The Iindaba Ziyafika project: a new community of practice?
- Authors: Nyathi, Sihle
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Citizen journalism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Iindaba Ziyafika project Grocott's Mail (Grahamstown, South Africa) Radio journalism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Online journalism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Mass media -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Mass media -- Political aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalism -- Objectivity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3477 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002932
- Description: This study sought to investigate the practices of citizen journalists in the Iindaba Ziyafika project. The objectives of the research were to explore the evolving practices of citizen journalism in Grahamstown and to extrapolate how citizen journalists are securing a discursive space in relationship to conventional journalism. The study investigated whether the citizen journalists based at Grocotts Mail and Radio Grahamstown are developing practices and patterns that can be distinguished from the practices of conventional journalism. It also evaluated whether the content that is produced by citizen journalists differs from the content that is produced by professional journalists, so that it can be understood as "alternative" and as promoting engaged citizenship. A sub goal was also to explore whether citizen journalism does enable the practice of citizenship through expanding the public sphere. The findings of the research are that in the Iindaba Ziyafika project, citizen journalists see news as a process and not as a series of news events. This is clear departure from event-based news conceptualisation associated with mainstream journalism. They view news as unfolding social processes, allowing citizen journalists to question the factors which would have precipitated the event and investigate the causal factors of particular phenomena. The research also reveals that citizen journalists in the project are engaging in pro-am journalism. Part of the practice of citizen journalists involves a very significant amount of collaboration between professional journalists and citizen journalists. The collaboration is in the production of content and in the presentation of radio broadcasts. Part of the findings of the study are that journalists in the Iindaba Ziyafika project work in different mediums and this calls for them to acquire the competencies of the different mediums. The same citizen journalists produce content for print, radio and for online media. The diction used in the stories published by citizen journalists is couched in struggle and revolutionary language which seems to pit the community against the authorities. The citizen journalists also make use of every daily language in their radio broadcasts and borrow from their cultural expression. This they do through populist methods. The citizen journalists have also integrated communication brokering as part and parcel of their practice. This is because the citizen journalists have also made it their mandate to enable the flow of information between the residents and the local authority. In terms of sourcing there is a deliberate stance to include those who are not ordinarily given a voice in the mainstream media. Women and the poor appear frequently in stories as sources and this is a different scenario from that prevalent in mainstream journalism which frequently covers the rich and the powerful. The citizen journalists in the Iindaba Ziyafika project have also borrowed practices from professional journalism and this has been integrated into their daily practice. This includes following strategic rituals of journalism objectivity and balance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Nyathi, Sihle
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Citizen journalism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Iindaba Ziyafika project Grocott's Mail (Grahamstown, South Africa) Radio journalism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Online journalism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Mass media -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Mass media -- Political aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalism -- Objectivity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3477 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002932
- Description: This study sought to investigate the practices of citizen journalists in the Iindaba Ziyafika project. The objectives of the research were to explore the evolving practices of citizen journalism in Grahamstown and to extrapolate how citizen journalists are securing a discursive space in relationship to conventional journalism. The study investigated whether the citizen journalists based at Grocotts Mail and Radio Grahamstown are developing practices and patterns that can be distinguished from the practices of conventional journalism. It also evaluated whether the content that is produced by citizen journalists differs from the content that is produced by professional journalists, so that it can be understood as "alternative" and as promoting engaged citizenship. A sub goal was also to explore whether citizen journalism does enable the practice of citizenship through expanding the public sphere. The findings of the research are that in the Iindaba Ziyafika project, citizen journalists see news as a process and not as a series of news events. This is clear departure from event-based news conceptualisation associated with mainstream journalism. They view news as unfolding social processes, allowing citizen journalists to question the factors which would have precipitated the event and investigate the causal factors of particular phenomena. The research also reveals that citizen journalists in the project are engaging in pro-am journalism. Part of the practice of citizen journalists involves a very significant amount of collaboration between professional journalists and citizen journalists. The collaboration is in the production of content and in the presentation of radio broadcasts. Part of the findings of the study are that journalists in the Iindaba Ziyafika project work in different mediums and this calls for them to acquire the competencies of the different mediums. The same citizen journalists produce content for print, radio and for online media. The diction used in the stories published by citizen journalists is couched in struggle and revolutionary language which seems to pit the community against the authorities. The citizen journalists also make use of every daily language in their radio broadcasts and borrow from their cultural expression. This they do through populist methods. The citizen journalists have also integrated communication brokering as part and parcel of their practice. This is because the citizen journalists have also made it their mandate to enable the flow of information between the residents and the local authority. In terms of sourcing there is a deliberate stance to include those who are not ordinarily given a voice in the mainstream media. Women and the poor appear frequently in stories as sources and this is a different scenario from that prevalent in mainstream journalism which frequently covers the rich and the powerful. The citizen journalists in the Iindaba Ziyafika project have also borrowed practices from professional journalism and this has been integrated into their daily practice. This includes following strategic rituals of journalism objectivity and balance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
