Towards user experience principles for Electronic Tax in South Africa
- Authors: Mzili, Xolelwa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Electronic filing systems -- South Africa Tax returns -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MIT
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/49529 , vital:41733
- Description: Electronic Tax is a convenient system that enables taxpayers to submit their tax returns electronically, from home or from the office at any time of the day during the tax filing season. However, the electronic tax system has faced challenges over the years and to date. Thus, the reason for this study was to recommend user experience and usability principles for the electronic tax system to enhance the experience of taxpayers when using the electronic tax submission system. These principles contributed to improving the electronic tax system and increasing the adoption of the system among taxpayers who still submit their tax returns, manually. The study firstly described the problem, which forms part of the foundation for this research, namely development, which then led to the research questions and objectives, forming the core for the development of this study. User experience and usability principles are available for an online system, but there are limited studies on these factors regarding the electronic tax system. This study emphasized the importance of applying the user experience and usability principles to the electronic tax system. The various factors that affect the South African electronic tax system as a case study, have also been identified, including those that prompt other taxpayers to file at the SARS branch. As a result, to prove this theory, a questionnaire was sent only to electronic taxpayers to investigate how they perceive the electronic tax system. It can be concluded that the system has both advantages and disadvantages. An advantage is that the electronic tax system enables taxpayers to submit returns online from home or the office, instead of waiting in queues at the SARS branch. Disadvantages include that some taxpayers are concerned that their information is not safe and some encounter error messages and solutions while interacting with the system and these are not in a simple language for them to understand and recover. The user experience and usability principles have been recommended based on the responses obtained from the questionnaire.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Mzili, Xolelwa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Electronic filing systems -- South Africa Tax returns -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MIT
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/49529 , vital:41733
- Description: Electronic Tax is a convenient system that enables taxpayers to submit their tax returns electronically, from home or from the office at any time of the day during the tax filing season. However, the electronic tax system has faced challenges over the years and to date. Thus, the reason for this study was to recommend user experience and usability principles for the electronic tax system to enhance the experience of taxpayers when using the electronic tax submission system. These principles contributed to improving the electronic tax system and increasing the adoption of the system among taxpayers who still submit their tax returns, manually. The study firstly described the problem, which forms part of the foundation for this research, namely development, which then led to the research questions and objectives, forming the core for the development of this study. User experience and usability principles are available for an online system, but there are limited studies on these factors regarding the electronic tax system. This study emphasized the importance of applying the user experience and usability principles to the electronic tax system. The various factors that affect the South African electronic tax system as a case study, have also been identified, including those that prompt other taxpayers to file at the SARS branch. As a result, to prove this theory, a questionnaire was sent only to electronic taxpayers to investigate how they perceive the electronic tax system. It can be concluded that the system has both advantages and disadvantages. An advantage is that the electronic tax system enables taxpayers to submit returns online from home or the office, instead of waiting in queues at the SARS branch. Disadvantages include that some taxpayers are concerned that their information is not safe and some encounter error messages and solutions while interacting with the system and these are not in a simple language for them to understand and recover. The user experience and usability principles have been recommended based on the responses obtained from the questionnaire.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Tracing the Voice of Protest in Selected Oral Literature:
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/174452 , vital:42479 , ISBN 9783030555177
- Description: This chapter aims to present the notion of “protest” as a contested arena in the production of oral literature, against the backdrop of continued and contested sociopolitical change in Africa. This contestation can be politically based, gender based and sometimes even based in religion. The chapter looks specifically at poetry, songs and the folktale to establish how the “voice of protest” has been presented over time in relation to specific African countries such as Senegal, South Africa, Somali, Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. Poetic protest as part of political protest is also discussed. Furthermore, the chapter seeks to explore how this “voice of protest” has been received, both from an audience point of view and from the point of view of those who control power.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/174452 , vital:42479 , ISBN 9783030555177
- Description: This chapter aims to present the notion of “protest” as a contested arena in the production of oral literature, against the backdrop of continued and contested sociopolitical change in Africa. This contestation can be politically based, gender based and sometimes even based in religion. The chapter looks specifically at poetry, songs and the folktale to establish how the “voice of protest” has been presented over time in relation to specific African countries such as Senegal, South Africa, Somali, Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. Poetic protest as part of political protest is also discussed. Furthermore, the chapter seeks to explore how this “voice of protest” has been received, both from an audience point of view and from the point of view of those who control power.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Traditional Dealerships’ Operational Capacity to Sell Electric Vehicles
- Authors: Knoetze, Alicia Jo-mari
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Electric vehicle industry Automobile industry and trade
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/48686 , vital:41059
- Description: The global automotive industry faces an emerging turning point where an unceasing dependence on costly fossil fuels and a growing concern over global warming is driving the industry to form new possibilities. A major challenge for decision makers is to assure that the consumer market is informed about both the advantages and disadvantageous of electric vehicle technology. A significant amount of research has been done on both the operational ability of electric vehicles and consumer resistance and preferences towards new technology and the marketing of electric vehicles. Given the retail relationship between key industry stakeholders such as the Original Equipment Manufacturers, franchised dealership network and potential electric vehicle consumers, the transition towards new electric vehicle technology represents an important strategic realignment for dealerships in order to sell electric vehicles along with traditional internal combustion engine vehicles and questions their operational capacity to do so successfully. The primary data was collected from a sample of forty respondents by means of an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed from literature and using similar extracts from other electric vehicle consumer resistance studies questionnaires. An email containing a Universal Resource Link (URL) to the questionnaire was sent and by means of snowball sampling, a representative sample of forty-eight respondents participated in the study who fully completed all the sections of the questionnaire. Interviews were conducted with Senior Management of local dealerships in the Port Elizabeth area. The interviews were executed in the same method as a ‘walk-in’ potential customer. Participation therefore was based on the willingness, readiness and availability of management. Three dealerships who already sell electric vehicles as well as two dealership who still only sell traditional internal combustion engine vehicles participated in the interviews. In addition, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) commented on the strategic realignment of the South African industry as a whole. The results indicated that the majority of respondents believed that electric vehicles were a suitable alternative to the traditional internal combustion engine vehicle and were willing to personally contribute to improved sustainable mobility. Uncertainty remained with consumers and there was unwillingness to purchase and electric vehicle within the next five years. Electric vehicles were also believed to perform better but there was uncertainty about the return that would be achieved from investment in an electric vehicle despite the reduction in their carbon footprint and the associated image boost with family and colleagues. Furthermore, there appeared to be an alignment amongst the interviewees that South Africa does not face and immediate threat in terms of electric vehicles as the anticipated tipping point is envisaged to be in the region of 2030 onwards, however NADA as a professional industry body still warns that this is not a set point in time and that market forces could change the outlook and adaption dramatically.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Knoetze, Alicia Jo-mari
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Electric vehicle industry Automobile industry and trade
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/48686 , vital:41059
- Description: The global automotive industry faces an emerging turning point where an unceasing dependence on costly fossil fuels and a growing concern over global warming is driving the industry to form new possibilities. A major challenge for decision makers is to assure that the consumer market is informed about both the advantages and disadvantageous of electric vehicle technology. A significant amount of research has been done on both the operational ability of electric vehicles and consumer resistance and preferences towards new technology and the marketing of electric vehicles. Given the retail relationship between key industry stakeholders such as the Original Equipment Manufacturers, franchised dealership network and potential electric vehicle consumers, the transition towards new electric vehicle technology represents an important strategic realignment for dealerships in order to sell electric vehicles along with traditional internal combustion engine vehicles and questions their operational capacity to do so successfully. The primary data was collected from a sample of forty respondents by means of an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed from literature and using similar extracts from other electric vehicle consumer resistance studies questionnaires. An email containing a Universal Resource Link (URL) to the questionnaire was sent and by means of snowball sampling, a representative sample of forty-eight respondents participated in the study who fully completed all the sections of the questionnaire. Interviews were conducted with Senior Management of local dealerships in the Port Elizabeth area. The interviews were executed in the same method as a ‘walk-in’ potential customer. Participation therefore was based on the willingness, readiness and availability of management. Three dealerships who already sell electric vehicles as well as two dealership who still only sell traditional internal combustion engine vehicles participated in the interviews. In addition, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) commented on the strategic realignment of the South African industry as a whole. The results indicated that the majority of respondents believed that electric vehicles were a suitable alternative to the traditional internal combustion engine vehicle and were willing to personally contribute to improved sustainable mobility. Uncertainty remained with consumers and there was unwillingness to purchase and electric vehicle within the next five years. Electric vehicles were also believed to perform better but there was uncertainty about the return that would be achieved from investment in an electric vehicle despite the reduction in their carbon footprint and the associated image boost with family and colleagues. Furthermore, there appeared to be an alignment amongst the interviewees that South Africa does not face and immediate threat in terms of electric vehicles as the anticipated tipping point is envisaged to be in the region of 2030 onwards, however NADA as a professional industry body still warns that this is not a set point in time and that market forces could change the outlook and adaption dramatically.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Transformative ICT education practices in rural secondary schools for developmental needs and realities: the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
