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The importance of long-term post-release studies in classical biological control: Insect–plant monitoring and public awareness of water hyacinth management (Pontederia crassipes) in Dique Los Sauces, Argentina

  • Authors: Faltlhauser, Ana C , Jiménez, Nadia L , Righetti, Tomas , Visintin, Andrés M , Torrens, Javier , Salinas, Nicolás A , Mc Kay, Fernando , Hill, Martin P , Cordo, Hugo A , Sosa, Alejandro J
  • Date: 2023
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/424828 , vital:72187 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/eea.13355"
  • Description: Several components of classical biological control (CBC) programmes are necessary to assess the success of the management strategy (e.g., post-release monitoring) and also help prevent reintroductions or resurgences of invasive species (e.g., public awareness). Water hyacinth, Pontederia (= Eichhornia) crassipes (Mart.) Solms (Pontederiaceae) is an aquatic plant naturally distributed in the north-eastern region of the Del Plata basin in Argentina. In the 1960s it was introduced into the Dique Los Sauces reservoir located outside of its native range in La Rioja Province, in western Argentina, where it became invasive. The natural enemy, Neochetina bruchi Hustache (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), was intentionally introduced in 1974 to control the weed. To assess the success of this CBC programme, a long-term post-release study was conducted. Between 1965 and 2023, we monitored plant coverage, estimated N. bruchi densities, and quantified the associated damage by reanalysing previously published data and incorporating new sampling. We also conducted an online survey to analyse public knowledge and perception about this programme. Water hyacinth coverage fluctuated from its first record in 1965 (maximum coverage 90%) until the control of germinated plants (coverage 0%) in 2018. The plant decline was accompanied by an increase in the weevil population. In our survey, out of 325 respondents only a small group of mostly middle-aged and elderly people knew that the restoration had been achieved through a management strategy and even fewer were aware of the biocontrol approach taken. Respondents who had a positive approach to biological control were more aware of the management plan than respondents who had neutral or negative opinions. Neochetina bruchi has played a key factor in the control of P. crassipes. The intrinsic dynamics of these populations, the dormant seed bank, and the lack of public awareness support the need for long post-release evaluations including outreach campaigns to make a sustainable successful management programme.
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  • Date Issued: 2023

Designing writing groups to support postgraduate students’ academic writing: a case study from a South African university

  • Authors: Wilmot, Kirstin
  • Date: 2018
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/66267 , vital:28926 , https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2016.1238775
  • Description: publisher version , This paper reports on a writing group pilot programme implemented at a South African university. Drawing on literature, anonymous student evaluations and facilitator observations, it discusses the use of writing groups for supporting postgraduate academic writing practices. Developed within a broader postgraduate academic writing support programme, the paper discusses a case study of two pilot writing groups: a multidisciplinary long-term group and a disciplinary short-term ‘writing-intensive’ group. The findings indicate that the overall experience of the writing group was a positive one, with each group presenting varied ‘success’ aspects as well as challenges. Insights gleaned may contribute to our understanding of how these groups can be utilised to support postgraduate students and how different kinds of groups can be developed to serve particular student needs. The paper concludes with a discussion of the inclusion of a disciplinary expert, which proved particularly useful in this pilot.
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  • Date Issued: 2018

HOP expression is regulated by p53 and RAS and characteristic of a cancer gene signature

