Synthesis and nonlinear optical examination of 3 (4), 15 (16)-Bis-(4-tert-butyl-phenoxy)-10, 22-diaminohemiporphyrazinato chloroindium
- Britton, Jonathan, Antunes, Edith M, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Britton, Jonathan , Antunes, Edith M , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/241739 , vital:50965 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molstruc.2013.05.001"
- Description: 3(4),15(16)-Bis-(4-tert-butyl-phenoxy)-10,22-diaminohemiporphyrazinato chloroindium hemiporphyrazine was synthesized from 1,3,5-triaminobenzene and 4-tert-butyl-phenoxyisoindoline. The structure of the complex was confirmed using mass, nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopies. The nonlinear parameters of the compound was also analyzed in dimethylformamide and found to be significantly greater than previously analyzed phthalocyanines.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Britton, Jonathan , Antunes, Edith M , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/241739 , vital:50965 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molstruc.2013.05.001"
- Description: 3(4),15(16)-Bis-(4-tert-butyl-phenoxy)-10,22-diaminohemiporphyrazinato chloroindium hemiporphyrazine was synthesized from 1,3,5-triaminobenzene and 4-tert-butyl-phenoxyisoindoline. The structure of the complex was confirmed using mass, nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopies. The nonlinear parameters of the compound was also analyzed in dimethylformamide and found to be significantly greater than previously analyzed phthalocyanines.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Third order nonlinear optical properties of phthalocyanines in the presence nanomaterials and in polymer thin films
- Britton, Jonathan, Durmus, Mahmut, Khene, Samson M, Chauke, Vongani, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Britton, Jonathan , Durmus, Mahmut , Khene, Samson M , Chauke, Vongani , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/241772 , vital:50968 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S108842461350003X"
- Description: Third order nonlinear optical properties were determined for phthalocyanine complexes 1–10 containing In, Ga and Zn central metals and tetra- or octa-substituted with benzyloxyphenoxy, phenoxy, tert-butylphenoxy and amino groups at peripheral or non-peripheral positions. The phthalocyanines were embedded in poly (methyl methacrylate) polymer in the presence of CdTe quantum dots. All complexes 1–10 were studied in the presence of CdTe quantum dots and embedded in poly (methyl methacrylate) to form thin films. Complex 3 tetrasubstituted with tert-butylphenoxy groups at non-peripheral positions was also studied in the presence of CdS, CdSe quantum dots, fullerenes, single walled carbon nanotubes. Third order nonlinear optical parameters generally increase for Pcs in the presence of CdTe quantum dots.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Britton, Jonathan , Durmus, Mahmut , Khene, Samson M , Chauke, Vongani , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/241772 , vital:50968 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S108842461350003X"
- Description: Third order nonlinear optical properties were determined for phthalocyanine complexes 1–10 containing In, Ga and Zn central metals and tetra- or octa-substituted with benzyloxyphenoxy, phenoxy, tert-butylphenoxy and amino groups at peripheral or non-peripheral positions. The phthalocyanines were embedded in poly (methyl methacrylate) polymer in the presence of CdTe quantum dots. All complexes 1–10 were studied in the presence of CdTe quantum dots and embedded in poly (methyl methacrylate) to form thin films. Complex 3 tetrasubstituted with tert-butylphenoxy groups at non-peripheral positions was also studied in the presence of CdS, CdSe quantum dots, fullerenes, single walled carbon nanotubes. Third order nonlinear optical parameters generally increase for Pcs in the presence of CdTe quantum dots.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
The use of Geographical Information Systems for the promotion of spatial cognition, spatial perspective taking and problem solving in school level geography
- Authors: Britz, Hendrina Wilhemina
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Geography -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Geographic information systems -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9579 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020298
- Description: A question asked at the United States of America (USA) National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) conference in 1967, namely, what learning does GIS allow that other ways do not and whether teaching GIS at school level is worth the time and effort required to implement it, remains largely unanswered. Literature searches suggest that little more has been done since 1967 to investigate the effectiveness of GIS in education, or that there are any findings to suggest that GIS is worth the time and effort to implement in schools. Internationally the implementation of GIS software and geo-spatial data in schools has been slow, and South Africa is no exception. The main reasons given for slow implementation internationally have included lack of resources, lack of training and lack of time. The majority of secondary schools that offer Geography in the Port Elizabeth Education District, South Africa, teach GIS theory without the use of GIS software and geo-spatial data. The purpose of this research was to elicit the perceptions of secondary school level Geography teachers and learners of the benefits, barriers and obstacles to implementing GIS software and geo-spatial data as a teaching strategy. As a focused exercise to investigate what learning using GIS allows that other ways do not, this study also investigated whether using GIS as a teaching and learning strategy enables the promotion of learners spatial cognition, spatial perspective taking and problem solving abilities better than traditional methods do. The findings are viewed through the lens of developing Crystallized Intelligence (Gc), Spatial Intelligence (Gv) and Fluid Intelligence (Gf), respectively. The study followed a concurrent transformative mixed methods design with pre-post testing and the use of crossover experimental and control groups to generate both qualitative and quantitative data. Questionnaires aimed at all secondary Geography teachers in the Port Elizabeth Education District were used to assess how GIS is taught in their schools and to evaluate their perceptions of the benefits and barriers of implementing GIS software and geo-spatial data in the classroom. Four secondary school Geography teachers in four schools volunteered to take part in the experimental aspects of the study. Empirical data on the development of spatial cognition, spatial perspective taking, and problem solving were generated via pre- and post-tests in which the grade 11 Geography learners participated. Experimental and comparison groups of learners wrote four different types of pre- and post-tests where the experimental groups worked on GIS software with geo-spatial data while the comparison groups used traditional methods. Teacher interviews and learner interviews were also conducted to assess attitudes towards GIS software and geo-spatial data as a teaching strategy. The results from this aspect of the study mirrored the benefits and barriers to implementing GIS in schools recorded in international literature. However, and possibly more importantly, the empirical data generated by the learners revealed that GIS software and geo-spatial data do statistically significantly promote better spatial cognition (Crystallized Intelligence) and spatial perspective taking (Spatial Intelligence) than traditional methods do (i.e. using atlases, rulers and calculators). No improvement was found in the experimental groups‟ problem solving abilities. This report offers possible explanations and recommendations in terms of socio-cultural findings from other educational studies on the effects of exploratory talk on the development of Fluid Intelligence. Recommendations are made for the attention of curriculum developers, teachers, school principals, departmental officials and other educational stakeholders in terms of what is required for the successful implementation of GIS software and the use of geo-spatial data in secondary school Geography classes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Britz, Hendrina Wilhemina
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Geography -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Geographic information systems -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9579 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020298
- Description: A question asked at the United States of America (USA) National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) conference in 1967, namely, what learning does GIS allow that other ways do not and whether teaching GIS at school level is worth the time and effort required to implement it, remains largely unanswered. Literature searches suggest that little more has been done since 1967 to investigate the effectiveness of GIS in education, or that there are any findings to suggest that GIS is worth the time and effort to implement in schools. Internationally the implementation of GIS software and geo-spatial data in schools has been slow, and South Africa is no exception. The main reasons given for slow implementation internationally have included lack of resources, lack of training and lack of time. The majority of secondary schools that offer Geography in the Port Elizabeth Education District, South Africa, teach GIS theory without the use of GIS software and geo-spatial data. The purpose of this research was to elicit the perceptions of secondary school level Geography teachers and learners of the benefits, barriers and obstacles to implementing GIS software and geo-spatial data as a teaching strategy. As a focused exercise to investigate what learning using GIS allows that other ways do not, this study also investigated whether using GIS as a teaching and learning strategy enables the promotion of learners spatial cognition, spatial perspective taking and problem solving abilities better than traditional methods do. The findings are viewed through the lens of developing Crystallized Intelligence (Gc), Spatial Intelligence (Gv) and Fluid Intelligence (Gf), respectively. The study followed a concurrent transformative mixed methods design with pre-post testing and the use of crossover experimental and control groups to generate both qualitative and quantitative data. Questionnaires aimed at all secondary Geography teachers in the Port Elizabeth Education District were used to assess how GIS is taught in their schools and to evaluate their perceptions of the benefits and barriers of implementing GIS software and geo-spatial data in the classroom. Four secondary school Geography teachers in four schools volunteered to take part in the experimental aspects of the study. Empirical data on the development of spatial cognition, spatial perspective taking, and problem solving were generated via pre- and post-tests in which the grade 11 Geography learners participated. Experimental and comparison groups of learners wrote four different types of pre- and post-tests where the experimental groups worked on GIS software with geo-spatial data while the comparison groups used traditional methods. Teacher interviews and learner interviews were also conducted to assess attitudes towards GIS software and geo-spatial data as a teaching strategy. The results from this aspect of the study mirrored the benefits and barriers to implementing GIS in schools recorded in international literature. However, and possibly more importantly, the empirical data generated by the learners revealed that GIS software and geo-spatial data do statistically significantly promote better spatial cognition (Crystallized Intelligence) and spatial perspective taking (Spatial Intelligence) than traditional methods do (i.e. using atlases, rulers and calculators). No improvement was found in the experimental groups‟ problem solving abilities. This report offers possible explanations and recommendations in terms of socio-cultural findings from other educational studies on the effects of exploratory talk on the development of Fluid Intelligence. Recommendations are made for the attention of curriculum developers, teachers, school principals, departmental officials and other educational stakeholders in terms of what is required for the successful implementation of GIS software and the use of geo-spatial data in secondary school Geography classes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Halogenated oxindole and indoles from the South African marine ascidian Distaplia skoogi:
