Zambia African Media Development Initiative (AMDI) research report
- Authors: Banda, Fackson
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Report
- Identifier: vital:533 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008546
- Description: This report is one of 18 produced as part of the African Media Development Initiative Research Project, completed in 2006. Firstly, the study outlines the major media development initiatives that have taken place in the Zambian media and communication landscape since 2000. Secondly, it analyses how key actors view these initiatives, in the light of wider media development programmes unfolding on the African continent. Thirdly, it gives a case study of one particularly insightful media development activity in the country. On the whole, the study concludes that the radio sector has grown since 2000. Television has received little investment because the state has more control over this sector. The past five years have seen a growth in better-coordinated media development initiatives. The content of the media has itself become diversified, but there is still a prepoderance of urban-based, elite voices.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Banda, Fackson
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Report
- Identifier: vital:533 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008546
- Description: This report is one of 18 produced as part of the African Media Development Initiative Research Project, completed in 2006. Firstly, the study outlines the major media development initiatives that have taken place in the Zambian media and communication landscape since 2000. Secondly, it analyses how key actors view these initiatives, in the light of wider media development programmes unfolding on the African continent. Thirdly, it gives a case study of one particularly insightful media development activity in the country. On the whole, the study concludes that the radio sector has grown since 2000. Television has received little investment because the state has more control over this sector. The past five years have seen a growth in better-coordinated media development initiatives. The content of the media has itself become diversified, but there is still a prepoderance of urban-based, elite voices.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
A qualitative bias review of the adaptation of the WAIS-III for English-speaking South Africans
- Authors: Aston, Susan
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test -- South Africa , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9939 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/453 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011931 , Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test -- South Africa , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Description: In response to the growing demand for a test of cognitive ability for South African adults, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) adapted the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales, third edition (WAIS-III) for English-speaking South Africans. However, since the publication of the South African adaptation in 2001, there has been some concern whether some bias may not still be present in the measure. Consequently, this study aimed to qualitatively explore the item content of the South African adaptation of the WAIS-III in order to identify items that might still be potentially biased with specific reference to cultural and linguistic issues. The researcher employed purposive sampling, a non-probability technique, to select psychology professionals to act as expert reviewers. The sample consisted of 20 registered psychologists, psychology lecturers and psychology interns from the predominant culture and language groups of the Eastern and Western Cape. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected by means of a Bias Review Questionnaire which consisted of fixed-choice questions, as well as sections in which specific comments could be indicated. The questionnaire was distributed to 20 selected participants who were qualified to administer psychometric measures and were registered with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Qualitative data was analysed using Tesch’s model of thematic content analysis, and five main themes relating to potential bias were identified, namely: Culture, Language, Education, Socio-economic status, and Format. The qualitative data was re-submitted to the expert review group for approval and further comment. Quantitative data obtained from the Bias Review Questionnaire was analysed by obtaining frequency counts, which were converted to percentages, per subtest and aspect reviewed. The major findings of the study were as follows: 1. Cultural bias is evident in the South African adaptation of the WAIS-III. The differential meanings ascribed to concepts, terms, phrases and words by diverse cultures impact on test performance, as does familiarity with stimulus materials used in the measure. 2. Language bias was detected against groups with English as their second or third language owing to the unfamiliar, and sometimes archaic, terms and vocabulary used in the measure. The intended meanings of the translated items are unclear and confusing for test-takers. 3. South African test-takers have experienced vastly divergent educational opportunities which impact on intelligence test performance. The measure contains potential bias against individuals from disadvantaged educational backgrounds. 4. The content of the items is not relevant to test-takers from deprived socioeconomic backgrounds that have been unable to access good-quality education. 5. Format bias was found to exist with respect to the timed tests. Cultural groups who do not value speededness are disadvantaged by the structure and format of the measure. Based on the findings of this study, certain recommendations were made. These include: 1. Additional qualitative investigation of the WAIS-III , with a view to further adaptation in an effort to eradicate bias on cultural or linguistic grounds, and 2. Conducting further Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analyses and establishing construct equivalence across cultural and linguistic groups to promote this objective. Among the contributions believed to have been made by this study are the identification of potentially biased subtests and items on the grounds of culture and language, which will facilitate possible further revision and adaptation of the measure. Additionally, the variables that were considered important influencing factors of cognitive test performance have been documented and are accessible for future research that will supplement the present study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Aston, Susan
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test -- South Africa , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9939 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/453 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011931 , Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test -- South Africa , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Description: In response to the growing demand for a test of cognitive ability for South African adults, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) adapted the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales, third edition (WAIS-III) for English-speaking South Africans. However, since the publication of the South African adaptation in 2001, there has been some concern whether some bias may not still be present in the measure. Consequently, this study aimed to qualitatively explore the item content of the South African adaptation of the WAIS-III in order to identify items that might still be potentially biased with specific reference to cultural and linguistic issues. The researcher employed purposive sampling, a non-probability technique, to select psychology professionals to act as expert reviewers. The sample consisted of 20 registered psychologists, psychology lecturers and psychology interns from the predominant culture and language groups of the Eastern and Western Cape. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected by means of a Bias Review Questionnaire which consisted of fixed-choice questions, as well as sections in which specific comments could be indicated. The questionnaire was distributed to 20 selected participants who were qualified to administer psychometric measures and were registered with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Qualitative data was analysed using Tesch’s model of thematic content analysis, and five main themes relating to potential bias were identified, namely: Culture, Language, Education, Socio-economic status, and Format. The qualitative data was re-submitted to the expert review group for approval and further comment. Quantitative data obtained from the Bias Review Questionnaire was analysed by obtaining frequency counts, which were converted to percentages, per subtest and aspect reviewed. The major findings of the study were as follows: 1. Cultural bias is evident in the South African adaptation of the WAIS-III. The differential meanings ascribed to concepts, terms, phrases and words by diverse cultures impact on test performance, as does familiarity with stimulus materials used in the measure. 2. Language bias was detected against groups with English as their second or third language owing to the unfamiliar, and sometimes archaic, terms and vocabulary used in the measure. The intended meanings of the translated items are unclear and confusing for test-takers. 3. South African test-takers have experienced vastly divergent educational opportunities which impact on intelligence test performance. The measure contains potential bias against individuals from disadvantaged educational backgrounds. 4. The content of the items is not relevant to test-takers from deprived socioeconomic backgrounds that have been unable to access good-quality education. 5. Format bias was found to exist with respect to the timed tests. Cultural groups who do not value speededness are disadvantaged by the structure and format of the measure. Based on the findings of this study, certain recommendations were made. These include: 1. Additional qualitative investigation of the WAIS-III , with a view to further adaptation in an effort to eradicate bias on cultural or linguistic grounds, and 2. Conducting further Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analyses and establishing construct equivalence across cultural and linguistic groups to promote this objective. Among the contributions believed to have been made by this study are the identification of potentially biased subtests and items on the grounds of culture and language, which will facilitate possible further revision and adaptation of the measure. Additionally, the variables that were considered important influencing factors of cognitive test performance have been documented and are accessible for future research that will supplement the present study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
