Fractured flowers
- Authors: Cunningham, Cornelia
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , Diaries -- Authorship , South African essays (English) 21st century , Books Reviews , South African fiction (English) 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/406226 , vital:70250
- Description: This portfolio contains extracts of my reflective journals that I wrote throughout the course of the year. My poetics essay, four book reviews, community engagement report and my reflection regarding the reader report is also attached. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
Human Development, the Capability Approach and the Mediating of Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: a case study of women’s empowerment through expansive learning in the Mzimvubu Catchment of the Eastern Cape province, South Africa
- Authors: Conde Aller, Laura
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Expansive learning , Social learning , Transformative learning , Capabilities approach (Social sciences) , Women's rights South Africa Mzimvubu River Watershed , Women Economic conditions , Women Social conditions , Sustainable agriculture South Africa Mzimvubu River Watershed
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/366236 , vital:65845 , DOI https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/366236
- Description: This study makes a contribution to the field of sustainable agricultural development and women empowerment in rural South Africa by examining the transformations derived from an expansive learning process with a women farmers group in terms of their food production capability expansion and empowerment as well as the well-being of their local catchment or landscape where their activity was situated. The study took place in the Lutengele villages along the upper reaches of the lower Mzimvubu Catchment near Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Women in southern Africa are significant contributors to household livelihoods through their household food production practices and at the same time they are also one of the primary natural resource users in rural landscapes. In this case study, historical and contemporary ethnographic and situational data revealed disjuncture between existing practice and the fulfilment of women aspirations with regard to food security and social and ecological well-being at large. As a result, central to this study were the concepts of aspirations and capabilities and the role that these played in transformative learning processes via formative intervention research (after Engeström’s concept of expansive learning). Expansive learning emerges from Vygotsky’s early work on mediation of learning through language and culture, which gave raise to Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). Whereas the Capability Approach (CA) recognises that development interventions or initiatives should focus on “expanding the freedom that deprive people from enjoying their valued beings and doings” (Sen, 1999, p. 3), in other words, what people value or have reason to value. The Capability Approach coupled with CHAT deepens the contextual understanding of the agricultural activity system in light of the engendered power dynamics associated with women having access to productive resources, their culturally expected roles and responsibilities in the institution of their households, their families and the community at large, and most importantly, aspects of gerontocracy defined by their age and status in society. In addition, drawing on the Capability Approach as a lens to view agricultural development, social transformation and empowerment, provided the tools to conceptualise participants’ aspirations, their true value and the capabilities necessary for such aspirations to be realised in a context filled with socio-cultural and political power relations and dynamics faced especially by women. The first phase of the study set out to map the context in which the participants’ small-scale food production activity was situated, their aspirations relevant to sustainable agricultural livelihoods, food security, well-being and lastly, the main factors or contradictions inhibiting participants from attaining the aspired food production goals. During the initial phase of the expansive learning cycle I was able to address the first research question: What tensions and contradictions in aspiration-practice relationships shape household food security in the context of catchment management of the women farmers’ group or river forum in the Lutengele area? Twelve contradictions were identified from the historical and contemporary socio-cultural analysis of the home-based food production practices and agricultural activity in relation to the research participants’ envisaged aspirations, which under further scrutiny were thereafter considered by the participants as critical capabilities to pursue during the collective and transformative learning process in the second phase of the study. In the second phase of the study, a series of second stimuli were introduced in the form of conceptual and material tools and tasks with the aim to move participants along the expansive learning process. This led to the unfolding of the collectively defined Capability Learning Pathways for sustainable food production or expansion of their agricultural capability in the context