- Bromley, Candice L, Parker-Nance, Shirley, de la Mare, Jo-Anne, Edkins, Adrienne L, Beukes, Denzil R, Davies-Coleman, Michael T
- Authors: Bromley, Candice L , Parker-Nance, Shirley , de la Mare, Jo-Anne , Edkins, Adrienne L , Beukes, Denzil R , Davies-Coleman, Michael T
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/164918 , vital:41184
- Description: The known 3,6-dibromoindole (1), 6-bromo-3-chloroindole (2) and 6-bromo-2-oxindole (3) were isolated from the marine ascidian (sea squirt) Distapia skoogi collected from Algoa Bay, South Africa. Standard spectroscopic techniques were used to elucidate the structures of 1-3. All three compounds were found to be moderately cytotoxic to metastatic MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Bromley, Candice L , Parker-Nance, Shirley , de la Mare, Jo-Anne , Edkins, Adrienne L , Beukes, Denzil R , Davies-Coleman, Michael T
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/164918 , vital:41184
- Description: The known 3,6-dibromoindole (1), 6-bromo-3-chloroindole (2) and 6-bromo-2-oxindole (3) were isolated from the marine ascidian (sea squirt) Distapia skoogi collected from Algoa Bay, South Africa. Standard spectroscopic techniques were used to elucidate the structures of 1-3. All three compounds were found to be moderately cytotoxic to metastatic MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
The role and impact of trade unions on service delivery in Lukhanji Municipality (Eastern Cape)
- Authors: Brown, Gregory Simon
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Municipal services , Labor unions , Service industries workers -- Labor unions
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/26537 , vital:65578
- Description: The role and impact of trade unions on service delivery is such a pertinent question to research given the times our young democracy goes through. This was an inevitable piece of study to undertake especially from the point of view to examine which form and philosophy of unionism suits the public sector best. The wildcat strikes and unprotected industrial action that grip municipalities at 10 o’clock early in the day needs deeper thinking and new ground-breaking solutions. Very fundamental questions have to be examined to determine the extent of control SAMWU as a union have over the strategic management environment of the local sphere of state. Lukhanji municipality, given its strategic location happened to host many regional offices of all COSATU affiliated unions happens to be an inconvenient choice of the nucleus of radical trade unionism in Queenstown fall victim and the study examines that. Subsequently to that the municipality fell victim to rigid and radical forms of trade union operations that has strangled it to the point of it losing its character and role of a developmentalist institution in the communities it served. The study also highlights the severe service delivery backlogs in both former Transkei Ezibeleni and Ciskei Whittlesea and how transformation and integration of these two areas have been neglected as shown by the socio-economic profile. The study in the last Chapter makes particular recommendations on how the Strategic Management environment and corporate principles should be prioritised for Performance Management to be introduced and routinely implemented. , Thesis (MPA) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 2013
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Brown, Gregory Simon
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Municipal services , Labor unions , Service industries workers -- Labor unions
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/26537 , vital:65578
- Description: The role and impact of trade unions on service delivery is such a pertinent question to research given the times our young democracy goes through. This was an inevitable piece of study to undertake especially from the point of view to examine which form and philosophy of unionism suits the public sector best. The wildcat strikes and unprotected industrial action that grip municipalities at 10 o’clock early in the day needs deeper thinking and new ground-breaking solutions. Very fundamental questions have to be examined to determine the extent of control SAMWU as a union have over the strategic management environment of the local sphere of state. Lukhanji municipality, given its strategic location happened to host many regional offices of all COSATU affiliated unions happens to be an inconvenient choice of the nucleus of radical trade unionism in Queenstown fall victim and the study examines that. Subsequently to that the municipality fell victim to rigid and radical forms of trade union operations that has strangled it to the point of it losing its character and role of a developmentalist institution in the communities it served. The study also highlights the severe service delivery backlogs in both former Transkei Ezibeleni and Ciskei Whittlesea and how transformation and integration of these two areas have been neglected as shown by the socio-economic profile. The study in the last Chapter makes particular recommendations on how the Strategic Management environment and corporate principles should be prioritised for Performance Management to be introduced and routinely implemented. , Thesis (MPA) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 2013
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Observables in a lattice Universe : the cosmological fitting problem
- Bruneton, J-P, Larena, Julien
- Authors: Bruneton, J-P , Larena, Julien
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6790 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006943
- Description: We explore observables in a lattice Universe described by a recently found solution to Einstein field equations. This solution models a regular lattice of evenly distributed objects of equal masses. This inhomogeneous solution is perturbative, and, up to second order in a small parameter, it expands at a rate exactly equal to the one expected in a dust dominated Friedmann-Lema^itre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) model with the equivalent, smoothed, energy density. Therefore, the kinematics of both cosmologies are identical up to the order of perturbation studied. Looking at the behaviour of the redshift and angular distance, we find a condition on the compactness of the objects at the centre of each cell under which corrections to the FLRW observables remain small, i.e. of order of a few percents at most. Nevertheless, we show that, if this condition is violated, i.e. if the objects are too compact, our perturbative scheme breaks down as far as the calculations of observables are concerned, even though the kinematics of the lattice remains identical to its FLRW counter-part (at the perturbative order considered). This may be an indication of an actual fitting problem, i.e. a situation in which the FLRW model obtained from lightcone observables does not correspond to the FLRW model obtained by smoothing the spatial distribution of matter. Fully non-perturbative treatments of the observables will be necessary to answer that question.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Bruneton, J-P , Larena, Julien
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6790 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006943
- Description: We explore observables in a lattice Universe described by a recently found solution to Einstein field equations. This solution models a regular lattice of evenly distributed objects of equal masses. This inhomogeneous solution is perturbative, and, up to second order in a small parameter, it expands at a rate exactly equal to the one expected in a dust dominated Friedmann-Lema^itre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) model with the equivalent, smoothed, energy density. Therefore, the kinematics of both cosmologies are identical up to the order of perturbation studied. Looking at the behaviour of the redshift and angular distance, we find a condition on the compactness of the objects at the centre of each cell under which corrections to the FLRW observables remain small, i.e. of order of a few percents at most. Nevertheless, we show that, if this condition is violated, i.e. if the objects are too compact, our perturbative scheme breaks down as far as the calculations of observables are concerned, even though the kinematics of the lattice remains identical to its FLRW counter-part (at the perturbative order considered). This may be an indication of an actual fitting problem, i.e. a situation in which the FLRW model obtained from lightcone observables does not correspond to the FLRW model obtained by smoothing the spatial distribution of matter. Fully non-perturbative treatments of the observables will be necessary to answer that question.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Graviton multipoint functions at the AdS boundary
- Authors: Brustein, R , Medved, A J M
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:6819 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004425
- Description: The gauge-gravity duality can be used to relate connected multipoint graviton functions to connected multipoint correlation functions of the stress tensor of a strongly coupled fluid. Here, we show how to construct the connected graviton functions for a particular kinematic regime that is ideal for discriminating between different gravitational theories, in particular between Einstein theory and its leading-order string theory correction. Our analysis begins with the one-particle irreducible graviton amplitudes in an anti-de Sitter black brane background.We show how these can be used to calculate the connected graviton functions and demonstrate that the two types of amplitudes agree in some cases. It is then asserted on physical grounds that this agreement persists in all cases for both Einstein gravity and its leading-order correction. This outcome implies that the corresponding field-theory correlation functions can be read off directly from the bulk Lagrangian, just as can be done for the ratio of the shear viscosity to the entropy density.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Brustein, R , Medved, A J M
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:6819 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004425
- Description: The gauge-gravity duality can be used to relate connected multipoint graviton functions to connected multipoint correlation functions of the stress tensor of a strongly coupled fluid. Here, we show how to construct the connected graviton functions for a particular kinematic regime that is ideal for discriminating between different gravitational theories, in particular between Einstein theory and its leading-order string theory correction. Our analysis begins with the one-particle irreducible graviton amplitudes in an anti-de Sitter black brane background.We show how these can be used to calculate the connected graviton functions and demonstrate that the two types of amplitudes agree in some cases. It is then asserted on physical grounds that this agreement persists in all cases for both Einstein gravity and its leading-order correction. This outcome implies that the corresponding field-theory correlation functions can be read off directly from the bulk Lagrangian, just as can be done for the ratio of the shear viscosity to the entropy density.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism and effects on colon cancer cell biology in vitro.
