Mental healthcare users’ perceptions of mental health services at a primary healthcare level
- Authors: Zwane, Siphelele
- Date: 2025-04-25
- Subjects: Mental health services South Africa Makhanda , Primary care (Medicine) , Mental health consumer , Mental health education South Africa , Help-seeking
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478372 , vital:78181
- Description: This study interrogates the complexities of mental healthcare in primary healthcare settings, focusing on the experiences and perceptions of participants within the Makana municipality in the Eastern Cape Province, which is characterised by a low socio-economic status. The matter of mental healthcare is of great significance within the context of South Africa, a country grappling with multifaceted challenges. Over the years, mental health has progressed from being marginalised to being more widely acknowledged. While the integration into tertiary and urban healthcare settings has become smoother, primary healthcare has encountered numerous obstacles. This presents a concern, due to the socioeconomic difficulties faced by individuals accessing primary care, which predispose them to mental health issues. Consequently, it is imperative to conduct research focusing on the experiences and perspectives of mental healthcare users within primary healthcare, a relatively underexplored area. The primary objective of the current research study was to contribute to the existing knowledge base, providing valuable insights for relevant stakeholders and policymakers, such as the National Mental Health Policy Framework 2023-2030, to reference when formulating strategies to enhance the integration of mental healthcare into primary healthcare. The study used purposive sampling to interview mental healthcare users within the Makana municipality. Employing a qualitative design facilitated in-depth dialogue between the participants and the researcher, generating valuable data. Thematic Analysis was employed to analyse and present meaningful data, providing an overview of the participants' shared experiences. The study identified four significant themes: the utility of primary health clinic; the urgent need for mental health education; socioeconomics, and mental health, and the complex dynamics of help-seeking behaviours. The findings underscore the pressing need to integrate quality mental health into PHC, emphasising the importance of mental health education, increased resources, task-sharing, and the prioritisation of both physical and mental illnesses. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-25
- Authors: Zwane, Siphelele
- Date: 2025-04-25
- Subjects: Mental health services South Africa Makhanda , Primary care (Medicine) , Mental health consumer , Mental health education South Africa , Help-seeking
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478372 , vital:78181
- Description: This study interrogates the complexities of mental healthcare in primary healthcare settings, focusing on the experiences and perceptions of participants within the Makana municipality in the Eastern Cape Province, which is characterised by a low socio-economic status. The matter of mental healthcare is of great significance within the context of South Africa, a country grappling with multifaceted challenges. Over the years, mental health has progressed from being marginalised to being more widely acknowledged. While the integration into tertiary and urban healthcare settings has become smoother, primary healthcare has encountered numerous obstacles. This presents a concern, due to the socioeconomic difficulties faced by individuals accessing primary care, which predispose them to mental health issues. Consequently, it is imperative to conduct research focusing on the experiences and perspectives of mental healthcare users within primary healthcare, a relatively underexplored area. The primary objective of the current research study was to contribute to the existing knowledge base, providing valuable insights for relevant stakeholders and policymakers, such as the National Mental Health Policy Framework 2023-2030, to reference when formulating strategies to enhance the integration of mental healthcare into primary healthcare. The study used purposive sampling to interview mental healthcare users within the Makana municipality. Employing a qualitative design facilitated in-depth dialogue between the participants and the researcher, generating valuable data. Thematic Analysis was employed to analyse and present meaningful data, providing an overview of the participants' shared experiences. The study identified four significant themes: the utility of primary health clinic; the urgent need for mental health education; socioeconomics, and mental health, and the complex dynamics of help-seeking behaviours. The findings underscore the pressing need to integrate quality mental health into PHC, emphasising the importance of mental health education, increased resources, task-sharing, and the prioritisation of both physical and mental illnesses. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-25
Perceptions and reflections of primary healthcare professionals on mental health services in Makhanda
- Authors: Piliso, Zandisiwe
- Date: 2025-04-25
- Subjects: Primary care (Medicine) , Mental health services South Africa Makhanda , Medical personnel , Ecological Systems Theory , Mental health personnel South Africa Makhanda
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478344 , vital:78179
- Description: Primary mental healthcare in South Africa is still in its early stages, despite policies that have been developed, such as the National Mental Health Framework Policy. Provinces such as the Eastern Cape are far behind development, which can be attributed to limited resources. The scarcity has been noted in the literature, but not extensively. Literature concentrated on healthcare professionals’ perspectives towards primary health greatly narrow, particularly in the Makhanda area. With the integration of primary mental health services, healthcare workers’ viewpoints have impacted on service delivery. This study aims to add knowledge and explore the perspectives of healthcare professionals on primary mental healthcare in Makhanda. The ecological systems theory was used as a theoretical framework for the study. Thematic analysis was used to examine the healthcare professionals’ insights and to extract meaning for the participants involved in the study. Thirteen participants were used, using purposive sampling in four primary healthcare settings. Data were collected using semi-structured and one-on-one interviews. The study revealed three themes including, (i) Scarcity of Mental Health Services, (ii) Mental Health Literacy, (iii) Barriers to the Provision and Use of Physical and Mental Health Services. The findings suggest that there are limited mental health care services in primary care and that there is a gap between service provision and physical and mental healthcare. The data also revealed that mental health literacy is limited, which links to the stigma around mental illness. Furthermore, evidence points out that more mental health education, human resources and training of healthcare professionals would further improve the mental health services in the Makhanda area. In addition, there are barriers to the provision of not only primary mental health care but healthcare, as well as a lack of medical equipment, human resources, and structural space that make it difficult for healthcare professionals to perform their jobs and affect clinic functioning, at times. Another barrier is that the perception of mental health service provision is simultaneously viewed in a positive and negative light and mainly received negatively by service users. In conclusion, healthcare professionals experience a deficiency of resources and a limited provision of mental healthcare, which highlights the lack of implementation of policies that have developed nationally and globally. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-25
- Authors: Piliso, Zandisiwe
- Date: 2025-04-25
- Subjects: Primary care (Medicine) , Mental health services South Africa Makhanda , Medical personnel , Ecological Systems Theory , Mental health personnel South Africa Makhanda
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478344 , vital:78179
- Description: Primary mental healthcare in South Africa is still in its early stages, despite policies that have been developed, such as the National Mental Health Framework Policy. Provinces such as the Eastern Cape are far behind development, which can be attributed to limited resources. The scarcity has been noted in the literature, but not extensively. Literature concentrated on healthcare professionals’ perspectives towards primary health greatly narrow, particularly in the Makhanda area. With the integration of primary mental health services, healthcare workers’ viewpoints have impacted on service delivery. This study aims to add knowledge and explore the perspectives of healthcare professionals on primary mental healthcare in Makhanda. The ecological systems theory was used as a theoretical framework for the study. Thematic analysis was used to examine the healthcare professionals’ insights and to extract meaning for the participants involved in the study. Thirteen participants were used, using purposive sampling in four primary healthcare settings. Data were collected using semi-structured and one-on-one interviews. The study revealed three themes including, (i) Scarcity of Mental Health Services, (ii) Mental Health Literacy, (iii) Barriers to the Provision and Use of Physical and Mental Health Services. The findings suggest that there are limited mental health care services in primary care and that there is a gap between service provision and physical and mental healthcare. The data also revealed that mental health literacy is limited, which links to the stigma around mental illness. Furthermore, evidence points out that more mental health education, human resources and training of healthcare professionals would further improve the mental health services in the Makhanda area. In addition, there are barriers to the provision of not only primary mental health care but healthcare, as well as a lack of medical equipment, human resources, and structural space that make it difficult for healthcare professionals to perform their jobs and affect clinic functioning, at times. Another barrier is that the perception of mental health service provision is simultaneously viewed in a positive and negative light and mainly received negatively by service users. In conclusion, healthcare professionals experience a deficiency of resources and a limited provision of mental healthcare, which highlights the lack of implementation of policies that have developed nationally and globally. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-25
‘Basadi ba kae? [Where are the women?]: a history of the making of Sepedi (Sesotho sa Leboa) womanhood, 1935 – 1999
- Mahlo, Mathabo Makgare Betty
- Authors: Mahlo, Mathabo Makgare Betty
- Date: 2025-04-25
- Subjects: Northern Sotho language , Sotho (African people) , Women, Black Africa , Representation (Philosophy) , Missionaries , Berlin Mission Church (Transvaal, South Africa)
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478465 , vital:78189
- Description: This study sought to explore the way an African ethnicity – namely the ‘Pedi’ ethnicity - emerged through literary texts and examined the representations of black African woman in vernacular texts from 1935 to 1990. This thesis is geographically situated in the Northern Transvaal, currently known as the Limpopo Province, the ‘homeland’ of Northern Sotho speakers (‘Sesotho sa Lebowa’ or ‘Basotho’ communities). It began by tracing the various stakeholders who utilised the terms ‘Pedi’ and ‘Bapedi’ to represent a federation of independent chiefdoms within the Lulu (or Leolo) Mountain valley. The noun ‘Pedi’ became - over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth century - an ethnic category, encompassing those who spoke one of the many Northern Sotho dialects. As the Berlin Missionary Society (BMS) expanded their missionary enterprise into the Transvaal in the 1860s, a Northern Sotho language was formalised – with the aid of black African Christian converts from different Northern Basotho’s chiefdoms. The formalisation of Northern Sotho as a language resulted in the creation of an artificial link between Northern Sotho communities and the Northern Sotho language by the Union of South Africa state. The state used this link as marker of ethnic difference, conflating speaking practices with ethnic units. In view of the foregoing, this study discussed the various historical processes that have informed our contemporary understanding of the ‘Pedi’ (henceforth referred to as Bapedi) – as an ethnic category. This study commenced with an understanding of the emergence of the ‘Basotho’ (Northern Basotho) subject, followed by the ways in which missionaries and black African Christian converts added cultural weight to this term through the formalisation of language, the particularisation of a Northern Sotho culture and the production of Northern Sotho print media. Within these texts, ideas around a Northern Sotho ethnicity were circulated. Additionally, within vernacular texts, appeared representations of black African women, which echoed missionary ideals of Christian womanhood and precolonial ideals of womanhood. This study foregrounded the discourse on the formation of the Northern Sotho ethnicity in the light of the representations of women in literary texts. This is because literary works were targeted at black African communities, and these works shaped black Africans’ own ideas of ethnicity and womanhood. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, History, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-25
- Authors: Mahlo, Mathabo Makgare Betty
- Date: 2025-04-25
- Subjects: Northern Sotho language , Sotho (African people) , Women, Black Africa , Representation (Philosophy) , Missionaries , Berlin Mission Church (Transvaal, South Africa)
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478465 , vital:78189
- Description: This study sought to explore the way an African ethnicity – namely the ‘Pedi’ ethnicity - emerged through literary texts and examined the representations of black African woman in vernacular texts from 1935 to 1990. This thesis is geographically situated in the Northern Transvaal, currently known as the Limpopo Province, the ‘homeland’ of Northern Sotho speakers (‘Sesotho sa Lebowa’ or ‘Basotho’ communities). It began by tracing the various stakeholders who utilised the terms ‘Pedi’ and ‘Bapedi’ to represent a federation of independent chiefdoms within the Lulu (or Leolo) Mountain valley. The noun ‘Pedi’ became - over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth century - an ethnic category, encompassing those who spoke one of the many Northern Sotho dialects. As the Berlin Missionary Society (BMS) expanded their missionary enterprise into the Transvaal in the 1860s, a Northern Sotho language was formalised – with the aid of black African Christian converts from different Northern Basotho’s chiefdoms. The formalisation of Northern Sotho as a language resulted in the creation of an artificial link between Northern Sotho communities and the Northern Sotho language by the Union of South Africa state. The state used this link as marker of ethnic difference, conflating speaking practices with ethnic units. In view of the foregoing, this study discussed the various historical processes that have informed our contemporary understanding of the ‘Pedi’ (henceforth referred to as Bapedi) – as an ethnic category. This study commenced with an understanding of the emergence of the ‘Basotho’ (Northern Basotho) subject, followed by the ways in which missionaries and black African Christian converts added cultural weight to this term through the formalisation of language, the particularisation of a Northern Sotho culture and the production of Northern Sotho print media. Within these texts, ideas around a Northern Sotho ethnicity were circulated. Additionally, within vernacular texts, appeared representations of black African women, which echoed missionary ideals of Christian womanhood and precolonial ideals of womanhood. This study foregrounded the discourse on the formation of the Northern Sotho ethnicity in the light of the representations of women in literary texts. This is because literary works were targeted at black African communities, and these works shaped black Africans’ own ideas of ethnicity and womanhood. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, History, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-25
A critical exploration of the personal experiences of the shifting womanhoods practices and values between the traditional and contemporary contexts of the Basotho cultural group
- Authors: Zondi, Babazile Jessica
- Date: 2025-04-04
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/480172 , vital:78403
- Description: Womanhood rites of passage fulfill the purpose of integrating young girls into accepted womanhood roles, ideals, definitions, and expectations. Traditional Basotho womanhood rites of passage have become less popular in the modern context, with alternative womanhood practices and spaces populating the contemporary Basotho context. Through a qualitative methodology, this study explores three Basotho womanhood spaces insofar as they define and construct womanhood for the participants. Additionally, this thesis critically explores the personal experiences of the shifting womanhoods practices and values between the traditional and contemporary contexts of the Basotho women. It draws on the in-depth accounts of nine women of different ages and backgrounds and participating or having participated in one of three womanhood spaces: Lebollo la basali, Pitiki ea bomme, and Makoti. This study leans on African Feminist theory to engage these experiences and further relies on the qualitative methodology, using semi-structured interviews to collect data. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-04
- Authors: Zondi, Babazile Jessica
- Date: 2025-04-04
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/480172 , vital:78403
- Description: Womanhood rites of passage fulfill the purpose of integrating young girls into accepted womanhood roles, ideals, definitions, and expectations. Traditional Basotho womanhood rites of passage have become less popular in the modern context, with alternative womanhood practices and spaces populating the contemporary Basotho context. Through a qualitative methodology, this study explores three Basotho womanhood spaces insofar as they define and construct womanhood for the participants. Additionally, this thesis critically explores the personal experiences of the shifting womanhoods practices and values between the traditional and contemporary contexts of the Basotho women. It draws on the in-depth accounts of nine women of different ages and backgrounds and participating or having participated in one of three womanhood spaces: Lebollo la basali, Pitiki ea bomme, and Makoti. This study leans on African Feminist theory to engage these experiences and further relies on the qualitative methodology, using semi-structured interviews to collect data. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-04
Bridging cultures in science education: leveraging lesson study approach for indigenous knowledge integration in a township school
- Authors: Mayana, Xolani Justice
- Date: 2025-04-03
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/480084 , vital:78395 , DOI 10.21504/10962/480084
- Description: The South African Curriculum Assessment and Policy Statement (CAPS) encourages science teachers to use culturally responsive pedagogies in their teaching. This should be done by integrating Indigenous Knowledge (IK) in science teaching to make it accessible and relevant to learners. However, the policy falls short of giving clear details on how this ought to be done. For instance, the school textbooks hardly contain any IK and there are few or no readily available teaching resources either. To complicate matters, many science teachers have not been trained on how to integrate IK into science teaching. As a result, most of them do not integrate any IK during their science lessons. It is against this backdrop that this study aimed to leverage the use of a Lesson Study approach when working with science teachers on how to integrate IK to mediate learning of the topics of waves and sound and redox reactions in a township school. Underpinned by the indigenous research and transformative paradigms, a qualitative case study approach in a form of participatory action research was adopted. Six science teachers from a township school, five Indigenous Knowledge Custodians1 (IKCs), one critical friend (isiXhosa and English teacher from the same school) and three university lecturers and a school principal from Zambia who conducted various workshops, and I were the participants in this study. Qualitative data was generated using interviews (semi-structured and stimulated recall interviews), document analysis, workshop discussions, observations (participatory and classroom observations) and journal reflections. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, Shulman’s pedagogical content knowledge, specifically Topic-specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TSPCK) and Ogunniyi’s Contiguity Argumentation Theory (CAT) were used as complementary theoretical frameworks. A thematic approach to data analysis was employed to come up with sub-themes and themes. The main findings of the study revealed that through collaboration with Indigenous Knowledge Custodians and tapping into their cultural heritage the integration of IK into science lessons was possible. Thus, this study showed that leveraging the use of a Lesson Study approach when working with science teachers on how to integrate IK to mediate learning of the topics of waves and sound and redox reactions in a township school, shifted the science teachers’ Zone of Proximal Development and Pedagogical Content Knowledge positively. Also, this study revealed that the integration of IK promotes learner talk or argumentation. Moreover, the use of isiXhosa our home language proved to be an invaluable cultural tool for effective communication in this study. The study thus recommends that transformational professional learning communities (PLCs) be established in township schools and that teachers should work in collaboration with IKCs to learn about IK which could be integrated into other science topics. Furthermore, the study recommends that teachers should be trained in document analysis and how to use the TSPCK components to unpack the curriculum. This might help the teachers to understand the curriculum needs better, plan better, and hopefully teach better. Thus, the contention of this study is that teacher preparedness is inextricably linked to learner achievement. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, Secondary and Post School Education, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-03