- Authors: Simuja, Clement
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Education, Secondary -- South Africa -- Data processing , Information technology -- Study and teaching (Secondary) --South Africa , Educational technology -- Developing countries , Rural development -- Developing countries , Computer-assisted instruction -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Internet in education -- South Africa , Rural schools -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Community and school -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/150631 , vital:38991
- Description: The perceived social development significance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has dramatically expanded the domains in which this cluster of ICTs is being discussed and acted upon. The action to promote community development in rural areas in South Africa has made its way into the introduction of ICT education in secondary schools. Since rural secondary schools form part of the framework for rural communities, they are being challenged to provide ICT education that makes a difference in learners’ lives. This requires engaging education practices that inspire learners to construct knowledge of ICT that does not only respond to examination purposes but rather, to the needs and development aspirations of the community. This research examines the experience of engaging learners and communities in socially informed ICT education in rural secondary schools. Specifically, it seeks to develop a critique of current practices involved in ICT education in rural secondary schools, and explores plausible alternatives to such practices that would make ICT education more transformative and structured towards the developmental concerns of communities. The main empirical focus for the research was five rural secondary schools in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The research involved 53 participants that participated in a socially informed ICT training process. The training was designed to inspire participants to share their self-defined ICT education and ICT knowledge experiences. Critical Action Learning and Philosophical Inquiry provided the methodological framework, whilst the theoretical framework draws on Foucault’s philosophical ideas on power-knowledge relations. Through this theoretical analysis, the research examines the dynamic interplay of practices in ICT education with the values, ideals, and knowledge that form the core-life experiences of learners and rural communities. The research findings of this study indicate that current ICT education practices in rural secondary schools are endowed with ideologies that are affecting learners’ identity, social experiences, power, and ownership of the reflective meaning of using ICTs in community development. The contribution of this thesis lies in demonstrating ways that reframe ICT education transformatively, and more specifically its practices in the light of the way power, identity, ownership and social experience construct and offer learners a transformative view of self and the world. This could enable ICT education to fulfil the potential of contributing to social development in rural communities. The thesis culminates by presenting a theoretical framework that articulates the structural and authoritative components of ICT education practices – these relate to learners’ conscious understandings and represented thoughts, sensations and meanings embedded in the context, and actions and locations of using their knowledge of ICT.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Simuja, Clement
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Education, Secondary -- South Africa -- Data processing , Information technology -- Study and teaching (Secondary) --South Africa , Educational technology -- Developing countries , Rural development -- Developing countries , Computer-assisted instruction -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Internet in education -- South Africa , Rural schools -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Community and school -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/150631 , vital:38991
- Description: The perceived social development significance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has dramatically expanded the domains in which this cluster of ICTs is being discussed and acted upon. The action to promote community development in rural areas in South Africa has made its way into the introduction of ICT education in secondary schools. Since rural secondary schools form part of the framework for rural communities, they are being challenged to provide ICT education that makes a difference in learners’ lives. This requires engaging education practices that inspire learners to construct knowledge of ICT that does not only respond to examination purposes but rather, to the needs and development aspirations of the community. This research examines the experience of engaging learners and communities in socially informed ICT education in rural secondary schools. Specifically, it seeks to develop a critique of current practices involved in ICT education in rural secondary schools, and explores plausible alternatives to such practices that would make ICT education more transformative and structured towards the developmental concerns of communities. The main empirical focus for the research was five rural secondary schools in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The research involved 53 participants that participated in a socially informed ICT training process. The training was designed to inspire participants to share their self-defined ICT education and ICT knowledge experiences. Critical Action Learning and Philosophical Inquiry provided the methodological framework, whilst the theoretical framework draws on Foucault’s philosophical ideas on power-knowledge relations. Through this theoretical analysis, the research examines the dynamic interplay of practices in ICT education with the values, ideals, and knowledge that form the core-life experiences of learners and rural communities. The research findings of this study indicate that current ICT education practices in rural secondary schools are endowed with ideologies that are affecting learners’ identity, social experiences, power, and ownership of the reflective meaning of using ICTs in community development. The contribution of this thesis lies in demonstrating ways that reframe ICT education transformatively, and more specifically its practices in the light of the way power, identity, ownership and social experience construct and offer learners a transformative view of self and the world. This could enable ICT education to fulfil the potential of contributing to social development in rural communities. The thesis culminates by presenting a theoretical framework that articulates the structural and authoritative components of ICT education practices – these relate to learners’ conscious understandings and represented thoughts, sensations and meanings embedded in the context, and actions and locations of using their knowledge of ICT.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Transformative Power of Language Policies in Higher Education:
- Kaschula, Russell H, Docrat, Zakeera
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Docrat, Zakeera
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/174502 , vital:42483 , ISBN 9781108498821
- Description: There is a disjuncture between the intentions of the South African constitutional provisions as contained in Section 6, which prescribe that all eleven official languages be treated equitably, and what is happening on the ground at the institutions of higher learning. In these institutions, English remains the primary language of instruction. African languages are encouraged as support languages in certain instances, but no institution has an African language as a medium of instruction (see for example the Rhodes Language Policy, 2019). This chapter calls into question the use of language and argues for purposive interpretation and practical implementation of the constitutional provisions on language. A proper and linguistically sound understanding of multilingualism as a developmental resource–educational, legal and societal–needs to emerge (Wolff, 2016). The constitutional aspects are explicated in the legislative and policy frameworks discussed in this chapter.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Docrat, Zakeera
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/174502 , vital:42483 , ISBN 9781108498821
- Description: There is a disjuncture between the intentions of the South African constitutional provisions as contained in Section 6, which prescribe that all eleven official languages be treated equitably, and what is happening on the ground at the institutions of higher learning. In these institutions, English remains the primary language of instruction. African languages are encouraged as support languages in certain instances, but no institution has an African language as a medium of instruction (see for example the Rhodes Language Policy, 2019). This chapter calls into question the use of language and argues for purposive interpretation and practical implementation of the constitutional provisions on language. A proper and linguistically sound understanding of multilingualism as a developmental resource–educational, legal and societal–needs to emerge (Wolff, 2016). The constitutional aspects are explicated in the legislative and policy frameworks discussed in this chapter.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Transforming environmental health practitioners’ knowledge-sharing practices through inter-agency formative intervention workshops
- Masilela, Priscilla, Olvitt, Lausanne L
- Authors: Masilela, Priscilla , Olvitt, Lausanne L
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/372809 , vital:66624 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037X.2020.1717458"
- Description: Home-based care facilities provide basic healthcare services to people too sick or frail to access formal clinics and hospitals. These facilities produce ‘healthcare risk waste’ which must be managed responsibly, and it is the work of Environmental Health Practitioners working within municipalities to ensure that the waste produced by home-based care facilities is managed in line with legislation. This paper presents a case study of a twenty-seven-month expansive learning intervention in a South African municipality that sought to transform its healthcare risk waste management practices. Limited knowledge and inadequate knowledge-sharing practices were identified as the main hindrances to effective waste management. The practitioner-researcher facilitated a series of inter-agency, formative intervention workshops with municipal employees and Community Health Workers using the Developmental Work Research methodology. These workshops strengthened both groups of practitioners’ knowledge of the ‘who, how, what, why and when’ that underpins effective healthcare risk waste management, and enabled ‘boundary crossing’ for practitioners to work across their specialist areas towards co-defining and analysing problems and constructing new solutions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Masilela, Priscilla , Olvitt, Lausanne L
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/372809 , vital:66624 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037X.2020.1717458"