A model for the development of service agreements in the Information and Communication Technology sector
- Authors: Johnston, Robert
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Information technology , Communication -- Technological innovations , Service industries -- Management , Service -- Level agreements
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1143 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002772 , Information technology , Communication -- Technological innovations , Service industries -- Management , Service -- Level agreements
- Description: SAs are documents that specify the business relationship between stakeholders to an outsourcing agreement. SAs specify this relationship in a legally binding manner that assists in managing expectations of the stakeholders about the service provision. According to Verma (1999), an SA is a precise statement of the expectations and obligations that exist in a business relationship between two organisation: the service provider and the client. In order for organizations to have successful outsourcing partnerships, they need well crafted methods of developing Service Agreements (SAs). Successful methods will produce a conclusive contract that will act as a working document that details the spirit of cooperation between the service provider and the service recipient. This research investigates the development of SAs in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, and proposes a model for their development. A number of models for SA development have been analysed. Models are analysed from leading researchers in the area, from software houses such as Microsoft and from international standards organisations such as the BS15000 which stipulates the ITIL framework. Eight development principles are identified and explored. An investigation into SAs and their development is conducted. A model is proposed that is composed of the development principles. The development of SAs was explored in an empirical study by means of a survey administered to industry practitioners and a series of interviews with managers in the ICT industry. The results of the study indicate varying levels of support for the development principles and limited relationship between the development principles and the success of the SA, as defined by the number of changes made to the SA after it is completed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Johnston, Robert
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Information technology , Communication -- Technological innovations , Service industries -- Management , Service -- Level agreements
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1143 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002772 , Information technology , Communication -- Technological innovations , Service industries -- Management , Service -- Level agreements
- Description: SAs are documents that specify the business relationship between stakeholders to an outsourcing agreement. SAs specify this relationship in a legally binding manner that assists in managing expectations of the stakeholders about the service provision. According to Verma (1999), an SA is a precise statement of the expectations and obligations that exist in a business relationship between two organisation: the service provider and the client. In order for organizations to have successful outsourcing partnerships, they need well crafted methods of developing Service Agreements (SAs). Successful methods will produce a conclusive contract that will act as a working document that details the spirit of cooperation between the service provider and the service recipient. This research investigates the development of SAs in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, and proposes a model for their development. A number of models for SA development have been analysed. Models are analysed from leading researchers in the area, from software houses such as Microsoft and from international standards organisations such as the BS15000 which stipulates the ITIL framework. Eight development principles are identified and explored. An investigation into SAs and their development is conducted. A model is proposed that is composed of the development principles. The development of SAs was explored in an empirical study by means of a survey administered to industry practitioners and a series of interviews with managers in the ICT industry. The results of the study indicate varying levels of support for the development principles and limited relationship between the development principles and the success of the SA, as defined by the number of changes made to the SA after it is completed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Towards theorizing human resource development in South Africa: a critical analysis and the development of a tool to facilitate improved understanding and practice
- Authors: Anderson, Amber Cristal
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Manpower planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:16130 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/469 , Manpower planning -- South Africa
- Description: The primary objective of this study is to generate pathways to understanding Human Resources Development (HRD) by developing a tool which enables and enhances a shared and common understanding of HRD in South Africa (SA). To achieve this objective, this research explores the nature and importance of HRD and articulates and aggregates these thoughts and practices into a tool which facilitates an understanding of HRD with the overarching aim of improving HRD thoughts and practices in South Africa. While there is substantial international and local literature on HRD, the existing body of research on the nature and importance of HRD in South Africa is skeletal. National HRD concepts and practices are fragmented, and are as diverse as the number of stakeholders and partners that it serves. In addition, theory-building in HRD is disconnected and removed from practice. In order to address this problem, a qualitative, interpretive, theory-building social constructionist research strategy was embarked upon. The research strategy was executed in an iterative, cyclical manner, using theoretical sampling and content analysis rigorously executed within a coding paradigm informed by open, axial and selective coding techniques with local and international literature and informal reviews as the units of analysis. Qualitative and quantitative findings of the South African Qualifications Authority ground-breaking, world-first longitudinal study was analyzed and used to find relevance and corroborate the international literature available on HRD. Informal reviews were conducted with 7 human resources (HR) practitioners and 54 internationally-based HR colleagues of the researcher in order to ensure as appropriate a degree of integration between theory and practice as was possible. This process culminated in the most significant contribution of this research, which is a tool consisting of six pathways, that facilitates an understanding of the nature and importance of HRD in South Africa. The development of the tool enabled the articulation and aggregation of a thorough and coherent description, explanation and representation of HRD. The research highlights the need for HRD scholars and practitioners to channel their energies and effort on all the catalytic aspects of organizational life, namely uniqueness, social complexity, knowledge, and path dependency, by acquiring critical insight into the profound value of HRD which will allow the realization and sustainability of competitive advantage in a rich and dynamic global economy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Anderson, Amber Cristal
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Manpower planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:16130 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/469 , Manpower planning -- South Africa
- Description: The primary objective of this study is to generate pathways to understanding Human Resources Development (HRD) by developing a tool which enables and enhances a shared and common understanding of HRD in South Africa (SA). To achieve this objective, this research explores the nature and importance of HRD and articulates and aggregates these thoughts and practices into a tool which facilitates an understanding of HRD with the overarching aim of improving HRD thoughts and practices in South Africa. While there is substantial international and local literature on HRD, the existing body of research on the nature and importance of HRD in South Africa is skeletal. National HRD concepts and practices are fragmented, and are as diverse as the number of stakeholders and partners that it serves. In addition, theory-building in HRD is disconnected and removed from practice. In order to address this problem, a qualitative, interpretive, theory-building social constructionist research strategy was embarked upon. The research strategy was executed in an iterative, cyclical manner, using theoretical sampling and content analysis rigorously executed within a coding paradigm informed by open, axial and selective coding techniques with local and international literature and informal reviews as the units of analysis. Qualitative and quantitative findings of the South African Qualifications Authority ground-breaking, world-first longitudinal study was analyzed and used to find relevance and corroborate the international literature available on HRD. Informal reviews were conducted with 7 human resources (HR) practitioners and 54 internationally-based HR colleagues of the researcher in order to ensure as appropriate a degree of integration between theory and practice as was possible. This process culminated in the most significant contribution of this research, which is a tool consisting of six pathways, that facilitates an understanding of the nature and importance of HRD in South Africa. The development of the tool enabled the articulation and aggregation of a thorough and coherent description, explanation and representation of HRD. The research highlights the need for HRD scholars and practitioners to channel their energies and effort on all the catalytic aspects of organizational life, namely uniqueness, social complexity, knowledge, and path dependency, by acquiring critical insight into the profound value of HRD which will allow the realization and sustainability of competitive advantage in a rich and dynamic global economy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Investigating the viability of a framework for small scale, easily deployable and extensible hotspot management systems
- Authors: Thinyane, Mamello P
