Clinical experiences of third-year student nurses in a public college in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Tyanti, Mandisa
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Nursing Science)
- Identifier: vital:11912 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1016097
- Description: Clinical experience has always been an important part of nursing education. Nursing colleges require students to be placed in clinical areas in order to acquire new knowledge and skills. The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the clinical experiences during their clinical placement of the third-year student nurses at a public college in the Eastern Cape. The objectives of this study were: to explore and describe the experiences of the third-year student of a public nursing college in the Eastern Cape, and to describe strategies for the improvement of student learning during clinical practice. A qualitative, explorative and descriptive research design was used to describe the clinical experiences of these student nurses and the strategies for the improvement of student learning during clinical practice. Data were collected from focus group interviews, using a purposive and convenience sample from one college campus in the Eastern Cape. Tesch’s method of data analysis (in Creswell, 2003) was used to analyse data. Trustworthiness was ensured in this research by using Guba’s model (in Lincoln & Guba, 1985) of qualitative research. Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Fort Hare Research Ethics Committee, the Department of Health, Eastern Cape, the Head of the Nursing College, the Campus Head and the participants and ethical consideration was ensured throughout the research process. Themes and sub-themes emerged from data collected about the clinical experiences of the nurses. The study brought to light the experiences of third-year student nurses during allocation to clinical areas. The findings from this study revealed the need for proper clinical accompaniment by college staff to ensure that clinical learning is taking place. Strategies to improve learning in the clinical areas are described. and recommendations for nursing education and nursing practice are made. If this is applied, it will help the student nurses to be better professionals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Tyanti, Mandisa
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Nursing Science)
- Identifier: vital:11912 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1016097
- Description: Clinical experience has always been an important part of nursing education. Nursing colleges require students to be placed in clinical areas in order to acquire new knowledge and skills. The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the clinical experiences during their clinical placement of the third-year student nurses at a public college in the Eastern Cape. The objectives of this study were: to explore and describe the experiences of the third-year student of a public nursing college in the Eastern Cape, and to describe strategies for the improvement of student learning during clinical practice. A qualitative, explorative and descriptive research design was used to describe the clinical experiences of these student nurses and the strategies for the improvement of student learning during clinical practice. Data were collected from focus group interviews, using a purposive and convenience sample from one college campus in the Eastern Cape. Tesch’s method of data analysis (in Creswell, 2003) was used to analyse data. Trustworthiness was ensured in this research by using Guba’s model (in Lincoln & Guba, 1985) of qualitative research. Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Fort Hare Research Ethics Committee, the Department of Health, Eastern Cape, the Head of the Nursing College, the Campus Head and the participants and ethical consideration was ensured throughout the research process. Themes and sub-themes emerged from data collected about the clinical experiences of the nurses. The study brought to light the experiences of third-year student nurses during allocation to clinical areas. The findings from this study revealed the need for proper clinical accompaniment by college staff to ensure that clinical learning is taking place. Strategies to improve learning in the clinical areas are described. and recommendations for nursing education and nursing practice are made. If this is applied, it will help the student nurses to be better professionals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Cloud information security : a higher education perspective
- Authors: Van der Schyff, Karl Izak
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Cloud computing -- Security measures , Information technology -- Security measures , Data protection , Internet in higher education , Education, Higher -- Technological innovations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4692 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011607 , Cloud computing -- Security measures , Information technology -- Security measures , Data protection , Internet in higher education , Education, Higher -- Technological innovations
- Description: In recent years higher education institutions have come under increasing financial pressure. This has not only prompted universities to investigate more cost effective means of delivering course content and maintaining research output, but also to investigate the administrative functions that accompany them. As such, many South African universities have either adopted or are in the process of adopting some form of cloud computing given the recent drop in bandwidth costs. However, this adoption process has raised concerns about the security of cloud-based information and this has, in some cases, had a negative impact on the adoption process. In an effort to study these concerns many researchers have employed a positivist approach with little, if any, focus on the operational context of these universities. Moreover, there has been very little research, specifically within the South African context. This study addresses some of these concerns by investigating the threats and security incident response life cycle within a higher education cloud. This was done by initially conducting a small scale survey and a detailed thematic analysis of twelve interviews from three South African universities. The identified themes and their corresponding analyses and interpretation contribute on both a practical and theoretical level with the practical contributions relating to a set of security driven criteria for selecting cloud providers as well as recommendations for universities who have or are in the process of adopting cloud computing. Theoretically several conceptual frameworks are offered allowing the researcher to convey his understanding of how the aforementioned practical concepts relate to each other as well as the concepts that constitute the research questions of this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Van der Schyff, Karl Izak
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Cloud computing -- Security measures , Information technology -- Security measures , Data protection , Internet in higher education , Education, Higher -- Technological innovations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4692 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011607 , Cloud computing -- Security measures , Information technology -- Security measures , Data protection , Internet in higher education , Education, Higher -- Technological innovations
- Description: In recent years higher education institutions have come under increasing financial pressure. This has not only prompted universities to investigate more cost effective means of delivering course content and maintaining research output, but also to investigate the administrative functions that accompany them. As such, many South African universities have either adopted or are in the process of adopting some form of cloud computing given the recent drop in bandwidth costs. However, this adoption process has raised concerns about the security of cloud-based information and this has, in some cases, had a negative impact on the adoption process. In an effort to study these concerns many researchers have employed a positivist approach with little, if any, focus on the operational context of these universities. Moreover, there has been very little research, specifically within the South African context. This study addresses some of these concerns by investigating the threats and security incident response life cycle within a higher education cloud. This was done by initially conducting a small scale survey and a detailed thematic analysis of twelve interviews from three South African universities. The identified themes and their corresponding analyses and interpretation contribute on both a practical and theoretical level with the practical contributions relating to a set of security driven criteria for selecting cloud providers as well as recommendations for universities who have or are in the process of adopting cloud computing. Theoretically several conceptual frameworks are offered allowing the researcher to convey his understanding of how the aforementioned practical concepts relate to each other as well as the concepts that constitute the research questions of this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Collection of urban tree products by households in poorer residential areas of three South African towns
- Kaoma, Humphrey, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: Kaoma, Humphrey , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/180980 , vital:43678 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2014.02.002"
- Description: The high rates of urban in-migration and poverty common in many developing country towns potentially increases the reliance of urban populations on the direct benefits provided by trees. Yet understanding of the extent of such use and the sources of these tree products is limited. Here we report on the extent of use of urban tree products by 450 households in the poorer areas of three towns along a rainfall gradient based on household questionnaires. We considered the proportion of households making use of each of several tree products and the collection or purchasing frequency which we disaggregated by source of the product, including trees in homesteads, urban spaces, edges of towns and via purchase from traders. Most households (91%) used firewood, which was most frequently collected from the urban fringe or purchased, although one-third at times also collected firewood from trees on their home plot. All households used fruits, most commonly sourced through purchase (98%), but nearly half of whom also supplemented by harvesting fruits from their home plot. Other products used included wood for building, fencing and utensils, herbal medicines, planting material and mulch. Collection of products from urban homestead trees was highest amongst households in the informal settlements and least in the more established townships. Residents of new low-cost housing areas made extensive use of urban tree products harvested in urban spaces because they had fewer homestead trees than residents of informal areas or townships. Overall, urban residents made use of a wide array of tangible products from trees which they sourced from a variety of places, including their homestead plot. This urges that planning agencies ensure that homestead plot sizes or other urban spaces that provide tree products are large enough to support the direct needs of poorer urban residents.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Kaoma, Humphrey , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/180980 , vital:43678 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2014.02.002"