- Authors: Mayana, Xolani Justice
- Date: 2025-04-03
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/480084 , vital:78395 , DOI 10.21504/10962/480084
- Description: The South African Curriculum Assessment and Policy Statement (CAPS) encourages science teachers to use culturally responsive pedagogies in their teaching. This should be done by integrating Indigenous Knowledge (IK) in science teaching to make it accessible and relevant to learners. However, the policy falls short of giving clear details on how this ought to be done. For instance, the school textbooks hardly contain any IK and there are few or no readily available teaching resources either. To complicate matters, many science teachers have not been trained on how to integrate IK into science teaching. As a result, most of them do not integrate any IK during their science lessons. It is against this backdrop that this study aimed to leverage the use of a Lesson Study approach when working with science teachers on how to integrate IK to mediate learning of the topics of waves and sound and redox reactions in a township school. Underpinned by the indigenous research and transformative paradigms, a qualitative case study approach in a form of participatory action research was adopted. Six science teachers from a township school, five Indigenous Knowledge Custodians1 (IKCs), one critical friend (isiXhosa and English teacher from the same school) and three university lecturers and a school principal from Zambia who conducted various workshops, and I were the participants in this study. Qualitative data was generated using interviews (semi-structured and stimulated recall interviews), document analysis, workshop discussions, observations (participatory and classroom observations) and journal reflections. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, Shulman’s pedagogical content knowledge, specifically Topic-specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TSPCK) and Ogunniyi’s Contiguity Argumentation Theory (CAT) were used as complementary theoretical frameworks. A thematic approach to data analysis was employed to come up with sub-themes and themes. The main findings of the study revealed that through collaboration with Indigenous Knowledge Custodians and tapping into their cultural heritage the integration of IK into science lessons was possible. Thus, this study showed that leveraging the use of a Lesson Study approach when working with science teachers on how to integrate IK to mediate learning of the topics of waves and sound and redox reactions in a township school, shifted the science teachers’ Zone of Proximal Development and Pedagogical Content Knowledge positively. Also, this study revealed that the integration of IK promotes learner talk or argumentation. Moreover, the use of isiXhosa our home language proved to be an invaluable cultural tool for effective communication in this study. The study thus recommends that transformational professional learning communities (PLCs) be established in township schools and that teachers should work in collaboration with IKCs to learn about IK which could be integrated into other science topics. Furthermore, the study recommends that teachers should be trained in document analysis and how to use the TSPCK components to unpack the curriculum. This might help the teachers to understand the curriculum needs better, plan better, and hopefully teach better. Thus, the contention of this study is that teacher preparedness is inextricably linked to learner achievement. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, Secondary and Post School Education, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-03
Bridging traditions: mobilising indigenous knowledge and marine biodiversity conservation to support learner talk and sense-making in Grade 11 Life Sciences
- Authors: Sibanda, Aswad
- Date: 2025-04-03
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/480007 , vital:78388
- Description: The Curriculum Assessment Policy and Statement (CAPS) document mandates that science teachers should integrate learners’ Indigenous Knowledge (IK) into their classrooms. However, many South African teachers, like those in Namibia, seem to struggle with this integration due to insufficient pedagogical content knowledge, leading to minimal IK integration and hence poor science performance. This issue suggests that science curricula seem to lack clarity on integrating IK. It is against this backdrop that I was motivated to mobilise marine Indigenous Knowledge to support Grade 11 Life Sciences learners from a township school to talk and make sense of marine biodiversity conservation. A qualitative case study research design was used as it permits the grouping of detailed information essential to making sense of the anticipated responses of the participants. This study was informed by Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). It was conducted at a township school in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Forty-five Grade 11 Life Sciences learners, two Indigenous Knowledge Custodians (IKCs) who grew up in marine environments and a local fisherman were participants in this study. Additionally, I asked one science teacher to be a critical friend. Data sets were gathered using a group activity, focus group interviews (sharing circles), observations (participatory and lesson observations), stimulated recall interviews and learners’ reflections. The sociocultural theory was used as a lens to find out how learners learn through social interactions and how learning takes place in a sociocultural context. I augmented this theory with CHAT as an analytical framework. The CHAT provided an analytical lens to understand how community involvement and IKC interventions supported learner talk and sense making of the content and facilitated meaningful learning. The main findings of the study revealed that during the IKCs’ presentations, learners were able to identify science concepts embedded in the Indigenous Knowledge of marine biodiversity conservation. The findings further revealed that the presentations stimulated learner talk and improved sense making among learners regarding marine biodiversity conservation and related concepts. The study recommends that teachers should leverage IKCs’ cultural heritage by inviting them into classrooms to make science more relevant, accessible and meaningful for learners. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Secondary and Post School Education, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-03
- Authors: Sibanda, Aswad
- Date: 2025-04-03
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/480007 , vital:78388
- Description: The Curriculum Assessment Policy and Statement (CAPS) document mandates that science teachers should integrate learners’ Indigenous Knowledge (IK) into their classrooms. However, many South African teachers, like those in Namibia, seem to struggle with this integration due to insufficient pedagogical content knowledge, leading to minimal IK integration and hence poor science performance. This issue suggests that science curricula seem to lack clarity on integrating IK. It is against this backdrop that I was motivated to mobilise marine Indigenous Knowledge to support Grade 11 Life Sciences learners from a township school to talk and make sense of marine biodiversity conservation. A qualitative case study research design was used as it permits the grouping of detailed information essential to making sense of the anticipated responses of the participants. This study was informed by Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). It was conducted at a township school in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Forty-five Grade 11 Life Sciences learners, two Indigenous Knowledge Custodians (IKCs) who grew up in marine environments and a local fisherman were participants in this study. Additionally, I asked one science teacher to be a critical friend. Data sets were gathered using a group activity, focus group interviews (sharing circles), observations (participatory and lesson observations), stimulated recall interviews and learners’ reflections. The sociocultural theory was used as a lens to find out how learners learn through social interactions and how learning takes place in a sociocultural context. I augmented this theory with CHAT as an analytical framework. The CHAT provided an analytical lens to understand how community involvement and IKC interventions supported learner talk and sense making of the content and facilitated meaningful learning. The main findings of the study revealed that during the IKCs’ presentations, learners were able to identify science concepts embedded in the Indigenous Knowledge of marine biodiversity conservation. The findings further revealed that the presentations stimulated learner talk and improved sense making among learners regarding marine biodiversity conservation and related concepts. The study recommends that teachers should leverage IKCs’ cultural heritage by inviting them into classrooms to make science more relevant, accessible and meaningful for learners. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Secondary and Post School Education, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-03
Bushmeat hunting and use by rural communities living adjacent to indigenous forests in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Martins, Vusumzi
- Date: 2025-04-03
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479930 , vital:78381 , DOI 10.21504/10962/479930
- Description: The use of forest wild species directly contributes to the well-being of billions of people globally and is particularly important to people living in vulnerable situations. Rural, indigenous communities have harvested a variety of timber and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for millennia and still do to date. For these people, forests provide many products and benefits such as food, medicine, fuelwood and a source of income from trade in these items. In South Africa, a large number of studies have investigated the harvesting and use of NTFPs, highlighting their importance to rural and urban communities. Additionaly, the hunting of wild mammals occurs throughout the Afro-temperate forests of South Africa. Yet, no comprehensive study has been conducted on the hunting and use of wild forest mammals in the region. I sought to investigate the motivations, extent and impact of local hunting in the indigenous forests of the Eastern Cape. I hypothesize that in the region hunting is not a primary source of nutrition or income, but it continues to hold cultural significance, reflecting deep-rooted traditions within these communities. Understanding bushmeat hunting and use in the region is key to guiding sustainable management and assessing the need for policy adjustments. The current study firstly provides a detailed evaluation of NTFPs harvesting and use, highlighting the livelihood benefits associated with bushmeat hunting by investigating bushmeat hunting patterns and consumption by rural communities surrounding forest patches in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. Here bushmeat hunting refers to the informal hunting of wild mammals by rural communities, primarily for subsistence consumption. While often organised and small-scale, it is shaped by local ecological knowledge, cultural traditions, and resource availability. The practice occurs within a complex illegal and socio-economic landscape, where access to alternative protein sources, conservation regulations, and historical land-use patterns influence its prevalence and significance. To assess NTFP harvesting and bushmeat hunting, 12 villages at different proximities to forests were selected around the province. Using a quantitative approach in the form of guided, semi-structured interviews, data on the extraction and use of NTFPs, bushmeat hunting, frequency of bushmeat consumption, general protein consumption and food security of each household were solicited. Only 16% of the households attested to hunting in the 12 months prior to the survey, with all these households including an active hunter. Though 64% of the interviewed head of households mentioned that they had consumed bushmeat in the past year, these were mostly men, only 12% percent mentioned that the hunter in the household brought their catch home and consumed the meat with their families. Hunters mostly consumed their catch with other hunters, non-hunting males and young boys. Hence the study concluded that bushmeat consumption was not an important livelihood strategy nor food source of rural people but instead plays a significant social and cultural role in the region. I also provide comprehensive insights into bushmeat hunting practices in the province. Though conducting in-depth questionnaire surveys with self-identifying hunters from the 12 villages I was able to determine the motivations, methods and perceptions behind bushmeat hunting. A total of 147 hunter interviews were conducted. All the interviewees were male, with a mean age of 32 ± 9 years. The primary motivations behind bushmeat hunting were culture (40%), sport/competition (33%) and recreational purposes (20%). Contrary to hunting in the tropics, only 4% mentioned that they hunt for income. Most of the hunters (44%) used mixed hunting methods. This involved setting up or checking snares whilst hunting with dogs and sticks, 27% only used dogs and sticks and 17% only used snares. Hunters reported ten mammal species caught in forests of the Eastern Cape in the last 12 months. Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), Common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) and Cape porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis) were the most hunted species. All the hunters acknowledged that hunting was an illegal activity and if caught they could be arrested. The study further presents a thorough assessment of forest mammal species diversity under hunting pressure. Evidence suggests that higher hunting occurs in communal land forests compared to forests on protected or privately owned land. Hence, data on species richness and abundance within fenced protected forests and neighbouring unfenced communal forests was acquired using a mixed-methods approach in the form of ecological line transects and local ecological knowledge (LEK) surveys. The line transects revealed a mean mammal species richness of 7.6 ±1.3 in the protected forests, 5.3 ±1.4 in the Afromontane communal forests and 3.3 ±1.6 in the Coastal communal forests. The Afromontane and Coastal communal forests had a mean species abundance of 12.1 ± 5.4 and 6.5 ± 5.0, per forest respectively, whilst the protected forests had a mean species abundance of 18.0 ± 7.0. During the LEK surveys hunters from villages close to the forests reported more species (8.9 ±1.7) than those from far villages (7.3 ± 1.2). The regular forest users reported a mean species richness of 5.5 ± 1.2 and the local experts from the protected forests reporting a mean species richness of 13.4 ± 0.7. The study demonstrates the importance of mixed-methods approach in wildlife research and sustainable natural resource use. The current study clearly shows that protected areas support higher biodiversity and that local forest users’ knowledge aligns well with ecological data. Lastly, I present a social-ecological assessment of bushmeat hunting in the forests of the Eastern Cape. The use of traditional biological sustainability indices have proved inadequate for measuring the impact of bushmeat hunting because sustainability is treated as a static, binary question, thus ignoring stochastic processes, the inherent variability of natural systems, and the complexity of hunting systems. I hence used a combination of social and ecological methods to gain insights on how the offtake of forest mammal species affected species density in the communal forests of the Eastern Cape and also how this influenced hunting practices and behaviour. The density estimates of the hunted mammal fauna in the communal forests was significantly less (50%) than in the protected forests in the region. Also, the density estimates for the five most hunted mammal species in the communal forests were significantly lower (15%) than density estimates reported in the literature. Additionally, participatory hunter interviews revealed a decline in catch per unit effort and harvest rates over the past 10 years. This decline resulted in changes in the hunting strategies and patterns of many hunters. I argue that bushmeat hunting systems should be regarded as social-ecological systems in which the animal populations are not the only focus. Instead, understanding the complex and dynamic relationships between the hunting ground, its resources, the stakeholders, and the different exogenous drivers of change that affect these components yields a better interpretation of sustainability. The current study contributes to the growing knowledge of bushmeat hunting and use in the country and also provides novel findings on the sustainability of bushmeat hunting in the forests of the Eastern Cape. Here I provide an all-inclusive appraisal of bushmeat hunting and use by rural communities living adjacent to biodiversity-rich indigenous forests. The study provides in-depth insights on household bushmeat use, hunting practices and motivations of hunters and the effect of hunting on mammalian forest fauna. Furthermore, the study provides a novel approach to determining the sustainability of bushmeat hunting by using mixed social and ecological methods. The study can be used as a model for other studies assessing bushmeat hunting elsewhere in the country. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Environmental Science, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-03
- Authors: Martins, Vusumzi
- Date: 2025-04-03
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479930 , vital:78381 , DOI 10.21504/10962/479930
