The strategic management of intellectual capital : a case study in the banking and financial services sector in Zambia
- Authors: Banda, Japhet Mathias
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Intellectual capital -- Management , Intellectual capital -- Zambia , Banks and banking -- Zambia , Financial services industry -- Management -- Zambia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1178 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002795 , Intellectual capital -- Management , Intellectual capital -- Zambia , Banks and banking -- Zambia , Financial services industry -- Management -- Zambia
- Description: Fundamental changes in the global economy are changing the basis of organisational competitive advantage. The challenge in attaining a competitive advantage is characterised by factors such as increased competition, market volatility, geographically dispersed operations, customer awareness, raising workforce diversity and stringent regulatory regimes. These factors have driven, and in turn have been driven by, an increasing complexity of products, services and the processes that create value, resulting in changes in the structural and functional dimensions of the organisation. Business executives and academics recognise the shift in value creating assets from the traditional land, labour and capital to intangible assets such as knowledge and information becoming the most important resources an organisation can muster.The combination and integration of intangible assets such as human resources, structural and relational resources has been grouped under the umbrella of intellectual capital. This study comprises of a single descriptive case study analysis to ascertain how intellectual capital is managed strategically to gain a competitive advantage in an organisation in the banking and financial services sector in Zambia. Based on document review and semi-structured interviews, this thesis investigated the extent to which an organisation in the banking and financial services sector in Zambia leveraged intellectual capital to gain competitive advantage. In this study it was found that there is a low level appreciation of the intellectual capital phenomenon as a strategic management tool in the participating organisation. However, the organisation has adopted aspects of intellectual capital and has implemented them successfully accounting for the organisation‘s competitive edge in the market.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Banda, Japhet Mathias
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Intellectual capital -- Management , Intellectual capital -- Zambia , Banks and banking -- Zambia , Financial services industry -- Management -- Zambia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1178 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002795 , Intellectual capital -- Management , Intellectual capital -- Zambia , Banks and banking -- Zambia , Financial services industry -- Management -- Zambia
- Description: Fundamental changes in the global economy are changing the basis of organisational competitive advantage. The challenge in attaining a competitive advantage is characterised by factors such as increased competition, market volatility, geographically dispersed operations, customer awareness, raising workforce diversity and stringent regulatory regimes. These factors have driven, and in turn have been driven by, an increasing complexity of products, services and the processes that create value, resulting in changes in the structural and functional dimensions of the organisation. Business executives and academics recognise the shift in value creating assets from the traditional land, labour and capital to intangible assets such as knowledge and information becoming the most important resources an organisation can muster.The combination and integration of intangible assets such as human resources, structural and relational resources has been grouped under the umbrella of intellectual capital. This study comprises of a single descriptive case study analysis to ascertain how intellectual capital is managed strategically to gain a competitive advantage in an organisation in the banking and financial services sector in Zambia. Based on document review and semi-structured interviews, this thesis investigated the extent to which an organisation in the banking and financial services sector in Zambia leveraged intellectual capital to gain competitive advantage. In this study it was found that there is a low level appreciation of the intellectual capital phenomenon as a strategic management tool in the participating organisation. However, the organisation has adopted aspects of intellectual capital and has implemented them successfully accounting for the organisation‘s competitive edge in the market.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The survival strategies of unemployed rural women : a case study of Wooldridge
- Authors: Dyubhele, Noluntu Stella
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Women in rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural women -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Unemployment -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- Government policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural poor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DCom
- Identifier: vital:8982 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1651 , Women in rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural women -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Unemployment -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- Government policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural poor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Despite decades of gender research and public action by civil society, policy makers continue to neglect the role of women as breadwinners who work at improving the socio-economic conditions in rural areas such as Wooldridge, a traditional rural village in the Amathole district of the Eastern Cape Province. The apartheid system created an environment that continues to perpetuate both poverty and gender inequality in rural areas. Hence, rural women in Wooldridge still experience poverty, despite welfare benefits. They are located in a poverty-stricken area without basic infrastructure and with little or no access to economic assets. They use primitive methods and indigenous knowledge to develop survival strategies. This study argues that unemployed rural women in Wooldridge cannot survive without assistance from government. Indigenous knowledge and agricultural as well as non-agricultural activities are critical to household livelihoods in Wooldridge. These activities are an important route through which these rural women can escape poverty. The primary objective of this research was to obtain a better understanding of how unemployed rural women survive in Wooldridge. Furthermore, the necessary conditions required to sustain livelihood in the rural areas were identified. This was mainly done to help alleviate the plight of rural women in Wooldridge and to improve the quality of life of the rural population. The aim is to generate a policy response to rural women that is economically development-oriented. The study was based on five research objectives. The first objective was to identify the survival strategies of unemployed rural women in Wooldridge; the second to ascertain what can be done to alleviate the plight of rural women in Wooldridge. The third objective was to ascertain what has been v done to address the needs of rural women in the Wooldridge area by actors of development, such as government and non-governmental organisations. The fourth objective was to identify the constraints faced by unemployed rural women in Wooldridge in achieving food security and generating income, with the last objective to make recommendations regarding policies that can enhance rural economic development and assist unemployed rural women to reduce poverty. The main finding in terms of the first research objective is that the survival strategies of unemployed rural women are welfare benefits, the selling of assets, remittances, handicraft production and vegetable gardens. In terms of the second research objective, the main finding is that investment in human capital through the empowerment of women will assist them in improving the quality of life of the Wooldridge community. Empowerment involves skills and training, education and access to basic services, expertise regarding credit, land, the growing of vegetables and income-generating projects. The main finding in terms of the third research objective is that the Peddie Women Support Centre that is located in the city centre of Ngqushwa does not have the capacity to reach out to rural areas. Rural women in Wooldridge have not received responses to their plights from government or from development practitioners. These actors of development play an important role in empowerment. In terms of the fourth research objective, the main finding is that structural constraints hinder the economic activity of rural women in Wooldridge. Government policy that encourages investment in infrastructure using labour-intensive methods will eliminate service backlogs in underserviced areas such as Wooldridge. The main finding in terms of the fifth research objective is to ascertain the impact that new legislation can have to ensure that rural women have the same access and entitlement to land and resources as women from urban areas. Furthermore, service-improvement programmes should be developed and micro-enterprises and agricultural and non-agricultural activities that will generate income and employment should be encouraged in order to reduce poverty in Wooldridge.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Dyubhele, Noluntu Stella
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Women in rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural women -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Unemployment -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- Government policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural poor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DCom
- Identifier: vital:8982 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1651 , Women in rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural women -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Unemployment -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- Government policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural poor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Despite decades of gender research and public action by civil society, policy makers continue to neglect the role of women as breadwinners who work at improving the socio-economic conditions in rural areas such as Wooldridge, a traditional rural village in the Amathole district of the Eastern Cape Province. The apartheid system created an environment that continues to perpetuate both poverty and gender inequality in rural areas. Hence, rural women in Wooldridge still experience poverty, despite welfare benefits. They are located in a poverty-stricken area without basic infrastructure and with little or no access to economic assets. They use primitive methods and indigenous knowledge to develop survival strategies. This study argues that unemployed rural women in Wooldridge cannot survive without assistance from government. Indigenous knowledge and agricultural as well as non-agricultural activities are critical to household livelihoods in Wooldridge. These activities are an important route through which these rural women can escape poverty. The primary objective of this research was to obtain a better understanding of how unemployed rural women survive in Wooldridge. Furthermore, the necessary conditions required to sustain livelihood in the rural areas were identified. This was mainly done to help alleviate the plight of rural women in Wooldridge and to improve the quality of life of the rural population. The aim is to generate a policy response to rural women that is economically development-oriented. The study was based on five research objectives. The first objective was to identify the survival strategies of unemployed rural women in Wooldridge; the second to ascertain what can be done to alleviate the plight of rural women in Wooldridge. The third objective was to ascertain what has been v done to address the needs of rural women in the Wooldridge area by actors of development, such as government and non-governmental organisations. The fourth objective was to identify the constraints faced by unemployed rural women in Wooldridge in achieving food security and generating income, with the last objective to make recommendations regarding policies that can enhance rural economic development and assist unemployed rural women to reduce poverty. The main finding in terms of the first research objective is that the survival strategies of unemployed rural women are welfare benefits, the selling of assets, remittances, handicraft production and vegetable gardens. In terms of the second research objective, the main finding is that investment in human capital through the empowerment of women will assist them in improving the quality of life of the Wooldridge community. Empowerment involves skills and training, education and access to basic services, expertise regarding credit, land, the growing of vegetables and income-generating projects. The main finding in terms of the third research objective is that the Peddie Women Support Centre that is located in the city centre of Ngqushwa does not have the capacity to reach out to rural areas. Rural women in Wooldridge have not received responses to their plights from government or from development practitioners. These actors of development play an important role in empowerment. In terms of the fourth research objective, the main finding is that structural constraints hinder the economic activity of rural women in Wooldridge. Government policy that encourages investment in infrastructure using labour-intensive methods will eliminate service backlogs in underserviced areas such as Wooldridge. The main finding in terms of the fifth research objective is to ascertain the impact that new legislation can have to ensure that rural women have the same access and entitlement to land and resources as women from urban areas. Furthermore, service-improvement programmes should be developed and micro-enterprises and agricultural and non-agricultural activities that will generate income and employment should be encouraged in order to reduce poverty in Wooldridge.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The synthesis and fluorescence behaviour of new unsymmetrically mono-functionalized carboxy Ge, Ti and Sn phthalocynines
