The Role of the Mnquma Local Municipality in Addressing Xenophobic Tensions between Foreign Shop Owners and Local Community Members in South Africa: A case study of Butterworth; 2010-2012
- Authors: Ndinisa, Sibongile
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Xenophobia Foreign workers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc (Political Science)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18221 , vital:42243
- Description: The study examines the role played by the Mnquma Local municipality in addressing xenophobic violence in Butterworth between 2010 and 2012 and subsequent sporadic tensions. The study also examines the causes as well as the sporadic recurrence of xenophobic tensions between foreign shop owners and local community members in Butterworth. Due to the nature of the study, ethnographic fieldwork was considered the most practical and suitable method in getting necessary responses regarding the study. The data collection instruments used were in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Participants comprised 15 foreign shop owners, 15 local community members. In addition, three interviews were conducted with relevant Mnquma Local Municipality officials who had been involved in addressing xenophobic tensions in Butterworth. In order to understand the dynamics of xenophobic tensions in Butterworth, the study employed two theories; the Scapegoating theory and Relative Deprivation theory. The study established that the causes of xenophobic tensions were largely due to the poor socio-economic situation in the Mnquma Municipality, which resulted in high rates of poverty, unemployment and competition for resources and business opportunities. Furthermore, misinformation on media platforms about foreign nationals and the inadequate opportunities for interaction also exacerbated tensions. Moreover, it was uncovered that the Mnquma Local Municipality did not have effective mechanisms to address xenophobic tensions. The study recommends that the municipality addresses service delivery needs of both locals and foreign nationals as this will create a safe and peaceful environment for foreign nationals to coexist with locals in Butterworth. x The study further urges the Mnquma Local Municipality to formulate an antixenophobia unit that can detect and combat any sign of xenophobia in all communities in Butterworth.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Ndinisa, Sibongile
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Xenophobia Foreign workers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc (Political Science)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18221 , vital:42243
- Description: The study examines the role played by the Mnquma Local municipality in addressing xenophobic violence in Butterworth between 2010 and 2012 and subsequent sporadic tensions. The study also examines the causes as well as the sporadic recurrence of xenophobic tensions between foreign shop owners and local community members in Butterworth. Due to the nature of the study, ethnographic fieldwork was considered the most practical and suitable method in getting necessary responses regarding the study. The data collection instruments used were in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Participants comprised 15 foreign shop owners, 15 local community members. In addition, three interviews were conducted with relevant Mnquma Local Municipality officials who had been involved in addressing xenophobic tensions in Butterworth. In order to understand the dynamics of xenophobic tensions in Butterworth, the study employed two theories; the Scapegoating theory and Relative Deprivation theory. The study established that the causes of xenophobic tensions were largely due to the poor socio-economic situation in the Mnquma Municipality, which resulted in high rates of poverty, unemployment and competition for resources and business opportunities. Furthermore, misinformation on media platforms about foreign nationals and the inadequate opportunities for interaction also exacerbated tensions. Moreover, it was uncovered that the Mnquma Local Municipality did not have effective mechanisms to address xenophobic tensions. The study recommends that the municipality addresses service delivery needs of both locals and foreign nationals as this will create a safe and peaceful environment for foreign nationals to coexist with locals in Butterworth. x The study further urges the Mnquma Local Municipality to formulate an antixenophobia unit that can detect and combat any sign of xenophobia in all communities in Butterworth.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
An Appraisal of South Africa’s Counter Terrorism Architecture Since 2001
- Authors: Mato, Myalezo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Terrorism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc. Sci (Political Studies)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16485 , vital:40724
- Description: The main aim of this study is to appraise South Africa’s counter-terrorism architecture since 2001. The period from 2001 is chosen because it marked the beginning of the global war on terror following the 9/11 attacks in the United States. The study employs both primary and secondary sources of data to achieve its objectives. Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations theory is used as a model in studying the possibility of the occurrence of terrorism in South Africa. The study found out that porous borders, lack of public trust in law enforcement agencies, corruption and other factors create fertile grounds for the outbreak of terrorism in South Africa. It also reveals some challenges that are faced by the South African counter-terrorism structures in their quest to combat and prevent terrorist activities in the country. The study recommends amongst others for the creation of a department of Border Management to properly manage the state of porous borders in South Africa as this is one of the main factors that may give rise to terrorism in the country.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Mato, Myalezo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Terrorism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc. Sci (Political Studies)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16485 , vital:40724
- Description: The main aim of this study is to appraise South Africa’s counter-terrorism architecture since 2001. The period from 2001 is chosen because it marked the beginning of the global war on terror following the 9/11 attacks in the United States. The study employs both primary and secondary sources of data to achieve its objectives. Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations theory is used as a model in studying the possibility of the occurrence of terrorism in South Africa. The study found out that porous borders, lack of public trust in law enforcement agencies, corruption and other factors create fertile grounds for the outbreak of terrorism in South Africa. It also reveals some challenges that are faced by the South African counter-terrorism structures in their quest to combat and prevent terrorist activities in the country. The study recommends amongst others for the creation of a department of Border Management to properly manage the state of porous borders in South Africa as this is one of the main factors that may give rise to terrorism in the country.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2019
Examining the position of black South African accents in English in Drama Departments within institutions in the Western Cape Province: a case study
- Authors: Seekoe, Leanetse Thato
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: English language
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16397 , vital:40716
- Description: This dissertation examines the treatment and perceptions of black South African accents in English in the drama departments of specific institutions of higher learning in the Western Cape Province. The researcher is concerned with the handling of African native cultural identities in the curriculum policy of Drama Departments in higher education institutions in the Western Cape Province. Although the focus of the research is on the institutions that are based in the Western Cape Province, the subjects that are being discussed are representatives of black people in South Africa as a whole. To portray the issue of accents appropriately, the examination does often refer to language as a relatable concept. In the literature of this dissertation, there is ample support for the claim that language differences and disagreements in South Africa are due to the historical and socio-political stance of the European native. After examining the topic of power and social control, the study points out that the native is rarely in control of the interests of the European descendent. Thus, the relationship between the two is immediately assumed before it has even been established. For the purpose of this discussion, ambiguity is appreciated when intimacy between cultures evolves for the greater good. However, it is disregarded when individual voices are diluted into neutral or standard representations of a language. And so the act of reducing black South African accents in English to mirror that of the Euro-American culture robs the natives of their individuality and imprisons them into cultural assimilation. Ultimately, this study intends to identify different groups of black South Africans who speak English with accents. For clarity has divided into two separate groups namely privileged and unprivileged. Accents that are appreciated by white South African English speakers are considered to be privileged, while accents that carry the undertones of any mother-tongue language are recognised in this research study as unprivileged. The study wishes to present this phenomenon as a social issue that will negatively affect the growth of indigenous participation in performance spaces in the Western Cape which the study assumes as the context for the research. The implication of the study is to potentially eliminate issues of inferiority to those black South African accents that have been regarded as less valuable to dramatic performances in the Western Cape, to the extent that platforms of dramatic performances will broaden in order for black South African accents to be prioritised with relevant usage
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Seekoe, Leanetse Thato
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: English language
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16397 , vital:40716
- Description: This dissertation examines the treatment and perceptions of black South African accents in English in the drama departments of specific institutions of higher learning in the Western Cape Province. The researcher is concerned with the handling of African native cultural identities in the curriculum policy of Drama Departments in higher education institutions in the Western Cape Province. Although the focus of the research is on the institutions that are based in the Western Cape Province, the subjects that are being discussed are representatives of black people in South Africa as a whole. To portray the issue of accents appropriately, the examination does often refer to language as a relatable concept. In the literature of this dissertation, there is ample support for the claim that language differences and disagreements in South Africa are due to the historical and socio-political stance of the European native. After examining the topic of power and social control, the study points out that the native is rarely in control of the interests of the European descendent. Thus, the relationship between the two is immediately assumed before it has even been established. For the purpose of this discussion, ambiguity is appreciated when intimacy between cultures evolves for the greater good. However, it is disregarded when individual voices are diluted into neutral or standard representations of a language. And so the act of reducing black South African accents in English to mirror that of the Euro-American culture robs the natives of their individuality and imprisons them into cultural assimilation. Ultimately, this study intends to identify different groups of black South Africans who speak English with accents. For clarity has divided into two separate groups namely privileged and unprivileged. Accents that are appreciated by white South African English speakers are considered to be privileged, while accents that carry the undertones of any mother-tongue language are recognised in this research study as unprivileged. The study wishes to present this phenomenon as a social issue that will negatively affect the growth of indigenous participation in performance spaces in the Western Cape which the study assumes as the context for the research. The implication of the study is to potentially eliminate issues of inferiority to those black South African accents that have been regarded as less valuable to dramatic performances in the Western Cape, to the extent that platforms of dramatic performances will broaden in order for black South African accents to be prioritised with relevant usage