- Description: Home-based care facilities provide basic healthcare services to people too sick or frail to access formal clinics and hospitals. These facilities produce ‘healthcare risk waste’ which must be managed responsibly, and it is the work of Environmental Health Practitioners working within municipalities to ensure that the waste produced by home-based care facilities is managed in line with legislation. This paper presents a case study of a twenty-seven-month expansive learning intervention in a South African municipality that sought to transform its healthcare risk waste management practices. Limited knowledge and inadequate knowledge-sharing practices were identified as the main hindrances to effective waste management. The practitioner-researcher facilitated a series of inter-agency, formative intervention workshops with municipal employees and Community Health Workers using the Developmental Work Research methodology. These workshops strengthened both groups of practitioners’ knowledge of the ‘who, how, what, why and when’ that underpins effective healthcare risk waste management, and enabled ‘boundary crossing’ for practitioners to work across their specialist areas towards co-defining and analysing problems and constructing new solutions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Transitions from rural contexts to and through higher education in South Africa: negotiating misrecognition
- Mgqwashu, Emmanuel M, Timmis, Sue, de Wet, Thea, Madondo, Nkosinathi Emmanuel
- Authors: Mgqwashu, Emmanuel M , Timmis, Sue , de Wet, Thea , Madondo, Nkosinathi Emmanuel
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/148435 , vital:38739 , DOI:10.1080/03057925.2020.1763165
- Description: This paper reports on an international collaborative study that investigated how students from rural contexts negotiate the transition to university, and how prior cultural and educational experiences influence their higher education trajectories. A qualitative, participatory methodology was adopted, centred on co-researcher narratives, digital artefacts and discussions. Findings demonstrate how family and community, including religious, study, and self-help groups, influenced their transitions into higher education and journey through university and to their identities, agency and sense of belonging. The paper argues that university practices, values and norms need to acknowledge and incorporate all students’ prior experiences and histories and recognise their powerful contribution in working towards a decolonial higher education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Mgqwashu, Emmanuel M , Timmis, Sue , de Wet, Thea , Madondo, Nkosinathi Emmanuel
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/148435 , vital:38739 , DOI:10.1080/03057925.2020.1763165
- Description: This paper reports on an international collaborative study that investigated how students from rural contexts negotiate the transition to university, and how prior cultural and educational experiences influence their higher education trajectories. A qualitative, participatory methodology was adopted, centred on co-researcher narratives, digital artefacts and discussions. Findings demonstrate how family and community, including religious, study, and self-help groups, influenced their transitions into higher education and journey through university and to their identities, agency and sense of belonging. The paper argues that university practices, values and norms need to acknowledge and incorporate all students’ prior experiences and histories and recognise their powerful contribution in working towards a decolonial higher education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Transnational Crime in Deon Meyer’s Devil’s Peak and Santiago Gamboa’s Night Prayers:
- Authors: Naidu, Samantha
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163881 , vital:41077 , ISBN 9783030534134 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1007/978-3-030-53413-4_2
- Description: Naidu argues that transnational crime wreaks havoc on global, national and personal levels in the postcolonial crime novels Devil’s Peak (2007) by South African author Deon Meyer and Night Prayers (2016) by Colombian author Santiago Gamboa. As postcolonial crime novels, they critique sociopolitical instability and corruption harking back to colonial times. Using mobility studies, Naidu interrogates the novels’ rendering of complex relations between the local and the global, and the past and the present. Despite stylistic and generic differences, both novels engage with the pervasive, transnational nature of criminal syndicates and current crimes which are a result of turbulent and unjust histories. Naidu examines the mobility of hapless victims, postcolonial anti-detectives and subversive heroines and comments on the ironic hope afforded by such figures.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Naidu, Samantha
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163881 , vital:41077 , ISBN 9783030534134 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1007/978-3-030-53413-4_2
- Description: Naidu argues that transnational crime wreaks havoc on global, national and personal levels in the postcolonial crime novels Devil’s Peak (2007) by South African author Deon Meyer and Night Prayers (2016) by Colombian author Santiago Gamboa. As postcolonial crime novels, they critique sociopolitical instability and corruption harking back to colonial times. Using mobility studies, Naidu interrogates the novels’ rendering of complex relations between the local and the global, and the past and the present. Despite stylistic and generic differences, both novels engage with the pervasive, transnational nature of criminal syndicates and current crimes which are a result of turbulent and unjust histories. Naidu examines the mobility of hapless victims, postcolonial anti-detectives and subversive heroines and comments on the ironic hope afforded by such figures.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Two new Caenis Species (Insecta: Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from the Kruger National Park, South Africa:
- Malzacher, P, Barber-James, Helen M
- Authors: Malzacher, P , Barber-James, Helen M
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/150256 , vital:38954 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.4001/003.028.0062
- Description: The new mayfly species Caenis albicans sp. n. and Caenis letabanensis sp. n. (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from the Kruger National Park, South Africa, are described herein. The new species were collected in the area of the confluence of the Olifants and Letaba Rivers. They belong to the Caenis – TPA group, a group widely distributed in Africa, characterised inter alia by forceps apically having a tuft of long spines. The material examined also contained samples from the Crocodile and Sabie Rivers, with larvae and imagines of Caenis brevipes Kimmins, 1956. The previously unknown larva of this species is also described.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Malzacher, P , Barber-James, Helen M
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/150256 , vital:38954 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.4001/003.028.0062
- Description: The new mayfly species Caenis albicans sp. n. and Caenis letabanensis sp. n. (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from the Kruger National Park, South Africa, are described herein. The new species were collected in the area of the confluence of the Olifants and Letaba Rivers. They belong to the Caenis – TPA group, a group widely distributed in Africa, characterised inter alia by forceps apically having a tuft of long spines. The material examined also contained samples from the Crocodile and Sabie Rivers, with larvae and imagines of Caenis brevipes Kimmins, 1956. The previously unknown larva of this species is also described.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Uhlalutyo lwenoveli kamahala ethi: yakhal’ indoda (2010).
- Authors: Nyiki, Phumelela Sibahle
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA (African Languages)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18257 , vital:42246
- Description: The aim and scope of this study is to analyse the novel Yakhal’ Indoda (2010) written by Siphiwo Mahala. Since this book was written in the period known as the modern times in the new South Africa, it therefore tends to focus on the issues that disturb the peace of the citizens of South Africa exactly in this period of democratic South Africa. For that reason, the objective of this study is to associate the factors which Mahala has written about with those that are found in the contemporary South Africa which are regarded as issues disturbing the lives of South Africans at present. As it is of importance before the researcher deals with the central issue, there has to be a thorough knowledge of the theory of the subject that is being discussed at hand. The Literature Review with regard to this study takes into account the books written by Satyo, Duka, Brooks and Warren, to mention just a few. These authors, from their different academic perspectives, do their best on explaining the theory of the issues that will be discussed in this study. The Theoretical Framework that will be used in this study consists of the views of the writers who fought for a better political dispensation in the countries that were previously colonized. In this regard, the views of Ngùgì wa Thiong’o, and those of Steve Biko will be assessed in this study. The method that will be used in conducting this research is none other than that of Text Analysis. This simply means the researching student will focus mainly on the books found at the UFH library and other libraries. The chapter titles and their relevant outlines follow below: Chapter One is an introduction for this entire research. This chapter focuses more on the aims of this study, the importance or significance, limitations, methodology to be followed. Furthermore, this chapter gives a brief background of the author of the novel that will be analysed as well as the background of the novel. Chapter Two focuses on the theory of this research. This will be done through two theories. The researcher will first present a theory of the novel, as well as the Postcolonial theory. Under the novel theory, the researcher will discuss some vii features of the novel. However, the researcher’s emphasis will be on the theme that underlies in Mahala’s novel, Yakhal’ Indoda (2010). Chapter Three focuses on the theme of this research. The researcher will analyse the way Mahala portrays crime, corruption, unemployment and poverty in his novel. The researcher then will validate Mahala’s point of view against other authors with regards to the identified problems. Chapter Four focuses on the problems found in the Department of Education as well as rights of women as depicted in Mahala’s novel, Yakhal’ Indoda (2010). This will be accomplished through validation of the experienced and witnessed events in the new South Africa. Chapter Five focuses on the factors and events that are commonly associated with the Departments of Health and in Local Government, which are life threatening to society. This will be done by the researcher, pointing out some problems that Mahala in his book Yakhal’ Indoda (2010) attributes to the mentioned departments. Chapter Six is the general conclusion and exegesis on the study. This chapter gives a brief summary of the previous chapters, the findings regarding this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Nyiki, Phumelela Sibahle
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA (African Languages)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18257 , vital:42246