- Description: The high rates of urban in-migration and poverty common in many developing country towns potentially increases the reliance of urban populations on the direct benefits provided by trees. Yet understanding of the extent of such use and the sources of these tree products is limited. Here we report on the extent of use of urban tree products by 450 households in the poorer areas of three towns along a rainfall gradient based on household questionnaires. We considered the proportion of households making use of each of several tree products and the collection or purchasing frequency which we disaggregated by source of the product, including trees in homesteads, urban spaces, edges of towns and via purchase from traders. Most households (91%) used firewood, which was most frequently collected from the urban fringe or purchased, although one-third at times also collected firewood from trees on their home plot. All households used fruits, most commonly sourced through purchase (98%), but nearly half of whom also supplemented by harvesting fruits from their home plot. Other products used included wood for building, fencing and utensils, herbal medicines, planting material and mulch. Collection of products from urban homestead trees was highest amongst households in the informal settlements and least in the more established townships. Residents of new low-cost housing areas made extensive use of urban tree products harvested in urban spaces because they had fewer homestead trees than residents of informal areas or townships. Overall, urban residents made use of a wide array of tangible products from trees which they sourced from a variety of places, including their homestead plot. This urges that planning agencies ensure that homestead plot sizes or other urban spaces that provide tree products are large enough to support the direct needs of poorer urban residents.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Colonisation and community structure of benthic diatoms on artificial substrates following a major flood event: a case of the Kowie River (Eastern Cape, South Africa)
- Dalu, Tatenda, Froneman, P William, Chari, Lenin D, Richoux, Nicole B
- Authors: Dalu, Tatenda , Froneman, P William , Chari, Lenin D , Richoux, Nicole B
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143357 , vital:38239 , http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/wsa.v40i3.10
- Description: A major flooding event that occurred during October–November 2012 caused major changes in the Kowie River hydromorphology and aquatic communities. The aim of our study was to identify the environmental variables that structure riverine benthic diatom communities at upstream and downstream locations 25 km apart on the Kowie River, South Africa. This was undertaken using tiles as artificial substrates so that we could study how the communities developed after the flood disturbance. The diatom community structure was assessed over a 28-day period following a flood event in October 2012. The Mann Whitney test indicated that there was a statistically significant difference (p 0.05) in total dissolved solids, salinity, pH and oxygen reduction potential between the two sites. In total, 58 diatom species belonging to 30 genera were identified over the 28-day study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Dalu, Tatenda , Froneman, P William , Chari, Lenin D , Richoux, Nicole B
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143357 , vital:38239 , http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/wsa.v40i3.10
- Description: A major flooding event that occurred during October–November 2012 caused major changes in the Kowie River hydromorphology and aquatic communities. The aim of our study was to identify the environmental variables that structure riverine benthic diatom communities at upstream and downstream locations 25 km apart on the Kowie River, South Africa. This was undertaken using tiles as artificial substrates so that we could study how the communities developed after the flood disturbance. The diatom community structure was assessed over a 28-day period following a flood event in October 2012. The Mann Whitney test indicated that there was a statistically significant difference (p 0.05) in total dissolved solids, salinity, pH and oxygen reduction potential between the two sites. In total, 58 diatom species belonging to 30 genera were identified over the 28-day study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Combating corruption while respecting human rights : a critical study of the non-conviction based assets recovery mechanism in Kenya and South Africa
- Authors: Obura, Ken Otieno
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Human rights -- Kenya , Human rights -- South Africa , Corruption -- Kenya , Corruption -- South Africa , Reparation (Criminal justice) -- Kenya , Reparation (Criminal justice) -- South Africa , Political corruption -- Kenya , Political corruption -- South Africa , Corruption investigation -- Kenya , Corruption investigation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3719 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013159
- Description: The thesis contributes to the search for sound anti-corruption laws and practices that are effective and fair. It argues for the respect for human rights in the crafting and implementation of anti-corruption laws as a requisite for successful control of corruption. The basis for this argument is threefold: First, human rights provide a framework for checking against abuse of state’s police power, an abuse which if allowed to take root, would make the fight against corruption lose its legitimacy in the eye of the people. Second, human rights ensure that the interest of individuals is catered for in the crafting of anti-corruption laws and practices thereby denying perpetrators of corruption legal excuses that can be exploited to delay or frustrate corruption cases in the courts of law. Third, human rights provide a useful framework for balancing competing interests in the area of corruption control – it enables society to craft measures that fulfils the public interest in the eradication of corruption while concomitantly assuring the competing public interest in the protection of individual members’ liberties – a condition that is necessary if the support of the holders of these competing interests is to be enlisted and fostered in the fight against corruption. The thesis focuses on the study of the non-conviction based assets recovery mechanism, a mechanism that allows the state to apply a procedure lacking in criminal law safeguards to address criminal behaviour. The mechanism is thus beset with avenues for abuse, which if unchecked could have debilitating effects not only to individual liberties but also to the long term legitimacy of the fight against corruption. In this regard, the thesis examines how the human rights framework has been used in Kenya and South Africa to check on the potential dangers of the non-conviction based mechanism and to provide for a proportional balance between the imperative of corruption control and the guarantee against arbitrary deprivation of property. The aim is to unravel the benefits of respecting human rights in the fight against corruption in general and in the non-conviction based assets recovery in particular. Kenya and South Africa are chosen for study because they provide two models of non-conviction based mechanisms with different levels of safeguards, for comparative consideration.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Obura, Ken Otieno
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Human rights -- Kenya , Human rights -- South Africa , Corruption -- Kenya , Corruption -- South Africa , Reparation (Criminal justice) -- Kenya , Reparation (Criminal justice) -- South Africa , Political corruption -- Kenya , Political corruption -- South Africa , Corruption investigation -- Kenya , Corruption investigation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3719 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013159
- Description: The thesis contributes to the search for sound anti-corruption laws and practices that are effective and fair. It argues for the respect for human rights in the crafting and implementation of anti-corruption laws as a requisite for successful control of corruption. The basis for this argument is threefold: First, human rights provide a framework for checking against abuse of state’s police power, an abuse which if allowed to take root, would make the fight against corruption lose its legitimacy in the eye of the people. Second, human rights ensure that the interest of individuals is catered for in the crafting of anti-corruption laws and practices thereby denying perpetrators of corruption legal excuses that can be exploited to delay or frustrate corruption cases in the courts of law. Third, human rights provide a useful framework for balancing competing interests in the area of corruption control – it enables society to craft measures that fulfils the public interest in the eradication of corruption while concomitantly assuring the competing public interest in the protection of individual members’ liberties – a condition that is necessary if the support of the holders of these competing interests is to be enlisted and fostered in the fight against corruption. The thesis focuses on the study of the non-conviction based assets recovery mechanism, a mechanism that allows the state to apply a procedure lacking in criminal law safeguards to address criminal behaviour. The mechanism is thus beset with avenues for abuse, which if unchecked could have debilitating effects not only to individual liberties but also to the long term legitimacy of the fight against corruption. In this regard, the thesis examines how the human rights framework has been used in Kenya and South Africa to check on the potential dangers of the non-conviction based mechanism and to provide for a proportional balance between the imperative of corruption control and the guarantee against arbitrary deprivation of property. The aim is to unravel the benefits of respecting human rights in the fight against corruption in general and in the non-conviction based assets recovery in particular. Kenya and South Africa are chosen for study because they provide two models of non-conviction based mechanisms with different levels of safeguards, for comparative consideration.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Community adaptation strategies to environmental degradation in the south west region of Cameroon