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A Cost-Efficient Energy Management Model for ICT4D Platforms in Low Resource Communities
- Authors: Mbotoloshi, Dumisani
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Information technology Communication in community development|
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Computer Science )
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/14538 , vital:39999
- Description: A couple of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) researches have been conducted in the rural communities of South Africa (SA). This has encouraged the development of ICT services such as e-government, e-commerce, e-judiciary, e-health, e-agriculture and many others. Proper ICT implementation has led to societal development, economic empowerment and sustainable communities. However, this is achieved after intensive planning and stakeholders‟ involvement. It is clear that ICTs require energy to function. Most significantly is the fact that a bulk of ICTs in low resource communities (LRC) are mainly donations and less consideration if any is made on their energy consumption. LRC are regions with minimum access to energy, clean water, educational facilities, health facilities, government facilities, technology etc. There have been debates on whether in LRC ICTs are consuming energy. Most ICTs have been deployed without much consideration on the required energy consumption. On the other hand, less research has been done on the sustainability of ICTs, especially considering that all ICT devices and related platforms rely on the availability of energy. There are a lot of possible low cost energy solutions that are available, which could be used to support ICTs in LRC. However, there are so many ICT services, devices and platforms that are lying idle and not been fully utilized in such areas due to the energy related issues. In most cases, ICT solutions in LRC are introduced mainly with Computer Science and Information Systems researchers, without including other key stakeholders like energy experts. The research presents a Cost Effecient Energy Management Model that could be used to assist ICT for Development (ICT4D) platforms or projects in LRC. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used within the Siyakhula Living Lab (SLL) in Eastern Cape (EC) Province of SA. Design Science theory is considered for the designing of the model. The SLL is an ICT project which is undertaken within the Dwesa, Bulembu and Alice rural communities. In this dissertation, Dwesa rural community is the chosen case. The surrounding schools in the communities have been used as the ICT point of contact. Interviews, questionnaires, literature v review, action research, focus group, experiments, formulas and evaluation were the specific methods used to conduct this research. Results show that ICTs deployed in the SLLs are mainly donations which consume much energy. The main source of energy use within the SLLs is electricity. From the three schools that were selected where ICTs have been deployed it was found that the electricity bill has increased enormously. This has caused some schools not to open the computer laboratories, which are supposed to be used by the community members. It was also found that there is no energy management plan or solution in place for the SLL resources. The findings show that ICTs within the SLL are been affected by energy related subjects, though the community has been willing to pay for electricity. The Cost Efficient Energy Management Model is proposed at the end of the dissertation. The model is targeted for ICT service providers and has five (5) main pillars i.e stakeholders‟ engagement, energy and ICT infrastructure, new business models, monitoring and evaluation, and finally awareness and training. The dissertation identified all the ICT resources and services at three selected schools within the SLL and drew up the energy consumption for each school. All schools indicated that there has been an increase in the electricity bill after the introduction of the SLL project. There was a clear indication that no energy expert was involved in the establishment of the SLLs. The dissertation indicates that there is a need for renewable source of energy for ICTs to improve service delivery in LRC. ICT service providers should consider energy subjects when planning for development of such solutions in LRC. This research focuses on designing a low cost ICT energy model to inform on ICTs energy consumption in LRC. It further outlines the possible ICT energy solutions that could be used to benefit targeted communities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Mbotoloshi, Dumisani
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Information technology Communication in community development|
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Computer Science )
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/14538 , vital:39999
- Description: A couple of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) researches have been conducted in the rural communities of South Africa (SA). This has encouraged the development of ICT services such as e-government, e-commerce, e-judiciary, e-health, e-agriculture and many others. Proper ICT implementation has led to societal development, economic empowerment and sustainable communities. However, this is achieved after intensive planning and stakeholders‟ involvement. It is clear that ICTs require energy to function. Most significantly is the fact that a bulk of ICTs in low resource communities (LRC) are mainly donations and less consideration if any is made on their energy consumption. LRC are regions with minimum access to energy, clean water, educational facilities, health facilities, government facilities, technology etc. There have been debates on whether in LRC ICTs are consuming energy. Most ICTs have been deployed without much consideration on the required energy consumption. On the other hand, less research has been done on the sustainability of ICTs, especially considering that all ICT devices and related platforms rely on the availability of energy. There are a lot of possible low cost energy solutions that are available, which could be used to support ICTs in LRC. However, there are so many ICT services, devices and platforms that are lying idle and not been fully utilized in such areas due to the energy related issues. In most cases, ICT solutions in LRC are introduced mainly with Computer Science and Information Systems researchers, without including other key stakeholders like energy experts. The research presents a Cost Effecient Energy Management Model that could be used to assist ICT for Development (ICT4D) platforms or projects in LRC. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used within the Siyakhula Living Lab (SLL) in Eastern Cape (EC) Province of SA. Design Science theory is considered for the designing of the model. The SLL is an ICT project which is undertaken within the Dwesa, Bulembu and Alice rural communities. In this dissertation, Dwesa rural community is the chosen case. The surrounding schools in the communities have been used as the ICT point of contact. Interviews, questionnaires, literature v review, action research, focus group, experiments, formulas and evaluation were the specific methods used to conduct this research. Results show that ICTs deployed in the SLLs are mainly donations which consume much energy. The main source of energy use within the SLLs is electricity. From the three schools that were selected where ICTs have been deployed it was found that the electricity bill has increased enormously. This has caused some schools not to open the computer laboratories, which are supposed to be used by the community members. It was also found that there is no energy management plan or solution in place for the SLL resources. The findings show that ICTs within the SLL are been affected by energy related subjects, though the community has been willing to pay for electricity. The Cost Efficient Energy Management Model is proposed at the end of the dissertation. The model is targeted for ICT service providers and has five (5) main pillars i.e stakeholders‟ engagement, energy and ICT infrastructure, new business models, monitoring and evaluation, and finally awareness and training. The dissertation identified all the ICT resources and services at three selected schools within the SLL and drew up the energy consumption for each school. All schools indicated that there has been an increase in the electricity bill after the introduction of the SLL project. There was a clear indication that no energy expert was involved in the establishment of the SLLs. The dissertation indicates that there is a need for renewable source of energy for ICTs to improve service delivery in LRC. ICT service providers should consider energy subjects when planning for development of such solutions in LRC. This research focuses on designing a low cost ICT energy model to inform on ICTs energy consumption in LRC. It further outlines the possible ICT energy solutions that could be used to benefit targeted communities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Assessing factors influencing professional nurses' attrition in South Africa : a case study of private hospitals in Johannesburg
- Authors: Mbobo, Angelina Pretty
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Intensive care nursing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Public Health Leadership
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11181 , vital:37200
- Description: South Africa faces an immense shortage of healthcare professionals, especially trained and experienced critical care nurses. This thesis assesses factors influencing professional nurses ‘attrition in two selected private hospitals. This results in an HR risk; loss of skills, task shifting and the use of less skilled nurses, and not limited to the high workloads in intensive care units together with the job dissatisfaction consequently. To confirm this, a case study making use of a qualitative approach, follows the definition of a social constructivism framework. The study assessed 40 trained and experienced critical care nurses in focus groups of 5, with which a stratified purposive sampling technique was used and the focus group interviews were 90 minutes Seven structured interviews were undertaken, (using a narrative summary) with hospital operational managers working directly with the critical care nurses. Audio-recorded data were analysed by thematic content analysis using Creswell’s steps content analysis method. Multiple reasons, as given by nurses, to discontinue their services in private hospitals emerged. These were: Heavy workloads, shortage of trained staff, medico-legal risks; lack of supervision, support and teamwork, physical and emotional exhaustion, fatigue, stress and burnout, differential salary scales, non-competitive retirement packages role ambiguity, inadequate equipment, unresolved conflict with colleagues or management, personal financial crisis, lack of recognition and Lack of career development or promotion. These factors make use of themes, which include issues related to line management, administration, subjective and uncertainty of roles. Operational managers confirmed such reasons for the discontinuation of services offered by critical care nurses in private hospitals. Management views to the attrition of critical care nurses were that: (a) The staffing crisis was a serious matter of concern, (b) the use of less skilled staff resulted in negative effects on patient care and (c) the low number of critical care nursing staff negatively affected organisational goals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Mbobo, Angelina Pretty
