The saga of South African POWs in Angola, 1975-82
- Authors: Baines, Gary F
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/69882 , vital:29592 , http://dx.doi.org/10.5787/40-2-999
- Description: This article narrates the story of nine soldiers captured during and shortly after Operation Savannah, the codename for the South African Defence Force invasion of Angola in 1975–6. Eight of these soldiers were captured in Angola in three separate incidents by Angolan and/or Cuban forces, whereas the last was abducted from northern Namibia by SWAPO (the South West Africa Peoples’ Organisation). The article then provides a chronological account of the sequels to this story that interweaves a number of threads: first, the account relates the South African government’s attempts to suppress press coverage of these stories for fear of the political ‘fall-out’ that the matter might cause amongst the white electorate and in case it jeopardised secret negotiations to secure the release of the prisoners; and second, it uncovers the role played by intermediaries, especially the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the sensitive and fraught negotiation process. It will be shown that the South African authorities adopted divergent approaches when dealing with SWAPO and the Angolans/Cubans to secure the release of prisoners of war (POWs). This is because the South African authorities regarded the former as involved in an internal insurrection whereas the latter were members of the military forces of sovereign states. Accordingly, they paid lip service to the Geneva Conventions in the case of Angolan and Cuban POWs but treated captured SWAPO cadres as ‘terrorists’ or ‘criminals’.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Baines, Gary F
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/69882 , vital:29592 , http://dx.doi.org/10.5787/40-2-999
- Description: This article narrates the story of nine soldiers captured during and shortly after Operation Savannah, the codename for the South African Defence Force invasion of Angola in 1975–6. Eight of these soldiers were captured in Angola in three separate incidents by Angolan and/or Cuban forces, whereas the last was abducted from northern Namibia by SWAPO (the South West Africa Peoples’ Organisation). The article then provides a chronological account of the sequels to this story that interweaves a number of threads: first, the account relates the South African government’s attempts to suppress press coverage of these stories for fear of the political ‘fall-out’ that the matter might cause amongst the white electorate and in case it jeopardised secret negotiations to secure the release of the prisoners; and second, it uncovers the role played by intermediaries, especially the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the sensitive and fraught negotiation process. It will be shown that the South African authorities adopted divergent approaches when dealing with SWAPO and the Angolans/Cubans to secure the release of prisoners of war (POWs). This is because the South African authorities regarded the former as involved in an internal insurrection whereas the latter were members of the military forces of sovereign states. Accordingly, they paid lip service to the Geneva Conventions in the case of Angolan and Cuban POWs but treated captured SWAPO cadres as ‘terrorists’ or ‘criminals’.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The social and political identities of coloured women in the northern areas of Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Barker, Celeste Heloise
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Women, Colored -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Colored people (South Africa) -- Race identity , Ethnicity -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8261 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1013081
- Description: This treatise explores the social and political identity of coloured women in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro (NMBM) with the intention of understanding why some stereotypes of coloured women‟s identity have endured since colonialism in South Africa. Topic selection was stimulated by heated public response to a newspaper article (“Jou Ma se Kinders” (Your Mother‟s Children), (Roberts 2011: http://www.lifeissavage.com/) which negatively labeled and pigeon-holed coloured women‟s identity. With the notable exception of the Saartje Baartman story, most text selection in the Literature Review (Chapter 2) was informed by research in the Western Cape because studies have a patriarchal bias and there are scant records of coloured women‟s lives and identity in the East Cape, Port Elizabeth and the NMBM. The study includes select readings of literary theory and South African fiction from which examples were chosen to illustrate the longevity of stereotypes attached to coloured women‟s identity. Commemorative narrative highlights the role coloured women played and continue to play as their alternative histories or counter narratives embed alternative histories in group identity. A comparative historical analysis of racist and gendered policies and practices contextualises the social construction of coloured women‟s identity from the colonial period to the present time and a focus group discussion among ten female evictees from South End and Richmond ] Hill in Port Elizabeth (PE) generated rich details of coloured women‟s lives and experience in Port Elizabeth and the NMBM. Findings are captured in four themes: Living, Loving and Laughing; Religion and Resistance; Hardship and Trauma and Identity and Ambivalence. These themes highlight nostalgia, courage and humour; the special role played by religious affiliation and coloured people‟s successful resistance to the demolition and deconsecration of places of worship in PE together with pride and a sense of achievement which continues to influence coloured women‟s political identity in the NMBM. Police brutality, everyday racism and sexism, the impact of apartheid on matriculants and the influence of petty apartheid on coloured women‟s lives and identity, as well as participants‟ contradictory perceptions of their post-apartheid social and political identity which continue to be defined by a deficit discourse, are discussed and described in Chapter 4. Focus Group findings locate coloured women‟s identity in a milieu of racist and gendered laws, policies and practices. It is suggested that sexualised stereotypes of coloured women‟s commodification and second class status persist regardless of the South African transition to a constitutional democracy. Evidence is presented of coloured women as bounded storytellers who create a counter narrative to apartheid justification of forced removals.It is suggested that the counter narrative is a vehicle for group support, affirmation and the recovery of roots, identity and post apartheid heritage including records and memorabilia displayed in the South End Museum. As the field is under-researched it is recommended that further research should be conducted to include studies of the social and political identity of an expanded sample of coloured women representative of diverse ages and backgrounds in the rural and urban areas of South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Barker, Celeste Heloise
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Women, Colored -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Colored people (South Africa) -- Race identity , Ethnicity -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8261 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1013081
- Description: This treatise explores the social and political identity of coloured women in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro (NMBM) with the intention of understanding why some stereotypes of coloured women‟s identity have endured since colonialism in South Africa. Topic selection was stimulated by heated public response to a newspaper article (“Jou Ma se Kinders” (Your Mother‟s Children), (Roberts 2011: http://www.lifeissavage.com/) which negatively labeled and pigeon-holed coloured women‟s identity. With the notable exception of the Saartje Baartman story, most text selection in the Literature Review (Chapter 2) was informed by research in the Western Cape because studies have a patriarchal bias and there are scant records of coloured women‟s lives and identity in the East Cape, Port Elizabeth and the NMBM. The study includes select readings of literary theory and South African fiction from which examples were chosen to illustrate the longevity of stereotypes attached to coloured women‟s identity. Commemorative narrative highlights the role coloured women played and continue to play as their alternative histories or counter narratives embed alternative histories in group identity. A comparative historical analysis of racist and gendered policies and practices contextualises the social construction of coloured women‟s identity from the colonial period to the present time and a focus group discussion among ten female evictees from South End and Richmond ] Hill in Port Elizabeth (PE) generated rich details of coloured women‟s lives and experience in Port Elizabeth and the NMBM. Findings are captured in four themes: Living, Loving and Laughing; Religion and Resistance; Hardship and Trauma and Identity and Ambivalence. These themes highlight nostalgia, courage and humour; the special role played by religious affiliation and coloured people‟s successful resistance to the demolition and deconsecration of places of worship in PE together with pride and a sense of achievement which continues to influence coloured women‟s political identity in the NMBM. Police brutality, everyday racism and sexism, the impact of apartheid on matriculants and the influence of petty apartheid on coloured women‟s lives and identity, as well as participants‟ contradictory perceptions of their post-apartheid social and political identity which continue to be defined by a deficit discourse, are discussed and described in Chapter 4. Focus Group findings locate coloured women‟s identity in a milieu of racist and gendered laws, policies and practices. It is suggested that sexualised stereotypes of coloured women‟s commodification and second class status persist regardless of the South African transition to a constitutional democracy. Evidence is presented of coloured women as bounded storytellers who create a counter narrative to apartheid justification of forced removals.It is suggested that the counter narrative is a vehicle for group support, affirmation and the recovery of roots, identity and post apartheid heritage including records and memorabilia displayed in the South End Museum. As the field is under-researched it is recommended that further research should be conducted to include studies of the social and political identity of an expanded sample of coloured women representative of diverse ages and backgrounds in the rural and urban areas of South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The socio-cultural factors affecting the participation of women in agricultural development: Khezana village in Alice district
- Authors: Majali, Vuyiseka
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Women in agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural poor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Soc Sc (Anthropology)
- Identifier: vital:11774 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/557 , Women in agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural poor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The study sought to investigate socio-cultural factors that contribute to the invisibility of women in agricultural activities at Khwezana village, Alice district. The present study was underpinned by a people’s –centered developmental approach paired with the feminist perspective based of ethnographic research methods, participant observation and basic individual interviews. The study mainly focused on female residents of the village, those who are active in agriculture and also those who are not practicing crop production. Rural women of South Africa have historically played a significant role by contributing in the sustainable livelihoods of the country as well as their communities. However, it has been revealed that there are factors that impede the participation of women in agricultural development. The study revealed that socio-cultural factors such as limited access to land, access to credit (due to tradition and culture circumstances), limited education and culture change in general are the major factors that significantly influence the low agricultural activity in the study village.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Majali, Vuyiseka
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Women in agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural poor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Soc Sc (Anthropology)