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Local area networks (Computer networks) , Computer networks -- Management , Computer network architectures , Computer network protocols , Wireless communication systems , XML (Document markup language)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4638 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006553
- Description: The proliferation of PALs (Public Access Locations) is fuelling the development of new standards, protocols, services, and applications for WLANs (Wireless Local Area Networks). PALs are set up at public locations to meet continually changing, multiservice, multi-protocol user requirements. This research investigates the essential infrastructural requirements that will enable further proliferation of PALs, and consequently facilitate ubiquitous computing. Based on these requirements, an extensible architectural framework for PAL management systems that inherently facilitates the provisioning of multiple services and multiple protocols on PALs is derived. The ensuing framework, which is called Xobogel, is based on the microkernel architectural pattern, and the IPDR (Internet Protocol Data Record) specification. Xobogel takes into consideration and supports the implementation of diverse business models for PALs, in respect of distinct environmental factors. It also facilitates next-generation network service usage accounting through a simple, flexible, and extensible XML based usage record. The framework is subsequently validated for service element extensibility and simplicity through the design, implementation, and experimental deployment of SEHS (Small Extensible Hotspot System), a system based on the framework. The robustness and scalability of the framework is observed to be sufficient for SMME deployment, withstanding the stress testing experiments performed on SEHS. The range of service element and charging modules implemented confirm an acceptable level of flexibility and extensibility within the framework.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Thinyane, Mamello P
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Local area networks (Computer networks) , Computer networks -- Management , Computer network architectures , Computer network protocols , Wireless communication systems , XML (Document markup language)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4638 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006553
- Description: The proliferation of PALs (Public Access Locations) is fuelling the development of new standards, protocols, services, and applications for WLANs (Wireless Local Area Networks). PALs are set up at public locations to meet continually changing, multiservice, multi-protocol user requirements. This research investigates the essential infrastructural requirements that will enable further proliferation of PALs, and consequently facilitate ubiquitous computing. Based on these requirements, an extensible architectural framework for PAL management systems that inherently facilitates the provisioning of multiple services and multiple protocols on PALs is derived. The ensuing framework, which is called Xobogel, is based on the microkernel architectural pattern, and the IPDR (Internet Protocol Data Record) specification. Xobogel takes into consideration and supports the implementation of diverse business models for PALs, in respect of distinct environmental factors. It also facilitates next-generation network service usage accounting through a simple, flexible, and extensible XML based usage record. The framework is subsequently validated for service element extensibility and simplicity through the design, implementation, and experimental deployment of SEHS (Small Extensible Hotspot System), a system based on the framework. The robustness and scalability of the framework is observed to be sufficient for SMME deployment, withstanding the stress testing experiments performed on SEHS. The range of service element and charging modules implemented confirm an acceptable level of flexibility and extensibility within the framework.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
An exploration of father-child relationships, current attachment styles and self-esteem amongst adults
- Authors: Williams, Clare Marianne
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Attachment behavior -- South Africa , Attachment behavior in children -- South Africa , Father and child -- South Africa , Self-esteem in men -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9855 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/398 , Attachment behavior -- South Africa , Attachment behavior in children -- South Africa , Father and child -- South Africa , Self-esteem in men -- South Africa
- Description: This study explored and described the relationship between early attachment to the father figure and self-esteem and current adult attachment style. Specifically, the present study explored and described the impact of the internal working model of early paternal attachment upon adult attachment styles and levels of self-esteem. The data for this study was obtained by utilizing the following four questionnaires: The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) Part 2 as a retrospective measure, the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ) and Battle’s Culture Free Self-Esteem Inventory (CFSEI). An exploratory descriptive design using a non-probability, convenience sampling method was employed for the present study. A sample of 105 adult participants from a religious institution within Port Elizabeth was selected. Participants, including both males and females, representative of all cultures and socio-economic status, were interviewed using the above self-report measures. The data for this study was analyzed using descriptive and correlational and inferential statistics. The findings indicated that the majority of the sample had a preoccupied attachment style, with Intermediate self-esteem levels.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Williams, Clare Marianne
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Attachment behavior -- South Africa , Attachment behavior in children -- South Africa , Father and child -- South Africa , Self-esteem in men -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9855 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/398 , Attachment behavior -- South Africa , Attachment behavior in children -- South Africa , Father and child -- South Africa , Self-esteem in men -- South Africa
- Description: This study explored and described the relationship between early attachment to the father figure and self-esteem and current adult attachment style. Specifically, the present study explored and described the impact of the internal working model of early paternal attachment upon adult attachment styles and levels of self-esteem. The data for this study was obtained by utilizing the following four questionnaires: The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) Part 2 as a retrospective measure, the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ) and Battle’s Culture Free Self-Esteem Inventory (CFSEI). An exploratory descriptive design using a non-probability, convenience sampling method was employed for the present study. A sample of 105 adult participants from a religious institution within Port Elizabeth was selected. Participants, including both males and females, representative of all cultures and socio-economic status, were interviewed using the above self-report measures. The data for this study was analyzed using descriptive and correlational and inferential statistics. The findings indicated that the majority of the sample had a preoccupied attachment style, with Intermediate self-esteem levels.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Spatio-temporal patterns in maturation of the chokka squid (Loligo vulgaris reynaudii) off the coast of South Africa
- Olyott, L J H, Sauer, Warwick H H, Booth, Anthony J
- Authors: Olyott, L J H , Sauer, Warwick H H , Booth, Anthony J
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6763 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007930
- Description: Knowledge of the temporal and spatial characteristics of chokka squid (Loligo vulgaris reynaudii) biology in South African waters is limited, so the possibility of there being a geographically fragmented stock was examined by investigating the distribution of maturity patterns for the species, covering all known spawning areas and using both historical and recent data. Gonadosomatic indices (GSI) varied between year-round consistency and apparent seasonal peaks in both summer and winter; there was no clear spatial pattern. Monthly percentage maturity provided further evidence for two peak reproductive periods each year, although mature squid were present throughout. Sex ratios demonstrated great variability between different areas and life history stages. Male-biased sex ratios were only apparent on the inshore spawning grounds and ranged between 1.118:1 and 4.267:1. Size at sexual maturity was also seasonal, squid maturing smaller in winter/spring than in summer/autumn. Also, squid in the east matured smaller than squid in the west. Although the results from the present study do not provide conclusive evidence of distinct geographic populations, squid likely spawn over a significantly larger area of the Agulhas Bank than previously estimated, and squid on the west coast of South Africa may return to spawn on the western portion of the Agulhas Bank. It remains likely, however, that the east and west coast populations are a single stock and that migration of juveniles to the west coast and their subsequent return as sub-adults is an integral but non-essential and variable part of the life history.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Olyott, L J H , Sauer, Warwick H H , Booth, Anthony J
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6763 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007930
- Description: Knowledge of the temporal and spatial characteristics of chokka squid (Loligo vulgaris reynaudii) biology in South African waters is limited, so the possibility of there being a geographically fragmented stock was examined by investigating the distribution of maturity patterns for the species, covering all known spawning areas and using both historical and recent data. Gonadosomatic indices (GSI) varied between year-round consistency and apparent seasonal peaks in both summer and winter; there was no clear spatial pattern. Monthly percentage maturity provided further evidence for two peak reproductive periods each year, although mature squid were present throughout. Sex ratios demonstrated great variability between different areas and life history stages. Male-biased sex ratios were only apparent on the inshore spawning grounds and ranged between 1.118:1 and 4.267:1. Size at sexual maturity was also seasonal, squid maturing smaller in winter/spring than in summer/autumn. Also, squid in the east matured smaller than squid in the west. Although the results from the present study do not provide conclusive evidence of distinct geographic populations, squid likely spawn over a significantly larger area of the Agulhas Bank than previously estimated, and squid on the west coast of South Africa may return to spawn on the western portion of the Agulhas Bank. It remains likely, however, that the east and west coast populations are a single stock and that migration of juveniles to the west coast and their subsequent return as sub-adults is an integral but non-essential and variable part of the life history.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Creating international support for the development of the news media in Africa