- Authors: Buh, Gilbert Ewi
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Environmental degradation -- Cameroon , Sustainable development -- Cameroon , Irrigation -- Cameroon
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9189 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020301
- Description: The Republic of Cameroon (8-16°E; 2-13°N) is a Central African nation that borders the Bight of Biafra. It is home of about 20 million people and a country with great environmental and agricultural diversity that reflects Africa. It is known as ‘Africa Miniature’. Recent policies and administrative malfunctions has plunged the SWR into severe environmental problems that led to a cholera outbreak, claiming many lives. Community respond to these severe environmental problems in the SWR greatly left behind resilient strategies to reduce its spread. A mixed method of both qualitative and quantitative research approach was used by the researcher to come up with community strategies which this research seeks to address. Various conclusions such as community demand for support from the local government, sustainable irrigation programs, availability of pipe-borne water and environmental education were put in place, as possible solutions to the persisting environmental problems in the SWR.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Buh, Gilbert Ewi
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Environmental degradation -- Cameroon , Sustainable development -- Cameroon , Irrigation -- Cameroon
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9189 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020301
- Description: The Republic of Cameroon (8-16°E; 2-13°N) is a Central African nation that borders the Bight of Biafra. It is home of about 20 million people and a country with great environmental and agricultural diversity that reflects Africa. It is known as ‘Africa Miniature’. Recent policies and administrative malfunctions has plunged the SWR into severe environmental problems that led to a cholera outbreak, claiming many lives. Community respond to these severe environmental problems in the SWR greatly left behind resilient strategies to reduce its spread. A mixed method of both qualitative and quantitative research approach was used by the researcher to come up with community strategies which this research seeks to address. Various conclusions such as community demand for support from the local government, sustainable irrigation programs, availability of pipe-borne water and environmental education were put in place, as possible solutions to the persisting environmental problems in the SWR.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Community service professional nurses' experiences of bullying in state hospitals
- Authors: Yon, Gadieja
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Public health nurses , Bullying in the workplace , State hospitals
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCur
- Identifier: vital:10056 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018622
- Description: It is estimated that 80 percent of nurses experience some type of bullying in the workplace during their working lives, and bullying from colleagues has become a major concern. Bullying involves repeated forms of negative behaviours directed at a victim over time. More specifically, the victim is bullied repeatedly over time, with bullying ranging from mild to more severe forms that often go unreported. Bullying in the workplace may cause low self-esteem, depression and anxiety, physical illness and in some cases, the inability to work. The aim of this research study was to explore and describe community service professional nurses’ experiences of being bullied in state hospitals. The information gathered during the course of the study was used to develop strategies that can prevent the bullying of community service professional nurses in the workplace. The design of the study was qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, and contextual in nature. The population sample included all community service professional nurses in state hospitals in the Nelson Mandela Bay area. The researcher employed purposive sampling to select participants from the population of community service professional nurses employed at state hospitals. She collected data by conducting semi-structured individual interviews to gain in-depth accounts from participants and by making observations, which were captured in field notes. Data collected during the interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed according to Tesch’s eight steps of analysis. Themes were identified through this process and compared to relevant literature. The researcher used the services of an independent coder to aid in the coding process. Trustworthiness was ensured by following Lincoln and Guba’s model of trustworthiness, which comprises the following concepts: credibility, transferability, dependability, and conformability. The researcher ensured that the study adhered to high ethical standards through the principles of justice, beneficence, non-maleficence, and respect for people.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Yon, Gadieja
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Public health nurses , Bullying in the workplace , State hospitals
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCur
- Identifier: vital:10056 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018622
- Description: It is estimated that 80 percent of nurses experience some type of bullying in the workplace during their working lives, and bullying from colleagues has become a major concern. Bullying involves repeated forms of negative behaviours directed at a victim over time. More specifically, the victim is bullied repeatedly over time, with bullying ranging from mild to more severe forms that often go unreported. Bullying in the workplace may cause low self-esteem, depression and anxiety, physical illness and in some cases, the inability to work. The aim of this research study was to explore and describe community service professional nurses’ experiences of being bullied in state hospitals. The information gathered during the course of the study was used to develop strategies that can prevent the bullying of community service professional nurses in the workplace. The design of the study was qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, and contextual in nature. The population sample included all community service professional nurses in state hospitals in the Nelson Mandela Bay area. The researcher employed purposive sampling to select participants from the population of community service professional nurses employed at state hospitals. She collected data by conducting semi-structured individual interviews to gain in-depth accounts from participants and by making observations, which were captured in field notes. Data collected during the interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed according to Tesch’s eight steps of analysis. Themes were identified through this process and compared to relevant literature. The researcher used the services of an independent coder to aid in the coding process. Trustworthiness was ensured by following Lincoln and Guba’s model of trustworthiness, which comprises the following concepts: credibility, transferability, dependability, and conformability. The researcher ensured that the study adhered to high ethical standards through the principles of justice, beneficence, non-maleficence, and respect for people.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Comparative phylogeography of five swallowtail butterfly species (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) in South Africa : ecological and taxonomic implications.
- Authors: Neef, Götz-Georg
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Swallowtail butterflies , Papilionidae -- South Africa , Phylogeography -- South Africa , Swallowtail butterflies -- Effect of habitat modification on , Biodiversity -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4266 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013574
- Description: With current biota under constant threat of extinction, it is important to ascertain where and how biological diversity is generated and partitioned. Phylogeographic studies can assist in the identification of places and processes that indicate the origin and maintenance of biodiversity. Forest fragmentation has a big effect on local extinction and loss of genetic diversity of forest-restricted taxa, along with divergence and speciation of forest biota. This study aims to understand the effects of these processes on a number of forest-dwelling butterflies using a comparative phylogeographic approach. Mitochondrial DNA of five different Papilio species with different degrees of forest specificity was analysed using phylogenetic methods. In addition, the subspecific taxonomy of P. ophidicephalus was investigated using morphometrics of discal spots on the wings and nuclear DNA analysis along with mitochondrial DNA analysis. The results show that the forest-restricted species (P. ophidicephalus and P. echerioides) have more genetic structure and less genetic diversity than the more generalist species (P. dardanus, P. demodocus and P. nireus). This could be due to inbreeding depression and bottlenecks caused by forest fragmentation. As forest patches become smaller, the population size is affected and that causes a loss in genetic diversity, and increasing habitat fragmentation disrupts gene flow. The intraspecific taxonomy of P. ophidicephalus is far from revealed. However, this study shows there is evidence for the different subspecies when comparing morphological results and genetic results. From the evidence provided here it is suggested that P. ophidicephalus should be divided into two separate species rather than five subspecies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Neef, Götz-Georg
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Swallowtail butterflies , Papilionidae -- South Africa , Phylogeography -- South Africa , Swallowtail butterflies -- Effect of habitat modification on , Biodiversity -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4266 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013574