- Authors: Bulcao, Candice
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Unsaturated fatty acids , Unsaturated fatty acids in human nutrition , Colon (Anatomy)-- Cancer , Cancer -- Nutritional aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4137 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016128
- Description: Colon cancer is a leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. Lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise have been implicated as important agents in colon cancer development and progression. Epidemiological, in vivo and in vitro studies have found that n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) reduce colon carcinoma. The role of n-6 PUFAs remains a controversial topic, with studies indicating both promoting and preventing capabilities published. In order to better understand the effects of PUFAs on colon carcinoma, it is important to have an understanding of how they will be broken down in the body. During this study, in silico metabolism of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) predicted the formation of hydroxy-, di-hydroxy- and epoxy-FAs. A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the detection of these PUFAs and their cytochrome P450 (CYP) metabolites. A human liver microsomal system for the in vitro metabolism of EPA, DHA and AA was optimised in terms of microsomal and PUFA concentration. The system resulted in the metabolism of the positive control, lauric acid, to 12-hydroxy-lauric acid but was unable to metabolise the PUFAs of interest. EPA, DHA and AA reduced cell viability in the colon carcinoma cell lines SW480 and SW620 in the micromolar concentration range (25 – 200 μM). The CYP epoxidation metabolite of EPA, 17, 18-epoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (17, 18-EpETE) resulted in a significant reduction in SW480 cell viability relative to the parent compound at lower concentrations (25 and 50 μM). Annexin V apoptosis analysis revealed that EPA and 17, 18- EpETE did not result in apoptosis in SW480 cells at a concentration of 25 μM and over an incubation period of 24 hours. A significant reduction in reactive oxygen species production was seen in SW480 cells after incubation with 25 μM 17, 18-EpETE for 24 hours. EPA and 17, 18-EpETE were implicated in the reduction of colon cancer metastasis since they were able to reduce SW480 migration and anchorage independent cell growth. These results indicate that the dietary intake of EPA, DHA and AA may be beneficial to one’s health due to the negative effects that these PUFAs had on colon carcinoma. Future studies are needed to confirm these benefits and compare the effects of the PUFAs to their CYP-metabolites.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Bulcao, Candice
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Unsaturated fatty acids , Unsaturated fatty acids in human nutrition , Colon (Anatomy)-- Cancer , Cancer -- Nutritional aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4137 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016128
- Description: Colon cancer is a leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. Lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise have been implicated as important agents in colon cancer development and progression. Epidemiological, in vivo and in vitro studies have found that n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) reduce colon carcinoma. The role of n-6 PUFAs remains a controversial topic, with studies indicating both promoting and preventing capabilities published. In order to better understand the effects of PUFAs on colon carcinoma, it is important to have an understanding of how they will be broken down in the body. During this study, in silico metabolism of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) predicted the formation of hydroxy-, di-hydroxy- and epoxy-FAs. A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the detection of these PUFAs and their cytochrome P450 (CYP) metabolites. A human liver microsomal system for the in vitro metabolism of EPA, DHA and AA was optimised in terms of microsomal and PUFA concentration. The system resulted in the metabolism of the positive control, lauric acid, to 12-hydroxy-lauric acid but was unable to metabolise the PUFAs of interest. EPA, DHA and AA reduced cell viability in the colon carcinoma cell lines SW480 and SW620 in the micromolar concentration range (25 – 200 μM). The CYP epoxidation metabolite of EPA, 17, 18-epoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (17, 18-EpETE) resulted in a significant reduction in SW480 cell viability relative to the parent compound at lower concentrations (25 and 50 μM). Annexin V apoptosis analysis revealed that EPA and 17, 18- EpETE did not result in apoptosis in SW480 cells at a concentration of 25 μM and over an incubation period of 24 hours. A significant reduction in reactive oxygen species production was seen in SW480 cells after incubation with 25 μM 17, 18-EpETE for 24 hours. EPA and 17, 18-EpETE were implicated in the reduction of colon cancer metastasis since they were able to reduce SW480 migration and anchorage independent cell growth. These results indicate that the dietary intake of EPA, DHA and AA may be beneficial to one’s health due to the negative effects that these PUFAs had on colon carcinoma. Future studies are needed to confirm these benefits and compare the effects of the PUFAs to their CYP-metabolites.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
An Assessment of the Public Finance Management Act, Act 1 of 1999 (PFMA): a case study of the Eastern Cape Department of Education (2005-2012)
- Authors: Bulelwa, Tunyiswa
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: vital:11688 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1013586
- Description: The Eastern Cape Department of Education consumes a huge chunk of the Eastern Cape provincial budget. Any transgression of the laws that govern how the public purse should be managed - whether overspending, under spending, irregular or wasteful expenditure - has far reaching consequences in terms of service delivery. The Eastern Cape is one of the poorest and most rural provinces in the country and by implication has huge service delivery backlogs .This has been confirmed by various stakeholders and role-players such as Chapter Nine institutions and non-governmental organisations. An observation by the Auditor-General and both the portfolio committees on Public Accounts and Education over the years is the lack of proper controls, especially in financial management. This study presents a case study of the Eastern Cape Department of Education in the financial years 2007-2012 to assess the Public Finance Management Act, Act 1 of 1999 (PFMA). The main objective of this study is to assist the department by putting forward lasting scientific recommendations and solutions that could be integrated into the plans of this department.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Bulelwa, Tunyiswa
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: vital:11688 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1013586
- Description: The Eastern Cape Department of Education consumes a huge chunk of the Eastern Cape provincial budget. Any transgression of the laws that govern how the public purse should be managed - whether overspending, under spending, irregular or wasteful expenditure - has far reaching consequences in terms of service delivery. The Eastern Cape is one of the poorest and most rural provinces in the country and by implication has huge service delivery backlogs .This has been confirmed by various stakeholders and role-players such as Chapter Nine institutions and non-governmental organisations. An observation by the Auditor-General and both the portfolio committees on Public Accounts and Education over the years is the lack of proper controls, especially in financial management. This study presents a case study of the Eastern Cape Department of Education in the financial years 2007-2012 to assess the Public Finance Management Act, Act 1 of 1999 (PFMA). The main objective of this study is to assist the department by putting forward lasting scientific recommendations and solutions that could be integrated into the plans of this department.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Experiences of HIV and AIDS patients and families regarding palliative care in an urban care centre in Buffalo City
- Authors: Bunt, Helen
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Palliative care -- HIV/AIDS , Patients and families experiences
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Nursing Science)
- Identifier: vital:11904 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1006814 , Palliative care -- HIV/AIDS , Patients and families experiences
- Description: The South African Constitution (South Africa, 1996) states that access to healthcare services is a basic human right. The Patients’ Rights Charter (HPCSA, 2008: 6) stipulates that the provision for “special needs in the case of persons living with HIV or AIDS” and palliative care be “affordable and effective”. The need for palliative care in South Africa today continues to increase. Khan and Sayed 2011[2]) found that five years after commencement of anti-retrovirals, twenty five percent of their patients had passed away. This study was performed in the Eastern Cape which is one of the poorest provinces with the second highest HIV prevalence rate. Since 2008, Sophumelela Centre Incorporated has offered palliative care for HIV and AIDS patients in Buffalo City. Some of these patients and their families were interviewed about their experiences in this care centre. The South African Constitution (South Africa, 1996) states that access to healthcare services is a basic human right. The Patients’ Rights Charter (HPCSA, 2008: 6) stipulates that the provision for “special needs in the case of persons living with HIV or AIDS” and palliative care be “affordable and effective”. The need for palliative care in South Africa today continues to increase. Khan and Sayed (2011[2]) found that five years after commencement of anti-retrovirals, twenty five percent of their patients had passed away. This study was performed in the Eastern Cape which is one of the poorest provinces with the second highest HIV prevalence rate. Since 2008, Sophumelela Centre Incorporated has offered palliative care for HIV and AIDS patients in Buffalo City. Some of these patients and their families were interviewed about their experiences in this care centre.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Bunt, Helen
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Palliative care -- HIV/AIDS , Patients and families experiences
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Nursing Science)
- Identifier: vital:11904 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1006814 , Palliative care -- HIV/AIDS , Patients and families experiences
- Description: The South African Constitution (South Africa, 1996) states that access to healthcare services is a basic human right. The Patients’ Rights Charter (HPCSA, 2008: 6) stipulates that the provision for “special needs in the case of persons living with HIV or AIDS” and palliative care be “affordable and effective”. The need for palliative care in South Africa today continues to increase. Khan and Sayed 2011[2]) found that five years after commencement of anti-retrovirals, twenty five percent of their patients had passed away. This study was performed in the Eastern Cape which is one of the poorest provinces with the second highest HIV prevalence rate. Since 2008, Sophumelela Centre Incorporated has offered palliative care for HIV and AIDS patients in Buffalo City. Some of these patients and their families were interviewed about their experiences in this care centre. The South African Constitution (South Africa, 1996) states that access to healthcare services is a basic human right. The Patients’ Rights Charter (HPCSA, 2008: 6) stipulates that the provision for “special needs in the case of persons living with HIV or AIDS” and palliative care be “affordable and effective”. The need for palliative care in South Africa today continues to increase. Khan and Sayed (2011[2]) found that five years after commencement of anti-retrovirals, twenty five percent of their patients had passed away. This study was performed in the Eastern Cape which is one of the poorest provinces with the second highest HIV prevalence rate. Since 2008, Sophumelela Centre Incorporated has offered palliative care for HIV and AIDS patients in Buffalo City. Some of these patients and their families were interviewed about their experiences in this care centre.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Evaluation of eucalyptus citriodora derived p-menthane-3,8-diol-citronellal acetal as a bio-plasticizer for cosmetic application