- Authors: Banda, Fackson
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6326 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008301
- Description: This article analyses the issues associated with providing support mechanisms for strengthening media institutions in Africa. It takes a historical look at the involvement of international actors in the evolution of African media, arguing that ideology plays a key role in the way international support is crafted for Africa's development, including media development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Banda, Fackson
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6326 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008301
- Description: This article analyses the issues associated with providing support mechanisms for strengthening media institutions in Africa. It takes a historical look at the involvement of international actors in the evolution of African media, arguing that ideology plays a key role in the way international support is crafted for Africa's development, including media development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
White women writing white : a study of identity and representation in (post-)apartheid literatures of South Africa
- Authors: West, Mary Eileen
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- History and criticism , Identity (Psychology)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:8443 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/442 , South African fiction (English) -- History and criticism , Identity (Psychology)
- Description: This thesis examines aspects of identity and representation using contemporary theories and definitions emerging out of a growing body of work known as whiteness studies. The condition of whiteness as it continues to inform identity politics in post-apartheid South Africa is explored in an analysis of selected texts written by white women, to demonstrate the ways in which whiteness continues to suggest normativity. In reading a representative selection of literatures produced in contemporary South Africa by white women writers, this study aims to illustrate the ambivalence apparent in the interstitial manifestations of emergent reconciliatory gestures that are at odds with residual traces of superiority. A sampling of disparate texts is examined to explore the representations of race and belonging in post-apartheid South Africa in the light of contemporary theories of whiteness which posit it as a powerful and invisible identification. The analysis attempts to plot a continuum from writers who are least, through to those who are most, aware of whiteness as a cultural construct and of their own positionality in relation to the discursive dynamics that inform South African racial politics. A contextualising overview of the terrain of whiteness studies is provided in Chapter One, marking the ideological and theoretical affiliations of this project, and foregrounding the construction of whiteness as an imagined identity in contemporary cultural criticism. It also provides a justification for the selection of the textual material under scrutiny. Chapter Two explores a genre that has been identified as a growing trend in South African fiction: the production of pulp fiction written by white middle-class women. Two such texts are the focus of this chapter, namely, Pamela Jooste’s People like Ourselves (2004) and Susan Mann’s One Tongue Singing (2005), and the complicities and clichés that are characteristic of popular literature are examined. Antjie Krog’s A Change of Tongue (2003) is the focus of Chapter Three. It is examined as a book offering the writer’s personal response to the difficulties of transformation within the first decade of South African democracy. Krog confronts her own defensiveness, her sense of normalcy, and her sense of alienation in relation to multiple encounters with different people. Chapter Four focuses on the journalism of Marianne Thamm. Her role as columnist for the popular women’s magazine, Fairlady is explored, particularly in relation to the inclusion of a contending voice writing against the general tenets of Fairlady. Thamm’s critique of the mores governing bourgeois white womanhood is read in relation to her role as officially sanctioned Court Jester. Her Fairlady columns have been collected in Mental Floss (2002) but the analysis includes selected columns from 2003 to 2005. Echo Location: A Guide to Sea Point for Residents and Visitors (1998) by Karen Press is the focus of Chapter Five. Her work is read as examining a white South African crisis of belonging in relation to the implications of mapping the co-ordinates of whiteness in South Africa. Chapter Six offers a reading of four short stories, written by Nadine Gordimer and Marlene van Niekerk. These stories are juxtaposed to trace an anxious impasse in white responses to suburbia, the place of enactment of white bourgeois mores, which both writers interrogate.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: West, Mary Eileen
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- History and criticism , Identity (Psychology)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:8443 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/442 , South African fiction (English) -- History and criticism , Identity (Psychology)
- Description: This thesis examines aspects of identity and representation using contemporary theories and definitions emerging out of a growing body of work known as whiteness studies. The condition of whiteness as it continues to inform identity politics in post-apartheid South Africa is explored in an analysis of selected texts written by white women, to demonstrate the ways in which whiteness continues to suggest normativity. In reading a representative selection of literatures produced in contemporary South Africa by white women writers, this study aims to illustrate the ambivalence apparent in the interstitial manifestations of emergent reconciliatory gestures that are at odds with residual traces of superiority. A sampling of disparate texts is examined to explore the representations of race and belonging in post-apartheid South Africa in the light of contemporary theories of whiteness which posit it as a powerful and invisible identification. The analysis attempts to plot a continuum from writers who are least, through to those who are most, aware of whiteness as a cultural construct and of their own positionality in relation to the discursive dynamics that inform South African racial politics. A contextualising overview of the terrain of whiteness studies is provided in Chapter One, marking the ideological and theoretical affiliations of this project, and foregrounding the construction of whiteness as an imagined identity in contemporary cultural criticism. It also provides a justification for the selection of the textual material under scrutiny. Chapter Two explores a genre that has been identified as a growing trend in South African fiction: the production of pulp fiction written by white middle-class women. Two such texts are the focus of this chapter, namely, Pamela Jooste’s People like Ourselves (2004) and Susan Mann’s One Tongue Singing (2005), and the complicities and clichés that are characteristic of popular literature are examined. Antjie Krog’s A Change of Tongue (2003) is the focus of Chapter Three. It is examined as a book offering the writer’s personal response to the difficulties of transformation within the first decade of South African democracy. Krog confronts her own defensiveness, her sense of normalcy, and her sense of alienation in relation to multiple encounters with different people. Chapter Four focuses on the journalism of Marianne Thamm. Her role as columnist for the popular women’s magazine, Fairlady is explored, particularly in relation to the inclusion of a contending voice writing against the general tenets of Fairlady. Thamm’s critique of the mores governing bourgeois white womanhood is read in relation to her role as officially sanctioned Court Jester. Her Fairlady columns have been collected in Mental Floss (2002) but the analysis includes selected columns from 2003 to 2005. Echo Location: A Guide to Sea Point for Residents and Visitors (1998) by Karen Press is the focus of Chapter Five. Her work is read as examining a white South African crisis of belonging in relation to the implications of mapping the co-ordinates of whiteness in South Africa. Chapter Six offers a reading of four short stories, written by Nadine Gordimer and Marlene van Niekerk. These stories are juxtaposed to trace an anxious impasse in white responses to suburbia, the place of enactment of white bourgeois mores, which both writers interrogate.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Message to Goedgedacht Forum
- Authors: Badat, Saleem
- Date: 2006 , 2014-06-12
- Subjects: Goedgedact Forum for Social Reflection
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:7605 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011800
- Description: Message from Dr Saleem Badat to the Goedgedacht Forum for Social Development in regards to the forum's 10th annivisary celebrations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Badat, Saleem
- Date: 2006 , 2014-06-12
- Subjects: Goedgedact Forum for Social Reflection
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:7605 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011800
- Description: Message from Dr Saleem Badat to the Goedgedacht Forum for Social Development in regards to the forum's 10th annivisary celebrations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Development of an employee management model to address conflict and discipline in SME's
- Authors: Wren, Beverley
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Conflict management , Personnel management , Small business -- South Africa -- George
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8748 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/646 , Conflict management , Personnel management , Small business -- South Africa -- George