- Description: With current biota under constant threat of extinction, it is important to ascertain where and how biological diversity is generated and partitioned. Phylogeographic studies can assist in the identification of places and processes that indicate the origin and maintenance of biodiversity. Forest fragmentation has a big effect on local extinction and loss of genetic diversity of forest-restricted taxa, along with divergence and speciation of forest biota. This study aims to understand the effects of these processes on a number of forest-dwelling butterflies using a comparative phylogeographic approach. Mitochondrial DNA of five different Papilio species with different degrees of forest specificity was analysed using phylogenetic methods. In addition, the subspecific taxonomy of P. ophidicephalus was investigated using morphometrics of discal spots on the wings and nuclear DNA analysis along with mitochondrial DNA analysis. The results show that the forest-restricted species (P. ophidicephalus and P. echerioides) have more genetic structure and less genetic diversity than the more generalist species (P. dardanus, P. demodocus and P. nireus). This could be due to inbreeding depression and bottlenecks caused by forest fragmentation. As forest patches become smaller, the population size is affected and that causes a loss in genetic diversity, and increasing habitat fragmentation disrupts gene flow. The intraspecific taxonomy of P. ophidicephalus is far from revealed. However, this study shows there is evidence for the different subspecies when comparing morphological results and genetic results. From the evidence provided here it is suggested that P. ophidicephalus should be divided into two separate species rather than five subspecies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Comparison between base metals and platinum group metals in nitrogen, M codoped TiO 2 (M= Fe, Cu, Pd, Os) for photocatalytic removal of an organic dye in water
- Kuvarega, Alex T, Mamba, Bhekie B, Krause, Rui W M
- Authors: Kuvarega, Alex T , Mamba, Bhekie B , Krause, Rui W M
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/125129 , vital:35734 , https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/962102
- Description: The photocatalytic performance of a number of nonmetal and metal codoped TiO2 for the degradation of eosin yellow under simulated solar radiation was investigated. The synthesised materials were characterised by FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, XRD, DRUV-Vis, SEM, and TEM.The N, metal codoped TiO2 containing 0.5 wt.% of the metal consisted mainly of the anatase phase, with a particle size range of 15–28 nm. The particles were largely spherical and shifted the absorption edge well into the visible region. Band gap reduction was more pronounced for the N, PGM codoped TiO2 compared to N, base metal codoped samples. Codoping led to an enhancement in the photocatalytic activity of the materials for the degradation of eosin yellow. N, Pd codoped TiO2 was the most effective photocatalyst (99.9% dye removal) while N, Cu codoped TiO2 showed the least activity (25.5% removal). The mechanism for the photocatalytic enhancement was proposed on the basis of formation of an electron deficient Schottky barrier at the semiconductor-metal interface, which acts as an electron sink and thus retards electron-hole recombination. It was shown that the ability of the photocatalyst to degrade the dye depends on the nature and type of the metal dopant in the codoped TiO2 system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Kuvarega, Alex T , Mamba, Bhekie B , Krause, Rui W M
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/125129 , vital:35734 , https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/962102
- Description: The photocatalytic performance of a number of nonmetal and metal codoped TiO2 for the degradation of eosin yellow under simulated solar radiation was investigated. The synthesised materials were characterised by FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, XRD, DRUV-Vis, SEM, and TEM.The N, metal codoped TiO2 containing 0.5 wt.% of the metal consisted mainly of the anatase phase, with a particle size range of 15–28 nm. The particles were largely spherical and shifted the absorption edge well into the visible region. Band gap reduction was more pronounced for the N, PGM codoped TiO2 compared to N, base metal codoped samples. Codoping led to an enhancement in the photocatalytic activity of the materials for the degradation of eosin yellow. N, Pd codoped TiO2 was the most effective photocatalyst (99.9% dye removal) while N, Cu codoped TiO2 showed the least activity (25.5% removal). The mechanism for the photocatalytic enhancement was proposed on the basis of formation of an electron deficient Schottky barrier at the semiconductor-metal interface, which acts as an electron sink and thus retards electron-hole recombination. It was shown that the ability of the photocatalyst to degrade the dye depends on the nature and type of the metal dopant in the codoped TiO2 system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Comparison of fluorophore and peroxidase labeled aptamer assays for MUC1 detection in cancer cells
- Flanagan, Shane, Limson, Janice, Fogel, Ronen
- Authors: Flanagan, Shane , Limson, Janice , Fogel, Ronen
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/431076 , vital:72742 , xlink:href="10.1109/BioCAS.2014.6981720"
- Description: Aptamers hold great promise for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Several biosensors incorporate aptamers as biorecognition elements for tumor markers although few evaluate their detection in a native conformation and cellular micro-environment. In this study, fluorophore and peroxidase labeled aptamer configurations were compared for the detection of MCF7 breast and SW620 colon cancer cell lines expressing the tumor marker MUC1. Fluorescence based detection showed selective binding to the cell lines relative to a nonbinding control sequence with sequence specific binding differences between MUC1 aptamers accredited to variation in the glycosylation state of expressed MUC1. The peroxidase labeled assay showed high detection sensitivity although low binding specificity was observed for the MUC1 aptamers to the cell lines. Results suggest that aptamers susceptible to non specific binding to cells may limit the applicability of enzymatic amplification to improve aptasensor sensitivity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Flanagan, Shane , Limson, Janice , Fogel, Ronen
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/431076 , vital:72742 , xlink:href="10.1109/BioCAS.2014.6981720"
- Description: Aptamers hold great promise for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Several biosensors incorporate aptamers as biorecognition elements for tumor markers although few evaluate their detection in a native conformation and cellular micro-environment. In this study, fluorophore and peroxidase labeled aptamer configurations were compared for the detection of MCF7 breast and SW620 colon cancer cell lines expressing the tumor marker MUC1. Fluorescence based detection showed selective binding to the cell lines relative to a nonbinding control sequence with sequence specific binding differences between MUC1 aptamers accredited to variation in the glycosylation state of expressed MUC1. The peroxidase labeled assay showed high detection sensitivity although low binding specificity was observed for the MUC1 aptamers to the cell lines. Results suggest that aptamers susceptible to non specific binding to cells may limit the applicability of enzymatic amplification to improve aptasensor sensitivity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Comparison of the biology of geographically distinct populations of the citrus pest, Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick)(Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)
- Opoku-Debrah, John K, Hill, Martin P, Knox, Caroline M, Moore, Sean D
- Authors: Opoku-Debrah, John K , Hill, Martin P , Knox, Caroline M , Moore, Sean D
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/405769 , vital:70204 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC160246"
- Description: Baculovirus biopesticides are an important component of integrated pest management programmes worldwide. One such example is the Cryptophlebia leucotreta granulovirus (CrleGV) which is used for the control of false codling moth, Thaumatotibia (= Cryptophlebia) leucotreta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), a pest of citrus and other crops in South Africa. A potential problem associated with constant application of viral biopesticides is the differing susceptibility to the virus observed between different geographic populations of the insect host. This could be related to a number of factors, including biological performance and fitness of the target insect population. This study compared a variety of phenotypic traits between geographically distinct T. leucotreta populations collected from the Addo, Marble Hall, Citrusdal and Nelspruit regions of South Africa, and reared under laboratory conditions for several generations. Traits including pupal mass, female fecundity, egg hatch, pupal survival, adult eclosion and developmental time were used as parameters to measure biological performance and fitness. Insects from the Citrusdal region of the Western Cape exhibited significantly lower pupal mass, female fecundity, egg hatch, pupal survival, adult eclosion and the longest duration in larval and pupal development compared to the other colonies investigated. This is the first study to report differences in the performance of laboratory reared T. leucotreta from different geographic locations, and the findings may have important implications for the application of viral biopesticides for the control of this pest in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Opoku-Debrah, John K , Hill, Martin P , Knox, Caroline M , Moore, Sean D
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/405769 , vital:70204 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC160246"
- Description: Baculovirus biopesticides are an important component of integrated pest management programmes worldwide. One such example is the Cryptophlebia leucotreta granulovirus (CrleGV) which is used for the control of false codling moth, Thaumatotibia (= Cryptophlebia) leucotreta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), a pest of citrus and other crops in South Africa. A potential problem associated with constant application of viral biopesticides is the differing susceptibility to the virus observed between different geographic populations of the insect host. This could be related to a number of factors, including biological performance and fitness of the target insect population. This study compared a variety of phenotypic traits between geographically distinct T. leucotreta populations collected from the Addo, Marble Hall, Citrusdal and Nelspruit regions of South Africa, and reared under laboratory conditions for several generations. Traits including pupal mass, female fecundity, egg hatch, pupal survival, adult eclosion and developmental time were used as parameters to measure biological performance and fitness. Insects from the Citrusdal region of the Western Cape exhibited significantly lower pupal mass, female fecundity, egg hatch, pupal survival, adult eclosion and the longest duration in larval and pupal development compared to the other colonies investigated. This is the first study to report differences in the performance of laboratory reared T. leucotreta from different geographic locations, and the findings may have important implications for the application of viral biopesticides for the control of this pest in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Comparison of the population growth potential of South African loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) sea turtles