- Authors: Burger, Kirstin
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Plasticizers , Eucalyptus citriodora
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10420 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1014080
- Description: Plasticizers are generally added to cosmetic and personal care products to improve the filmforming abilities of the product and increase flexibility of the film formed on the skin or hair surface. For example, plasticizers are present in perfumes to prolong the release of the specific scent, which is the ultimate goal in a good quality perfume. Plasticizers in nail varnishes prevent chipping, improve the aesthetics by adhering to the keratin in the nail which means the coating stays on for much longer, which is the ultimate goal in nail products. Plasticizers improve the gloss, resist chipping and allow quick drying time. Therefore it can be seen that plasticizers play a vital role in personal care products like perfumes and nail varnishes. Certain plasticizers e.g. phthalates, can cause problems associated with human health and can harm the environment. They are easily available and large volumes can be obtained at a low cost. These phthalates, for example, di-butyl phthalate (DBP) have been identified as carcinogenic. Nowadays the occurrence of cancer is rapidly increasing. The plasticizers present in a large number of consumer and personal care products, can possibly be linked to the ever increasing reports of cancer. Therefore a substitute to the traditional phthalate plasticizers must be investigated. The aim of this research is to produce a plasticizer derived from naturally occurring Eucalyptus oil, which can be used to replace the existing plasticizers in cosmetic formulations. Para-menthane-3,8-diol (PMD), occurring naturally in the oil from the tree, Eucalyptus citriodora, forms an acetal with citronellal (PMD, acetal, citronellal all occur naturally in the oil). It has been previously shown that PMD-citronellal acetal will exhibit plasticizing properties similar to conventional plasticizers. The objective was to enhance the formation of the acetal in the Eucalyptus oil by reacting it with excess PMD. An effective synthesis method for the PMD-citronellal acetal enriched oil (~73.8 percent) was determined from optimization experiments. The physical characterisation of the PMD-citronellal acetal enriched oil was done and compared with that of DBP. The acetal-enriched oil had a lower density, slightly higher solubility in water (at 25°C), lower refractive index (Brix percent) and a higher boiling point (350°C) than DBP. The physical characteristics of the Eucalyptus oil source and the acetal-enriched Eucalyptus oil were very similar. This can be expected as the Eucalyptus oil consists of ~84.3 percent Citronellal, ~ 1.3 percent PMD and 2.7 percent PMD-citronellal acetal. In this study the effectiveness of the acetal-enriched Eucalyptus oil (referred to from now on as the bio-plasticizer) was compared to a conventional plasticizer such as di-butyl phthalate (DBP), commonly used in cosmetic products. Two cosmetic formulations were produced: a nail varnish and a perfume formulation. Various tests were performed on these formulations to investigate the plasticizing properties of the bio-plasticizer. The objectives were to determine if the natural plasticizer is as effective as the potentially carcinogenic phthalate plasticizers and can be used as a substitute for the phthalates in personal care products. The results indicate that the bio-plasticizer does behave similarly to di-butyl phthalate, however, the effectiveness of the bio-plasticizer is lower than that of di-butyl phthalate. As the viscosity of the synthesized oil was high, this affected the overall consistency of the products. A more viscous nail varnish and perfume was produced in comparison to the DBP counterpart. The stability of the bio-plasticizer in the cosmetic formulations of nail varnish and perfume was also investigated. The cosmetic products were incubated at 0°C, 25°C and 40°C over a period of two months. Any changes in colour, odour, pH, refractive index, separation and plasticizer peak change in the gas chromatogram trace were recorded. It was determined that the PMD-citronellal acetal-enriched oil was relatively unstable under elevated temperatures and light intensity. Storage under higher temperatures (40°C) tends to increase the acidity. Therefore the bio-plasticizer must be placed in a closed, covered bottle and stored in an environment away from light and elevated temperatures. According to the gas chromatogram peaks, it was clear that both the bio-plasticizer and the DBP were more unstable in the perfume formulation than in the nail polish and were especially sensitive to light when in the perfume. This could possibly be due to the interaction with the fragrance molecule, p-anisaldehyde.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Burger, Kirstin
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Plasticizers , Eucalyptus citriodora
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10420 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1014080
- Description: Plasticizers are generally added to cosmetic and personal care products to improve the filmforming abilities of the product and increase flexibility of the film formed on the skin or hair surface. For example, plasticizers are present in perfumes to prolong the release of the specific scent, which is the ultimate goal in a good quality perfume. Plasticizers in nail varnishes prevent chipping, improve the aesthetics by adhering to the keratin in the nail which means the coating stays on for much longer, which is the ultimate goal in nail products. Plasticizers improve the gloss, resist chipping and allow quick drying time. Therefore it can be seen that plasticizers play a vital role in personal care products like perfumes and nail varnishes. Certain plasticizers e.g. phthalates, can cause problems associated with human health and can harm the environment. They are easily available and large volumes can be obtained at a low cost. These phthalates, for example, di-butyl phthalate (DBP) have been identified as carcinogenic. Nowadays the occurrence of cancer is rapidly increasing. The plasticizers present in a large number of consumer and personal care products, can possibly be linked to the ever increasing reports of cancer. Therefore a substitute to the traditional phthalate plasticizers must be investigated. The aim of this research is to produce a plasticizer derived from naturally occurring Eucalyptus oil, which can be used to replace the existing plasticizers in cosmetic formulations. Para-menthane-3,8-diol (PMD), occurring naturally in the oil from the tree, Eucalyptus citriodora, forms an acetal with citronellal (PMD, acetal, citronellal all occur naturally in the oil). It has been previously shown that PMD-citronellal acetal will exhibit plasticizing properties similar to conventional plasticizers. The objective was to enhance the formation of the acetal in the Eucalyptus oil by reacting it with excess PMD. An effective synthesis method for the PMD-citronellal acetal enriched oil (~73.8 percent) was determined from optimization experiments. The physical characterisation of the PMD-citronellal acetal enriched oil was done and compared with that of DBP. The acetal-enriched oil had a lower density, slightly higher solubility in water (at 25°C), lower refractive index (Brix percent) and a higher boiling point (350°C) than DBP. The physical characteristics of the Eucalyptus oil source and the acetal-enriched Eucalyptus oil were very similar. This can be expected as the Eucalyptus oil consists of ~84.3 percent Citronellal, ~ 1.3 percent PMD and 2.7 percent PMD-citronellal acetal. In this study the effectiveness of the acetal-enriched Eucalyptus oil (referred to from now on as the bio-plasticizer) was compared to a conventional plasticizer such as di-butyl phthalate (DBP), commonly used in cosmetic products. Two cosmetic formulations were produced: a nail varnish and a perfume formulation. Various tests were performed on these formulations to investigate the plasticizing properties of the bio-plasticizer. The objectives were to determine if the natural plasticizer is as effective as the potentially carcinogenic phthalate plasticizers and can be used as a substitute for the phthalates in personal care products. The results indicate that the bio-plasticizer does behave similarly to di-butyl phthalate, however, the effectiveness of the bio-plasticizer is lower than that of di-butyl phthalate. As the viscosity of the synthesized oil was high, this affected the overall consistency of the products. A more viscous nail varnish and perfume was produced in comparison to the DBP counterpart. The stability of the bio-plasticizer in the cosmetic formulations of nail varnish and perfume was also investigated. The cosmetic products were incubated at 0°C, 25°C and 40°C over a period of two months. Any changes in colour, odour, pH, refractive index, separation and plasticizer peak change in the gas chromatogram trace were recorded. It was determined that the PMD-citronellal acetal-enriched oil was relatively unstable under elevated temperatures and light intensity. Storage under higher temperatures (40°C) tends to increase the acidity. Therefore the bio-plasticizer must be placed in a closed, covered bottle and stored in an environment away from light and elevated temperatures. According to the gas chromatogram peaks, it was clear that both the bio-plasticizer and the DBP were more unstable in the perfume formulation than in the nail polish and were especially sensitive to light when in the perfume. This could possibly be due to the interaction with the fragrance molecule, p-anisaldehyde.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
The legal consequences of failure to give effect to affirmative action measures
- Authors: Burton, Colin Peter
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Affirmative action programs -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Discrimination in employment -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Affirmative action programs -- Law and legislation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:10239 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012904