In silico identification of selective novel hits against the active site of wild type mycobacterium tuberculosis pyrazinamidase and its mutants
- Authors: Gowo, Prudence
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Mycobacterium tuberculosis , Pyrazinamide , Multidrug resistance , Antitubercular agents , Molecular dynamics , Hydrogen bonding , Ligand binding (Biochemistry) , Dynamic Residue Network
- Language: English
- Type: thesis , text , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/178007 , vital:42898
- Description: The World Health Organization declared Tuberculosis a global health emergency and has set a goal to eradicate it by 2035. However, effective treatment and control of the disease is being hindered by the emerging Multi-Drug Resistant and Extensively Drug Resistant strains on the most effective first line prodrug, Pyrazinamide (PZA). Studies have shown that the main cause of PZA resistance is due to mutations in the pncA gene that codes for the target protein Pyrazinamidase (PZase). Therefore, this study aimed to identify novel drug compounds that bind to the active site of wild type PZase and study the dynamics of these potential anti-TB drugs in the mutant systems of PZase. This approach will aid in identifying drugs that may be repurposed for TB therapy and/or designed to counteract PZA resistance. This was achieved by screening 2089 DrugBank compounds against the whole wild type (WT) PZase protein in molecular docking using AutoDOCK4.2. Compound screening based on docking binding energy, hydrogen bonds, molecular weight and active site proximity identified 47 compounds meeting all the set selection criteria. The stability of these compounds were analysed in Molecular Dynamic (MD) simulations and were further studied in PZase mutant systems of A3P, A134V, A146V, D8G, D49A, D49G, D63G, H51P, H137R, L85R, L116R, Q10P, R140S, T61P, V139M and Y103S. Generally, mutant-ligand systems displayed little deviation from the WT systems. The compound systems remained compact, with less fluctuations and more hydrogen bond interactions throughout the simulation (DB00255, DB00655, DB00672, DB00782, DB00977, DB01196, DB04573, DB06414, DB08981, DB11181, DB11760, DB13867, DB13952). From this research study, potential drugs that may be repurposed for TB therapy were identified. Majority of these drugs are currently used in the treatment of hypertension, menopause disorders and inflammation. To further understand the mutant-ligand dynamic systems, calculations such as Dynamic Residue Network (DRN) may be done. Also, the bioactivity of these drugs on Mycobacterium tuberculosis may be studied in wet laboratory, to understand their clinical impart in vivo experiments. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-04
- Authors: Gowo, Prudence
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Mycobacterium tuberculosis , Pyrazinamide , Multidrug resistance , Antitubercular agents , Molecular dynamics , Hydrogen bonding , Ligand binding (Biochemistry) , Dynamic Residue Network
- Language: English
- Type: thesis , text , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/178007 , vital:42898
- Description: The World Health Organization declared Tuberculosis a global health emergency and has set a goal to eradicate it by 2035. However, effective treatment and control of the disease is being hindered by the emerging Multi-Drug Resistant and Extensively Drug Resistant strains on the most effective first line prodrug, Pyrazinamide (PZA). Studies have shown that the main cause of PZA resistance is due to mutations in the pncA gene that codes for the target protein Pyrazinamidase (PZase). Therefore, this study aimed to identify novel drug compounds that bind to the active site of wild type PZase and study the dynamics of these potential anti-TB drugs in the mutant systems of PZase. This approach will aid in identifying drugs that may be repurposed for TB therapy and/or designed to counteract PZA resistance. This was achieved by screening 2089 DrugBank compounds against the whole wild type (WT) PZase protein in molecular docking using AutoDOCK4.2. Compound screening based on docking binding energy, hydrogen bonds, molecular weight and active site proximity identified 47 compounds meeting all the set selection criteria. The stability of these compounds were analysed in Molecular Dynamic (MD) simulations and were further studied in PZase mutant systems of A3P, A134V, A146V, D8G, D49A, D49G, D63G, H51P, H137R, L85R, L116R, Q10P, R140S, T61P, V139M and Y103S. Generally, mutant-ligand systems displayed little deviation from the WT systems. The compound systems remained compact, with less fluctuations and more hydrogen bond interactions throughout the simulation (DB00255, DB00655, DB00672, DB00782, DB00977, DB01196, DB04573, DB06414, DB08981, DB11181, DB11760, DB13867, DB13952). From this research study, potential drugs that may be repurposed for TB therapy were identified. Majority of these drugs are currently used in the treatment of hypertension, menopause disorders and inflammation. To further understand the mutant-ligand dynamic systems, calculations such as Dynamic Residue Network (DRN) may be done. Also, the bioactivity of these drugs on Mycobacterium tuberculosis may be studied in wet laboratory, to understand their clinical impart in vivo experiments. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-04
The characteristics of some Xhosa dramas
- Authors: Sirayi, Mziwoxolo
- Date: 1993
- Subjects: African literature -- Criticism and interpretation , Xhosa drama -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3598 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002173 , African literature -- Criticism and interpretation , Xhosa drama -- History and criticism