- Identifier: vital:11774 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/557 , Women in agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural poor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The study sought to investigate socio-cultural factors that contribute to the invisibility of women in agricultural activities at Khwezana village, Alice district. The present study was underpinned by a people’s –centered developmental approach paired with the feminist perspective based of ethnographic research methods, participant observation and basic individual interviews. The study mainly focused on female residents of the village, those who are active in agriculture and also those who are not practicing crop production. Rural women of South Africa have historically played a significant role by contributing in the sustainable livelihoods of the country as well as their communities. However, it has been revealed that there are factors that impede the participation of women in agricultural development. The study revealed that socio-cultural factors such as limited access to land, access to credit (due to tradition and culture circumstances), limited education and culture change in general are the major factors that significantly influence the low agricultural activity in the study village.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The solo piano music of Einojuhani Rautavaara
- Authors: Matambo, Lotta Eleonoora
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Rautavaara, Einojuhani, 1928 -- Piano music -- Criticism and interpretation Piano music -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2646 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002311
- Description: Einojuhani Rautavaara's oeuvre is characterised by four distinctive creative periods, each demonstrating a remarkable variety of compositional idioms and styles. His application of multifaceted elements, often within a single work leading to notions of postmodernism, is derived from multifarious sources, such as (Finnish) folklore, Orthodox mysticism and a wide variety of standard twentieth century compositional techniques. Furthermore, Rautavaara regularly quotes from his own material, thus creating elements of auto-allusions within his oeuvre; a predisposition which forms an essential part of his compositional aesthetic. Analyses of eight piano works (1952-2007) provide a cross-section of Rautavaara's output which, together with a consideration of biographical factors and analytical focus on the intertextual elements of his writing, offers a rationale for determining the development of his musical identity. The analyses conclude that intertextual elements, which appear through a diverse array of expressive modes (such as mysticism, nationalism and constructivism) are an essential part of Rautavaara's eclectic compositional style and contribute to an understanding of the on-going development of his musical identity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Matambo, Lotta Eleonoora
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Rautavaara, Einojuhani, 1928 -- Piano music -- Criticism and interpretation Piano music -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2646 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002311
- Description: Einojuhani Rautavaara's oeuvre is characterised by four distinctive creative periods, each demonstrating a remarkable variety of compositional idioms and styles. His application of multifaceted elements, often within a single work leading to notions of postmodernism, is derived from multifarious sources, such as (Finnish) folklore, Orthodox mysticism and a wide variety of standard twentieth century compositional techniques. Furthermore, Rautavaara regularly quotes from his own material, thus creating elements of auto-allusions within his oeuvre; a predisposition which forms an essential part of his compositional aesthetic. Analyses of eight piano works (1952-2007) provide a cross-section of Rautavaara's output which, together with a consideration of biographical factors and analytical focus on the intertextual elements of his writing, offers a rationale for determining the development of his musical identity. The analyses conclude that intertextual elements, which appear through a diverse array of expressive modes (such as mysticism, nationalism and constructivism) are an essential part of Rautavaara's eclectic compositional style and contribute to an understanding of the on-going development of his musical identity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The South African Communist Party and its prospects for achieving socialism in a democratic South Africa
- Authors: Tali, Lolonga Lincoln
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Communist Party of South Africa , Socialism -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8332 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020569
- Description: “It should not be forgotten that this ideological contribution impacted itself in a very real way on the whole national and democratic movement. It helped transform the ANC from its early beginnings of petition politics into a revolutionary nationalist movement.” Joe Slovo (in a speech delivered at the University of the Western Cape to mark the 70th anniversary of the SACP, 19 July 1991) At the time that the late Joe Slovo, former secretary of the South African Communist Party and former Minister of Housing in the first Government of national unity, made the speech the former party had about a year of legal existence inside the country after President FW de Klerk had unbanned all previously banned political parties in February 1990. Indeed the unbanning of political parties in South Africa was preceded by cataclysmic events in both Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe. General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev who was leader of the Soviet Communist Party was at the helm in Moscow. He introduced a number of policies whose main objective was to democratize Soviet society and do away with some of the undemocratic practices that were always associated with the policy of communism. Consequently, there was much talk about glasnost (openness) and perestroika during the period of President Gorbachev’s rule of Soviet Russia. The two policies were the main feature of his quest to modernize Soviet Russia and gradually move away from communism. The collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the fall of Nicolai Ceausescu in Romania and the disintegration of other East European countries like Yugoslavia signalled a death knell for East European socialism. The foregoing events also implied that the era of the Cold War between the West (led by USA, Britain, and West Germany et al) and East (led by the USSR, Poland, and East Germany et al) was over. The Cold War was a period of tremendous tension as Soviet Russia sought to spread its system of communism to Third World countries in Africa and South America. The West for its part tried to counteract by supporting forces which were opposed to communism in these countries. One can cite the example of Angola where Soviet Russia supported the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) led by Augustinho Neto which had adopted the system at the independence of the country in 1975. Jonas Savimbi led the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) which was opposed to communism and was supported by South Africa and other Western countries which were also opposed to the system of communism. In essence the Cold War was a contest between the West and the East in gaining converts to their respective belief systems. The collapse of communism was viewed by the West as triumph of its own belief system and the confirmation of the failure of communism. It is against the backdrop of these foregoing events that the South African Communist Party was unbanned together with other erstwhile banned on the 2nd of February 1990.The SACP which had much influence in the ANC in the late 1950s and early 1960s and much of the time the parties were in exile was unbanned against the backdrop of the foregoing events. Of interest to observers was whether the party after it was unbanned would be able to exert the same influence it did on the ANC during the time in exile. Would the SACP take over from the ANC after the democratic transition and impose a socialist state in South Africa even if globally the trend was to move away from communism/socialism? Would the ANC itself follow a system which had been shown to lack the ability to confront the challenges of the 20th century? Some political commentators viewed the relationship between the ANC and the SACP as that of a metaphorical rider (the latter) and donkey (the former). In essence they argued that the SACP was the one determining the general trajectory of the liberation movement and its economic policies in particular. This dissertation will show that the influence of the SACP within the Tripartite Alliance in general and the ANC government in particular swings like a pendulum. It depends on who is in charge as president of the ANC. Before and during the exile years as the ANC was led by the late Oliver Tambo, the party enjoyed relatively better influence within the former organizations. The two organizations co-operated well in many ventures like the Defiance campaign, drafting of the Freedom Charter and the establishment of Umkhonto Wesizwe in 1961. During the presidency of Nelson Mandela most SACP members were in the first democratic cabinet though they did not exert as much influence as would be desirable. The main economic policy that the ruling ANC advocated was under the umbrella of what was termed the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and was not even the brainchild of the SACP but of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). In 1996 Thabo Mbeki, then deputy president to Nelson Mandela, came with the neo-liberal policy of Growth, Employment and Redistribution to try and salvage the South African economy which at the time was not performing at its best. Not only was GEAR unashamedly neo-liberal, it was also done without consultation of the SACP by its alliance partner the ANC. This engendered palpable tension within the alliance and led to name-calling from the party which derogatively referred to all the advocates of GEAR as the ‘Class of 1996’. The tension between the SACP and the ANC continued until former President Thabo Mbeki and his ‘Class of 1996’ were ousted from office in the 2007 ANC Polokwane elective conference. After the Polokwane conference, Jacob Zuma who had been Thabo Mbeki’s deputy president in both government and the ANC, assumed power. Zuma did not deviate much from the policies that were adopted by his predecessor though the SACP had played a significant role in bringing him to power. Just like Mbeki and Mandela before him, he had a number of SACP members in his cabinet and, in his case, some of them in key cabinet posts like Ebrahim Patel (a member of the SACP) who serves as Minister of Economic Development. Though he has these staunch members of the party in his cabinet, the Zuma administration has been able to adopt a neo-liberal economic policy which it has termed: National Development Plan which has been criticized by communists as no better than GEAR. This dissertation will show how the party sometimes struggle and sometimes wins that struggle to influence government policy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tali, Lolonga Lincoln
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Communist Party of South Africa , Socialism -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8332 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020569