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Intensive care nursing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Public Health Leadership
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11181 , vital:37200
- Description: South Africa faces an immense shortage of healthcare professionals, especially trained and experienced critical care nurses. This thesis assesses factors influencing professional nurses ‘attrition in two selected private hospitals. This results in an HR risk; loss of skills, task shifting and the use of less skilled nurses, and not limited to the high workloads in intensive care units together with the job dissatisfaction consequently. To confirm this, a case study making use of a qualitative approach, follows the definition of a social constructivism framework. The study assessed 40 trained and experienced critical care nurses in focus groups of 5, with which a stratified purposive sampling technique was used and the focus group interviews were 90 minutes Seven structured interviews were undertaken, (using a narrative summary) with hospital operational managers working directly with the critical care nurses. Audio-recorded data were analysed by thematic content analysis using Creswell’s steps content analysis method. Multiple reasons, as given by nurses, to discontinue their services in private hospitals emerged. These were: Heavy workloads, shortage of trained staff, medico-legal risks; lack of supervision, support and teamwork, physical and emotional exhaustion, fatigue, stress and burnout, differential salary scales, non-competitive retirement packages role ambiguity, inadequate equipment, unresolved conflict with colleagues or management, personal financial crisis, lack of recognition and Lack of career development or promotion. These factors make use of themes, which include issues related to line management, administration, subjective and uncertainty of roles. Operational managers confirmed such reasons for the discontinuation of services offered by critical care nurses in private hospitals. Management views to the attrition of critical care nurses were that: (a) The staffing crisis was a serious matter of concern, (b) the use of less skilled staff resulted in negative effects on patient care and (c) the low number of critical care nursing staff negatively affected organisational goals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Evaluation of Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality communication strategies in reducing the risk of water-borne diseases outbreak
- Animawun, Oluwatosin Tolulope
- Authors: Animawun, Oluwatosin Tolulope
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Communication in public health Communicable diseases -- Prevention Waterborne infection -- Prevention
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10531 , vital:35595
- Description: Health Communication plays an important role in health sustenance. It is cardinal to disease prevention, health promotion and quality of life. Water-borne diseases are known to pose a significant threat to global health and has claimed many lives. This study seeks to evaluate Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality’s communication strategies employed in reducing the risk of water-borne diseases outbreak in the community. The research method used for this study is mixed method. In-depth interview and questionnaire was used to collect data. The two sampling procedures that were used in this study are purposive sampling for the qualitative aspect of this study and simple random sampling for the quantitative aspect of this study. The conclusion that was drawn from this study is that Raymond Mhlaba (formerly Nkonkobe) Local Municipality makes use of a communication strategy, which is awareness campaign, in educating its people about water-borne diseases and its prevention but the information is limited in its reach. This study recommends that the awareness campaign done by Raymond Mhlaba (formerly Nkonkobe) Local Municipality should be embarked on more frequently because the more the messages are reinforced for a long time, the more the people in the community are able to remember and the greater the likelihood that they will act upon the message. In addition, Raymond Mhlaba (formerly Nkonkobe) Local Municipality should carry out evaluations like this research at least quarterly in order to assess the impact of the awareness campaigns on the Community, which can also be used as a tool to educate the people of Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality about Water-borne diseases. Finally, social media is a new trend that most people are now into, most especially the youths; Raymond Mhlaba (formerly Nkonkobe) Local Municipality should key into this and educate the public on platforms on social media as it can be seen as a form of reinforcing health information.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Animawun, Oluwatosin Tolulope
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Communication in public health Communicable diseases -- Prevention Waterborne infection -- Prevention
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10531 , vital:35595
- Description: Health Communication plays an important role in health sustenance. It is cardinal to disease prevention, health promotion and quality of life. Water-borne diseases are known to pose a significant threat to global health and has claimed many lives. This study seeks to evaluate Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality’s communication strategies employed in reducing the risk of water-borne diseases outbreak in the community. The research method used for this study is mixed method. In-depth interview and questionnaire was used to collect data. The two sampling procedures that were used in this study are purposive sampling for the qualitative aspect of this study and simple random sampling for the quantitative aspect of this study. The conclusion that was drawn from this study is that Raymond Mhlaba (formerly Nkonkobe) Local Municipality makes use of a communication strategy, which is awareness campaign, in educating its people about water-borne diseases and its prevention but the information is limited in its reach. This study recommends that the awareness campaign done by Raymond Mhlaba (formerly Nkonkobe) Local Municipality should be embarked on more frequently because the more the messages are reinforced for a long time, the more the people in the community are able to remember and the greater the likelihood that they will act upon the message. In addition, Raymond Mhlaba (formerly Nkonkobe) Local Municipality should carry out evaluations like this research at least quarterly in order to assess the impact of the awareness campaigns on the Community, which can also be used as a tool to educate the people of Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality about Water-borne diseases. Finally, social media is a new trend that most people are now into, most especially the youths; Raymond Mhlaba (formerly Nkonkobe) Local Municipality should key into this and educate the public on platforms on social media as it can be seen as a form of reinforcing health information.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Perceptions of ex-offenders regarding re-integration into their communities : case study of Engcobo Local Municipality (Eastern Cape Province)
- Authors: Jobela, Zizo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Criminals -- Rehabilitation Ex-convicts -- Rehabilitation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Social work with criminals -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Criminology
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10486 , vital:35493
- Description: This research study is based on exploring perception of ex-offenders regarding reintegration back to their communities. This was accomplished by means of collecting data from Engcobo Local Municipality ex-offenders. The aim was to find out whether do ex-offenders welcomed in their communities or not, and what might be the challenges they encounter if they are not welcomed. The research considered the fundamental understanding of ex-offender discrimination and labeling including the role of Department of Correctional Services in supporting the reintegration of ex-offenders. The issue of criminal record as a barrier to employment for ex-offenders was also taken into consideration as the base to recidivism. Labeling theory is used in the study as to support the notion to why people engage themselves fully into criminal behavior and how it leads to one obtaining a criminal record. The finding about the study stipulated that ex-offenders are faced with enormous challenges during re-entry into their communities hence they bounce back to correctional centers time and again. Recommendation for the study to different stakeholders has been also discussed.This research study is based on exploring perception of ex-offenders regarding reintegration back to their communities. This was accomplished by means of collecting data from Engcobo Local Municipality ex-offenders. The aim was to find out whether do ex-offenders welcomed in their communities or not, and what might be the challenges they encounter if they are not welcomed. The research considered the fundamental understanding of ex-offender discrimination and labeling including the role of Department of Correctional Services in supporting the reintegration of ex-offenders. The issue of criminal record as a barrier to employment for ex-offenders was also taken into consideration as the base to recidivism. Labeling theory is used in the study as to support the notion to why people engage themselves fully into criminal behavior and how it leads to one obtaining a criminal record. The finding about the study stipulated that ex-offenders are faced with enormous challenges during re-entry into their communities hence they bounce back to correctional centers time and again. Recommendation for the study to different stakeholders has been also discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Jobela, Zizo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Criminals -- Rehabilitation Ex-convicts -- Rehabilitation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Social work with criminals -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Criminology
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10486 , vital:35493
- Description: This research study is based on exploring perception of ex-offenders regarding reintegration back to their communities. This was accomplished by means of collecting data from Engcobo Local Municipality ex-offenders. The aim was to find out whether do ex-offenders welcomed in their communities or not, and what might be the challenges they encounter if they are not welcomed. The research considered the fundamental understanding of ex-offender discrimination and labeling including the role of Department of Correctional Services in supporting the reintegration of ex-offenders. The issue of criminal record as a barrier to employment for ex-offenders was also taken into consideration as the base to recidivism. Labeling theory is used in the study as to support the notion to why people engage themselves fully into criminal behavior and how it leads to one obtaining a criminal record. The finding about the study stipulated that ex-offenders are faced with enormous challenges during re-entry into their communities hence they bounce back to correctional centers time and again. Recommendation for the study to different stakeholders has been also discussed.This research study is based on exploring perception of ex-offenders regarding reintegration back to their communities. This was accomplished by means of collecting data from Engcobo Local Municipality ex-offenders. The aim was to find out whether do ex-offenders welcomed in their communities or not, and what might be the challenges they encounter if they are not welcomed. The research considered the fundamental understanding of ex-offender discrimination and labeling including the role of Department of Correctional Services in supporting the reintegration of ex-offenders. The issue of criminal record as a barrier to employment for ex-offenders was also taken into consideration as the base to recidivism. Labeling theory is used in the study as to support the notion to why people engage themselves fully into criminal behavior and how it leads to one obtaining a criminal record. The finding about the study stipulated that ex-offenders are faced with enormous challenges during re-entry into their communities hence they bounce back to correctional centers time and again. Recommendation for the study to different stakeholders has been also discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Assessment of national small and medium scale policy as a driver of local economic development : a case study of Ife Central Local government, Nigeria