of sustainability of the local micro-catchment or landscape. Through the various Change Laboratory workshops and supporting mini-cycles in the last stages of the formative interventionist research, participants’ learning and development was supported in a way that not only brought individuals together to co-design relevant solutions, strategies and working groups or committees, but also catalysed and amplified transformative agency and the expansion of food production capability, sustainable land use practices and ultimately empowerment. This answered the second and most important research question: Can, and if so, how can expansive social learning processes shape conversion factors for turning available resources into functionings that enhance household food security capabilities and ecological well-being? The methodology of expansive learning and formative interventionist research design intervention, with supporting mediating tools, has proven a positive intervention in the attainment of capabilities (or functionings) in relation to the participant’s aspired livelihoods and consequently improving their well-being as well as their ability to navigate through the various gendered power dynamics, especially for the young women participating in this study. The study proposes expansive learning as a suitable critical and transformative learning theory and methodology for the mediation of collective deliberations and the pursuit of capability development as charted by the learners’ collective and individual aspirations. This is a learning process that not only pursues the learners’ attainment of material and cognitive changes but also opens up new opportunities and most importantly, the freedom to exercise their agency no matter the circumstances they find themselves in – in other words, the freedom to aspire and to be, do and become what one values as instrumentally and intrinsically critical to live a life that they have reason to value. In sum, the unfolding of the expansive learning process happened at three levels: at the value clarification level in terms of human and non-human relationships and social relationality, the institutional level and the practices level. The study recommends further research on the suitability of expansive learning and Change Laboratories as a Capability Expansion Methodology involving human development and Capability Approach practitioners, particularly those with an interest in informal learning and community-based empowering initiatives. Additionally, further studies are also suggested for examining formative interventionist research as a participatory action research approach for capability development work in education and learning research and in different study fields and contexts. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, Education, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
In silico substrate binding profiling for SARS-COV-2 main protease (mpro) using hexapeptide substrates
- Authors: Zabo, Sophakama
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/365566 , vital:65760
- Description: COVID-19, as a disease resulting from SARS-CoV-2 infection, and a pandemic has had a devastating effect on the world. There are limited effective measures that control the spread and treatment of COVID-19 illness. The homodimeric cysteine main protease (Mpro) is crucial to the life cycle of the virus, as it cleaves the large polyproteins 1a and 1ab into matured, functional non-structural proteins. The Mpro exhibits high degrees of conservation in sequence, structure and specificity across coronavirus species, making it an ideal drug target. The Mpro substrate-binding profiles remain, despite the resolution of its recognition sequence and cleavage points (Leu-Gln↓(Ser/Ala/Gly)). In this study, a series of hexapeptide sequences containing the appropriate recognition sequence and cleavage points were generated and screened against the Mpro to study these binding profiles, and to further be the basis for efficiency-driven drug design. A multi-conformer hexapeptide substrate library comprising optimised 81000 models of 810 unique sequences was generated using RDKit within the context of python. Terminal capping with ACE and NMe was effected using SMILES and SMARTS matching. Multiple hexapeptides were complexed with chain B of crystallographic Mpro (PDS ID: 6XHM), following the validation of chain B for this purpose using AutoDock Vina at high levels of exhaustiveness (480). The resulting Vina scores ranged between -8.7 and -7.0 kcal.mol-1, and the reproducibility of best poses was validated through redocking. Ligand efficiency indices were calculated to identify substrate residues with high binding efficiency at their respective positions, revealing Val (P3), Ala (P1′); and Gly and Ala (P2′ and P3′) as leading efficient binders. Binding efficiencies were lowered by molecular weight. Substrate recognition was assessed by mapping of binding subsites, and Mpro specificity was evaluated through the resolution of intermolecular interaction at the binding interface. Molecular dynamics simulations for 20 ns were performed to assess the stability and behaviour of 132 Mpro systems complexed with KLQ*** substrates. Principal component analysis (PCA), was performed to assess II protein motions and conformational changes during the simulations. A strategy was formulated to classify and evaluate relations in the Mpro PCA motions, revealing four main clades of similarity. Similarity within a clade (Group 2) and dissimilarity between clades were confirmed. Trajectory visualisation revealed complex stability, substrate unbinding and dimer dissociation for various Mpro systems. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
