Indigenous cereal crops and food security issues in Zimbabwe: the case of Matabeleland Provinces
- Authors: Nyathi, Vuyiswa Sandra
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Food security Farms, Small
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Developmental Studies)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17070 , vital:40845
- Description: The study endeavoured to find out how indigenous cereal crops in the form of sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet, popularly known as small grain, would help in increasing cereal production in the dry regions of Zimbabwe so as to alleviate food insecurity. For the past decade the nation’s cereal production has been on the decline with the country having to rely on grain imports from neighbouring countries to prevent hunger. Studies that have been carried out have indicated that these indigenous cereal crops are better suited for semi-arid regions like Matabeleland, used as a case study, where maize has almost always been a failing crop. The study examined representations of smallholder farmers through interviews held with agricultural personnel in Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South Provinces. The study argues that instead of relying on maize only as a staple crop, in the semiarid regions of the country, indigenous cereal crops are suitable alternative staple crops in Zimbabwe. Indications from the findings of the study are that diversification of staple crop production should stress the importance of state mediation, distribution and promotion of indigenous cereal crops. The researcher thus proposes that the reliance on indigenous crops be anchored in community food security, food sovereignty and rural food system perspectives, not negating the negative effects of climate change on food production. The results showed that despite progress made by the state in assisting farmers with agricultural inputs, very little has been achieved in alleviating food insecurity in the dry regions, as indigenous cereal crops continue being pushed to the periphery of the agricultural sector. iii The study concludes by putting forward that addressing the stated challenges could lead to the potential of indigenous cerealcrops potentially increasing the cereal supply for the nation, thus alleviating food security woes as these crops grow favourably even in the most adverse weather conditions and poor topography.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Democracy and party dominance in Kenya and South Africa : a comparative study of the Kenya African National Union and the African National Congres
- Authors: Mwangi, Oscar Gakuo
- Date: 2013-08-15
- Subjects: Kenya African National Union African National Congress Political parties -- South Africa Political parties -- Kenya Democracy -- South Africa Democracy -- Kenya South Africa -- Politics and government Kenya -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2876 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008431
- Description: Kenya and South Africa can be described as dominant party systems, under the dominance of the Kenya African National Union CKANU) and the African National Congress CANC) respectively. A dominant party system is in essence a democracy. The spirit of democracy may, however, apparently be contradicted by the weight of party dominance, thus questioning the content of and prospects for democracy under party dominance in both Kenya and South Africa. The study is a comparative analysis of party dominance in Kenya and South Africa. The main objective is to exan1ine the relationship between party dominance and democracy in both countries. It seeks to find out how party dominance is reproducing itself and surviving the post 1990 transition processes in Kenya and South Africa. More importantly, the study also seeks to find out how party dominance impacts upon institutions that support or uphold democratization and subsequently democracy. The findings of the study demonstrate that party dominance has reproduced itself and survived the post-1990 period, and is also impacting upon democratization and democracy. The dominant parties take a similar trajectory in pursuit of dominance over the state and its apparatuses. However, they differ when it comes to their relationship with the civil society. That between KANU and civil society is antagonistic, as the ruling party seeks to augment political power through authoritarian dominance of the latter to, while that of the ANC and civil society is responsive, as the former seeks to enhance political stability in the country. The impact of party dominance upon institutions that support democracy takes similar and different trajectories in both countries. Similarities arise with respect to the detrimental impact upon institutions of the Executive that ensure accountability and transparency, evident in the increasing cases of corruption, nepotism and political patronage appointments. Similarly, there has been a detrimental impact upon the Legislature regarding parliamentary proceedings. Parliamentary committees and opposition parties are being rendered ineffective as organs of ensuring transparency and accountability, and are often subject to delegitimation. The impact of party dominance on the Judiciary, however, differs in both countries. In Kenya, the judiciary continues to suffer from excessive interference from the Executive and the ruling party, whereas in South Africa the judicial system remains largely independent with regard to the application of justice, despite constant criticisms from the dominant party. The study concludes that South Africa is, gradually, going the Kenyan way. If this condition is left unchecked there is the possibility that South Africa could eventually end up a psuedo-democracy like Kenya, where formal democratic political institutions such as multiparty elections, exist to mask the reality of authoritarian dominance. The thesis recommends that strengthening civil society organizations, opposition political parties, and state institutions in both countries to ensure greater accountability and transparency, will reverse this detrimental effect of party dominance. It also recommends meaningful constitutional reforms that will guarantee greater independence of these institutions, and the decentralization of governmental and political power to check and limit the powers of the dominant party. Also recommended are areas for further research. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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Risk-based assessment of environmental asbestos contamination in the Northern Cape and North West provinces of South Africa
