Contraceptive use and Sex Education among Teenagers in Mdantsane Township, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Ibikunle, Kehinde Olaoye
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Sex instruction Primary Health Care
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPH
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18411 , vital:42263
- Description: Uptake of contraceptives to prevent unwanted pregnancy among sexually active teenagers in South Africa remains low as evidenced by the high prevalence of unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortions among adolescents. This is happening despite the wide availability of contraceptives which are also offered free of charge and in a context where comprehensive sexuality education is provided from primary school level. There is limited evidence regarding contraceptive use among teenagers in South Africa, which limits the decision making on targeting for promoting use of contraceptives. To address this gap, a quantitative cross sectional study of women aged 13 and above was conducted in Mdatsane Township to investigate the factors associated with contraceptive use among teenagers and compare this with young women aged 20 and above, as well as to assess if there are any associations in the use of contraceptives between the demographic characteristics of the teenagers and their caregivers. The study findings showed that non-use of contraceptives was 53.3%. Teenagers were significantly less likely to use contraceptives, OR 0.31, 95% CI (0.18 – 0.530), more likely to use injectables OR 3.48 95% CI 1.99 – 6.08, more likely to identify partner issues being reason for not using condoms OR 10.60, 95 % CI (2.01 – 55.94). Teenager were more likely to have Termination of unwanted pregnancy on the past (TOP), OR 2.13 95% CI (1.03 – 4.38), and would likely choose Depo/Petogen even if it increases HIV transmission OR 3.65, 95% CI (1.98 – 6.73). Teenagers were more likely to have been exposed to sex education and less likely to have a close relationship with caregivers OR 0.49 95% CI (0.27 – 0.90). In view of these findings it is logical to argue that although teenagers have accessed CSE they have not been able to translate it into action. Hence the need to develop the strategies that can help facilitate behaviour change. Further in-depth studies must be conducted to establish which types of contraceptives are preferred and acceptable to teenagers. Promote self-efficacy of teenagers to be empowered to make own decisions and not put their partners’ preferences on use of contraceptives and continue promoting primary and secondary abstinence while also encouraging delayed sexual debut
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
An investigation of the extent, effects and impact of Gender-based Violence in Duncan Village, East London
- Authors: Peter, Noma-Afrika
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Violence -- Sex differences Human rights
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M.Phil (Human rights)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16851 , vital:40779
- Description: This research seeks to investigate GBV against women in Duncan Village in the East London area to find out the extent of the prevalence, its effect, and remedial solutions. The study adopted a qualitative method. The data was collected through semi-structured one-to one interviews from 16 participants using systematic random sampling. The findings revealed that GBV is prevalent in Duncan Village. Most of the women residing in Duncan Village are dependent on child support grant and raise their children alone without the support of their biological fathers. The study further revealed that GBV against women often happens during day time and the victims are either married or single women. One of the contributing factors of GBV is unemployment. Therefore, this study recommends that awareness of GBV should be made continuously in communities by the government and stakeholders. In addition, the Commission for Gender Equality and NGOs that deal with GBV should be visible in all wards so that their services are known and utilised. The Department of Women Affairs should be the main driver in ensuring that women from previously disadvantaged communities are economically empowered, for example, by initiating income generating projects. However, they too should first be capacitated on business and financial management skills.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Plight of small-scale citrus farmers in Ngqushwa and Addo, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Mdingi, Chulumanco
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Farmers -- South Africa -- Peddie , Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Agriculture and state -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/22714 , vital:30066
- Description: During colonial and Apartheid regimes, blacks were limited to only being subsistence and labourers of white commercial farmers, and this contributed to inequality between the two race groups. White commercial farmers were significantly supported by the previous regimes through research, finance and machinery. However, the new government has proven to have failed in properly coordinated support programmes to small-scale black farmers leading into compromised livelihoods and vulnerability. This is a qualitative study that used semi-structured interviews for data gathering with nine small-scale citrus farmers from Ngqushwa and Addo. The key findings of the study showed that small-scale citrus farmers have difficulty with accessing finance for expansion. These farmers have no other sources of income; they solely depend on the sale of their produce to make a living. Access to land still remains a challenge, thus limiting their aspirations of expansion. Access to lucrative markets is dependent on forming relationships with established white marketing and export agencies. The government programmes that some of these farmers took part in left them vulnerable due to the abrupt stopping of the rollout before the stipulated term ended. The poor coordination of the limited support that relevant institutions provide has emerged as a key factor that threatens the livelihoods of small-scale farmers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
The unfair labour practice relating to suspension
- Authors: Moela, Matlose Phineas
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Unfair labor practices -- South Africa , Labor laws and legislation -- South Africa Labor policy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/23038 , vital:30398