- Description: The use of forest wild species directly contributes to the well-being of billions of people globally and is particularly important to people living in vulnerable situations. Rural, indigenous communities have harvested a variety of timber and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for millennia and still do to date. For these people, forests provide many products and benefits such as food, medicine, fuelwood and a source of income from trade in these items. In South Africa, a large number of studies have investigated the harvesting and use of NTFPs, highlighting their importance to rural and urban communities. Additionaly, the hunting of wild mammals occurs throughout the Afro-temperate forests of South Africa. Yet, no comprehensive study has been conducted on the hunting and use of wild forest mammals in the region. I sought to investigate the motivations, extent and impact of local hunting in the indigenous forests of the Eastern Cape. I hypothesize that in the region hunting is not a primary source of nutrition or income, but it continues to hold cultural significance, reflecting deep-rooted traditions within these communities. Understanding bushmeat hunting and use in the region is key to guiding sustainable management and assessing the need for policy adjustments. The current study firstly provides a detailed evaluation of NTFPs harvesting and use, highlighting the livelihood benefits associated with bushmeat hunting by investigating bushmeat hunting patterns and consumption by rural communities surrounding forest patches in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. Here bushmeat hunting refers to the informal hunting of wild mammals by rural communities, primarily for subsistence consumption. While often organised and small-scale, it is shaped by local ecological knowledge, cultural traditions, and resource availability. The practice occurs within a complex illegal and socio-economic landscape, where access to alternative protein sources, conservation regulations, and historical land-use patterns influence its prevalence and significance. To assess NTFP harvesting and bushmeat hunting, 12 villages at different proximities to forests were selected around the province. Using a quantitative approach in the form of guided, semi-structured interviews, data on the extraction and use of NTFPs, bushmeat hunting, frequency of bushmeat consumption, general protein consumption and food security of each household were solicited. Only 16% of the households attested to hunting in the 12 months prior to the survey, with all these households including an active hunter. Though 64% of the interviewed head of households mentioned that they had consumed bushmeat in the past year, these were mostly men, only 12% percent mentioned that the hunter in the household brought their catch home and consumed the meat with their families. Hunters mostly consumed their catch with other hunters, non-hunting males and young boys. Hence the study concluded that bushmeat consumption was not an important livelihood strategy nor food source of rural people but instead plays a significant social and cultural role in the region. I also provide comprehensive insights into bushmeat hunting practices in the province. Though conducting in-depth questionnaire surveys with self-identifying hunters from the 12 villages I was able to determine the motivations, methods and perceptions behind bushmeat hunting. A total of 147 hunter interviews were conducted. All the interviewees were male, with a mean age of 32 ± 9 years. The primary motivations behind bushmeat hunting were culture (40%), sport/competition (33%) and recreational purposes (20%). Contrary to hunting in the tropics, only 4% mentioned that they hunt for income. Most of the hunters (44%) used mixed hunting methods. This involved setting up or checking snares whilst hunting with dogs and sticks, 27% only used dogs and sticks and 17% only used snares. Hunters reported ten mammal species caught in forests of the Eastern Cape in the last 12 months. Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), Common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) and Cape porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis) were the most hunted species. All the hunters acknowledged that hunting was an illegal activity and if caught they could be arrested. The study further presents a thorough assessment of forest mammal species diversity under hunting pressure. Evidence suggests that higher hunting occurs in communal land forests compared to forests on protected or privately owned land. Hence, data on species richness and abundance within fenced protected forests and neighbouring unfenced communal forests was acquired using a mixed-methods approach in the form of ecological line transects and local ecological knowledge (LEK) surveys. The line transects revealed a mean mammal species richness of 7.6 ±1.3 in the protected forests, 5.3 ±1.4 in the Afromontane communal forests and 3.3 ±1.6 in the Coastal communal forests. The Afromontane and Coastal communal forests had a mean species abundance of 12.1 ± 5.4 and 6.5 ± 5.0, per forest respectively, whilst the protected forests had a mean species abundance of 18.0 ± 7.0. During the LEK surveys hunters from villages close to the forests reported more species (8.9 ±1.7) than those from far villages (7.3 ± 1.2). The regular forest users reported a mean species richness of 5.5 ± 1.2 and the local experts from the protected forests reporting a mean species richness of 13.4 ± 0.7. The study demonstrates the importance of mixed-methods approach in wildlife research and sustainable natural resource use. The current study clearly shows that protected areas support higher biodiversity and that local forest users’ knowledge aligns well with ecological data. Lastly, I present a social-ecological assessment of bushmeat hunting in the forests of the Eastern Cape. The use of traditional biological sustainability indices have proved inadequate for measuring the impact of bushmeat hunting because sustainability is treated as a static, binary question, thus ignoring stochastic processes, the inherent variability of natural systems, and the complexity of hunting systems. I hence used a combination of social and ecological methods to gain insights on how the offtake of forest mammal species affected species density in the communal forests of the Eastern Cape and also how this influenced hunting practices and behaviour. The density estimates of the hunted mammal fauna in the communal forests was significantly less (50%) than in the protected forests in the region. Also, the density estimates for the five most hunted mammal species in the communal forests were significantly lower (15%) than density estimates reported in the literature. Additionally, participatory hunter interviews revealed a decline in catch per unit effort and harvest rates over the past 10 years. This decline resulted in changes in the hunting strategies and patterns of many hunters. I argue that bushmeat hunting systems should be regarded as social-ecological systems in which the animal populations are not the only focus. Instead, understanding the complex and dynamic relationships between the hunting ground, its resources, the stakeholders, and the different exogenous drivers of change that affect these components yields a better interpretation of sustainability. The current study contributes to the growing knowledge of bushmeat hunting and use in the country and also provides novel findings on the sustainability of bushmeat hunting in the forests of the Eastern Cape. Here I provide an all-inclusive appraisal of bushmeat hunting and use by rural communities living adjacent to biodiversity-rich indigenous forests. The study provides in-depth insights on household bushmeat use, hunting practices and motivations of hunters and the effect of hunting on mammalian forest fauna. Furthermore, the study provides a novel approach to determining the sustainability of bushmeat hunting by using mixed social and ecological methods. The study can be used as a model for other studies assessing bushmeat hunting elsewhere in the country. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Environmental Science, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-03
Evaluating social effects of arable field abandonment in communal areas of South Africa
- Authors: Pokwana, Sihle
- Date: 2025-04-03
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479941 , vital:78382 , DOI 10.21504/10962/479941
- Description: The phenomenon of arable field abandonment, a complex and multifaceted aspect of land use dynamics, has become a subject of increasing significance in rural landscapes. Across diverse geographic contexts, the abandonment of once-cultivated fields is indicative of transformative shifts in agricultural practices, reflecting the interplay of numerous socio-economic, environmental, and cultural factors. The abandonment of arable fields in the former homelands of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal poses a multifaceted challenge with significant social implications. Historically, agriculture has been central to these regions, yet recent trends show a shift from traditional field cultivation to alternative practices such as garden cultivation or complete cessation. This shift has heightened vulnerability to food insecurity, hunger, and poverty, particularly as high unemployment levels exacerbate the situation. Moreover, the intricate relationships between humans and their surrounding ecosystems is also affected. Therefore, understanding the drivers of arable field abandonment at the community or household level can reveal localised factors that differ from broader, generalised drivers identified in previous studies. Additionally, examining the diverse impacts on these communities is crucial for developing targeted interventions that address their specific needs and enhance resilience. This study investigates arable field abandonment in specific villages of Gotyibeni and Melani in the Eastern Cape and Manqorholweni and Mawane, in KwaZulu-Natal. Using the Driving forces, Pressures, State, Impacts, and Responses (DPSIR) framework as a conceptual framework uncovers the driving factors, pressures, state, impacts and responses of this phenomenon in these rural villages. The study’s main aim was to assess the social effects of arable field abandonment in the selected study areas. The main objective is to determine how livelihoods, social relationships, and living conditions within and between households have changed following the cessation of field cultivation. The study also employed several specific objectives: first, to identify trends in field cultivation within the study areas; second, to analyse the drivers contributing to arable field abandonment in the villages; third, to examine the impact of field abandonment on the elderly population over the past 50 years; and fourth, to investigate the level of youth engagement in agriculture, including how the abandonment of arable fields affects their participation and perceptions of agriculture as a livelihood. To achieve the objectives the study employed mixed research methods that combine satellite imagery analysis, household surveys, oral history interviews with elders, most of whom had stopped farming, and youth focus group discussions. Landsat 7 Satellite imagery with a 15-meter spatial resolution was sourced from the South African Space Agency (SANSA) for the four study areas. The temporal coverage spanned from 1972 to 2020, with considerations for image usability based on resolution. Unfortunately, many earlier images were deemed unusable due to low resolution, particularly affecting Gotyibeni, where clear images only became available from 2013, therefore for this village the focus was on two decades. Arable fields, residential areas, homestead gardens, grasslands, and shrublands were classified. Change detection utilised a post-classification approach, comparing land cover categories between the early and late 2000s. A change detection matrix and statistics were generated using a ha/year formula, enabling the quantification of land cover changes. Image analysis employed ArcGIS 10.8.1 software for mapping and classification, involving georeferencing, signature file creation, maximum likelihood classification, and conversion from raster to vector formats for area calculations. For the LULC change matrix, an intersection analysis in ArcGIS overlaid data from different time points, and a pivot table in Excel organised resulting data. A focus on arable land changes, particularly conversions to other land uses, was crucial, as the study is investigating the level of arable field abandonment in these areas, understanding how much arable land has been converted or remained unchanged provides a clear indication of the extent of abandonment. To understand driving forces of arable field abandonment, a semi-structured questionnaire was developed based on the Driving forces, Pressures, States, Impacts, and Responses (DPSIR) framework. The questionnaires were administered through household interviews conducted in the four study villages. Sections of the questionnaire covered household involvement in cropping, perceptions of land use change, abandonment of field cultivation, and socio-economic demographics. Sampling involved a random selection of 20% of total households in each village, with data analysis performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Chi-square tests and Kruskal-Wallis analysis were employed to assess differences between villages. A second questionnaire specifically targeting households that had abandoned field cultivation was also done. Ninety-seven interviews were conducted to evaluate economic, health, socio-cultural and environmental impacts from respondents that indicated to have ceased field cultivation. Data analysis through SPSS utilised descriptive statistics and chi-square tests to identify statistically significant differences between villages. Oral histories were collected from elderly individuals in each village from a sample size of 15 individuals who were previous cultivators of fields, selected with the assistance of a village leader. The selected elders provided qualitative insights into historical and contemporary experiential aspects of village life. The focus was on changes in village relations, the environment, generational values, and traditional farming practices in each village. Youth-focused group discussions were organised with 30 young people in the village between the ages of 18-35, covering topics such as youth goals, the importance of field cultivation, and perceptions of the future. Both the oral histories and focus group discussions conducted in the local languages, were tape-recorded, transcribed, and subjected to content analysis to identify and interpret themes and patterns. The approach involved coding sentences, grouping codes into sub-themes, and further organising them into categories and subcategories. The LULC change results showed a consistent trend of significant arable land reduction across all villages, accompanied by a notable increase in grassland cover. Manqorholweni experienced the most significant loss of these arable fields. This finding was further supported by the household interviews which revealed 100% abandonment of fields in this village. Grasslands emerged as the dominant land cover in all villages, overtaking arable fields and homestead gardens. Regarding field abandonment, 76% of households across villages left fields unused for over 19 years due to reasons including lack of fencing, animal damage to crops, and financial constraints, despite recognising the socio-economic importance of field cultivation. Respondents expressed interest in returning to cultivation if the state would assist with fencing materials and costs. Concerns such as loss of cultural identity due to field abandonment were raised, especially in Manqorholweni, Mawane, and Melani. Homestead gardens were identified as a compensating strategy, with 78% of respondents actively maintaining them, although LULC change results indicated a decline, except in Mawane. Field cultivation revealed gender, age, and educational disparities, with non-cropping households having more female heads, individuals above 55, and higher proportions with only primary education. Households that abandoned field cultivation reported a decline in economic stability, with 97% experiencing less stable household economic circumstances. Unemployment was prevalent, with over 70% relying on social grants, creating financial challenges for 76% lacking sufficient cash. Limited off-farm formal employment (20%) was observed, while remittances played a minor role, this resulted in insufficient monthly income, affecting 94% of respondents. Dietary diversity declined, and reliance on store-bought food led to health concerns. Field abandonment impacted family dynamics, altering power relationships and reducing interaction, also heightened by COVID-19, affecting cultural identity and community cohesion. Youth across villages were not currently engaged in field cultivation or farming but expressed interest in revitalising agriculture. They recognised the socio-economic significance of agriculture and highlighted the importance of capital, resources, and government support. Challenges for youth involvement included lack of information, absence of agricultural advisors, and disparities in access to credit. Lack of support from elders and limited sharing of agricultural knowledge further hindered youth's ability to initiate farming projects. In conclusion, this study highlights the significant issue of arable field abandonment in rural areas of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, reflecting broader socio-economic and environmental transformations. The consistent reduction in arable land across the studied villages, coupled with the rise in grassland cover, underscores a critical shift from traditional agricultural practices to alternative land uses. The abandonment of fields has had profound impacts on community livelihoods, leading to decreased economic stability, reduced dietary diversity, and weakened social and cultural ties. The findings reveal a clear need for targeted interventions to address the specific challenges faced by these communities, particularly regarding food security and economic resilience. To address the challenges of arable field abandonment, it is crucial to implement a multi-faceted support program. This should include providing essential resources such as fencing, irrigation systems, and agricultural tools to facilitate field cultivation. Additionally, engaging and supporting youth in agriculture through training, access to advisors, and financial aid is vital to revitalise interest in farming. Strengthening social safety nets by enhancing financial support systems can mitigate economic challenges faced by affected households. Furthermore, initiating cultural and educational programs to preserve traditional farming knowledge while integrating modern practices will help maintain cultural identity and community cohesion. These measures are key to improving resilience and livelihoods in the context of field abandonment. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Environmental Science, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-03
- Authors: Pokwana, Sihle
- Date: 2025-04-03
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479941 , vital:78382 , DOI 10.21504/10962/479941
- Description: The phenomenon of arable field abandonment, a complex and multifaceted aspect of land use dynamics, has become a subject of increasing significance in rural landscapes. Across diverse geographic contexts, the abandonment of once-cultivated fields is indicative of transformative shifts in agricultural practices, reflecting the interplay of numerous socio-economic, environmental, and cultural factors. The abandonment of arable fields in the former homelands of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal poses a multifaceted challenge with significant social implications. Historically, agriculture has been central to these regions, yet recent trends show a shift from traditional field cultivation to alternative practices such as garden cultivation or complete cessation. This shift has heightened vulnerability to food insecurity, hunger, and poverty, particularly as high unemployment levels exacerbate the situation. Moreover, the intricate relationships between humans and their surrounding ecosystems is also affected. Therefore, understanding the drivers of arable field abandonment at the community or household level can reveal localised factors that differ from broader, generalised drivers identified in previous studies. Additionally, examining the diverse impacts on these communities is crucial for developing targeted interventions that address their specific needs and enhance resilience. This study investigates arable field abandonment in specific villages of Gotyibeni and Melani in the Eastern Cape and Manqorholweni and Mawane, in KwaZulu-Natal. Using the Driving forces, Pressures, State, Impacts, and Responses (DPSIR) framework as a conceptual framework uncovers the driving factors, pressures, state, impacts and responses of this phenomenon in these rural villages. The study’s main aim was to assess the social effects of arable field abandonment in the selected study areas. The main objective is to determine how livelihoods, social relationships, and living conditions within and between households have changed following the cessation of field cultivation. The study also employed several specific objectives: first, to identify trends in field cultivation within the study areas; second, to analyse the drivers contributing to arable field abandonment in the villages; third, to examine the impact of field abandonment on the elderly population over the past 50 years; and fourth, to investigate the level of youth engagement in agriculture, including how the abandonment of arable fields affects their participation and perceptions of agriculture as a livelihood. To achieve the objectives the study employed mixed research methods that combine satellite imagery analysis, household surveys, oral history interviews with elders, most of whom had stopped farming, and youth focus group discussions. Landsat 7 Satellite imagery with a 15-meter spatial resolution was sourced from the South African Space Agency (SANSA) for the four study areas. The temporal coverage spanned from 1972 to 2020, with considerations for image usability based on resolution. Unfortunately, many earlier images were deemed unusable due to low resolution, particularly affecting Gotyibeni, where clear images only became available from 2013, therefore for this village the focus was on two decades. Arable fields, residential areas, homestead gardens, grasslands, and shrublands were classified. Change detection utilised a post-classification approach, comparing land cover categories between the early and late 2000s. A change detection matrix and statistics were generated using a ha/year formula, enabling the quantification of land cover changes. Image analysis employed ArcGIS 10.8.1 software for mapping and classification, involving georeferencing, signature file creation, maximum likelihood classification, and conversion from raster to vector formats for area calculations. For the LULC change matrix, an intersection analysis in ArcGIS overlaid data from different time points, and a pivot table in Excel organised