- Description: “It should not be forgotten that this ideological contribution impacted itself in a very real way on the whole national and democratic movement. It helped transform the ANC from its early beginnings of petition politics into a revolutionary nationalist movement.” Joe Slovo (in a speech delivered at the University of the Western Cape to mark the 70th anniversary of the SACP, 19 July 1991) At the time that the late Joe Slovo, former secretary of the South African Communist Party and former Minister of Housing in the first Government of national unity, made the speech the former party had about a year of legal existence inside the country after President FW de Klerk had unbanned all previously banned political parties in February 1990. Indeed the unbanning of political parties in South Africa was preceded by cataclysmic events in both Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe. General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev who was leader of the Soviet Communist Party was at the helm in Moscow. He introduced a number of policies whose main objective was to democratize Soviet society and do away with some of the undemocratic practices that were always associated with the policy of communism. Consequently, there was much talk about glasnost (openness) and perestroika during the period of President Gorbachev’s rule of Soviet Russia. The two policies were the main feature of his quest to modernize Soviet Russia and gradually move away from communism. The collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the fall of Nicolai Ceausescu in Romania and the disintegration of other East European countries like Yugoslavia signalled a death knell for East European socialism. The foregoing events also implied that the era of the Cold War between the West (led by USA, Britain, and West Germany et al) and East (led by the USSR, Poland, and East Germany et al) was over. The Cold War was a period of tremendous tension as Soviet Russia sought to spread its system of communism to Third World countries in Africa and South America. The West for its part tried to counteract by supporting forces which were opposed to communism in these countries. One can cite the example of Angola where Soviet Russia supported the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) led by Augustinho Neto which had adopted the system at the independence of the country in 1975. Jonas Savimbi led the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) which was opposed to communism and was supported by South Africa and other Western countries which were also opposed to the system of communism. In essence the Cold War was a contest between the West and the East in gaining converts to their respective belief systems. The collapse of communism was viewed by the West as triumph of its own belief system and the confirmation of the failure of communism. It is against the backdrop of these foregoing events that the South African Communist Party was unbanned together with other erstwhile banned on the 2nd of February 1990.The SACP which had much influence in the ANC in the late 1950s and early 1960s and much of the time the parties were in exile was unbanned against the backdrop of the foregoing events. Of interest to observers was whether the party after it was unbanned would be able to exert the same influence it did on the ANC during the time in exile. Would the SACP take over from the ANC after the democratic transition and impose a socialist state in South Africa even if globally the trend was to move away from communism/socialism? Would the ANC itself follow a system which had been shown to lack the ability to confront the challenges of the 20th century? Some political commentators viewed the relationship between the ANC and the SACP as that of a metaphorical rider (the latter) and donkey (the former). In essence they argued that the SACP was the one determining the general trajectory of the liberation movement and its economic policies in particular. This dissertation will show that the influence of the SACP within the Tripartite Alliance in general and the ANC government in particular swings like a pendulum. It depends on who is in charge as president of the ANC. Before and during the exile years as the ANC was led by the late Oliver Tambo, the party enjoyed relatively better influence within the former organizations. The two organizations co-operated well in many ventures like the Defiance campaign, drafting of the Freedom Charter and the establishment of Umkhonto Wesizwe in 1961. During the presidency of Nelson Mandela most SACP members were in the first democratic cabinet though they did not exert as much influence as would be desirable. The main economic policy that the ruling ANC advocated was under the umbrella of what was termed the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and was not even the brainchild of the SACP but of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). In 1996 Thabo Mbeki, then deputy president to Nelson Mandela, came with the neo-liberal policy of Growth, Employment and Redistribution to try and salvage the South African economy which at the time was not performing at its best. Not only was GEAR unashamedly neo-liberal, it was also done without consultation of the SACP by its alliance partner the ANC. This engendered palpable tension within the alliance and led to name-calling from the party which derogatively referred to all the advocates of GEAR as the ‘Class of 1996’. The tension between the SACP and the ANC continued until former President Thabo Mbeki and his ‘Class of 1996’ were ousted from office in the 2007 ANC Polokwane elective conference. After the Polokwane conference, Jacob Zuma who had been Thabo Mbeki’s deputy president in both government and the ANC, assumed power. Zuma did not deviate much from the policies that were adopted by his predecessor though the SACP had played a significant role in bringing him to power. Just like Mbeki and Mandela before him, he had a number of SACP members in his cabinet and, in his case, some of them in key cabinet posts like Ebrahim Patel (a member of the SACP) who serves as Minister of Economic Development. Though he has these staunch members of the party in his cabinet, the Zuma administration has been able to adopt a neo-liberal economic policy which it has termed: National Development Plan which has been criticized by communists as no better than GEAR. This dissertation will show how the party sometimes struggle and sometimes wins that struggle to influence government policy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The strategic alignment maturity of business and information technology at Volkswagen South Africa
- Authors: Naidoo, Lavendra
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Industrial management -- South Africa Industrial management Business enterprises -- Information technology -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:789 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003910
- Description: During the past three decades Information Technology (IT) has been constantly evolving and has emerged into a significant component and enabler of most organisations strategy, to the point that modern day organisations are intrinsically dependent on IT (Peppard and Ward, 2004). Henderson and Venkatraman (1993) advocate that for an organisation to be successful in a dynamic and competitive business environment it is imperative that there is an effective and efficient IT strategy that enables the business strategy and processes. Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA)in 2007 launched its corporate strategy, 1:10:100 – 2010 At the end of this stated period 2010, VWSA achieved several of its objectives, namely surpassing its competitors in passenger vehicle sales volume, improving its customer satisfaction, achieving a higher level of local parts content per unit, developing its people and improving its infrastructure and processes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Naidoo, Lavendra
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Industrial management -- South Africa Industrial management Business enterprises -- Information technology -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:789 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003910
- Description: During the past three decades Information Technology (IT) has been constantly evolving and has emerged into a significant component and enabler of most organisations strategy, to the point that modern day organisations are intrinsically dependent on IT (Peppard and Ward, 2004). Henderson and Venkatraman (1993) advocate that for an organisation to be successful in a dynamic and competitive business environment it is imperative that there is an effective and efficient IT strategy that enables the business strategy and processes. Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA)in 2007 launched its corporate strategy, 1:10:100 – 2010 At the end of this stated period 2010, VWSA achieved several of its objectives, namely surpassing its competitors in passenger vehicle sales volume, improving its customer satisfaction, achieving a higher level of local parts content per unit, developing its people and improving its infrastructure and processes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The structural arrangements in local government and their role in promoting community participation in basic service delivery: a case study of Emalahleni and Intsika Yethu local municipalities in the Chris Hani District Municipality area
- Authors: Nqwemeshe, Nomvuyo
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Citizen participation , Water utilities -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Citizen participation , Water-supply -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Citizen participation , Community development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- Evaluation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3315 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003103
- Description: This study analyses the effectiveness of community participation in service delivery. The area of study, the Chris Ham District Municipality (CHDM), is a Water Services Authority, responsible for ensuring access to water services (water and sanitation) by all communities within its jurisdiction. There are eight local municipalities within the CHDM. The objective of this study is to determine whether systems are in place in local government to promote participation by communities in service delivery projects and whether these systems are being utilised efficiently by the role-players concerned. The role-players in this research are people who are involved in community development programmes of the municipality (municipal staff in the relevant departments of the municipalities under study, the social facilitators, civil society organisations, ward committees, ward councillors, traditional authorities as well as the representatives of communities (Project Steering Committees) who are beneficiaries of the projects under study). The projects that are under study were selected from a readily available list of CHDM capital projects that appear in the 2003/2004 financial year funding plan and are running. The findings of the study at both levels (local and district) show that the municipal environment is not conducive to promoting community participation. This is linked to factors such as the structural arrangements, whereby the offices relevant for promoting community participation are not fully occupied, which provided evidence that community participation is not prioritised. There is lack of coordination of programmes within the local government spheres as well within departments of the DM and strategies for community participation have been found to be non-effective. At project level lack of community participation is linked to the utilisation of ward committees as the only mechanism for community participation regardless of its un-equal and party biased representation. This study therefore concludes that although the systems to promote community participation are in place, they are not effective.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Nqwemeshe, Nomvuyo
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Citizen participation , Water utilities -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Citizen participation , Water-supply -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Citizen participation , Community development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- Evaluation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3315 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003103
- Description: This study analyses the effectiveness of community participation in service delivery. The area of study, the Chris Ham District Municipality (CHDM), is a Water Services Authority, responsible for ensuring access to water services (water and sanitation) by all communities within its jurisdiction. There are eight local municipalities within the CHDM. The objective of this study is to determine whether systems are in place in local government to promote participation by communities in service delivery projects and whether these systems are being utilised efficiently by the role-players concerned. The role-players in this research are people who are involved in community development programmes of the municipality (municipal staff in the relevant departments of the municipalities under study, the social facilitators, civil society organisations, ward committees, ward councillors, traditional authorities as well as the representatives of communities (Project Steering Committees) who are beneficiaries of the projects under study). The projects that are under study were selected from a readily available list of CHDM capital projects that appear in the 2003/2004 financial year funding plan and are running. The findings of the study at both levels (local and district) show that the municipal environment is not conducive to promoting community participation. This is linked to factors such as the structural arrangements, whereby the offices relevant for promoting community participation are not fully occupied, which provided evidence that community participation is not prioritised. There is lack of coordination of programmes within the local government spheres as well within departments of the DM and strategies for community participation have been found to be non-effective. At project level lack of community participation is linked to the utilisation of ward committees as the only mechanism for community participation regardless of its un-equal and party biased representation. This study therefore concludes that although the systems to promote community participation are in place, they are not effective.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The sustainability of Continuous Improvement (CI) initiatives in an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) paint shop environment