- Description: This treatise considers unfair-labour- practice relating to suspensions in the workplace. Furthermore the treatise outlines the legal framework relating to suspensions in the workplace. As I explore this fundamental issues of the law, the fairness relating to suspension will be examined. Some recommendations are also made as to how departments and organisations must develop guidelines and policies which are legally sound to deal with suspension in the workplace. Employees often challenge the fairness of their suspension in the workplace. These challenges are based on a number of things, including failure to provide an employee to make representations, failure to comply with policies regulating suspensions in the workplace, suspension without pay, prolonged suspensions, etc. The treatise therefore also consider these challenges as well as the recourse available to employees. The treatise commences with the legal framework and principles contained in the Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995 (hereinafter referred to as the LRA) applicable to suspensions. The treatise then considers other legislation and recent developments in both the public and private sector. The study concludes with remedies available to employees in instances where an unfair-labour-practice relating to suspension has been found to be committed by an employer during the suspension process.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
The impact of post-apartheid agricultural changes on citrus farmers in the Peddie area
- Authors: Peter, Bantu Desmond
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Agriculture and state -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5380 , vital:29225
- Description: This study explores the impact of post-apartheid agricultural changes on citrus farmers in the Peddie area. The case study focused on the Craighead Citrus Farm at Kwatho as well as the Naudeshoek Citrus Farm, Ripplemead Citrus Farm and Siyamila Citrus Farm in the Balteni area. The study considered the effect of agricultural changes on citrus production, productivity of the farms in question, as well as the impact on poverty alleviation in Peddie District. In the study, the challenges encountered by both farmers and communities due to the agricultural changes in the new democratic dispensation were also considered. The study further considered the role played by the Department of Agriculture and Ngqushwa Local Municipality in assisting these farmers to increase citrus production in order to create employment opportunities. To achieve these objectives, a review of literature and collection of evidence in the form of interviews, and observations were conducted in the research areas. The research findings indicated that the Craighead Citrus Farms is state owned land, which belonged to Ulimocor, a parastatal under the former homeland government (Ciskei). This farm is no longer operational and is abandoned. During the period of this study the Naudeshoek Citrus Farm, Ripplemead Citrus Farm and Siyamila Citrus Farm were operational and progressing. Citrus farming in this area has potential to boost the economy, which would only be possible with the establishment of partnerships between the emerging farmers, government, commercial farmers and Ngqushwa Local Municipality.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Post -war recovery and development in Liberia since 2013
- Authors: Mbulle-Nziege, Leonard
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Postwar reconstruction -- Liberia Liberia -- Politics and government -- 21st century , Peace-building
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/12361 , vital:27058
- Description: The aims and objectives of this study are notably, to provide an overall understanding of the history of Liberia, from the country’s foundation, through the civil war, up to the present day post-conflict scenario. It intends to identify the strategies and schemes put in place by Liberian officials and other stakeholders, while outlining the importance of attaining the goals attached to these various plans. The difficulties of achieving these post-conflict development goals will also be noted, and finally, It analyses whether the concepts used in Liberia might also be implemented in post-conflict societies not only in Africa, but all over the world.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
The importance of demographic trends in forecasting energy demand for private households in South africa
- Authors: Thubeni,Sinethemba Morine
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Electric power consumption -- South Africa -- Forecasting Households -- South Africa , Demography -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45322 , vital:38570
- Description: South Africa’s residential energy use is expected to grow at approximately the same rate as the population. Efficient planning for energy demand by energy suppliers is therefore, essential since shortage of energy will negatively affect economic growth.This paper aims to investigate the causal relationship between population and house-hold energy demand on coal, gas, paraffin and wood for private households in South Africa. The adjusted R2, AIC (Akaike information criterion), the BIC (Bayesian information criterion) and standard deviation of residuals were used to investigate which model is the best to predict energy demand in each province using all available information. The results show that population and household energy demand are associated with each other. The findings imply that the causality between population growth and household energy demand is bidirectional in most cases.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Through the Camera Obscura : exploring the voyeuristic gaze through Grahamstown's architecture
- Authors: King, Taryn
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Architecture -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Camera obscuras -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Voyeurism in art , Gaze in art , Architecture and society -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Human figure in art , Women in art
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2511 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018937
- Description: My study explores the politics of viewing and the gaze. I argue that the gaze both arrests and objectifies the body, which in turn transforms subjects into objects therefore regulating social behaviour. The basic notion of the gaze will be explored throughout this thesis and thereby contextualizes my sculptures, which are casts of my naked body. My particular concern lies in how the ideas of surveillance have had an influence on architecture and buildings in Grahamstown. Throughout this mini thesis, I will explore a number of architectural spaces of Grahamstown such as the Provost prison, Fort Selwyn and the Camera Obscura which I argue were all designed based on the ideas of surveillance. The entanglement of Grahamstown architecture and the female form as a subject of voyeurism forms an important part of this thesis, as the context of Grahamstown architecture is centered on visibility, which in turn subjects people to a form of discipline. The Provost Prison, the Camera Obscura and the forts of Grahamstown are all good examples of this. Outside of this, the female body is also subjected to the gaze, which in turn suggests that the female body is also under surveillance and as a result also becomes disciplined. My installation is a response to Antony Gormley’s Event Horizon, in which he placed 33 steel and fibreglass casts of his own naked body at an elevated level on buildings around Manhattan and Brazil. In this discussion I have contextualized my work with reference to the ideas of different theorists. The three main theorists I have cited are Michel Foucault, Jonathan Crary and Laura Mulvey. Foucault is specifically cited due to his discussion on Panoptic power, surveillance and docile bodies. Crary makes a number of important points with regards to the ideological operations of the Camera Obscura as well as its history while Laura Mulvey’s writings form the basis of the voyeuristic gaze from the perspective of a feminist.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Getting "layed" : new professional positions in South African psychology