resulting data. A focus on arable land changes, particularly conversions to other land uses, was crucial, as the study is investigating the level of arable field abandonment in these areas, understanding how much arable land has been converted or remained unchanged provides a clear indication of the extent of abandonment. To understand driving forces of arable field abandonment, a semi-structured questionnaire was developed based on the Driving forces, Pressures, States, Impacts, and Responses (DPSIR) framework. The questionnaires were administered through household interviews conducted in the four study villages. Sections of the questionnaire covered household involvement in cropping, perceptions of land use change, abandonment of field cultivation, and socio-economic demographics. Sampling involved a random selection of 20% of total households in each village, with data analysis performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Chi-square tests and Kruskal-Wallis analysis were employed to assess differences between villages. A second questionnaire specifically targeting households that had abandoned field cultivation was also done. Ninety-seven interviews were conducted to evaluate economic, health, socio-cultural and environmental impacts from respondents that indicated to have ceased field cultivation. Data analysis through SPSS utilised descriptive statistics and chi-square tests to identify statistically significant differences between villages. Oral histories were collected from elderly individuals in each village from a sample size of 15 individuals who were previous cultivators of fields, selected with the assistance of a village leader. The selected elders provided qualitative insights into historical and contemporary experiential aspects of village life. The focus was on changes in village relations, the environment, generational values, and traditional farming practices in each village. Youth-focused group discussions were organised with 30 young people in the village between the ages of 18-35, covering topics such as youth goals, the importance of field cultivation, and perceptions of the future. Both the oral histories and focus group discussions conducted in the local languages, were tape-recorded, transcribed, and subjected to content analysis to identify and interpret themes and patterns. The approach involved coding sentences, grouping codes into sub-themes, and further organising them into categories and subcategories. The LULC change results showed a consistent trend of significant arable land reduction across all villages, accompanied by a notable increase in grassland cover. Manqorholweni experienced the most significant loss of these arable fields. This finding was further supported by the household interviews which revealed 100% abandonment of fields in this village. Grasslands emerged as the dominant land cover in all villages, overtaking arable fields and homestead gardens. Regarding field abandonment, 76% of households across villages left fields unused for over 19 years due to reasons including lack of fencing, animal damage to crops, and financial constraints, despite recognising the socio-economic importance of field cultivation. Respondents expressed interest in returning to cultivation if the state would assist with fencing materials and costs. Concerns such as loss of cultural identity due to field abandonment were raised, especially in Manqorholweni, Mawane, and Melani. Homestead gardens were identified as a compensating strategy, with 78% of respondents actively maintaining them, although LULC change results indicated a decline, except in Mawane. Field cultivation revealed gender, age, and educational disparities, with non-cropping households having more female heads, individuals above 55, and higher proportions with only primary education. Households that abandoned field cultivation reported a decline in economic stability, with 97% experiencing less stable household economic circumstances. Unemployment was prevalent, with over 70% relying on social grants, creating financial challenges for 76% lacking sufficient cash. Limited off-farm formal employment (20%) was observed, while remittances played a minor role, this resulted in insufficient monthly income, affecting 94% of respondents. Dietary diversity declined, and reliance on store-bought food led to health concerns. Field abandonment impacted family dynamics, altering power relationships and reducing interaction, also heightened by COVID-19, affecting cultural identity and community cohesion. Youth across villages were not currently engaged in field cultivation or farming but expressed interest in revitalising agriculture. They recognised the socio-economic significance of agriculture and highlighted the importance of capital, resources, and government support. Challenges for youth involvement included lack of information, absence of agricultural advisors, and disparities in access to credit. Lack of support from elders and limited sharing of agricultural knowledge further hindered youth's ability to initiate farming projects. In conclusion, this study highlights the significant issue of arable field abandonment in rural areas of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, reflecting broader socio-economic and environmental transformations. The consistent reduction in arable land across the studied villages, coupled with the rise in grassland cover, underscores a critical shift from traditional agricultural practices to alternative land uses. The abandonment of fields has had profound impacts on community livelihoods, leading to decreased economic stability, reduced dietary diversity, and weakened social and cultural ties. The findings reveal a clear need for targeted interventions to address the specific challenges faced by these communities, particularly regarding food security and economic resilience. To address the challenges of arable field abandonment, it is crucial to implement a multi-faceted support program. This should include providing essential resources such as fencing, irrigation systems, and agricultural tools to facilitate field cultivation. Additionally, engaging and supporting youth in agriculture through training, access to advisors, and financial aid is vital to revitalise interest in farming. Strengthening social safety nets by enhancing financial support systems can mitigate economic challenges faced by affected households. Furthermore, initiating cultural and educational programs to preserve traditional farming knowledge while integrating modern practices will help maintain cultural identity and community cohesion. These measures are key to improving resilience and livelihoods in the context of field abandonment. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Environmental Science, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-03
Follow the yellow flag road : advancing the biological control of a global wetland invader, and a case study on ecosystem recovery
- Authors: Minute, Gianmarco
- Date: 2025-04-03
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479908 , vital:78378 , DOI 10.21504/10962/479908
- Description: Global change is accelerating habitat degradation and extinction rates, disproportionately affecting freshwater ecosystems. Biological invasions, a core component of global change, have been recognized as a major driver of this phenomenon. Invasive alien aquatic plants (IAAPs) are a prime example, disrupting ecological dynamics and hindering the economic and social activities that depend upon freshwater ecosystems. The best approach to managing IAAPs is preventing their introduction and taking swift action when infestations are detected. Unfortunately, most IAAPs are only recognized after they have spread, making eradication difficult and requiring expensive, ongoing management through manual, mechanical, or chemical means, which become less effective as infestations grow. In this regard, a sustainable alternative against IAAPs is provided by classical biological control. This method lays on the assumption that invasive species have been introduced in an environment which is free from their natural enemies, and that such release allowed them to redirect their resources towards growth and reproduction. Accordingly, weed biocontrol involves introducing one such enemy - a so-called biocontrol agent - to regulate the population of the plant, ideally reducing its density below a critical threshold, minimizing its impacts. Biocontrol programs must follow stringent protocols in order to a) ensure the selection of the most appropriate agents; b) guarantee their establishment and effectiveness in controlling their target; c) minimize the risks involved with their release; and d) monitor their impacts after they have been released. This thesis is composed of two parts, focusing on pre-release studies (Part I, Chapters 1-4) and post-release evaluations (Part II, Chapter 5), respectively. Part I explores the biological control of Iris pseudacorus L. (Iridaceae) – yellow flag – a Eurasian plant that has invaded temperate wetlands worldwide. The first step consisted of conducting field surveys across the native range of the weed, which led to the selection of three candidate biocontrol agents. As a second step, bioclimatic niche modelling was used to forecast the current and future suitability of the weed and its prospective agents. These models helped to identify areas most at risk of invasion and predict how climate change might affect biocontrol efficacy, showing differing impacts in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Further, a scoring system was developed to prioritize non-target plants for host-specificity testing, focusing on species within the family Iridaceae. Most taxa prioritized are native to the Americas, South Africa and eastern Asia, highlighting the importance of collaboration across regions when dealing with global invaders with complex phylogeographic distributions. Finally, a germination study confirmed that I. pseudacorus seeds from Argentina germinate more than Belgian seeds, especially in absence of cold stratification, suggesting increased performances of invasive populations and an adaptation to warmer temperatures. Nonetheless, impact assessments conducted on one of the three biocontrol agents demonstrated that it could cause juvenile mortality, suggesting it may effectively reduce seedling recruitment, though further research on agents targeting reproductive structures is recommended. Part II of the thesis addresses an often understudied aspect of post-release evaluations: ecosystem recovery following biological control. To do so, a case study is presented, investigating the biological control of water fern, Azolla filiculoides Lamb. (Salviniaceae), in Belgium. The results of this study are used to discuss the shortcomings of different experimental designs, the lack of baseline data in invasion ecology, and the intricacies of defining and quantifying ecosystem recovery in light of legacy effects and context-dependency. , Wereldwijde verandering versnelt de degradatie van habitats en de uitstervingscijfers, met een onevenredige impact op zoetwaterecosystemen. Biologische invasies, een kernonderdeel van klimaatverandering, worden erkend als een belangrijke drijvende kracht achter dit fenomeen. Invasieve uitheemse waterplanten (IAAPs) zijn een duidelijk voorbeeld, omdat ze ecologische dynamiek verstoren en economische en sociale activiteiten belemmeren die afhankelijk zijn van zoetwaterecosystemen. De beste aanpak voor het beheer van IAAPs is het voorkomen van hun introductie en het nemen van snelle maatregelen bij het detecteren van besmettingen. Helaas worden de meeste IAAPs pas herkend nadat ze zich hebben verspreid, wat uitroeiing moeilijk maakt en dure, voortdurende beheersing vereist door handmatige, mechanische of chemische middelen, die minder effectief worden naarmate besmettingen toenemen. In dit opzicht biedt klassieke biologische bestrijding een duurzaam alternatief tegen IAAPs. Deze methode berust op de veronderstelling dat invasieve soorten zijn geïntroduceerd in een omgeving die vrij is van hun natuurlijke vijanden, waardoor ze hun middelen konden richten op groei en reproductie. Bijgevolg omvat onkruidbestrijding het introduceren van een dergelijke vijand - een zogenaamde biocontrole-agent - om de populatie van de plant te reguleren, idealiter door de dichtheid ervan onder een kritische drempel te verlagen en zo de impact ervan te minimaliseren. Biocontroleprogramma's moeten strikte protocollen volgen om a) de selectie van de meest geschikte agens te waarborgen; b) hun vestiging en effectiviteit bij het beheersen van hun doel te garanderen; c) de risico's van hun vrijlating te minimaliseren; en d) hun impact na vrijlating te monitoren. Dit proefschrift bestaat uit twee delen, gericht op respectievelijk pre-release studies (Deel I, Hoofdstukken 1-4) en post-release evaluaties (Deel II, Hoofdstuk 5). Deel I onderzoekt de biologische bestrijding van Iris pseudacorus L. (Iridaceae) - gele lis - een Euraziatische plant die gematigde moeraslanden wereldwijd heeft gekoloniseerd. De eerste stap bestond uit het uitvoeren van veldonderzoeken in het inheemse verspreidingsgebied van het onkruid, wat leidde tot de selectie van drie kandidaat-biocontroleagenten. Als tweede stap werd bioklimatisch nis-modelleren gebruikt om de huidige en toekomstige geschiktheid van het onkruid en zijn potentiële agens te voorspellen. Deze modellen hielpen gebieden met het grootste risico op invasie te identificeren en voorspelden hoe klimaatverandering de effectiviteit van biocontrole zou kunnen beïnvloeden, met verschillende effecten op het noordelijk en zuidelijk halfrond. Daarnaast werd een scoresysteem ontwikkeld om niet-doelplanten te prioriteren voor host-specifieke tests, met de nadruk op soorten binnen de familie Iridaceae. De prioritaire taxa zijn inheems in Amerika, Zuid-Afrika en Oost-Azië, wat het belang van samenwerking tussen regio’s onderstreept bij het omgaan met mondiale invasieve soorten met complexe fylogeografische verspreiding. Ten slotte bevestigde een kiemingsstudie dat I. pseudacorus zaden uit Argentinië meer kiemen dan Belgische zaden, vooral bij afwezigheid van koude stratificatie, wat wijst op verhoogde prestaties van invasieve populaties en aanpassing aan warmere temperaturen. Nochtans toonden effectbeoordelingen van een van de drie biocontroleagens aan dat deze de mortaliteit van juvenielen kon veroorzaken, wat suggereert dat het effectief kan zijn bij het verminderen van de zaailingrekrutering. Toch wordt verder onderzoek naar agenten die zich richten op reproductieve structuren aanbevolen. Deel II van het proefschrift behandelt een vaak onderbelicht aspect van post-release evaluaties: ecosysteemherstel na biologische bestrijding. Om dit te realiseren wordt een casestudy aangeboden over de biologische bestrijding van watervaren, Azolla filiculoides Lamb. (Salviniaceae), in België. De resultaten van deze studie worden gebruikt voor de bespreking van de tekortkomingen van verschillende experimentele ontwerpen, het gebrek aan basisgegevens in invasie-ecologie en de complexiteit van het definiëren en kwantificeren van ecosysteemherstel in het licht van nalatenschapseffecten en contextafhankelijkheid. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Zoology and Entomology, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-03
- Authors: Minute, Gianmarco
- Date: 2025-04-03
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479908 , vital:78378 , DOI 10.21504/10962/479908
- Description: Global change is accelerating habitat degradation and extinction rates, disproportionately affecting freshwater ecosystems. Biological invasions, a core component of global change, have been recognized as a major driver of this phenomenon. Invasive alien aquatic plants (IAAPs) are a prime example, disrupting ecological dynamics and hindering the economic and social activities that depend upon freshwater ecosystems. The best approach to managing IAAPs is preventing their introduction and taking swift action when infestations are detected. Unfortunately, most IAAPs are only recognized after they have spread, making eradication difficult and requiring expensive, ongoing management through manual, mechanical, or chemical means, which become less effective as infestations grow. In this regard, a sustainable alternative against IAAPs is provided by classical biological control. This method lays on the assumption that invasive species have been introduced in an environment which is free from their natural enemies, and that such release allowed them to redirect their resources towards growth and reproduction. Accordingly, weed biocontrol involves introducing one such enemy - a so-called biocontrol agent - to regulate the population of the plant, ideally reducing its density below a critical threshold, minimizing its impacts. Biocontrol programs must follow stringent protocols in order to a) ensure the selection of the most appropriate agents; b) guarantee their establishment and effectiveness in controlling their target; c) minimize the risks involved with their release; and d) monitor their impacts after they have been released. This thesis is composed of two parts, focusing on pre-release studies (Part I, Chapters 1-4) and post-release evaluations (Part II, Chapter 5), respectively. Part I explores the biological control of Iris pseudacorus L. (Iridaceae) – yellow flag – a Eurasian plant that has invaded temperate wetlands worldwide. The first step consisted of conducting field surveys across the native range of the weed, which led to the selection of three candidate biocontrol agents. As a second step, bioclimatic niche modelling was used to forecast the current and future suitability of the weed and its prospective agents. These models helped to identify areas most at risk of invasion and predict how climate change might affect biocontrol efficacy, showing differing impacts in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Further, a scoring system was developed to prioritize non-target plants for host-specificity testing, focusing on species within the family Iridaceae. Most taxa prioritized are native to the Americas, South Africa and eastern Asia, highlighting the importance of collaboration across regions when dealing with global invaders with complex phylogeographic distributions. Finally, a germination study confirmed that I. pseudacorus seeds from Argentina germinate more than Belgian seeds, especially in absence of cold stratification, suggesting increased performances of invasive populations and an adaptation to warmer temperatures. Nonetheless, impact assessments conducted on one of the three biocontrol agents demonstrated that it could cause juvenile mortality, suggesting it may effectively reduce seedling recruitment, though further research on agents targeting reproductive structures is recommended. Part II of the thesis addresses an often understudied aspect of post-release evaluations: ecosystem recovery following biological control. To do so, a case study is presented, investigating the biological control of water fern, Azolla filiculoides Lamb. (Salviniaceae), in Belgium. The results of this study are used to discuss the shortcomings of different experimental designs, the lack of baseline data in invasion ecology, and the intricacies of defining and quantifying ecosystem recovery in light of legacy effects and context-dependency. , Wereldwijde verandering versnelt de degradatie van habitats en de uitstervingscijfers, met een onevenredige impact op zoetwaterecosystemen. Biologische invasies, een kernonderdeel van klimaatverandering, worden erkend als een belangrijke drijvende kracht achter dit fenomeen. Invasieve uitheemse waterplanten (IAAPs) zijn een duidelijk voorbeeld, omdat ze ecologische dynamiek verstoren en economische en sociale activiteiten belemmeren die afhankelijk zijn van zoetwaterecosystemen. De beste aanpak voor het beheer van IAAPs is het voorkomen van hun introductie en het nemen van snelle maatregelen bij het detecteren van besmettingen. Helaas worden de meeste IAAPs pas herkend nadat ze zich hebben verspreid, wat uitroeiing moeilijk maakt en dure, voortdurende beheersing vereist door handmatige, mechanische of chemische middelen, die minder effectief worden naarmate besmettingen toenemen. In dit opzicht biedt klassieke biologische bestrijding een duurzaam alternatief tegen IAAPs. Deze methode berust op de veronderstelling dat invasieve soorten zijn geïntroduceerd in een omgeving die vrij is van hun natuurlijke vijanden, waardoor ze hun middelen konden richten op groei en reproductie. Bijgevolg omvat onkruidbestrijding het introduceren van een dergelijke vijand - een zogenaamde biocontrole-agent - om de populatie van de plant te reguleren, idealiter door de dichtheid ervan onder een kritische drempel te verlagen en zo de impact ervan te minimaliseren. Biocontroleprogramma's moeten strikte protocollen volgen om a) de selectie van de meest geschikte agens te waarborgen; b) hun vestiging en effectiviteit bij het beheersen van hun doel te garanderen; c) de risico's van hun vrijlating te minimaliseren; en d) hun impact na vrijlating te monitoren. Dit proefschrift bestaat uit twee delen, gericht op respectievelijk pre-release studies (Deel I, Hoofdstukken 1-4) en post-release evaluaties (Deel II, Hoofdstuk 5). Deel I onderzoekt de biologische bestrijding van Iris pseudacorus L. (Iridaceae) - gele lis - een Euraziatische plant die gematigde moeraslanden wereldwijd heeft gekoloniseerd. De eerste stap bestond uit het uitvoeren van veldonderzoeken in het inheemse verspreidingsgebied van het onkruid, wat leidde tot de selectie van drie kandidaat-biocontroleagenten. Als tweede stap werd bioklimatisch nis-modelleren gebruikt om de huidige en toekomstige geschiktheid van het onkruid en zijn potentiële agens te voorspellen. Deze modellen hielpen gebieden met het grootste risico op invasie te identificeren en voorspelden hoe klimaatverandering de effectiviteit van biocontrole zou kunnen beïnvloeden, met verschillende effecten op het noordelijk en zuidelijk halfrond. Daarnaast werd een scoresysteem ontwikkeld om niet-doelplanten te prioriteren voor host-specifieke tests, met de nadruk op soorten binnen de familie Iridaceae. De prioritaire taxa zijn inheems in Amerika, Zuid-Afrika en Oost-Azië, wat het belang van samenwerking tussen regio’s onderstreept bij het omgaan met mondiale invasieve soorten met complexe fylogeografische verspreiding. Ten slotte bevestigde een kiemingsstudie dat I. pseudacorus zaden uit Argentinië meer kiemen dan Belgische zaden, vooral bij afwezigheid van koude stratificatie, wat wijst op verhoogde prestaties van invasieve populaties en aanpassing aan warmere temperaturen. Nochtans toonden effectbeoordelingen van een van de drie biocontroleagens aan dat deze de mortaliteit van juvenielen kon veroorzaken, wat suggereert dat het effectief kan zijn bij het verminderen van de zaailingrekrutering. Toch wordt verder onderzoek naar agenten die zich richten op reproductieve structuren aanbevolen. Deel II van het proefschrift behandelt een vaak onderbelicht aspect van post-release evaluaties: ecosysteemherstel na biologische bestrijding. Om dit te realiseren wordt een casestudy aangeboden over de biologische bestrijding van watervaren, Azolla filiculoides Lamb. (Salviniaceae), in België. De resultaten van deze studie worden gebruikt voor de bespreking van de tekortkomingen van verschillende experimentele ontwerpen, het gebrek aan basisgegevens in invasie-ecologie en de complexiteit van het definiëren en kwantificeren van ecosysteemherstel in het licht van nalatenschapseffecten en contextafhankelijkheid. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Zoology and Entomology, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-03