- Masilela, Nkosiphile, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Masilela, Nkosiphile , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/246977 , vital:51534 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dyepig.2011.03.026"
- Description: This work reports on the synthesis and fluorescence behaviour of novel unsymmetrically substituted monocarboxy germanium ((OH)2GeMCPc, 3), titanium (OTiMCPc 4) and tin ((ac)2SnMCPc, 5) phthalocyanines. The fluorescence quantum yields ranged from 0.09 to 0.14. The fluorescence lifetimes were found to be higher for the complex with higher fluorescence quantum yield value. Higher fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes were obtained for the (ac)2SnMCPc complex (5), followed by OTiMCPc complex (4), and the lowest fluorescence quantum yield and lifetime were observed for (OH)2GeMCPc (3).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Masilela, Nkosiphile , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/246977 , vital:51534 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dyepig.2011.03.026"
- Description: This work reports on the synthesis and fluorescence behaviour of novel unsymmetrically substituted monocarboxy germanium ((OH)2GeMCPc, 3), titanium (OTiMCPc 4) and tin ((ac)2SnMCPc, 5) phthalocyanines. The fluorescence quantum yields ranged from 0.09 to 0.14. The fluorescence lifetimes were found to be higher for the complex with higher fluorescence quantum yield value. Higher fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes were obtained for the (ac)2SnMCPc complex (5), followed by OTiMCPc complex (4), and the lowest fluorescence quantum yield and lifetime were observed for (OH)2GeMCPc (3).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The synthesis and photophysical properties of peripherally and non-peripherally substituted ball-type Mg (II) and Zn (II) phthalocyanines
- Canlica, Mevlude, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Canlica, Mevlude , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/248417 , vital:51684 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1039/C0DT00920B"
- Description: Newly synthesized ball-type Zn(II) and Mg(II) phthalocyanines containing four 1,1′-binaphthol substituents at peripheral and non-peripheral positions are presented. The structures of the synthesized compounds were characterized by using elemental analysis, UV-vis, FT-IR, 1H-NMR and mass spectroscopies. The ΦF values were 0.33, 0.08, 0.20 and 0.08 for 6–9, respectively. The ΦT values were 0.56, 0.85, 0.64 and 0.88 for 6–9, respectively. All the complexes showed reasonably large triplet lifetimes with τT values of 710 (6), 170 (7), 1490 (8) and 380 μs (9) in DMSO. These complexes offer potential as photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Canlica, Mevlude , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/248417 , vital:51684 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1039/C0DT00920B"
- Description: Newly synthesized ball-type Zn(II) and Mg(II) phthalocyanines containing four 1,1′-binaphthol substituents at peripheral and non-peripheral positions are presented. The structures of the synthesized compounds were characterized by using elemental analysis, UV-vis, FT-IR, 1H-NMR and mass spectroscopies. The ΦF values were 0.33, 0.08, 0.20 and 0.08 for 6–9, respectively. The ΦT values were 0.56, 0.85, 0.64 and 0.88 for 6–9, respectively. All the complexes showed reasonably large triplet lifetimes with τT values of 710 (6), 170 (7), 1490 (8) and 380 μs (9) in DMSO. These complexes offer potential as photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The teaching of financial management principles to school leaders in disadvantaged schools
- Authors: Griesel, Issabella
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Education -- South Africa -- Finance , School management and organization -- South Africa , School budgets -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DEd
- Identifier: vital:9446 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1538 , Education -- South Africa -- Finance , School management and organization -- South Africa , School budgets -- South Africa
- Description: The objective of this study was to find out how a course in School Financial Management should be designed and presented in order to bring about an improvement in the practice of school financial management in disadvantaged schools in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study was conducted in the interpretive and critical theory paradigms, and employed a qualitative empirical approach. The focus of the research was two cohorts of school leaders taking part in the Advanced Certificate in Education: School Management and Leadership programme at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth. The researcher presented a course in Financial Management to both of these cohorts, and employed an action research method in her research, introducing the insights and lessons learned from teaching the first cohort in the design and teaching of the second cohort. Data were collected in various ways, including written assignments of students, class discussions, personal interviews and document analyses. More data were collected during school visits at which the researcher observed the level of financial practice at schools, and could also, from the one-to-one interactions with the students, identify the issues that were still problematic to them. Another aspect of the data gathering process was the detailed analysis of the section on Financial Management in the ACE study material provided by the Department of Education. This enabled the researcher to compare her study material and teaching approach to that of the Department’s study material, so as to ascertain which content and methods of teaching were best suited to bringing about an improvement in practice. The study’s main findings were that designers of such programmes in Financial Management should focus on basic Accounting principles and avoid an overload of content of issues which are “good to know”, but do not contribute to the understanding of Accounting principles necessary for the drawing up of financial statements. The method of teaching should predominantly be an interactive approach based on adult learning principles, with enough time for students to complete certain assignments and activities with feedback by the lecturer. The role v of mentors and of the lecturer visiting schools was emphasised as one of the key ways to assist participants in implementing what they had learned. The most important recommendations emanating from the study were the suggestion that the Department of Education should play a bigger formational role in providing feedback to schools on the financial statements submitted to the Department by these schools, the rethinking of the Department of Education’s module on Financial Management in the ACE for School Principals, and the development of a follow-up course in which all the additional aspects of School Financial Management could be included.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Griesel, Issabella
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Education -- South Africa -- Finance , School management and organization -- South Africa , School budgets -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DEd
- Identifier: vital:9446 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1538 , Education -- South Africa -- Finance , School management and organization -- South Africa , School budgets -- South Africa
- Description: The objective of this study was to find out how a course in School Financial Management should be designed and presented in order to bring about an improvement in the practice of school financial management in disadvantaged schools in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study was conducted in the interpretive and critical theory paradigms, and employed a qualitative empirical approach. The focus of the research was two cohorts of school leaders taking part in the Advanced Certificate in Education: School Management and Leadership programme at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth. The researcher presented a course in Financial Management to both of these cohorts, and employed an action research method in her research, introducing the insights and lessons learned from teaching the first cohort in the design and teaching of the second cohort. Data were collected in various ways, including written assignments of students, class discussions, personal interviews and document analyses. More data were collected during school visits at which the researcher observed the level of financial practice at schools, and could also, from the one-to-one interactions with the students, identify the issues that were still problematic to them. Another aspect of the data gathering process was the detailed analysis of the section on Financial Management in the ACE study material provided by the Department of Education. This enabled the researcher to compare her study material and teaching approach to that of the Department’s study material, so as to ascertain which content and methods of teaching were best suited to bringing about an improvement in practice. The study’s main findings were that designers of such programmes in Financial Management should focus on basic Accounting principles and avoid an overload of content of issues which are “good to know”, but do not contribute to the understanding of Accounting principles necessary for the drawing up of financial statements. The method of teaching should predominantly be an interactive approach based on adult learning principles, with enough time for students to complete certain assignments and activities with feedback by the lecturer. The role v of mentors and of the lecturer visiting schools was emphasised as one of the key ways to assist participants in implementing what they had learned. The most important recommendations emanating from the study were the suggestion that the Department of Education should play a bigger formational role in providing feedback to schools on the financial statements submitted to the Department by these schools, the rethinking of the Department of Education’s module on Financial Management in the ACE for School Principals, and the development of a follow-up course in which all the additional aspects of School Financial Management could be included.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The teaching of mathematics in multigrade classrooms at the upper primary phase in selected Namibian schools
- Authors: Kapenda, Loide Ndakondjelwa
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- Namibia Education, Elementary -- Namibia Combination of grades -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1796 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003681
- Description: The Namibian curriculum favours knowledge with understanding and application of knowledge and skills, because facts that are learned with understanding are easier to remember. This made learners to be able to represent mathematical situations in different ways and for different purposes. It also motivates teachers to contextualise the content to make mathematics teaching and learning more interesting and enjoyable to teachers and learners. However, some mathematics teachers are challenged by being required to teach multigrade classes, due to a massive response to improved access to education.Multigrade teaching is seen as a difficult practice especially when teachers are not well prepared to teach combined grades. This case study focused on the teaching of mathematics at Upper Primary Phase. An Interpretive paradigm was used to understand the teachers’ experiences and their teaching ethods. Hence the study aimed to investigate how teachers deliver their mathematics lessons in multigrade classrooms, considering the good practices and challenges that may occur. The findings revealed that teachers mostly use their monograde pedagogical knowledge,resulting in using quasi-monograde with a common timetable approach when teaching mathematics in multigrade settings. Although learners have access to the common mathematics syllabus, the quality of teaching the subject in multigrade classrooms seems to be affected due to the lack of teacher training in multigrade teaching. Also, equity and democracy need to be considered more than it currently is in terms of resource distribution to multigrade schools. Good practice of multigrade teaching existed in building on lower grade competencies, introducing lessons with common activities, as well as the concentration on lower grades which make learners independent. However, insufficient time, lack of knowledge in multigrade and curriculum knowledge in particular seem to challenge teachers and learners. Therefore, multigrade teachers need to be part of curriculum development for them to master the syllabus. These teachers will assist in developing multigrade resources for integration, contextualisation and more enrichment activities for high achievers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Kapenda, Loide Ndakondjelwa
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- Namibia Education, Elementary -- Namibia Combination of grades -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1796 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003681