- Authors: Henderson, Jill
- Date: 2013-06-04
- Subjects: Psychology -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Psychologists -- Training of -- South Africa Psychologists -- Selection and appointment -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3179 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007953
- Description: KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
Evalution of the knowledge and skills of the professional nurses regarding IMCI service delivery, including HIV/AIDS case management in primary health care facilities in Buffalo City Sub-District, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
- Authors: Noluvuyo, Leonelle Gosangaye
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Nurses -- Rating of -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Nursing -- Ability testing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Nursing -- Standards -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Nurses -- In-service training -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Nurses -- Supervision of -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , HIV infections -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , AIDS (Disease) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Prenatal diagnosis -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Primary health care -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Nursing Science)
- Identifier: vital:11903 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1006782 , Nurses -- Rating of -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Nursing -- Ability testing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Nursing -- Standards -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Nurses -- In-service training -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Nurses -- Supervision of -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , HIV infections -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , AIDS (Disease) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Prenatal diagnosis -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Primary health care -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: An increase in diarrhoea and upper respiratory tract infection has been noted for the past five years and this is associated with the prevalence of Human Immune-deficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. HIV infection is an increasingly common cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in South Africa. In some areas of the country, like the Eastern Cape, more than 30 percent of the women attending antenatal clinics are HIV infected. Without intervention, approximately one third of the babies born to these HIV infected mothers will get infection from their mothers (WHO, 2003). Aim and Objectives of the study: The study was meant to assess the specific knowledge and skills of professional nurses at the primary health facilities regarding management and integration of childhood illnesses, evaluate the quality of training of professional nurses on aspects of IMCI including integration of HIV within IMCI programme for children under five years in Primary Health Care facilities in Mdantsane Township. Methods: A quantitative descriptive method was used for this study. The questionnaire developed by the researcher was used for data collection. The items on the questionnaire were divided into four (4) subsections. The questionnaire was administered to all professional nurses on duty and those available at the time of data collection. A checklist for IMCI was used to collect data from Road to Health files of children who were HIV positive admitted in the pediatric ward at Cecilia Makhiwane Hospital. Results: The results of this study for all the variables examined showed that the highest score was 56 percent and the lowest was18 percent.These results indicated that the knowledge and skills of professional nurses were inadequate.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
An exploration of managed land settlement as a mechanism for the provision of sustainable settlements : a case study of Icwili Location in Great Kei Local Municipality
- Authors: Kabane, Noxolo
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Human settlements -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land settlement -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communities -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9155 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1019794
- Description: The Constitution of South Africa guarantees the right of citizens to access to adequate housing and land. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 also recognises the right to adequate housing as an important component of the right to an adequate standard of living. However, vast numbers of citizens have been unable to access adequate housing due to regulatory frameworks operating in the cities and towns that they live in. Using the case study research methodology, the study shows how an alternative approach to housing delivery can be implemented. The study looks at a community in iCwili Location which is in the Great Kei Local municipality which piloted the managed land settlement (MLS) approach to housing delivery. MLS seeks to promote an incremental approach to site, service and housing delivery. It emphasizes the need for the provision of planned, secure land with access to basic services as a first step towards housing delivery and settlement upgrading. The study documented the process involved in the implementation of the pilot project and how the community was involved with project. The findings revealed that the community appreciated being involved with each phase of the project and being part of the decision-making process. The respondents cited the delight they shared with having occupation rights to the land and they could finally be in position to be able to build their homes with no fear of eviction.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