- Description: The research problem addressed in this study is to determine what effect current labour legislation has on small and medium enterprises (SME’s), in particular with regard to handling conflict and disciplinary procedures in the workplace. To achieve this objective a literature study was undertaken to ascertain what labour relations practices are recommended and/or enforced by law. The literature study included a look at the effect of conflict on the workforce and the resultant cause and effect of the stress that conflict causes. The literature study was then used to develop a questionnaire to test the degree to which small to medium sized business managers, in the coastal city of George in the Western Cape, complied with the law and application of the necessary regulations governing labour relations. The empirical study results indicated a healthy adherence to labour legislation in general. The results indicated that the role-players, namely owners and managers of small to medium sized businesses, had valid arguments both for and against the weight of the labour legislation imposed on small businesses. Those businesses that had not indicated a strict adherence to regulation run the risk of costly fines and penalties being imposed on them. Such enterprises would do well to employ an independent consultant to “audit” and update employee records on a regular (6 monthly) basis. Failure to take the time to have all the correct documentation prepared could result in costly labour disputes and government intervention, which far outweighs the cost of a professional ensuring that all the necessary paperwork is correct and in place
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Wren, Beverley
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Conflict management , Personnel management , Small business -- South Africa -- George
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8748 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/646 , Conflict management , Personnel management , Small business -- South Africa -- George
- Description: The research problem addressed in this study is to determine what effect current labour legislation has on small and medium enterprises (SME’s), in particular with regard to handling conflict and disciplinary procedures in the workplace. To achieve this objective a literature study was undertaken to ascertain what labour relations practices are recommended and/or enforced by law. The literature study included a look at the effect of conflict on the workforce and the resultant cause and effect of the stress that conflict causes. The literature study was then used to develop a questionnaire to test the degree to which small to medium sized business managers, in the coastal city of George in the Western Cape, complied with the law and application of the necessary regulations governing labour relations. The empirical study results indicated a healthy adherence to labour legislation in general. The results indicated that the role-players, namely owners and managers of small to medium sized businesses, had valid arguments both for and against the weight of the labour legislation imposed on small businesses. Those businesses that had not indicated a strict adherence to regulation run the risk of costly fines and penalties being imposed on them. Such enterprises would do well to employ an independent consultant to “audit” and update employee records on a regular (6 monthly) basis. Failure to take the time to have all the correct documentation prepared could result in costly labour disputes and government intervention, which far outweighs the cost of a professional ensuring that all the necessary paperwork is correct and in place
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
The dynamics of difference: oppression, cross-cultural liberation and the problems of imperialism and paternalism
- Oelofsen, Marianna Christina
- Authors: Oelofsen, Marianna Christina
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Oppression (Psychology) , Culture conflict , Multiculturalism , Political ethics , Imperialism , Paternalism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2716 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002846 , Oppression (Psychology) , Culture conflict , Multiculturalism , Political ethics , Imperialism , Paternalism
- Description: This dissertation defends an account of oppression and supports a specific means of engaging with oppression cross-culturally. The project examines whether it is defensible to interfere in other cultures at all. Both the cultural relativist and the neo-imperialist approaches are argued to be an inadequate response to the question of whether it is defensible to interfere in other cultures, as both these approaches neglect the autonomy of the agents concerned. This project has two related goals. It first advances an answer to the question ‘what is oppression?’ An account of oppression is developed which will enable oppression to be identified cross-culturally. In order to start constructing an approach which will be adequate to respond to the question of interference, it is necessary to consider a means of identifying oppression crossculturally. The second objective is to examine the possibility of non-imperialistic and nonpaternalistic cross-cultural liberation projects. The first aim (advancing an account of oppression), is executed through arguing for an ethical framework which will be helpful in this context, and arguing for an account of oppression derived from this framework. The second aim (examining the possibility of non-imperialistic and non-paternalistic liberation), is carried out in two parts. The first part responds to two standard objections from cultural relativism, which would accuse a universal account such as mine of imperialism and paternalism. The first objection claims that a universalist account neglects historical and cultural difference, while the second objection claims that it neglects autonomy. In responding to these objections, it is noted that while my responses prove, theoretically, that a universal account of oppression need not lead to imperialism or paternalism, there is a danger that the account could become imperialistic and paternalistic in its application. With the intention of dealing with this problem, I advance a methodology of cross-cultural understanding which would reduce the likelihood of imperialism and paternalism in liberation projects. This notion of cross-cultural understanding is the most important contribution of this project. The objective is not to give practical judgments on when a specific liberation project is in fact paternalistic or imperialistic, but rather to propose guidelines which would need to be applied to each particular instance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Oelofsen, Marianna Christina
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Oppression (Psychology) , Culture conflict , Multiculturalism , Political ethics , Imperialism , Paternalism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2716 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002846 , Oppression (Psychology) , Culture conflict , Multiculturalism , Political ethics , Imperialism , Paternalism
- Description: This dissertation defends an account of oppression and supports a specific means of engaging with oppression cross-culturally. The project examines whether it is defensible to interfere in other cultures at all. Both the cultural relativist and the neo-imperialist approaches are argued to be an inadequate response to the question of whether it is defensible to interfere in other cultures, as both these approaches neglect the autonomy of the agents concerned. This project has two related goals. It first advances an answer to the question ‘what is oppression?’ An account of oppression is developed which will enable oppression to be identified cross-culturally. In order to start constructing an approach which will be adequate to respond to the question of interference, it is necessary to consider a means of identifying oppression crossculturally. The second objective is to examine the possibility of non-imperialistic and nonpaternalistic cross-cultural liberation projects. The first aim (advancing an account of oppression), is executed through arguing for an ethical framework which will be helpful in this context, and arguing for an account of oppression derived from this framework. The second aim (examining the possibility of non-imperialistic and non-paternalistic liberation), is carried out in two parts. The first part responds to two standard objections from cultural relativism, which would accuse a universal account such as mine of imperialism and paternalism. The first objection claims that a universalist account neglects historical and cultural difference, while the second objection claims that it neglects autonomy. In responding to these objections, it is noted that while my responses prove, theoretically, that a universal account of oppression need not lead to imperialism or paternalism, there is a danger that the account could become imperialistic and paternalistic in its application. With the intention of dealing with this problem, I advance a methodology of cross-cultural understanding which would reduce the likelihood of imperialism and paternalism in liberation projects. This notion of cross-cultural understanding is the most important contribution of this project. The objective is not to give practical judgments on when a specific liberation project is in fact paternalistic or imperialistic, but rather to propose guidelines which would need to be applied to each particular instance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Grahamstown film and heritage as reflected by His Majesty's building
- Authors: Still-Drewett, F
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:6981 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012409
- Description: Grahamstown Film and Heritage as reflected by His Majesty's Building. The building of His Majesty's theatre has had and continues to have an influential and varied history in the town of Grahamstown. The heritage of the building is linked both to its historical purpose and role in the community, and with the imposing architectural features and central locality. In this oral history project HMT became a vehicle for researching broader issues. The following issues arose: the effects of apartheid policy in entertainment areas; the arrival of national franchises and resultant tensions of preservation of building and cultural heritage versus economic development; the impact of new media such as TV and Video on the cinema theatre; and the community Fruit & Veg 'Colour' dispute. Four key informants were selected and 5 oral history interviews conducted in May 2006. The history of the theatre, film and entertainment memoirs, social comment, and a life history were recorded. , The oral history project pertaining to this paper is housed at the Cory Library, Rhodes University. See also Oral History Association of South Africa: http://www.ohasa.org.za/
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Still-Drewett, F
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:6981 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012409