Knowledge of and concern about global biodiversity loss vs local biodiversity loss in the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot (MPA)
- Authors: Toyisi, Zanele Jacqueline
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/365025 , vital:65671
- Description: Biodiversity forms the basis of the ecosystem services that society depends on. However, humanity has caused an increase in the extinction rates up to 100 times higher than that of evolutionary background levels. Recent studies found that biodiversity conservation becomes successful when it is grounded in local support. Support for conservation of biodiversity depends on peoples’ knowledge of biodiversity, their attitudes and awareness of the number of species that are present and that are threatened with extinction. However, some studies have shown that the public has little knowledge about the concept of biodiversity and have poor biodiversity identification skills. There is growing concern that people know and are more concerned about global biodiversity loss than what is happening around them locally. The notion that people know and are more concerned about global biodiversity loss rather than local, has not been deeply studied. Most studies have been in developed countries, with limited studies in developing countries and countries that have high diversity such as South Africa. Having accurate knowledge about biodiversity and the environment is said to be the key predictor of intention to change behaviour in relation to biodiversity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand the knowledge and concern (if any) people have of biodiversity at global and local scales. More so, it set out to determine how familiar people are with the term biodiversity, what they consider as forces leading to biodiversity decline, the level of concern that they have for biodiversity loss and if knowledge and concern is influenced by demographic profiles. To achieve this aim, a total of 220 random interviews were conducted in three towns within the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot in South Africa. The results show that respondents are familiar with the term biodiversity. There was a strong relationship between having heard of the term and the ability to define it with 55 % of the respondents aware of it and able to define it. Respondents had moderate knowledge general knowledge related to biodiversity. Gender, education and childhood background did play a role in the knowledge of biodiversity. Women had more knowledge about biodiversity than men, highly educated respondents knew more and the youth knew more than older respondents. The results of this study found that there were no respondents who could not name any local species from South Africa. However, things changed at global level with 32 % of the participants unable to name species at global level. Endangered species are still relatively unknown, as the majority of respondents could not name any at district (84 %) or at global level (61 %). Charismatic species were known the most by respondents as 52 % mentioned them at national level and 59 % at global level. This study also assessed if there is concern for biodiversity loss. The results showed that there is concern for biodiversity with 71 % of the respondents in support for conservation and 60 % of the respondents willing to donate towards conservation. This study found that reasons for conservation related to the level of products consumed directly from the environment. Those that supported conservation for use values consumed more products from the environment than those who were in support for non-use values. Furtherly, this study found that women were more concerned about biodiversity loss than men. Highly educated respondents were more concerned and the youth was not. Furtherly, this study found that knowledge about biodiversity loss corelated with concern. For example, women had more knowledge and were more concerned about biodiversity loss. Overall, this study has shown that there is some knowledge and concern that people have about biodiversity and its loss. This can assist the relevant policy makers and researchers to know where intervention is needed to increase the knowledge that people have of biodiversity loss and which aspects of biodiversity people are most concerned about. This is so that new policies and conservation measures can include what is appealing to the local people so that support for conservation can be built and accepted by local people. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Environmental Science, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
Mentoring as social learning value creation in two South African environmental organisations: a social realist analysis
- Authors: Hiestermann, Michelle
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Social realism , Social learning , Mentoring , Environmental education South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/366248 , vital:65846 , https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/366248