- Description: The aim and scope of this study is to analyse the novel Yakhal’ Indoda (2010) written by Siphiwo Mahala. Since this book was written in the period known as the modern times in the new South Africa, it therefore tends to focus on the issues that disturb the peace of the citizens of South Africa exactly in this period of democratic South Africa. For that reason, the objective of this study is to associate the factors which Mahala has written about with those that are found in the contemporary South Africa which are regarded as issues disturbing the lives of South Africans at present. As it is of importance before the researcher deals with the central issue, there has to be a thorough knowledge of the theory of the subject that is being discussed at hand. The Literature Review with regard to this study takes into account the books written by Satyo, Duka, Brooks and Warren, to mention just a few. These authors, from their different academic perspectives, do their best on explaining the theory of the issues that will be discussed in this study. The Theoretical Framework that will be used in this study consists of the views of the writers who fought for a better political dispensation in the countries that were previously colonized. In this regard, the views of Ngùgì wa Thiong’o, and those of Steve Biko will be assessed in this study. The method that will be used in conducting this research is none other than that of Text Analysis. This simply means the researching student will focus mainly on the books found at the UFH library and other libraries. The chapter titles and their relevant outlines follow below: Chapter One is an introduction for this entire research. This chapter focuses more on the aims of this study, the importance or significance, limitations, methodology to be followed. Furthermore, this chapter gives a brief background of the author of the novel that will be analysed as well as the background of the novel. Chapter Two focuses on the theory of this research. This will be done through two theories. The researcher will first present a theory of the novel, as well as the Postcolonial theory. Under the novel theory, the researcher will discuss some vii features of the novel. However, the researcher’s emphasis will be on the theme that underlies in Mahala’s novel, Yakhal’ Indoda (2010). Chapter Three focuses on the theme of this research. The researcher will analyse the way Mahala portrays crime, corruption, unemployment and poverty in his novel. The researcher then will validate Mahala’s point of view against other authors with regards to the identified problems. Chapter Four focuses on the problems found in the Department of Education as well as rights of women as depicted in Mahala’s novel, Yakhal’ Indoda (2010). This will be accomplished through validation of the experienced and witnessed events in the new South Africa. Chapter Five focuses on the factors and events that are commonly associated with the Departments of Health and in Local Government, which are life threatening to society. This will be done by the researcher, pointing out some problems that Mahala in his book Yakhal’ Indoda (2010) attributes to the mentioned departments. Chapter Six is the general conclusion and exegesis on the study. This chapter gives a brief summary of the previous chapters, the findings regarding this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Ukuchichimala kwechweba
- Authors: Mbungwana, Mthunzikzi
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Xhosa poetry
- Language: Xhosa
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/168512 , vital:41590
- Description: iThisisi nepotifoliyo. It is a collection of poems relating to women and society and gender related issues including gender based violence. It also focuses on how Christianity and Xhosa culture has violated women's rights and how they both believe that men and women should have different roles in society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Mbungwana, Mthunzikzi
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Xhosa poetry
- Language: Xhosa
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/168512 , vital:41590
- Description: iThisisi nepotifoliyo. It is a collection of poems relating to women and society and gender related issues including gender based violence. It also focuses on how Christianity and Xhosa culture has violated women's rights and how they both believe that men and women should have different roles in society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Ukwowa mumwela nabangeli: transcendence, flight and inculturation in Zambian devotional artwork
- Authors: Mulenga, Aaron Samuel
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Idols and images in art -- Zambia , Transcendence (Philosophy) in art , Christianity and culture -- Zambia , Flight in art , Christian art and symbolism -- Zambia , Representation (Philosophy) , Black people in art , Ethnicity in art , Group identity in art , Art and society -- Zambia , Yombwe, Laurence
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146278 , vital:38511
- Description: With a focus on my artistic practice, this paper seeks to interrogate the tensions and overlaps in various representations of transcendence that have shaped my spirituality by interrogating how these have featured in Eurocentric Christian iconography and Zambian cultural practices, particularly cultural artefacts used for spiritual flight, housed in Zambian museums. Transcendence is understood by some as a change in a person’s physiological or psychological state that allows them to go beyond their experience of time, place or being. I understand transcendence to be the moment that one’s spirit is elevated beyond the limitations of their physical body. The use of Biblical text relating to flight will also be discussed as a comparative study to explore how transcendence through flight operates within Christianity and a Zambian cultural context. Furthermore, I shall interrogate how black artists (particularly Zambian), such as Laurence Yombwe, address the omission of black people from Christian iconography (which is predominantly depicted as white people). I aim to highlight the important role that representation plays in allowing for an individual to experience transcendence. I believe inculturation is a fitting solution to address some of the pitfalls in Christian iconography brought about due to the lack of representation of black people. Inculturation can be understood as an adaptation in the way the gospel of Jesus is preached to non-Christian cultures, and in turn, how these cultures influence the teachings of the gospel. Finally, I will explore how transcendence as a concept applies in my artworks and how the materials I use highlight this concept. Through my art, I grapple to combine what seem like disparate spiritual paradigms, arising from my culture and my faith. My artwork seeks to contribute to the work that particular artists (a majority of them black) are grappling with to correct the lack of representation of black people in Christian iconography. I will use the notion of inculturation as an avenue through which to interrogate the tensions I experience while exploring the concept of transcendence.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Mulenga, Aaron Samuel
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Idols and images in art -- Zambia , Transcendence (Philosophy) in art , Christianity and culture -- Zambia , Flight in art , Christian art and symbolism -- Zambia , Representation (Philosophy) , Black people in art , Ethnicity in art , Group identity in art , Art and society -- Zambia , Yombwe, Laurence
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146278 , vital:38511
- Description: With a focus on my artistic practice, this paper seeks to interrogate the tensions and overlaps in various representations of transcendence that have shaped my spirituality by interrogating how these have featured in Eurocentric Christian iconography and Zambian cultural practices, particularly cultural artefacts used for spiritual flight, housed in Zambian museums. Transcendence is understood by some as a change in a person’s physiological or psychological state that allows them to go beyond their experience of time, place or being. I understand transcendence to be the moment that one’s spirit is elevated beyond the limitations of their physical body. The use of Biblical text relating to flight will also be discussed as a comparative study to explore how transcendence through flight operates within Christianity and a Zambian cultural context. Furthermore, I shall interrogate how black artists (particularly Zambian), such as Laurence Yombwe, address the omission of black people from Christian iconography (which is predominantly depicted as white people). I aim to highlight the important role that representation plays in allowing for an individual to experience transcendence. I believe inculturation is a fitting solution to address some of the pitfalls in Christian iconography brought about due to the lack of representation of black people. Inculturation can be understood as an adaptation in the way the gospel of Jesus is preached to non-Christian cultures, and in turn, how these cultures influence the teachings of the gospel. Finally, I will explore how transcendence as a concept applies in my artworks and how the materials I use highlight this concept. Through my art, I grapple to combine what seem like disparate spiritual paradigms, arising from my culture and my faith. My artwork seeks to contribute to the work that particular artists (a majority of them black) are grappling with to correct the lack of representation of black people in Christian iconography. I will use the notion of inculturation as an avenue through which to interrogate the tensions I experience while exploring the concept of transcendence.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Ultra-high precision diamond turning of advanced contact lens polymers
- Authors: Liman, Muhammad Mukhtar
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Contact lenses , Electrostatic lenses Lenses -- Design and construction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/46108 , vital:39496
- Description: Contact lens polymer-based materials are extensively used in the optical industry owing to their excellent corrosion resistance, the possibility of mass production and their ability to be processed without external lubrication. Owing to the fast growth in optical industries, contact lens (CL) requires high accuracy and a high surface quality. The demand for high-accuracy and minimal surface roughness drives the development of ultra-high precision machining technology with regard to single point diamond turning (SPDT). Ultra-high precision diamond turning is an advanced manufacturing technique employed in the machining of CLs owing to its capability of producing high optical surfaces with complex shapes and nanometric accuracy. Yet, even with the advances in ultra-high precision machining (UHPM), it is not continuously easy to achieve a highquality surface finish during polymers machining as the adhesion of the tool chip around the tool dictates the presence of electrostatic charges. The electrostatic charges encountered by a cutting tool when turning advanced CLs are important as they reflect the quality and condition of the tool, machine, fixture, and sometimes even the finished surface, which is responsible for tool wear and poor surface quality. This study investigates the role of cutting parameters, namely cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut on surface roughness (Ra), electrostatic charge (ESC) and material removal rate (MRR), which determines machine economics and the quality of machining contact lens polymers. The experiments were mainly conducted on two different advanced polymeric materials: polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and Optimum Extreme (Roflufocon E) CLs. Experimentation was carried out on the Nanoform 250 ultra-grind turning machine with a monocrystalline diamond-cutting tool for machining the PMMA and Roflufocon E CL polymers, covering a wide range of machining parameters. Before conducting the experiments, a design of experiment was conducted according to the response surface methodology (RSM) that is based on the Box-Behnken Design (BBD). In addition, the research study focused on the determination of the optimum cutting conditions leading to minimum Ra and ESC as well as maximum productivity in the SPDT of the PMMA and Roflufocon E CL polymers, using a monocrystalline diamondcutting tool. The optimization was based on RSM together with the desirability function approach. In addition, a mathematical model was developed for Ra, ESC and MRR using a RSM regression analysis for PMMA and Roflufocon E CL polymers by means of Design Expert software. RSM allowed for the optimization of the cutting conditions for minimal Ra and ESC as well as maximal MRR, which provides an effective knowledge base for process parameters to enhance process performance in the SPDT of CL polymers. Furthermore, this study also deals with the development of Ra, ESC and MRR prediction models for the diamond turning of PMMA and Roflufocon E CL polymers, using the fuzzy logic based artificial intelligence (AI) method. The fuzzy logic model has been developed in terms of machining parameters for the prediction of Ra, ESC and MRR. To judge the accuracy and ability of the fuzzy logic model, an average percentage error was used. The comparative evaluation of experiments and the fuzzy logic approach suggested that the obtained average errors of Ra, ESC and MRR using the fuzzy logic system were in agreement with the experimental results. Hence, the developed fuzzy logic rules can be effectively utilized to predict the ESC, Ra and MRR of PMMA and Roflufocon E CL polymers in automated optical manufacturing environments for high accuracy and a reduction of computational cost. Moreover, owing to the brittle nature of optical polymers, the Roflufocon E CL polymer requires ductile-mode machining for improved surface quality. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation methods are thus applied to investigate the atomistic reaction at the tool/workpiece surface to clearly study and observe conditions occurring at nanometric scale in polymer machining. This research study is particularly concerned with the comparative analysis of experiments and a MD study of the Roflufocon E optical polymer nano cutting approach to the atomistic visualization of the plastic material flow at the tool/workpiece interface during cutting. The simulated MD acting force, machine stresses, and the temperature at the cutting region were evaluated to access the accuracy of the model. Hence, the nanomachining simulations were found to have a correlation to the experimental machining results.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Liman, Muhammad Mukhtar