- Description: The Namibian curriculum favours knowledge with understanding and application of knowledge and skills, because facts that are learned with understanding are easier to remember. This made learners to be able to represent mathematical situations in different ways and for different purposes. It also motivates teachers to contextualise the content to make mathematics teaching and learning more interesting and enjoyable to teachers and learners. However, some mathematics teachers are challenged by being required to teach multigrade classes, due to a massive response to improved access to education.Multigrade teaching is seen as a difficult practice especially when teachers are not well prepared to teach combined grades. This case study focused on the teaching of mathematics at Upper Primary Phase. An Interpretive paradigm was used to understand the teachers’ experiences and their teaching ethods. Hence the study aimed to investigate how teachers deliver their mathematics lessons in multigrade classrooms, considering the good practices and challenges that may occur. The findings revealed that teachers mostly use their monograde pedagogical knowledge,resulting in using quasi-monograde with a common timetable approach when teaching mathematics in multigrade settings. Although learners have access to the common mathematics syllabus, the quality of teaching the subject in multigrade classrooms seems to be affected due to the lack of teacher training in multigrade teaching. Also, equity and democracy need to be considered more than it currently is in terms of resource distribution to multigrade schools. Good practice of multigrade teaching existed in building on lower grade competencies, introducing lessons with common activities, as well as the concentration on lower grades which make learners independent. However, insufficient time, lack of knowledge in multigrade and curriculum knowledge in particular seem to challenge teachers and learners. Therefore, multigrade teachers need to be part of curriculum development for them to master the syllabus. These teachers will assist in developing multigrade resources for integration, contextualisation and more enrichment activities for high achievers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The television teen drama as folktale
- Authors: Jones, Denna Louise
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Teen television programs , Television and teenagers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8382 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1471 , Teen television programs , Television and teenagers
- Description: In 1927 Vladimir Propp published a book in which he defined the characteristics and morphology of fairytales. His work was a groundbreaking one that forced scholars to question the way in which stories and storytelling affect the fabric of society and its ideals. Since 1927 much has changed with regards to the way in which stories are told. Technology has changed the way in which people interact and communicate with each other. Media conglomerates such as Walt Disney, Time Warner Company and News Corporation are driven to create stories and media that will deliver consumers to their advertisers. This paper sought to examine the way in which the teen drama has redefined the fairytale, and to establish whether Propp’s work on the morphology of fairytales can still be seen as valid today. Following an in depth literature review that sought to establish the foundations of fairytales, narratives, Propp’s morphology, the development of television as well as the teen television drama, the findings of this paper were established through a detailed content analysis of the first season of three modern teen television dramas – The O.C., One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl. The research found that while some of Propp’s functions may have been adapted to take on a more modern role and a few others became defunct, the majority of the functions of the dramatis personae could be found almost unchanged within the teen television drama. Gossip Girl, in particular demonstrated that it was highly aware of its allusions to the fairytale analogy with numerous references throughout its first season to fairytales such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. More than any of the other shows, Gossip Girl appeared deliberate in its references to the world of fairytales, a world in which the damsel in distress is always rescued by her knight in shining armour, and where monarchy reigns supreme. While humans have continued to evolve and the modes of storytelling have changed significantly since Propp first published his paper, the teen television drama has not yet redefined the characteristics of Propp’s morphology. At most it has modernised them making them relevant to the 21st century viewer.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Jones, Denna Louise
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Teen television programs , Television and teenagers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8382 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1471 , Teen television programs , Television and teenagers
- Description: In 1927 Vladimir Propp published a book in which he defined the characteristics and morphology of fairytales. His work was a groundbreaking one that forced scholars to question the way in which stories and storytelling affect the fabric of society and its ideals. Since 1927 much has changed with regards to the way in which stories are told. Technology has changed the way in which people interact and communicate with each other. Media conglomerates such as Walt Disney, Time Warner Company and News Corporation are driven to create stories and media that will deliver consumers to their advertisers. This paper sought to examine the way in which the teen drama has redefined the fairytale, and to establish whether Propp’s work on the morphology of fairytales can still be seen as valid today. Following an in depth literature review that sought to establish the foundations of fairytales, narratives, Propp’s morphology, the development of television as well as the teen television drama, the findings of this paper were established through a detailed content analysis of the first season of three modern teen television dramas – The O.C., One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl. The research found that while some of Propp’s functions may have been adapted to take on a more modern role and a few others became defunct, the majority of the functions of the dramatis personae could be found almost unchanged within the teen television drama. Gossip Girl, in particular demonstrated that it was highly aware of its allusions to the fairytale analogy with numerous references throughout its first season to fairytales such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. More than any of the other shows, Gossip Girl appeared deliberate in its references to the world of fairytales, a world in which the damsel in distress is always rescued by her knight in shining armour, and where monarchy reigns supreme. While humans have continued to evolve and the modes of storytelling have changed significantly since Propp first published his paper, the teen television drama has not yet redefined the characteristics of Propp’s morphology. At most it has modernised them making them relevant to the 21st century viewer.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The unattainable "betterlife" : the discourses of the homogenised South African black emerging middle-class lifestyle in Drum magazine
- Authors: Hardy-Berrington, Michelle
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Lifestyles -- South Africa , Blacks in mass media , Journalism -- South Africa , Drum (Magazine)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8448 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1426 , Lifestyles -- South Africa , Blacks in mass media , Journalism -- South Africa , Drum (Magazine)
- Description: Drum and YOU are two general interest magazines which share the same publisher, language (English), format, and are compiled by many of the same journalists and editors. The greatest distinction between the two publications is that Drum is aimed at a specifically black readership while YOU caters for a general, cosmopolitan South African readership. With various commonalities in the production of Drum and YOU, what do the differing commodities, discourses and cultural repertoires presented in Drum in comparison to YOU communicate about the conceived black audience/s by the magazines'producers? In contrast to the dominant body of research on Drum magazine, which has been dedicated to pre-1994 editions, the investigation undertaken in this research focuses on post-apartheid editions of Drum under the commercial ownership of Media24. This also provides a unique opportunity to compare and contrast Drum and YOU which has not been extensively explored in the past. A theoretical study on some of the credible, plausible discourses circulating in Drum drew from Laden's (1997; 2003) research on black South African middle-class magazines and Steyn's (2001) studies on narratives of whiteness including colonial and apartheid policy discourses. Other theory considered to identify types of discourses included those on self-stylisation, excorporation and the historic, cultural influence of Drum in black South African identity formation. Critical discourse analysis is employed to discern the distinction and boundaries between the conceived black middle-class readerships of Drum and YOU. A multifarious content is present in Drum magazine for the diverse post-apartheid black middle-class of South Africa. Discourses of the African traditional and conservative feature side-by-side with contemporary, liberal and Western discourses; while the cultural repertoires of the bourgeois middle-class are presented beside the more modest commodities of the lower-income working class. This communicates an increasingly integrated South African consumer culture and a willing bourgeois solidarity amongst middle-class groups, creating a larger consumer class for advertisers and marketers in South Africa. In comparison to YOU, the discourses of the conservative-African-traditional provide a distinctive feature of Drum. However, this discourse is limited to realms which do not threaten the prevailing magazine culture of consumerism and the dominant global culture of Western science and reason. The other great distinction from YOU is Drum’s prominent educating and didactic function, offering an aspirant lifestyle by marketing a range of Western technologies and commodities. This is in addition to suggesting options for desirable social conduct and socially-responsible behavior.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Hardy-Berrington, Michelle
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Lifestyles -- South Africa , Blacks in mass media , Journalism -- South Africa , Drum (Magazine)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8448 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1426 , Lifestyles -- South Africa , Blacks in mass media , Journalism -- South Africa , Drum (Magazine)
- Description: Drum and YOU are two general interest magazines which share the same publisher, language (English), format, and are compiled by many of the same journalists and editors. The greatest distinction between the two publications is that Drum is aimed at a specifically black readership while YOU caters for a general, cosmopolitan South African readership. With various commonalities in the production of Drum and YOU, what do the differing commodities, discourses and cultural repertoires presented in Drum in comparison to YOU communicate about the conceived black audience/s by the magazines'producers? In contrast to the dominant body of research on Drum magazine, which has been dedicated to pre-1994 editions, the investigation undertaken in this research focuses on post-apartheid editions of Drum under the commercial ownership of Media24. This also provides a unique opportunity to compare and contrast Drum and YOU which has not been extensively explored in the past. A theoretical study on some of the credible, plausible discourses circulating in Drum drew from Laden's (1997; 2003) research on black South African middle-class magazines and Steyn's (2001) studies on narratives of whiteness including colonial and apartheid policy discourses. Other theory considered to identify types of discourses included those on self-stylisation, excorporation and the historic, cultural influence of Drum in black South African identity formation. Critical discourse analysis is employed to discern the distinction and boundaries between the conceived black middle-class readerships of Drum and YOU. A multifarious content is present in Drum magazine for the diverse post-apartheid black middle-class of South Africa. Discourses of the African traditional and conservative feature side-by-side with contemporary, liberal and Western discourses; while the cultural repertoires of the bourgeois middle-class are presented beside the more modest commodities of the lower-income working class. This communicates an increasingly integrated South African consumer culture and a willing bourgeois solidarity amongst middle-class groups, creating a larger consumer class for advertisers and marketers in South Africa. In comparison to YOU, the discourses of the conservative-African-traditional provide a distinctive feature of Drum. However, this discourse is limited to realms which do not threaten the prevailing magazine culture of consumerism and the dominant global culture of Western science and reason. The other great distinction from YOU is Drum’s prominent educating and didactic function, offering an aspirant lifestyle by marketing a range of Western technologies and commodities. This is in addition to suggesting options for desirable social conduct and socially-responsible behavior.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The unstable earth landscape and language in Patrick White's Voss, Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient and David Malouf's An Imaginary Life