  • Authors: Mattison, Stacey A , Blatch, Gregory L , Edkins, Adrienne L
  • Date: 2018
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/66278 , vital:28928 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s12192-016-0755-8
  • Description: publisher version , The Hsp70/Hsp90 organising protein (HOP) is a co-chaperone essential for client protein transfer from Hsp70 to Hsp90 within the Hsp90 chaperone machine. Although HOP is upregulated in various cancers, there is limited information from in vitro studies on how HOP expression is regulated in cancer. The main objective of this study was to identify the HOP promoter and investigate its activity in cancerous cells. Bioinformatic analysis of the -2500 to +16 bp region of the HOP gene identified a large CpG island and a range of putative cis-elements. Many of the cis-elements were potentially bound by transcription factors which are activated by oncogenic pathways. Luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that the upstream region of the HOP gene contains an active promoter in vitro. Truncation of this region suggested that the core HOP promoter region was -855 to +16 bp. HOP promoter activity was highest in Hs578T, HEK293T and SV40- transformed MEF1 cell lines which expressed mutant or inactive p53. In a mutant p53 background, expression of wild-type p53 led to a reduction in promoter activity, while inhibition of wild-type p53 in HeLa cells increased HOP promoter activity. Additionally, in Hs578T and HEK293T cell lines containing inactive p53, expression of HRAS increased HOP promoter activity. However, HRAS activation of the HOP promoter was inhibited by p53 overexpression. These findings suggest for the first time that HOP expression in cancer may be regulated by both RAS activation and p53 inhibition. Taken together, these data suggest that HOP may be part of the cancer gene signature induced by a combination of mutant p53 and mutated RAS that is associated with cellular transformation.
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  • Date Issued: 2018

The National Wellbeing Index in the isiXhosa translation: focus group discussions on how South Africans view the quality of their society

  • Authors: Moller, Valerie , Roberts, Benjamin J , Zani, Dalindyebo
  • Date: 2018
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67135 , vital:29035 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-016-1481-4
  • Description: publisher version , The International Wellbeing Index covers two complementary measures, the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) and the National Wellbeing Index (NWI). The focus group study reported here tested the understanding of the NWI when translated into isiXhosa, a language spoken by 6 million South Africans, or 16% of the country’s population. A challenge for the NWI in measuring national well-being is the tendency for meaning to get ‘lost in translation’ in the wording of the instrument, owing to the disparities that exist between levels of living in developed and developing nations. The focussed discussions with native isiXhosa speakers conveyed the different shades of meaning associated with the six domains that make up the NWI. The isiXhosa keywords for the domains of social conditions, the natural environment, national security, and management of the country’s affairs (government) were readily understood, but discussants asked for further clarification of keywords for the domains relating to the economy and business. Conversations showed up the close link between personal and national well-being: discussants drew upon their personal and parochial life experiences along with their knowledge of current affairs to evaluate the nation’s quality of life. They described the social contract between citizens and their government to create a ‘caring society’ that promotes well-being across key domains of national life. Many of the reference standards used to evaluate national well-being were ones postulated to influence personal well-being (Michalos A.C, Social Indicators Research 16(4): 347–413 1985 ). The study also pointed to a potential problem for longitudinal studies if the bipolar satisfaction scale, formerly used to measure the International Wellbeing Index’s PWI and NWI, is changed to a unipolar one. Findings from this pilot study confirm the potential of the NWI as a tool for measuring national well-being cross-culturally.
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  • Date Issued: 2018

Colonised minds?: post-development theory and the desirability of development in Africa

  • Authors: Matthews, Sally
  • Date: 2017
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142213 , vital:38059 , DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2017.1279540
  • Description: While post-development theory is very concerned with the ways in which development has impacted upon the countries of the Global South, there has been relatively little written on post-development theory from an African perspective. This paper identifies some of the ways in which post-development theory fails to adequately understand the African experience of development. In particular, I explore the difficulty that post-development theory confronts when faced with the continued desire on the part of many people in Africa for development.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

Counting on demographic equity to transform institutional cultures at historically white South African universities?:

  • Authors: Booi, Masixole , Vincent, Louise , Liccardo, Sabrina
  • Date: 2017
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141946 , vital:38018 , DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2017.1289155
  • Description: The post-apartheid higher education transformation project is faced with the challenge of recruiting and retaining black academics and other senior staff. But when we shift the focus from participation rates to equality–inequality within historically white universities (HWUs), then the discourse changes from demographic equity and redress to institutional culture and diversity. HWUs invoke the need to maintain their position as leading higher education institutions globally, and notions of ‘quality’ and ‘excellence’ have emerged as discursive practices, which serve to perpetuate exclusion. The question then arises as to which forms of capital comprise the Gold Standard at HWUs? Several South African universities have responded to the challenge of recruiting and retaining black academics by initiating programmes for the ‘accelerated development’ of these candidates.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