How community participation can be enhanced in the creation of sustainable human settlements in Whittlesea : a case study of Whittlesea Mabuyase housing project
- Authors: Penxa, Lungile
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Political participation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Human settlements -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9211 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020772
- Description: Development is an idea, an objective and an activity (Kothari and Minogue, 2002). Development emerged as an idea that nations had to adopt in their journey through post-war history. Development is seen as an ambiguous concept (Allen and Thomas, 1992: 23). In other words, it is defined in many ways to suit different purposes. Furthermore, over the long term development implies increased living standards, improved health and well being for all, and the achievement of whatever is regarded as a general good for society at large (Allen and Thomas, 1992: 23). Therefore, from the above development appears as a “one size fits all” concept, because it is an attempt to address the problems in society. Furthermore, development has been defined as a participatory, people-centred process intended to reduce the incidence of poverty and achieve better livelihoods for all (Kingsbury, McKay, and Hunt, 2004: 43). The definition of development as participatory and people-centred is the most applicable for the purposes of this study. Participation has been widely used in the development discourse. Within the development sphere, participation has been associated with the community sector (Gaventa and Valderrama, 1999:2). The definition of participation in development has been located in development projects and programmes (i.e. sustainable human settlements for our study purposes), as a means of strengthening their relevance, quality and sustainability (Gaventa and Valderrama, 1999:2). Strengthening of participation in local governance has to do with the strengthening of directcitizen involvement in decision-making by individuals or groups in public activities, oftenthrough newly established institutional channels, such as monitoring committees, planning processes, etc (Gaventa and Valderrama, 1999:8-9). Hence, participation could be seen as involvement in decision-making in all phases of a project (Gaventa and Valderrama, 1999:2). Citizen participation is about power and its exercise by different social actors in the spacescreated for the interaction between citizens and local authorities. However, the control of thestructure and processes for participation - defining spaces, actors, agendas, procedures - is usuallyin the hands governmental institutions and can become a barrier for effective involvement ofcitizens (Gaventa and Valderrama, 1999:7). The above discussion has been an attempt to show what participatory development or participation in a development process is all about. This has been done through briefly defining and discussing development and participation and also showing the relationship between the two concepts. Now the discussion will focus on enlightening the reader about sustainable human settlements – the main issue of this study. The decision to do research in this area came after the realization that there is still a shortage of houses in the Eastern Cape, and when the government does deliver these houses in a particular area people still have complaints regarding the new houses delivered to them. Then a question that came to mind was whether people are consulted or not before these houses are constructed during the planning stages so that they can give their own views or ideas on houses. Overall the reason for choosing this topic was to look at people’s participation on the development of houses. It is evident in the Provincial Medium Term Sustainable Human Settlement Research Agenda that community participation is lacking in the housing delivery process of the Eastern Cape (Province of the Eastern Cape Human Settlement,2011:9).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Of ants and cicadas: thinking and doing
- Authors: Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:588 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018948
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Analysis of the management of conflict and transformation in the public service focussing on the central district, North West Province during 2000 to 2005
- Authors: Matlou, Molefe
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8168 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1310
- Description: The dawn of democracy in South Africa in 1994 placed an imperative on the government to make provision for transformation of the public service from the one that was base on race and gender to the one based on respect and dignity of people irrespective of race, gender or religion. The point of departure was to initiate change in legislation in order to create conducive environment for the public service to establish forums and commissions that would inform the approach that transformation had to take. One of the major challenges was to deal with the reality of a public service that was dominated by white males in order to implement the Constitutional imperative of equal opportunities to all and to enable black people in general and women in particular to occupy positions where their full potential and capabilities would be recognised. Affirmative Action became a tool that the new government adopted to inform the employment equity targets that every government department had to set for itself and annual reports had to be submitted to parliament for oversight to ensure that no government entity deviated from the realisation of the objective to fully transform the public service. The fact that there were some quarters within the broader society that perceived this is a threat and that within the targeted groups such as blacks and women there were people who felt that the concept „‟affirmative action‟‟ was degrading as it suggested that, despite their potential and education, black people and women still had to be affirmed was indicative of the conflict that resulted from the good intention by government to diversify the public service. To date, there are still institutions of government where males still dominate senior positions in the public service and women are still confined to lower level occupational bands which do not afford them an opportunity to rise to senior levels. The only recognisable change, one may argue, is that black males benefitted a lot more from transformation in the public service than females and people with disabilities. For all people to benefit from transformation in the public service there must be a vigilant approach to the implementation of policy and severe penalties for non compliance. Oversight bodies must be empowered to do a lot more than pep talk on transformation.