- Description: In South African law, affirmative action has been a very controversial topic over the years. 5 Controversial issues such as perceptions and reactions of affirmative action in the South African context are varied. 6 These reactions are often categorised as politically explosive and emotionally charged. 7 Most people fear the implications of affirmative action, more specifically the impact thereof on their individual positions within the workplace.8 Those who feel threatened by these measures, tend to question the political and ethical legitimacy thereof. 9 Those who stand to benefit from these measures often dislike the labelling associated with these measures. 10 Confusion also exits in greater society about relationship between the equal opportunity, black advancement, affirmative action and diversity management paradigms and related practices. The sources of conflicting reactions to affirmative action stem from individual, group and cultural believes and values which were both shaped by the political realities of the previous regime and the ideals people cherish for themselves in the current dispensation. Colonialist and apartheid laws, policies and practices which were racist and patriarchal provided for separate societies for blacks, whites, Indians and coloureds. 11 At this point in time separate labour systems with job reservation were applicable for whites. There were also wage differentiations between white and black people and between sexes. 12 Furthermore, disabled people were kept dependant and there were also discriminatory legislative provisions against them. 13 This history of systemic discrimination and its resulting inequality and entrenched disadvantage for black, coloured and Indian women and the disabled, was and still is well-known both nationally and internationally. 14 Internationally, apartheid has been extensively disapproved. Examples hereof include the United Nations that declared apartheid and its impact a “crime against humanity” and a negation of the United Nations Charter, 15 expressions of censure culminated in the adoption of the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crimes of Apartheid16 and the expulsion of South Africa from the United Nations and its agencies. 17 Nationally, on the other hand, South Africa promulgated several legislative pieces namely, the Constitution, the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000 and the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Burton, Colin Peter
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Affirmative action programs -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Discrimination in employment -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Affirmative action programs -- Law and legislation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:10239 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012904
- Description: In South African law, affirmative action has been a very controversial topic over the years. 5 Controversial issues such as perceptions and reactions of affirmative action in the South African context are varied. 6 These reactions are often categorised as politically explosive and emotionally charged. 7 Most people fear the implications of affirmative action, more specifically the impact thereof on their individual positions within the workplace.8 Those who feel threatened by these measures, tend to question the political and ethical legitimacy thereof. 9 Those who stand to benefit from these measures often dislike the labelling associated with these measures. 10 Confusion also exits in greater society about relationship between the equal opportunity, black advancement, affirmative action and diversity management paradigms and related practices. The sources of conflicting reactions to affirmative action stem from individual, group and cultural believes and values which were both shaped by the political realities of the previous regime and the ideals people cherish for themselves in the current dispensation. Colonialist and apartheid laws, policies and practices which were racist and patriarchal provided for separate societies for blacks, whites, Indians and coloureds. 11 At this point in time separate labour systems with job reservation were applicable for whites. There were also wage differentiations between white and black people and between sexes. 12 Furthermore, disabled people were kept dependant and there were also discriminatory legislative provisions against them. 13 This history of systemic discrimination and its resulting inequality and entrenched disadvantage for black, coloured and Indian women and the disabled, was and still is well-known both nationally and internationally. 14 Internationally, apartheid has been extensively disapproved. Examples hereof include the United Nations that declared apartheid and its impact a “crime against humanity” and a negation of the United Nations Charter, 15 expressions of censure culminated in the adoption of the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crimes of Apartheid16 and the expulsion of South Africa from the United Nations and its agencies. 17 Nationally, on the other hand, South Africa promulgated several legislative pieces namely, the Constitution, the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000 and the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
The deductibility of losses incurred by a taxpayer as a result of senior employee theft, fraud or embezzlement
- Authors: Bux, Fardeen
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Customs administration -- Officials and employees , Employee theft -- South Africa , Customs inspection -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:8964 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020608
- Description: SARS has issued a draft interpretation note dealing with the deductibility of expenditure and losses arising from embezzlement and theft by employees noting that it is not prepared to accept, as a general proposition, that embezzlement and theft by senior managers have become a risk which is inseparable from business. There is however another view that is in direct contradiction with SARS. An analysis of global fraud surveys reveal that senior employee fraud is on the increase. In South Africa, criminal cases against senior employees in the private and public sector indicate that their behaviour can lead to an expectation of theft, fraud or embezzlement at that level of employees. The tests developed by the courts for the deduction of expenditure or losses in terms of the general deduction formula require that such expenditure or loss be attached to the performance of a business operation bona fide performed for the purpose of earning income and will be deductible whether such expenditure or losses are necessary for its performance or attached to it by chance. It is submitted that the increase in fraud and behaviour of senior employees noted in the criminal courts have resulted in a change in the economic environment supporting the contention that theft, fraud or embezzlement are an inherent risk to business in South Africa. In addition, global precedence supports the view that senior employee defalcations are deductible but only to the extent that the perpetrator is not in a proprietor or shareholder role. SARS therefore appears to be turning a blind eye to the risk of theft, fraud or embezzlement by senior employees but there is sufficient evidence to support a taxpayer wishing to claim a deduction for such loss. In light of international precedence, National Treasury should enact legislation allowing a deduction or alternatively, SARS should align its view with such precedence.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Bux, Fardeen
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Customs administration -- Officials and employees , Employee theft -- South Africa , Customs inspection -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:8964 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020608
- Description: SARS has issued a draft interpretation note dealing with the deductibility of expenditure and losses arising from embezzlement and theft by employees noting that it is not prepared to accept, as a general proposition, that embezzlement and theft by senior managers have become a risk which is inseparable from business. There is however another view that is in direct contradiction with SARS. An analysis of global fraud surveys reveal that senior employee fraud is on the increase. In South Africa, criminal cases against senior employees in the private and public sector indicate that their behaviour can lead to an expectation of theft, fraud or embezzlement at that level of employees. The tests developed by the courts for the deduction of expenditure or losses in terms of the general deduction formula require that such expenditure or loss be attached to the performance of a business operation bona fide performed for the purpose of earning income and will be deductible whether such expenditure or losses are necessary for its performance or attached to it by chance. It is submitted that the increase in fraud and behaviour of senior employees noted in the criminal courts have resulted in a change in the economic environment supporting the contention that theft, fraud or embezzlement are an inherent risk to business in South Africa. In addition, global precedence supports the view that senior employee defalcations are deductible but only to the extent that the perpetrator is not in a proprietor or shareholder role. SARS therefore appears to be turning a blind eye to the risk of theft, fraud or embezzlement by senior employees but there is sufficient evidence to support a taxpayer wishing to claim a deduction for such loss. In light of international precedence, National Treasury should enact legislation allowing a deduction or alternatively, SARS should align its view with such precedence.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Log analysis aided by latent semantic mapping
- Authors: Buys, Stephanus
- Date: 2013 , 2013-04-14
- Subjects: Latent semantic indexing , Data mining , Computer networks -- Security measures , Computer hackers , Computer security
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4575 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002963 , Latent semantic indexing , Data mining , Computer networks -- Security measures , Computer hackers , Computer security
- Description: In an age of zero-day exploits and increased on-line attacks on computing infrastructure, operational security practitioners are becoming increasingly aware of the value of the information captured in log events. Analysis of these events is critical during incident response, forensic investigations related to network breaches, hacking attacks and data leaks. Such analysis has led to the discipline of Security Event Analysis, also known as Log Analysis. There are several challenges when dealing with events, foremost being the increased volumes at which events are often generated and stored. Furthermore, events are often captured as unstructured data, with very little consistency in the formats or contents of the events. In this environment, security analysts and implementers of Log Management (LM) or Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems face the daunting task of identifying, classifying and disambiguating massive volumes of events in order for security analysis and automation to proceed. Latent Semantic Mapping (LSM) is a proven paradigm shown to be an effective method of, among other things, enabling word clustering, document clustering, topic clustering and semantic inference. This research is an investigation into the practical application of LSM in the discipline of Security Event Analysis, showing the value of using LSM to assist practitioners in identifying types of events, classifying events as belonging to certain sources or technologies and disambiguating different events from each other. The culmination of this research presents adaptations to traditional natural language processing techniques that resulted in improved efficacy of LSM when dealing with Security Event Analysis. This research provides strong evidence supporting the wider adoption and use of LSM, as well as further investigation into Security Event Analysis assisted by LSM and other natural language or computer-learning processing techniques. , LaTeX with hyperref package , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Buys, Stephanus
- Date: 2013 , 2013-04-14
- Subjects: Latent semantic indexing , Data mining , Computer networks -- Security measures , Computer hackers , Computer security