- Authors: Adefemi, Adebayo Oluwaseun
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Economic policy Economic development -- Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M.Admin
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/12711 , vital:39301
- Description: This study, assessment of national small and medium scale policy as a driver of local economic development: a case study of Ife Central Local Government, Nigeria, was undertaken to find out if the National SME policy in Nigeria has performed its critical role of driving the local economic and if not, why, and also to identify measures to solve the problems that are hindering the implementation of the National SMEs policy. This study will therefore investigate the contributions of the Small and Medium Enterprises sub-sector of the Nigerian economy, its problems and prospects and also examine the National SME policy and the importance of the policy. The objective of this study is to explore the implementation of National SME policy as a driver of local economic development, analyse the challenges that are associated with implementing the National SME policy in Ife Central Local Government and make recommendations regarding the implementation of SME policy in Nigeria. A total of 5 MP’s were randomly selected from a cross section of 7 MP’s that represent Ife Central Local Government. Interviews was used to determine how the National SME policy is been implemented in there constituency and if they are facing any challenges as to the implementing the policy and how are they solving the problems that are associated with the policy. The major findings of this study include the following: the National SME policy is an important policy which if well implemented would help the development of SMEs and also have great impact on the local economic development. Among the problems associated with the policy according to the MP’s are financial problems, illiteracy level of people in their constituency, Land segmentation problem, marketing problems. This study therefore recommended that government should strengthen financial laws that mandates financial institutions to give low interest rate loans to SMEs with little or no collateral. The government should accelerated development and upgrade of rural roads and rail network and other infrastructural facilities and review taxies in favour of local manufacturers especially the SMEs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Adefemi, Adebayo Oluwaseun
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Economic policy Economic development -- Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M.Admin
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/12711 , vital:39301
- Description: This study, assessment of national small and medium scale policy as a driver of local economic development: a case study of Ife Central Local Government, Nigeria, was undertaken to find out if the National SME policy in Nigeria has performed its critical role of driving the local economic and if not, why, and also to identify measures to solve the problems that are hindering the implementation of the National SMEs policy. This study will therefore investigate the contributions of the Small and Medium Enterprises sub-sector of the Nigerian economy, its problems and prospects and also examine the National SME policy and the importance of the policy. The objective of this study is to explore the implementation of National SME policy as a driver of local economic development, analyse the challenges that are associated with implementing the National SME policy in Ife Central Local Government and make recommendations regarding the implementation of SME policy in Nigeria. A total of 5 MP’s were randomly selected from a cross section of 7 MP’s that represent Ife Central Local Government. Interviews was used to determine how the National SME policy is been implemented in there constituency and if they are facing any challenges as to the implementing the policy and how are they solving the problems that are associated with the policy. The major findings of this study include the following: the National SME policy is an important policy which if well implemented would help the development of SMEs and also have great impact on the local economic development. Among the problems associated with the policy according to the MP’s are financial problems, illiteracy level of people in their constituency, Land segmentation problem, marketing problems. This study therefore recommended that government should strengthen financial laws that mandates financial institutions to give low interest rate loans to SMEs with little or no collateral. The government should accelerated development and upgrade of rural roads and rail network and other infrastructural facilities and review taxies in favour of local manufacturers especially the SMEs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Lizalise Idinga Lakho [Honour Thy Promise]: The Methodist Church Women’s Manyano, the Bifurcated Public Sphere, Divine Strength, Ubufazi and Motherhood in Post-Apartheid South Africa
- Authors: Ngcobozi, Lihle
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/17717 , vital:22271
- Description: This study examines the socio-political role of the Christian church based women’s Manyano organisations in post-apartheid South Africa. Specifically, the study examines the ways in which the women’s Manyano organisations offer black women a site for the performance of citizenship. The study is based on life history interviews conducted with seventeen members of the Methodist Church Women’s Manyano of the Lamontville Circuit in Kwa-Zulu Natal. The study shows that dominant literature on Manyano women is primarily located in the historiography of the formation of Manyano groups within the historical development of the black church from the moment of missionary contact in South Africa. This literature shows that the missionaries used the coming together of black women in the church to promote ideas of devout domesticity that are based on Anglophone Victorian womanhood. This literature also shows that the structural constraints of colonisation and apartheid transformed the black church into a counterpublic space which focused largely on the liberation of the black majority from political, economic, and social exclusion from the colonial and apartheid public sphere. These constraints also transformed the role of women’s Manyano organisations to become an important space from which black women came to resist and defeat apartheid. This study shows that this historical framing of women’s Manyano groups has shaped their role in post-apartheid South Africa. Located in the African feminist theory, the study argues that Manyano women’s publicness is not limited to gendered expressions of the public and private sphere. Instead, Manyano women demonstrate that their publicness in post-apartheid South Africa ought to be understood through a combination of the varied identities that they straddle, such as those of a politically and culturally defined womanhood and communally based motherhood, which express their understanding and performance of citizenship. The thesis, therefore, argues that the contemporary role and functioning of Manyanos is located within both the hegemonic public sphere that is granted by the civil liberties of the new South Africa, and the historical black bifurcated counterpublic -which combined offer black women the ability to devise strategies to confront present-day socioeconomic challenges such as structural poverty that shapes the lives of the majority of black women in post-apartheid South Africa. The study contributes, therefore, to the reconstruction of the concept of the public sphere through the use of Manyano women’s dynamic position in post-apartheid South Africa. It shows that the dualist nature of Manyano women’s position and identity allows for a multifaceted approach in the understanding of citizenship for Manyano women today. Furthermore, and importantly, the study shows that the complex roles that Manyano women navigate within the different spheres complicate the interpretations of womanhood and motherhood as understood in dominant (white western) feminist theory in ways that often lead to the delegitimisation and erasure of Manyano women’s contributions to ideas about post-apartheid feminisms.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Ngcobozi, Lihle
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/17717 , vital:22271
- Description: This study examines the socio-political role of the Christian church based women’s Manyano organisations in post-apartheid South Africa. Specifically, the study examines the ways in which the women’s Manyano organisations offer black women a site for the performance of citizenship. The study is based on life history interviews conducted with seventeen members of the Methodist Church Women’s Manyano of the Lamontville Circuit in Kwa-Zulu Natal. The study shows that dominant literature on Manyano women is primarily located in the historiography of the formation of Manyano groups within the historical development of the black church from the moment of missionary contact in South Africa. This literature shows that the missionaries used the coming together of black women in the church to promote ideas of devout domesticity that are based on Anglophone Victorian womanhood. This literature also shows that the structural constraints of colonisation and apartheid transformed the black church into a counterpublic space which focused largely on the liberation of the black majority from political, economic, and social exclusion from the colonial and apartheid public sphere. These constraints also transformed the role of women’s Manyano organisations to become an important space from which black women came to resist and defeat apartheid. This study shows that this historical framing of women’s Manyano groups has shaped their role in post-apartheid South Africa. Located in the African feminist theory, the study argues that Manyano women’s publicness is not limited to gendered expressions of the public and private sphere. Instead, Manyano women demonstrate that their publicness in post-apartheid South Africa ought to be understood through a combination of the varied identities that they straddle, such as those of a politically and culturally defined womanhood and communally based motherhood, which express their understanding and performance of citizenship. The thesis, therefore, argues that the contemporary role and functioning of Manyanos is located within both the hegemonic public sphere that is granted by the civil liberties of the new South Africa, and the historical black bifurcated counterpublic -which combined offer black women the ability to devise strategies to confront present-day socioeconomic challenges such as structural poverty that shapes the lives of the majority of black women in post-apartheid South Africa. The study contributes, therefore, to the reconstruction of the concept of the public sphere through the use of Manyano women’s dynamic position in post-apartheid South Africa. It shows that the dualist nature of Manyano women’s position and identity allows for a multifaceted approach in the understanding of citizenship for Manyano women today. Furthermore, and importantly, the study shows that the complex roles that Manyano women navigate within the different spheres complicate the interpretations of womanhood and motherhood as understood in dominant (white western) feminist theory in ways that often lead to the delegitimisation and erasure of Manyano women’s contributions to ideas about post-apartheid feminisms.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Comparing the perfomance of 3 to 6 year old children on the performance and practical reasoning subscales of the Griffiths mental development scales: extended revised with the foundations of learning subscale of the Griffiths III
- Authors: Kolver, Christél
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Child psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13293 , vital:27172