- Authors: Tucek, Jenny Bianka
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Sea turtles -- Population viability analysis -- South Africa , Migratory animals -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5032 , vital:20793
- Description: A beach conservation programme protecting nesting loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) sea turtles in South Africa was started in 1963. As initial numbers of nesting females were low for both species (107 loggerheads and 24 leatherbacks) it was proposed that the protection of eggs, hatchlings and nesting females along the nesting beach would induce population growth and prohibit local extinction. Today, 50 years later, the loggerhead population exceeds 650 females per annum, whereas the leatherback population counts about 65 nesting females per year. The trend for leatherback turtles is that the population has been stable for about 30 years whereas loggerheads are increasing exponentially. Thus, this thesis investigated several life-history traits to explain the differing responses to the ongoing beach conservation programme. Reproductive output and success were assessed for both species; it was hypothesised that environmental conditions are sub-optimal for leatherback turtles to reproduce successfully. It was ascertained that nesting loggerhead females deposit larger clutches than leatherbacks (112 ± SD 20 eggs and 100 ± SD 23 eggs, respectively), but that annual reproductive output per individual leatherback female exceeds that of loggerhead turtles (±700 eggs and ±448 eggs, respectively) because they exhibit a higher intra-seasonal nesting frequency (leatherbacks n = 7 and loggerheads n = 4 from Nel et al. 2013). Emergence success (i.e. the percentage of hatchlings produced) per nest was similar for both species (loggerhead 73.6 ± SD 27.68 % and leatherback turtles 73.8 ± SD 22.70 %), but as loggerhead turtles nest in greater numbers, i.e. producing more hatchlings per year, the absolute population growth potential favours the loggerhead turtle. The second factor investigated was sex ratio because sea turtles display temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) where extreme incubation temperatures can skew the sex ratio (i.e. feminising or masculinising a clutch). It was suspected that leatherback turtles are male-biased as this is the southern-most rookery (for both species). Further, leatherback nests are generally closer to the high tide mark, which might induce a cooling effect. Standard histological techniques were applied to sex hatchlings and a generalized linear model (GLM) was used to approximate annual sex ratio. Loggerhead sex ratio (2009 - 2011) was estimated at 86.9 ± SE 0.35 % female-biased; however, sufficient replication for the leatherback population was only obtained for season 2010, which indicated a 97.1 % (95 % CI 93.3 - 98.7) female bias. Both species are, thus, highly female-biased, and current sex ratio for leatherback turtles is not prohibiting population growth. Current sex ratios, however, are not necessarily indicative of sex ratios in the past which would have induced present population growth. Thus, to account for present population growth profiles, sex ratios from the past needed to be ascertained. Annual sex ratios (1997 - 2011) were modelled from historical air and sea surface temperatures (SSTs) but no significant change over time was obtained for either loggerhead or leatherback turtles (linear regression; p ≥ 0.45). The average sex ratio over this 15-year period for the South African loggerhead turtle was approximated at 77.1 ± SE 3.36 % female-biased, whereas leatherbacks exhibited a 99.5 ± SE 0.24 % female bias. Re-analysing data from the mid-80s by Maxwell et al. (1988) also indicated a 77.4 % female bias for the South African loggerhead population. It is, therefore, highly likely that sex ratios of the South African loggerhead and leatherback sea turtle populations have been stable for at least three decades and are not accountable for the differing population growth profiles as they are displayed today. Another possibility that could explain the opposed population growth profiles is the time taken for animals to replace themselves, i.e. age at maturity. It was suspected that age at maturity for the South African loggerhead turtle is comparable with that for leatherbacks. Using data from a 30-year mutilation tagging experiment (i.e. notching), age at first reproduction for South African loggerhead females was estimated. Results ranged broadly but a mean of 36.2 ± SD 7.71 years was obtained using a Gaussian distribution. Age at reproduction of the South African leatherback turtle was not determined but the literature suggests a much younger age of 13.3 - 26.8 years (Zug & Parham 1996, Dutton et al. 2005, Avens et al. 2009, Jones et al. 2011). Therefore, population growth would favour leatherback turtles as they exhibit a much shorter generation time. Finally, it was concluded that all life-history parameters investigated favour leatherback turtles, yet loggerheads are displaying population growth. However, as there were no obvious constraints to population growth on the nesting beach, it is suspected that population growth of the South African leatherback turtle is either unobserved (due to inadequate monitoring not capturing sufficient numbers of nesting events to establish a trend) or that population growth is prohibited by some offshore factor such as industrial fisheries (or some other driver not yet identified). Monitoring should, thus, be expanded and offshore mortality monitored as the leatherback population nesting in South Africa is still critically endangered with nesting numbers dangerously low.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Tucek, Jenny Bianka
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Sea turtles -- Population viability analysis -- South Africa , Migratory animals -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5032 , vital:20793
- Description: A beach conservation programme protecting nesting loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) sea turtles in South Africa was started in 1963. As initial numbers of nesting females were low for both species (107 loggerheads and 24 leatherbacks) it was proposed that the protection of eggs, hatchlings and nesting females along the nesting beach would induce population growth and prohibit local extinction. Today, 50 years later, the loggerhead population exceeds 650 females per annum, whereas the leatherback population counts about 65 nesting females per year. The trend for leatherback turtles is that the population has been stable for about 30 years whereas loggerheads are increasing exponentially. Thus, this thesis investigated several life-history traits to explain the differing responses to the ongoing beach conservation programme. Reproductive output and success were assessed for both species; it was hypothesised that environmental conditions are sub-optimal for leatherback turtles to reproduce successfully. It was ascertained that nesting loggerhead females deposit larger clutches than leatherbacks (112 ± SD 20 eggs and 100 ± SD 23 eggs, respectively), but that annual reproductive output per individual leatherback female exceeds that of loggerhead turtles (±700 eggs and ±448 eggs, respectively) because they exhibit a higher intra-seasonal nesting frequency (leatherbacks n = 7 and loggerheads n = 4 from Nel et al. 2013). Emergence success (i.e. the percentage of hatchlings produced) per nest was similar for both species (loggerhead 73.6 ± SD 27.68 % and leatherback turtles 73.8 ± SD 22.70 %), but as loggerhead turtles nest in greater numbers, i.e. producing more hatchlings per year, the absolute population growth potential favours the loggerhead turtle. The second factor investigated was sex ratio because sea turtles display temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) where extreme incubation temperatures can skew the sex ratio (i.e. feminising or masculinising a clutch). It was suspected that leatherback turtles are male-biased as this is the southern-most rookery (for both species). Further, leatherback nests are generally closer to the high tide mark, which might induce a cooling effect. Standard histological techniques were applied to sex hatchlings and a generalized linear model (GLM) was used to approximate annual sex ratio. Loggerhead sex ratio (2009 - 2011) was estimated at 86.9 ± SE 0.35 % female-biased; however, sufficient replication for the leatherback population was only obtained for season 2010, which indicated a 97.1 % (95 % CI 93.3 - 98.7) female bias. Both species are, thus, highly female-biased, and current sex ratio for leatherback turtles is not prohibiting population growth. Current sex ratios, however, are not necessarily indicative of sex ratios in the past which would have induced present population growth. Thus, to account for present population growth profiles, sex ratios from the past needed to be ascertained. Annual sex ratios (1997 - 2011) were modelled from historical air and sea surface temperatures (SSTs) but no significant change over time was obtained for either loggerhead or leatherback turtles (linear regression; p ≥ 0.45). The average sex ratio over this 15-year period for the South African loggerhead turtle was approximated at 77.1 ± SE 3.36 % female-biased, whereas leatherbacks exhibited a 99.5 ± SE 0.24 % female bias. Re-analysing data from the mid-80s by Maxwell et al. (1988) also indicated a 77.4 % female bias for the South African loggerhead population. It is, therefore, highly likely that sex ratios of the South African loggerhead and leatherback sea turtle populations have been stable for at least three decades and are not accountable for the differing population growth profiles as they are displayed today. Another possibility that could explain the opposed population growth profiles is the time taken for animals to replace themselves, i.e. age at maturity. It was suspected that age at maturity for the South African loggerhead turtle is comparable with that for leatherbacks. Using data from a 30-year mutilation tagging experiment (i.e. notching), age at first reproduction for South African loggerhead females was estimated. Results ranged broadly but a mean of 36.2 ± SD 7.71 years was obtained using a Gaussian distribution. Age at reproduction of the South African leatherback turtle was not determined but the literature suggests a much younger age of 13.3 - 26.8 years (Zug & Parham 1996, Dutton et al. 2005, Avens et al. 2009, Jones et al. 2011). Therefore, population growth would favour leatherback turtles as they exhibit a much shorter generation time. Finally, it was concluded that all life-history parameters investigated favour leatherback turtles, yet loggerheads are displaying population growth. However, as there were no obvious constraints to population growth on the nesting beach, it is suspected that population growth of the South African leatherback turtle is either unobserved (due to inadequate monitoring not capturing sufficient numbers of nesting events to establish a trend) or that population growth is prohibited by some offshore factor such as industrial fisheries (or some other driver not yet identified). Monitoring should, thus, be expanded and offshore mortality monitored as the leatherback population nesting in South Africa is still critically endangered with nesting numbers dangerously low.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Competition between two aquatic macrophytes, Lagarosiphon major (Ridley) Moss (Hydrocharitaceae) and Myriophyllum spicatum Linnaeus (Haloragaceae) as influenced by substrate sediment and nutrients