- Description: South Africa is facing overwhelming crises of educational quality, record rates of unemployment (especially amongst youth) and environmental issues and risks, further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Environmental education research that addresses these challenges is critical to ensuring that future generations thrive in a warming climate. South Africa needs environmental leaders; we therefore need to understand and explore the possibilities of mentoring young professionals in environmental organisations in South Africa. Several initiatives have been developed to contribute to the mentoring of young professionals in South African environmental organisations. This study drew on a critical realist ontology, social realist meta-theory and domain specific theory on mentoring and evaluation to explore mentoring as a value creating proposition in two environmental organisations in South Africa that were part of the national Groen Sebenza youth employment creation programme which had a strong focus on mentoring. To strengthen conceptual analytical tools on mentoring, I undertook an immanent critique of domain specific mentoring theory to develop a more appropriate foundation for mentoring theory in the environmental sector that was not subject to the historical influence of human capital theory only (which has tended to dominate the field’s literature). I then developed in-depth understanding of mentoring in two case study contexts, namely a non-profit environmental organisation and an environmental consulting company, using qualitative research approaches that included contextual profiling, case study research and mirror data workshops. Analytically, I considered the case data drawing on the value creation evaluation framework of Wenger-Trayner and Wenger-Trayner (2014) which itself was developing as an analytical framework as the study developed. I strengthened the analytical framework with social realist interpretations drawing on Archer (1995). This offered me a way of developing an in-depth understanding of the factors which constrain or enable the value creation possibilities of mentoring, with a view to inform human capacity development initiatives that support mentoring in the environment sector. It was possible to explain the value creation possibilities of mentoring within two case study environmental organisations through considering mentoring as a social learning process of value creation and this overcame some of the shortfalls identified in other early learning theories as well as theories of mentoring. The research revealed how mentoring can provide a value creation social learning trajectory for unemployed youth. A social realist perspective explained how young professionals expanded their primary agency, through full participation in workplace communities of practice, to find their identity as corporate agents in the workplace with their mentors. In this research, Social Realist ontology, theory and methodology was able to achieve what Human Capital Theory could not and provided an account of the interplay of structure, culture and agency over time, through emergent properties and the separation of structure and agency. Thus, it was possible to avoid conflation and the limitation of theory of the present tense, with a deeper, ontologically robust explanation of mentoring as social learning and social change and a social realist orientation to human capacity development. South Africa has a history of oppression, inequality and injustice and requires social processes that are reflexive, critical, emancipatory and transformative. Therefore, this research required theory and approaches that could explain mentoring of unemployed youth, as a common good initiative for a more just and sustainable society. As shown in this study, a Social Realist approach can uncover the underlying generative mechanisms and make the implicit more explicit in research, policy and strategy, offering a robust alternative to the tenets of Human Capital Theory that have driven much mentoring research in South Africa and elsewhere to date. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, Education, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
Movement patterns of the iconic giant kingfish Caranx ignobilis from Southern Africa
- Authors: Dixon, Russell Bruce
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Caranx Africa, Southern , Caranx Migration , Underwater acoustic telemetry , Carangidae Africa, Southern , Fish tagging
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/362797 , vital:65363