- Description: The developmental assessment of children is very important so that adequate resources and intervention programmes can be initiated. Updating psychometric assessments is mandatory for different reasons, which include to update norms and to add new psychometric information. It is important for psychometric assessments that measure child development to ensure that they continue to accurately reflect stages of development in a modern context. The Association for Research in Infant and Child Development (ARICD) is currently in the process of revising the Griffiths Scales. One of the many unique changes includes the newly formed Foundations of Learning Subscale. This Subscale was constructed from definition, sub-constructs and items, which encompassed the critical sub-constructs from the previous Performance and Practical Reasoning Subscales, while providing greater depth to the overarching construct. This study therefore, forms part of a larger study of developing the Griffiths III and aims to compare the performance of three to six-year-old children on these three Subscales. The study employed a mixed method approach, which included 259 children matched on the Griffiths Mental Development Scales – Extended Revised and the Griffith III. The quantitative aspect of the research included descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests as well as pearson correlations. Differences and similarities were found from the results. The relationships varied from high correlation, strong relationships to low correlation, definite but small relationships. This was further explored through a qualitative analysis between the constructs assessed on each of the Subscales, as well as a qualitative analysis on the items of Subscale A, brought from Subscale E and F and the new items.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Kolver, Christél
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Child psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13293 , vital:27172
- Description: The developmental assessment of children is very important so that adequate resources and intervention programmes can be initiated. Updating psychometric assessments is mandatory for different reasons, which include to update norms and to add new psychometric information. It is important for psychometric assessments that measure child development to ensure that they continue to accurately reflect stages of development in a modern context. The Association for Research in Infant and Child Development (ARICD) is currently in the process of revising the Griffiths Scales. One of the many unique changes includes the newly formed Foundations of Learning Subscale. This Subscale was constructed from definition, sub-constructs and items, which encompassed the critical sub-constructs from the previous Performance and Practical Reasoning Subscales, while providing greater depth to the overarching construct. This study therefore, forms part of a larger study of developing the Griffiths III and aims to compare the performance of three to six-year-old children on these three Subscales. The study employed a mixed method approach, which included 259 children matched on the Griffiths Mental Development Scales – Extended Revised and the Griffith III. The quantitative aspect of the research included descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests as well as pearson correlations. Differences and similarities were found from the results. The relationships varied from high correlation, strong relationships to low correlation, definite but small relationships. This was further explored through a qualitative analysis between the constructs assessed on each of the Subscales, as well as a qualitative analysis on the items of Subscale A, brought from Subscale E and F and the new items.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Diversity and ecological role of true crabs (crustacea, brachyura) in the St Lucia Estuary, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, in response to global change
- Authors: Peer, Nasreen
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Crustacea -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal Crustacea -- South Africa -- Saint Lucia, Lake , Global environmental change
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45558 , vital:38669
- Description: This work has explored novel concepts of crab vulnerability, recovery and resilience under unprecedented climatic changes in South Africa’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. By showing how large salinity shifts and prolonged interruption of the marine connection can drastically affect brachyuran diversity and community structure in St. Lucia Lake, the potential cascading effects on ecosystem functioning were estimated. Only 15 crab species were recorded within the system during this study, compared to the 26 species that were known to occur prior to the recent environmental shift (i.e. 58% decline). The impact of this biodiversity collapse has negatively affected the associated mangrove ecosystem in particular, with the entire community of fiddler crabs persisting only in a small area near the estuary mouth. Gut fluorescence measurements have shown that, due to a lack of tidal Influence, their grazing impact on microphytobenthic biomass may become unsustainable. However, although adults are able to survive in this environment, the larvae require a marine connection; and they are thus unable to tolerate the wide fluctuations in salinity currently prevailing in the system. The study concludes that brachyurans are key factors to consider during conservation planning, as they are crucial to maintaining ecosystem function in the face of environmental change. This research is of global relevance, as many similar estuarine and coastal lakes around the world are currently experiencing similar state shifts. All six chapters included in the thesis have already been published in the peer-reviewed literature; and the project results have also earned Nasreen the NRF award of Next-Generation Researcher of the Year for 2015.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Peer, Nasreen
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Crustacea -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal Crustacea -- South Africa -- Saint Lucia, Lake , Global environmental change
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45558 , vital:38669
- Description: This work has explored novel concepts of crab vulnerability, recovery and resilience under unprecedented climatic changes in South Africa’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. By showing how large salinity shifts and prolonged interruption of the marine connection can drastically affect brachyuran diversity and community structure in St. Lucia Lake, the potential cascading effects on ecosystem functioning were estimated. Only 15 crab species were recorded within the system during this study, compared to the 26 species that were known to occur prior to the recent environmental shift (i.e. 58% decline). The impact of this biodiversity collapse has negatively affected the associated mangrove ecosystem in particular, with the entire community of fiddler crabs persisting only in a small area near the estuary mouth. Gut fluorescence measurements have shown that, due to a lack of tidal Influence, their grazing impact on microphytobenthic biomass may become unsustainable. However, although adults are able to survive in this environment, the larvae require a marine connection; and they are thus unable to tolerate the wide fluctuations in salinity currently prevailing in the system. The study concludes that brachyurans are key factors to consider during conservation planning, as they are crucial to maintaining ecosystem function in the face of environmental change. This research is of global relevance, as many similar estuarine and coastal lakes around the world are currently experiencing similar state shifts. All six chapters included in the thesis have already been published in the peer-reviewed literature; and the project results have also earned Nasreen the NRF award of Next-Generation Researcher of the Year for 2015.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Toward an automated botnet analysis framework: a darkcomet case-study
- Authors: du Bruyn, Jeremy Cecil
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/2937 , vital:20344
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: du Bruyn, Jeremy Cecil
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/2937 , vital:20344
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
An interrogation of the representation of the San and Tonga ethnic ‘minorities’ in the Zimbabwean state-owned Chronicle, and the privately owned Newsday Southern Edition/Southern Eye newspapers during 2013
- Authors: Mlotshwa, Khanyile Joseph
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: The Chronicle (Zimbabwe) , Newsday Southern Edition/Southern Eye (Zimbabwe) , Mass media and ethnic relations -- Zimbabwe , Mass media -- Political aspects -- Zimbabwe , Mass media and nationalism -- Zimbabwe , Minorities and journalism -- Zimbabwe , Press and politics -- Zimbabwe , San (African people) -- Social conditions , Tonga (Zambezi people) -- Social conditions , Critical discourse analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3549 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018546
- Description: This study critically interrogates representations of the San and Tonga in the Chronicle and the NewsDay Southern Edition/Southern Eye newspapers in 2013. It makes sense of how these representations and the journalistic practices that underwrite them position the ethnic groups as ‘minorities’ - in relation to other ethnic groups - within the discourses of Zimbabwean nationalism. Underpinned by a constructionist approach (Hall, 1997), the study makes sense of the San and Tonga identities otherwise silenced by the “bi-modal” (Ndlovu- Gatsheni, 2012: 536; Masunungure, 2006) Shona/Ndebele approach to Zimbabwean nationalism. In socio-historic terms, the study is located within the re-emergence of ‘ethnicity’ to contest Zimbabwean nationalism(s) during debates for the New Constitution leading to a Referendum in March 2013. The thesis draws on social theories that offer explanatory power in studying media representations, which include postcolonial (Bhabha, 1990, 1994; Spivak, 1995), hegemony (Gramsci, 1971), and discourse (Foucault, 1970, 1972; Laclau and Mouffe, 1985) theories. These theories speak to the ways in which discourses about identity, belonging, citizenship and democracy are constructed in situations in which unequal social power is contested. The thesis links journalism practice with the politics of representation drawing on normative theories of journalism (Christians et al, 2009), the professional ideology of journalism (Tuchman, 1972; Golding and Elliot, 1996; Hall et al., 1996), and the concept of journalists as an ‘interpretive community’ (Zelizer, 1993). These theories allow us to unmask the role of journalism’s social power in representation, and map ways in which the agency of the journalists has to be considered in relation to the structural features of the media industry in particular, and society in general. The study is qualitative and proceeds by way of combining a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Fairclough, 1992; Richardson, 2007) and ideological analysis (Thompson, 1990) of eight news texts taken from the two newspapers and in-depth interviews with 13 journalists from the two newspapers. This way we account for the media representations journalists produced: sometimes reproducing stereotypes, at other times, resisting them. Journalists not only regard themselves as belonging to the dominant ethnic groups of Shona or Ndebele, but as part of the middle class; they take Zimbabwean nationalism for granted, reproducing it as common-sense through sourcing patterns dominated by elites. This silences the San and Tonga constructing them as a ‘minority’ through a double play of invisibility and hyper visibility, where they either don’t appear in the news texts or are overly stereotyped.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Mlotshwa, Khanyile Joseph
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: The Chronicle (Zimbabwe) , Newsday Southern Edition/Southern Eye (Zimbabwe) , Mass media and ethnic relations -- Zimbabwe , Mass media -- Political aspects -- Zimbabwe , Mass media and nationalism -- Zimbabwe , Minorities and journalism -- Zimbabwe , Press and politics -- Zimbabwe , San (African people) -- Social conditions , Tonga (Zambezi people) -- Social conditions , Critical discourse analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3549 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018546