- Authors: Katts, Ryan
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Lean manufacturing , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8659 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1008302 , Lean manufacturing , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Description: The study as detailed in this report is performed in the South African (SA) automotive industry and is aimed at outlining key management elements to be focussed on in order to improve and ensure sustainable continuous improvement initiatives in the form of Lean Manufacturing implementation efforts within a paint shop environment. The organisation being researched is located in Uitenhage which is situated just outside Port Elizabeth (PE) in SA. It is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for passenger vehicles and supplies vehicles for both the local and international markets. Further, as part of their business strategy, the organisation also manufactures and supplies automotive parts to the local and international markets. In this study, emphasis will be placed on issues which need to be addressed in order to effectively sustain continuous improvement initiatives in the form of Lean Manufacturing implementation being pursued within the organisation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Katts, Ryan
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Lean manufacturing , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8659 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1008302 , Lean manufacturing , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Description: The study as detailed in this report is performed in the South African (SA) automotive industry and is aimed at outlining key management elements to be focussed on in order to improve and ensure sustainable continuous improvement initiatives in the form of Lean Manufacturing implementation efforts within a paint shop environment. The organisation being researched is located in Uitenhage which is situated just outside Port Elizabeth (PE) in SA. It is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for passenger vehicles and supplies vehicles for both the local and international markets. Further, as part of their business strategy, the organisation also manufactures and supplies automotive parts to the local and international markets. In this study, emphasis will be placed on issues which need to be addressed in order to effectively sustain continuous improvement initiatives in the form of Lean Manufacturing implementation being pursued within the organisation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The sustainability of rural co-operatives within the Eastern Cape with reference to Mbhashe Local Municipality
- Authors: Ndawule, Luvuyo
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Cooperative societies -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9126 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018555
- Description: Mbhashe Local Municipality is part of eight local municipalities that make up Amathole District Municipality. The study is conducted in Mbhashe local Municipality where two co-operatives have been sampled. The purpose of the study was to investigate the challenges faced by co-operatives in achieving its intended purpose (i.e. alleviating poverty, creating employment and generating income). It is the intention of the researcher to investigate the socio-economic role played by co-operatives in this afore mentioned local municipality. For the research to be able to examine and analyse the performance and challenges faced by co-operatives around Mbhashe certain key aspects were extensively taken into consideration. These aspects are co-operative leadership, management structures, external support from different stakeholders, like different government departments, communities where co-operatives are located, and the role of NGO’s. It was the intention of the researcher to analyse the type of support given by each of the above mentioned stakeholders. It was through the study that the research was able to deduce whether the support given by these various stakeholders was enough or not in ensuring viability and sustainability of co-operatives. In conducting the research a qualitative approach was used whereby various instruments were used to collect data. It was through the variety of instruments used that the researcher managed to capture the challenges faced by co-operatives. Apart from the challenges which were the main focus of the researcher, the findings also reveal that co-operatives play a vital role in socio-economic development. This is more evident in rural areas such as those at Mbhashe Local Municipality. There is undisputed evidence shown by co-operatives that community members do benefit from the produce created by co-operatives. If co-operatives can receive the type of support they deserve, poverty in rural areas can be put to absolute minimum.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Ndawule, Luvuyo
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Cooperative societies -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9126 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018555
- Description: Mbhashe Local Municipality is part of eight local municipalities that make up Amathole District Municipality. The study is conducted in Mbhashe local Municipality where two co-operatives have been sampled. The purpose of the study was to investigate the challenges faced by co-operatives in achieving its intended purpose (i.e. alleviating poverty, creating employment and generating income). It is the intention of the researcher to investigate the socio-economic role played by co-operatives in this afore mentioned local municipality. For the research to be able to examine and analyse the performance and challenges faced by co-operatives around Mbhashe certain key aspects were extensively taken into consideration. These aspects are co-operative leadership, management structures, external support from different stakeholders, like different government departments, communities where co-operatives are located, and the role of NGO’s. It was the intention of the researcher to analyse the type of support given by each of the above mentioned stakeholders. It was through the study that the research was able to deduce whether the support given by these various stakeholders was enough or not in ensuring viability and sustainability of co-operatives. In conducting the research a qualitative approach was used whereby various instruments were used to collect data. It was through the variety of instruments used that the researcher managed to capture the challenges faced by co-operatives. Apart from the challenges which were the main focus of the researcher, the findings also reveal that co-operatives play a vital role in socio-economic development. This is more evident in rural areas such as those at Mbhashe Local Municipality. There is undisputed evidence shown by co-operatives that community members do benefit from the produce created by co-operatives. If co-operatives can receive the type of support they deserve, poverty in rural areas can be put to absolute minimum.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The symmetry group of a model of hyperbolic plane geometry and some associated invariant optimal control problems
- Authors: Henninger, Helen Clare
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Geometry , Symmetry groups , Symmetry (Mathematics)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5432 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018232
- Description: In this thesis we study left-invariant control offine systems on the symmetry group of a. model of hyperbolic plane geometry, the matrix Lie group SO(1, 2)₀. We determine that there are 10 distinct classes of such control systems and for typical elements of two of these classes we provide solutions of the left-invariant optimal wntrol problem with quauratic costs. Under the identification of the Lie allgebra .so(l, 2) with Minkowski spacetime R¹̕'², we construct a controllabilility criterion for all left-invariant control affine systems on 50(1. 2)₀ which in the inhomogeneous case depends only on the presence or absence of an element in the image of the system's trace in R¹̕ ²which is identifiable using the inner product. For the solutions of both the optimal control problems, we provide explicit expressions in terms of Jacobi elliptic functions for the solutions of the reduced extremal equations and determine the nonlinear stability of the equilibrium points.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Henninger, Helen Clare
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Geometry , Symmetry groups , Symmetry (Mathematics)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5432 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018232
- Description: In this thesis we study left-invariant control offine systems on the symmetry group of a. model of hyperbolic plane geometry, the matrix Lie group SO(1, 2)₀. We determine that there are 10 distinct classes of such control systems and for typical elements of two of these classes we provide solutions of the left-invariant optimal wntrol problem with quauratic costs. Under the identification of the Lie allgebra .so(l, 2) with Minkowski spacetime R¹̕'², we construct a controllabilility criterion for all left-invariant control affine systems on 50(1. 2)₀ which in the inhomogeneous case depends only on the presence or absence of an element in the image of the system's trace in R¹̕ ²which is identifiable using the inner product. For the solutions of both the optimal control problems, we provide explicit expressions in terms of Jacobi elliptic functions for the solutions of the reduced extremal equations and determine the nonlinear stability of the equilibrium points.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The syntheses and photophysical properties of 4, 4′-isopropylidendioxydiphenyl substituted ball-type dinuclear Mg (II) and Zn (II) phthalocyanines
- Canlıca, Mevlüde, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Canlıca, Mevlüde , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/243554 , vital:51163 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poly.2011.10.024"
- Description: The syntheses of ball-type dinuclear Zn(II) and Mg(II) phthalocyanines containing four 4,4′-isopropylidendioxydiphenyl substituents at the peripheral and non-peripheral positions are presented. The structures of the synthesized compounds were characterized using elemental analyses, and UV–Vis, FT-IR, 1H NMR and mass spectroscopies. The ΦF values were 0.14, 0.11, 0.22, 0.15 and ΦT values were 0.84, 0.88, 0.62, 0.74, for 6–9, respectively. The largest triplet yields were observed for the non-peripherally substituted complexes 6 and 7, showing that non-peripheral substitution favors increased population of the triplet state. All complexes showed reasonably long triplet lifetimes with τT 510, 310, 910 and 350 μs in DMSO, respectively.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Canlıca, Mevlüde , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/243554 , vital:51163 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poly.2011.10.024"
- Description: The syntheses of ball-type dinuclear Zn(II) and Mg(II) phthalocyanines containing four 4,4′-isopropylidendioxydiphenyl substituents at the peripheral and non-peripheral positions are presented. The structures of the synthesized compounds were characterized using elemental analyses, and UV–Vis, FT-IR, 1H NMR and mass spectroscopies. The ΦF values were 0.14, 0.11, 0.22, 0.15 and ΦT values were 0.84, 0.88, 0.62, 0.74, for 6–9, respectively. The largest triplet yields were observed for the non-peripherally substituted complexes 6 and 7, showing that non-peripheral substitution favors increased population of the triplet state. All complexes showed reasonably long triplet lifetimes with τT 510, 310, 910 and 350 μs in DMSO, respectively.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The synthesis and breast cancer inhibitory activity of cinnamic acid analogues based on the halogenated monoterpene pharmacophore
