Ocean warming hotspots provide early warning laboratories for climate change impacts
- Authors: Pecl, Gretta T , Hobday, Alistair J , Frusher, Stewart , Sauer, Warwick H H , Bates, Amanda E
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/125363 , vital:35776 , https://doi.10.1007/s11160-014-9355-9
- Description: A growing literature describes a wide range of negative impacts of climate change on marine resources and the people and communities they support, including species range changes, changes in productivity of fisheries and declines in economic performance (Doney et al. 2012; Poloczanska et al. 2013). These impacts, many of which are projected to increase in future, are compounded by growing pressures on marine resources (Halpern et al. 2008; Maxwell et al. 2013). An estimated 260 million people are involved directly or indirectly in global marine fisheries (Teh and Sumaila 2013) with many of the resources for capture fisheries already fully (&57 % in 2009) or over exploited (30 %) (FAO 2012). Nevertheless, production of marine resources will need to increase to accommodate the demands of a growing population, and the impacts of climate change on food security will need to be minimised (FAO 2009). Identifying opportunities and threats, and developing adaptation options in response to climate change impacts in the marine realm, is essential for optimising the benefits that society can continue to derive from the goods and services provided by marine resources.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Behavioural observations of the common octopus Octopus vulgaris in Baía dos Tigres, southern Angola
- Authors: de Beer, Chénelle L , Potts, Warren M
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123233 , vital:35419 , https://doi.org/10.2989/1814232X.2013.847496
- Description: The common octopus Octopus vulgaris (Cuvier 1797) is a shallow-water cephalopod species that inhabits coastal rocky areas or reefs. It is the most studied and widely distributed species in its genus. This species has a short lifespan and a rapid growth rate of over 5% of body weight per day (García and Valverde 2006, Ibáñez and Keyl 2010). It is semelparous, with females laying large strings of eggs that they attach to the substrata in their dens (Hernández- García et al. 2002). There is a paucity of information on the preferred habitat and behaviour of O. vulgaris in its natural environment (Anderson 1997, Meisel et al. 2006). The species has been classified as highly mobile, yet resident individuals may exhibit high levels of territoriality. Its mobility allows it to move efficiently between a wide range of suitable habitats (Katsanevakis and Verriopoulos 2004). Octopus make use of both tactile and visual senses to forage, feed and seek suitable shelter (Forsythe and Hanlon 1997, Carvalho and Sousa Reis 2003, Rodríguez-Rúa et al. 2005). They are active feeders that seek out prey such as crustaceans, sessile molluscs and small fish (Forsythe and Hanlon 1997, Boyle and Rodhouse 2005), as well as their smaller conspecifics (Ibáñez and Keyl 2010). The majority of behavioural ecology studies on octopus have been on captive individuals. However, the activity patterns (Mather 1988), foraging strategies and aspects of the movement behaviour (Mather and O’Dor 1991) of juvenile O. vulgaris in the wild were described for an exploited population in Bermuda. Because intertidal octopus stocks are exploited by recreational, subsistence and artisanal fisheries (e.g. Oosthuizen and Smale 2003, Sauer et al. 2011), there are few opportunities to study the behavioural ecology of unexploited populations. An opportunity arose to study various behavioural patterns in an unexploited population in Baía dos Tigres, a large (~200 km2) coastal embayment situated on an isolated stretch of the southern Angolan coast (Figure 1). This study provides information on the population size structure, aspects of the movement behaviour, activity patterns and foraging strategies of O. vulgaris in this largely unstudied coastal embayment.
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- Date Issued: 2013
Beyond the threshold: explorations of liminality in literature. A book review
- Authors: Dass, Minesh
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142520 , vital:38087 , DOI: 10.1080/10131752.2013.783395
- Description: Beyond the Threshold: Explorations of Liminality in Literature, an edited collection of essays, is the culmination of research project on liminality done under the title “Poetics of boundaries and Hybridity”. This venture was undertaken in what is now known as the Research Unit Languages and Literature in the South African Context at North-West University. Some of the articles were initially presented at a conference on “Hybridity, Liminality and Boundaries” which was held in Potchefstroom from 30 June to 2 July 2005. Furthermore, shorter versions of some chapters have already been published in a special edition of Literator (Vol. 27. 1).