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4575 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002963 , Latent semantic indexing , Data mining , Computer networks -- Security measures , Computer hackers , Computer security
- Description: In an age of zero-day exploits and increased on-line attacks on computing infrastructure, operational security practitioners are becoming increasingly aware of the value of the information captured in log events. Analysis of these events is critical during incident response, forensic investigations related to network breaches, hacking attacks and data leaks. Such analysis has led to the discipline of Security Event Analysis, also known as Log Analysis. There are several challenges when dealing with events, foremost being the increased volumes at which events are often generated and stored. Furthermore, events are often captured as unstructured data, with very little consistency in the formats or contents of the events. In this environment, security analysts and implementers of Log Management (LM) or Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems face the daunting task of identifying, classifying and disambiguating massive volumes of events in order for security analysis and automation to proceed. Latent Semantic Mapping (LSM) is a proven paradigm shown to be an effective method of, among other things, enabling word clustering, document clustering, topic clustering and semantic inference. This research is an investigation into the practical application of LSM in the discipline of Security Event Analysis, showing the value of using LSM to assist practitioners in identifying types of events, classifying events as belonging to certain sources or technologies and disambiguating different events from each other. The culmination of this research presents adaptations to traditional natural language processing techniques that resulted in improved efficacy of LSM when dealing with Security Event Analysis. This research provides strong evidence supporting the wider adoption and use of LSM, as well as further investigation into Security Event Analysis assisted by LSM and other natural language or computer-learning processing techniques. , LaTeX with hyperref package , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
The characterization and electrochemistry of dye-sensitized solar cells
- Authors: Caga, Noloyiso
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Dye-sensitized solar cells , Acetonitrile , Electrochemistry , Spectrum analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Chemistry)
- Identifier: vital:11341 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1016069 , Dye-sensitized solar cells , Acetonitrile , Electrochemistry , Spectrum analysis
- Description: In this study a presentation of the technology behind dye-sensitized solar cells, their design as well as the role of the different parts of the cell. The characterization of the cell is divided into four sections namely: the characterization of the paste required to make the TiO2 film and its optical properties using SEM-EDX and XRD analytical techniques; Analysis of the various absorptions of three Ru-based dyes using UV-Vis spectroscopy, Photoluminescence and Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy; the characterization and the analyses of the entire cell using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy. The nine cells were prepared by examining RuL2(CN)2 , RuL2(NCS)2 or N3 dye and RuL2(NCS)2 TBA+ or N719 dye. [L = 2,2'-bipyridyl-4,4'-dicarboxylic acid ;TBA = tetra-butyl ammonium] were combined with three electrolytes namely: Z–150 , AN–50 and PN–50. The Iodolyte PN–50 is an iodide based low viscosity electrolyte with 50 mM of tri-iodide dissolved in a solvent called propionitrile (PN). The Iodolyte AN–50 is an iodide based low viscosity electrolyte with 50 mM of tri-iodide dissolved in a solvent called acetonitrile (AN). The Iodolyte Z–150 is an iodide based low viscosity electrolyte with 150 mM of tri-iodide dissolved in a solvent called 3-methoxypropionitrile (MPN) and with additives such an ionic liquid, malkylbenziimidazole and guanidine thiocyanate. A solar simulator was utilized with which the standard solar irradiation can be created in laboratory conditions. The fill factors as well as overall performance efficiencies of the these cells are quite low < 1.0%,.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Caga, Noloyiso
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Dye-sensitized solar cells , Acetonitrile , Electrochemistry , Spectrum analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Chemistry)
- Identifier: vital:11341 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1016069 , Dye-sensitized solar cells , Acetonitrile , Electrochemistry , Spectrum analysis
- Description: In this study a presentation of the technology behind dye-sensitized solar cells, their design as well as the role of the different parts of the cell. The characterization of the cell is divided into four sections namely: the characterization of the paste required to make the TiO2 film and its optical properties using SEM-EDX and XRD analytical techniques; Analysis of the various absorptions of three Ru-based dyes using UV-Vis spectroscopy, Photoluminescence and Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy; the characterization and the analyses of the entire cell using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy. The nine cells were prepared by examining RuL2(CN)2 , RuL2(NCS)2 or N3 dye and RuL2(NCS)2 TBA+ or N719 dye. [L = 2,2'-bipyridyl-4,4'-dicarboxylic acid ;TBA = tetra-butyl ammonium] were combined with three electrolytes namely: Z–150 , AN–50 and PN–50. The Iodolyte PN–50 is an iodide based low viscosity electrolyte with 50 mM of tri-iodide dissolved in a solvent called propionitrile (PN). The Iodolyte AN–50 is an iodide based low viscosity electrolyte with 50 mM of tri-iodide dissolved in a solvent called acetonitrile (AN). The Iodolyte Z–150 is an iodide based low viscosity electrolyte with 150 mM of tri-iodide dissolved in a solvent called 3-methoxypropionitrile (MPN) and with additives such an ionic liquid, malkylbenziimidazole and guanidine thiocyanate. A solar simulator was utilized with which the standard solar irradiation can be created in laboratory conditions. The fill factors as well as overall performance efficiencies of the these cells are quite low < 1.0%,.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Prevalence and antibiotic resistance determinants of Escherichia coli pathotypes obtained from raw milk in two farms from the Eastern Cape, South Africa: public health implications
- Authors: Caine, Lesley-Anne
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Raw Milk -- Escherichia coli , Polymerase -- Chain Reaction (PCR)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Microbiology)
- Identifier: vital:11277 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1015525 , Raw Milk -- Escherichia coli , Polymerase -- Chain Reaction (PCR)
- Description: Milk quality continues to be a topic of intense debate in the dairy industry, medical and public health communities. Production of maximum quantities of high-quality milk is an important goal of every dairy operation. High-quality milk must contain a low number of somatic cells and low bacteria count, and must be free of human pathogens and antibiotic residues. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of E. coli in unpasteurized milk recovered from Middledrift and Fort Hare dairy. In this study 400 milk samples were collected from two commercial farms (Middledrift and Fort Hare) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, 200 raw milk samples from each farm. Samples were cultured on violet red bile mug-agar (VRB-MUG Agar) and incubated at 37ºC for 24 hours and preliminary identified by Gram stain and catalase test. Isolates that were Gram negative and catalase positive were screened for a marker of E. coli uidA gene using PCR assays. Middledrift dairy farm had 50 (25%) E. coli isolated from raw milk and Fort Hare farm showed 37 (18.5%) E. coli present in the milk samples. The presence of E. coli found in the milk samples points to the fact that fecal contamination was unavoidable and traditional practices are likely to contribute to the contamination of the milk and proliferation of the microorganisms.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Caine, Lesley-Anne
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Raw Milk -- Escherichia coli , Polymerase -- Chain Reaction (PCR)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Microbiology)
- Identifier: vital:11277 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1015525 , Raw Milk -- Escherichia coli , Polymerase -- Chain Reaction (PCR)
- Description: Milk quality continues to be a topic of intense debate in the dairy industry, medical and public health communities. Production of maximum quantities of high-quality milk is an important goal of every dairy operation. High-quality milk must contain a low number of somatic cells and low bacteria count, and must be free of human pathogens and antibiotic residues. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of E. coli in unpasteurized milk recovered from Middledrift and Fort Hare dairy. In this study 400 milk samples were collected from two commercial farms (Middledrift and Fort Hare) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, 200 raw milk samples from each farm. Samples were cultured on violet red bile mug-agar (VRB-MUG Agar) and incubated at 37ºC for 24 hours and preliminary identified by Gram stain and catalase test. Isolates that were Gram negative and catalase positive were screened for a marker of E. coli uidA gene using PCR assays. Middledrift dairy farm had 50 (25%) E. coli isolated from raw milk and Fort Hare farm showed 37 (18.5%) E. coli present in the milk samples. The presence of E. coli found in the milk samples points to the fact that fecal contamination was unavoidable and traditional practices are likely to contribute to the contamination of the milk and proliferation of the microorganisms.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
The effect of 14 weeks of strength training on insulin resistance
- Authors: Cairncross, Joy Claudia
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Insulin resistance , Diabetes -- Exercise therapy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10104 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018276