- Authors: Chiwakata, Maynard Tendai
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Halocarbons , Cancer -- Treatment , Breast -- Cancer -- Treatment
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3866 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016129
- Description: Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death, with mortality rate estimates of 465 000 deaths per annum. It is estimated that 1.3 million women are diagnosed with the disease each year especially in the developing countries. Current chemotherapy relies on the use of high doses of non-specific toxic agents that possess adverse side effects and compromise patient’s compliance and adherence to treatment. Paclitaxel, one of the common drugs used in breast cancer chemotherapy results in sensory and motor neuropathy, whilst hormonal therapy e.g. Herceptin causes severe cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and cutaneous side effects. There has been a demand in developing newer cancer agents that demonstrate selective cytoxicity with minimal effect on normal body tissue. Numerous studies have shown that marine organisms produce a wide range of halogenated compounds that possess cytotoxic properties, and hence can be a source of new drug hits or leads for cancer therapy. Halomon, a polyhalogenated monoterpene from Portieria hornemannii, displayed interesting activity against brain, renal and lung cancer tumours with selective/differential cytotoxicity. This inspired us to focus our project on halogenated monoterpenes isolated from the same Rhodophyta class as P. hornemannii but with particular attention to Plocamium species. Several metabolites have been isolated from P. cornutum, P. corallorhiza and P. suhrii that possess interesting cytotoxicities against a breast cancer cell line (MCF7) and an oesophageal cancer line (WHCO1). The aim of the project was therefore centred at isolating target compounds for preliminary structure-activity studies against a breast cancer cell line, and use this information to synthesize a series of analogues that are more stable than the natural products and yet as active using a fragment-based type approach to map out pharmacophoric elements. Five metabolites were isolated from P. cornutum and five from P. corallorhiza. Cell-based assays were conducted using an MTT assay kit against MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines and (1E,3E,5S,6R)-1,5,6-trichloro-2-(dichloromethyl)-6-methylocta-1,3,7-triene, isolated from P. cornutum was the most active with IC50 values of 3.0 μM and 6.15 μM respectively. Introduction of a terminal aromatic ring to enhance stability, together with varying substituents (H, CH3, CF3, Br, CN, CHO, CHCl2) on position 7 of the molecule, gave rise to a series of cinnamate ester derivatives inspired by (1E,3E,5S,6R)-1,5,6-trichloro-2-(dichloromethyl)-6-methylocta-1,3,7-triene. The analogues were synthesized from their benzaldehyde precursors via Aldol condensation, esterification and Wittig reactions. Their carboxylic acid counterparts were synthesized by hydrolysis of the parent esters in an attempt to promote water solubilities of the analogues. Biological activity assays were then conducted with the cinnamate analogues against the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line using an MTT assay kit. Ester derivatives with -CHO and -CHCl2 functionalities had IC50 values of 43.45 μM and 100.01 μM respectively whilst the other ester derivatives were inactive. It was concluded that either an aldehyde (-CHO) or gem-dichlorides (-CHCl2) is specifically required for cytotoxic activity to be observed. None of the carboxylic acids were active which could have been due to failure of the compounds to enter the breast cancer cells and reach the target site because of their polar nature. Compounds with -CHO and -CHCl2 functionalities were therefore selected for future SARs studies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Chiwakata, Maynard Tendai
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Halocarbons , Cancer -- Treatment , Breast -- Cancer -- Treatment
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3866 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016129
- Description: Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death, with mortality rate estimates of 465 000 deaths per annum. It is estimated that 1.3 million women are diagnosed with the disease each year especially in the developing countries. Current chemotherapy relies on the use of high doses of non-specific toxic agents that possess adverse side effects and compromise patient’s compliance and adherence to treatment. Paclitaxel, one of the common drugs used in breast cancer chemotherapy results in sensory and motor neuropathy, whilst hormonal therapy e.g. Herceptin causes severe cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and cutaneous side effects. There has been a demand in developing newer cancer agents that demonstrate selective cytoxicity with minimal effect on normal body tissue. Numerous studies have shown that marine organisms produce a wide range of halogenated compounds that possess cytotoxic properties, and hence can be a source of new drug hits or leads for cancer therapy. Halomon, a polyhalogenated monoterpene from Portieria hornemannii, displayed interesting activity against brain, renal and lung cancer tumours with selective/differential cytotoxicity. This inspired us to focus our project on halogenated monoterpenes isolated from the same Rhodophyta class as P. hornemannii but with particular attention to Plocamium species. Several metabolites have been isolated from P. cornutum, P. corallorhiza and P. suhrii that possess interesting cytotoxicities against a breast cancer cell line (MCF7) and an oesophageal cancer line (WHCO1). The aim of the project was therefore centred at isolating target compounds for preliminary structure-activity studies against a breast cancer cell line, and use this information to synthesize a series of analogues that are more stable than the natural products and yet as active using a fragment-based type approach to map out pharmacophoric elements. Five metabolites were isolated from P. cornutum and five from P. corallorhiza. Cell-based assays were conducted using an MTT assay kit against MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines and (1E,3E,5S,6R)-1,5,6-trichloro-2-(dichloromethyl)-6-methylocta-1,3,7-triene, isolated from P. cornutum was the most active with IC50 values of 3.0 μM and 6.15 μM respectively. Introduction of a terminal aromatic ring to enhance stability, together with varying substituents (H, CH3, CF3, Br, CN, CHO, CHCl2) on position 7 of the molecule, gave rise to a series of cinnamate ester derivatives inspired by (1E,3E,5S,6R)-1,5,6-trichloro-2-(dichloromethyl)-6-methylocta-1,3,7-triene. The analogues were synthesized from their benzaldehyde precursors via Aldol condensation, esterification and Wittig reactions. Their carboxylic acid counterparts were synthesized by hydrolysis of the parent esters in an attempt to promote water solubilities of the analogues. Biological activity assays were then conducted with the cinnamate analogues against the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line using an MTT assay kit. Ester derivatives with -CHO and -CHCl2 functionalities had IC50 values of 43.45 μM and 100.01 μM respectively whilst the other ester derivatives were inactive. It was concluded that either an aldehyde (-CHO) or gem-dichlorides (-CHCl2) is specifically required for cytotoxic activity to be observed. None of the carboxylic acids were active which could have been due to failure of the compounds to enter the breast cancer cells and reach the target site because of their polar nature. Compounds with -CHO and -CHCl2 functionalities were therefore selected for future SARs studies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The synthesis of fructooligosaccharides by the fructofuranosidase FopAp from Aspergillus niger
- Pindura, Mitchell Kingsley Chido
- Authors: Pindura, Mitchell Kingsley Chido
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Aspergillus niger , Oligosaccharides
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4158 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018267
- Description: Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are short-chain fructans with a terminal glucose moiety and are found naturally in many plant species. Besides their wide use as an alternative sweetener in food and beverage industry, FOS have shown great potential as neutraceuticals against diabetes, colon cancer and bowel disease. The uses of FOS are dependent on the degree of polymerisation that they exhibit. β-fructofuranosidase (FFase) and fructosyltransferase (FTase) enzymes are capable of synthesing FOS from carbohydrate raw materials such as chicory and sugar beet. The aim of this study was to investigate the synthesis of FOS of a pre-defined chain length, from sucrose, by the enzyme FopAp; a β-fructofuranosidase from Aspergillus niger. ATCC 20611. The crude enzyme FopAp was successfully purified, with a yield of 78.20 %, by ammonium sulphate precipitation and anion exchange chromatography. Two protein fractions, named FA and FB were shown to exhibit FFase activity. SDS PAGE analysis revealed two proteins with molecular weights of 112 kDa and 78 kDa, which were identified as a FFase and a hydrolase. Temperature and pH optima of 20 ºC and 9, respectively, were observed for the transfructosylation activity in the FFase. The purified FFase exhibited a half life of 1.5 hrs under optimal conditions. Substrate kinetic studies indicated a high hydrolytic activity at low sucrose concentrations, with Vmax and Km of 1.25 μmol/ml/min and 3.28 mM, respectively. Analysis by response surface methodology identified temperature and pH to be significant factors for the production of kestose and nystose, at a 95 % level of confidence. These findings were confirmed by neural networks constructed to identify optimal conditions of FOS synthesis.FOS synthesis was found to be optimal between pH 6 and pH 9 at 25 ºC. The factor of reaction time was found to be insignificant within the selected experimental constraints, for both FOS species. The findings of this investigation are very important as the foundations of a commercially viable synthetic process for the production of FOS.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Pindura, Mitchell Kingsley Chido
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Aspergillus niger , Oligosaccharides
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4158 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018267
- Description: Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are short-chain fructans with a terminal glucose moiety and are found naturally in many plant species. Besides their wide use as an alternative sweetener in food and beverage industry, FOS have shown great potential as neutraceuticals against diabetes, colon cancer and bowel disease. The uses of FOS are dependent on the degree of polymerisation that they exhibit. β-fructofuranosidase (FFase) and fructosyltransferase (FTase) enzymes are capable of synthesing FOS from carbohydrate raw materials such as chicory and sugar beet. The aim of this study was to investigate the synthesis of FOS of a pre-defined chain length, from sucrose, by the enzyme FopAp; a β-fructofuranosidase from Aspergillus niger. ATCC 20611. The crude enzyme FopAp was successfully purified, with a yield of 78.20 %, by ammonium sulphate precipitation and anion exchange chromatography. Two protein fractions, named FA and FB were shown to exhibit FFase activity. SDS PAGE analysis revealed two proteins with molecular weights of 112 kDa and 78 kDa, which were identified as a FFase and a hydrolase. Temperature and pH optima of 20 ºC and 9, respectively, were observed for the transfructosylation activity in the FFase. The purified FFase exhibited a half life of 1.5 hrs under optimal conditions. Substrate kinetic studies indicated a high hydrolytic activity at low sucrose concentrations, with Vmax and Km of 1.25 μmol/ml/min and 3.28 mM, respectively. Analysis by response surface methodology identified temperature and pH to be significant factors for the production of kestose and nystose, at a 95 % level of confidence. These findings were confirmed by neural networks constructed to identify optimal conditions of FOS synthesis.FOS synthesis was found to be optimal between pH 6 and pH 9 at 25 ºC. The factor of reaction time was found to be insignificant within the selected experimental constraints, for both FOS species. The findings of this investigation are very important as the foundations of a commercially viable synthetic process for the production of FOS.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The synthesis of α-alkoxy and α-aminostannanes as precursors to Novel Chromium Fischer Carbenes