Assessing how bird diversity of urban golf courses is influenced by course and landscape connectivity
- Authors: Benjamin, Jonathan
- Date: 2025-04-02
- Subjects: Birds , Biodiversity , Connectivity , Golf courses South Africa , Green space , Urban ecology (Biology)
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478969 , vital:78245
- Description: With increasing urbanisation and corresponding environmental impacts, urban green infrastructure (UGI) and the services it provides are of high importance. However, the degree to which these spaces are beneficial and provide ecological services are influenced by the extent to which patches of UGI are connected to each other. Varying levels of connectivity may enhance or lower the resilience of the UGI and the biodiversity it houses. Although not considered as UGI, golf courses are prominent green spaces in many urban landscapes occupying vast areas of land, and therefore hold potential to aid biodiversity and facilitate species movement. However, the extent which golf courses are able to do so is a function of both the structure and availability of resources on the golf courses, as well as in the surroundings areas or landscape in which they are situated. This notion of connectivity of golf courses to their surroundings UGI (in its many forms) and landscapes has not been adequately explored in the literature as much of the present literature has addressed golf courses’ biodiversity in isolation of other UGI, or where it has been considered, only the context in which golf courses were situated has been acknowledged (i.e. urban or rural landscapes). Moreover, as golf courses occupy large areas of lands forms of UGI, they may also be able to enhance the connectivity of the landscapes in which they are situated through increasing land cover, and lowering fragmentation through connecting patches. This however, is also context specific, as seen in natural settings were golf courses would in fact fragment the landscape. This study therefore sought to assess the extent to which urban golf courses are connected to other forms of UGI in the South African context, and illustrate the importance of paying attention to connectivity in an avifaunal diversity study. It also aimed to investigate the potential of urban golf courses to foster avifaunal diversity in comparison to a reference landscape, the direct surrounding urban and residential areas. To analyse the extent to which golf courses in three South African cities were connected to the wider landscape a connectivity analysis was undertaken using GIS software. This analysis indicated that all golf courses were to some extent connected to a range of different UGI. Whilst the level of connectivity fluctuated between golf courses and cities, there was however no significant difference noted. Urban golf courses in the South African context are thus not isolated habitats but connected to other land uses and therefore potentially provide valuable resources that aid biodiversity. Despite being physically connected to surrounding UGI illustrating that both the golf courses benefit from the surrounding UGI and vice versa, at a larger landscape there was not sufficient evidence of the ability of golf courses to enhance connectivity. Although there was little evidence of golf courses’ ability to aid connectivity at the larger landscape scale, the observed extent to which golf courses were connected to their directly surrounding landscape and the high presence UGI within the larger landscape, informed the more refined investigation of avian biodiversity of golf courses in comparison to surrounding urban areas in the city of Cape Town. This biodiversity analysis indicated that there was significantly higher bird diversity on golf courses in comparison to the surrounding urban areas. However, the high level of connectivity to directly surrounding UGI that was obtained in the former part of the study proved to have no impact on the diversity noted. In contrast, the connectivity at the landscape scale, a scale addressing the broader landscape, provided valuable insight into factors determining the levels of avifaunal diversity noted. This dissertation therefore provides evidence of the biodiversity supporting function of urban golf courses and highlights the importance of landscape context in ecological assessment. These findings are a starting point for future research about the capacity of golf courses to support biodiversity in conjunction with other UGI. In the Global South context, which is complex and dynamic in nature, this information is vital, as these dynamic and changing landscapes provide opportunities to incorporate, and preserve already existing biodiversity. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Environmental Science, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-02
- Authors: Benjamin, Jonathan
- Date: 2025-04-02
- Subjects: Birds , Biodiversity , Connectivity , Golf courses South Africa , Green space , Urban ecology (Biology)
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478969 , vital:78245
- Description: With increasing urbanisation and corresponding environmental impacts, urban green infrastructure (UGI) and the services it provides are of high importance. However, the degree to which these spaces are beneficial and provide ecological services are influenced by the extent to which patches of UGI are connected to each other. Varying levels of connectivity may enhance or lower the resilience of the UGI and the biodiversity it houses. Although not considered as UGI, golf courses are prominent green spaces in many urban landscapes occupying vast areas of land, and therefore hold potential to aid biodiversity and facilitate species movement. However, the extent which golf courses are able to do so is a function of both the structure and availability of resources on the golf courses, as well as in the surroundings areas or landscape in which they are situated. This notion of connectivity of golf courses to their surroundings UGI (in its many forms) and landscapes has not been adequately explored in the literature as much of the present literature has addressed golf courses’ biodiversity in isolation of other UGI, or where it has been considered, only the context in which golf courses were situated has been acknowledged (i.e. urban or rural landscapes). Moreover, as golf courses occupy large areas of lands forms of UGI, they may also be able to enhance the connectivity of the landscapes in which they are situated through increasing land cover, and lowering fragmentation through connecting patches. This however, is also context specific, as seen in natural settings were golf courses would in fact fragment the landscape. This study therefore sought to assess the extent to which urban golf courses are connected to other forms of UGI in the South African context, and illustrate the importance of paying attention to connectivity in an avifaunal diversity study. It also aimed to investigate the potential of urban golf courses to foster avifaunal diversity in comparison to a reference landscape, the direct surrounding urban and residential areas. To analyse the extent to which golf courses in three South African cities were connected to the wider landscape a connectivity analysis was undertaken using GIS software. This analysis indicated that all golf courses were to some extent connected to a range of different UGI. Whilst the level of connectivity fluctuated between golf courses and cities, there was however no significant difference noted. Urban golf courses in the South African context are thus not isolated habitats but connected to other land uses and therefore potentially provide valuable resources that aid biodiversity. Despite being physically connected to surrounding UGI illustrating that both the golf courses benefit from the surrounding UGI and vice versa, at a larger landscape there was not sufficient evidence of the ability of golf courses to enhance connectivity. Although there was little evidence of golf courses’ ability to aid connectivity at the larger landscape scale, the observed extent to which golf courses were connected to their directly surrounding landscape and the high presence UGI within the larger landscape, informed the more refined investigation of avian biodiversity of golf courses in comparison to surrounding urban areas in the city of Cape Town. This biodiversity analysis indicated that there was significantly higher bird diversity on golf courses in comparison to the surrounding urban areas. However, the high level of connectivity to directly surrounding UGI that was obtained in the former part of the study proved to have no impact on the diversity noted. In contrast, the connectivity at the landscape scale, a scale addressing the broader landscape, provided valuable insight into factors determining the levels of avifaunal diversity noted. This dissertation therefore provides evidence of the biodiversity supporting function of urban golf courses and highlights the importance of landscape context in ecological assessment. These findings are a starting point for future research about the capacity of golf courses to support biodiversity in conjunction with other UGI. In the Global South context, which is complex and dynamic in nature, this information is vital, as these dynamic and changing landscapes provide opportunities to incorporate, and preserve already existing biodiversity. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Environmental Science, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-02
Assessing land use and land cover change dynamics of wildlife ranches in South Africa
- Authors: Moon, Lisa
- Date: 2025-04-02
- Subjects: Wildlife refuges South Africa , Biodiversity conservation South Africa , Land use Planning , Social ecology , Business model , Land cover
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478980 , vital:78246
- Description: With increasing urbanisation and corresponding environmental impacts, urban green infrastructure (UGI) and the services it provides are of high importance. However, the degree to which these spaces are beneficial and provide ecological services are influenced by the extent to which patches of UGI are connected to each other. Varying levels of connectivity may enhance or lower the resilience of the UGI and the biodiversity it houses. Although not considered as UGI, golf courses are prominent green spaces in many urban landscapes occupying vast areas of land, and therefore hold potential to aid biodiversity and facilitate species movement. However, the extent which golf courses are able to do so is a function of both the structure and availability of resources on the golf courses, as well as in the surroundings areas or landscape in which they are situated. This notion of connectivity of golf courses to their surroundings UGI (in its many forms) and landscapes has not been adequately explored in the literature as much of the present literature has addressed golf courses’ biodiversity in isolation of other UGI, or where it has been considered, only the context in which golf courses were situated has been acknowledged (i.e. urban or rural landscapes). Moreover, as golf courses occupy large areas of lands forms of UGI, they may also be able to enhance the connectivity of the landscapes in which they are situated through increasing land cover, and lowering fragmentation through connecting patches. This however, is also context specific, as seen in natural settings were golf courses would in fact fragment the landscape. This study therefore sought to assess the extent to which urban golf courses are connected to other forms of UGI in the South African context, and illustrate the importance of paying attention to connectivity in an avifaunal diversity study. It also aimed to investigate the potential of urban golf courses to foster avifaunal diversity in comparison to a reference landscape, the direct surrounding urban and residential areas. To analyse the extent to which golf courses in three South African cities were connected to the wider landscape a connectivity analysis was undertaken using GIS software. This analysis indicated that all golf courses were to some extent connected to a range of different UGI. Whilst the level of connectivity fluctuated between golf courses and cities, there was however no significant difference noted. Urban golf courses in the South African context are thus not isolated habitats but connected to other land uses and therefore potentially provide valuable resources that aid biodiversity. Despite being physically connected to surrounding UGI illustrating that both the golf courses benefit from the surrounding UGI and vice versa, at a larger landscape there was not sufficient evidence of the ability of golf courses to enhance connectivity. Although there was little evidence of golf courses’ ability to aid connectivity at the larger landscape scale, the observed extent to which golf courses were connected to their directly surrounding landscape and the high presence UGI within the larger landscape, informed the more refined investigation of avian biodiversity of golf courses in comparison to surrounding urban areas in the city of Cape Town. This biodiversity analysis indicated that there was significantly higher bird diversity on golf courses in comparison to the surrounding urban areas. However, the high level of connectivity to directly surrounding UGI that was obtained in the former part of the study proved to have no impact on the diversity noted. In contrast, the connectivity at the landscape scale, a scale addressing the broader landscape, provided valuable insight into factors determining the levels of avifaunal diversity noted. This dissertation therefore provides evidence of the biodiversity supporting function of urban golf courses and highlights the importance of landscape context in ecological assessment. These findings are a starting point for future research about the capacity of golf courses to support biodiversity in conjunction with other UGI. In the Global South context, which is complex and dynamic in nature, this information is vital, as these dynamic and changing landscapes provide opportunities to incorporate, and preserve already existing biodiversity. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Environmental Science, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-02
- Authors: Moon, Lisa
- Date: 2025-04-02
- Subjects: Wildlife refuges South Africa , Biodiversity conservation South Africa , Land use Planning , Social ecology , Business model , Land cover
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478980 , vital:78246
- Description: With increasing urbanisation and corresponding environmental impacts, urban green infrastructure (UGI) and the services it provides are of high importance. However, the degree to which these spaces are beneficial and provide ecological services are influenced by the extent to which patches of UGI are connected to each other. Varying levels of connectivity may enhance or lower the resilience of the UGI and the biodiversity it houses. Although not considered as UGI, golf courses are prominent green spaces in many urban landscapes occupying vast areas of land, and therefore hold potential to aid biodiversity and facilitate species movement. However, the extent which golf courses are able to do so is a function of both the structure and availability of resources on the golf courses, as well as in the surroundings areas or landscape in which they are situated. This notion of connectivity of golf courses to their surroundings UGI (in its many forms) and landscapes has not been adequately explored in the literature as much of the present literature has addressed golf courses’ biodiversity in isolation of other UGI, or where it has been considered, only the context in which golf courses were situated has been acknowledged (i.e. urban or rural landscapes). Moreover, as golf courses occupy large areas of lands forms of UGI, they may also be able to enhance the connectivity of the landscapes in which they are situated through increasing land cover, and lowering fragmentation through connecting patches. This however, is also context specific, as seen in natural settings were golf courses would in fact fragment the landscape. This study therefore sought to assess the extent to which urban golf courses are connected to other forms of UGI in the South African context, and illustrate the importance of paying attention to connectivity in an avifaunal diversity study. It also aimed to investigate the potential of urban golf courses to foster avifaunal diversity in comparison to a reference landscape, the direct surrounding urban and residential areas. To analyse the extent to which golf courses in three South African cities were connected to the wider landscape a connectivity analysis was undertaken using GIS software. This analysis indicated that all golf courses were to some extent connected to a range of different UGI. Whilst the level of connectivity fluctuated between golf courses and cities, there was however no significant difference noted. Urban golf courses in the South African context are thus not isolated habitats but connected to other land uses and therefore potentially provide valuable resources that aid biodiversity. Despite being physically connected to surrounding UGI illustrating that both the golf courses benefit from the surrounding UGI and vice versa, at a larger landscape there was not sufficient evidence of the ability of golf courses to enhance connectivity. Although there was little evidence of golf courses’ ability to aid connectivity at the larger landscape scale, the observed extent to which golf courses were connected to their directly surrounding landscape and the high presence UGI within the larger landscape, informed the more refined investigation of avian biodiversity of golf courses in comparison to surrounding urban areas in the city of Cape Town. This biodiversity analysis indicated that there was significantly higher bird diversity on golf courses in comparison to the surrounding urban areas. However, the high level of connectivity to directly surrounding UGI that was obtained in the former part of the study proved to have no impact on the diversity noted. In contrast, the connectivity at the landscape scale, a scale addressing the broader landscape, provided valuable insight into factors determining the levels of avifaunal diversity noted. This dissertation therefore provides evidence of the biodiversity supporting function of urban golf courses and highlights the importance of landscape context in ecological assessment. These findings are a starting point for future research about the capacity of golf courses to support biodiversity in conjunction with other UGI. In the Global South context, which is complex and dynamic in nature, this information is vital, as these dynamic and changing landscapes provide opportunities to incorporate, and preserve already existing biodiversity. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Environmental Science, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-02
Geological, petrological and geochemical investigation of the c. 3.45 Ga Stolzburg TTG Pluton at Crushers’ Quarry, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa
- Authors: Mofammere, Thato Constance
- Date: 2025-04-02