- Authors: Jones, Robert Ryan
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Asbestos industry -- Health aspects -- South Africa -- Northern Cape Asbestos industry -- Health aspects -- South Africa -- North West Environmental risk assessment -- South Africa-- Northern Cape Environmental risk assessment -- North West Asbestos -- Toxicology -- South Africa -- Northern Cape Asbestos -- Toxicology -- South Africa -- North West Tailings (Metallurgy) -- Waste disposal -- South Africa -- Northern Cape Tailings (Metallurgy) -- Waste disposal -- South Africa -- North West
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4780 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012612
- Description: The commercial mining of asbestos occurred in four Provinces of South Africa (Northern Cape, North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga). It was initiated in the late 1800's and lasted for over a hundred years into the beginning of this century. As a producer of amphibole asbestos, South Africa far outpaced every other country being responsible for 97% of global production. The last crocidolite mine closed in 1996 and chrysotile in 2002. Anecdotal information concerning environmental contamination as a result of the former mining activities and the improper disposal of mine waste tailings has been reported by a variety of authors. Few comprehensive or systematic surveys have been conducted to date to document this issue and very little quantifiable research has been completed on the communities located in close proximity to the former mine sites to determine the extent of contamination. In 2004-2006 communities were surveyed within the Northern Cape and North West Provinces to determine the extent and severity of environmental contamination. This research developed and applied a methodology to select those communities suspected of environmental contamination, a targeted survey methodology, and a protocol for rapid sample laboratory analysis. A total of 41 communities were initially predicted by the model to be suspected for environmental asbestos contamination. Based on the inclusion of local knowledge, a final 36 communities were selected for a screening-level field assessment, 34 of which were found to contain environmental asbestos contamination at rates ranging from 20 to 100% of the surveyed locations. A total of 1 843 samples of soil and building material were collected in the screening level assessment. One community (Ga-Mopedi) was selected as being representative of the total cohort and a more detailed house to house survey was completed. A total of 1 486 samples were collected during the detailed survey. Results of the detailed survey revealed 26.2% of the homes were contaminated with asbestos containing soil and/or building material. A theoretical quantitative cumulative exposure assessment was developed to estimate the disease burden within the study area population of 126,130 individuals within the surveyed communities resulting in a predicted range of 25-52.4 excess deaths per year from lung cancer and mesothelioma due solely to environmental exposures to asbestos pollution.
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- Date Issued: 2011
Time series models for paired comparisons
- Authors: Sjolander, Morne Rowan
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Paired comparisons (Statistics)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:10577 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012858
- Description: The method of paired comparisons is seen as a technique used to rank a set of objects with respect to an abstract or immeasurable property. To do this, the objects get to be compared two at a time. The results are input into a model, resulting in numbers known as weights being assigned to the objects. The weights are then used to rank the objects. The method of paired comparisons was first used for psychometric investigations. Various other applications of the method are also present, for example economic applications, and applications in sports statistics. This study involves taking paired comparison models and making them time-dependent. Not much research has been done in this area. Three new time series models for paired comparisons are created. Simulations are done to support the evidence obtained, and theoretical as well as practical examples are given to illustrate the results and to verify the efficiency of the new models. A literature study is given on the method of paired comparisons, as well as on the areas in which we apply our models. Our first two time series models for paired comparisons are the Linear-Trend Bradley- Terry Model and the Sinusoidal Bradley-Terry Model. We use the maximum likelihood approach to solve these models. We test our models using exact and randomly simulated data for various time periods and various numbers of objects. We adapt the Linear-Trend Bradley-Terry Model and received our third time series model for paired comparisons, the Log Linear-Trend Bradley-Terry Model. The daily maximum and minimum temperatures were received for Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Coega for 2005 until 2009. To evaluate the performance of the Linear-Trend Bradley-Terry Model and the Sinusoidal Bradley-Terry Model on estimating missing temperature data, we artificially remove observations of temperature from Coega’s temperature dataset for 2006 until 2008, and use various forms of these models to estimate the missing data points. The exchange rates for 2005 until 2008 between the following currencies: the Rand, Dollar, Euro, Pound and Yen, were obtained and various forms of our Log Linear-Trend Bradley-Terry Model are used to forecast the exchange rate for one day ahead for each month in 2006 until 2008. One of the features of this study is that we apply our time series models for paired comparisons to areas which comprise non-standard paired comparisons; and we want to encourage the use of the method of paired comparisons in a broader sense than what it is traditionally used for. The results of this study can be used in various other areas, like for example, in sports statistics, to rank the strength of sports players and predict their future scores; in Physics, to calculate weather risks of electricity generation, particularly risks related to nuclear power plants, and so forth, as well as in many other areas. It is hoped that this research will open the door to much more research in combining time series analysis with the method of paired comparisons.