- Description: This study critically interrogates representations of the San and Tonga in the Chronicle and the NewsDay Southern Edition/Southern Eye newspapers in 2013. It makes sense of how these representations and the journalistic practices that underwrite them position the ethnic groups as ‘minorities’ - in relation to other ethnic groups - within the discourses of Zimbabwean nationalism. Underpinned by a constructionist approach (Hall, 1997), the study makes sense of the San and Tonga identities otherwise silenced by the “bi-modal” (Ndlovu- Gatsheni, 2012: 536; Masunungure, 2006) Shona/Ndebele approach to Zimbabwean nationalism. In socio-historic terms, the study is located within the re-emergence of ‘ethnicity’ to contest Zimbabwean nationalism(s) during debates for the New Constitution leading to a Referendum in March 2013. The thesis draws on social theories that offer explanatory power in studying media representations, which include postcolonial (Bhabha, 1990, 1994; Spivak, 1995), hegemony (Gramsci, 1971), and discourse (Foucault, 1970, 1972; Laclau and Mouffe, 1985) theories. These theories speak to the ways in which discourses about identity, belonging, citizenship and democracy are constructed in situations in which unequal social power is contested. The thesis links journalism practice with the politics of representation drawing on normative theories of journalism (Christians et al, 2009), the professional ideology of journalism (Tuchman, 1972; Golding and Elliot, 1996; Hall et al., 1996), and the concept of journalists as an ‘interpretive community’ (Zelizer, 1993). These theories allow us to unmask the role of journalism’s social power in representation, and map ways in which the agency of the journalists has to be considered in relation to the structural features of the media industry in particular, and society in general. The study is qualitative and proceeds by way of combining a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Fairclough, 1992; Richardson, 2007) and ideological analysis (Thompson, 1990) of eight news texts taken from the two newspapers and in-depth interviews with 13 journalists from the two newspapers. This way we account for the media representations journalists produced: sometimes reproducing stereotypes, at other times, resisting them. Journalists not only regard themselves as belonging to the dominant ethnic groups of Shona or Ndebele, but as part of the middle class; they take Zimbabwean nationalism for granted, reproducing it as common-sense through sourcing patterns dominated by elites. This silences the San and Tonga constructing them as a ‘minority’ through a double play of invisibility and hyper visibility, where they either don’t appear in the news texts or are overly stereotyped.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Challenges of post-apartheid state-owned company pension fund reform: a case study of the controversy around the Transnet-Transport Pension Fund
- Authors: Goqoza, Noluyolo Juliet
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54766 , vital:26610
- Description: This thesis examines the restructuring of the pension funds of Transnet, a South African state-owned company involved in transportation, from the 1990s. Two of its main pension funds, the Transport-Transnet Pension sub-Fund (TTPF) and the Transnet Second Defined Benefit Fund (TSDBF), have been surrounded by controversy, with major court actions brought by aggrieved pensioners in 2006-2012 and again from 2013, and smaller cases in 1997-1999 and 2004. (There were also a number of smaller cases, mostly unsuccessful, but the thesis will not examine them). The case that started in 2013 is the biggest class action in the country‟s history, and makes claims of serious mismanagement and bad faith against the Transnet management. But the fundamental grievance is that (according to the 2013 legal case) “more than 80% of pensioners earn less than R4 000.00 a month… 62 % earn less than R2 500.00… 45% of the pensioners earn less than the state‟s ordinary old-age pension” grant for the poor. Although that case is ongoing, this thesis examines the background and controversies that frame the case. It provides an overview of the history and development of the South African pensions system and South African state-owned companies; it examines how these have been shaped by the apartheid and post-apartheid periods, and by the rise of neo-liberalism; it examines the evolution of Transnet and its pensions systems, from the early days of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration (SAR&H, formed 1910), to its restructuring into the South African Transport Services (SATS) in 1982, and then into Transnet in 1990. The thesis shows that the operations of the TTPF and TSDBF, which are closed to new members, have had serious effects on pensioners that rely upon them. Pensions are very low (the main reason for the various court cases), and this is for a range of reasons. Annual increases in pensions are formally set at below-inflation levels, leading to falling real incomes. More pressure on pensioners‟ livelihoods has arisen from Transnet‟s cuts to other benefits, like the medical aid Transmed, provided to pensioners. While the schemes are solvent, the pensions generally started at a low base, partly because most pensioners were relatively poorly paid workers before retirement (and the pensions were linked to former salaries). There is also a racial dimension: while most white workers at SAR&H/ SATS and Transnet were poorly paid, black, Coloured and Indian workers were paid even worse, and, further, were only brought into the pension schemes late. Both TTPF and TSDBF are defined benefit funds, which means members are guaranteed specific benefits at retirement, with the employer obligated to inject funds to meet shortfalls where needed. Yet neither the state nor Transnet has been willing to take actions to lift the basic pensions, such as investments into the funds, or to make systematic ex gratia payments to bring the pensions to a reasonable level, to remove historic racial inequalities between pensioners, to increase medical aid co-payments or coverage or to otherwise address the pensioners‟ situation. It does not seem that the reason for the problems is that the two funds have been severely mismanaged or asset-stripped, as alleged in the 2013 class action: it must be noted that both funds report surpluses. But the surpluses are possible because the pensions are low and falling in real terms, and the numbers of pensioners declining due to deaths. It seems clear that Transnet is unable or unwilling to act to decisively improve the situation of the pensioners: ensuring a surplus on existing pension funds is a major goal. This is partly because Transnet itself has ongoing financial problems, and partly because it operates in the context of neo-liberal restructuring, like corporatisation, commercialisation and privatisation, which places limits on the additional funding of the funds. At the same time, the pensioners have very little real, as opposed to a nominal, say in the administration of the pension schemes, limiting their ability to affect the rules and administration or raise issues. The thesis seeks to use historical institutionalism, which sees policies and major institutions, including state-owned companies, as shaped by power and conflict, especially between classes. This is used to try and explain changing state policies and the changing role and actions of state-owned companies, as a way of understanding Transnet‟s actions, as well as its treatment of its pensioners.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Goqoza, Noluyolo Juliet
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54766 , vital:26610
- Description: This thesis examines the restructuring of the pension funds of Transnet, a South African state-owned company involved in transportation, from the 1990s. Two of its main pension funds, the Transport-Transnet Pension sub-Fund (TTPF) and the Transnet Second Defined Benefit Fund (TSDBF), have been surrounded by controversy, with major court actions brought by aggrieved pensioners in 2006-2012 and again from 2013, and smaller cases in 1997-1999 and 2004. (There were also a number of smaller cases, mostly unsuccessful, but the thesis will not examine them). The case that started in 2013 is the biggest class action in the country‟s history, and makes claims of serious mismanagement and bad faith against the Transnet management. But the fundamental grievance is that (according to the 2013 legal case) “more than 80% of pensioners earn less than R4 000.00 a month… 62 % earn less than R2 500.00… 45% of the pensioners earn less than the state‟s ordinary old-age pension” grant for the poor. Although that case is ongoing, this thesis examines the background and controversies that frame the case. It provides an overview of the history and development of the South African pensions system and South African state-owned companies; it examines how these have been shaped by the apartheid and post-apartheid periods, and by the rise of neo-liberalism; it examines the evolution of Transnet and its pensions systems, from the early days of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration (SAR&H, formed 1910), to its restructuring into the South African Transport Services (SATS) in 1982, and then into Transnet in 1990. The thesis shows that the operations of the TTPF and TSDBF, which are closed to new members, have had serious effects on pensioners that rely upon them. Pensions are very low (the main reason for the various court cases), and this is for a range of reasons. Annual increases in pensions are formally set at below-inflation levels, leading to falling real incomes. More pressure on pensioners‟ livelihoods has arisen from Transnet‟s cuts to other benefits, like the medical aid Transmed, provided to pensioners. While the schemes are solvent, the pensions generally started at a low base, partly because most pensioners were relatively poorly paid workers before retirement (and the pensions were linked to former salaries). There is also a racial dimension: while most white workers at SAR&H/ SATS and Transnet were poorly paid, black, Coloured and Indian workers were paid even worse, and, further, were only brought into the pension schemes late. Both TTPF and TSDBF are defined benefit funds, which means members are guaranteed specific benefits at retirement, with the employer obligated to inject funds to meet shortfalls where needed. Yet neither the state nor Transnet has been willing to take actions to lift the basic pensions, such as investments into the funds, or to make systematic ex gratia payments to bring the pensions to a reasonable level, to remove historic racial inequalities between pensioners, to increase medical aid co-payments or coverage or to otherwise address the pensioners‟ situation. It does not seem that the reason for the problems is that the two funds have been severely mismanaged or asset-stripped, as alleged in the 2013 class action: it must be noted that both funds report surpluses. But the surpluses are possible because the pensions are low and falling in real terms, and the numbers of pensioners declining due to deaths. It seems clear that Transnet is unable or unwilling to act to decisively improve the situation of the pensioners: ensuring a surplus on existing pension funds is a major goal. This is partly because Transnet itself has ongoing financial problems, and partly because it operates in the context of neo-liberal restructuring, like corporatisation, commercialisation and privatisation, which places limits on the additional funding of the funds. At the same time, the pensioners have very little real, as opposed to a nominal, say in the administration of the pension schemes, limiting their ability to affect the rules and administration or raise issues. The thesis seeks to use historical institutionalism, which sees policies and major institutions, including state-owned companies, as shaped by power and conflict, especially between classes. This is used to try and explain changing state policies and the changing role and actions of state-owned companies, as a way of understanding Transnet‟s actions, as well as its treatment of its pensioners.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Teacher leadership : a study in a township high school