- Subjects: Geology Barberton Greenstone Belt (Eswatini and South Africa) , Petrology Barberton Greenstone Belt (Eswatini and South Africa) , Geochemistry Barberton Greenstone Belt (Eswatini and South Africa) , Intrusions (Geology) Barberton Greenstone Belt (Eswatini and South Africa) , Tonalite-Trondhjemite-Granodiorite
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479163 , vital:78266
- Description: This study investigates the tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) suite and associated amphibolite xenoliths of the Stolzburg pluton at Crushers’ Quarry in the Barberton Granitoid-Greenstone Terrain, South Africa. Through detailed field mapping, petrography, geochemical analysis, δ¹⁸O investigation of quartz, and U-Pb zircon geochronology, the petrogenesis and geodynamic context of these Archean rocks were explored. Five major lithologies were identified: Coarse-grained trondhjemites, medium-grained tonalites, fine-grained tonalites, granodiorite sheets, and amphibolite xenoliths. Field evidence, including cross-cutting relationships, indicates that the coarse-grained trondhjemites intruded as the earliest phase, followed by medium-grained tonalites, which were then followed by fine-grained tonalites, and finally, granodiorite sheets, which represent the latest intrusive phase. Petrographic analysis reveals mineralogical differences between the trondhjemites and tonalites, with trondhjemites lacking hornblende and having lower mafic mineral content. Geochemical data support the interpretation that the TTGs formed through partial melting of variably hydrated metabasaltic sources (possibly at depth in the garnet stability field). The metabasaltic melt incorporated varying proportions of older, intermediate trondhjemite crust and volcaniclastic sediments during ascent and emplacement to form the Stolzburg pluton TTG suite of rocks. Elevated (above mantle) δ¹⁸O quartz values of the Stolzburg pluton TTG rocks ranging between 8.72 to 9.71‰ combined with it’s strongly peraluminous geochemical composition indicate the presence of an ancient crustal component that was assimilated into the metabasaltic melt source(s). It is proposed that a number of petrogenetic factors controlled the composition of the Stolzburg TTG rocks, including composition of the metabasalt source, degree of hydration of the metabasalt source and the extent of crustal contamination with older, pre-existing intermediate composition rocks. A possible candidate for the crustal contamination component could be the older 3.509 Ga Steynsdorp trondhjemite as well as ancient volcaniclastic sediments in the greenstone belt. The protolith to the amphibolite xenoliths occurring within the TTG suite are geochemically characterized as komatiitic basalt, recording either a subduction zone or crustal contamination geochemical signature. U-Pb zircon dating of the coarse-grained trondhjemites and medium-grained tonalites yield Concordia ages of 3429.9 ± 12 Ma (2σ) and 3414.0 ± 14 Ma (2σ), respectively. These Concordia ages represent an estimate of the igneous crystallization ages of the zircons and confirm that these TTGs were emplaced in close temporal succession. The U-Pb zircon ages are comparable to those in the published literature, although one sample with a significantly younger age is attributed to zircon open-system Pb-loss in complex early Archean zircons and also challenges with the LA-ICP-MS analytical technique used. The depth of metabasalt melting is not constrained in this study, similar to recent studies on early Archean TTGs. Various TTG geodynamic settings are explored ranging from melting at the base of a thick oceanic plateau to generation at depth in a subduction zone. In light of recent regional field observations, metamorphic constraints, apatite thermochronological data, U-Pb detrital zircon data and greenstone belt metabasalt geochemistry, a model of TTG crust generation in an episodic proto-subduction zone, involving subcretion and tectonic imbrication of oceanic lithosphere at c. 3.45 Ga, is considered. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Geology, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-02
- Authors: Mofammere, Thato Constance
- Date: 2025-04-02
- Subjects: Geology Barberton Greenstone Belt (Eswatini and South Africa) , Petrology Barberton Greenstone Belt (Eswatini and South Africa) , Geochemistry Barberton Greenstone Belt (Eswatini and South Africa) , Intrusions (Geology) Barberton Greenstone Belt (Eswatini and South Africa) , Tonalite-Trondhjemite-Granodiorite
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479163 , vital:78266
- Description: This study investigates the tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) suite and associated amphibolite xenoliths of the Stolzburg pluton at Crushers’ Quarry in the Barberton Granitoid-Greenstone Terrain, South Africa. Through detailed field mapping, petrography, geochemical analysis, δ¹⁸O investigation of quartz, and U-Pb zircon geochronology, the petrogenesis and geodynamic context of these Archean rocks were explored. Five major lithologies were identified: Coarse-grained trondhjemites, medium-grained tonalites, fine-grained tonalites, granodiorite sheets, and amphibolite xenoliths. Field evidence, including cross-cutting relationships, indicates that the coarse-grained trondhjemites intruded as the earliest phase, followed by medium-grained tonalites, which were then followed by fine-grained tonalites, and finally, granodiorite sheets, which represent the latest intrusive phase. Petrographic analysis reveals mineralogical differences between the trondhjemites and tonalites, with trondhjemites lacking hornblende and having lower mafic mineral content. Geochemical data support the interpretation that the TTGs formed through partial melting of variably hydrated metabasaltic sources (possibly at depth in the garnet stability field). The metabasaltic melt incorporated varying proportions of older, intermediate trondhjemite crust and volcaniclastic sediments during ascent and emplacement to form the Stolzburg pluton TTG suite of rocks. Elevated (above mantle) δ¹⁸O quartz values of the Stolzburg pluton TTG rocks ranging between 8.72 to 9.71‰ combined with it’s strongly peraluminous geochemical composition indicate the presence of an ancient crustal component that was assimilated into the metabasaltic melt source(s). It is proposed that a number of petrogenetic factors controlled the composition of the Stolzburg TTG rocks, including composition of the metabasalt source, degree of hydration of the metabasalt source and the extent of crustal contamination with older, pre-existing intermediate composition rocks. A possible candidate for the crustal contamination component could be the older 3.509 Ga Steynsdorp trondhjemite as well as ancient volcaniclastic sediments in the greenstone belt. The protolith to the amphibolite xenoliths occurring within the TTG suite are geochemically characterized as komatiitic basalt, recording either a subduction zone or crustal contamination geochemical signature. U-Pb zircon dating of the coarse-grained trondhjemites and medium-grained tonalites yield Concordia ages of 3429.9 ± 12 Ma (2σ) and 3414.0 ± 14 Ma (2σ), respectively. These Concordia ages represent an estimate of the igneous crystallization ages of the zircons and confirm that these TTGs were emplaced in close temporal succession. The U-Pb zircon ages are comparable to those in the published literature, although one sample with a significantly younger age is attributed to zircon open-system Pb-loss in complex early Archean zircons and also challenges with the LA-ICP-MS analytical technique used. The depth of metabasalt melting is not constrained in this study, similar to recent studies on early Archean TTGs. Various TTG geodynamic settings are explored ranging from melting at the base of a thick oceanic plateau to generation at depth in a subduction zone. In light of recent regional field observations, metamorphic constraints, apatite thermochronological data, U-Pb detrital zircon data and greenstone belt metabasalt geochemistry, a model of TTG crust generation in an episodic proto-subduction zone, involving subcretion and tectonic imbrication of oceanic lithosphere at c. 3.45 Ga, is considered. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Geology, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-02
Leveraging visualizations with systems for operational and strategic decision-making
- Authors: Cuthbert, Carol Elaine
- Date: 2025-04-02
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479570 , vital:78325 , DOI 10.21504/10962/479570
- Description: Dynamic capability-enhancing technology, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), System Experts (SEs) in planning and forecasting, and big data used for sensemaking combine to enable knowledge-based management decisions in interdisciplinary teams, increasing competitive advantage. This research extended Contingent Resource-based Theory CRBT by focusing on visualization’s role in this process. SMEs and SEs configure assumptions, with visualizations, in an interdisciplinary team to enable planning within the context of legal practice management systems. The study employed a mixed-method sequential explanatory design. An initial quantitative component determining which types of decision-making information technology contribute to the competitiveness of a firm was undertaken. Niche systems were found to increase technological dynamic capability through their highly configurable workflow tools, which provide customization capabilities and the ability to react to a changing environment quickly. Niche systems differentiated through process automation were found to be the aspect to focus on in a qualitative research study. A knowledge-sharing process model was developed from the literature, and this was overlayed with visualization as the new knowledge-sharing enabler. Then, a thematic qualitative study of interviews focusing on SMEs' and SEs' use of visualization in legal and financial system implementation was employed to establish the extent to which this process occurs in legal financial transformation projects. Seven subject matter experts and four system experts in legal transformation implementations were interviewed regarding using visualization to facilitate communication, verification, and process configuration during the knowledge-sharing process. The research illustrated how (1) low code systems data, (2) people, and (3) data enable the creation, sharing, and configuration of knowledge in practice in the legal practice management context. Recommendations for further research were made to automate refining budgeting and forecasting assumptions. This enables management to arrive at more accurate forecasts by refining assumptions and producing the resultant profit and loss reports visually in heat maps depicting variance between the forecast and actual profit and loss reports. The SMEs provide feedback, and the system cycles between multiple assumption iterations, reducing the variance and enhancing management decision-making. Visualization was found to assist the knowledge-sharing process through (1) verification, (2) process enablement, and (3) communication for decision-making. This research highlighted the value of variance heat maps and other visualizations and workflows in making planning assumptions explicit, thereby enhancing forecasting accuracy. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Commerce, Rhodes Business School, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-02
- Authors: Cuthbert, Carol Elaine
- Date: 2025-04-02
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479570 , vital:78325 , DOI 10.21504/10962/479570
- Description: Dynamic capability-enhancing technology, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), System Experts (SEs) in planning and forecasting, and big data used for sensemaking combine to enable knowledge-based management decisions in interdisciplinary teams, increasing competitive advantage. This research extended Contingent Resource-based Theory CRBT by focusing on visualization’s role in this process. SMEs and SEs configure assumptions, with visualizations, in an interdisciplinary team to enable planning within the context of legal practice management systems. The study employed a mixed-method sequential explanatory design. An initial quantitative component determining which types of decision-making information technology contribute to the competitiveness of a firm was undertaken. Niche systems were found to increase technological dynamic capability through their highly configurable workflow tools, which provide customization capabilities and the ability to react to a changing environment quickly. Niche systems differentiated through process automation were found to be the aspect to focus on in a qualitative research study. A knowledge-sharing process model was developed from the literature, and this was overlayed with visualization as the new knowledge-sharing enabler. Then, a thematic qualitative study of interviews focusing on SMEs' and SEs' use of visualization in legal and financial system implementation was employed to establish the extent to which this process occurs in legal financial transformation projects. Seven subject matter experts and four system experts in legal transformation implementations were interviewed regarding using visualization to facilitate communication, verification, and process configuration during the knowledge-sharing process. The research illustrated how (1) low code systems data, (2) people, and (3) data enable the creation, sharing, and configuration of knowledge in practice in the legal practice management context. Recommendations for further research were made to automate refining budgeting and forecasting assumptions. This enables management to arrive at more accurate forecasts by refining assumptions and producing the resultant profit and loss reports visually in heat maps depicting variance between the forecast and actual profit and loss reports. The SMEs provide feedback, and the system cycles between multiple assumption iterations, reducing the variance and enhancing management decision-making. Visualization was found to assist the knowledge-sharing process through (1) verification, (2) process enablement, and (3) communication for decision-making. This research highlighted the value of variance heat maps and other visualizations and workflows in making planning assumptions explicit, thereby enhancing forecasting accuracy. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Commerce, Rhodes Business School, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-02
Productive piano pedagogy: towards a compositional approach to piano lessons in a South African primary school in Makhanda, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Wynne, Donovan
- Date: 2025-04-02
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479618 , vital:78329 , DOI 10.21504/10962/479618
- Description: Despite global trends towards creative and productive musical learning, there is little available research on how to support music educators’ efforts to adopt productive praxis in piano lessons in primary schools, and none situated in South Africa. This climate of pedagogical innovation makes possible a turn to play-based teaching methods emerging from the global north, which are aligned with African traditions of knowledge transmission in which agentive participation in authentic cultural processes is of greater value than evaluative judgements of ensuant products. The literature advocates the cultivation of music learning ecologies that privilege learner agency through composition, yet practical means of doing so within established conventions of instrumental music tuition in South African primary schools are not provided. This thesis investigates how such an ecology might be cultivated in a primary school in the Eastern Cape, with particular emphasis on how this can be achieved without compromising established pedagogical practises that are oriented toward the attainment of important external benchmarks of musical achievement. A design-based study was conducted in a primary school over the course of 12 months, in which nine young students composed their own music during piano lessons through collaborative activity in which they were afforded a degree of autonomy in their work as they acquired and consolidated knowledge of music through its creation. A play-based teaching intervention was devised, which was iteratively enacted, analysed, and redesigned through three research cycles. This resulted in findings that drove the development of a framework for teaching composition in this context, as well as tangible teaching materials. Results show that this adapted play-based model is an effective vehicle for fostering an agentive music learning ecology in piano lessons in an Eastern Cape primary school and suggest that it is reasonable to expect similar success in comparable school contexts. The insularity of a single school setting limited this research in terms of broader applicability, so further trialling of the proposed framework is recommended in a range of school situations in South Africa and beyond to establish transferability. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-02
- Authors: Wynne, Donovan
- Date: 2025-04-02
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479618 , vital:78329 , DOI 10.21504/10962/479618
- Description: Despite global trends towards creative and productive musical learning, there is little available research on how to support music educators’ efforts to adopt productive praxis in piano lessons in primary schools, and none situated in South Africa. This climate of pedagogical innovation makes possible a turn to play-based teaching methods emerging from the global north, which are aligned with African traditions of knowledge transmission in which agentive participation in authentic cultural processes is of greater value than evaluative judgements of ensuant products. The literature advocates the cultivation of music learning ecologies that privilege learner agency through composition, yet practical means of doing so within established conventions of instrumental music tuition in South African primary schools are not provided. This thesis investigates how such an ecology might be cultivated in a primary school in the Eastern Cape, with particular emphasis on how this can be achieved without compromising established pedagogical practises that are oriented toward the attainment of important external benchmarks of musical achievement. A design-based study was conducted in a primary school over the course of 12 months, in which nine young students composed their own music during piano lessons through collaborative activity in which they were afforded a degree of autonomy in their work as they acquired and consolidated knowledge of music through its creation. A play-based teaching intervention was devised, which was iteratively enacted, analysed, and redesigned through three research cycles. This resulted in findings that drove the development of a framework for teaching composition in this context, as well as tangible teaching materials. Results show that this adapted play-based model is an effective vehicle for fostering an agentive music learning ecology in piano lessons in an Eastern Cape primary school and suggest that it is reasonable to expect similar success in comparable school contexts. The insularity of a single school setting limited this research in terms of broader applicability, so further trialling of the proposed framework is recommended in a range of school situations in South Africa and beyond to establish transferability. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-02
The impact of Ghana's entrepreneurial ecosystem on women's entrepreneurial performance: the moderating role of entrepreneurial identity
- Authors: Akuamoah Boateng, Irene
- Date: 2025-04-02
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479559 , vital:78324 , DOI 10.21504/10962/479559