- Authors: Meyer, Annalene
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Alkoxides , Organometallic compounds , Carbenes (Methylene compounds) , Chromium , Molybdenum , Tungsten , Organolithium compounds
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4371 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005036 , Alkoxides , Organometallic compounds , Carbenes (Methylene compounds) , Chromium , Molybdenum , Tungsten , Organolithium compounds
- Description: The present study involves the use of main group organometallics: organostannanes and organolithiums as precursors to chromium Fischer carbene complexes. Fischer carbenes are well stabilized by the π‐donor substituents such as alkoxy and amino groups and low oxidation state metals such as Group 6 (Chromium, Molybdenum or Tungsten). Carbenes are an important intermediate in the synthesis of a range of compounds through cyclopropanations, insertions, coupling and photochemical reactions. Synthesis and successful characterisation of three α‐alkoxystannanes was achieved via nucleophilic addition of tributylstannyllithium to the respective aldehydes, followed by an immediate MOM protection of the resulting alcohol. Six α‐aminostanannes were synthesised, consisting of N‐BOC, N‐acetyl and N‐ethyl derivatives of pyrrolidine and piperidine, via α‐lithiation and subsequent tinlithium transmetallation in the presence of TMEDA. The ¹³C NMR analysis highlighted an interesting phenomenon of tin‐carbon coupling that revealed unique structural information of both types of stannanes. DFT analysis was completed on the series of stannanes; a predicted frequency analysis was obtained which complemented the experimental Infra‐red data in elucidation of the compounds. The α‐alkoxy and α‐aminostannanes provided stable precursors to the organolithiums required for the synthesis of the novel Fischer chromium carbenes. The organolithiums were obtained via tinlithium exchange at low temperatures, followed by the addition of chromium hexacarbonyl to form the acylpentacarbonyl‐chromate salt. Alkylation of this intermediate using a Meerwein salt, Me₃OBF₄, gave rise to the novel Fischer chromium carbene complexes. Fischer chromium carbenes derived from the two isomeric butyl and isobutyl stannanes and the two N‐ethyl α‐aminostannanes were successfully synthesised. The difficulty encountered in the purification of the Fischer carbene complexes hindered the full characterisation, due to the presence of a by‐product, tetrabutyltin.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Meyer, Annalene
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Alkoxides , Organometallic compounds , Carbenes (Methylene compounds) , Chromium , Molybdenum , Tungsten , Organolithium compounds
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4371 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005036 , Alkoxides , Organometallic compounds , Carbenes (Methylene compounds) , Chromium , Molybdenum , Tungsten , Organolithium compounds
- Description: The present study involves the use of main group organometallics: organostannanes and organolithiums as precursors to chromium Fischer carbene complexes. Fischer carbenes are well stabilized by the π‐donor substituents such as alkoxy and amino groups and low oxidation state metals such as Group 6 (Chromium, Molybdenum or Tungsten). Carbenes are an important intermediate in the synthesis of a range of compounds through cyclopropanations, insertions, coupling and photochemical reactions. Synthesis and successful characterisation of three α‐alkoxystannanes was achieved via nucleophilic addition of tributylstannyllithium to the respective aldehydes, followed by an immediate MOM protection of the resulting alcohol. Six α‐aminostanannes were synthesised, consisting of N‐BOC, N‐acetyl and N‐ethyl derivatives of pyrrolidine and piperidine, via α‐lithiation and subsequent tinlithium transmetallation in the presence of TMEDA. The ¹³C NMR analysis highlighted an interesting phenomenon of tin‐carbon coupling that revealed unique structural information of both types of stannanes. DFT analysis was completed on the series of stannanes; a predicted frequency analysis was obtained which complemented the experimental Infra‐red data in elucidation of the compounds. The α‐alkoxy and α‐aminostannanes provided stable precursors to the organolithiums required for the synthesis of the novel Fischer chromium carbenes. The organolithiums were obtained via tinlithium exchange at low temperatures, followed by the addition of chromium hexacarbonyl to form the acylpentacarbonyl‐chromate salt. Alkylation of this intermediate using a Meerwein salt, Me₃OBF₄, gave rise to the novel Fischer chromium carbene complexes. Fischer chromium carbenes derived from the two isomeric butyl and isobutyl stannanes and the two N‐ethyl α‐aminostannanes were successfully synthesised. The difficulty encountered in the purification of the Fischer carbene complexes hindered the full characterisation, due to the presence of a by‐product, tetrabutyltin.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The synthesis, photophysical and dielectric properties of ball-type dinuclear zinc phthalocyanine
- Canlıca, Mevlüde, Altındal, Ahmet, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Canlıca, Mevlüde , Altındal, Ahmet , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/243532 , vital:51161 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S1088424612500836"
- Description: The synthesis of ball-type dinuclear Zn(II) phthalocyanine containing four 4,4′-(9H-fluorene-9,9-diyl)diphenol substituents at the non-peripheral position is presented. The structure of the synthesized compound was characterized using elemental analyzes, and UV-vis, FT-IR, 1H NMR and mass spectroscopies. The ΦF value was 0.16 and ΦT value was 0.72. The complex showed reasonably long triplet lifetimes with τT 7210 μs in DMSO. The frequency and temperature dependence of the dielectric properties of ZnPc were also investigated in the frequency range of 40–105 Hz and in the temperature range of 300–440 °K. It has been observed that both dielectric constant ε′ and dielectric loss ε″ decrease with the rise in frequency as they increase with the rise in temperature. The decrease in ε′ with increasing frequency is attributed to the fact that as the frequency increases, the polarizability contribution from orientation sources decreases and finally disappears.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Canlıca, Mevlüde , Altındal, Ahmet , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/243532 , vital:51161 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S1088424612500836"
- Description: The synthesis of ball-type dinuclear Zn(II) phthalocyanine containing four 4,4′-(9H-fluorene-9,9-diyl)diphenol substituents at the non-peripheral position is presented. The structure of the synthesized compound was characterized using elemental analyzes, and UV-vis, FT-IR, 1H NMR and mass spectroscopies. The ΦF value was 0.16 and ΦT value was 0.72. The complex showed reasonably long triplet lifetimes with τT 7210 μs in DMSO. The frequency and temperature dependence of the dielectric properties of ZnPc were also investigated in the frequency range of 40–105 Hz and in the temperature range of 300–440 °K. It has been observed that both dielectric constant ε′ and dielectric loss ε″ decrease with the rise in frequency as they increase with the rise in temperature. The decrease in ε′ with increasing frequency is attributed to the fact that as the frequency increases, the polarizability contribution from orientation sources decreases and finally disappears.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The treatment of brewery effluent using an integrated high rate algal ponding system
- Authors: Cilliers, Anneke
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Water -- Purification -- South Africa , Algae -- Biotechnology , Algae culture , Algae -- Economic aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5331 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005177 , Water -- Purification -- South Africa , Algae -- Biotechnology , Algae culture , Algae -- Economic aspects
- Description: The application of high rate algal ponds (HRAP) in the treatment of brewery effluent that met the South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's (DWAF) general limits for discharge into a natural water resource of 1998 were tested during a lO-month baseline phase, followed by an 11-month optimization phase. The objective of the baseline phase was to monitor the seasonal performance of HRAPs. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) fluctuated between 11.16 d and 12.00 d in HRAPs. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) increased from 130.12 ± 6.94 mg/L (post-AD), to 171.21 ± 7.99 mg/L (post-HRAP) . The presence of algal cells and evaporation contributed towards an increase in post-HRAP COD. The ammonia (NH₄-N) concentration decreased from 46.59 ± 2.47 mg/L (post-AD), to 1.08 ± 0.12 mg/L (post-HRAP). The nitrite (NO₂- N) concentration remained below 1.00 mg/L in post-pilot plant AD, post-PFP and post-HRAP effluent. The phosphate (PO₄-P) concentration decreased from 29.81 ± 1.39 mg/L (post-AD) to 17.30 ± 1.16 mg/L PO₄-P. The objective of the optimization phase was to manipulate the HRT to achieve the maximum treatment rate that met the DWAF general limits for discharge into a natural water resource of 1998. Nitrogen (as NH₄-N, NO₃-N, NO₂-N) removal efficiency was used as an indicator of nutrient removal success. HRT was influenced by season. The optimal HRT for autumn was 4.30 d at a temperature of 20.53ºC in HRAP A2 (heated) and 18.96ºC in HRAP B2 (ambient). The optimal HRT for summer was 2.74 d at 29.90ºC in HRAP A2 (heated) and 26.36ºC in HRAP B2 (ambient). The COD decreased from 152.33 ± 4.85 mg/L (post-AD) to 95 .00 ± 3.75 mg/L (post-HRAP A2), and to 100.82 ± 5.93 mg/L (post-HRAP B2). The incoming NH₄-N concentration decreased from 42.53 ± 1.38 mg/ L (post-AD), to 1.70 ± 0.81 mg/ L (post-HRAP) . The nitrate (NO₃-N) concentration post-HRAP was 12 - 14 mg/L. The main methods for NH₄-N removal were probably NH₄-N volatilization through algal uptake. HRAPs were able to lower nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations to within the DWAF limits under normal operating conditions. It is recommended that HRAP treated brewery wastewater be used for irrigation after salt removal, or alternatively, for groundwater recharge . Regulatory exemptions would be required for higher than permitted COD and EC concentrations to enable these actions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Cilliers, Anneke
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Water -- Purification -- South Africa , Algae -- Biotechnology , Algae culture , Algae -- Economic aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5331 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005177 , Water -- Purification -- South Africa , Algae -- Biotechnology , Algae culture , Algae -- Economic aspects
- Description: The application of high rate algal ponds (HRAP) in the treatment of brewery effluent that met the South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's (DWAF) general limits for discharge into a natural water resource of 1998 were tested during a lO-month baseline phase, followed by an 11-month optimization phase. The objective of the baseline phase was to monitor the seasonal performance of HRAPs. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) fluctuated between 11.16 d and 12.00 d in HRAPs. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) increased from 130.12 ± 6.94 mg/L (post-AD), to 171.21 ± 7.99 mg/L (post-HRAP) . The presence of algal cells and evaporation contributed towards an increase in post-HRAP COD. The ammonia (NH₄-N) concentration decreased from 46.59 ± 2.47 mg/L (post-AD), to 1.08 ± 0.12 mg/L (post-HRAP). The nitrite (NO₂- N) concentration remained below 1.00 mg/L in post-pilot plant AD, post-PFP and post-HRAP effluent. The phosphate (PO₄-P) concentration decreased from 29.81 ± 1.39 mg/L (post-AD) to 17.30 ± 1.16 mg/L PO₄-P. The objective of the optimization phase was to manipulate the HRT to achieve the maximum treatment rate that met the DWAF general limits for discharge into a natural water resource of 1998. Nitrogen (as NH₄-N, NO₃-N, NO₂-N) removal efficiency was used as an indicator of nutrient removal success. HRT was influenced by season. The optimal HRT for autumn was 4.30 d at a temperature of 20.53ºC in HRAP A2 (heated) and 18.96ºC in HRAP B2 (ambient). The optimal HRT for summer was 2.74 d at 29.90ºC in HRAP A2 (heated) and 26.36ºC in HRAP B2 (ambient). The COD decreased from 152.33 ± 4.85 mg/L (post-AD) to 95 .00 ± 3.75 mg/L (post-HRAP A2), and to 100.82 ± 5.93 mg/L (post-HRAP B2). The incoming NH₄-N concentration decreased from 42.53 ± 1.38 mg/ L (post-AD), to 1.70 ± 0.81 mg/ L (post-HRAP) . The nitrate (NO₃-N) concentration post-HRAP was 12 - 14 mg/L. The main methods for NH₄-N removal were probably NH₄-N volatilization through algal uptake. HRAPs were able to lower nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations to within the DWAF limits under normal operating conditions. It is recommended that HRAP treated brewery wastewater be used for irrigation after salt removal, or alternatively, for groundwater recharge . Regulatory exemptions would be required for higher than permitted COD and EC concentrations to enable these actions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The trophic ecology of parrotfish of Zanzibar application of stable isotope analysis