- Description: Insulin resistance is a precursor to type II diabetes mellitus and in conjunction with dyslipidaemia, hypertension, and obesity, these abnormalities constitute the metabolic syndrome. Insulin resistance usually develops before these other diseases and therefore identifying and successfully treating insulin resistant patients may have potentially great preventive value. Insulin resistance, obesity, and subsequently type II diabetes mellitus have increased dramatically and have reached epidemic proportions. The incidence of diabetes, and in particular type II diabetes mellitus, is increasing in developing countries and throughout the world and this is mainly as a result of increasingly sedentary lifestyle and obesity in an aging population. The specific aim of this study was to explore and describe the effect of a 14-week strength-based resistance training programme on insulin resistance amongst individuals aged 25 to 68 years, who are pre-diabetic, have T2DM, and/or are overweight. The research approach used in this investigation was explorative, experimental, and quantitative in nature. The quasi-experimental design consisted of a pre-test and post-test for an experimental and comparison group who were chosen through convenience and snowball sampling. A total of 30 participants were involved in this study, 15 participants in each group. The following dependent variables were selected, namely: body weight; BMI; body composition; waist-to-hip ratio; total cholesterol levels; triglyceride levels; HOMA-IR; and muscle strength for upper and lower body. Pre-and post-test analysis was performed at the Biokinetics and Sport Science Unit, located at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). Blood samples of the participants were drawn by nurses at the Health Clinic at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and these blood plasma samples were stored at the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry at NMMU for later analysis of glucose and insulin. The experimental group trained three times per week for a period of fourteen weeks, performing strength training exercises with progressive increments in the intensity of the exercise. The control group remained sedentary throughout the intervention period. Analysis of the data was conducted utilizing descriptive and inferential statistics. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used as a hypothesis-testing procedure to evaluate the mean differences. The following dependent variables showed a decrease in mean values: body weight, body mass index, body fat percentage, waist minimum, cholesterol and insulin. However these differences in results were not practically and statistically significant. The following dependent variables showed an increase in mean values: hip maximum, arm relaxed, arm flexed, thigh circumference, glucose and HOMA-IR. However these results were not practically and statistically significant. The mean differences in the plasma insulin level, pre- to post-test, between both groups indicated that a significant difference (t = -1.77, p = 0.044) existed between them. Cohen‟s d revealed a value of 0.64, which indicates moderate practical significance. The only dependent variable which showed both statistical and practical significance was sum of skinfolds. The findings for sum of skinfolds revealed that the mean differences, from pre- to post-test, between both groups indicated that a significant difference (t = -2.30, p = 0.015) existed between them. Cohen‟s d revealed a value of 0.84, which indicated a large practical significance. Although the sample size was too small to indicate generalisations to the diabetic population as a whole, strength training should be furthermore explored as an alternative and successful modality in the existing range of options available to the health and exercise professional to address the needs of the person with T2DM. The researcher proposed that a bigger sample size be used for the experimental and control group, the intervention period increased as well as various differences related to frequency, intensity and duration of strength training could possibly result in significant changes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Cairncross, Joy Claudia
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Insulin resistance , Diabetes -- Exercise therapy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10104 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018276
- Description: Insulin resistance is a precursor to type II diabetes mellitus and in conjunction with dyslipidaemia, hypertension, and obesity, these abnormalities constitute the metabolic syndrome. Insulin resistance usually develops before these other diseases and therefore identifying and successfully treating insulin resistant patients may have potentially great preventive value. Insulin resistance, obesity, and subsequently type II diabetes mellitus have increased dramatically and have reached epidemic proportions. The incidence of diabetes, and in particular type II diabetes mellitus, is increasing in developing countries and throughout the world and this is mainly as a result of increasingly sedentary lifestyle and obesity in an aging population. The specific aim of this study was to explore and describe the effect of a 14-week strength-based resistance training programme on insulin resistance amongst individuals aged 25 to 68 years, who are pre-diabetic, have T2DM, and/or are overweight. The research approach used in this investigation was explorative, experimental, and quantitative in nature. The quasi-experimental design consisted of a pre-test and post-test for an experimental and comparison group who were chosen through convenience and snowball sampling. A total of 30 participants were involved in this study, 15 participants in each group. The following dependent variables were selected, namely: body weight; BMI; body composition; waist-to-hip ratio; total cholesterol levels; triglyceride levels; HOMA-IR; and muscle strength for upper and lower body. Pre-and post-test analysis was performed at the Biokinetics and Sport Science Unit, located at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). Blood samples of the participants were drawn by nurses at the Health Clinic at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and these blood plasma samples were stored at the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry at NMMU for later analysis of glucose and insulin. The experimental group trained three times per week for a period of fourteen weeks, performing strength training exercises with progressive increments in the intensity of the exercise. The control group remained sedentary throughout the intervention period. Analysis of the data was conducted utilizing descriptive and inferential statistics. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used as a hypothesis-testing procedure to evaluate the mean differences. The following dependent variables showed a decrease in mean values: body weight, body mass index, body fat percentage, waist minimum, cholesterol and insulin. However these differences in results were not practically and statistically significant. The following dependent variables showed an increase in mean values: hip maximum, arm relaxed, arm flexed, thigh circumference, glucose and HOMA-IR. However these results were not practically and statistically significant. The mean differences in the plasma insulin level, pre- to post-test, between both groups indicated that a significant difference (t = -1.77, p = 0.044) existed between them. Cohen‟s d revealed a value of 0.64, which indicates moderate practical significance. The only dependent variable which showed both statistical and practical significance was sum of skinfolds. The findings for sum of skinfolds revealed that the mean differences, from pre- to post-test, between both groups indicated that a significant difference (t = -2.30, p = 0.015) existed between them. Cohen‟s d revealed a value of 0.84, which indicated a large practical significance. Although the sample size was too small to indicate generalisations to the diabetic population as a whole, strength training should be furthermore explored as an alternative and successful modality in the existing range of options available to the health and exercise professional to address the needs of the person with T2DM. The researcher proposed that a bigger sample size be used for the experimental and control group, the intervention period increased as well as various differences related to frequency, intensity and duration of strength training could possibly result in significant changes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
An investigation into the management of allocated funds in schools: a case study of two selected schools in Fort Beaufort District in the Eastern Cape Province
- Authors: Cakwebe, Pindiwe Theodora
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Allocated Funds , Constitution , Education , Financial Management -- Government , Paper Budget -- Quintile , School Governing Body -- Section 21 school
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: vital:11706 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1015204 , Allocated Funds , Constitution , Education , Financial Management -- Government , Paper Budget -- Quintile , School Governing Body -- Section 21 school
- Description: The South African Schools Act (No. 84 of 1996) mandates the government to make financial allocations to needy schools. Section 21 of the Act read together with the National Norms and Standards for School Funding, stipulates that schools falling into certain categories (quintiles) receive given amount of funds per each and every learner. The funds are meant to help promote the equal and unparalleled access to education for all citizens as set-out in Section 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996). The study focused on investigating the manner in which two selected Section 21 primary schools are managing their allocated funds. The empirical study made use of a qualitative paradigm through which data was collected using interviews and focus group discussions to collect data from a sample comprising of thirty-five respondents. In terms of data analysis, the study used a qualitative analysis approach to interpret data into readable information for the various categories of audiences in the study. The findings of the study were, inter alia, that financial management skills are low in the schools, the amounts appropriated to schools needs to be revised upwards because schools need more funding for renovations and property development in schools, sanctions for those guilty of school financial misconduct are too soft and auditing of financial record is not being constantly done. The study recommends that the following be considered in order to help improve school financial management; the training of financial officers in school on how to best manage funds, imposition of stiffer penalties for offenders of financial misconduct and increase in allocation aimed at school property development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Cakwebe, Pindiwe Theodora
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Allocated Funds , Constitution , Education , Financial Management -- Government , Paper Budget -- Quintile , School Governing Body -- Section 21 school
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: vital:11706 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1015204 , Allocated Funds , Constitution , Education , Financial Management -- Government , Paper Budget -- Quintile , School Governing Body -- Section 21 school
- Description: The South African Schools Act (No. 84 of 1996) mandates the government to make financial allocations to needy schools. Section 21 of the Act read together with the National Norms and Standards for School Funding, stipulates that schools falling into certain categories (quintiles) receive given amount of funds per each and every learner. The funds are meant to help promote the equal and unparalleled access to education for all citizens as set-out in Section 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996). The study focused on investigating the manner in which two selected Section 21 primary schools are managing their allocated funds. The empirical study made use of a qualitative paradigm through which data was collected using interviews and focus group discussions to collect data from a sample comprising of thirty-five respondents. In terms of data analysis, the study used a qualitative analysis approach to interpret data into readable information for the various categories of audiences in the study. The findings of the study were, inter alia, that financial management skills are low in the schools, the amounts appropriated to schools needs to be revised upwards because schools need more funding for renovations and property development in schools, sanctions for those guilty of school financial misconduct are too soft and auditing of financial record is not being constantly done. The study recommends that the following be considered in order to help improve school financial management; the training of financial officers in school on how to best manage funds, imposition of stiffer penalties for offenders of financial misconduct and increase in allocation aimed at school property development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