- Authors: Lee, Deva
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: White, Patrick, 1912-1990. Voss Ondaatje, Michael, 1943- The English patient Malouf, David, 1934- An imaginary life Language and languages in literature English fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2238 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002281
- Description: This thesis argues that Patrick White’s Voss, Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient and David Malouf’s An Imaginary Life depict landscape in a manner that reveals the inadequacies of imperial epistemological discourses and the rationalist model of subjectivity which enables them. The study demonstrates that these novels all emphasise the instabilities inherent in imperial epistemology. White, Ondaatje and Malouf chart their protagonists’ inability to comprehend and document the landscapes they encounter, and the ways in which this failure calls into question their subjectivity and the epistemologies that underpin it. One of the principal contentions of the study, then, is that the novels under consideration deploy a postmodern aesthetic of the sublime to undermine colonial discourses. The first chapter of the thesis outlines the postcolonial and poststructural theory that informs the readings in the later chapters. Chapter Two analyses White’s representation of subjectivity, imperial discourse and the Outback in Voss. The third chapter examines Ondaatje’s depiction of the Sahara Desert in The English Patient, and focuses on his concern with the ways in which language and cartographic discourse influence the subject’s perception of the natural world. Chapter Four investigates the representation of landscape, language and subjectivity in Malouf’s An Imaginary Life. Finally, then, this study argues that literature’s unique ability to acknowledge alterity enables it to serve as an effective tool for critiquing colonial discourses.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Lee, Deva
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: White, Patrick, 1912-1990. Voss Ondaatje, Michael, 1943- The English patient Malouf, David, 1934- An imaginary life Language and languages in literature English fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2238 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002281
- Description: This thesis argues that Patrick White’s Voss, Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient and David Malouf’s An Imaginary Life depict landscape in a manner that reveals the inadequacies of imperial epistemological discourses and the rationalist model of subjectivity which enables them. The study demonstrates that these novels all emphasise the instabilities inherent in imperial epistemology. White, Ondaatje and Malouf chart their protagonists’ inability to comprehend and document the landscapes they encounter, and the ways in which this failure calls into question their subjectivity and the epistemologies that underpin it. One of the principal contentions of the study, then, is that the novels under consideration deploy a postmodern aesthetic of the sublime to undermine colonial discourses. The first chapter of the thesis outlines the postcolonial and poststructural theory that informs the readings in the later chapters. Chapter Two analyses White’s representation of subjectivity, imperial discourse and the Outback in Voss. The third chapter examines Ondaatje’s depiction of the Sahara Desert in The English Patient, and focuses on his concern with the ways in which language and cartographic discourse influence the subject’s perception of the natural world. Chapter Four investigates the representation of landscape, language and subjectivity in Malouf’s An Imaginary Life. Finally, then, this study argues that literature’s unique ability to acknowledge alterity enables it to serve as an effective tool for critiquing colonial discourses.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The use of a Roving Creel Survey to monitor exploited coastal fish species in the Goukamma Marine Ptrotected Area, South Africa
- Authors: Van Zyl, Carika Sylvia
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Fishing surveys , Fishery management -- South Africa , Fish populations -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10748 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1348 , Fishing surveys , Fishery management -- South Africa , Fish populations -- South Africa
- Description: A fishery-dependant monitoring method of the recreational shore-based fishery was undertaken in the Goukamma Marine Protected Area (MPA) on the south coast of South Africa for a period of 17 months. The method used was a roving creel survey (RCS), with dates, times and starting locations chosen by stratified random sampling. The MPA was divided into two sections, Buffalo Bay and Groenvlei, and all anglers encountered were interviewed. Catch and effort data were collected and catch per unit effort (CPUE) was calculated from this. The spatial distribution of anglers was also mapped. A generalized linear model (GLM) was fitted to the effort data to determine the effects of month and day type on the variability of effort in each section. Fitted values showed that effort was significantly higher on weekends than on week days, in both sections. A total average of 3662 anglers fishing 21 428 hours annually is estimated within the reserve with a mean trip length of 5.85 hours. Angler numbers were higher per unit coastline length in Buffalo Bay than Groenvlei, but fishing effort (angler hours) was higher in Groenvlei. Density distributions showed that anglers were clumped in easily accessible areas and that they favored rocky areas and mixed shores over sandy shores. Catch documented between October 2008 and December 2009 included a total of 361 fish, of 27 species from 12 families. Sparidae had the highest contribution (12 species). A Shannon-Weiner diversity index showed that diversity was higher in Buffalo Bay (0.81) than Groenvlei (0.57). Catch composition of retained fish (336 individuals) showed that the six numerically most important species were blacktail (Diplodus sargus capensis) (66 percent of catch), followed by galjoen (Dichistius capensis) at 11 percent, Cape stumpnose (Rhabdosargus holubi), belman (Umbrina robinsonii) and strepie at 3 percent, and elf (Pomatomus saltatrix) at 2 percent. Catch composition of an earlier study in Goukamma (Pradervand and Hiseman 2006) was compared with the present study, as well as data from the De Hoop MPA, which is closed to fishing. A multi-dimensional scaling plot of catch composition showed tight clustering of the De Hoop samples, and high variability among the Goukamma samples. A bray-curtis similarity index and dendrogram of similarity between study sites and study periods showed that there was an 83 percent similarity among De Hoop samples and a 75 percent similarity among Goukamma samples (ignoring the two outliers). The two sites are different with respect to species composition, but this is expected because they are different areas. Differences between time periods in Goukamma (i.e. the previous study versus the present study) were not significant. The most significant result from the catch composition analyses is the high variability among the Goukamma samples. This can be explained by the variable fishing methods used by anglers in Goukamma, compared with the standardized fishing methods used by researchers in De Hoop, and the fact that fish are more abundant and populations are more stable in De Hoop – giving higher sample sizes which reduce the variability in the statistics. Species-specific CPUE was calculated for the six numerically most important species. In both sections, CPUE was highest for blacktail, with an average of 0.133 fish per hour for Groenvlei, and 0.060 fish per hour for Buffalo Bay, over the 12 months. The second highest CPUE values per section were 0.030 for galjoen in Groenvlei and 0.039 for strepie in Buffalo Bay. Remaining CPUE values ranged from 0.014 (belman in Groenvlei) to the lowest value of 0.001 (strepie in Groenvlei). Total estimated CPUE for these six species in the MPA using the estimated effort and catch results amounted to 0.018 fish per hour. An annual estimated 3897 fish were landed in the reserve during 2009. Most fish (n=2481, 64 percent) were caught in the Groenvlei section. Numbers of blacktail were the highest of all species, within both sections (2353 fish). Strepie was the next most common (561 fish), but was caught almost entirely within the Buffalo Bay section (97 percent of individuals), followed by galjoen (548 fish) caught mostly within the Groenvlei section (92 percent of individuals). Size comparisons of the six species between the Goukamma and De Hoop MPAs showed that ranges in size are similar, but there are substantial differences in mean sizes between the two MPAs. Sample sizes of all species from the Goukamma MPA were too small to draw conclusions about stock status, except for blacktail. The Goukamma MPA is a popular fishing destination and angler effort is high. It can be considered a node of exploitation for surf zone fish, for which it provides no protection. Even though the MPA allows shore angling, sustainable fishing practices should be incorporated in management plans if the MPA is expected to protect and conserve its stocks. Of noteworthy concern is the occurrence of illegal night fishing (the public may not enter the reserve between sunrise and sunset) which leads to underestimates of catch and effort (night surveys were not conducted because of safety concerns). It is recommended that more communication should take place between the angling community and the reserve management. Sign boards giving information on species which are under pressure, and why they are under pressure, with a short explanation on their life cycles, is advised. The roving creel survey method was suitable for the study area and delivered statistically rigorous results. I thus recommend that it is continued in the future by management. I make some recommendations for reducing costs of future surveys, as well as for altering the survey design if funds are very limited.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Van Zyl, Carika Sylvia
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Fishing surveys , Fishery management -- South Africa , Fish populations -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10748 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1348 , Fishing surveys , Fishery management -- South Africa , Fish populations -- South Africa
- Description: A fishery-dependant monitoring method of the recreational shore-based fishery was undertaken in the Goukamma Marine Protected Area (MPA) on the south coast of South Africa for a period of 17 months. The method used was a roving creel survey (RCS), with dates, times and starting locations chosen by stratified random sampling. The MPA was divided into two sections, Buffalo Bay and Groenvlei, and all anglers encountered were interviewed. Catch and effort data were collected and catch per unit effort (CPUE) was calculated from this. The spatial distribution of anglers was also mapped. A generalized linear model (GLM) was fitted to the effort data to determine the effects of month and day type on the variability of effort in each section. Fitted values showed that effort was significantly higher on weekends than on week days, in both sections. A total average of 3662 anglers fishing 21 428 hours annually is estimated within the reserve with a mean trip length of 5.85 hours. Angler numbers were higher per unit coastline length in Buffalo Bay than Groenvlei, but fishing effort (angler hours) was higher in Groenvlei. Density distributions showed that anglers were clumped in easily accessible areas and that they favored rocky areas and mixed shores over sandy shores. Catch documented between October 2008 and December 2009 included a total of 361 fish, of 27 species from 12 families. Sparidae had the highest contribution (12 species). A Shannon-Weiner diversity index showed that diversity was higher in Buffalo Bay (0.81) than Groenvlei (0.57). Catch composition of retained fish (336 individuals) showed that the six numerically most important species were blacktail (Diplodus sargus capensis) (66 percent of catch), followed by galjoen (Dichistius capensis) at 11 percent, Cape stumpnose (Rhabdosargus holubi), belman (Umbrina robinsonii) and strepie at 3 percent, and elf (Pomatomus saltatrix) at 2 percent. Catch composition of an earlier study in Goukamma (Pradervand and Hiseman 2006) was compared with the present study, as well as data from the De Hoop MPA, which is closed to fishing. A multi-dimensional scaling plot of catch composition showed tight clustering of the De Hoop samples, and high variability among the Goukamma samples. A bray-curtis similarity index and dendrogram of similarity between study sites and study periods showed that there was an 83 percent similarity among De Hoop samples and a 75 percent similarity among Goukamma samples (ignoring the two outliers). The two sites are different with respect to species composition, but this is expected because they are different areas. Differences between time periods in Goukamma (i.e. the previous study versus the present study) were not significant. The most significant result from the catch composition analyses is the high variability among the Goukamma samples. This can be explained by the variable fishing methods used by anglers in Goukamma, compared with the standardized fishing methods used by researchers in De Hoop, and the fact that fish are more abundant and populations are more stable in De Hoop – giving higher sample sizes which reduce the variability in the statistics. Species-specific CPUE was calculated for the six numerically most important