- Description: Grahamstown Film and Heritage as reflected by His Majesty's Building. The building of His Majesty's theatre has had and continues to have an influential and varied history in the town of Grahamstown. The heritage of the building is linked both to its historical purpose and role in the community, and with the imposing architectural features and central locality. In this oral history project HMT became a vehicle for researching broader issues. The following issues arose: the effects of apartheid policy in entertainment areas; the arrival of national franchises and resultant tensions of preservation of building and cultural heritage versus economic development; the impact of new media such as TV and Video on the cinema theatre; and the community Fruit & Veg 'Colour' dispute. Four key informants were selected and 5 oral history interviews conducted in May 2006. The history of the theatre, film and entertainment memoirs, social comment, and a life history were recorded. , The oral history project pertaining to this paper is housed at the Cory Library, Rhodes University. See also Oral History Association of South Africa: http://www.ohasa.org.za/
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
The extent to which review for unreasonableness is meaningfully incorporated in the promotion of Administrative Justice Act no. 3 of 2000
- Authors: Bednar, Jeannine
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Administrative law Administrative law -- South Africa Judicial review of administrative acts -- South Africa Law reform -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:3707 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006515
- Description: Prior to the current constitutional dispensation, the development of South African administrative law was restricted by the doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty. Even in that comparatively 'hostile' environment, review for unreasonableness developed as an aspect of judicial review, and was applied as a check on the exercise of administrative power in certain circumstances. The principle of proportionality as an aspect of review for unreasonableness also developed during this period. With the advent of the new Constitutional dispensation, the framework within which administrative law in South Africa operates became one governed by Constitutional Supremacy. The Rights to Just Administrative Action, including a right to reasonable administrative action, were entrenched in the Constitution. Review for unreasonableness is an important aspect of administrative law in the present Constitutional dispensation as the mechanism for protecting the Constitutional right to reasonable administrative action. Proportionality is an important principle underlying the Bill of Rights as a whole, and it is an important aspect of the right to reasonable administrative action, and of review for unreasonableness. In early 2000, the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act No. 3 of 2000 ("the PAJA"), was passed by Parliament in fulfillment of the Constitutional requirement to pass legislation to give effect to the constitutional rights to Just Administrative Action. This thesis examines whether or not review for unreasonableness, and proportionality as an aspect of review for unreasonableness, have been meaningfully incorporated in the PAJA, and if they have not been, what potential remedies there might be. This is done by examining the basis of judicial review both before and under the current constitutional dispensation; defining unreasonableness, and proportionality; examining the content of the right to administrative action which is "justifiable in relation to the reasons given" in section 24(d) of the Interim Constitution and the right to reasonable administrative action in terms of section 33(1) of the Final Constitution; examining the application of review for unreasonableness and proportionality by the Courts both before and under the current constitutional dispensation; examining the content of judicial review incorporated in the PAJA and the drafting history of section 6(2) of the PAJA which relates to review for unreasonableness; drawing conclusions regarding whether or not review for unreasonableness and proportionality were meaningfully incorporated in the PAJA; and finally making recommendations with regard to review for unreasonableness and proportionality in light of the provisions of the PAJA.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Bednar, Jeannine
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Administrative law Administrative law -- South Africa Judicial review of administrative acts -- South Africa Law reform -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:3707 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006515
- Description: Prior to the current constitutional dispensation, the development of South African administrative law was restricted by the doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty. Even in that comparatively 'hostile' environment, review for unreasonableness developed as an aspect of judicial review, and was applied as a check on the exercise of administrative power in certain circumstances. The principle of proportionality as an aspect of review for unreasonableness also developed during this period. With the advent of the new Constitutional dispensation, the framework within which administrative law in South Africa operates became one governed by Constitutional Supremacy. The Rights to Just Administrative Action, including a right to reasonable administrative action, were entrenched in the Constitution. Review for unreasonableness is an important aspect of administrative law in the present Constitutional dispensation as the mechanism for protecting the Constitutional right to reasonable administrative action. Proportionality is an important principle underlying the Bill of Rights as a whole, and it is an important aspect of the right to reasonable administrative action, and of review for unreasonableness. In early 2000, the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act No. 3 of 2000 ("the PAJA"), was passed by Parliament in fulfillment of the Constitutional requirement to pass legislation to give effect to the constitutional rights to Just Administrative Action. This thesis examines whether or not review for unreasonableness, and proportionality as an aspect of review for unreasonableness, have been meaningfully incorporated in the PAJA, and if they have not been, what potential remedies there might be. This is done by examining the basis of judicial review both before and under the current constitutional dispensation; defining unreasonableness, and proportionality; examining the content of the right to administrative action which is "justifiable in relation to the reasons given" in section 24(d) of the Interim Constitution and the right to reasonable administrative action in terms of section 33(1) of the Final Constitution; examining the application of review for unreasonableness and proportionality by the Courts both before and under the current constitutional dispensation; examining the content of judicial review incorporated in the PAJA and the drafting history of section 6(2) of the PAJA which relates to review for unreasonableness; drawing conclusions regarding whether or not review for unreasonableness and proportionality were meaningfully incorporated in the PAJA; and finally making recommendations with regard to review for unreasonableness and proportionality in light of the provisions of the PAJA.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Confession and public life in post‐apartheid South Africa: A Foucauldian reading of Antjie Krog's country of my skull
- Authors: Garman, Anthea
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/159724 , vital:40337 , DOI: 10.1080/02564710608530406
- Description: Truth commissions around the world have given the technique of confession a new public currency and political power. Many works of literature thematising these commissions have also adopted the technique of confession for literary purposes. In this paper I bring Foucault's understanding of the technique of confession, and his discourse on the role of public intellectuals in modernity, to bear upon an examination of Antjie Krog's literary reflection of the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), entitled Country of My Skull (1998). I look at how this text, and Krog's subsequent public intellectual status as a witness of the TRC, perpetuate the technique of confession without problematising it in ways that Foucault's work would suggest is necessary.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Garman, Anthea
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/159724 , vital:40337 , DOI: 10.1080/02564710608530406
- Description: Truth commissions around the world have given the technique of confession a new public currency and political power. Many works of literature thematising these commissions have also adopted the technique of confession for literary purposes. In this paper I bring Foucault's understanding of the technique of confession, and his discourse on the role of public intellectuals in modernity, to bear upon an examination of Antjie Krog's literary reflection of the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), entitled Country of My Skull (1998). I look at how this text, and Krog's subsequent public intellectual status as a witness of the TRC, perpetuate the technique of confession without problematising it in ways that Foucault's work would suggest is necessary.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Where have all the fathers gone? Media(ted) representations of fatherhood.
- Authors: Prinsloo, J
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Book review
- Identifier: vital:530 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008483
- Description: [From the introduction]: "It is in the mundane world that media operate most significantly. They filter and frame everyday realities, through their singular and multiple representations, providing touchstones, references, for the conduct of everyday life, for the production and maintenance of common-sense (Silverstone 1999, p.6). While it is broadly accepted that the media do not reflect society, they do provide us with a repertoire of roles and images which we encounter and with which we engage." As the opening quote suggests, the media play a vital role in the circulation and mediation of ideas, attitudes and actions and their significance is commented on frequently. It is noteworthy that such commentary in South Africa identifies that men are infrequently depicted in parental roles. This is in comparison to the other roles men inhabit and in contrast to the role of women as mother. It is also suggested that the macho masculine identities that the media offer serve as proxy father roles.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Prinsloo, J
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Book review
- Identifier: vital:530 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008483