- Authors: Kumalo, Elizabeth Nomso
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Teacher participation in administration -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Teacher effectiveness -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2038 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017349
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Kumalo, Elizabeth Nomso
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Teacher participation in administration -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Teacher effectiveness -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2038 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017349
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Teachers' perceptions on the non- implementation of the alternatives to corporal punishment policy : a case study
- Authors: Billie, Sikelelwa khuthala
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Corporal punishment of children Children's rights School discipline
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/${Handle} , vital:29494
- Description: This study aims to identify the perceptions that teachers have regarding the nonimplementation of the Alternatives to Corporal Punishment Policy (ATCP). Using a qualitative research approach, data was collected from teachers in a high school in Mdantsane that is still using corporal punishment. The main tools of data collection used were semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings from this study revealed a range of factors that influence teachers not to implement the alternatives to corporal punishment policy. These include: culture, religion, lack of parental involvement, violence in schools and lack of capacitation in teachers on the policy. Moreover the findings of this study revealed that if new policies are imposed on implementers there is bound to be resistance. This study therefore recommends that new policies need to be discussed and agreed upon by both the policy makers and policy implementers. The study also recommends that teachers need capacity building workshops so that they understand the need and the benefits of implementing the ATCP.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Billie, Sikelelwa khuthala
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Corporal punishment of children Children's rights School discipline
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/${Handle} , vital:29494
- Description: This study aims to identify the perceptions that teachers have regarding the nonimplementation of the Alternatives to Corporal Punishment Policy (ATCP). Using a qualitative research approach, data was collected from teachers in a high school in Mdantsane that is still using corporal punishment. The main tools of data collection used were semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings from this study revealed a range of factors that influence teachers not to implement the alternatives to corporal punishment policy. These include: culture, religion, lack of parental involvement, violence in schools and lack of capacitation in teachers on the policy. Moreover the findings of this study revealed that if new policies are imposed on implementers there is bound to be resistance. This study therefore recommends that new policies need to be discussed and agreed upon by both the policy makers and policy implementers. The study also recommends that teachers need capacity building workshops so that they understand the need and the benefits of implementing the ATCP.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
University students’ drinking motives : relationship with alcohol use
- Authors: Maphisa, Jabulani Maphisa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: College students -- Alcohol use -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Conduct of life , College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Attitudes , Motivation (Psychology) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Social integration -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Adjustment (Psychology) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Conformity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3266 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1019760
- Description: Alcohol use among university students is a worldwide social and clinical reality. Understanding and addressing this phenomena is an imperative recognised by the government of South Africa and its Higher Education institutions, where student drinking has a plethora of negative consequences. This study builds on the work of Young and de Klerk (2012) with Rhodes University students by adding drinking motives to their findings of demographic correlates. The motivational model of alcohol use (Cox & Klinger, 1988) posits that drinking motives are a proximal predictor of alcohol use. The model further delineates four drinking motives (social, enhancement, coping, and conformity) which are hypothesized to lead to phenomenological distinct patterns of alcohol use. An online survey method was utilized to collect data and a representative sample of 501 students participated. Descriptive and inferential statistics were computed to address five research questions: (1) to establishing the current alcohol use trend; (2) to investigate the demographic factors associated with alcohol use; (3) to describe students‘ drinking motives; (4) to explore the correlates of drinking motives; and, finally, the primary aim was (5) to investigate whether students‘ drinking motives predicted alcohol use when controlling for the effects of descriptive drinking norms and demographic variables. The results indicate that 68.5% of participants currently consume alcohol, and 51.0 % of these drinking students consume five or more drinks during a drinking session. 20.7 % of the drinking students used alcohol at the harmful or alcohol dependent levels. Increased alcohol use was associated more with males, undergraduates, early onset drinkers, more disposable income, and students‘ perceptions of their peers‘ drinking. Students endorsed enhancement motives marginally more than social motives, followed by coping and conformity motives. Males, early onset drinkers, black students, and at risk (of alcohol use disorders) students endorsed more motives, especially social and enhancement motives. Of primary concern was the role of drinking motives on alcohol use after controlling for the effects of descriptive drinking norms. The four block hierarchical regression model which was run explained 38% of the variance in alcohol use. Drinking motives, particularly enhancement motives, displayed a statistically significant impact on alcohol use adding 11% to the variance. Additionally, age of alcohol use onset, monthly pocket money, age, and gender predicted alcohol use separately. The results of this study indicate that alcohol use has multi-factorial influences. Of note, the results confirmed the motivational model of alcohol use by indicating that alcohol use is partially motivational and that drinking behaviour is not a unitary phenomenon but instead it represents heterogeneity based on the affective change individuals anticipate to gain by drinking. The high binging rate (51%) among this sample may speak to the greater endorsement of enhancement motives, which have been shown in previous studies to be associated with heavy drinking. Enhancement motives are attempts to attain positive affect which, due to the psychoactive properties of alcohol, require greater consumption and intoxication. Additionally, as a result of the greater quantities of alcohol, individuals who drink for enhancement motives would be more prone to alcohol consequences. The results suggest that a multi-level intervention framework targeting individual students, the university community, and the surrounding community, is indicated. Furthermore, intervention may be tailored-made to address specific drinking motives.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Maphisa, Jabulani Maphisa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: College students -- Alcohol use -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Conduct of life , College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Attitudes , Motivation (Psychology) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Social integration -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Adjustment (Psychology) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Conformity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3266 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1019760
- Description: Alcohol use among university students is a worldwide social and clinical reality. Understanding and addressing this phenomena is an imperative recognised by the government of South Africa and its Higher Education institutions, where student drinking has a plethora of negative consequences. This study builds on the work of Young and de Klerk (2012) with Rhodes University students by adding drinking motives to their findings of demographic correlates. The motivational model of alcohol use (Cox & Klinger, 1988) posits that drinking motives are a proximal predictor of alcohol use. The model further delineates four drinking motives (social, enhancement, coping, and conformity) which are hypothesized to lead to phenomenological distinct patterns of alcohol use. An online survey method was utilized to collect data and a representative sample of 501 students participated. Descriptive and inferential statistics were computed to address five research questions: (1) to establishing the current alcohol use trend; (2) to investigate the demographic factors associated with alcohol use; (3) to describe students‘ drinking motives; (4) to explore the correlates of drinking motives; and, finally, the primary aim was (5) to investigate whether students‘ drinking motives predicted alcohol use when controlling for the effects of descriptive drinking norms and demographic variables. The results indicate that 68.5% of participants currently consume alcohol, and 51.0 % of these drinking students consume five or more drinks during a drinking session. 20.7 % of the drinking students used alcohol at the harmful or alcohol dependent levels. Increased alcohol use was associated more with males, undergraduates, early onset drinkers, more disposable income, and students‘ perceptions of their peers‘ drinking. Students endorsed enhancement motives marginally more than social motives, followed by coping and conformity motives. Males, early onset drinkers, black students, and at risk (of alcohol use disorders) students endorsed more motives, especially social and enhancement motives. Of primary concern was the role of drinking motives on alcohol use after controlling for the effects of descriptive drinking norms. The four block hierarchical regression model which was run explained 38% of the variance in alcohol use. Drinking motives, particularly enhancement motives, displayed a statistically significant impact on alcohol use adding 11% to the variance. Additionally, age of alcohol use onset, monthly pocket money, age, and gender predicted alcohol use separately. The results of this study indicate that alcohol use has multi-factorial influences. Of note, the results confirmed the motivational model of alcohol use by indicating that alcohol use is partially motivational and that drinking behaviour is not a unitary phenomenon but instead it represents heterogeneity based on the affective change individuals anticipate to gain by drinking. The high binging rate (51%) among this sample may speak to the greater endorsement of enhancement motives, which have been shown in previous studies to be associated with heavy drinking. Enhancement motives are attempts to attain positive affect which, due to the psychoactive properties of alcohol, require greater consumption and intoxication. Additionally, as a result of the greater quantities of alcohol, individuals who drink for enhancement motives would be more prone to alcohol consequences. The results suggest that a multi-level intervention framework targeting individual students, the university community, and the surrounding community, is indicated. Furthermore, intervention may be tailored-made to address specific drinking motives.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
An assessment of the role South African Social Security Agency on poverty alleviation and reduction: a case study of the Eastern Cape province