species. In both sections, CPUE was highest for blacktail, with an average of 0.133 fish per hour for Groenvlei, and 0.060 fish per hour for Buffalo Bay, over the 12 months. The second highest CPUE values per section were 0.030 for galjoen in Groenvlei and 0.039 for strepie in Buffalo Bay. Remaining CPUE values ranged from 0.014 (belman in Groenvlei) to the lowest value of 0.001 (strepie in Groenvlei). Total estimated CPUE for these six species in the MPA using the estimated effort and catch results amounted to 0.018 fish per hour. An annual estimated 3897 fish were landed in the reserve during 2009. Most fish (n=2481, 64 percent) were caught in the Groenvlei section. Numbers of blacktail were the highest of all species, within both sections (2353 fish). Strepie was the next most common (561 fish), but was caught almost entirely within the Buffalo Bay section (97 percent of individuals), followed by galjoen (548 fish) caught mostly within the Groenvlei section (92 percent of individuals). Size comparisons of the six species between the Goukamma and De Hoop MPAs showed that ranges in size are similar, but there are substantial differences in mean sizes between the two MPAs. Sample sizes of all species from the Goukamma MPA were too small to draw conclusions about stock status, except for blacktail. The Goukamma MPA is a popular fishing destination and angler effort is high. It can be considered a node of exploitation for surf zone fish, for which it provides no protection. Even though the MPA allows shore angling, sustainable fishing practices should be incorporated in management plans if the MPA is expected to protect and conserve its stocks. Of noteworthy concern is the occurrence of illegal night fishing (the public may not enter the reserve between sunrise and sunset) which leads to underestimates of catch and effort (night surveys were not conducted because of safety concerns). It is recommended that more communication should take place between the angling community and the reserve management. Sign boards giving information on species which are under pressure, and why they are under pressure, with a short explanation on their life cycles, is advised. The roving creel survey method was suitable for the study area and delivered statistically rigorous results. I thus recommend that it is continued in the future by management. I make some recommendations for reducing costs of future surveys, as well as for altering the survey design if funds are very limited.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The use of Afrikaans-English-Xhosa code switching and code mixing as a teaching strategy in the teaching of Afrikaans additional language in the secondary schools of the Transkei Region of the Eastern Cape Province (RSA)
- Authors: Songxaba, S L
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Code switching and code mixing -- Teaching -- Afrikaans-English-Xhosa , Education (Secondary) -- Afrikaans language
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Ed
- Identifier: vital:18414 , http://hdl.handle.net/11260/d1006565
- Description: This study seeks to report on the investigation into the need to use code switching as one of the language teaching strategies in the teaching and learning of Afrikaans as Additional Language in the FET band, in predominantly Xhosa-speaking environments in the Eastern Cape. The study was conducted in twelve secondary schools of the Transkei where Afrikaans is taught as an additional language. The sample of the study comprised the educators, the learners and the school managers of the twelve researched schools. The research was a case study of the selected schools. The participants were studied in their own environment and the data was collected by means of both the interviews and structured questionnaires. South Africa is a multilingual and multicultural country. This state of affairs calls for a serious re-evaluation of the existing teaching methodologies. Children acquire language skills in and outside the classroom in two different ways in multilingual societies. While children acquire proficiency in languages outside the classroom in a natural way, in the classroom they are constrained by rigid purist rules that compel them to learn languages in artificial ways. This manner of language acquisition in the predominantly Xhosa-speaking environments of the Eastern Cape, often goes hand in hand with code switching from source language to target language and vice versa. These children can be described as compound informal bilinguals (polyglots) as far as the indigenous languages are concerned since they acquire the indigenous languages from early childhood in natural settings. In the context of formal acquisition of European languages and Afrikaans in schools, they can be categorised as coordinate bilinguals. The linguistic disparities between classroom and natural acquisition practices were revealed in this investigation. In the classroom, code switching has two contradictory sides. On one hand code switching provides the teacher with ease of expression, confidence and satisfaction that the learners understand the lesson. Notwithstanding the dynamic attributes of code switching in the classroom, the learners are faced with the dilemma of having to avoid code switching as much as possible in the examinations since there is no room for code switching in the examinations. This investigation showed that despite the fact that non-mother tongue teaching is supposed to take place through the medium of the target language, both the teachers and the learners admitted that they code switch during Afrikaans classes and they perceive code switching as the best way to facilitate understanding. The findings of this study revealed that code switching was a natural and inevitable strategy in teaching an additional language. However, it also surfaced that some teachers resorted to using code switching because of their own lack of proficiency in the target language. Informed by the above findings, the study recommended that code switching be considered as one of the strategies to be used in the teaching and learning of Afrikaans as additional language. It was also recommended that learners be credited if they used code switching in the examinations since all respondents admitted that code switching was every-day practice in the classroom. This, however is to be done with extreme caution and with the sole purpose of assisting the learners achieve full mastery of the target language at the end of their learning career. Since this kind of exercise needs highly-skilled personnel, it was recommended that practising teachers be retrained and resource materials be expanded to all schools that offer Afrikaans as additional language. Although the arguments presented in this investigation do not reject the reality of the impeding effect code switching might have on the learning of an additional language, the study maintains that for purposes of mutual understanding, code switching is an enabling factor that impacts positively on the teaching-learning situation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Songxaba, S L
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Code switching and code mixing -- Teaching -- Afrikaans-English-Xhosa , Education (Secondary) -- Afrikaans language
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Ed
- Identifier: vital:18414 , http://hdl.handle.net/11260/d1006565
- Description: This study seeks to report on the investigation into the need to use code switching as one of the language teaching strategies in the teaching and learning of Afrikaans as Additional Language in the FET band, in predominantly Xhosa-speaking environments in the Eastern Cape. The study was conducted in twelve secondary schools of the Transkei where Afrikaans is taught as an additional language. The sample of the study comprised the educators, the learners and the school managers of the twelve researched schools. The research was a case study of the selected schools. The participants were studied in their own environment and the data was collected by means of both the interviews and structured questionnaires. South Africa is a multilingual and multicultural country. This state of affairs calls for a serious re-evaluation of the existing teaching methodologies. Children acquire language skills in and outside the classroom in two different ways in multilingual societies. While children acquire proficiency in languages outside the classroom in a natural way, in the classroom they are constrained by rigid purist rules that compel them to learn languages in artificial ways. This manner of language acquisition in the predominantly Xhosa-speaking environments of the Eastern Cape, often goes hand in hand with code switching from source language to target language and vice versa. These children can be described as compound informal bilinguals (polyglots) as far as the indigenous languages are concerned since they acquire the indigenous languages from early childhood in natural settings. In the context of formal acquisition of European languages and Afrikaans in schools, they can be categorised as coordinate bilinguals. The linguistic disparities between classroom and natural acquisition practices were revealed in this investigation. In the classroom, code switching has two contradictory sides. On one hand code switching provides the teacher with ease of expression, confidence and satisfaction that the learners understand the lesson. Notwithstanding the dynamic attributes of code switching in the classroom, the learners are faced with the dilemma of having to avoid code switching as much as possible in the examinations since there is no room for code switching in the examinations. This investigation showed that despite the fact that non-mother tongue teaching is supposed to take place through the medium of the target language, both the teachers and the learners admitted that they code switch during Afrikaans classes and they perceive code switching as the best way to facilitate understanding. The findings of this study revealed that code switching was a natural and inevitable strategy in teaching an additional language. However, it also surfaced that some teachers resorted to using code switching because of their own lack of proficiency in the target language. Informed by the above findings, the study recommended that code switching be considered as one of the strategies to be used in the teaching and learning of Afrikaans as additional language. It was also recommended that learners be credited if they used code switching in the examinations since all respondents admitted that code switching was every-day practice in the classroom. This, however is to be done with extreme caution and with the sole purpose of assisting the learners achieve full mastery of the target language at the end of their learning career. Since this kind of exercise needs highly-skilled personnel, it was recommended that practising teachers be retrained and resource materials be expanded to all schools that offer Afrikaans as additional language. Although the arguments presented in this investigation do not reject the reality of the impeding effect code switching might have on the learning of an additional language, the study maintains that for purposes of mutual understanding, code switching is an enabling factor that impacts positively on the teaching-learning situation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The use of e-mail among students and lecturers at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University: a guide reasearch report
- Ntsiko, Blondie Bonisa Blossom
- Authors: Ntsiko, Blondie Bonisa Blossom
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Telecommunication in education , Educational technology , Electronic mail systems in education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9119 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1015970
- Description: This research seeks to determine the impact of the use of e-mail between lecturers and students at the NMMU. New students at universities, and especially first year undergraduates, can sometimes have difficulties in addressing their concerns, questions and ideas about their courses and are faced with the difficulty of adapting to a new lifestyle and the university environment. Interactivity and feedback are key contributors to providing an effective learning environment for such students. Lecturers provide the main source for university students to discover what is expected of them to identify the key learning goals related to a course, from a lecturer (Braxton, Milem & Sullivan, 2000:569). The increase in student numbers in Higher Education over the last decade has been dramatic, placing greater pressures on academic staff in terms of contacting students. As computer technology becomes both more prevalent and more intrusive, its use and misuse are increasingly falling under the critical scrutiny of academic researchers. If traditional educational methods are supported, such support must be flexible enough to accommodate technology, but as a means, not an end. The research of e-mail impact between students and lecturers is still very new and is open for additional study (Braxton, et al. 2000:590).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Ntsiko, Blondie Bonisa Blossom
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Telecommunication in education , Educational technology , Electronic mail systems in education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9119 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1015970