- Description: Giant kingfish Caranx ignobilis, the largest species in the family Carangidae, are global icons as apex marine predators. They are widespread in tropical to subtropical regions globally, where they are of high importance to ecosystems and fisheries. During summer, adults aggregate for spawning, making them vulnerable to overfishing. The world’s largest recorded C. ignobilis aggregation is in southern Mozambique. Some of these aggregating individuals (an unknown proportion) have been recorded passing into South African waters. Furthermore, a unique aggregation of adult C. ignobilis in South Africa’s Mtentu Estuary has attracted global attention but remains unexplained, hence warranting investigation. Research on C. ignobilis globally has shown relatively small home ranges. Research in southern Africa has been limited and inconclusive. Thus, the broad aim of this study is to describe the movement patterns of C. ignobilis from southern Africa. Long-term (36 years) mark-recapture data from the Oceanographic Research Institute’s Co-operative Fish Tagging Project, comprising 3 729 tagged C. ignobilis and 144 recaptures, were analysed. While 74% of recaptures were recorded < 1 km from the tagging location, long-distance movements of up to 419 km were also recorded (mean = 15 km). Although adults moved significantly (p < 0.01) greater distances than juveniles, they also displayed high levels of site fidelity. Seasonal trends included evidence of a summer migration; however, there was still considerable uncertainty regarding exact movements. Therefore, 43 C. ignobilis were acoustically tagged and subsequently monitored along the east coast for over five years with the Acoustic Tracking Array Platform’s passive receiver array. All acoustically tagged adult C. ignobilis migrated to southern Mozambique each year (with minor exceptions), from distances of up to 632 km. When not migrating, South African-based fish showed consistent inter-annual fidelity to individual home ranges. Although coastal home range length (excluding migrations) varied considerably between individuals, even the mean length (92 km) was greater than any previously recorded C. ignobilis home range, globally. In contrast to the southern Mozambique aggregation, the Mtentu Estuary aggregation seems to comprise of individuals showing fidelity to that region. The passive tracking of eight acoustically tagged individuals in the Mtentu Estuary revealed clear trends. Statistical modelling showed that estuarine presence was strongly associated with periods of cold coastal upwelling. Diel movement patterns showed that the utilisation of warm surface waters ~ 4 km upstream during the day was followed by nightly departures to the mouth or sea. Thus, it is likely that this majestic aggregation is for thermal refuge; specifically, for daily re-warming after feeding in cold waters at night. Findings from this study are of global ecological interest and have direct applications for local fisheries management and the development of sustainable eco-tourism. Protecting these vulnerable aggregations is of the utmost importance for the future of this species in southern Africa. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
Puma (Puma concolor) diet and habitat use in south-west New Mexico
- Authors: Bernard, Kelly Monica Tandi
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Puma Food New Mexico , Puma Habitat New Mexico , Puma Nutrition New Mexico , Puma Conservation New Mexico , Carnivorous animals New Mexico , Red deer , Elk , Mule deer , Ungulates
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/362752 , vital:65359
- Description: The puma (Puma concolor) is a wide-ranging large felid species occupying an extensive geographic range throughout North and South America, and site-specific research on their diet is important for local management. Like other large felids, puma diet may differ between sexes due to size dimorphism, and between seasons due to changes in prey vulnerability and availability. This study assessed the influence of sex and season on puma diet in south-west New Mexico in terms of prey species and prey size categories. Pumas specialised on mule deer and elk throughout the year, and killed a range of other species of different sizes. The diet of the smaller female puma was nested within the diet of males, supporting the size-nested strategy. The effect of puma sex on prey species and size categories was independent of season, and vice versa, and the probability of a female making a medium-sized kill such as mule deer was higher than for males, while the probability of an extra-large kill such as elk was substantially greater for males. The probability of pumas killing either mule deer or elk in each season was similar, and greater than other species categories. Additionally, individual puma strongly influenced all prey species and size categories killed. The results from this study concur with previous findings on the importance of mule deer and elk in puma diet, and suggest that puma predation may also impact a number of other species, particularly smaller herbivores like collared peccary, and mesocarnivores such as skunks. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Zoology and Entomology, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
Teachers’ knowledge and practice in Grade 3 Group Guided Reading: a case study
- Authors: Kitsili, Ntsikohlanga Anthony
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Reading (Elementary) , Guided reading , Group reading , Teaching practices
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/405270 , vital:70156