- Martin, Grant D, Coetzee, Julie A
- Authors: Martin, Grant D , Coetzee, Julie A
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76925 , vital:30641 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2013.11.001
- Description: Competition between two globally economic and ecologically important submerged aquatic macrophytes, Lagarosiphon major (Rid.) Moss ex Wager and Myriophyllum spicatum L., was studied in response to growing in different substrate nutrient and sediment treatments. Addition series experiments were conducted with mixed plantings of L. major and M. spicatum grown under two soil nutrient concentrations (high vs. low) and two sediment treatments (sand vs. loam). Competitive ability of the plants was determined using an inverse linear model of the total dry weights as the yield variable. In high nutrient sediment treatments, L. major was the stronger competitor relative to M. spicatum, with one L. major plant being competitively equivalent to 2.5 M. spicatum plants in terms of their respective ability to reduce L. major biomass. In the loam sediment treatments, L. major was an even stronger competitor relative to M. spicatum with one L. major being equivalent to 10 M. spicatum plants. Additionally, L. major had a faster relative growth rate (RGR) than M. spicatum when grown in mixed cultures, a loam sediment type and at both high and low planting densities. The results indicated that L. major is a superior competitor to M. spicatum and that both nutrient and sediment conditions significantly affect the competitive ability of both species. The results contribute to the understanding of competition between submerged invasive macrophytes, and provide insight into the establishment and spread of invasive submerged macrophytes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Martin, Grant D , Coetzee, Julie A
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76925 , vital:30641 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2013.11.001
- Description: Competition between two globally economic and ecologically important submerged aquatic macrophytes, Lagarosiphon major (Rid.) Moss ex Wager and Myriophyllum spicatum L., was studied in response to growing in different substrate nutrient and sediment treatments. Addition series experiments were conducted with mixed plantings of L. major and M. spicatum grown under two soil nutrient concentrations (high vs. low) and two sediment treatments (sand vs. loam). Competitive ability of the plants was determined using an inverse linear model of the total dry weights as the yield variable. In high nutrient sediment treatments, L. major was the stronger competitor relative to M. spicatum, with one L. major plant being competitively equivalent to 2.5 M. spicatum plants in terms of their respective ability to reduce L. major biomass. In the loam sediment treatments, L. major was an even stronger competitor relative to M. spicatum with one L. major being equivalent to 10 M. spicatum plants. Additionally, L. major had a faster relative growth rate (RGR) than M. spicatum when grown in mixed cultures, a loam sediment type and at both high and low planting densities. The results indicated that L. major is a superior competitor to M. spicatum and that both nutrient and sediment conditions significantly affect the competitive ability of both species. The results contribute to the understanding of competition between submerged invasive macrophytes, and provide insight into the establishment and spread of invasive submerged macrophytes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Computational studies, synthesis and characterization of ruthenium (ii) anticancer complexes
- Authors: Adeniyi, Adebayo Azeez
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Chemistry)
- Identifier: vital:11338 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1015577
- Description: This thesis is centred on the application of Ru-based complexes as a promising alternative to cis-platin in cancer chemotherapy. Cis-platin is known to be the most prescribed chemotherapy which has more than 70% application in cancer cases especially the testicular cancer. An insight is provided in Chapter One and Two into the literatures reports on the application of Ru(II)-based complexes in cancer chemotherapy. In order to address some of the pressing challenges in rational design of Ru-based anticancer complexes, section 3.3 and 3.4 deal with efforts to elucidate the complication of their chemistry and instability while in section 3.5 efforts are made to find solution to the lack of proper knowledge of their targets using different theoretical approaches as presented in Chapter Three. In addition to the theoretical study, this thesis also comprises of the synthesis of the bis-pyrazole derivatives type of ligands and the derivatives of their Ru(II)-based complexes as provided in Chapter Four and Five respectively. Also the computational methods were used to elucidate the structural and spectroscopic properties of the synthesised ligands and their Ru(II)-based complexes. The geometrical and electronic properties are studied in relation to the stability and the reported anticancer activities of Ru(II)-based complexes in section 3.3. In subsection 3.3.1, several quantum properties including the natural energy decomposition analysis (NEDA) and quantum theory of atoms in a molecule (QTAIM) are computed on three models of RAPTA-C complexes using DFT with hybrid functional and basis set with ECP and without ECP. The higher stability of Carbo-RAPTA-C and Oxalo-RAPTA-C over RAPTA-C comes from the lower exchange repulsion and higher polarization contributions to their stability which gives insight into experimental observation. A similar study was carried out in subsection 3.3.2 on half-sandwich Ru(II)-based anticancer complexes with 6-toluene and 6-trifluorotoluene.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Adeniyi, Adebayo Azeez
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Chemistry)
- Identifier: vital:11338 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1015577
- Description: This thesis is centred on the application of Ru-based complexes as a promising alternative to cis-platin in cancer chemotherapy. Cis-platin is known to be the most prescribed chemotherapy which has more than 70% application in cancer cases especially the testicular cancer. An insight is provided in Chapter One and Two into the literatures reports on the application of Ru(II)-based complexes in cancer chemotherapy. In order to address some of the pressing challenges in rational design of Ru-based anticancer complexes, section 3.3 and 3.4 deal with efforts to elucidate the complication of their chemistry and instability while in section 3.5 efforts are made to find solution to the lack of proper knowledge of their targets using different theoretical approaches as presented in Chapter Three. In addition to the theoretical study, this thesis also comprises of the synthesis of the bis-pyrazole derivatives type of ligands and the derivatives of their Ru(II)-based complexes as provided in Chapter Four and Five respectively. Also the computational methods were used to elucidate the structural and spectroscopic properties of the synthesised ligands and their Ru(II)-based complexes. The geometrical and electronic properties are studied in relation to the stability and the reported anticancer activities of Ru(II)-based complexes in section 3.3. In subsection 3.3.1, several quantum properties including the natural energy decomposition analysis (NEDA) and quantum theory of atoms in a molecule (QTAIM) are computed on three models of RAPTA-C complexes using DFT with hybrid functional and basis set with ECP and without ECP. The higher stability of Carbo-RAPTA-C and Oxalo-RAPTA-C over RAPTA-C comes from the lower exchange repulsion and higher polarization contributions to their stability which gives insight into experimental observation. A similar study was carried out in subsection 3.3.2 on half-sandwich Ru(II)-based anticancer complexes with 6-toluene and 6-trifluorotoluene.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Conflicts in the role of business as a social partner in the South African economy : a study of skills development in the Border-Kei region
- Authors: Delport, Kandi Sue