- Description: This research seeks to determine the impact of the use of e-mail between lecturers and students at the NMMU. New students at universities, and especially first year undergraduates, can sometimes have difficulties in addressing their concerns, questions and ideas about their courses and are faced with the difficulty of adapting to a new lifestyle and the university environment. Interactivity and feedback are key contributors to providing an effective learning environment for such students. Lecturers provide the main source for university students to discover what is expected of them to identify the key learning goals related to a course, from a lecturer (Braxton, Milem & Sullivan, 2000:569). The increase in student numbers in Higher Education over the last decade has been dramatic, placing greater pressures on academic staff in terms of contacting students. As computer technology becomes both more prevalent and more intrusive, its use and misuse are increasingly falling under the critical scrutiny of academic researchers. If traditional educational methods are supported, such support must be flexible enough to accommodate technology, but as a means, not an end. The research of e-mail impact between students and lecturers is still very new and is open for additional study (Braxton, et al. 2000:590).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The use of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) in promoting sustainable development
- Ngesi, Hlekani Ntombizakithi
- Authors: Ngesi, Hlekani Ntombizakithi
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Environmental impact analysis -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Sustainable development -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa , Environmental management -- Planning , Environmental impact analysis -- Law and legislation -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9045 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1614 , Environmental impact analysis -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Sustainable development -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa , Environmental management -- Planning , Environmental impact analysis -- Law and legislation -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Description: The overall aim of the case study was to investigate the effectiveness of EIAs in NMB and to determine whether EIA legislation and implementation can lead to the promotion of sustainable development practices. The research made use of the qualitative research methodology and followed the inductive approach by critically evaluating the EIA process in the NMBM using the case study approach. This was supported by a survey which was administered to willing participants chosen at random whose extensive experience is relevant to this research topic. Interviews involved direct personal contact with participants who were asked to respond to questions relating to the research study. The research sample consisted of eight participants. The local authority was represented by two participants, the Environmental Assessment Practitioners were represented by five participants and the Non-Governmental Organization was represented by 1 participant. The first objective of the study was to evaluate the role of government during the EIA process. The results showed that EAPs in NMB municipality are relatively satisfied with how the municipality is handling the EIA process with regards to commenting on both internal and external applications. There was however a view that most municipalities lack sufficient capacity to be able to comment on EIA applications as required by legislation and that human resource issues were one of the contributing factors where skills are concerned. The second objective of the study was to examine and evaluate the role of civil society and NGOs during the EIA process. The results showed that NGOs are quite vocal and very much involved in driving the sustainable development agenda and that in South Africa NGOs are usually the ones that are responsible for getting the message across in the form of environmental education and awareness through the translation of environmental knowledge into practical on the ground conservation. 4 The third objective of the study was to analyze the responsibilities of Environmental Assessment Practitioners (EAPs) in the EIA process. The EAPs had a very good knowledge of the EIA process and what was required of them in terms of the process. The fourth objective was to evaluate compliance to the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) by the applicant once Environmental Authorisation (EA) has been granted by the responsible authority. The results showed that all the participants were in agreement in terms of the need for EMPs but their lack of enforcement was highlighted as a very serious problem which is in need of urgent attention sooner rather than later. It was also highlighted that EMPs were generally not adhered to due to their lack of legal status and that many developers viewed EMPs as guideline documents rather than something that has legally enforceable provisions. The study concluded that EIAs are not effective in meeting the requirements of NEMA and promoting sustainable development agenda. The IEM planning process which has largely been focused on EIAs as a tool to support decision-making by specialists and hence promote sustainable development has its weaknesses and has not been successful in driving the sustainable development agenda in Nelson Mandela Bay
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Ngesi, Hlekani Ntombizakithi
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Environmental impact analysis -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Sustainable development -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa , Environmental management -- Planning , Environmental impact analysis -- Law and legislation -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9045 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1614 , Environmental impact analysis -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Sustainable development -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa , Environmental management -- Planning , Environmental impact analysis -- Law and legislation -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Description: The overall aim of the case study was to investigate the effectiveness of EIAs in NMB and to determine whether EIA legislation and implementation can lead to the promotion of sustainable development practices. The research made use of the qualitative research methodology and followed the inductive approach by critically evaluating the EIA process in the NMBM using the case study approach. This was supported by a survey which was administered to willing participants chosen at random whose extensive experience is relevant to this research topic. Interviews involved direct personal contact with participants who were asked to respond to questions relating to the research study. The research sample consisted of eight participants. The local authority was represented by two participants, the Environmental Assessment Practitioners were represented by five participants and the Non-Governmental Organization was represented by 1 participant. The first objective of the study was to evaluate the role of government during the EIA process. The results showed that EAPs in NMB municipality are relatively satisfied with how the municipality is handling the EIA process with regards to commenting on both internal and external applications. There was however a view that most municipalities lack sufficient capacity to be able to comment on EIA applications as required by legislation and that human resource issues were one of the contributing factors where skills are concerned. The second objective of the study was to examine and evaluate the role of civil society and NGOs during the EIA process. The results showed that NGOs are quite vocal and very much involved in driving the sustainable development agenda and that in South Africa NGOs are usually the ones that are responsible for getting the message across in the form of environmental education and awareness through the translation of environmental knowledge into practical on the ground conservation. 4 The third objective of the study was to analyze the responsibilities of Environmental Assessment Practitioners (EAPs) in the EIA process. The EAPs had a very good knowledge of the EIA process and what was required of them in terms of the process. The fourth objective was to evaluate compliance to the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) by the applicant once Environmental Authorisation (EA) has been granted by the responsible authority. The results showed that all the participants were in agreement in terms of the need for EMPs but their lack of enforcement was highlighted as a very serious problem which is in need of urgent attention sooner rather than later. It was also highlighted that EMPs were generally not adhered to due to their lack of legal status and that many developers viewed EMPs as guideline documents rather than something that has legally enforceable provisions. The study concluded that EIAs are not effective in meeting the requirements of NEMA and promoting sustainable development agenda. The IEM planning process which has largely been focused on EIAs as a tool to support decision-making by specialists and hence promote sustainable development has its weaknesses and has not been successful in driving the sustainable development agenda in Nelson Mandela Bay
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The use of experimental design in the development of an HPLC–ECD method for the analysis of captopril
- Khamanga, Sandile M, Walker, Roderick B
- Authors: Khamanga, Sandile M , Walker, Roderick B
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/184056 , vital:44163 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2010.11.025"
- Description: An accurate, sensitive and specific high performance liquid chromatography–electrochemical detection (HPLC–ECD) method that was developed and validated for captopril (CPT) is presented. Separation was achieved using a Phenomenex® Luna 5 μm (C18) column and a mobile phase comprised of phosphate buffer (adjusted to pH 3.0): acetonitrile in a ratio of 70:30 (v/v). Detection was accomplished using a full scan multi channel ESA Coulometric detector in the “oxidative-screen” mode with the upstream electrode (E1) set at +600 mV and the downstream (analytical) electrode (E2) set at +950 mV, while the potential of the guard cell was maintained at +1050 mV. The detector gain was set at 300. Experimental design using central composite design (CCD) was used to facilitate method development. Mobile phase pH, molarity and concentration of acetonitrile (ACN) were considered the critical factors to be studied to establish the retention time of CPT and cyclizine (CYC) that was used as the internal standard. Twenty experiments including centre points were undertaken and a quadratic model was derived for the retention time for CPT using the experimental data. The method was validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, limits of quantitation and detection, as per the ICH guidelines. The system was found to produce sharp and well-resolved peaks for CPT and CYC with retention times of 3.08 and 7.56 min, respectively. Linear regression analysis for the calibration curve showed a good linear relationship with a regression coefficient of 0.978 in the concentration range of 2–70 μg/mL. The linear regression equation was y = 0.0131x + 0.0275. The limits of detection (LOQ) and quantitation (LOD) were found to be 2.27 and 0.6 μg/mL, respectively. The method was used to analyze CPT in tablets. The wide range for linearity, accuracy, sensitivity, short retention time and composition of the mobile phase indicated that this method is better for the quantification of CPT than the pharmacopoeial methods.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Khamanga, Sandile M , Walker, Roderick B
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/184056 , vital:44163 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2010.11.025"
- Description: An accurate, sensitive and specific high performance liquid chromatography–electrochemical detection (HPLC–ECD) method that was developed and validated for captopril (CPT) is presented. Separation was achieved using a Phenomenex® Luna 5 μm (C18) column and a mobile phase comprised of phosphate buffer (adjusted to pH 3.0): acetonitrile in a ratio of 70:30 (v/v). Detection was accomplished using a full scan multi channel ESA Coulometric detector in the “oxidative-screen” mode with the upstream electrode (E1) set at +600 mV and the downstream (analytical) electrode (E2) set at +950 mV, while the potential of the guard cell was maintained at +1050 mV. The detector gain was set at 300. Experimental design using central composite design (CCD) was used to facilitate method development. Mobile phase pH, molarity and concentration of acetonitrile (ACN) were considered the critical factors to be studied to establish the retention time of CPT and cyclizine (CYC) that was used as the internal standard. Twenty experiments including centre points were undertaken and a quadratic model was derived for the retention time for CPT using the experimental data. The method was validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, limits of quantitation and detection, as per the ICH guidelines. The system was found to produce sharp and well-resolved peaks for CPT and CYC with retention times of 3.08 and 7.56 min, respectively. Linear regression analysis for the calibration curve showed a good linear relationship with a regression coefficient of 0.978 in the concentration range of 2–70 μg/mL. The linear regression equation was y = 0.0131x + 0.0275. The limits of detection (LOQ) and quantitation (LOD) were found to be 2.27 and 0.6 μg/mL, respectively. The method was used to analyze CPT in tablets. The wide range for linearity, accuracy, sensitivity, short retention time and composition of the mobile phase indicated that this method is better for the quantification of CPT than the pharmacopoeial methods.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The use of fish species in a marine conservation plan for KwaZulu-Natal
- Authors: Haupt, Philip