The adaptation of the 'Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure' (CORE-OM) from English into a valid Xhosa measure of distress
- Authors: Campbell, Megan Michelle
- Date: 2013 , 2013-06-06
- Subjects: Psychometrics -- Research -- South Africa Psychology -- Mathematical models -- Research -- South Africa Psychological tests -- Research -- South Africa Mental health services -- Research -- South Africa Health services accessibility -- Research -- South Africa Language disorders -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2894 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001538
- Description: In South Africa access to mental healthcare resources is restricted for a number of reasons including language barriers that prevent suitable communication between mental healthcare professionals and African language speaking South Africans. The translation of psychometric tools into African languages has been identified as one method in improving access to psychological services for African language speakers. The Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation - Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) has demonstrated its clinical utility within the United Kingdom (UK) National Healthcare Service (NHS) as a standardised psychotherapy outcome measure that evaluates the degree of psychological distress individuals present with at the start of psychotherapy treatment, and the degree of change that has been effected at the termination of therapy. A measure like the CORE-OM holds valuable clinical utility for the South African context. This thesis argues that the availability of a valid Xhosa version of the CORE-OM would allow for improved access to psychotherapy resources for Xhosa speaking individuals, and allow for the evaluation of the effectiveness of psychotherapy interventions conducted in Xhosa. The CORE-OM developers have provided a translation design and set of guidelines to standardise the translation of the CORE-OM into different languages. However this thesis argues that these guidelines are incomplete. Instead International Test Commission (ITC) guidelines are recommended as a culturally sensitive method to supplement current CORE-OM translation guidelines, in order to generate a valid Xhosa measure of distress. A mixed methods approach is applied which first investigates the construct equivalence and bias of the CORE-OM English version within a South African student population sample, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in order to establish the degree of adaptation required to generate a valid Xhosa version of distress. Next the CORE-OM English version is translated into Xhosa using the five-stage translation design prescribed by the CORE System Trust, supplemented by ITC guidelines. All changes made to the CORE-OM during translation into Xhosa are documented. The CORE-OM Xhosa version is then investigated for reliability and validity. This investigation reveals low internal reliability within the subjective wellbeing domain indicating that these items are less meaningful as depictions of distress within the Xhosa language. A reduced version of the CORE-OM demonstrates strong psychometric properties as a valid Xhosa measure of distress.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Campbell, Megan Michelle
- Date: 2013 , 2013-06-06
- Subjects: Psychometrics -- Research -- South Africa Psychology -- Mathematical models -- Research -- South Africa Psychological tests -- Research -- South Africa Mental health services -- Research -- South Africa Health services accessibility -- Research -- South Africa Language disorders -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2894 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001538
- Description: In South Africa access to mental healthcare resources is restricted for a number of reasons including language barriers that prevent suitable communication between mental healthcare professionals and African language speaking South Africans. The translation of psychometric tools into African languages has been identified as one method in improving access to psychological services for African language speakers. The Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation - Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) has demonstrated its clinical utility within the United Kingdom (UK) National Healthcare Service (NHS) as a standardised psychotherapy outcome measure that evaluates the degree of psychological distress individuals present with at the start of psychotherapy treatment, and the degree of change that has been effected at the termination of therapy. A measure like the CORE-OM holds valuable clinical utility for the South African context. This thesis argues that the availability of a valid Xhosa version of the CORE-OM would allow for improved access to psychotherapy resources for Xhosa speaking individuals, and allow for the evaluation of the effectiveness of psychotherapy interventions conducted in Xhosa. The CORE-OM developers have provided a translation design and set of guidelines to standardise the translation of the CORE-OM into different languages. However this thesis argues that these guidelines are incomplete. Instead International Test Commission (ITC) guidelines are recommended as a culturally sensitive method to supplement current CORE-OM translation guidelines, in order to generate a valid Xhosa measure of distress. A mixed methods approach is applied which first investigates the construct equivalence and bias of the CORE-OM English version within a South African student population sample, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in order to establish the degree of adaptation required to generate a valid Xhosa version of distress. Next the CORE-OM English version is translated into Xhosa using the five-stage translation design prescribed by the CORE System Trust, supplemented by ITC guidelines. All changes made to the CORE-OM during translation into Xhosa are documented. The CORE-OM Xhosa version is then investigated for reliability and validity. This investigation reveals low internal reliability within the subjective wellbeing domain indicating that these items are less meaningful as depictions of distress within the Xhosa language. A reduced version of the CORE-OM demonstrates strong psychometric properties as a valid Xhosa measure of distress.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
An exploratory study of the factors that influence the retention of managers in small to medium business enterprises
- Authors: Carr, Nathan Lars Armitage
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Employee retention -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Small business -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Executives -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Human capital -- Management Personnel management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Organizational effectiveness -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:813 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007740
- Description: Integrative Summary: Small to Medium Business Enterprises (SME's) are widely recognised as the driver of economic growth. SME's are responsible for employing large sections of the working population and, in doing so, facilitate the development of skills for many thousands of workers. Whilst SME's may differ (according to various definition criteria such as size or turnover) from other types of organisation, they share one common denominator across all organisations: their overall effectiveness depends largely on the individual and collective people that make up the organisation -their employees. In this context the central question relevant to the research is "how do SME's retain their valued employee managers?" A quantitative research method was applied in the research. Data was collected by way of a structured self-administered survey questionnaire designed from a post positivist paradigm. The survey was constricted by way of modifying and adapting previous surveys designed to investigate factors that influence staff retention, to be relevant to managers employed by SME's. The sample consisted of 35 managers employed by SME's in and around East London in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The results of the research give rise to a number of clear indicators on the key retention factors of employee managers. Based on the research results SME's that want to have the best chance of retaining their employee managers need strong and effective leadership within the organisation, must address soft organisational factors that are conducive to an open and trusted working environment and the roles of managers must have inherent job factors that allow a sense of freedom to plan and execute tasks autonomously. Economic factors such as pay and financial benefits were identified through the research as being the least important factor when it came to manager retention. These conclusions provide SME owners and senior managers with insight into the factors that are most likely to influence their ability to retain employee managers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Carr, Nathan Lars Armitage
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Employee retention -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Small business -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Executives -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Human capital -- Management Personnel management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Organizational effectiveness -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:813 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007740
- Description: Integrative Summary: Small to Medium Business Enterprises (SME's) are widely recognised as the driver of economic growth. SME's are responsible for employing large sections of the working population and, in doing so, facilitate the development of skills for many thousands of workers. Whilst SME's may differ (according to various definition criteria such as size or turnover) from other types of organisation, they share one common denominator across all organisations: their overall effectiveness depends largely on the individual and collective people that make up the organisation -their employees. In this context the central question relevant to the research is "how do SME's retain their valued employee managers?" A quantitative research method was applied in the research. Data was collected by way of a structured self-administered survey questionnaire designed from a post positivist paradigm. The survey was constricted by way of modifying and adapting previous surveys designed to investigate factors that influence staff retention, to be relevant to managers employed by SME's. The sample consisted of 35 managers employed by SME's in and around East London in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The results of the research give rise to a number of clear indicators on the key retention factors of employee managers. Based on the research results SME's that want to have the best chance of retaining their employee managers need strong and effective leadership within the organisation, must address soft organisational factors that are conducive to an open and trusted working environment and the roles of managers must have inherent job factors that allow a sense of freedom to plan and execute tasks autonomously. Economic factors such as pay and financial benefits were identified through the research as being the least important factor when it came to manager retention. These conclusions provide SME owners and senior managers with insight into the factors that are most likely to influence their ability to retain employee managers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013