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Social responsibility of business -- South Africa , Industries -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Conflict management -- South Africa , Occupational training -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Human capital -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Labor laws and legislation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3364 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011784 , Social responsibility of business -- South Africa , Industries -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Conflict management -- South Africa , Occupational training -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Human capital -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Labor laws and legislation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: This thesis analyses conflicts in the role of business as a social partner in the South African economy by studying skills development in the Border-Kei Region. Skills development is a key component of the South African government’s programme of labour market regulation and is founded on a participatory approach. The skills development framework requires the participation and co-operation of multiple social partners but relies heavily on the role of business in the attainment of national and sectoral skills development objectives. Unfortunately, however, there are significant conflicts in the role which business is expected to play which consequently hinder the efficiency of the framework and the likelihood that that these objectives will be realised. One of the most pertinent examples of these conflicts is the voluntary nature of the skills development framework, which incentivises but does not compel organisations to invest in training and development. Other conflicts include dissonances between national and employer led strategies and organisational disincentives to engage in training and development. This qualitative study uses an interpretive approach to study how and to what extent the Skills Development Act is implemented in selected organisations in Buffalo City as well as studying the issues pertaining to the implementation process. By using a purposive sampling approach, this research includes both primary data in the form of semi-structured interviews and secondary data in the form of documentary sources. The data represents the perspectives of business, labour and government and provides significant depth of insight into the discussions and issues surrounding skills development in Buffalo City. This dissertation argues that South Africa’s vocational training system, institutionalised through appropriate legislation, may not be sufficient to mobilise social partners, and of primary concern in this research – business – to invest in skills development. It suggests that extensive reliance on business is an insufficient way in which to upskill the labour market. However, with few alternatives to this approach, it is subsequently essential that business is encouraged to buy into the collective interest of skills development objectives. This primarily entails overcoming the challenges that embody the framework and increasing state emphasis on skills development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Delport, Kandi Sue
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Social responsibility of business -- South Africa , Industries -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Conflict management -- South Africa , Occupational training -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Human capital -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Labor laws and legislation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3364 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011784 , Social responsibility of business -- South Africa , Industries -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Conflict management -- South Africa , Occupational training -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Human capital -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Labor laws and legislation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: This thesis analyses conflicts in the role of business as a social partner in the South African economy by studying skills development in the Border-Kei Region. Skills development is a key component of the South African government’s programme of labour market regulation and is founded on a participatory approach. The skills development framework requires the participation and co-operation of multiple social partners but relies heavily on the role of business in the attainment of national and sectoral skills development objectives. Unfortunately, however, there are significant conflicts in the role which business is expected to play which consequently hinder the efficiency of the framework and the likelihood that that these objectives will be realised. One of the most pertinent examples of these conflicts is the voluntary nature of the skills development framework, which incentivises but does not compel organisations to invest in training and development. Other conflicts include dissonances between national and employer led strategies and organisational disincentives to engage in training and development. This qualitative study uses an interpretive approach to study how and to what extent the Skills Development Act is implemented in selected organisations in Buffalo City as well as studying the issues pertaining to the implementation process. By using a purposive sampling approach, this research includes both primary data in the form of semi-structured interviews and secondary data in the form of documentary sources. The data represents the perspectives of business, labour and government and provides significant depth of insight into the discussions and issues surrounding skills development in Buffalo City. This dissertation argues that South Africa’s vocational training system, institutionalised through appropriate legislation, may not be sufficient to mobilise social partners, and of primary concern in this research – business – to invest in skills development. It suggests that extensive reliance on business is an insufficient way in which to upskill the labour market. However, with few alternatives to this approach, it is subsequently essential that business is encouraged to buy into the collective interest of skills development objectives. This primarily entails overcoming the challenges that embody the framework and increasing state emphasis on skills development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Confronting Afrikaans diction challenges in non-Afrikaans mother tongue choirs
- Authors: Botha, Charlotte
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Choral singing -- Diction , Afrikaans language -- Diction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:8529 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020956
- Description: This study is an initial attempt to identify the most common Afrikaans diction challenges experienced by non-Afrikaans mother tongue speaking choirs, and to explore means of confronting these challenges. No dedicated source exists for choral diction in Afrikaans as a foreign language. This study reviews personal views and literature from various fields that would inform several key elements necessary for the creation of such a source. The primary data for this study was collected through study questionnaires, completed by expert choral conductors who are highly regarded for their success in teaching and performing Afrikaans diction in non-Afrikaans mother tongue speaking choirs, in performance settings such as the ATKV-Applous Choir Competition. Through its proposition of methods for the improvement of Afrikaans diction practices in the non-Afrikaans choral setting, the study promotes the prolific composition of Afrikaans choral literature, and its ubiquitous inclusion in choral repertoire both in South Africa and abroad.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Botha, Charlotte
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Choral singing -- Diction , Afrikaans language -- Diction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:8529 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020956
- Description: This study is an initial attempt to identify the most common Afrikaans diction challenges experienced by non-Afrikaans mother tongue speaking choirs, and to explore means of confronting these challenges. No dedicated source exists for choral diction in Afrikaans as a foreign language. This study reviews personal views and literature from various fields that would inform several key elements necessary for the creation of such a source. The primary data for this study was collected through study questionnaires, completed by expert choral conductors who are highly regarded for their success in teaching and performing Afrikaans diction in non-Afrikaans mother tongue speaking choirs, in performance settings such as the ATKV-Applous Choir Competition. Through its proposition of methods for the improvement of Afrikaans diction practices in the non-Afrikaans choral setting, the study promotes the prolific composition of Afrikaans choral literature, and its ubiquitous inclusion in choral repertoire both in South Africa and abroad.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Conjugates of platinum nanoparticles with gallium tetra–(4-Carboxyphenyl) porphyrin and their use in photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy when in solution or embedded in electrospun fiber
- Managa, Muthumuni, Antunes, Edith M, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Managa, Muthumuni , Antunes, Edith M , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193791 , vital:45396 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poly.2014.03.050"
- Description: The conjugation of Pt nanoparticles with ClGa(III) 5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (ClGaTCPP) showed greater antimicrobial activity against a gram positive and drug resistant bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, than when the porphyrin was used alone. ClGaTCPP and its conjugate with platinum nanoparticle was successfully electrospun into a polystyrene polymer where the diameter ranged from 10 to 22 μm. The conjugates within the fiber still showed activity towards S. aureus.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Managa, Muthumuni , Antunes, Edith M , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193791 , vital:45396 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poly.2014.03.050"
- Description: The conjugation of Pt nanoparticles with ClGa(III) 5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (ClGaTCPP) showed greater antimicrobial activity against a gram positive and drug resistant bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, than when the porphyrin was used alone. ClGaTCPP and its conjugate with platinum nanoparticle was successfully electrospun into a polystyrene polymer where the diameter ranged from 10 to 22 μm. The conjugates within the fiber still showed activity towards S. aureus.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Conjugation of mono-substituted phthalocyanine derivatives to CdSe@ ZnS quantum dots and their applications as fluorescent-based sensors
- Adegoke, Oluwasesan, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Adegoke, Oluwasesan , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/189842 , vital:44936 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.synthmet.2013.11.016"
- Description: Unsymmetrically substituted derivatives of aluminium amino phthalocyanines were synthesized for the first time, fully characterized and conjugated to CdSe@ZnS quantum dots (QDs). The conjugates were employed as fluorescence-based sensors for anion sensing. Among the anions that enhanced the fluorescence of the probe, fluoride ion was chosen as the test ion to test the efficacy of the probe. Förster resonance energy transfer from the QDs to the phthalocyanine was observed as an indication for the fluorescence quenching of the QDs upon binding to the phthalocyanine. The fluorescence of the linked QDs was progressively enhanced, and linearly proportional to increasing concentrations of fluoride ion. The type of substituent attached to the phthalocyanine ring influenced the efficiency of fluorescence enhancement. The proposed nanoprobe has been employed to detect fluoride ion in cell culture medium and tap water.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Adegoke, Oluwasesan , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/189842 , vital:44936 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.synthmet.2013.11.016"