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Fishery conservation -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal , Marine resources conservation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10681 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1528 , Fishery conservation -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal , Marine resources conservation
- Description: This study formed part of a larger provincial marine systematic conservation plan for KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, called SeaPLAN. Owing to budget and time constraints, not all ± 1640 fish species that occur in the region were considered. A method to prioritise species was therefore developed to identify those species which were most at most risk of being excluded by a conservation plan based primarily on habitat representation (i.e. SeaPLAN). The method was based on three underlying principles: (i) species with limited conservation options; (ii) threatened species; and (iii) inherently vulnerable species. From these three principles, seven criteria were defined (e.g. endemic or rare species). Sixtyseven species met the qualifying conditions for these criteria and were consequently included in this study (FishPLAN). In order to map the distributions of these 67 fish species, the spatial and temporal accuracy of existing marine fish data for KZN was investigated. Only 17 percent of the data evaluated met the spatial resolution requirements of 1 km2, while temporal resolution was high: >99 percent of the data were collected at daily resolution. A resulting recommendation is that future data collection employ handheld data recording devices (with GPS capability), in order to increase the spatial accuracy of data, minimise human error and improve the efficiency of data flow. Species life cycle envelopes (SLICES) were developed to capture spatial differences in areas occupied during three life-cycle phases (reproductive, juvenile and feeding). Two distribution modelling techniques were used: Maxent, which uses quantitative data, and CHARMS (cartographic habitat association range models), which uses qualitative range data. A combination of statistical and biological criteria was used to determine the most informative and appropriate model for each species. Species distribution models (SDMs) were constructed for three temporal partitions of the data: annual, summer and winter. Patterns of species richness developed from the seasonal models showed seasonal differences in patterns that conformed to known seasonal distributions of fish assemblages: richness was higher in southern KZN during winter, while it was higher in northern KZN during summer. The resulting SDMs were used to develop a conservation plan for fish: conservation targets were set using the minimum recommended baseline of 20 percent of a species’ range, to which biological retention targets (additional proportion of the range) were added, in an attempt to ensure species persistence. The conservation targets were then adjusted using catch per unit effort (CPUE) data to match seasonal abundance of a given species. Within the existing network of marine protected areas (MPAs), none of the species’ targets are met by MPA sanctuary zones (zone As) alone, and all species require greater areas of protection. Three areas, namely offshore of the Tugela River mouth, the reefs offshore of Durban, and Aliwal Shoal, were consistently identified as being important in addition to existing MPAs for conservation of the fish species investigated. The greater efficiency of a seasonal MPA network to protect seasonally varying distributions of biodiversity, suggests that this may be a useful tool to consider in conservation management. The outcome of a conservation plan from this study (FishPLAN) was finally compared with the broader, more inclusive conservation plan, SeaPLAN. This comparison demonstrated how conservation plans based on a single group of species run the risk of identifying areas that are appropriate only for the relevant species, and might fail to conserve biodiversity as a whole.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Haupt, Philip
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Fishery conservation -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal , Marine resources conservation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10681 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1528 , Fishery conservation -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal , Marine resources conservation
- Description: This study formed part of a larger provincial marine systematic conservation plan for KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, called SeaPLAN. Owing to budget and time constraints, not all ± 1640 fish species that occur in the region were considered. A method to prioritise species was therefore developed to identify those species which were most at most risk of being excluded by a conservation plan based primarily on habitat representation (i.e. SeaPLAN). The method was based on three underlying principles: (i) species with limited conservation options; (ii) threatened species; and (iii) inherently vulnerable species. From these three principles, seven criteria were defined (e.g. endemic or rare species). Sixtyseven species met the qualifying conditions for these criteria and were consequently included in this study (FishPLAN). In order to map the distributions of these 67 fish species, the spatial and temporal accuracy of existing marine fish data for KZN was investigated. Only 17 percent of the data evaluated met the spatial resolution requirements of 1 km2, while temporal resolution was high: >99 percent of the data were collected at daily resolution. A resulting recommendation is that future data collection employ handheld data recording devices (with GPS capability), in order to increase the spatial accuracy of data, minimise human error and improve the efficiency of data flow. Species life cycle envelopes (SLICES) were developed to capture spatial differences in areas occupied during three life-cycle phases (reproductive, juvenile and feeding). Two distribution modelling techniques were used: Maxent, which uses quantitative data, and CHARMS (cartographic habitat association range models), which uses qualitative range data. A combination of statistical and biological criteria was used to determine the most informative and appropriate model for each species. Species distribution models (SDMs) were constructed for three temporal partitions of the data: annual, summer and winter. Patterns of species richness developed from the seasonal models showed seasonal differences in patterns that conformed to known seasonal distributions of fish assemblages: richness was higher in southern KZN during winter, while it was higher in northern KZN during summer. The resulting SDMs were used to develop a conservation plan for fish: conservation targets were set using the minimum recommended baseline of 20 percent of a species’ range, to which biological retention targets (additional proportion of the range) were added, in an attempt to ensure species persistence. The conservation targets were then adjusted using catch per unit effort (CPUE) data to match seasonal abundance of a given species. Within the existing network of marine protected areas (MPAs), none of the species’ targets are met by MPA sanctuary zones (zone As) alone, and all species require greater areas of protection. Three areas, namely offshore of the Tugela River mouth, the reefs offshore of Durban, and Aliwal Shoal, were consistently identified as being important in addition to existing MPAs for conservation of the fish species investigated. The greater efficiency of a seasonal MPA network to protect seasonally varying distributions of biodiversity, suggests that this may be a useful tool to consider in conservation management. The outcome of a conservation plan from this study (FishPLAN) was finally compared with the broader, more inclusive conservation plan, SeaPLAN. This comparison demonstrated how conservation plans based on a single group of species run the risk of identifying areas that are appropriate only for the relevant species, and might fail to conserve biodiversity as a whole.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The use of lean tools to increase productivity and improve efficiency in Port Elizabeth Enforcement Audit
- Authors: Bantom, Phumeza Patience
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Lean manufacturing , Quality control -- Auditing , Waste minimization , Auditing, Internal
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8645 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1008159 , Lean manufacturing , Quality control -- Auditing , Waste minimization , Auditing, Internal
- Description: Lean philosophy is based on the continuous quest to improve the organisation‟s processes by creating a culture and operating principles which eliminate all non value adding activities within organisation„s processes. Manufacturing firms consider the adoption of the Lean tools as basic requirements for achieving World Class operational excellence or Best Practice. For some time, lean has been used by the manufacturing organizations. Most organizations understand that lean will help them survive global competition and stay in business. The objective of this study is to investigate how lean manufacturing tools can be used to improve efficiency and enhance the embedding of a continuous improvement culture in the South African Revenue Service Enforcement Audit Port Elizabeth. The activities that took place in Enforcement Audit Port Elizabeth from September 2010 until 31 October 2011 were observed. During the study, an introductory presentation by the researcher was made to Regional Enforcement Management and staff in general, the presentation was to introduce the study highlighting different Lean tools. Thereafter the Port Elizabeth audit staff members were engaged formally, using surveys to assess their underlying mindset and behaviour as well as informally, using unstructured interviews to solicit more information on activities taking place and the reasoning behind certain actions. The results of the survey and observations are analysed and interpreted.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Bantom, Phumeza Patience
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Lean manufacturing , Quality control -- Auditing , Waste minimization , Auditing, Internal
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8645 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1008159 , Lean manufacturing , Quality control -- Auditing , Waste minimization , Auditing, Internal
- Description: Lean philosophy is based on the continuous quest to improve the organisation‟s processes by creating a culture and operating principles which eliminate all non value adding activities within organisation„s processes. Manufacturing firms consider the adoption of the Lean tools as basic requirements for achieving World Class operational excellence or Best Practice. For some time, lean has been used by the manufacturing organizations. Most organizations understand that lean will help them survive global competition and stay in business. The objective of this study is to investigate how lean manufacturing tools can be used to improve efficiency and enhance the embedding of a continuous improvement culture in the South African Revenue Service Enforcement Audit Port Elizabeth. The activities that took place in Enforcement Audit Port Elizabeth from September 2010 until 31 October 2011 were observed. During the study, an introductory presentation by the researcher was made to Regional Enforcement Management and staff in general, the presentation was to introduce the study highlighting different Lean tools. Thereafter the Port Elizabeth audit staff members were engaged formally, using surveys to assess their underlying mindset and behaviour as well as informally, using unstructured interviews to solicit more information on activities taking place and the reasoning behind certain actions. The results of the survey and observations are analysed and interpreted.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The use of learning support materials in the rural schools of Maputaland, Kwa-Zulu Natal
- Authors: Van der Merwe, Michelle
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Environmental education -- South Africa -- Maputaland African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme Coelacanthiformes -- South Africa -- Maputaland Teaching -- Aids and devices -- South Africa -- Maputaland Environmental education -- Curricula -- South Africa -- Maputaland
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1815 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003701
- Description: The African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme (ACEP) was established in 2002 after the discovery of a colony of coelacanths off the Maputaland coast at Sodwana Bay, KwaZulu Natal. The environmental education and awareness sub-programme developed learning support materials (LSM's) for use in schools and the materials were disseminated annually through teacher education workshops. This study aimed to uncover the use of these LSM's in the rural schools of Maputaland. The active learning framework was used to analyse the materials. Collectively, the ACEP materials cover a range of active learning aspects; however alignment with the curriculum has resulted in an increased focus on experiments, accompanied by a loss of environmental content and a narrowing scope for active environmental learning. Workshop questionnaires and four school case studies revealed the patterns of practice of use of materials in schools. The stated use of materials by teachers is not fully realized in the actual classroom practice which centres on learning content and concept definitions. There is no culture of use of materials in the schools following the annual introduction of ACEP materials. It was also found that the marine and coastal knowledge holding power is outside the realm of the teachers' practice and control. The findings of this study come at a time when there is uncertainty over the future of South African education and the curriculum. This research may inform the environmental education and coastal and marine education field as to their role in education and more specifically the development of learning support materials.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Van der Merwe, Michelle