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- Date Issued: 2011
Catalytic activities of metallophthalocyanines towards detection and transformation of pollutants
- Authors: Agboola, Bolade Oyeyinka
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Phthalocyanines Electrochemistry Pollutants -- Biodegradation Pollutants -- Measurement
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4427 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006922
- Description: Syntheses, spectral, electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical studies of new thiol-derivatised MPc complexes were satisfactorily carried out. For the first time, spectroelectrochemistry gave evidence for the formation of Ni²⁺/Ni⁺ process in a NiPc complex. Significant insights as to the nature of Fe⁺Pc and Ni⁺Pc spectra were obtained. Transformations of chlorophenols using chemical and photochemical methods are presented. For cobalt tetrasulphophthalocyanine catalysed oxidation of chlorophenols using hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant, types of oxidation products formed depended on the solvent conditions. Photolysis of aqueous solutions of chlorophenols in the presence of immobilised non-transition metal phthalocyanine photosensitisers onto Amerlite® was carried out. For the first time, MPcS[subscript mix] complexes were immobilised on Amberlite® for use in heterogeneous photocatalysis. Photolysis of the chlorophenols resulted mainly in the formation of chlorobenzoquinone derivatives. The generation of singlet oxygen (¹O₂) by these immobilised MPc photosensitisers was found to play a major role in their photoactivities. Modifications of gold electrodes with the newly synthesised thiol-derivatised MPc complexes via electropolymerisation and SAM techniques are presented. Cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy (NiPcs only) and spectroelectrochemical techniques (NiPcs only) confirmed that the complexes formed films on gold electrodes. Stable and well packed SAM films as evidenced by the voltammetric characterisation were obtained. For the first time, optimisation of the time for SAM formation based on CV technique was studied. First example of a formation of MnPc-SAM was achieved. Catalytic activities of the NiPc towards chlorophenol depended on the nature of the NiPc in the polymer films and also anti-fouling ability of the films depended on polymer film thickness. The FeTBMPc polymer modified gold electrode showed the best catalytic activity in terms of peak potential, E[subscript p] when compared to reported work in literature for nitrate electrooxidation. Cyclic voltammetry and spectroscopy studies showed that the CoPcs, FePcs and NiPcs catalysed nitrite oxidation involve 2 electrons in total while that of McPcs involve 1 electron. Better catalytic performance towards sulphite electrooxidation were obtained for the CoPcs, FePcs and MnPcs which have metal based redox processes within the range of the sulphite electrooxidation peak while the NiPcs which did not show metal based oxidation reaction performed less.
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- Date Issued: 2007
Witwatersrand genesis: a comparative study of some early gold mining companies, 1886-1894
- Authors: Webb, Arthur (Arthur C M)
- Date: 1982
- Subjects: Gold mines and mining -- South Africa -- History Gold mines and mining -- South Africa -- Witwatersrand -- History Ferreira Gold Mining Company (Firm) Witwatersrand Gold Mining Company (Firm) Simmer and Jack Gold Mining Company (Firm) Wemmer Gold Mining Company (Firm)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1029 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003725
- Description: Preface: For anyone standing on the ridge of the Witwatersrand on a spring day in September 1886 the sight immediately to the south represented a hive of activity and hope. Nearly a hundred years later ample evidence stretches away on both sides of the watershed to confirm the fulfilment of those early sentiments. It is, nevertheless, all too easy to ignore the struggles and failures which marked the beginnings of the world's greatest gold field in the light of its subsequent abundant success. Only when attention is turned to the individual companies formed to exploit the discovery does the true picture emerge of the lack of adequate technological and managerial knowledge amongst the early pioneers and of the financial frailty of their companies. The object of this thesis is to shed light on these beginnings by reviewing the histories of four of the earliest companies established to work the main reef. The approach adopted is to scrutinize the material available with a view to determining the motivations and actions of the managements of the various companies with regard to their economic environment, whether within or without the individual company. Clearly, the availability of information is a major determinant of the success of any such venture and this was particularly so in the case of the companies considered. With the exception of the Barlow Rand Limited holding of the H. Eckstein and Company Archives, which offers an integral coverage of that firm's dealings with the emerging industry, and which is certainly the most comprehensive source of information available to the researcher, little material relating to specific gold mining companies has survived. Under these circumstances it was necessary to rely heavily for information on the local press. These newspapers proved an invaluable source in this regard. As a mining camp with a limited capacity for generating newsworthy incidents, the newspapers of early Johannesburg found an eager readership for information about the industry which lay at the heart of the community. For their part, the managements of the various mining companies found in the pages of the local press an outlet for intelligence both true and false; the press was a useful vehicle for the publication of directors' and annual reports to meet a wider audience, but similarly it could be and was used to disseminate 'spectacular' reports calculated to influence the status of a company's stock on the local share market. As a research source the press has thus to be approached with caution but its value, if the warning is heeded, is in no way diminished. Beyond these two sources the next most valuable accumulation of data on the early industry is "The Gold Fields Collection" housed in the Cory Library for Historical Research at Rhodes University. As a collection it is far from complete and it is to be hoped that the donors will in future see fit to augment it with further material as this becomes available. It neverthess proved an invaluable source for the investigation of at least one of the companies of the study and for a general background to the industry.
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- Date Issued: 1982