- Description: Group guided reading (GGR) was introduced as part of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in 2012, but it appears that teachers are still experiencing great difficulty in teaching it (Hoadley 2018). Several interventions have been designed across South Africa to support teachers in no-fee schools to improve the teaching of reading. The evaluations of such interventions show that teachers receiving support such as coaching are able to master the procedural aspects of GGR but not the conceptual aspects, for example, teaching comprehension strategies and providing formative assessment (Fleisch & Dixon, 2019; Hoadley, 2017). The research reported in this thesis aimed to find out what kinds of knowledge are required to teach GGR and to what extent teachers enact this knowledge in their practice, using Shulman’s (1987) knowledge categories: subject content, pedagogical content and curriculum knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge and strategic knowledge. The research took the form of an interpretivist case study focusing on three Grade 3 teachers using GGR to teach reading in their classrooms. It was carried out in three no-fee, township schools where isiXhosa is the language of learning and teaching. Data was generated through observations, stimulated recall interviews, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. There are two policy documents that guide teachers’ practices in terms of how they should teach reading during GGR and that give clear guidance on what children should learn during GGR: the Foundation Phase CAPS and the National Framework for the Teaching of Reading in African Languages in the Foundation Phase. These documents were analysed using Shulman’s (1987) knowledge categories. Transcripts of teachers’ reflections on their GGR lessons during stimulated recall interviews were read hand in hand with transcripts of the GGR lessons that were video and audio recorded, and these were analysed using Shulman’s knowledge categories. The findings of the research are that teachers’ subject content knowledge is largely tacit; it is knowledge-in-practice. The teachers in the study seemed confident in showing rather than explaining what it is that they are doing and why they are doing it. All three teachers have mastered, to a large extent, the procedural aspects of GGR and some of the more conceptual aspects, for example some aspects of fluency, the teaching of decoding strategies and formative assessment. However, there was limited evidence of the teaching of comprehension strategies and the use of higher order questions, and assessment was not evident in the recorded lessons. , Ukufunda ngokwamaqela kusetyenziswe njengenxalenye yoluhlu lwezifundo kunye novavanyo mgaqo nkqubo lexwebhuCurriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) lonyaka ka 2012, kodwa kubonakala ukuba ootitshala basatsala nzima ukusifundisa esisifundo (Hoadley 2018). Aliqela amaphulo aye ayilwa eMzantsi Afrika jikelele ngeenzame zokuxhasa ootitshala abafundisa kwizikolo zafelefele ukuba baphuhle kwisakhono sokufundisa ukufunda. Iziphumo zovavanyo zalamaphulo zibonakalise ukuba ootitshala abafumana inkxaso ekukuqeqeshwa baye bagqwesa ekufundiseni indlela ezilandelwayo ekufundiseni ukufunda ngokwamaqela, kodwa isengumcelamngeni ukufundisa izakhono eziphuhlisa ukufunda ngengqiqo nokuhlola inkqubela yabafundi ekufundeni, (Fleisch & Dixon, 2019; Hoadley, 2017). Ingxelo yophando lwale tyhisisi - belujole ekuboniseni ukuba loluphi ulwazi ekumele ootitshala babenalo ekufundiseni ukufunda ngokwamaqela, kwaye olulwazi lungancedisana njani nootitshala ekufundiseni ukufunda, ndisebenzisa iindidi zolwazi eziqulunqwe nguShulmna (1987): ulwazi ngomxholo wesosifundo, ulwazi ngeendlela ezifanelekileyo zokufundisa esosifundo kunye nolwazi oluqulathwe kuluhlu lwezifundo (curriculum), ulwazi oluphangaleleyo noluquka iindlela ezifanelekileyo zokufundisa, kunye nolwazi malunga namaqhinga athile ancedisana nokufundisa ukufunda ngendlela efanelekileyo. Oluphando lulandele indlela yokuphanda ebizwa ngokuba yi interpretivist case study ngokolwimi lwase mzini, eyona nto esisifundo besigqale kuyo ibi ngootitshala abathathu bebanga lesithathu abafundisa ukufunda kubantwana bengamaqela kumagumbi wabo okufundela. Oluphando luqhutyelwe kwizikolo ezintathu zafelefele (zikaRhulumente) elokishini apho isiXhosa ilulwimi olusetyenziswayo ekufundiseni nasekufundeni. Iinkukacha ziqokelelwe ngoku qwalasela okuqhubekayo egumbini lokufundela, nangokwenza uviwano ndlebe oluzindlela ezimbini: olokuqala lwenziwe emveni kwesifundo, ze olwesibini lwaqhutywa emveni kwesikolo apho utitshala uye wabukela umfanekiso oshicelelweyo wesifundo asiqhubileyo aze ahlatywe imibuzo ngesosifundo asijongileyo, kunye nangoku hlalutya okuqulathiweyo kumaxwebhu afana no CAPS. Mabini amaxwebhu aqulathe umgaqo nkqubo ochazela ootitshala ukuba mabakufundise njani ukufunda ngelixa abantwana befunda bengamaqela, kwaye angumkhombandlela ochaza gca okulindeleke abantwana bakufude ngexesha lokufunda bengamaqela: the Foundation Phase CAPS and the National Framework for the Teaching of Reading in African Languages in the Foundation Phase. Lamaxwebhu ahlalutywe ngokulandela iindidi zolwazi zika Shulmna (1987). Imibhalo ekhutshelweyo (transcripts) enika ingxelo ngokucingwa ngootitshala ngomsebenzi wabo wokufundisa abantwana bengamaqela ngexesha loviwano ndlebe ifundwe ngaxesha nye nemibhalo ekhutshelweyo yokufundiswa kwabantwana bengamaqela ebishicelelwe yangumboniso bhanyabhanya kunye nophulaphulekayo, oku kuye kwahlalutywa ngokusebenzisa iindidi zolwazi zika Shulman (1987). Iziphumo zophando zibonakalise ukuba ulwazi lootitshala malunga nomxholo wezifundo alubonakali ngokuthe gca, lubonakale ilulwazi olubonakala ngezenzo. Ootitshala abathathe inxaxheba kwesisifundo babonakale bezithembile ekuboniseni indlela abaqhuba ngayo, kodwa basilela ukucacisa ngokwamazwi abo into abayenzayo okanye unobangela wokwenza ngandlela ithile. Bonke ootisthala abathathu bagqwesile ekuboniseni ukuba bayayazi imigaqo ekufuneka ilandelwe xa kufundiswa isifunda samaqela ngamaqela, kwaye babonisile ukuba banalo ulwazi lokuphuhlisa izakhono zokufunda ngokutyibilika, nokufundisa abantwana amaqhinga athile abanowasebenzisa xabeguqula okufihlakele entethweni, kunye nendlela ezisesikweni zokuhlola. Nangona kunjalo nje ubungqina obubonisa ukuba abatitshala bathathu banaso isakhono sokufundisa amaqhinga okufunda ngengqiqo, kunye nokubuza imibuzo ekwinqanaba eliphezulu, kwaye namaxwebhu abonisa uhlolo luka titshala bunqongophele. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Education, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