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Contact lenses , Electrostatic lenses Lenses -- Design and construction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/46108 , vital:39496
- Description: Contact lens polymer-based materials are extensively used in the optical industry owing to their excellent corrosion resistance, the possibility of mass production and their ability to be processed without external lubrication. Owing to the fast growth in optical industries, contact lens (CL) requires high accuracy and a high surface quality. The demand for high-accuracy and minimal surface roughness drives the development of ultra-high precision machining technology with regard to single point diamond turning (SPDT). Ultra-high precision diamond turning is an advanced manufacturing technique employed in the machining of CLs owing to its capability of producing high optical surfaces with complex shapes and nanometric accuracy. Yet, even with the advances in ultra-high precision machining (UHPM), it is not continuously easy to achieve a highquality surface finish during polymers machining as the adhesion of the tool chip around the tool dictates the presence of electrostatic charges. The electrostatic charges encountered by a cutting tool when turning advanced CLs are important as they reflect the quality and condition of the tool, machine, fixture, and sometimes even the finished surface, which is responsible for tool wear and poor surface quality. This study investigates the role of cutting parameters, namely cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut on surface roughness (Ra), electrostatic charge (ESC) and material removal rate (MRR), which determines machine economics and the quality of machining contact lens polymers. The experiments were mainly conducted on two different advanced polymeric materials: polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and Optimum Extreme (Roflufocon E) CLs. Experimentation was carried out on the Nanoform 250 ultra-grind turning machine with a monocrystalline diamond-cutting tool for machining the PMMA and Roflufocon E CL polymers, covering a wide range of machining parameters. Before conducting the experiments, a design of experiment was conducted according to the response surface methodology (RSM) that is based on the Box-Behnken Design (BBD). In addition, the research study focused on the determination of the optimum cutting conditions leading to minimum Ra and ESC as well as maximum productivity in the SPDT of the PMMA and Roflufocon E CL polymers, using a monocrystalline diamondcutting tool. The optimization was based on RSM together with the desirability function approach. In addition, a mathematical model was developed for Ra, ESC and MRR using a RSM regression analysis for PMMA and Roflufocon E CL polymers by means of Design Expert software. RSM allowed for the optimization of the cutting conditions for minimal Ra and ESC as well as maximal MRR, which provides an effective knowledge base for process parameters to enhance process performance in the SPDT of CL polymers. Furthermore, this study also deals with the development of Ra, ESC and MRR prediction models for the diamond turning of PMMA and Roflufocon E CL polymers, using the fuzzy logic based artificial intelligence (AI) method. The fuzzy logic model has been developed in terms of machining parameters for the prediction of Ra, ESC and MRR. To judge the accuracy and ability of the fuzzy logic model, an average percentage error was used. The comparative evaluation of experiments and the fuzzy logic approach suggested that the obtained average errors of Ra, ESC and MRR using the fuzzy logic system were in agreement with the experimental results. Hence, the developed fuzzy logic rules can be effectively utilized to predict the ESC, Ra and MRR of PMMA and Roflufocon E CL polymers in automated optical manufacturing environments for high accuracy and a reduction of computational cost. Moreover, owing to the brittle nature of optical polymers, the Roflufocon E CL polymer requires ductile-mode machining for improved surface quality. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation methods are thus applied to investigate the atomistic reaction at the tool/workpiece surface to clearly study and observe conditions occurring at nanometric scale in polymer machining. This research study is particularly concerned with the comparative analysis of experiments and a MD study of the Roflufocon E optical polymer nano cutting approach to the atomistic visualization of the plastic material flow at the tool/workpiece interface during cutting. The simulated MD acting force, machine stresses, and the temperature at the cutting region were evaluated to access the accuracy of the model. Hence, the nanomachining simulations were found to have a correlation to the experimental machining results.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Ultrasound promoted synthesis, characterization and computational studies of some thiourea derivatives
- Odame, Felix, Hosten, Eric C, Lobb, Kevin A, Tshentu, Zenixole R
- Authors: Odame, Felix , Hosten, Eric C , Lobb, Kevin A , Tshentu, Zenixole R
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/451199 , vital:75028 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molstruc.2020.128302"
- Description: Synthesis of some thiourea derivatives have been achieved by using ultrasound, the compounds have been characterised using IR, NMR, GC-MS and elemental analysis. The single crystal X-ray structure of N-[(benzyloxy)methanethioyl]benzamide (IV), 1-benzoyl-3-(2-hydroxyethyl)thiourea (V) and 3-benzoyl-1-(1-benzylpiperidin-4-yl)thiourea (VI) has been presented and the bond lengths and bond angles contrasted with computed results. The HOMO and LUMO energy levels as well as the global chemical reactivity descriptors of the compounds have also been computed and discussed. Two comformers were obtained for compounds IV to VI in the molecular Electrostatic potential and the vibrational frequency computations and these have been discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Odame, Felix , Hosten, Eric C , Lobb, Kevin A , Tshentu, Zenixole R
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/451199 , vital:75028 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molstruc.2020.128302"
- Description: Synthesis of some thiourea derivatives have been achieved by using ultrasound, the compounds have been characterised using IR, NMR, GC-MS and elemental analysis. The single crystal X-ray structure of N-[(benzyloxy)methanethioyl]benzamide (IV), 1-benzoyl-3-(2-hydroxyethyl)thiourea (V) and 3-benzoyl-1-(1-benzylpiperidin-4-yl)thiourea (VI) has been presented and the bond lengths and bond angles contrasted with computed results. The HOMO and LUMO energy levels as well as the global chemical reactivity descriptors of the compounds have also been computed and discussed. Two comformers were obtained for compounds IV to VI in the molecular Electrostatic potential and the vibrational frequency computations and these have been discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030: what chance for success in restoring coastal ecosystems?
- Waltham, Nathan J, Elliott, Michael, Lee, Shing Yip, Lovelock, Catherine, Duarte, Carlos M, Buelow, Christina, Simenstad, Charles, Nagelkerken, Ivan, Claassens, Louw, Wen, Colin K-C, Barletta, Mario, Connolly, Rod M, Gillies, Chris, Mitsch, William J, Ogburn, Matthew B, Purandare, Jemma, Possingham, Hugh, Sheaves, Marcus
- Authors: Waltham, Nathan J , Elliott, Michael , Lee, Shing Yip , Lovelock, Catherine , Duarte, Carlos M , Buelow, Christina , Simenstad, Charles , Nagelkerken, Ivan , Claassens, Louw , Wen, Colin K-C , Barletta, Mario , Connolly, Rod M , Gillies, Chris , Mitsch, William J , Ogburn, Matthew B , Purandare, Jemma , Possingham, Hugh , Sheaves, Marcus
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149836 , vital:38887 , https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00071
- Description: On 1 March 2019, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly (New York) declared 2021–2030 the “UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.” This call to action has the purpose of recognizing the need to massively accelerate global restoration of degraded ecosystems, to fight the climate heating crisis, enhance food security, provide clean water and protect biodiversity on the planet. The scale of restoration will be key; for example, the Bonn Challenge has the goal to restore 350 million km2 (almost the size of India) of degraded terrestrial ecosystems by 2030. However, international support for restoration of “blue” coastal ecosystems, which provide an impressive array of benefits to people, has lagged. Only the Global Mangrove Alliance (https://mangrovealliance.org/) comes close to the Bonn Challenge, with the aim of increasing the global area of mangroves by 20% by 2030. However, mangrove scientists have reservations about this target, voicing concerns that it is unrealistic and may prompt inappropriate practices in attempting to reach this target (Lee et al., 2019). The decade of ecosystem restoration declaration also coincides with the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, which aims to reverse deterioration in ocean health. If executed in a holistic and coordinated manner, signatory nations could stand to deliver on both these UN calls to action.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Waltham, Nathan J , Elliott, Michael , Lee, Shing Yip , Lovelock, Catherine , Duarte, Carlos M , Buelow, Christina , Simenstad, Charles , Nagelkerken, Ivan , Claassens, Louw , Wen, Colin K-C , Barletta, Mario , Connolly, Rod M , Gillies, Chris , Mitsch, William J , Ogburn, Matthew B , Purandare, Jemma , Possingham, Hugh , Sheaves, Marcus
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149836 , vital:38887 , https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00071
- Description: On 1 March 2019, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly (New York) declared 2021–2030 the “UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.” This call to action has the purpose of recognizing the need to massively accelerate global restoration of degraded ecosystems, to fight the climate heating crisis, enhance food security, provide clean water and protect biodiversity on the planet. The scale of restoration will be key; for example, the Bonn Challenge has the goal to restore 350 million km2 (almost the size of India) of degraded terrestrial ecosystems by 2030. However, international support for restoration of “blue” coastal ecosystems, which provide an impressive array of benefits to people, has lagged. Only the Global Mangrove Alliance (https://mangrovealliance.org/) comes close to the Bonn Challenge, with the aim of increasing the global area of mangroves by 20% by 2030. However, mangrove scientists have reservations about this target, voicing concerns that it is unrealistic and may prompt inappropriate practices in attempting to reach this target (Lee et al., 2019). The decade of ecosystem restoration declaration also coincides with the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, which aims to reverse deterioration in ocean health. If executed in a holistic and coordinated manner, signatory nations could stand to deliver on both these UN calls to action.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Understanding a West African recreational fishery as a complex social-ecological system – a case study of the fishery for giant African threadfin Polydactylus quadrifilis (Cuvier, 1829) in the Kwanza Estuary, Angola