Decoupled reciprocal subsidies of biomass and fatty acids in fluxes of invertebrates between a temperate river and the adjacent land:

  • Authors: Moyo, Sydney , Chari, Lenin D , Villet, Martin H , Richoux, Nicole B
  • Date: 2017
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140843 , vital:37923 , DOI: 10.1007/s00027-017-0529-0
  • Description: Streams and riparian areas are tightly coupled through reciprocal trophic subsidies, and there is evidence that these subsidies affect consumers in connected ecosystems. Most studies of subsidies consider only their quantity and not their quality. We determined the bidirectional exchange of organisms between the Kowie River and its riparian zone in South Africa using floating pyramidal traps (to measure insect emergence) and pan traps (to capture infalling invertebrates).
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  • Date Issued: 2017

Forensic entomotoxicology revisited: towards professional standardisation of study designs

  • Authors: da Silva, Erica I T , Wilhelmi, Brendan S , Villet, Martin H
  • Date: 2017
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140819 , vital:37921 , DOI: 10.1007/s00414-017-1603-9
  • Description: Forensic entomotoxicology is the use of insects as evidence of whether a toxicant is present in an environment such as a corpse, river or landscape. The earliest overtly forensic study was published in 1977, and since then, at least 63 papers have been published, most of them focused on the detection of toxicants in insects or on effects of toxicants on diverse insect indicator taxa. A comprehensive review of the published literature revealed various inconsistencies between studies that could be addressed by introducing standard protocols for such studies. These protocols could include selecting widespread and common model organisms (such as Lucilia sericata, Calliphora vicina, Chrysomya megacephala and Dermestes maculatus) and model toxicants (e.g. morphine and amitriptyline) to build up comparative databases; developing a standard matrix for use as a feeding substrate; setting guidelines for statistically adequate sample sizes; and deploying more sophisticated analytical methods from the general field of toxicology.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

MD-TASK: a software suite for analyzing molecular dynamics trajectories

  • Authors: Brown, David K , Penkler, David L , Amamuddy, Olivier S , Ross, Caroline J , Atilgan, Ali R , Atilgan, Canan , Tastan Bishop, Özlem
  • Date: 2017
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/125138 , vital:35735 , https://doi.10.1093/bioinformatics/btx349
  • Description: Molecular dynamics (MD) determines the physical motions of atoms of a biological macromolecule in a cell-like environment and is an important method in structural bioinformatics. Traditionally, measurements such as root mean square deviation, root mean square fluctuation, radius of gyration, and various energy measures have been used to analyze MD simulations. Here, we present MD-TASK, a novel software suite that employs graph theory techniques, perturbation response scanning, and dynamic cross-correlation to provide unique ways for analyzing MD trajectories.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

Pessimistic assessment of white shark population status in South Africa: comment on Andreotti et al.(2016)

  • Authors: Irion, Dylan T , Noble, Leslie R , Kock, Alison A , Gennari, Enrico , Dicken, Matthew L , Hewitt, Adrian M , Towner, Alison V , Booth, Anthony J , Smale, Malcolm J , Cliff, Geremy
  • Date: 2017
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/${Handle} , vital:35799 , https://doi.10.3354/meps12283
  • Description: Andreotti et al. (2016; Mar Ecol Prog Ser 552:241−253) estimate an abundance (N) of 438 white sharks Carcharodon carcharias and a contemporary effective population size (CNe) of 333 individuals along the South African coast. N was estimated by using a mark-recapture analysis of photographic identification records from a single aggregation site (Gansbaai). CNe was calculated based on the levels of pairwise linkage disequilibrium of genetic material collected from 4 aggregation sites across approximately 965 km of South African coastline. However, due to the complex stock structure of white sharks and the model assumptions made by Andreotti et al. (2016), the conclusions drawn cannot be supported by their methods and data.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

Rhodes University Graduation Ceremony 2017

  • Authors: Rhodes University
  • Date: 2017
  • Language: English
  • Type: text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/58067 , vital:27061
  • Description: 2017 Graduation Ceremony, Umsitho Wothweso-Zidanga, Gradeplegtigheid [at] 1820 Settlers National Monument, Thursday, 20 April until Saturday, 22 April 2017.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