- Description: Women business leaders are generating a tremendous impact in their markets, industries and communities through innovation, job creation and economic growth. However, their contributions are often lost in the prevailing narrative that women are over-represented among the poorest and most vulnerable entrepreneurs globally. A review of the extant literature has postulated challenges that women entrepreneurs faced several challenges in the ecosystem in which it operates. Women entrepreneurs have access to limited capital as compared to its men counterparts, fewer opportunities to network and build relationships with other entrepreneurs, investors, and mentors, which affects their access to resources and knowledge. Due to the issue of gender-based stereotypes and biases that women entrepreneurs constantly face, they are unable to meet mentors who can provide them with guidance and support to grow their business. These women-specific challenges have become barriers limiting the growth of women entrepreneurs, however insufficient reports highlight how these hindering factors can create opportunities for the growth of women entrepreneurs. Dwelling on the Process theory, the study explored the impact of Ghana’s entrepreneurial ecosystem on women’s entrepreneurial performance with the moderating role of entrepreneurial identity. The study was a cross-sectional quantitative research design with data collected from 413 women entrepreneurs in the Greater Accra Region using structured questionnaire collected using the survey monkey online tool. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS v.25 and the PLS-SEM v.4.0. The first objective was examined through 12 hypotheses, while the second was analyzed using 2.The study finds that access to finance has positive and insignificant effect on the entrepreneurial performance of women in Ghana. Likewise, education and training have a negative and insignificant effect on the market and operational performance of women entrepreneurs in Ghana. The results of the study postulated that the availability of infrastructure and resources has a negative but significant effect on both the market and operational performance of Ghanaian women entrepreneurs. The results of the study further reported a positive but insignificant impact of network and social capital on the market performance and operational performance of women entrepreneurs in Ghana. The results of the study in relations to the regulatory environment and women entrepreneurial performance indicates an insignificant relationship between regulatory environment and market performance and regulatory performance whilst cultural and social factors within the Ghanaian ecosystem negatively but significantly influence the entrepreneurial performance of women in Ghana but innovation and knowledge spillover have a positive and significant impact on both the market performance and operational performance. Furthermore, the findings of the study suggest that Ghana's entrepreneurial ecosystem may not have a substantial direct impact on women's entrepreneurial performance in Ghana. Further practical and theoretical implications of the study are discussed in the thesis. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Commerce, Rhodes Business School, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-02
- Authors: Akuamoah Boateng, Irene
- Date: 2025-04-02
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479559 , vital:78324 , DOI 10.21504/10962/479559
- Description: Women business leaders are generating a tremendous impact in their markets, industries and communities through innovation, job creation and economic growth. However, their contributions are often lost in the prevailing narrative that women are over-represented among the poorest and most vulnerable entrepreneurs globally. A review of the extant literature has postulated challenges that women entrepreneurs faced several challenges in the ecosystem in which it operates. Women entrepreneurs have access to limited capital as compared to its men counterparts, fewer opportunities to network and build relationships with other entrepreneurs, investors, and mentors, which affects their access to resources and knowledge. Due to the issue of gender-based stereotypes and biases that women entrepreneurs constantly face, they are unable to meet mentors who can provide them with guidance and support to grow their business. These women-specific challenges have become barriers limiting the growth of women entrepreneurs, however insufficient reports highlight how these hindering factors can create opportunities for the growth of women entrepreneurs. Dwelling on the Process theory, the study explored the impact of Ghana’s entrepreneurial ecosystem on women’s entrepreneurial performance with the moderating role of entrepreneurial identity. The study was a cross-sectional quantitative research design with data collected from 413 women entrepreneurs in the Greater Accra Region using structured questionnaire collected using the survey monkey online tool. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS v.25 and the PLS-SEM v.4.0. The first objective was examined through 12 hypotheses, while the second was analyzed using 2.The study finds that access to finance has positive and insignificant effect on the entrepreneurial performance of women in Ghana. Likewise, education and training have a negative and insignificant effect on the market and operational performance of women entrepreneurs in Ghana. The results of the study postulated that the availability of infrastructure and resources has a negative but significant effect on both the market and operational performance of Ghanaian women entrepreneurs. The results of the study further reported a positive but insignificant impact of network and social capital on the market performance and operational performance of women entrepreneurs in Ghana. The results of the study in relations to the regulatory environment and women entrepreneurial performance indicates an insignificant relationship between regulatory environment and market performance and regulatory performance whilst cultural and social factors within the Ghanaian ecosystem negatively but significantly influence the entrepreneurial performance of women in Ghana but innovation and knowledge spillover have a positive and significant impact on both the market performance and operational performance. Furthermore, the findings of the study suggest that Ghana's entrepreneurial ecosystem may not have a substantial direct impact on women's entrepreneurial performance in Ghana. Further practical and theoretical implications of the study are discussed in the thesis. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Commerce, Rhodes Business School, 2025
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025-04-02
A framework for designing a gamified system that promotes knowledge of water sustainability
- Authors: Kunjuzwa, Dumani Tau
- Date: 2024-12
- Subjects: Computer science , User interfaces (Computer systems) , Water-supply -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/69349 , vital:77216
- Description: Water shortages are becoming increasingly common and raising awareness thereof has been proposed as a key strategy for empowering citizens with knowledge relevant to promoting water sustainability. This knowledge should incorporate indigenous knowledge, which is unique and confined to a particular culture. Indigenous knowledge has been recognised as the key to sustainable social and economic development. Knowledge incorporated within appropriate technologies can be a transformative solution to promote sustainable consumption of natural resources. This study aimed to develop a framework with strong theoretical connections that can be used as a guide for designing and developing technological solutions for promoting knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of water sustainability. Gamification, serious games, and community social networks were identified as appropriate technologies for implementing these solutions. Design Science Research (DSR) was an appropriate research methodology for this research. As the requirement of the DSR methodology, a framework was designed that considered relevant theories. The two theories (Self-Determination Theory and Social Capital Theory) were incorporated into the framework. The framework can guide other researchers in developing gamified systems that promote the KAPs of water sustainability. This framework was the theoretical artefact of the study. The research context was the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa where the data was collected from two municipalities namely, the Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City Metro, which have both experienced water shortages in recent years. Quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were used. Qualitative data was collected from brainstorming sessions and expert reviews that were conducted with various stakeholders that assisted with designing and evaluating the prototype designs of the gamified solution. For the design of the study’s artefacts, a participatory research approach was adopted. Participants were recruited to complete an online survey, which ran for three months. The findings revealed that citizens’ knowledge is closely correlated to the attitudes and practices of citizens regarding water sustainability. In addition, the findings showed that the knowledge of the citizens in the Eastern Cape Province was relatively low on water practices such as conservation and filtering methods. These results were considered in the design of the practical artefact and the instantiation findings. One limitation of this study was the limited number of indigenous participants in the survey. Other limitations were the lack of experts with indigenous knowledge and the lack of indigenous knowledge documentation. The promotion of water sustainability knowledge in communities would be more effective with the use of gamification and social community networks. In principle, the enhancement in water sustainability knowledge would promote the citizens’ good practices and attitudes (behavioural) related to water sustainability. Since 2015, a significant portion of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province has been suffering from a severe drought. This province is one of the regions of the country where weather patterns have changed dramatically, and as a result, most households were left vulnerable to the water shortage problem. While the broad topic of water sustainability is widely discussed in the literature, the role of appropriate technologies in promoting knowledge of water sustainability is still under-researched. This gap provided a significant potential for investigation by sustainability to design a technological and theoretical solution for promoting knowledge of water sustainability. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by delivering three DSR artefacts namely, a Framework for Designing a Gamified System that Promotes Knowledge of Water Sustainability; the design guidelines that supplement the framework, and a practical instantiation of the framework. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Science, School of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-12
- Authors: Kunjuzwa, Dumani Tau
- Date: 2024-12
- Subjects: Computer science , User interfaces (Computer systems) , Water-supply -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/69349 , vital:77216
- Description: Water shortages are becoming increasingly common and raising awareness thereof has been proposed as a key strategy for empowering citizens with knowledge relevant to promoting water sustainability. This knowledge should incorporate indigenous knowledge, which is unique and confined to a particular culture. Indigenous knowledge has been recognised as the key to sustainable social and economic development. Knowledge incorporated within appropriate technologies can be a transformative solution to promote sustainable consumption of natural resources. This study aimed to develop a framework with strong theoretical connections that can be used as a guide for designing and developing technological solutions for promoting knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of water sustainability. Gamification, serious games, and community social networks were identified as appropriate technologies for implementing these solutions. Design Science Research (DSR) was an appropriate research methodology for this research. As the requirement of the DSR methodology, a framework was designed that considered relevant theories. The two theories (Self-Determination Theory and Social Capital Theory) were incorporated into the framework. The framework can guide other researchers in developing gamified systems that promote the KAPs of water sustainability. This framework was the theoretical artefact of the study. The research context was the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa where the data was collected from two municipalities namely, the Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City Metro, which have both experienced water shortages in recent years. Quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were used. Qualitative data was collected from brainstorming sessions and expert reviews that were conducted with various stakeholders that assisted with designing and evaluating the prototype designs of the gamified solution. For the design of the study’s artefacts, a participatory research approach was adopted. Participants were recruited to complete an online survey, which ran for three months. The findings revealed that citizens’ knowledge is closely correlated to the attitudes and practices of citizens regarding water sustainability. In addition, the findings showed that the knowledge of the citizens in the Eastern Cape Province was relatively low on water practices such as conservation and filtering methods. These results were considered in the design of the practical artefact and the instantiation findings. One limitation of this study was the limited number of indigenous participants in the survey. Other limitations were the lack of experts with indigenous knowledge and the lack of indigenous knowledge documentation. The promotion of water sustainability knowledge in communities would be more effective with the use of gamification and social community networks. In principle, the enhancement in water sustainability knowledge would promote the citizens’ good practices and attitudes (behavioural) related to water sustainability. Since 2015, a significant portion of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province has been suffering from a severe drought. This province is one of the regions of the country where weather patterns have changed dramatically, and as a result, most households were left vulnerable to the water shortage problem. While the broad topic of water sustainability is widely discussed in the literature, the role of appropriate technologies in promoting knowledge of water sustainability is still under-researched. This gap provided a significant potential for investigation by sustainability to design a technological and theoretical solution for promoting knowledge of water sustainability. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by delivering three DSR artefacts namely, a Framework for Designing a Gamified System that Promotes Knowledge of Water Sustainability; the design guidelines that supplement the framework, and a practical instantiation of the framework. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Science, School of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-12
Communicating positive representations of wheelchair users’ disability identities through illustration and participatory design
- Authors: du Plessis, Amberleigh
- Date: 2024-12
- Subjects: People with disabilities , Group identity , Visual communication
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/70297 , vital:78337
- Description: The study highlights the misrepresentation of people with disabilities in the media, and how it can lead to social exclusion of people with disabilities and misunderstanding of the disability identity. The research question involves disability representation, wheelchair-disabled identity, illustration and participatory design. The study focuses specifically on wheelchair disability and uses a participatory design approach, which allows for wheelchair users collectively to be part of the research. The three different models of disability, namely the medical model, the social model and the cultural model. The South African definition of disability is explored, and images and photographic examples of past representations of disability are examined to identify stereotypes, such as the freak, the medicalised disabled body and the pitiful victim. Positive illustrations, paintings and posters of people living with disabilities are analysed, focusing on physical disability and representation, which reveals that illustration can instil good staring habits from non-disabled viewers, to create a more inclusive society. A qualitative research approach is employed to gain a better understanding of a specific phenomenon. The specific phenomenon was the representation of wheelchair disability identities, and to untangle this, three research approaches were used, namely autoethnography, case studies and participatory design. A total of 10 wheelchair-disabled persons, from Cheshire Home Summerstrand in Gqeberha participated in the study. It was found that by involving participants in the practical development process, more positive illustrations of disability representation can be produced, allowing for clearer communication of the disability identity. The responses to the interview questions confirmed that people with disabilities believe that non-disabled people have misconceptions about the disability identity. The research thus aims to challenge these misconceptions and motivate more positive interpretations and understanding of the disability identity through visual communication. , Thesis (MVA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Visual and Performing Arts, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-12
- Authors: du Plessis, Amberleigh
- Date: 2024-12
- Subjects: People with disabilities , Group identity , Visual communication
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/70297 , vital:78337
- Description: The study highlights the misrepresentation of people with disabilities in the media, and how it can lead to social exclusion of people with disabilities and misunderstanding of the disability identity. The research question involves disability representation, wheelchair-disabled identity, illustration and participatory design. The study focuses specifically on wheelchair disability and uses a participatory design approach, which allows for wheelchair users collectively to be part of the research. The three different models of disability, namely the medical model, the social model and the cultural model. The South African definition of disability is explored, and images and photographic examples of past representations of disability are examined to identify stereotypes, such as the freak, the medicalised disabled body and the pitiful victim. Positive illustrations, paintings and posters of people living with disabilities are analysed, focusing on physical disability and representation, which reveals that illustration can instil good staring habits from non-disabled viewers, to create a more inclusive society. A qualitative research approach is employed to gain a better understanding of a specific phenomenon. The specific phenomenon was the representation of wheelchair disability identities, and to untangle this, three research approaches were used, namely autoethnography, case studies and participatory design. A total of 10 wheelchair-disabled persons, from Cheshire Home Summerstrand in Gqeberha participated in the study. It was found that by involving participants in the practical development process, more positive illustrations of disability representation can be produced, allowing for clearer communication of the disability identity. The responses to the interview questions confirmed that people with disabilities believe that non-disabled people have misconceptions about the disability identity. The research thus aims to challenge these misconceptions and motivate more positive interpretations and understanding of the disability identity through visual communication. , Thesis (MVA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Visual and Performing Arts, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-12
Economic diversification and socio-economic development: a case of Namibia
- Authors: Fikunawa, Brigitte
- Date: 2024-12
- Subjects: Diversification in industry , Economic development -- Namibia , Namibia -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/70264 , vital:78334