- Authors: Butler, Edward C
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Cuanza River (Angola) , Fishing -- Angola , Polynemidae , Fishes -- Angola -- Ecology
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146688 , vital:38548
- Description: Despite increasing global recognition of the importance of recreational fisheries, their management largely remains poor. This is because they exhibit unique human-nature relationships and are nested within complex social-ecological systems (SESs). Recreational fisheries in the developing world have large potential for socio-economic development, but are generally underappreciated, in terms of their value and their impact, and are poorly governed. This is particularly concerning as they are highly complex and often compete for resources with dependent artisanal and subsistence fisheries. Developing world recreational fishery SESs are not well understood and present an important research gap for improved governance. The general aim of this thesis was to explore the recreational fishery targeting Polydactylus quadrifilis on the Kwanza Estuary, Angola, and provide context for how managers should approach recreational fisheries in the developing world and in Africa. To do this, the recreational fishery SES was explored using a combination of methodologies including those characteristic of traditional fisheries science, and new methods involving biology, sociology, and economics. The thesis contains an introductory chapter, a chapter describing the background, study area and study species, five data chapters and a discussion chapter. Chapter 3 aimed to investigate the reproductive style of P. quadrifilis. Results identified the species as a protandrous hermaphrodite. Evidence to suggest this included degenerating testicular tissue and the presence of early developing ovarian tissues in transitional individuals. Early-stage oocytes were commonly found in the outer area of male regions and residual late-stage spermatids and spermatozoa were found in the luminal space of ovarian regions, suggesting a process of sex change from the outside inwards. Owing to the species’ reliance on large highly fecund females for reproduction, it is likely that P. quadrifilis will be sensitive to fisheries that target larger individuals, such as trophy recreational fisheries and line fisheries within other sectors. Chapter 4 aimed to investigate alternative methods for adequately describing the growth of P. quadrifilis individuals belonging to either one of two distinct hypothetical life-history pathways: pathway I (‘changers’) – initial maturation as a primary male followed by a sex change to female; pathway II (‘non-changers’) – initial maturation as a male fish with no subsequent sex change, using von Bertalanffy Growth Functions (VBGFs). Other specific objectives included determining the size- and age-at-maturity and size- and age-at-sex-change for P. quadrifilis. Otolith aging revealed rapid growth and early maturation (L50 = 399.2 mm FL, A50 = 1.50 years) and sex change occurred over a wide size (790–1125 mm FL) and age (3–8 years) range. There was strong evidence for partial protandry in P. quadrifilis with several extremely old male fish (up to 22 years) observed in the population. When compared to the conventional model produced for the entire population, there were significant differences in the models for the ‘non-changers’ (LRT, p < 0.01) and their parameters L∞ (full model = 130.8, ‘non-changers’ = 113.3, p < 0.01), k (0.32, 0.44, p < 0.01) and t0 (0.23, 0.43, p = 0.03) in the first approach and the models (LRT, p < 0.01) and their L∞ (‘changers’ = 113.7, p < 0.01) values in the second approach. This suggests that utilising conventional modelling techniques may be inappropriate for the stock assessment and management of P. quadrifilis and, potentially, other sequentially hermaphroditic fishery species. Chapter 5 aimed to assess the sensitivity of P. quadrifilis to recreational C&R within the foreign recreational fishery using a rapid assessment approach. To do this, a number of C&R variables including fight time, air exposure, hook placement, hooking injury, total time of the stress event, river depth and angling method were measured and related to two indicators of fish health and survival – the physiological stress indicators blood glucose and blood lactate concentration and reflex action mortality predictors (RAMPs). Air exposure was identified as a major contributor to motor impairment (Cumulative Link Model: p < 0.01) and fight time was an important contributor to motor impairment via its interaction with air exposure (Cumulative Link Model: p = 0.02). Handling practices appear to be particularly important for larger individuals as fish size was positively correlated with air exposure (Pearson’s r coefficient = 0.41, p < 0.01) and fight times (0.88, p < 0.01). The findings suggest that recreational C&R may result in mortalities directly, via C&R, and indirectly, via predation, and several recommendations were made for best practice. Chapter 6 aimed to assess the direct economic contribution of the recreational fishery for Polydactylus quadrifilis on the Kwanza Estuary. Results indicated that the recreational fishery for contributed significantly to the economy of an area that would otherwise likely receive little external input ($282 054 per four-month fishing season). However, high rates of economic leakage from the study area were identified (58.7%–92.9% of locally spent revenue) and were attributed to the sourcing of lodge supplies, services and staff outside of the local area and the repatriation of profit by foreign business owners. Capacity building within the local community is likely required to develop ‘linkages’ between the local community and the recreational fishery. Greater community involvement in the fishery is suggested to incentivise the protection of recreationally important fishery species and their associated ecosystems. Chapter 7 aimed to investigate the resource user groups involved within the SES. Results illustrated that artisanal and domestic recreational anglers are well-established and are characterised by long histories of participation. The artisanal fishery was highly valued as a source of livelihoods for the local community. Artisanal fishers were eager for involvement in the recreational sector, through the chartering of their vessels, due to the attractiveness of extra earnings. Both recreational and artisanal fishers reported recent decreases in P. quadrifilis catch and anticipated further declines. Domestic recreational anglers appeared to be highly consumptive in their use of the fishery and C&R angling was uncommon. User conflict may be problematic for future management as recreational anglers perceived the artisanal gill-net fishery to be a threat towards P. quadrifilis stocks. In conclusion, the open-access nature of the fishery was identified as the most pertinent threat to its sustainability and likely needs to be addressed. Potential solutions involve offering users the opportunity to purchase access rights (e.g. day permits), thus initiating the concept that users must pay for their use of public resources. Management should aim to protect large female fish due to their increased reproductive value and worth as trophy fish. Thus, C&R angling is likely to be an important interaction between users and the resource. However, angler behaviour will need to be manipulated to promote C&R and minimise C&R-related mortalities. Solutions include angler educational drives and interventions and the implementation of competitive C&R-only angling. Foreign recreational fisheries, although touted as potential ecotourism ventures, will only succeed in improving the lives of local people if they fully integrate the community into the operation of the fishery.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Butler, Edward C
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Cuanza River (Angola) , Fishing -- Angola , Polynemidae , Fishes -- Angola -- Ecology
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146688 , vital:38548
- Description: Despite increasing global recognition of the importance of recreational fisheries, their management largely remains poor. This is because they exhibit unique human-nature relationships and are nested within complex social-ecological systems (SESs). Recreational fisheries in the developing world have large potential for socio-economic development, but are generally underappreciated, in terms of their value and their impact, and are poorly governed. This is particularly concerning as they are highly complex and often compete for resources with dependent artisanal and subsistence fisheries. Developing world recreational fishery SESs are not well understood and present an important research gap for improved governance. The general aim of this thesis was to explore the recreational fishery targeting Polydactylus quadrifilis on the Kwanza Estuary, Angola, and provide context for how managers should approach recreational fisheries in the developing world and in Africa. To do this, the recreational fishery SES was explored using a combination of methodologies including those characteristic of traditional fisheries science, and new methods involving biology, sociology, and economics. The thesis contains an introductory chapter, a chapter describing the background, study area and study species, five data chapters and a discussion chapter. Chapter 3 aimed to investigate the reproductive style of P. quadrifilis. Results identified the species as a protandrous hermaphrodite. Evidence to suggest this included degenerating testicular tissue and the presence of early developing ovarian tissues in transitional individuals. Early-stage oocytes were commonly found in the outer area of male regions and residual late-stage spermatids and spermatozoa were found in the luminal space of ovarian regions, suggesting a process of sex change from the outside inwards. Owing to the species’ reliance on large highly fecund females for reproduction, it is likely that P. quadrifilis will be sensitive to fisheries that target larger individuals, such as trophy recreational fisheries and line fisheries within other sectors. Chapter 4 aimed to investigate alternative methods for adequately describing the growth of P. quadrifilis individuals belonging to either one of two distinct hypothetical life-history pathways: pathway I (‘changers’) – initial maturation as a primary male followed by a sex change to female; pathway II (‘non-changers’) – initial maturation as a male fish with no subsequent sex change, using von Bertalanffy Growth Functions (VBGFs). Other specific objectives included determining the size- and age-at-maturity and size- and age-at-sex-change for P. quadrifilis. Otolith aging revealed rapid growth and early maturation (L50 = 399.2 mm FL, A50 = 1.50 years) and sex change occurred over a wide size (790–1125 mm FL) and age (3–8 years) range. There was strong evidence for partial protandry in P. quadrifilis with several extremely old male fish (up to 22 years) observed in the population. When compared to the conventional model produced for the entire population, there were significant differences in the models for the ‘non-changers’ (LRT, p < 0.01) and their parameters L∞ (full model = 130.8, ‘non-changers’ = 113.3, p < 0.01), k (0.32, 0.44, p < 0.01) and t0 (0.23, 0.43, p = 0.03) in the first approach and the models (LRT, p < 0.01) and their L∞ (‘changers’ = 113.7, p < 0.01) values in the second approach. This suggests that utilising conventional modelling techniques may be inappropriate for the stock assessment and management of P. quadrifilis and, potentially, other sequentially hermaphroditic fishery species. Chapter 5 aimed to assess the sensitivity of P. quadrifilis to recreational C&R within the foreign recreational fishery using a rapid assessment approach. To do this, a number of C&R variables including fight time, air exposure, hook placement, hooking injury, total time of the stress event, river depth and angling method were measured and related to two indicators of fish health and survival – the physiological stress indicators blood glucose and blood lactate concentration and reflex action mortality predictors (RAMPs). Air exposure was identified as a major contributor to motor impairment (Cumulative Link Model: p < 0.01) and fight