- Description: [From the introduction]: "It is in the mundane world that media operate most significantly. They filter and frame everyday realities, through their singular and multiple representations, providing touchstones, references, for the conduct of everyday life, for the production and maintenance of common-sense (Silverstone 1999, p.6). While it is broadly accepted that the media do not reflect society, they do provide us with a repertoire of roles and images which we encounter and with which we engage." As the opening quote suggests, the media play a vital role in the circulation and mediation of ideas, attitudes and actions and their significance is commented on frequently. It is noteworthy that such commentary in South Africa identifies that men are infrequently depicted in parental roles. This is in comparison to the other roles men inhabit and in contrast to the role of women as mother. It is also suggested that the macho masculine identities that the media offer serve as proxy father roles.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Financial reforms and interest rate spreads in the commercial banking sector in Kenya
- Authors: Munene, Daniel
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Finance -- Kenya , Banks and banking -- Kenya , Economics -- Kenya , Interest rates -- Kenya , Economic development -- Kenya
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1070 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007711 , Finance -- Kenya , Banks and banking -- Kenya , Economics -- Kenya , Interest rates -- Kenya , Economic development -- Kenya
- Description: Financial reforms were a major component of structural adjustment programs deemed necessary for developing countries in the mid 1980s. These were not only meant to improve the sector, but would ultimately enhance economic growth and help in poverty alleviation. At the top of these reforms was financial liberalisation. Kenya, like many other sub-Saharan African countries, undertook financial liberalisation in 1991, one of the measures was decontrolling interest rates. With market driven interest rates in place it was assumed that there would be increased efficiency in bank lending, as well as growth in credit availability as deposits increased. A key indicator of this improved intermediation process would be a narrowing interest rates spread, that is, the margin between the deposit and lending rate. Paradoxically, however, the expected benefits of these reforms did not accrue to Kenya's banking sector. This study focuses on financial reforms and the spread of interest rates in Kenya's banking sector. Using a trend analysis, spanning the period before and after liberalisation, interest rates spread are shown to have escalated dramatically upwards after liberalisation. An analysis of three macroeconomic variables, namely, the exchange rate, inflation rate and economic growth offer little, or inconclusive evidence, that they were the main causes of the wide interest rate spread. In fact, the spread is closely linked to institutional/structural factors such as non-competitiveness in the banking sector, imprudent lending practices and poor and/or inadequate banking supervision. Policies for improving the institutional infrastructure and thus moderating the spreads are highlighted.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Munene, Daniel
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Finance -- Kenya , Banks and banking -- Kenya , Economics -- Kenya , Interest rates -- Kenya , Economic development -- Kenya
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1070 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007711 , Finance -- Kenya , Banks and banking -- Kenya , Economics -- Kenya , Interest rates -- Kenya , Economic development -- Kenya
- Description: Financial reforms were a major component of structural adjustment programs deemed necessary for developing countries in the mid 1980s. These were not only meant to improve the sector, but would ultimately enhance economic growth and help in poverty alleviation. At the top of these reforms was financial liberalisation. Kenya, like many other sub-Saharan African countries, undertook financial liberalisation in 1991, one of the measures was decontrolling interest rates. With market driven interest rates in place it was assumed that there would be increased efficiency in bank lending, as well as growth in credit availability as deposits increased. A key indicator of this improved intermediation process would be a narrowing interest rates spread, that is, the margin between the deposit and lending rate. Paradoxically, however, the expected benefits of these reforms did not accrue to Kenya's banking sector. This study focuses on financial reforms and the spread of interest rates in Kenya's banking sector. Using a trend analysis, spanning the period before and after liberalisation, interest rates spread are shown to have escalated dramatically upwards after liberalisation. An analysis of three macroeconomic variables, namely, the exchange rate, inflation rate and economic growth offer little, or inconclusive evidence, that they were the main causes of the wide interest rate spread. In fact, the spread is closely linked to institutional/structural factors such as non-competitiveness in the banking sector, imprudent lending practices and poor and/or inadequate banking supervision. Policies for improving the institutional infrastructure and thus moderating the spreads are highlighted.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Launch of 'Popular Music and Censorship in Africa'
- Authors: Badat, Saleem
- Date: 2006 , 2014-06-12
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:7613 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011814
- Description: Address at the launch of 'Popular Music and Censorship in Africa', edited by Drewett, M and Cloonan, M.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Badat, Saleem
- Date: 2006 , 2014-06-12
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:7613 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011814
- Description: Address at the launch of 'Popular Music and Censorship in Africa', edited by Drewett, M and Cloonan, M.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Predictor variables for moggel (Labeo umbratus) biomass and production in small South African reservoirs
- Potts, Warren M, Booth, Anthony J, Hecht, Thomas, Andrew, Timothy G
- Authors: Potts, Warren M , Booth, Anthony J , Hecht, Thomas , Andrew, Timothy G
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/125763 , vital:35815 , https://doi.10.2989/16085910609503877
- Description: South Africa has approximately 3 100 registered reservoirs, ranging in size from 1–1 000 hectares, with a surface area totalling 84 439 hectares (SADC Surface Water Body Database, unpublished data). Within southern and eastern Africa, Lindqvist (1994) estimated the number of small reservoirs to be between 50 000 and 100 000. Given Bernacsek’s (1986) estimate of the total fishery potential of small reservoirs in Africa at between 1 and 2.3 million tons, this number of reservoirs clearly could provide fishery opportunities for rural communities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Potts, Warren M , Booth, Anthony J , Hecht, Thomas , Andrew, Timothy G
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/125763 , vital:35815 , https://doi.10.2989/16085910609503877
- Description: South Africa has approximately 3 100 registered reservoirs, ranging in size from 1–1 000 hectares, with a surface area totalling 84 439 hectares (SADC Surface Water Body Database, unpublished data). Within southern and eastern Africa, Lindqvist (1994) estimated the number of small reservoirs to be between 50 000 and 100 000. Given Bernacsek’s (1986) estimate of the total fishery potential of small reservoirs in Africa at between 1 and 2.3 million tons, this number of reservoirs clearly could provide fishery opportunities for rural communities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Plastochron index - an indicator of plant structure and function a case study using Pisum sativum L
- Ade-Ademilua, Omobolanle Elizabeth
- Authors: Ade-Ademilua, Omobolanle Elizabeth
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Plant anatomy Plant physiology Peas -- Anatomy Peas -- Physiology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4183 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003751
- Description: The use of chronological age for example, using days after sowing (DAS), or days after germination (DAG) as a time variable may result in the inherent variability between plants resulting in differences which can be large enough to obscure subtle developmental trends that become evident among plants sown at the same time. An alternative to DAS or DAG is the plastochron index (PI), first used by Erickson and Michelini (1957) as a morphological time scale and numerical index; which to according to the authors suggested and represented a more accurate reflection of the developmental status of a plant. The research presented in this thesis was therefore aimed specifically at utilizing the index in qualitative and quantitative analyses, to confirm its usefulness in analyzing and predicting plant growth and development. Specifically this research focused on investigating various morphological and physiological events that together, hopefully, would serve as a template for the prediction of the growth, development and reactions of Pisum sativum L. to different growth conditions. In Chapter 3, the use of the average length of the first pair of leaflets on each node as a suitable parameter for calculating PI in P. sativum is suggested. The results presented in Chapter 3 suggest that plant age is best expressed using the plastochron index, as this reflects the time interval between the initiations of successive pairs of leaflets. This section of the research has been published as “Ade-Ademilua OE, Botha CEJ (2005) A re-evaluation of plastochron index in peas - a case for using leaflet length. South African Journal of Botany 71: 76-80”. The PI formula developed was subsequently used in this research to conduct qualitative and quantitative investigations of plant growth and development in which all data and observations were related directly to the plastochron index. In Chapter 4, the sink to source transition in Pisum sativum L. leaves at different plastochron ages in nodulating plants was investigated using the phloem-mobile fluorescent marker, 5,6-carboxyfluorescein (5,6-CF). The results demonstrated that young leaves remained strong sinks up until LPI 0, after which sink-source transition occurred up to LPI 1.8 and leaflets transitioned to strong source systems by LPI 2.0. A well-developed cross-connected phloem system between paired leaflets in peas, and the petiole and the stem vascular supply was observed. The data presented in the second part of Chapter 4 suggest that the phloem transport between leaflet pairs is independent of the sink/source