- Description: Economic diversification has been at the forefront of many countries’ socio-economic development agendas, especially resource-rich developing countries. It is seen as a tool for attaining socio-economic development. After independence as a strategy to resolve socio-economic challenges, most developing economies like Namibia implemented policies and strategies enabling economic diversification. This study provides an empirical analysis of Namibia’s economic diversification and socio-economic development between 1990 and 2021. The study used a concurrent mixed research methodology involving quantitative secondary and qualitative interview-based primary data to assist in filling any gaps left by either methodology. The interviews helped expand and validate the secondary data results. The quantitative component of the study focuses on determining the level of economic diversification, the drivers of that diversification and the effect of economic diversification on socio-economic development. The study used the Tress and Ogive indices to proxy for economic diversification, while employment, poverty reduction and economic growth represent socio-economic development. Reading from these economic diversification measures, Namibia’s economy is relatively diversified but remains in the initial stage, with Tress and Ogive indices levels of 48.09/6.03. The study also found that in the long run, foreign direct investment (FDI), education and institutional quality lead to increased economic diversification while inflation discourage economic diversification. In the short run, FDI and education enhances diversification while inflation, financial sector development and earnings from natural resources lead to a decline in economic diversification. In examining the effect of economic diversification on socio-economic development, the results show that it has a positive influence on employment creation, poverty reduction and economic growth in the long and the short term. So overall the study found that economic diversification contributes positively to socio-economic development. To validate the quantitative results, six senior executives from five entities which includes ministries, government agencies and the private sector were selected purposively for interviews on their perception of economic diversification in Namibia and the data were analysed thematically. The results were inconclusive with regard to the effectiveness of the enabling policies. The participants agreed the enabling policies had contributed to employment, poverty reduction, income equality and economic growth. However, more needs to be done, like creating value chain-connected sectors that create seasonal employment, for the contribution to be sustainable. The study also found that the cost of doing business (mainly taxation and the cost of water and electricity); policies and institutional frameworks (like immigration, trade and investment laws); competitiveness of the economy in terms of its size, quality of human capital, manufacturing capacity and economic uncertainty are the leading challenges affecting the progress of Namibia’s economic diversification process. This researcher drew up several recommendations for the Namibian government to continue enhancing economic diversification to address the socio-economic challenges of unemployment, poverty and income inequality through investment in productive areas of the manufacturing and services sectors which can contribute to growth and employment. The government also needs to address the challenges hindering the progress of economic diversification in the country to create an environment that can foster economic diversification. The study recommends targeted intervention to enhance the attractiveness of other sectors so as to wean the economy off its high dependence on the primary sector through the provision of both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives. The required human capital development should be harnessed through investment in capabilities like vocational skills that are needed for economic diversification and socio-economic development to be achieved. Good governance should be attained by fighting corruption to enhance investment confidence. It further recommends that Namibia ratifies and implement the SADC protocol on trade and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to increase market accessibility and address the country’s market size, which is currently uncompetitive for investment. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, School of Economics, Development and Tourism, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-12
- Authors: Fikunawa, Brigitte
- Date: 2024-12
- Subjects: Diversification in industry , Economic development -- Namibia , Namibia -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/70264 , vital:78334
- Description: Economic diversification has been at the forefront of many countries’ socio-economic development agendas, especially resource-rich developing countries. It is seen as a tool for attaining socio-economic development. After independence as a strategy to resolve socio-economic challenges, most developing economies like Namibia implemented policies and strategies enabling economic diversification. This study provides an empirical analysis of Namibia’s economic diversification and socio-economic development between 1990 and 2021. The study used a concurrent mixed research methodology involving quantitative secondary and qualitative interview-based primary data to assist in filling any gaps left by either methodology. The interviews helped expand and validate the secondary data results. The quantitative component of the study focuses on determining the level of economic diversification, the drivers of that diversification and the effect of economic diversification on socio-economic development. The study used the Tress and Ogive indices to proxy for economic diversification, while employment, poverty reduction and economic growth represent socio-economic development. Reading from these economic diversification measures, Namibia’s economy is relatively diversified but remains in the initial stage, with Tress and Ogive indices levels of 48.09/6.03. The study also found that in the long run, foreign direct investment (FDI), education and institutional quality lead to increased economic diversification while inflation discourage economic diversification. In the short run, FDI and education enhances diversification while inflation, financial sector development and earnings from natural resources lead to a decline in economic diversification. In examining the effect of economic diversification on socio-economic development, the results show that it has a positive influence on employment creation, poverty reduction and economic growth in the long and the short term. So overall the study found that economic diversification contributes positively to socio-economic development. To validate the quantitative results, six senior executives from five entities which includes ministries, government agencies and the private sector were selected purposively for interviews on their perception of economic diversification in Namibia and the data were analysed thematically. The results were inconclusive with regard to the effectiveness of the enabling policies. The participants agreed the enabling policies had contributed to employment, poverty reduction, income equality and economic growth. However, more needs to be done, like creating value chain-connected sectors that create seasonal employment, for the contribution to be sustainable. The study also found that the cost of doing business (mainly taxation and the cost of water and electricity); policies and institutional frameworks (like immigration, trade and investment laws); competitiveness of the economy in terms of its size, quality of human capital, manufacturing capacity and economic uncertainty are the leading challenges affecting the progress of Namibia’s economic diversification process. This researcher drew up several recommendations for the Namibian government to continue enhancing economic diversification to address the socio-economic challenges of unemployment, poverty and income inequality through investment in productive areas of the manufacturing and services sectors which can contribute to growth and employment. The government also needs to address the challenges hindering the progress of economic diversification in the country to create an environment that can foster economic diversification. The study recommends targeted intervention to enhance the attractiveness of other sectors so as to wean the economy off its high dependence on the primary sector through the provision of both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives. The required human capital development should be harnessed through investment in capabilities like vocational skills that are needed for economic diversification and socio-economic development to be achieved. Good governance should be attained by fighting corruption to enhance investment confidence. It further recommends that Namibia ratifies and implement the SADC protocol on trade and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to increase market accessibility and address the country’s market size, which is currently uncompetitive for investment. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, School of Economics, Development and Tourism, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-12
Extending psychological praxis within South Africa: exploring healers’ perceptions of treatment plurality
- Authors: Yew-Siong, Lauren
- Date: 2024-12
- Subjects: Traditional medicine -- South Africa , Psychology -- Africa , Clinical health psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/69771 , vital:78032
- Description: The prevailing psychological praxis in South Africa predominantly follows western paradigms for defining, classifying, and diagnosing health and illness; falling short in encompassing the diverse mental healthcare reality. Scarce resources, inadequate infrastructure, and the interplay of religio-cultural beliefs intersect, shaping how psychological disturbances are perceived and how treatment is sought- especially for patients who do not ascribe to one treatment modality, or one paradigm. Therefore, this study explored ideas and notions surrounding treatment plurality held by healers (that being psychologists, psychiatrists, and traditional healers), within the South African context. The research utilised a qualitative exploratory-descriptive research methodology with a phenomenological research design. The researcher then employed purposive and snowball sampling to recruit participants. Thereafter, the researcher conducted online semi-structured interviews, and applied Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis to analyse the data. The following themes were then unpacked: 1) Healers’ perceptions of treatment plurality; 2) The need for collaboration between various disciplines; 3) Education as a key factor in pluralism; 4) Healer ethics and malpractice; 5) The lack of governmental funding and resources. The results suggest the need for a pluralistic mental healthcare approach in South Africa, bridging western and traditional practices. Yet, challenges stemming from inadequate governmental funding, resources, policies, and ethical guidelines hinder its development and implementation. Therefore, it would take more than one set of guidelines to implement pluralistic treatment within South African mental healthcare. For this purpose, the researcher decided to create a blueprint for various developments that is needed to make a pluralistic approach a reality in South Africa. These findings encouraged the researcher to develop: 1) Guidelines for the Provision of Collaborative Care in Mental Healthcare Services; 2) Guidelines for South African governmental policy that foster pluralism and collaborative care in the mental healthcare system; 3) A pluralistic medical aid scheme; 4) A module blueprint that could potentially be included in a professional master’s programme, as well as the inclusion of a theory the researcher has developed, named the Pluralism-oriented Mental Healthcare Theory. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Behavioural & Lifestyle Sciences, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-12
- Authors: Yew-Siong, Lauren
- Date: 2024-12
- Subjects: Traditional medicine -- South Africa , Psychology -- Africa , Clinical health psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/69771 , vital:78032
- Description: The prevailing psychological praxis in South Africa predominantly follows western paradigms for defining, classifying, and diagnosing health and illness; falling short in encompassing the diverse mental healthcare reality. Scarce resources, inadequate infrastructure, and the interplay of religio-cultural beliefs intersect, shaping how psychological disturbances are perceived and how treatment is sought- especially for patients who do not ascribe to one treatment modality, or one paradigm. Therefore, this study explored ideas and notions surrounding treatment plurality held by healers (that being psychologists, psychiatrists, and traditional healers), within the South African context. The research utilised a qualitative exploratory-descriptive research methodology with a phenomenological research design. The researcher then employed purposive and snowball sampling to recruit participants. Thereafter, the researcher conducted online semi-structured interviews, and applied Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis to analyse the data. The following themes were then unpacked: 1) Healers’ perceptions of treatment plurality; 2) The need for collaboration between various disciplines; 3) Education as a key factor in pluralism; 4) Healer ethics and malpractice; 5) The lack of governmental funding and resources. The results suggest the need for a pluralistic mental healthcare approach in South Africa, bridging western and traditional practices. Yet, challenges stemming from inadequate governmental funding, resources, policies, and ethical guidelines hinder its development and implementation. Therefore, it would take more than one set of guidelines to implement pluralistic treatment within South African mental healthcare. For this purpose, the researcher decided to create a blueprint for various developments that is needed to make a pluralistic approach a reality in South Africa. These findings encouraged the researcher to develop: 1) Guidelines for the Provision of Collaborative Care in Mental Healthcare Services; 2) Guidelines for South African governmental policy that foster pluralism and collaborative care in the mental healthcare system; 3) A pluralistic medical aid scheme; 4) A module blueprint that could potentially be included in a professional master’s programme, as well as the inclusion of a theory the researcher has developed, named the Pluralism-oriented Mental Healthcare Theory. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Behavioural & Lifestyle Sciences, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-12
Factors affecting consumer purchase intentions towards traditional small grain foods in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Moyo, Arnold
- Date: 2024-12
- Subjects: Consumer behavior -- Zimbabwe , Consumer satisfaction -- Zimbabwe , Consumers' preferences -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/70067 , vital:78289
- Description: The consumption of traditional small grain foods in Zimbabwe is low and declining. This trend persists despite their nutritional, economic, socio-cultural and environmental benefits. Increasing the consumer demand for traditional small grain foods in Zimbabwe requires empirically based marketing interventions, which, in turn, rely on a holistic understanding of the factors affecting traditional small grain food consumption in the country. However, consumer-focused research that aims to stimulate consumer purchase intentions is both sparse and fragmented. This study addresses this sparsity and fragmentation of research by exploring multiple factors affecting consumer purchase intentions towards traditional small grain foods in Zimbabwe. The overarching purpose of the study was to enhance the understanding of context-specific factors affecting consumer purchase intentions towards traditional small grain foods in Zimbabwe. Pursuant to this aim, four objectives were developed. These are: (i) to identify relevant personal, environmental and food-related factors affecting consumer purchase intentions towards traditional small grain foods; (ii) to examine the extent to which identified factors affect consumer purchase intentions towards traditional small grain foods in Zimbabwe; (iii) to propose an integrated model to guide marketing practitioners and retailers on how to design marketing interventions that stimulate consumer purchase intentions towards traditional small grain foods; and (iv) to recommend marketing strategies that retailers and traditional food marketers could implement to promote consumer purchase intentions towards traditional small grain foods in Zimbabwe. Informed by the stated objectives, the study embraced a positivist paradigm and descriptive design. The hypothesised framework of the study was premised on integrating the Food Preference and Consumption Model, the Consumer Behaviour Model with respect to food and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Primary data were collected through a survey of 386 respondents selected from Zimbabwe's 10 provinces using quota sampling at the provincial level based on each province's contribution to the national population of 15,178,957. Convenience sampling was used within each province. Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS v.26 for covariance-based structural equation modelling and SmartPLS 4 for partial least squares-based structural equation modelling, which was a double-quantitative complementary triangulation approach and was a novel methodology in consumer behaviour studies relating to traditional foods. Ten context-relevant factors affecting consumer purchase intentions were identified, seven of which had a significant influence on purchase intentions. Analysed data led to the development, testing and validation of two novel, explanatory, predictive and context-specific models for consumer purchase intentions towards traditional small grain foods in Zimbabwe (the lower-order component and higher-order component Traditional Small Grain Food Preference models). The study contributes a new measurement instrument and model to consumer behaviour literature, particularly in Africa where related research is sparce. The study makes an additional theoretical contribution by utilising a double quantitative complementary triangulation method of data analysis. Results of the study enables marketers to optimise their resource allocation by prioritising the most influential determinants of consumer purchase intentions. Results on significant demographic differences in purchase intentions demonstrated the need for a more targeted, segmentation-driven approach to marketing strategy formulation by tailoring the marketing mix, communication message and channels and positioning strategies, to the unique needs and preferences of distinct consumer segments. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, School of Management Sciences, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-12
- Authors: Moyo, Arnold
- Date: 2024-12
- Subjects: Consumer behavior -- Zimbabwe , Consumer satisfaction -- Zimbabwe , Consumers' preferences -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/70067 , vital:78289
- Description: The consumption of traditional small grain foods in Zimbabwe is low and declining. This trend persists despite their nutritional, economic, socio-cultural and environmental benefits. Increasing the consumer demand for traditional small grain foods in Zimbabwe requires empirically based marketing interventions, which, in turn, rely on a holistic understanding of the factors affecting traditional small grain food consumption in the country. However, consumer-focused research that aims to stimulate consumer purchase intentions is both sparse and fragmented. This study addresses this sparsity and fragmentation of research by exploring multiple factors affecting consumer purchase intentions towards traditional small grain foods in Zimbabwe. The overarching purpose of the study was to enhance the understanding of context-specific factors affecting consumer purchase intentions towards traditional small grain foods in Zimbabwe. Pursuant to this aim, four objectives were developed. These are: (i) to identify relevant personal, environmental and food-related factors affecting consumer purchase intentions towards traditional small grain foods; (ii) to examine the extent to which identified factors affect consumer purchase intentions towards traditional small grain foods in Zimbabwe; (iii) to propose an integrated model to guide marketing practitioners and retailers on how to design marketing interventions that stimulate consumer purchase intentions towards traditional small grain foods; and (iv) to recommend marketing strategies that retailers and traditional food marketers could implement to promote consumer purchase intentions towards traditional small grain foods in Zimbabwe. Informed by the stated objectives, the study embraced a positivist paradigm and descriptive design. The hypothesised framework of the study was premised on integrating the Food Preference and Consumption Model, the Consumer Behaviour Model with respect to food and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Primary data were collected through a survey of 386 respondents selected from Zimbabwe's 10 provinces using quota sampling at the provincial level based on each province's contribution to the national population of 15,178,957. Convenience sampling was used within each province. Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS v.26 for covariance-based structural equation modelling and SmartPLS 4 for partial least squares-based structural equation modelling, which was a double-quantitative complementary triangulation approach and was a novel methodology in consumer behaviour studies relating to traditional foods. Ten context-relevant factors affecting consumer purchase intentions were identified, seven of which had a significant influence on purchase intentions. Analysed data led to the development, testing and validation of two novel, explanatory, predictive and context-specific models for consumer purchase intentions towards traditional small grain foods in Zimbabwe (the lower-order component and higher-order component Traditional Small Grain Food Preference models). The study contributes a new measurement instrument and model to consumer behaviour literature, particularly in Africa where related research is sparce. The study makes an additional theoretical contribution by utilising a double quantitative complementary triangulation method of data analysis. Results of the study enables marketers to optimise their resource allocation by prioritising the most influential determinants of consumer purchase intentions. Results on significant demographic differences in purchase intentions demonstrated the need for a more targeted, segmentation-driven approach to marketing strategy formulation by tailoring the marketing mix, communication message and channels and positioning strategies, to the unique needs and preferences of distinct consumer segments. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, School of Management Sciences, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-12