Synthesis, characterisation and evaluation of benzoxaborole-based hybrids as antiplasmodial agents

  • Authors: Gumbo, Maureen
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Malaria Chemotherapy , Antimalarials , Boron compounds , Drug resistance , Plasmodium falciparum , Drug development
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59193 , vital:27456
  • Description: Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease, which continues to pose a threat to the entire humanity. About 40% of the world population is estimated to be at risk of infections by malaria. Despite efforts undertaken by scientific community, government entities and international organizations, malaria is still rampant. The major problem is drug resistance, where the Plasmodium spp have over the past decades developed drug resistance against available drugs. In order to counter this problem, novel antimalarial drugs that are efficacious and with novel mode of action are of great necessity. Benzoxaborole derivatives have been shown to exhibit promising antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum strains. Previous studies reported on the compounds such as 6-(2- (alkoxycarbonyl)pyrazinyl-5-oxy)-1,3-dihydro-1-hydroxy-2,1-benzoxaboroles, which showed good antimalarial activity against both W7 and 3D7 strains without significant toxicity. On the other hand, chloroquine (CQ) and cinnamic acids have a wide variety of biological activity including antimalarial activity. Herein, a hybridisation strategy was employed to synthesise new CQ-benzoxaborole and cinnamoyl-benzoxaborole hybrids. CQ-Benzoxaborole 2.12a-c and cinnamoylbenzoxaborole 2.11a-g hydrid molecules were synthesised in low to good yields. Their structural identities were confirmed using conventional spectroscopic techniques (1H and 13C NMR, and mass spectrometry). CQ-benzoxaborole compounds, however, showed instability, and only 2.12b was used for in vitro biological assay and showed activity comparable to CQ. Furthermore, in vitro biological assay revealed that compounds 2.11a-g poorly inhibited the growth of P. falciparum parasites. Interestingly, these compounds, however, exhibited satisfactory activity against Trypanosoma brucei with IC50 = 0.052 μM for compound 2.11g. The cell cytotoxicity assay of all final compounds confirmed that all CQ-benzoxaborole 2.12b and cinnamoyl-benzoxaborole 2.11a-g hybrids were non-toxic against HeLa cell lines. However, efforts to further expand the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of CQbenzoxaborole by increasing the length of the linker with one extra carbon (Scheme 2.10) were not possible as an important precursor 6-formylbenzoxaborole 2.29 could not be synthesized in sufficient yields. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Faculty of Science, Chemistry, 2017
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  • Date Issued: 2017

"Let loose in the unthinkable unspeakable": waiting and alterity in Samuel Beckett's trilogy

  • Authors: Marais, Jessica
  • Date: 2016
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3917 , vital:20557
  • Description: In this thesis, I examine the interrelated roles of waiting and alterity in Samuel Beckett's trilogy of novels: Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnamable. The conventional understanding of waiting is as an intentional relationship between a waiting subject and an awaited object. This kind of waiting is end-directed, and, in order for it to be worthwhile, the awaited must, at some point, arrive. In the trilogy, however, the awaited never does arrive, and it is my contention that the novels are concerned with an unconventional kind of waiting, which, being without object or end, takes the form of a non-intentional relationship between waiter and awaited. Significantly, through the non-intentional wait, the subject awaits the unawaited. She or he thereby encounters the radically other, or that which cannot be rendered familiar or assimilated in any way – an unthinkable, unspeakable, ungraspable excess that overflows the limits of thought and language. The texts foreground the vexed question of response to such alterity: how can one approach the ungraspable as ungraspable, when it is in the nature of any approach to attempt to grasp? I argue that the texts explore a paradoxical form of "incurious seeking" as an avenue to accommodate the absolutely other.
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  • Date Issued: 2016

A bitcoin framework : an alternative payment system for marginalized areas of South Africa using low-end mobile phones