- Authors: Manzi, Siphokazi
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Public welfare -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Social security -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Social service -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Poor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Admin
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/1579 , vital:27480
- Description: Poverty, unemployment and inequality constitute the three main challenges to the attainment of universal socio-economic development within the Republic of South Africa. The government is the Republic of South Africa is grappling to alleviate and eradicate poverty since the dawn of freedom in April 1994. Further, poverty and inequality is historically racially biased due to the segregation which non-whites suffered during the pre-freedom era. The Eastern Cape Province has been regard as the poorest of all the nine provinces in South Africa. The war on poverty in the province has been intensified through the utilisation of social grants as social safety nets under an inclusive social security system. Despite of this poverty alleviation intervention, the prevalence rates of poverty the province remains alarmingly high.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Manzi, Siphokazi
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Public welfare -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Social security -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Social service -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Poor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Admin
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/1579 , vital:27480
- Description: Poverty, unemployment and inequality constitute the three main challenges to the attainment of universal socio-economic development within the Republic of South Africa. The government is the Republic of South Africa is grappling to alleviate and eradicate poverty since the dawn of freedom in April 1994. Further, poverty and inequality is historically racially biased due to the segregation which non-whites suffered during the pre-freedom era. The Eastern Cape Province has been regard as the poorest of all the nine provinces in South Africa. The war on poverty in the province has been intensified through the utilisation of social grants as social safety nets under an inclusive social security system. Despite of this poverty alleviation intervention, the prevalence rates of poverty the province remains alarmingly high.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
The sustainability of cooperatives in peri-urban areas of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
- Authors: Mabaleka, Mntuwekhaya
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality , Business enterprises -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3366 , vital:20426
- Description: This research study focuses on investigating the sustainability of cooperatives in the peri urban areas of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. The researcher described a cooperative concept, identified and explained a research problem. Research study addressed literature extensively on the local and international scenes; looking at cooperative case studies of India, California, United Kingdom, Ghana, Bangladesh and South Africa. The researcher used a qualitative research methodology using structured and semi structured questionnaires that were distributed to thirty identified cooperatives in Walmer Location and external stakeholders supporting cooperatives. Face to face and telephonic interviews were used during research in three identified funded cooperative members, registered cooperative members and external stakeholders supporting cooperatives. Research findings confirmed unequitable age distribution in cooperatives. Young people constituted 10% of cooperatives’ membership which led to non-transference of knowledge and experience from the elderly to the young; dominance of women in cooperatives who joined or registered cooperatives with the intention of receiving a sustainable income so that they could support their families; poor governance in cooperatives caused cooperatives to fail. Eighty percent of registered cooperative members during research confirmed that they do not have access to the markets, while 2% confirmed that they have access to the markets although they are unable to secure contracts; research confirmed that the majority (59%) of Walmer Location registered cooperative members do not have matric (grade 12) while 25% of cooperative members have matric and 16% have a post-matric qualification; research findings confirmed a decrease in the survival rate of cooperatives after registration without receiving financial support; research findings confirmed that cooperative members do not receive all training programmes that would ensure cooperatives’ sustainability; other cooperative challenges include lack of cooperation among cooperatives, lack of monitoring and evaluation systems, high crime rate and continuous service delivery protests and lack of integration among stakeholders supporting cooperatives.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Mabaleka, Mntuwekhaya
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality , Business enterprises -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3366 , vital:20426
- Description: This research study focuses on investigating the sustainability of cooperatives in the peri urban areas of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. The researcher described a cooperative concept, identified and explained a research problem. Research study addressed literature extensively on the local and international scenes; looking at cooperative case studies of India, California, United Kingdom, Ghana, Bangladesh and South Africa. The researcher used a qualitative research methodology using structured and semi structured questionnaires that were distributed to thirty identified cooperatives in Walmer Location and external stakeholders supporting cooperatives. Face to face and telephonic interviews were used during research in three identified funded cooperative members, registered cooperative members and external stakeholders supporting cooperatives. Research findings confirmed unequitable age distribution in cooperatives. Young people constituted 10% of cooperatives’ membership which led to non-transference of knowledge and experience from the elderly to the young; dominance of women in cooperatives who joined or registered cooperatives with the intention of receiving a sustainable income so that they could support their families; poor governance in cooperatives caused cooperatives to fail. Eighty percent of registered cooperative members during research confirmed that they do not have access to the markets, while 2% confirmed that they have access to the markets although they are unable to secure contracts; research confirmed that the majority (59%) of Walmer Location registered cooperative members do not have matric (grade 12) while 25% of cooperative members have matric and 16% have a post-matric qualification; research findings confirmed a decrease in the survival rate of cooperatives after registration without receiving financial support; research findings confirmed that cooperative members do not receive all training programmes that would ensure cooperatives’ sustainability; other cooperative challenges include lack of cooperation among cooperatives, lack of monitoring and evaluation systems, high crime rate and continuous service delivery protests and lack of integration among stakeholders supporting cooperatives.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Revision of Aloiampelos Klopper & Gideon F.Sm. (xanthorrhoeaceae subfam. asphodeloideae)
- Authors: Ellis, Kristen
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Xanthorrhoeaceae , Asparagales
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10642 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020955
- Description: The genus Aloiampelos Klopper & Gideon F.Sm., previously treated as Aloe L. Ser. Macrifoliae (Sect. Prolongatae), comprises seven species with barely succulent leaves that are popularly known as rambling, scrambling or climbing aloes, because they make use of surrounding trees and shrubs for support. The rambling aloes are centered in the Eastern Cape but some species have disjunct distributions in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Many are widely used in gardens and landscaping. With their rambling habit and weakly succulent leaves, the genus is widely considered to be an old lineage among alooid genera. Species concepts within the genus remain contentious, with disagreement amongst taxonomists with respect to the recognition of some taxa at the rank of variety. Morphology, historical taxonomy, palynology and phylogenetics of the genus were investigated. The occasional presence of minute cilia on the sheathing leaf bases and distinct lineation of the leaf sheaths of Aloiampelos tenuior var. decidua and Aloiampelos tenuior var. rubriflora were the most important outcomes of the morphological study. The pollen grains of all species studied were very similar in grain shape and exine surface pattern, with only minor differences in grain size. Ordination analyses showed that grain length and muri length were useful at the infraspecific level, with Aloiampelos tenuior “orange” separating clearly from the other varieties. Pollen morphology was therefore not informative as a taxonomic character at species level when used in isolation, but may be useful when used in conjunction with other characteristics. Preliminary analyses of two plastid barcoding regions (matK and rbcL) and nuclear ITS have confirmed that Aloiampelos is monophyletic. These barcoding markers were not informative in assessing the species boundaries among the closely related taxa in the genus and morphological assessments were therefore used to elucidate relationships at the species rank. A key is given for the genus, integrating the findings of the study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Ellis, Kristen
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Xanthorrhoeaceae , Asparagales
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10642 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020955
- Description: The genus Aloiampelos Klopper & Gideon F.Sm., previously treated as Aloe L. Ser. Macrifoliae (Sect. Prolongatae), comprises seven species with barely succulent leaves that are popularly known as rambling, scrambling or climbing aloes, because they make use of surrounding trees and shrubs for support. The rambling aloes are centered in the Eastern Cape but some species have disjunct distributions in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Many are widely used in gardens and landscaping. With their rambling habit and weakly succulent leaves, the genus is widely considered to be an old lineage among alooid genera. Species concepts within the genus remain contentious, with disagreement amongst taxonomists with respect to the recognition of some taxa at the rank of variety. Morphology, historical taxonomy, palynology and phylogenetics of the genus were investigated. The occasional presence of minute cilia on the sheathing leaf bases and distinct lineation of the leaf sheaths of Aloiampelos tenuior var. decidua and Aloiampelos tenuior var. rubriflora were the most important outcomes of the morphological study. The pollen grains of all species studied were very similar in grain shape and exine surface pattern, with only minor differences in grain size. Ordination analyses showed that grain length and muri length were useful at the infraspecific level, with Aloiampelos tenuior “orange” separating clearly from the other varieties. Pollen morphology was therefore not informative as a taxonomic character at species level when used in isolation, but may be useful when used in conjunction with other characteristics. Preliminary analyses of two plastid barcoding regions (matK and rbcL) and nuclear ITS have confirmed that Aloiampelos is monophyletic. These barcoding markers were not informative in assessing the species boundaries among the closely related taxa in the genus and morphological assessments were therefore used to elucidate relationships at the species rank. A key is given for the genus, integrating the findings of the study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013