state of the leaflets, or of movement along the source to sink gradient. The data support the presence of a modular transport system which may ensure re-allocation and balancing between leaflets of the same physiological age and photosynthetic and transport status, thereby load-balancing the local transport system, before exporting to other younger (sink) regions. The investigation of leaf development using the plastochron index (Chapter 5) revealed that the formation of air spaces in the palisade and spongy mesophyll, one of the preparatory events for transition from sink to source state in developing leaves, occurs between LPI 0 and LPI 1 in pea leaflets. Results of the anatomical and ultrastructural study related to PI are presented in Chapter 5. The density of wall ingrowths in transfer cells of minor veins increased with LPI and appeared to be associated with the probable transition to source state and the related potential increase in the production of assimilates for export. The onset of wall ingrowth development in leaflets at LPI 0 provided evidence that sink-to-source transition commences at LPI 0 in P. sativum. Presumably-functional plasmodesmata as well as a few mature sieve elements were evident in class IV veins in the apical region of young and older leaflets at LPI 0. The number of mature sieve elements per vein however, increased with increasing LPI. Most class V veins were still undergoing division at LPI 0 and their sieve elements did not show signs of maturity until LPI 1. The increase in the number of mature metaphloem sieve elements in young, supposedly importing tissue at LPI 0 to older, supposedly exporting tissues at LPI 2 is evidence of the association between phloem maturation and transition from importing to exporting status. In Chapter 6, I report on the effects of elevated CO[subscript 2] on the growth and leaf development of nodulating and non-nodulating Pisum sativum L var. Greenfeast grown under controlled environment of the same nitrogen (6mM) and nitrogen- free nutrient solution conditions. Shortterm exposure to elevated CO[subscript 2] induced rapid plant growth, irrespective of treatment. However, long-term elevated CO[subscript 2] treatment did not affect rate of leaf appearance (RLA) in nodulated plants, irrespective of mineral N supply but enhanced RLA in non- nodulating plants supplied with mineral N. Supplied N resulted in a significant increase in leaflet elongation rate (LfER) under both ambient and elevated CO[subscript 2], but LfER was not significantly affected by nodulation but was increased by high CO[subscript 2]. This suggested that the growth of nodulating P. sativum L may not be significantly affected under CO[subscript 2] levels as high as 1000 μmol mol[superscript -1]. The data suggest that elevated CO[subscript 2] will enhance canopy size, provided adequate soil N is available and more so in non-nodulating plants. This section of the research has been published as “Ade-Ademilua OE, Botha CEJ (2004) The effects of elevated CO[subscript 2] and nitrogen availability supersedes the need for nodulation in peas grown under controlled environmental conditions. South African Journal of Botany 70: 816 – 823”. This thesis demonstrates that the similarity in the qualitative analyses results obtained from plants from different CO[subscript 2], nitrogen and nodulation treatment conditions, highlights the fact that plants of same PI value are at the same developmental state, irrespective of the growth condition. Furthermore, changes in plant structure and function observed under different growth conditions can be related simply to changes in plastochron index. The work presented in this thesis demonstrate that changes in plant structure and function analyzed are related to changes in PI. An important finding of this thesis is that with the use of PI, results can be compiled as a template for predicting the structure- function state of pea plants at any plastochron age, under any growth conditions, before using small representative sample populations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Ade-Ademilua, Omobolanle Elizabeth
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Plant anatomy Plant physiology Peas -- Anatomy Peas -- Physiology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4183 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003751
- Description: The use of chronological age for example, using days after sowing (DAS), or days after germination (DAG) as a time variable may result in the inherent variability between plants resulting in differences which can be large enough to obscure subtle developmental trends that become evident among plants sown at the same time. An alternative to DAS or DAG is the plastochron index (PI), first used by Erickson and Michelini (1957) as a morphological time scale and numerical index; which to according to the authors suggested and represented a more accurate reflection of the developmental status of a plant. The research presented in this thesis was therefore aimed specifically at utilizing the index in qualitative and quantitative analyses, to confirm its usefulness in analyzing and predicting plant growth and development. Specifically this research focused on investigating various morphological and physiological events that together, hopefully, would serve as a template for the prediction of the growth, development and reactions of Pisum sativum L. to different growth conditions. In Chapter 3, the use of the average length of the first pair of leaflets on each node as a suitable parameter for calculating PI in P. sativum is suggested. The results presented in Chapter 3 suggest that plant age is best expressed using the plastochron index, as this reflects the time interval between the initiations of successive pairs of leaflets. This section of the research has been published as “Ade-Ademilua OE, Botha CEJ (2005) A re-evaluation of plastochron index in peas - a case for using leaflet length. South African Journal of Botany 71: 76-80”. The PI formula developed was subsequently used in this research to conduct qualitative and quantitative investigations of plant growth and development in which all data and observations were related directly to the plastochron index. In Chapter 4, the sink to source transition in Pisum sativum L. leaves at different plastochron ages in nodulating plants was investigated using the phloem-mobile fluorescent marker, 5,6-carboxyfluorescein (5,6-CF). The results demonstrated that young leaves remained strong sinks up until LPI 0, after which sink-source transition occurred up to LPI 1.8 and leaflets transitioned to strong source systems by LPI 2.0. A well-developed cross-connected phloem system between paired leaflets in peas, and the petiole and the stem vascular supply was observed. The data presented in the second part of Chapter 4 suggest that the phloem transport between leaflet pairs is independent of the sink/source state of the leaflets, or of movement along the source to sink gradient. The data support the presence of a modular transport system which may ensure re-allocation and balancing between leaflets of the same physiological age and photosynthetic and transport status, thereby load-balancing the local transport system, before exporting to other younger (sink) regions. The investigation of leaf development using the plastochron index (Chapter 5) revealed that the formation of air spaces in the palisade and spongy mesophyll, one of the preparatory events for transition from sink to source state in developing leaves, occurs between LPI 0 and LPI 1 in pea leaflets. Results of the anatomical and ultrastructural study related to PI are presented in Chapter 5. The density of wall ingrowths in transfer cells of minor veins increased with LPI and appeared to be associated with the probable transition to source state and the related potential increase in the production of assimilates for export. The onset of wall ingrowth development in leaflets at LPI 0 provided evidence that sink-to-source transition commences at LPI 0 in P. sativum. Presumably-functional plasmodesmata as well as a few mature sieve elements were evident in class IV veins in the apical region of young and older leaflets at LPI 0. The number of mature sieve elements per vein however, increased with increasing LPI. Most class V veins were still undergoing division at LPI 0 and their sieve elements did not show signs of maturity until LPI 1. The increase in the number of mature metaphloem sieve elements in young, supposedly importing tissue at LPI 0 to older, supposedly exporting tissues at LPI 2 is evidence of the association between phloem maturation and transition from importing to exporting status. In Chapter 6, I report on the effects of elevated CO[subscript 2] on the growth and leaf development of nodulating and non-nodulating Pisum sativum L var. Greenfeast grown under controlled environment of the same nitrogen (6mM) and nitrogen- free nutrient solution conditions. Shortterm exposure to elevated CO[subscript 2] induced rapid plant growth, irrespective of treatment. However, long-term elevated CO[subscript 2] treatment did not affect rate of leaf appearance (RLA) in nodulated plants, irrespective of mineral N supply but enhanced RLA in non- nodulating plants supplied with mineral N. Supplied N resulted in a significant increase in leaflet elongation rate (LfER) under both ambient and elevated CO[subscript 2], but LfER was not significantly affected by nodulation but was increased by high CO[subscript 2]. This suggested that the growth of nodulating P. sativum L may not be significantly affected under CO[subscript 2] levels as high as 1000 μmol mol[superscript -1]. The data suggest that elevated CO[subscript 2] will enhance canopy size, provided adequate soil N is available and more so in non-nodulating plants. This section of the research has been published as “Ade-Ademilua OE, Botha CEJ (2004) The effects of elevated CO[subscript 2] and nitrogen availability supersedes the need for nodulation in peas grown under controlled environmental conditions. South African Journal of Botany 70: 816 – 823”. This thesis demonstrates that the similarity in the qualitative analyses results obtained from plants from different CO[subscript 2], nitrogen and nodulation treatment conditions, highlights the fact that plants of same PI value are at the same developmental state, irrespective of the growth condition. Furthermore, changes in plant structure and function observed under different growth conditions can be related simply to changes in plastochron index. The work presented in this thesis demonstrate that changes in plant structure and function analyzed are related to changes in PI. An important finding of this thesis is that with the use of PI, results can be compiled as a template for predicting the structure- function state of pea plants at any plastochron age, under any growth conditions, before using small representative sample populations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006