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- Date Issued: 2013
Dynamic geometry software as a dynamic tool for spatial exploration:
- Authors: Holzl, Reinhard , Schäfer, Marc
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140871 , vital:37925 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC146065
- Description: Dynamic Geometry Software (DGS) such as GeoGebra, Geometer's Sketchpad and Cabri Geometry offer a wealth of opportunities for an exploratory style of teaching and learning Mathematics, particularly in the exploration of space and shape. The new Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) foregrounds the use of spatial skills and properties of shapes and objects "to identify, pose and solve problems creatively and critically" (South Africa. DBE, 2011, p. 9). Although the South African Mathematics curriculum no longer places importance on traditional Euclidean construction by means of straightedge and compass, DGS can nonetheless be used to engage with fundamental ideas relating to geometric shapes, symmetry and transformations. This was the impetus behind encouraging the use of GeoGebra in four township schools in the Grahamstown Education District whose Mathematics teachers participate in an ongoing in-service research and development programme hosted by Rhodes University.
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- Date Issued: 2013
Oral literature in Africa
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Folk literature -- Study and teaching -- Africa , Oral tradition -- Africa , Folklore and education -- Africa , Books -- Africa -- Reviews
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59355 , vital:27563 , https://doi.org/10.1080/13696815.2012.756804
- Description: I have in my possession a first edition, hard copy of Ruth Finnegan’s quintessential work, Oral Literature in Africa. It has a yellow cover, preserved by a plastic sheathe, it is a little frayed around the edges and has that old, musty library smell about it. I love and treasure this book. It is dedicated by Professor Finnegan ‘[t]o all my teachers’. Professor Finnegan is indeed one of my teachers. I properly met Ruth Finnegan at the second International Society for Oral Literature (ISOLA) conference in 1998, which I hosted at the University of Cape Town. She gave a keynote address which included reference to her seminal work and the future of oral literary studies. She has continually influenced our work as researchers following in her footsteps: Isidore Okpewho, Harold Scheub, Abiola Irele, Graham Furniss, Elizabeth Gunner, Karin Barber, Isobel Hofmeyr, John Foley, Olayibi Yai, Edgard Sienaert, Brian Street, Noverino Canonici, Mark Turin, Daniela Merolla, Jan Jansen, Jeff Opland, and many others; some younger, some older, some living, some departed, scholars influenced by this great and humble intellectual and her body of work.
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- Date Issued: 2013
Rhodes remembers former President Nelson Mandela
- Authors: Badat, Saleem , De Klerk, Vivian A , Maylam, Paul
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: vital:7593 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007501
- Description: On 6 December 2013 Rhodes honoured former President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela in a commemoration programme. Dozens of people gathered on Rhodes University's Drostdy lawns in Grahamstown to sing and celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela. Tributes were delivered by Dr Saleem Badat, Rhodes University’s Vice Chancellor, Dr Vivian de Klerk, Dean of Students, and Emeritus Distinguished Professor Paul Maylam.
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- Date Issued: 2013
Swansea & Brecon Guild : prelude, the Bevan family, and the first and anniversary peals
- Authors: Lewis, Colin A
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6193 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013420 , http://www.ringingworld.co.uk
- Description: [From Conclusion] The Swansea & Brecon Guild owes its foundation largely to the interest of the first Bishop of the Diocese: Edward Bevan, in bells, ringers and ringing. The first peal for the Guild was rung at Talgarth by members of that tower, conducted by Louis Griffiths. The anniversary peal was also rung at Talgarth and consisted of the methods and variations that were probably rung in the original peal. , Colin Lewis was Professor of Geography at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa from 1989 until his retirement at the end of 2007. In 1990, with the strong support of the incumbent Vice-Chancellor, Dr Derek Henderson, he instigated the Certificate in Change Ringing (Church Bell Ringing) in the Rhodes University Department of Music and Musicology - the first such course to be offered in Africa. Since that date he has lectured in the basic theory, and taught the practice of change ringing. He is the Ringing Master of the Cathedral of St Michael and St George, Grahamstown, South Africa.