- Plass-Johnson, Jeremiah Grahm
- Authors: Plass-Johnson, Jeremiah Grahm
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Parrotfishes -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Parrotfishes , Parrotfishes -- Ecology -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Parrotfishes -- Behavior -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Parrotfishes -- Food -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Scleractinia -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Algae -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Coral reefs and islands -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Coral reef fishes -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Stable isotopes
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5789 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005477 , Parrotfishes -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Parrotfishes , Parrotfishes -- Ecology -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Parrotfishes -- Behavior -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Parrotfishes -- Food -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Scleractinia -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Algae -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Coral reefs and islands -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Coral reef fishes -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Stable isotopes
- Description: Parrotfish are a critical component of the herbivore functional group on tropical coral reefs around the world because they mediate competition that occurs between algae and scleractinian corals. Also, because of their feeding technique, which consists of rasping at the substratum with their beak-like teeth, they play an important role in carbonate turnover and the clearing of reef surface area for the settlement of new sessile organisms. Because of these roles, parrotfishes are an important structuring component of coral reef communities. However, individual species can play different roles depending on their physiology, behaviour and ecology. Despite the possible ecological differences that may exist amongst species, specific roles of the fishes remain unclear as the group is most often studied at higher community levels. This thesis applied stable isotope analysis to differing levels of organisation within a parrotfish community to help elucidate their trophic ecology on coral reefs in Zanzibar. Firstly, blood and muscle tissues were compared to identify differences in their isotope signatures. In other organisms, blood turns over faster than muscle tissue so that muscle tissue represents the diet as integrated over a longer period of time. In most species of parrotfish the blood and muscle δ¹³C signatures were not found to be significantly different, but the δ¹⁵N signatures were significantly different between tissues. This indicated that the δ¹³C signature of both tissues would reveal similar dietary information. Conversely, differences in the δ¹⁵N signature indicated that the nitrogen relationship between tissues was more complicated. Secondly, spatial variability in parrotfish, coral, detritus and macroalgae isotope signatures was assessed at different scales. In macroalgae and coral tissues (zooxanthellae and polyp treated separately), the δ¹³C signatures were shown to differ with depth, presumably because of changes in photosynthetic processes related to depth-associated changes in light. While δ¹⁵N signatures were not affected by depth, all organisms showed enrichment at the Nyange reef, the closest reef to the capital of Zanzibar, Stone Town, presumably reflecting the effects of sewage outfall. These results show that processes that impact the δ¹⁵N signatures of primary producers (macroalgae and zooxanthellae) can be traced to higher trophic levels (coral polyps and fish). Lastly, δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N signatures were used to identify ontogenetic dietary changes in multiple species of parrotfish. Four of the species showed stages that varied from the diets that are normally assumed on the basis of their dentition and feeding technique. This indicates that functional roles based on taxonomy or morphology may fail to include possible ontogenetic dietary changes, and may also fail to elucidate the full impact a species could have on coral reef communities. The conclusions from these studies indicate that the species-specific ecological role of parrotfish in coral reef communities can be complex within and between species, and may differ amongst reefs. In light of the natural and anthropogenic pressures that affect coral reef systems, management decisions based on a more complete understanding of the role of these fish in coral reef communities will help decisions that maintain resilience in these fragile systems.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Plass-Johnson, Jeremiah Grahm
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Parrotfishes -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Parrotfishes , Parrotfishes -- Ecology -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Parrotfishes -- Behavior -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Parrotfishes -- Food -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Scleractinia -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Algae -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Coral reefs and islands -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Coral reef fishes -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Stable isotopes
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5789 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005477 , Parrotfishes -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Parrotfishes , Parrotfishes -- Ecology -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Parrotfishes -- Behavior -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Parrotfishes -- Food -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Scleractinia -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Algae -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Coral reefs and islands -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Coral reef fishes -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar , Stable isotopes
- Description: Parrotfish are a critical component of the herbivore functional group on tropical coral reefs around the world because they mediate competition that occurs between algae and scleractinian corals. Also, because of their feeding technique, which consists of rasping at the substratum with their beak-like teeth, they play an important role in carbonate turnover and the clearing of reef surface area for the settlement of new sessile organisms. Because of these roles, parrotfishes are an important structuring component of coral reef communities. However, individual species can play different roles depending on their physiology, behaviour and ecology. Despite the possible ecological differences that may exist amongst species, specific roles of the fishes remain unclear as the group is most often studied at higher community levels. This thesis applied stable isotope analysis to differing levels of organisation within a parrotfish community to help elucidate their trophic ecology on coral reefs in Zanzibar. Firstly, blood and muscle tissues were compared to identify differences in their isotope signatures. In other organisms, blood turns over faster than muscle tissue so that muscle tissue represents the diet as integrated over a longer period of time. In most species of parrotfish the blood and muscle δ¹³C signatures were not found to be significantly different, but the δ¹⁵N signatures were significantly different between tissues. This indicated that the δ¹³C signature of both tissues would reveal similar dietary information. Conversely, differences in the δ¹⁵N signature indicated that the nitrogen relationship between tissues was more complicated. Secondly, spatial variability in parrotfish, coral, detritus and macroalgae isotope signatures was assessed at different scales. In macroalgae and coral tissues (zooxanthellae and polyp treated separately), the δ¹³C signatures were shown to differ with depth, presumably because of changes in photosynthetic processes related to depth-associated changes in light. While δ¹⁵N signatures were not affected by depth, all organisms showed enrichment at the Nyange reef, the closest reef to the capital of Zanzibar, Stone Town, presumably reflecting the effects of sewage outfall. These results show that processes that impact the δ¹⁵N signatures of primary producers (macroalgae and zooxanthellae) can be traced to higher trophic levels (coral polyps and fish). Lastly, δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N signatures were used to identify ontogenetic dietary changes in multiple species of parrotfish. Four of the species showed stages that varied from the diets that are normally assumed on the basis of their dentition and feeding technique. This indicates that functional roles based on taxonomy or morphology may fail to include possible ontogenetic dietary changes, and may also fail to elucidate the full impact a species could have on coral reef communities. The conclusions from these studies indicate that the species-specific ecological role of parrotfish in coral reef communities can be complex within and between species, and may differ amongst reefs. In light of the natural and anthropogenic pressures that affect coral reef systems, management decisions based on a more complete understanding of the role of these fish in coral reef communities will help decisions that maintain resilience in these fragile systems.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The use of hot and cold high pressure homogenization to enhance the loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency of nanostructured lipid carriers for the hydrophilic antiretroviral drug, didanosine for potential administration to paediatric patients
- Kasongo, Kasongo W, Müller, Rainer H, Walker, Roderick B
- Authors: Kasongo, Kasongo W , Müller, Rainer H , Walker, Roderick B
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/184087 , vital:44170 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3109/10837450.2010.542163"
- Description: A major obstacle to the application of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) as carriers for hydrophilic drugs is the limited loading capacity (LC) and encapsulation efficiency (EE) of NLCs for these molecules. The purpose of this research was to design and implement a strategy to enhance the LC and EE of NLCs for the hydrophilic drug, didanosine (DDI). DDI was dispersed in Transcutol® HP and the particle size of DDI in the liquid lipid was reduced gradually using hot high pressure homogenization (HPH). The product obtained thereafter was added to Precirol® ATO 5 and the hot mixture was immediately dried using liquid nitrogen. The dried materials were then ground and passed through a 200 μm sieve and the solid lipid particles were dispersed in a surfactant solution and subsequently used to manufacture DDI-loaded NLCs using cold HPH. The LC and EE of NLCs for DDI manufactured using the new strategy were 3.39 ± 0.63% and 51.58 ± 1.31%, respectively, compared to 0.079 ± 0.001% and 32.45 ± 0.08%, respectively, obtained when DDI-loaded NLCs were produced using conventional hot HPH. The enhanced LC and EE for DDI make NLCs a potential technology for the oral administration of DDI to paediatric patients.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Kasongo, Kasongo W , Müller, Rainer H , Walker, Roderick B
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/184087 , vital:44170 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3109/10837450.2010.542163"