  • Authors: Dlamini, Nelisiwe Peaceness
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Electronic funds transfers -- South Africa Bitcoin -- South Africa Mobile commerce -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11884 , vital:39115
  • Description: The emergence of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, has invoked the need for developing financial systems that can be used to transfer digital value. This would serve as a solution to developing countries especially the challenged ones, when it comes to accommodating the financial needs of the disadvantaged people. Moreover, it facilitates access to financial services to allow them to transact with ease. Numerous companies have taken advantage of the prevalence of mobile phones and introduced financial platforms to provide financial inclusion to disadvantaged people. Financial institutions and Mobile Network Operators (MNO) have developed platforms such as cell phone banking services, mobile money, mobile wallets, and electronic wallets that can be used to provide affordable financial services. Although this is the case, alternative platforms that are affordable and accessible through mobile phones are still required. Therefore, this study proposes a Bitcoin framework that can be used as an alternative platform through low-end mobile phones to provide access to financial services to the disadvantaged people in marginalized areas. To prove the concept of the proposed Bitcoin framework, a Mobile Bitcoin Wallet System (MBWS) prototype was developed, which allows a person using a low-end mobile phone with no intervening technology such as Internet or Bluetooth, to access a Bitcoin wallet by sending a Short Message Service (SMS). This enables Bitcoin to be accessed more easily and affordably by the people. Thus the developed prototype conceptualizes an alternative payment system or a payment method that can augment the existing payment methods. The MBWS is evaluated to assess if it can offer the services that other platforms offer by being compared to a cell-phone banking service. It was deployed on a computer connected to the Internet to enable a connection to the Bitcoin network and access to the blockchain which records all the transactions that take place in Bitcoin. Although this system provides access to the Bitcoin wallet, for it to be applied to areas where people require an alternative payment system, it still needs to be enhanced for such use. This includes scaling the system and adding more functions to it.
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  • Date Issued: 2016

A business intelligence framework for supporting strategic sustainability information management in higher education

  • Authors: Haupt, Ross
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Business intelligence , Strategic planning -- Management
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5319 , vital:20832
  • Description: In the higher education sector, a number of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are playing a leading role in promoting sustainable initiatives. Effectively managing these initiatives however can be a complex task and requires data and information from multiple aspects of operations. In an HEI, operating sustainably means ensuring financial sustainability, social sustainability, environmental sustainability and educational sustainability. In order to manage sustainability effectively, HEIs require an integrated tool that can provide information on all areas of sustainability. HEIs face a number of challenges in effectively managing sustainability information, such as siloed data and information, and poor sharing and communication of information. Business Intelligence (BI) can assist in overcoming many of the challenges faced by organisations in effectively managing strategic sustainability information. This study investigates both the constraints to effective sustainability information management and the challenges of BI. A BI framework to support effective strategic sustainability information management is proposed. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) is one such HEI, which is affected by the challenges of managing strategic sustainability information. NMMU is therefore used as a case study in this research. A BI solution, Sustainable BI, was developed based on the proposed framework. The main goal of sustainable BI is to provide strategic management at NMMU with a tool that can provide integrated sustainability information that can assist in overcoming the challenges in effectively managing strategic sustainability information. Sustainable BI was evaluated by strategic management at NMMU who are responsible for managing sustainability at NMMU. The evaluation took place through a usability study. The study revealed to what extent Sustainable BI could effectively manage strategic sustainability information at NMMU. The BI framework was iteratively improved on based on the results of the evaluations. The contributions from this study are a model for sustainability management, a BI Framework to support strategic sustainability information management and a BI solution, Sustainable BI.
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  • Date Issued: 2016

A case for contemporary third literature: the black experience in the postmillennial fiction of three Kwela authors

