardised and theory related. Learners also find it difficult to reflect on the learning tasks and the mediational means used in a formal learning context. In contrast, the learning which takes place in an informal setting is often practical, individualised, flexible and environment based. This learning is structured around everyday activities and is dynamically defined and supported. In a situation where a learner is exposed to dislocated learning contexts, the essential goal of educational initiatives is to bridge the gap between the two. This can be achieved through mediators creating effective zones of proximal development which facilitate the individuals adaptation between learning contexts. Exposing rural scholars' local knowledge of learning in formal and informal contexts allows for a fuller understanding of the cognitive development structured within formal and informal communities of practice. It is this understanding that is necessary to address the situation where learning contexts, drawing on different knowledge bases find ways of thinking, prove challenging and/or conflicting to the scholar.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Visser, Alvin-Jon
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Non-formal education -- South Africa , Education and state -- South Africa , Rural children -- Education -- South Africa , Black people -- Education -- South Africa , Community and school -- South Africa , Education, Rural -- Social Aspects -- South Africa , Rural schools -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3079 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002588 , Non-formal education -- South Africa , Education and state -- South Africa , Rural children -- Education -- South Africa , Black people -- Education -- South Africa , Community and school -- South Africa , Education, Rural -- Social Aspects -- South Africa , Rural schools -- South Africa
- Description: The general aim of this thesis is to illuminate the process of learning as it occurs in formal and informal contexts. The study focuses on South African scholars attending school in rural areas where the contrast between learning in formal and informal learning contexts is more pronounced than that in urban areas. The research draws on rural scholars' local knowledge of formal and informal learning contexts in order to gain a rich insight into how cognition is situated in different learning contexts. This is accomplished through investigating the structure of the respective learning tasks, the mediators involved, the task objectives and the means for achieving these objectives in the different learning contexts. The thesis draws on a socio-cultural approach to the study of cognitive development to probe the activity of learning in a formal and informal learning context. Through the use of a context sensitive methodological methods especially Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools and techniques, it was possible to illuminate tacit local knowledge structures and to get participants to actively explicate their understandings related to learning in different contexts The research results illustrate the assertion that the activity of learning is fundamentally situated in the learning context from which it arises. Learning is framed by the community of practice which structures affordances for situated learning, through mediation, within zones of proximal development. Learning in a formal context such as the school is often abstract, rule-based, standardised and theory related. Learners also find it difficult to reflect on the learning tasks and the mediational means used in a formal learning context. In contrast, the learning which takes place in an informal setting is often practical, individualised, flexible and environment based. This learning is structured around everyday activities and is dynamically defined and supported. In a situation where a learner is exposed to dislocated learning contexts, the essential goal of educational initiatives is to bridge the gap between the two. This can be achieved through mediators creating effective zones of proximal development which facilitate the individuals adaptation between learning contexts. Exposing rural scholars' local knowledge of learning in formal and informal contexts allows for a fuller understanding of the cognitive development structured within formal and informal communities of practice. It is this understanding that is necessary to address the situation where learning contexts, drawing on different knowledge bases find ways of thinking, prove challenging and/or conflicting to the scholar.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Education for environmental literacy : towards participatory action research in the secondary school science curriculum in Lesotho
- Authors: Mokuku, Tsepo
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Environmental education -- Lesotho , Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Lesotho
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1503 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003385 , Environmental education -- Lesotho , Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Lesotho
- Description: The dependency of educators in Lesotho on externally developed curriculum theories and concepts is fundamental to issues of relevance of the school curricula. This study set out to develop the meaning of environmental literacy in the context of three secondary schools and to explore appropriate teaching methods for the development of this concept in the science curriculum. The participatory action research process involved a team of four science teachers, including the researcher, in partnership with an environmental centre. We progressively developed the meamng of environmental literacy by monitoring teaching innovations in the classroom, holding meetings and workshops and attending conferences where we shared classroom findings and reflected on our emerging understandings based on classroom experiences. Data collection involved: audio-recording of classroom lessons, interviews with teachers and students, audio-visual recording, classroom observations and students' questionnaires. The research process made apparent the complex nature of the process of clarifying and developing environmental literacy in this context. Classroom actiyities planned to inform the team's understanding of the meaning of environmental literacy and develop appropriate teaching methods encountered constraints associated with the education system and the legacy of colonialism. These contextual constraints crystallised the need for the education system to be transformed in order to make schools more conducive environments for the gevelopment of students' environmental literacy. While initially teachers were reluctant to engage in critical reflection, the research process did encourage the team to revise and expand their understandings of both environmental literacy in the science classroom, and the action research itself. The emerging meaning of environmental literacy in this context and how it may be developed among students does not involve a definition with prescriptive, effective teaching methods, but provides insights and understandings gained by the participants in their engagement with a reflective process of reconslructing meaning. I have come to understand environmental literacy during the study to be a process that should draw strongly on the local knowledge and understandings into the science curriculum, through participatory process-based curriculum development models.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Mokuku, Tsepo
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Environmental education -- Lesotho , Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Lesotho
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1503 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003385 , Environmental education -- Lesotho , Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Lesotho
- Description: The dependency of educators in Lesotho on externally developed curriculum theories and concepts is fundamental to issues of relevance of the school curricula. This study set out to develop the meaning of environmental literacy in the context of three secondary schools and to explore appropriate teaching methods for the development of this concept in the science curriculum. The participatory action research process involved a team of four science teachers, including the researcher, in partnership with an environmental centre. We progressively developed the meamng of environmental literacy by monitoring teaching innovations in the classroom, holding meetings and workshops and attending conferences where we shared classroom findings and reflected on our emerging understandings based on classroom experiences. Data collection involved: audio-recording of classroom lessons, interviews with teachers and students, audio-visual recording, classroom observations and students' questionnaires. The research process made apparent the complex nature of the process of clarifying and developing environmental literacy in this context. Classroom actiyities planned to inform the team's understanding of the meaning of environmental literacy and develop appropriate teaching methods encountered constraints associated with the education system and the legacy of colonialism. These contextual constraints crystallised the need for the education system to be transformed in order to make schools more conducive environments for the gevelopment of students' environmental literacy. While initially teachers were reluctant to engage in critical reflection, the research process did encourage the team to revise and expand their understandings of both environmental literacy in the science classroom, and the action research itself. The emerging meaning of environmental literacy in this context and how it may be developed among students does not involve a definition with prescriptive, effective teaching methods, but provides insights and understandings gained by the participants in their engagement with a reflective process of reconslructing meaning. I have come to understand environmental literacy during the study to be a process that should draw strongly on the local knowledge and understandings into the science curriculum, through participatory process-based curriculum development models.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000