- 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
Forecasting solar cycle 24 using neural networks
- Authors: Uwamahoro, Jean
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Solar cycle , Neural networks (Computer science) , Ionosphere , Ionospheric electron density , Ionospheric forecasting , Solar thermal energy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5468 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005253 , Solar cycle , Neural networks (Computer science) , Ionosphere , Ionospheric electron density , Ionospheric forecasting , Solar thermal energy
- Description: The ability to predict the future behavior of solar activity has become of extreme importance due to its effect on the near-Earth environment. Predictions of both the amplitude and timing of the next solar cycle will assist in estimating the various consequences of Space Weather. Several prediction techniques have been applied and have achieved varying degrees of success in the domain of solar activity prediction. These techniques include, for example, neural networks and geomagnetic precursor methods. In this thesis, various neural network based models were developed and the model considered to be optimum was used to estimate the shape and timing of solar cycle 24. Given the recent success of the geomagnetic precusrsor methods, geomagnetic activity as measured by the aa index is considered among the main inputs to the neural network model. The neural network model developed is also provided with the time input parameters defining the year and the month of a particular solar cycle, in order to characterise the temporal behaviour of sunspot number as observed during the last 10 solar cycles. The structure of input-output patterns to the neural network is constructed in such a way that the network learns the relationship between the aa index values of a particular cycle, and the sunspot number values of the following cycle. Assuming January 2008 as the minimum preceding solar cycle 24, the shape and amplitude of solar cycle 24 is estimated in terms of monthly mean and smoothed monthly sunspot number. This new prediction model estimates an average solar cycle 24, with the maximum occurring around June 2012 [± 11 months], with a smoothed monthly maximum sunspot number of 121 ± 9.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Art and cosmology: masks : the instruments of metamorphosis ...
- Authors: Landman, J H
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: Masks Masks, African
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2439 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005638
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
The multiple image in art : a personal response
- Authors: Swift, Anthony J M
- Date: 1976
- Subjects: Art, Modern -- 20th century , Art -- Themes, motives , Art appreciation , Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Philosophy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2497 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013330
- Description: The development of this thesis is akin to that of a painting. It is subject to various influences that have evoked ideas and each idea has stimulated other ideas, thus the continuity could have gone beyond the bounds of this work. It is not so much an amalgamation of similar ideas but a development of diverse ideas which have, once composed, a common factor - the Multiple Image. Image refers to some paintings that have been made or part of them, a photograph, a film, a subject visualized in the mind or a complex reforms which is suggestive. Multiple refers to anything that relatively repeats itself, has facsimilies of itself, triptychs, polyptychs or is a conglomeration of ideas in a work of art. Intro., p. 1.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1976
The contribution of F.D. Maurice to the Christian Socialist Movement of 1848-1954
- Authors: Steel, Ronald Luke
- Date: 1971
- Subjects: Maurice, Frederick Denison, 1805-1872 , Christian Socialist Movement
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Bachelor , BDiv
- Identifier: vital:1275 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013270
- Description: Maurice was a man who solicited both keen support and bitter opposition, both during his life time and after. It is only within the last twenty or thirty years that his true worth has begun to be recognised and appreciated. The aim of the thesis is to show that his contribution to the Christian Socialist Movement was an invaluable one. Chapter two describes the working-class conditions and their causes during the first half of the nineteenth century, as well as the role the Church played in social improvement. Chapter three deals with Chartism and the European Revolutions of 1848, and the effect of the Revolutions on Chartism. Chapter four gives an account of the man F.D. Maurice, as well as some of his thoughts and aims. Chapter five is a detailed account of Maurice's contribution to Christian Socialism, showing that he was not the 'practical' leader, and emphasising the importance of his theological beliefs in governing what to do. Intro. p. 1.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1971
A preliminary investigation of the chemical nature of wattle tannin
- Authors: Corbett, John Henry
- Date: 1945
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:21062 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6201
- Description: From Introduction: Although the tannins of wattle bark extract are generally considered to be of the class known as condensed tannins, a review of the general chemical nature of the tannins is given for the sake of completeness. This constitutes Part I of the thesis. Part II describes the preliminary investigation of the chemical nature of black wattle extract.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1945