  • Authors: Mthembu, Lumumba
  • Date: 2016
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3322 , vital:20480
  • Description: This study seeks to uncover the manner in which the young black experience is constructed in three novels by Sifiso Mzobe, Kgebetli Moele and K. Sello Duiker. Young Blood, Untitled and Thirteen Cents all feature teenage narrators navigating the social milieu of South Africa in the twenty-first century. My analysis is informed by Frantz Fanon’s postcolonial theory because South Africa’s socio-economic landscape conforms to the divisions laid out in The Wretched of the Earth. I contend that post-apartheid South Africa is developing in a manner that is symptomatic of the Fanonian post-independence African state. My close reading of the novels teases out the conditions under which young black subjects must survive and express themselves. I look into the roles of the community, the government, the family, and the school in shaping this experience. Naturally, my discussion segues into questions of sexuality and gender as they intersect with race. I demonstrate how these texts fail and succeed as works of Third Literature, a genre derived from Third Cinema, which I have adapted due to its Fanonian ideological underpinning. Third Literature is a fundamentally revolutionary and activistic genre which seeks to pave the way for social change. In this regard, I concern myself with the recommendations these three authors may have for the readers of their texts. In conclusion, these texts demonstrate that racialized identities are social constructs with measurable experiential effects. However, there are ways of actively resisting or even
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  • Date Issued: 2016

A case study of democratic debate on People's Choice (PC) FM "Thahameso" and Harvest FM "Tsa Mabatooa" in Lesotho

  • Authors: Falatsa, Mamolise Martha , Thipa, Henry
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Radio addresses, debates, etc. -- Lesotho , Radio broadcasting -- Lesotho , Mass media -- Political aspects -- Lesotho , Civil rights -- Lesotho
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7281 , vital:21314
  • Description: The study investigates the role of media in promoting free debate in Lesotho: A case study of democratic debate on People’s Choice (PC) FM “Thahameso” and Harvest FM “Tsa Mabatooa in Lesotho. Firstly, the study looked at the democratic communication in the volatile democracy of Lesotho, by providing historical factors of pre-independence and authoritarian governments, democrocatic governments prevailing and the dependence on South Africa. Secondly, the study provided literature on the role of broadcast media in different forms of government globally. Thirdly, it provides the analysis and transcription of one month’s recordings of the two political talk shows in Sesotho and identifies the communicative strategies used in this live on-air political discussion by talk show hosts, guests and callers. In these talk shows the researcher identifies the caller, host and guest behaviour and attitudes in discussions that relate the current political situation to the historical development of democracy in Lesotho alongside the economic and political influences from South Africa. The researcher also identifies that the talk show, guests and callers in the challenging political climate use traditional figurative expressions and biblical quotations to express their views. This leads the researcher to conclude that the political talk shows indeed facilitate participatory communication.
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  • Date Issued: 2016

A case study of the opportunities and trade-offs associated with deproclamation of a protected area following a land claim in South Africa

  • Authors: Krüger, Ruth , Cundill, Georgina , Thondhlana, Gladman
  • Date: 2016
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67791 , vital:29145 , https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2015.1065804
  • Description: Publisher version , Reconciling conservation and social justice imperatives is a major challenge facing many postcolonial states worldwide. Where historically disenfranchised communities have laid legal claim to protected areas, the typical resolution has been collaborative management agreements between the state and claimant communities. The real outcomes of such strategies for people and ecosystems have been seriously questioned, although alternative approaches are seldom explored. Here, we reflect on one such alternative that was pursued in a case in South Africa, where the land was handed back to the community and a replacement protected area created. Our objective was to explore the opportunities and trade-offs associated with this approach for communities and conservation agencies alike, and to compare these to typical collaborative management outcomes. Methods included key informant interviews, focus group discussions and household surveys. We find that, surprisingly, this approach created more benefits for the conservation agency than for claimant communities. Indeed, the community experiences bore a striking resemblance to those experienced in collaborative management settings: intra-community conflict, confusion over leadership and serious questions about the boundaries of the “community”. Processes aimed at redressing past injustice in disputes over conservation land, regardless of the approach adopted, must bring with them a strong commitment to building institutional and leadership capacities within communities, and pay serious attention to the ways in which equity and social justice can be fostered after the settlement of a land claim. Settlement agreements are frequently treated as the final step towards social justice, but are in fact just the beginning.
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  • Date Issued: 2016