time was an important contributor to motor impairment via its interaction with air exposure (Cumulative Link Model: p = 0.02). Handling practices appear to be particularly important for larger individuals as fish size was positively correlated with air exposure (Pearson’s r coefficient = 0.41, p < 0.01) and fight times (0.88, p < 0.01). The findings suggest that recreational C&R may result in mortalities directly, via C&R, and indirectly, via predation, and several recommendations were made for best practice. Chapter 6 aimed to assess the direct economic contribution of the recreational fishery for Polydactylus quadrifilis on the Kwanza Estuary. Results indicated that the recreational fishery for contributed significantly to the economy of an area that would otherwise likely receive little external input ($282 054 per four-month fishing season). However, high rates of economic leakage from the study area were identified (58.7%–92.9% of locally spent revenue) and were attributed to the sourcing of lodge supplies, services and staff outside of the local area and the repatriation of profit by foreign business owners. Capacity building within the local community is likely required to develop ‘linkages’ between the local community and the recreational fishery. Greater community involvement in the fishery is suggested to incentivise the protection of recreationally important fishery species and their associated ecosystems. Chapter 7 aimed to investigate the resource user groups involved within the SES. Results illustrated that artisanal and domestic recreational anglers are well-established and are characterised by long histories of participation. The artisanal fishery was highly valued as a source of livelihoods for the local community. Artisanal fishers were eager for involvement in the recreational sector, through the chartering of their vessels, due to the attractiveness of extra earnings. Both recreational and artisanal fishers reported recent decreases in P. quadrifilis catch and anticipated further declines. Domestic recreational anglers appeared to be highly consumptive in their use of the fishery and C&R angling was uncommon. User conflict may be problematic for future management as recreational anglers perceived the artisanal gill-net fishery to be a threat towards P. quadrifilis stocks. In conclusion, the open-access nature of the fishery was identified as the most pertinent threat to its sustainability and likely needs to be addressed. Potential solutions involve offering users the opportunity to purchase access rights (e.g. day permits), thus initiating the concept that users must pay for their use of public resources. Management should aim to protect large female fish due to their increased reproductive value and worth as trophy fish. Thus, C&R angling is likely to be an important interaction between users and the resource. However, angler behaviour will need to be manipulated to promote C&R and minimise C&R-related mortalities. Solutions include angler educational drives and interventions and the implementation of competitive C&R-only angling. Foreign recreational fisheries, although touted as potential ecotourism ventures, will only succeed in improving the lives of local people if they fully integrate the community into the operation of the fishery.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Understanding biotic interactions in invaded pond communities in the Sundays River irrigation network, South Africa
- Authors: Mofu, Lubabalo
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Mozambique tilapia -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Western mosquitofish -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Gobiidae -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Clupeidae -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Reservoirs -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Zooplankton -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Freshwater ecology -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Biotic communities -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Fishes -- Effect of temperature on -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Stable isotopes , Relative Impact Potential
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167089 , vital:41436
- Description: The Sundays River valley irrigation ponds provide a unique opportunity to investigate biotic interactions within a biological invasions context, as they contain both native and non-native fish species. This study focusses on two native species (Glossogobius callidus and Gilchristella aestuaria) and two non-native species (Oreochromis mossambicus and Gambusia affinis). The ecology of the ponds was driven by physico-chemical variables, mainly temperature, but the interactions between fishes were a complex interplay between temperature, pond community ecology and food web structure. Seasonal changes in temperature and subsequent fluctuations in water levels resulted in changes in zooplankton community. Chlorophyll-a, temperature, G. callidus and G. affinis were the drivers of the seasonal changes in macroinvertebrate composition. Stable isotope analysis identified substantial ontogenetic dietary shifts in all species, corresponding to changes in body size. Stable isotope analysis revealed that the niche space occupied by G. affinis was broad and overlapped with that of the other three focal species. Stable isotope metrics showed that G. affinis and O. mossambicus utilised a wide range of resources compared to G. callidus and G. aestuaria. Stomach content analysis showed that G. callidus, O. mossambicus and G. affinis fed predominantly on benthic resources, while G. aestuaria fed mainly plankton resources. Functional response experiments revealed that G. callidus and G. affinis both displayed Type II functional responses. In single fish trials, G. affinis had significantly higher functional responses than G. callidus. In heterospecific G. callidus-G. affinis combinations the functional response of G. callidus was reduced by the presence of G. affinis, whereas, this combination greatly enhanced G. affinis functional response magnitudes. The functional response of G. callidus, O. mossambicus and G. affinis under two temperature treatments along with fish abundance data was used to determine temporal differences in the ecological impacts of each fish species between seasons. The relative impact potential of O. mossambicus was consistently higher than that of G. callidus and G. affinis. This study demonstrates how seasonal temperature fluctuations affect the relative impact capacities of introduced species. Overall, this thesis showed that high temperature along with life-history traits contributes to the biotic interactions between native and non-native species in novel environments.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Mofu, Lubabalo
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Mozambique tilapia -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Western mosquitofish -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Gobiidae -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Clupeidae -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Reservoirs -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Zooplankton -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Freshwater ecology -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Biotic communities -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Fishes -- Effect of temperature on -- South Africa -- Sundays River (Eastern Cape) , Stable isotopes , Relative Impact Potential
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167089 , vital:41436
- Description: The Sundays River valley irrigation ponds provide a unique opportunity to investigate biotic interactions within a biological invasions context, as they contain both native and non-native fish species. This study focusses on two native species (Glossogobius callidus and Gilchristella aestuaria) and two non-native species (Oreochromis mossambicus and Gambusia affinis). The ecology of the ponds was driven by physico-chemical variables, mainly temperature, but the interactions between fishes were a complex interplay between temperature, pond community ecology and food web structure. Seasonal changes in temperature and subsequent fluctuations in water levels resulted in changes in zooplankton community. Chlorophyll-a, temperature, G. callidus and G. affinis were the drivers of the seasonal changes in macroinvertebrate composition. Stable isotope analysis identified substantial ontogenetic dietary shifts in all species, corresponding to changes in body size. Stable isotope analysis revealed that the niche space occupied by G. affinis was broad and overlapped with that of the other three focal species. Stable isotope metrics showed that G. affinis and O. mossambicus utilised a wide range of resources compared to G. callidus and G. aestuaria. Stomach content analysis showed that G. callidus, O. mossambicus and G. affinis fed predominantly on benthic resources, while G. aestuaria fed mainly plankton resources. Functional response experiments revealed that G. callidus and G. affinis both displayed Type II functional responses. In single fish trials, G. affinis had significantly higher functional responses than G. callidus. In heterospecific G. callidus-G. affinis combinations the functional response of G. callidus was reduced by the presence of G. affinis, whereas, this combination greatly enhanced G. affinis functional response magnitudes. The functional response of G. callidus, O. mossambicus and G. affinis under two temperature treatments along with fish abundance data was used to determine temporal differences in the ecological impacts of each fish species between seasons. The relative impact potential of O. mossambicus was consistently higher than that of G. callidus and G. affinis. This study demonstrates how seasonal temperature fluctuations affect the relative impact capacities of introduced species. Overall, this thesis showed that high temperature along with life-history traits contributes to the biotic interactions between native and non-native species in novel environments.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Understanding climate change and rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe: adaptation by communal farmers in Ngundu, Chivi District
- Authors: Nciizah, Elinah
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Agriculture -- Zimbabwe , Agriculture -- Climatic factors -- Chivi District (Zimbabwe) , Chivi District (Zimbabwe) -- Rural conditions
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/118765 , vital:34666
- Description: Climate change and variability is a global phenomenon which has deeply localised patterns, dynamics and effects. Amongst those people who are particularly vulnerable to climate change effects are small-scale farmers who are dependent in large part on rain-fed agriculture in pursuing their livelihoods. This is true of small-scale farmers in contemporary Zimbabwe and, more specifically, farmers in communal areas. At the same time, at international and national levels, there are attempts currently to minimise the effects of, and to adapt to, climate change. However, adaptation measures also exist at local levels amongst small-scale farmers, such as communal farmers in Zimbabwe. In this context, as its main objective, this thesis examines climate change and small-scale farmer livelihood adaptation to climate change with specific reference to communal farmers in Chivi District in Zimbabwe and, in particular, in Ward 25 which is popularly known as Ngundu. In pursuing this main objective, a number of subsidiary objectives are addressed, including a focus on the established livelihoods of Ngundu farmers, the perceptions and concerns of Ngundu farmers about climate change, the coping and adaptation measures of Ngundu farmers, and the enablements and constraints which affect attempts by Ngundu farmers to adopt such measures. The fieldwork for the thesis involved a diverse array of research methods, such as a questionnaire survey, life-history interviews, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and transect walks. In terms of theoretical framing, the thesis makes use of both middle-level theory (the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework) and macro-theory in the form of the sociological work of Margaret Archer. Combined, these two theories allow for a focus on both structure and agency when seeking to understand livelihood adaptations to climate change by communal farmers in Ngundu. The thesis concludes that there are massive constraints inhibiting adaptation measures by Ngundu farmers, but that this should not distract from the deep, often historically-embedded, concerns of Ngundu farmers about climate change and the multiple ways in which they express agency in and through adaptation and coping activities. It also highlights the need for more specifically sociological investigations of climate change and small-scale farmer adaptation, as well as the need for localised studies which are able to identify and analyse the specificities of adaptation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Nciizah, Elinah