- Description: A major obstacle to the application of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) as carriers for hydrophilic drugs is the limited loading capacity (LC) and encapsulation efficiency (EE) of NLCs for these molecules. The purpose of this research was to design and implement a strategy to enhance the LC and EE of NLCs for the hydrophilic drug, didanosine (DDI). DDI was dispersed in Transcutol® HP and the particle size of DDI in the liquid lipid was reduced gradually using hot high pressure homogenization (HPH). The product obtained thereafter was added to Precirol® ATO 5 and the hot mixture was immediately dried using liquid nitrogen. The dried materials were then ground and passed through a 200 μm sieve and the solid lipid particles were dispersed in a surfactant solution and subsequently used to manufacture DDI-loaded NLCs using cold HPH. The LC and EE of NLCs for DDI manufactured using the new strategy were 3.39 ± 0.63% and 51.58 ± 1.31%, respectively, compared to 0.079 ± 0.001% and 32.45 ± 0.08%, respectively, obtained when DDI-loaded NLCs were produced using conventional hot HPH. The enhanced LC and EE for DDI make NLCs a potential technology for the oral administration of DDI to paediatric patients.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students: a survey of three universities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Mbasera, Sarlomie Farisai
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Bibl
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/976 , vital:26514
- Description: The study investigated the use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students at three universities in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The main aim of the study was to determine the factors that affect the use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students. The study sought to fulfil the following objectives: to determine factors which affect the use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students at the three universities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa; to establish the Internet-based information sources available among universities in Eastern Cape; to identify the pattern of postgraduate students’ use of Internet-based information sources; to find out the level of postgraduate satisfaction with Internet-based information sources available for their information needs, and to suggest ways of stimulating the use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students at universities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. A review of the literature revealed a growing reliance on electronic resources by higher education institutions worldwide to suffice the information needs of academic researchers and that usage of these is influenced by various factors. The factors identified in the reviewed literature as affecting the use of Internet-based information sources among students include: academic discipline affiliation, age, level of study, gender, information and communications technology (ICT) literacy, institutional support, relevance of available information resources, accessibility, marketing and publicity of information sources available, and training. The researcher employed a survey research methodology to achieve the study objectives, through data collection on three fronts. Firstly to investigate the factors hat affect the use of Internet-based information sources from the perspectives of postgraduate students, self-administered questionnaires were distributed to a sample of 200 study participants obtained using quota sampling of the population of students from the three universities. A response rate of 66.5% was achieved. Secondly, data on the organisational factors influencing the use of Internet-based information sources were obtained by conducting semi-structured interviews with selected librarians at the three universities. Lastly, documentary analysis was also used to corroborate data obtained from the survey with postgraduate study participants, as well as from interviews with selected librarians. The findings include that the use of Internet-based information sources is increasingly becoming important for postgraduate students at the selected universities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Postgraduate students believe that Internet-based information sources are useful in their academic work. There was moderate use of subscription e-databases and e-journals. Level of study and age were found to affect the use of Internet-based information sources, with older, Masters and PhD students utilising e-databases and e-journals more frequently. Postgraduate students predominantly use search engines to gain access to Internet-based information sources, while Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs) and library websites were unpopular gateways to Internet-based information sources. Universities in the Eastern Cape were found to be supportive of the use of Internet-based information sources with budgets of libraries and future plans tipped in favour of electronic resource provision. From the findings of the study the key recommendations suggested for improving the use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, include that Information literacy training programmes at the three universities may be tailor-made to cater for the information needs of postgraduate students at varying levels and academic disciplines of study. It was also recommended that the universities incorporate the use of federated searching and searchable journals management software on their library websites, in order to increase the visibility of Internet-based information sources among postgraduate students.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Mbasera, Sarlomie Farisai
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Bibl
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/976 , vital:26514
- Description: The study investigated the use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students at three universities in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The main aim of the study was to determine the factors that affect the use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students. The study sought to fulfil the following objectives: to determine factors which affect the use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students at the three universities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa; to establish the Internet-based information sources available among universities in Eastern Cape; to identify the pattern of postgraduate students’ use of Internet-based information sources; to find out the level of postgraduate satisfaction with Internet-based information sources available for their information needs, and to suggest ways of stimulating the use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students at universities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. A review of the literature revealed a growing reliance on electronic resources by higher education institutions worldwide to suffice the information needs of academic researchers and that usage of these is influenced by various factors. The factors identified in the reviewed literature as affecting the use of Internet-based information sources among students include: academic discipline affiliation, age, level of study, gender, information and communications technology (ICT) literacy, institutional support, relevance of available information resources, accessibility, marketing and publicity of information sources available, and training. The researcher employed a survey research methodology to achieve the study objectives, through data collection on three fronts. Firstly to investigate the factors hat affect the use of Internet-based information sources from the perspectives of postgraduate students, self-administered questionnaires were distributed to a sample of 200 study participants obtained using quota sampling of the population of students from the three universities. A response rate of 66.5% was achieved. Secondly, data on the organisational factors influencing the use of Internet-based information sources were obtained by conducting semi-structured interviews with selected librarians at the three universities. Lastly, documentary analysis was also used to corroborate data obtained from the survey with postgraduate study participants, as well as from interviews with selected librarians. The findings include that the use of Internet-based information sources is increasingly becoming important for postgraduate students at the selected universities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Postgraduate students believe that Internet-based information sources are useful in their academic work. There was moderate use of subscription e-databases and e-journals. Level of study and age were found to affect the use of Internet-based information sources, with older, Masters and PhD students utilising e-databases and e-journals more frequently. Postgraduate students predominantly use search engines to gain access to Internet-based information sources, while Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs) and library websites were unpopular gateways to Internet-based information sources. Universities in the Eastern Cape were found to be supportive of the use of Internet-based information sources with budgets of libraries and future plans tipped in favour of electronic resource provision. From the findings of the study the key recommendations suggested for improving the use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, include that Information literacy training programmes at the three universities may be tailor-made to cater for the information needs of postgraduate students at varying levels and academic disciplines of study. It was also recommended that the universities incorporate the use of federated searching and searchable journals management software on their library websites, in order to increase the visibility of Internet-based information sources among postgraduate students.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The use of response surface methodology in the evaluation of captopril microparticles manufactured using an oil in oil solvent evaporation technique
- Khamanga, Sandile M, Walker, Roderick B
- Authors: Khamanga, Sandile M , Walker, Roderick B
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/184221 , vital:44191 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3109/02652048.2011.629744"
- Description: Captopril (CPT) microparticles were manufactured by solvent evaporation using acetone (dispersion phase) and liquid paraffin (manufacturing phase) with Eudragit® and Methocel® as coat materials. Design of experiments and response surface methodology (RSM) approaches were used to optimize the process. The microparticles were characterized based on the percent of drug released and yield, microcapsule size, entrapment efficiency and Hausner ratio. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Infrared (IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and in vitro dissolution studies were conducted. The microcapsules were spherical, free-flowing and IR and DSC thermograms revealed that CPT was stable. The percent drug released was investigated with respect to Eudragit® RS and Methocel® K100M, Methocel® K15M concentrations and homogenizing speed. The optimal conditions for microencapsulation were 1.12 g Eudragit® RS, 0.67 g Methocel® K100M and 0.39 g Methocel® K15M at a homogenizing speed of 1643 rpm and 89% CPT was released. The value of RSM-mediated microencapsulation of CPT was elucidated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Khamanga, Sandile M , Walker, Roderick B
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/184221 , vital:44191 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3109/02652048.2011.629744"
- Description: Captopril (CPT) microparticles were manufactured by solvent evaporation using acetone (dispersion phase) and liquid paraffin (manufacturing phase) with Eudragit® and Methocel® as coat materials. Design of experiments and response surface methodology (RSM) approaches were used to optimize the process. The microparticles were characterized based on the percent of drug released and yield, microcapsule size, entrapment efficiency and Hausner ratio. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Infrared (IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and in vitro dissolution studies were conducted. The microcapsules were spherical, free-flowing and IR and DSC thermograms revealed that CPT was stable. The percent drug released was investigated with respect to Eudragit® RS and Methocel® K100M, Methocel® K15M concentrations and homogenizing speed. The optimal conditions for microencapsulation were 1.12 g Eudragit® RS, 0.67 g Methocel® K100M and 0.39 g Methocel® K15M at a homogenizing speed of 1643 rpm and 89% CPT was released. The value of RSM-mediated microencapsulation of CPT was elucidated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012