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- Date Issued: 2013
Teenage pregnancy
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:6301 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015906
- Description: In a book on preventing early pregnancy and poor reproductive outcomes in developing countries, the World Health Organisation (2011) declares that ‘adolescent pregnancy’ contributes to maternal, perinatal and infant mortality, and to a vicious cycle of poverty and ill-health. This statement reflects the common public assumption that ‘teenage pregnancy’ represents an individual, social, health, educational and financial risk that requires remediation. This kind of public perception is spurred by media coverage in which young girls with large protruding stomachs are etched in profile and stories of calamity are told (e.g. Time (21 June 2005) magazine). And yet the very notion of 'teenage pregnancy' is a relatively recent one. Depending on the country one talks about, it has been around since between the 1960s and 1980s. In the United States, for example, the rise of ‘teenage pregnancy’ as a social problem was associated with a shift in gendered power relations. Prior to the late 1960s the morally loaded concepts of 'unwed mother' and 'illegitimate child' were used to describe young women who conceived. For the most part, young pregnant women were excluded from society, with the accompanying shame around the lack of proper conjugal arrangements. The use of the term 'teenage pregnancy' removed the implied moral judgment and replaced it with seeming scientific neutrality. Young pregnant women now became publicly visible and thus the object of scientific scrutiny (Arney & Bergen, 1984).
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- Date Issued: 2013
Treating the psychological sequelae of proactive drug-facilitated sexual assault : knowledge building through systematic case based research
- Authors: Padmanabhanunni, A , Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6235 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007785
- Description: Background: Drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) has emerged as a distinct category of sexual victimization and precipitates posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Few studies have examined the distinct psychological aspects of PTSD caused by DFSA. Gauntlett-Gilbert, Keegan and Petrak (2004) represent a notable exception and draw on cases, from their clinical experience, treated using Ehlers and Clarks’ (2000) cognitive therapy (CT). Aims: This paper aims to further develop and refine clinical knowledge on CT for PTSD arising from DFSA and advance the findings of Gauntlett-Gilbert et al. (2004). Method: Systematic case based research was used to investigate the applicability of CT for PTSD related to DFSA. Three survivors were treated with CT within the South African context. Results: The case series corroborated existing findings but also documented the presence of somatic and visual intrusions among survivors with partial or complete amnesia for rape and illustrated the utility of imagery interventions in targeting intrusions. The study highlighted the role of physical paralysis in DFSA in compounding helplessness/powerlessness and the necessity of enhancing physical agency and building social support. Conclusion: Distinctive aspects of PTSD related to DFSA can be effectively treated by adapting CT to suit this population group.
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- Date Issued: 2013
Unicorn: A unified communication solution for marginalized communities
- Authors: Nyathi, Okelitsi , Terzoli, Alfredo , Tsietsi, Mosiuoa
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/430666 , vital:72707 , 10.1109/ICASTech.2013.6707506
- Description: The convergence of previously distinct networks into an All-IP network has resulted in an increase in the number and diversity of devices, channels and communication networks available to users. This has increased the number commu-nication options available and is evidenced by the number of different communication devices owned and services subscribed to. How-ever, this has created complexities that call for proper methods to manage these diverse and in-compatible communication options. The objective of Unified Communication (UC) is to seamlessly integrate the dispar-ate communication channels into a device independent plat-form that can easily be managed by users. Due its focus on a largely urban and highly connected market, UC has not benefited marginalized communities. This paper discusses the design and implementation of Unicorn, a UC solution for a middleware software platform called Teleweaver which was designed to support the development of services for marginalized communities. The solution integrates services from a telecommunication container called Mobicents. It seamlessly amalgamates voice, data and video onto one device independent unified platform easily accessible by users.
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- Date Issued: 2013