- Description: Unsymmetrically substituted derivatives of aluminium amino phthalocyanines were synthesized for the first time, fully characterized and conjugated to CdSe@ZnS quantum dots (QDs). The conjugates were employed as fluorescence-based sensors for anion sensing. Among the anions that enhanced the fluorescence of the probe, fluoride ion was chosen as the test ion to test the efficacy of the probe. Förster resonance energy transfer from the QDs to the phthalocyanine was observed as an indication for the fluorescence quenching of the QDs upon binding to the phthalocyanine. The fluorescence of the linked QDs was progressively enhanced, and linearly proportional to increasing concentrations of fluoride ion. The type of substituent attached to the phthalocyanine ring influenced the efficiency of fluorescence enhancement. The proposed nanoprobe has been employed to detect fluoride ion in cell culture medium and tap water.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Conscientious objection to performing same-sex marriage in South Africa
- Authors: Kruuse, Helen
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/129186 , vital:36228 , https://doi.org/10.1093/lawfam/ebu001
- Description: This article considers whether public servants should be exempt from South Africa’s equality provisions and anti-discrimination legislation in solemnizing same-sex marriages. In order to deal with this question, the article analyses the treatment of freedom of conscience and conscientious objection by comparing the solemnization of same-sex marriage by public servants, with another public service: that of terminations of pregnancy. While each situation will inevitably turn on the particular circumstances of the case, I argue that there should be a content-neutral guiding principle (as well as consistency) in dealing with these situations. The issue in each situation is narrowed to whether a civil servant’s personal convictions can override the state’s secular obligations in providing a service, and whether there is room for a qualified right to conscientious objection. By analysing the matter in this way, it is clear that the unqualified statutory exemption clause in South Africa’s Civil Union Act is constitutionally objectionable.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Kruuse, Helen
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/129186 , vital:36228 , https://doi.org/10.1093/lawfam/ebu001
- Description: This article considers whether public servants should be exempt from South Africa’s equality provisions and anti-discrimination legislation in solemnizing same-sex marriages. In order to deal with this question, the article analyses the treatment of freedom of conscience and conscientious objection by comparing the solemnization of same-sex marriage by public servants, with another public service: that of terminations of pregnancy. While each situation will inevitably turn on the particular circumstances of the case, I argue that there should be a content-neutral guiding principle (as well as consistency) in dealing with these situations. The issue in each situation is narrowed to whether a civil servant’s personal convictions can override the state’s secular obligations in providing a service, and whether there is room for a qualified right to conscientious objection. By analysing the matter in this way, it is clear that the unqualified statutory exemption clause in South Africa’s Civil Union Act is constitutionally objectionable.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2014
Considerations for implementating market based mechanisms in combating climate change in South Africa
- Authors: Marais, Frans
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Climatic changes -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1093 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012952
- Description: Since the first period of the Kyoto Protocol, there has been a growing concern that the burden of reducing greenhouse gas emissions should not only be borne by developed countries, but developing countries as well. South Africa, as the 18th highest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world and highest in Africa, has a significant responsibility to reduce its emissions levels. The South African government is currently in the process of implementing a carbon tax for its short term response to climate change and considering the implementation of a carbon market as a medium to long term response to climate change. Both of these market based mechanisms are widely deemed effective in the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions by economists, however are also known to have negative social and economic implications upon an economy. This study identifies these implications and attempts to provide considerations on how to alleviate the implications through the most appropriate process of revenue recycling. The negative effects of Implementing a carbon tax or carbon market could be severe as and not limited to: a significant decline in GDP, a reduction in the standard of living for certain households, a fall in a country's exports and even an increase in poverty. South Africa's environmental and development policies place a strict precedence on the protection of the poor and the prevention of economic hardship induced by such policies. This places significant importance on the prevention of these externalities from occurring. A primary means of doing so is through the process of revenue recycling, however, certain channels of revenue recycling are by no means helpful, hence the most appropriate channel needs to be identified. The study carried out a multiple case study analysis on Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and Norway, to determine what effects a carbon tax had on their economies and how these effects were mitigated through carbon tax revenue recycling. An additional analysis of the EU ETS was carried out to determine how the EU ETS was implemented and the controversies and concerns that arose during its implementation. The findings of this analysis were then compared to a number of South African economist’s case studies, and the most appropriate method of revenue recycling identified and possible solutions to the EU ETS controversies found. The study concludes that a food subsidy has the potential to provide positive effects on welfare employment and GDP; therefore could be considered to be the most appropriate method of revenue recycling. However, these effects are limited to be experienced only at low levels of a carbon tax, hence, short term in nature. The study therefore provides a further consideration that the use of multiple channels for revenue recycling needs to be explored that could provide stable longer term effects. In addition, in the implementation of a carbon market, the study concludes that government should consider using an auction approach in the initial allocation phase of an ETS and the use of a centralized registry for monitoring and controlling of information and transactions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Marais, Frans
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Climatic changes -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1093 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012952
- Description: Since the first period of the Kyoto Protocol, there has been a growing concern that the burden of reducing greenhouse gas emissions should not only be borne by developed countries, but developing countries as well. South Africa, as the 18th highest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world and highest in Africa, has a significant responsibility to reduce its emissions levels. The South African government is currently in the process of implementing a carbon tax for its short term response to climate change and considering the implementation of a carbon market as a medium to long term response to climate change. Both of these market based mechanisms are widely deemed effective in the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions by economists, however are also known to have negative social and economic implications upon an economy. This study identifies these implications and attempts to provide considerations on how to alleviate the implications through the most appropriate process of revenue recycling. The negative effects of Implementing a carbon tax or carbon market could be severe as and not limited to: a significant decline in GDP, a reduction in the standard of living for certain households, a fall in a country's exports and even an increase in poverty. South Africa's environmental and development policies place a strict precedence on the protection of the poor and the prevention of economic hardship induced by such policies. This places significant importance on the prevention of these externalities from occurring. A primary means of doing so is through the process of revenue recycling, however, certain channels of revenue recycling are by no means helpful, hence the most appropriate channel needs to be identified. The study carried out a multiple case study analysis on Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and Norway, to determine what effects a carbon tax had on their economies and how these effects were mitigated through carbon tax revenue recycling. An additional analysis of the EU ETS was carried out to determine how the EU ETS was implemented and the controversies and concerns that arose during its implementation. The findings of this analysis were then compared to a number of South African economist’s case studies, and the most appropriate method of revenue recycling identified and possible solutions to the EU ETS controversies found. The study concludes that a food subsidy has the potential to provide positive effects on welfare employment and GDP; therefore could be considered to be the most appropriate method of revenue recycling. However, these effects are limited to be experienced only at low levels of a carbon tax, hence, short term in nature. The study therefore provides a further consideration that the use of multiple channels for revenue recycling needs to be explored that could provide stable longer term effects. In addition, in the implementation of a carbon market, the study concludes that government should consider using an auction approach in the initial allocation phase of an ETS and the use of a centralized registry for monitoring and controlling of information and transactions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014