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Environmental education -- South Africa -- Maputaland African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme Coelacanthiformes -- South Africa -- Maputaland Teaching -- Aids and devices -- South Africa -- Maputaland Environmental education -- Curricula -- South Africa -- Maputaland
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1815 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003701
- Description: The African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme (ACEP) was established in 2002 after the discovery of a colony of coelacanths off the Maputaland coast at Sodwana Bay, KwaZulu Natal. The environmental education and awareness sub-programme developed learning support materials (LSM's) for use in schools and the materials were disseminated annually through teacher education workshops. This study aimed to uncover the use of these LSM's in the rural schools of Maputaland. The active learning framework was used to analyse the materials. Collectively, the ACEP materials cover a range of active learning aspects; however alignment with the curriculum has resulted in an increased focus on experiments, accompanied by a loss of environmental content and a narrowing scope for active environmental learning. Workshop questionnaires and four school case studies revealed the patterns of practice of use of materials in schools. The stated use of materials by teachers is not fully realized in the actual classroom practice which centres on learning content and concept definitions. There is no culture of use of materials in the schools following the annual introduction of ACEP materials. It was also found that the marine and coastal knowledge holding power is outside the realm of the teachers' practice and control. The findings of this study come at a time when there is uncertainty over the future of South African education and the curriculum. This research may inform the environmental education and coastal and marine education field as to their role in education and more specifically the development of learning support materials.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The value added by facilities management services to an organisation's core business
- Authors: Relu, Lona
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Facility management , Production management , Operations management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:9724 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012047 , Facility management , Production management , Operations management
- Description: The main objective of the study was to define FM in its broader context and identify ways of exposing its value to the organisation’s core business. The study firstly included defining FM, its scope and nature to provide an in-depth overview and understanding of the discipline. Secondly, the study discussed in detail the level of support of FM by top or senior management. Thirdly, the study discussed the importance of quality management in enhancing the value of FM within an organisation. Lastly, the study discussed how service level agreements can be utilised to enhance the value of FM within the organisation. Questionnaires were distributed via electronic mail and some hand-delivered to private, public organisations and government parastatals to gather their views on how they think FM can add value to their organisations. Questionnaires were sent out to various professionals from various organisations that employ FM services based on the aforementioned objectives. The findings from the survey showed that most organisations understand and have the knowledge about FM but there is no set and defined scope; the scope of FM differs in various organisations; soft services are grouped together and branded as FM services; FM is moderately incorporated throughout and top management still sees FM as adding no value to the organisation’s core business. The results also show that FM needs to adopt strategies such as understanding and working towards the organisation’s goals and objectives; ensuring sustainability in FM services; providing superior quality service and projecting defined and improved levels of service linking service to the organisation’s culture and facilitating organisational change for it to gain support from top management. The majority of respondents incorporating FM in their organisations agree with the benefits afforded by this discipline and have developed and implemented quality management systems that are linked to their business strategies and, by doing so, have enhanced their organisation’s performance levels. Service Level agreements are not being utilised by the majority of the organisations the few organisations that utilise SLA’s, have benefited a great deal from SLAs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Relu, Lona
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Facility management , Production management , Operations management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:9724 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012047 , Facility management , Production management , Operations management
- Description: The main objective of the study was to define FM in its broader context and identify ways of exposing its value to the organisation’s core business. The study firstly included defining FM, its scope and nature to provide an in-depth overview and understanding of the discipline. Secondly, the study discussed in detail the level of support of FM by top or senior management. Thirdly, the study discussed the importance of quality management in enhancing the value of FM within an organisation. Lastly, the study discussed how service level agreements can be utilised to enhance the value of FM within the organisation. Questionnaires were distributed via electronic mail and some hand-delivered to private, public organisations and government parastatals to gather their views on how they think FM can add value to their organisations. Questionnaires were sent out to various professionals from various organisations that employ FM services based on the aforementioned objectives. The findings from the survey showed that most organisations understand and have the knowledge about FM but there is no set and defined scope; the scope of FM differs in various organisations; soft services are grouped together and branded as FM services; FM is moderately incorporated throughout and top management still sees FM as adding no value to the organisation’s core business. The results also show that FM needs to adopt strategies such as understanding and working towards the organisation’s goals and objectives; ensuring sustainability in FM services; providing superior quality service and projecting defined and improved levels of service linking service to the organisation’s culture and facilitating organisational change for it to gain support from top management. The majority of respondents incorporating FM in their organisations agree with the benefits afforded by this discipline and have developed and implemented quality management systems that are linked to their business strategies and, by doing so, have enhanced their organisation’s performance levels. Service Level agreements are not being utilised by the majority of the organisations the few organisations that utilise SLA’s, have benefited a great deal from SLAs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The value of remnant habitat patches for conserving butterflies (Lepidoptera) in King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) Local Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Avuletey, Richard
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Butterflies -- Research Butterflies -- Behaviour South Africa -- Transkei
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:18490 , http://hdl.handle.net/11260/d1011285
- Description: Butterflies (Lepidoptera) have attracted more attention as indicators of terrestrial ecosystems than other invertebrates. This taxon is widely used as tools or subjects for biodiversity conservation planning in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The study determined butterfly species turnover at a-priori selected habitat patches in a protected area (Nduli Nature Reserve) and non-formally protected areas (outside Nduli Nature Reserve) of the KSD Local Municipality and their response to measured environmental variables. Using transect survey methods, 516 butterfly individuals belonging to 22 species were caught from 16 sampling units. Species dominance curves showed more butterfly species evenness outside reserve sites than inside. Hierarchical clustering using Bray-Curtis similarity matrices and Correspondence analysis (CA) grouped sampling units according to butterfly species sampled. Site habitat patches outside the reserve were richer in butterfly and overall abundance than inside the reserve. The Canonical Correspondence analysis (CCA) results revealed that certain site variables such as percentage herb cover, area of patch size, average grass height, grazing intensity, distance to the city centre and average flower density accounted for species distribution patterns at various sampling units. The conservation implications of the study suggest that patch level management of micro-habitats with sufficient flowering herbs, structural vegetation, and patch size with minimal disturbance within and outside reserve areas can encourage rare and common butterfly species richness and diversity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Avuletey, Richard
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Butterflies -- Research Butterflies -- Behaviour South Africa -- Transkei
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:18490 , http://hdl.handle.net/11260/d1011285
- Description: Butterflies (Lepidoptera) have attracted more attention as indicators of terrestrial ecosystems than other invertebrates. This taxon is widely used as tools or subjects for biodiversity conservation planning in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The study determined butterfly species turnover at a-priori selected habitat patches in a protected area (Nduli Nature Reserve) and non-formally protected areas (outside Nduli Nature Reserve) of the KSD Local Municipality and their response to measured environmental variables. Using transect survey methods, 516 butterfly individuals belonging to 22 species were caught from 16 sampling units. Species dominance curves showed more butterfly species evenness outside reserve sites than inside. Hierarchical clustering using Bray-Curtis similarity matrices and Correspondence analysis (CA) grouped sampling units according to butterfly species sampled. Site habitat patches outside the reserve were richer in butterfly and overall abundance than inside the reserve. The Canonical Correspondence analysis (CCA) results revealed that certain site variables such as percentage herb cover, area of patch size, average grass height, grazing intensity, distance to the city centre and average flower density accounted for species distribution patterns at various sampling units. The conservation implications of the study suggest that patch level management of micro-habitats with sufficient flowering herbs, structural vegetation, and patch size with minimal disturbance within and outside reserve areas can encourage rare and common butterfly species richness and diversity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The xfn connection management and control protocol
- Foss, Richard, Gurdan, Robby, Klinkradt, Bradley, Chigwamba, Nyasha
- Authors: Foss, Richard , Gurdan, Robby , Klinkradt, Bradley , Chigwamba, Nyasha
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/427137 , vital:72417 , https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=16143
- Description: With the advent of digital networks that link audio devices, there is a need for a protocol that integrates control and connection management, enables the streaming of all media content such as audio and video between devices from different manufacturers, and that provides a common approach to the control of these devices. This paper describes such a protocol, named XFN, currently being standardized as part of the AES X170 project. XFN is an IP-based peer to peer network protocol, in which any device on the network may send or receive connection management, control, and monitoring messages. Essential to the XFN protocol is the fact that each parameter in a device can be addressed via a hierarchical structure that reflects the functional layout of the device.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Foss, Richard , Gurdan, Robby , Klinkradt, Bradley , Chigwamba, Nyasha
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/427137 , vital:72417 , https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=16143
- Description: With the advent of digital networks that link audio devices, there is a need for a protocol that integrates control and connection management, enables the streaming of all media content such as audio and video between devices from different manufacturers, and that provides a common approach to the control of these devices. This paper describes such a protocol, named XFN, currently being standardized as part of the AES X170 project. XFN is an IP-based peer to peer network protocol, in which any device on the network may send or receive connection management, control, and monitoring messages. Essential to the XFN protocol is the fact that each parameter in a device can be addressed via a hierarchical structure that reflects the functional layout of the device.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011