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Agriculture -- Zimbabwe , Agriculture -- Climatic factors -- Chivi District (Zimbabwe) , Chivi District (Zimbabwe) -- Rural conditions
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/118765 , vital:34666
- Description: Climate change and variability is a global phenomenon which has deeply localised patterns, dynamics and effects. Amongst those people who are particularly vulnerable to climate change effects are small-scale farmers who are dependent in large part on rain-fed agriculture in pursuing their livelihoods. This is true of small-scale farmers in contemporary Zimbabwe and, more specifically, farmers in communal areas. At the same time, at international and national levels, there are attempts currently to minimise the effects of, and to adapt to, climate change. However, adaptation measures also exist at local levels amongst small-scale farmers, such as communal farmers in Zimbabwe. In this context, as its main objective, this thesis examines climate change and small-scale farmer livelihood adaptation to climate change with specific reference to communal farmers in Chivi District in Zimbabwe and, in particular, in Ward 25 which is popularly known as Ngundu. In pursuing this main objective, a number of subsidiary objectives are addressed, including a focus on the established livelihoods of Ngundu farmers, the perceptions and concerns of Ngundu farmers about climate change, the coping and adaptation measures of Ngundu farmers, and the enablements and constraints which affect attempts by Ngundu farmers to adopt such measures. The fieldwork for the thesis involved a diverse array of research methods, such as a questionnaire survey, life-history interviews, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and transect walks. In terms of theoretical framing, the thesis makes use of both middle-level theory (the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework) and macro-theory in the form of the sociological work of Margaret Archer. Combined, these two theories allow for a focus on both structure and agency when seeking to understand livelihood adaptations to climate change by communal farmers in Ngundu. The thesis concludes that there are massive constraints inhibiting adaptation measures by Ngundu farmers, but that this should not distract from the deep, often historically-embedded, concerns of Ngundu farmers about climate change and the multiple ways in which they express agency in and through adaptation and coping activities. It also highlights the need for more specifically sociological investigations of climate change and small-scale farmer adaptation, as well as the need for localised studies which are able to identify and analyse the specificities of adaptation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Understanding individual, family and community perspectives on delaying early birth among adolescent girls
- Samandari, Ghazaleh, Sarker, Bidhan Krishna, Grant, Carolyn, Talukder, Aloka, Mahfuz, Sadia Nishat, Brent, Lily, Nitu, Syeda N.A., Aziz, Humaira, Gullo, Sara
- Authors: Samandari, Ghazaleh , Sarker, Bidhan Krishna , Grant, Carolyn , Talukder, Aloka , Mahfuz, Sadia Nishat , Brent, Lily , Nitu, Syeda N.A. , Aziz, Humaira , Gullo, Sara
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/281153 , vital:55697 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-020-01044-z"
- Description: Background: Pregnancy among adolescent girls in Bangladesh is high, with 66% of women under the age of 18 reporting a first birth; this issue is particularly acute in the northern region of Bangladesh, an area that is especially impoverished and where girls are at heightened risk. Using formative research, CARE USA examined the underlying social, individual and structural factors influencing married girls’ early first birth and participation in alternative opportunities (such as education or economic pursuits) in Bangladesh. Methods: In July of 2017, researchers conducted in-depth interviews of community members in two sub-districts of northern Bangladesh (Kurigram Sadar and Rajarhat). Participants (n = 127) included adolescent girls (both married and unmarredi), husbands of adolescent girls, influential adults in the girls’ lives, community leaders, and health providers. All interviews were transcribed, coded and organized using Dedoose software. Results: Participants recognize the health benefits of delaying first birth, but stigma around infertility and contraceptive use, pressure from mothers-in-law and health provider bias interfere with a girl’s ability to delay childbearing. Girls’ social isolation, lack of mobility or autonomy, and inability to envision alternatives to early motherhood compound the issue; provider bias may also prevent access to methods. While participants agree that pursuit of education and economic opportunities are important, better futures for girls do not necessarily supersede their marital obligations of childrearing and domestic chores. Conclusions: Findings indicate the need for a multi-level approach to delaying early birth and stimulating girls’ participation in economic and educational pursuits. Interventions must mitigate barriers to reproductive health care; train adolescent girls on viable economic activities; and provide educational opportunities for girls. Effective programs should also address contextual issues by including immediate members of the girls’ families, particularly the husband and mother-in-law.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Samandari, Ghazaleh , Sarker, Bidhan Krishna , Grant, Carolyn , Talukder, Aloka , Mahfuz, Sadia Nishat , Brent, Lily , Nitu, Syeda N.A. , Aziz, Humaira , Gullo, Sara
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/281153 , vital:55697 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-020-01044-z"
- Description: Background: Pregnancy among adolescent girls in Bangladesh is high, with 66% of women under the age of 18 reporting a first birth; this issue is particularly acute in the northern region of Bangladesh, an area that is especially impoverished and where girls are at heightened risk. Using formative research, CARE USA examined the underlying social, individual and structural factors influencing married girls’ early first birth and participation in alternative opportunities (such as education or economic pursuits) in Bangladesh. Methods: In July of 2017, researchers conducted in-depth interviews of community members in two sub-districts of northern Bangladesh (Kurigram Sadar and Rajarhat). Participants (n = 127) included adolescent girls (both married and unmarredi), husbands of adolescent girls, influential adults in the girls’ lives, community leaders, and health providers. All interviews were transcribed, coded and organized using Dedoose software. Results: Participants recognize the health benefits of delaying first birth, but stigma around infertility and contraceptive use, pressure from mothers-in-law and health provider bias interfere with a girl’s ability to delay childbearing. Girls’ social isolation, lack of mobility or autonomy, and inability to envision alternatives to early motherhood compound the issue; provider bias may also prevent access to methods. While participants agree that pursuit of education and economic opportunities are important, better futures for girls do not necessarily supersede their marital obligations of childrearing and domestic chores. Conclusions: Findings indicate the need for a multi-level approach to delaying early birth and stimulating girls’ participation in economic and educational pursuits. Interventions must mitigate barriers to reproductive health care; train adolescent girls on viable economic activities; and provide educational opportunities for girls. Effective programs should also address contextual issues by including immediate members of the girls’ families, particularly the husband and mother-in-law.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Understanding of biological teleology from a naturalistic perspective
- Authors: Abrahams, Sanaa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Teleology , Biology -- Philosophy , Evolution (Biology) -- Philosophy
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140534 , vital:37896
- Description: To the extent that teleological thinking is metaphysically suspect, many theorists attempt to shift the stigma of functional explanations by reducing function ascriptions, and aim thus to de-legitimise an appeal to teleological causal relations in an analysis of function. The point is to dispel the mystery which envelops the application of function concepts by reformulating biological functional explanations so as to dispense with teleology. My project is to interrogate the success with which teleological explanations have thus been eliminated in the biological sciences, and, over the course of this thesis, I conclude that a kind of teleological causation nevertheless remains the most adequate explanatory ground of natural products. My proposal is that functional explanations are causal explanations for the presence and maintenance of self-reproducing systems. I contend that, insofar as the attribution of function presupposes the valuation of a function-bearing system as a causal necessity for its constituent parts, functional explanation references distinct and irreducible holistic properties. Using Kantian metaphysics to frame the discussion, this thesis aims first to explore critically the subject of functional characterisations of biological phenomena, and second, the metaphysical basis of modern science. Its chief contributions to the philosophical function debate reside in proposing novel arguments in justification of what I consider is an improved formulation of an attempted definition of biological function, in which teleological causal powers are explicitly recognised and accommodated in functional explanation. Moreover, this thesis attempts a naturalistic reconstruction of the metaphysical entailments of the real causality of a whole
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Abrahams, Sanaa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Teleology , Biology -- Philosophy , Evolution (Biology) -- Philosophy
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140534 , vital:37896
- Description: To the extent that teleological thinking is metaphysically suspect, many theorists attempt to shift the stigma of functional explanations by reducing function ascriptions, and aim thus to de-legitimise an appeal to teleological causal relations in an analysis of function. The point is to dispel the mystery which envelops the application of function concepts by reformulating biological functional explanations so as to dispense with teleology. My project is to interrogate the success with which teleological explanations have thus been eliminated in the biological sciences, and, over the course of this thesis, I conclude that a kind of teleological causation nevertheless remains the most adequate explanatory ground of natural products. My proposal is that functional explanations are causal explanations for the presence and maintenance of self-reproducing systems. I contend that, insofar as the attribution of function presupposes the valuation of a function-bearing system as a causal necessity for its constituent parts, functional explanation references distinct and irreducible holistic properties. Using Kantian metaphysics to frame the discussion, this thesis aims first to explore critically the subject of functional characterisations of biological phenomena, and second, the metaphysical basis of modern science. Its chief contributions to the philosophical function debate reside in proposing novel arguments in justification of what I consider is an improved formulation of an attempted definition of biological function, in which teleological causal powers are explicitly recognised and accommodated in functional explanation. Moreover, this thesis attempts a naturalistic reconstruction of the metaphysical entailments of the real causality of a whole
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020