- Description: This study aims at highlighting some crucial aspects of Xhosa drama. These aspects are of great significance for the understanding of Xhosa drama. It also aims to historicize and contextualize examinations of traditional Xhosa drama and modern Xhosa drama.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1993
- Authors: Sirayi, Mziwoxolo
- Date: 1993
- Subjects: African literature -- Criticism and interpretation , Xhosa drama -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3598 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002173 , African literature -- Criticism and interpretation , Xhosa drama -- History and criticism
- Description: This study aims at highlighting some crucial aspects of Xhosa drama. These aspects are of great significance for the understanding of Xhosa drama. It also aims to historicize and contextualize examinations of traditional Xhosa drama and modern Xhosa drama.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1993
Development and assessment of azithromycin paediatric suppository formulations
- Authors: Mollel, Happiness
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Azithromycin , Pediatrics , Clinical pharmacology , Pharmacokinetics , Suppositories , Drugs -- Dosage forms
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3774 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003252 , Azithromycin , Pediatrics , Clinical pharmacology , Pharmacokinetics , Suppositories , Drugs -- Dosage forms
- Description: The use of the oral route of administration for the treatment of young children with antibiotics can at times be problematic since, factors such as nausea, vomiting, taste and/or smell, in addition to the challenges associated with the administration of suspensions, may contribute to poor patient compliance. In such cases, the use of the rectal route of administration may be appropriate. Therefore, suppositories containing 250 mg azithromycin (AZI) were manufactured and assessed for potential as an antibiotic suppository dosage form. Suppositories, containing AZI dihydrate were manufactured by the fusion method, using different grades of PEG, Witepsol® and Suppocire® bases. The rate and extent of AZI release was evaluated using USP apparatus I, and samples were analyzed using a validated HPLC method. Differences in the rate and extent of AZI release were observed with the greatest amount of AZI being released from PEG formulations. The rate and extent of AZI release from formulations manufactured using fatty bases were influenced by physicochemical properties, such as melting rate and hydroxyl value, of the bases. In addition drug partitioning appeared to favor the lipid phase and had a negative impact on AZI release characteristics. Two different formulation approaches were used in an attempt to increase the rate and extent of AZI release from fatty base formulations. The use of surfactants significantly increased AZI release from formulations manufactured with fatty bases with high hydroxyl values. The use of urea or Povidone K25 in combination with AZI as a physical mixture or solid dispersion did not increase the rate and extent of AZI release from the fatty suppositories, to any significant extent. The mechanism of drug release was evaluated using several mathematical models, including the Higuchi, Korsmeyer- eppas, Zero and, First order models. In addition, in vitro dissolution profiles were characterized by the difference and similarity factors, f1 and f2 and by use of the Gohel similarity factor, Sd. AZI release kinetics were best described by the Higuchi and Korsmeyer-Peppas models and the values of the release exponent, n, revealed that drug release was a consequence of the combined effects of AZI diffusion, rate of melting of the base and partitioning of the drug which can be considered to be anomalous release.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Mollel, Happiness
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Azithromycin , Pediatrics , Clinical pharmacology , Pharmacokinetics , Suppositories , Drugs -- Dosage forms
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3774 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003252 , Azithromycin , Pediatrics , Clinical pharmacology , Pharmacokinetics , Suppositories , Drugs -- Dosage forms
- Description: The use of the oral route of administration for the treatment of young children with antibiotics can at times be problematic since, factors such as nausea, vomiting, taste and/or smell, in addition to the challenges associated with the administration of suspensions, may contribute to poor patient compliance. In such cases, the use of the rectal route of administration may be appropriate. Therefore, suppositories containing 250 mg azithromycin (AZI) were manufactured and assessed for potential as an antibiotic suppository dosage form. Suppositories, containing AZI dihydrate were manufactured by the fusion method, using different grades of PEG, Witepsol® and Suppocire® bases. The rate and extent of AZI release was evaluated using USP apparatus I, and samples were analyzed using a validated HPLC method. Differences in the rate and extent of AZI release were observed with the greatest amount of AZI being released from PEG formulations. The rate and extent of AZI release from formulations manufactured using fatty bases were influenced by physicochemical properties, such as melting rate and hydroxyl value, of the bases. In addition drug partitioning appeared to favor the lipid phase and had a negative impact on AZI release characteristics. Two different formulation approaches were used in an attempt to increase the rate and extent of AZI release from fatty base formulations. The use of surfactants significantly increased AZI release from formulations manufactured with fatty bases with high hydroxyl values. The use of urea or Povidone K25 in combination with AZI as a physical mixture or solid dispersion did not increase the rate and extent of AZI release from the fatty suppositories, to any significant extent. The mechanism of drug release was evaluated using several mathematical models, including the Higuchi, Korsmeyer- eppas, Zero and, First order models. In addition, in vitro dissolution profiles were characterized by the difference and similarity factors, f1 and f2 and by use of the Gohel similarity factor, Sd. AZI release kinetics were best described by the Higuchi and Korsmeyer-Peppas models and the values of the release exponent, n, revealed that drug release was a consequence of the combined effects of AZI diffusion, rate of melting of the base and partitioning of the drug which can be considered to be anomalous release.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006