A case study on the health risks related to flood disasters in South Africa

  • Authors: Tandlich, Roman , Ncube, Mbonisi , Khamanga, Sandile M , Zuma, Bongumusa M
  • Date: 2016
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/75917 , vital:30482 , DOI: 10.20965/jdr.2016.p0732
  • Description: Floods occurred in the Ndlambe Local Municipality in South Africa in October 2012. During various stages of the post-disaster recovery, bacterial concentrations were measured in water and soil samples from the flood zone. All drinking water concentrations of E. coli were below 1–3 colony forming units per 100 millilitres (CFUs/100 mL). The flood waters contained between 46500 to more than 100000 CFUs/100 mL of E. coli. {The concentrations of Salmonella spp. in the flood waters varied from 5000 to 250000 CFUs/100 mL. The presumptive Vibrio spp. concentrations in flood waters ranged from 1000 to over 150000 CFUs/100 mL. {The soil concentrations for E. coli ranged from 1 to above 330 colony-forming units per 1 g of soil dry weight (CFUs/g). The soil concentrations of Salmonella spp. varied from below 1 to 22 CFUs/g. The estimated airborne fungal concentrations ranged from 16820 to 28540 colony-forming units per 1 cubic meter. An outbreak of an infectious disease was recorded among the volunteers who assisted with the post-disaster recovery. The likely bacterial causative agents included strains of Aeromonas spp. and Vibrio cholerae. Any human contact with either the contaminated flood waters or of flooded dwellings should only occur, if the individuals in questions are equipped with the full-body personal protective gear. Non-governmental stakeholders performed majority of the post-disaster recovery operations, as the local government could only cover 11% of the required costs. Applying sanitation funds to disaster recovery and increased use of the low-cost flood defence products in high risk areas could provide a solution for the future.
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  • Date Issued: 2016

A change management model for the implementation of environmental sustainability principles at General Motors South Africa

  • Authors: Mzuzu, Ncedisa
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: General Motors Corporation Organizational change -- Management , Corporate culture Business ethics
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/48047 , vital:40466
  • Description: In this day and age, Environmental issues are considered to be very pertinent in a business environment. Lee (2010) argues that the natural environment is not only important for the general population, but the concern for the natural environment has become increasingly important within the accounting practice. Lee (2010) references (Porter & Van der Linde, 1995; Schaltegger & Wagner, 2006; Lee, 2009), in supporting his argument that there has been increasing interest in the relationship between environmental and economic performance, that is to say reducing costs while simultaneously improving environmental performance. Organisation in the past decades have either opted to disregard or embrace change as a result of this global phenomenon. Within organisations current leaders have had to manage operations in their local areas with a global mindset. Hill (2011:4) defines globalisation as a process whereby barriers to cross border trade and investment are declining, perceived trading distances are shrinking, material culture is starting to look similar and where national economies are merging to an interdependent, integrated economic system. With the increased hype and awareness of environmental and sustainability issues within the manufacturing environment, certain companies have adopted best practices that focus on firms' production processes (Hart, 1995; Stead & Stead, 1995) that can result in cost advantage. Within the South African context, the government has put in place a legislative framework laid down by the South African Constitution that enforces the responsibility of sustainable use of natural resources and responsible management of process outputs such as waste, effluent and gas emissions. General Motors adopted an Environmental Management System. The fundamental principles of EMS are based on continuous improvement where most of improvement opportunities and challenges exist within the implementation stages. The fundamental questions the study seeks to address are: As General Motors South Africa put in place this sustainability tool, how does the company ensure that in line with continuous improvement, the improvements are sustained? What interventions can the company implement to drive the change to ensure that it improves the implementation of its Environmental Management System so as to reap the benefits as outlined? This research effort discussed recommendations for achieving the objective of developing a change management model for improving implementation of sustainability principles at General Motors South Africa. Based on the outcome of the survey and the interview, the current senior managers at General Motors South Africa have embraced environmental issues, but there is no clear indication that the future leaders will also do the same. Based on the eight steps for transforming an organisation by Kotter (2006), the following are recommendations: A communication strategy to all employees (including leadership) that will continuously articulate connections between new behaviours and corporate success throughout the organisation, and not limit to manufacturing operations. Secondly, the company needs to ensure that there are programmes in place for leadership development and succession.
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  • Date Issued: 2016
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