The Daily Sun subscribers
- Authors: Mahe, Xolani
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , Diaries -- Authorship , Books Reviews , South African fiction (English) 21st century , Short stories, South African (English) 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/406276 , vital:70254
- Description: My thesis comprises interlinked short stories, verfabula, sketches, fragments, flash fiction, folktales, anecdotes, and the epistolary form. I write in English tinged with IsiXhosa. In terms of specific influences, the collection is strongly influenced by the experimental writing of Kathy Acker and Samuel Delany notably the uncompromising ways in which they contort formal grammar and sexuality, the defamiliarizing function of the phantasmagoria in the films of Alejandro Jodorowsky and David Lynch, the techniques of the picturesque as used by Amos Tutuola, and, importantly, narration in the present tense as deployed in Dambudzo Marechera’s House of Hunger which results in negation and subversion of the narrative depiction of the past, the present, and the future. On the stylistic level, I am strongly influenced by the haunting surrealism of Sony Labou Tansi, the eccentric meditations of Julio Cortázar, and the iconoclastic rants of Lesego Rampolokeng. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
The distribution and perceptions of invasive alien plants in small towns in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa
- Authors: Seboko, Tshepiso Collen
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/${Handle} , vital:65669
- Description: Invasive alien plants (IAP) of different life forms have major effects on biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, economies, and livelihoods worldwide. There is evidence that IAP are rapidly increasing around the world, and the negative impacts associated with them are expected to worsen due to continuing land transformation, climate change, and urbanisation. Yet, information on the distribution, abundance, knowledge, and perceptions of IAP is limited, especially in small towns. Most previous research has largely focused on rural settings and larger cities, thus hindering the effective control and management of IAP in smaller urban settings. It is therefore important to assess the distribution of IAP to provide useful information to guide clearing and mitigation efforts to reduce the impacts and proliferation of IAP in smaller urban settings. Consequently, the aim of the study was to determine the distribution, composition, abundance, and perceptions of woody IAP in small towns in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa and assess how and why they may differ within and between towns. To achieve this aim, a drive by road survey was undertaken across all suburbs and land use types in 12 small towns located in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The 12 randomly selected small towns were, Adelaide, Alexandria, Barkley East, Bedford, Burgersdorp, Cathcart, Kirkwood, Middelburg, Paterson, Somerset East, St. Francis Bay and Willowmore. All woody IAP visible from the surveyed roads were counted across all suburbs and land use types within each town. A total of 38 427 woody IAP were enumerated, with 56 species across different land use types and suburbs in all towns. Affluent suburbs accounted for 58% of the IAP enumerated, while the Reconstructed Development Programme (RDP) suburbs accounted for only 5%. In terms of the land use type, most of the IAP were encountered in the residential areas (54%), as compared to, road verges (32%) and public urban green spaces (PUGS) (14%). Of the 12 towns, Middleburg had the highest number of woody IAP, with 5 573 individuals, while Paterson had the lowest number with 947. The most common IAP species across all towns was Melia azedarach with 4 384 individuals, followed by Pinus elliotti (4 051), and Jacaranda mimosifolia (3 640). Spathodea campanulata, Ardisia crenata, and Parkinsonia aculeata had the lowest number of individuals with only two individuals each across all towns. This study also assessed the knowledge, perceptions, and willingness of urban residents to control IAP in their home yards using household surveys. A total of 240 household surveys were administered in the 12 towns. The results showed that more than half of the respondents (59%) had no knowledge of IAP, while 14% had neutral knowledge and only 2% had high knowledge. Forty percent of the respondents agreed that IAP pose a problem to the environment whilst 11% did not think IAP posed a problem to the environment, and 49% stated that they do not know. Most of the respondents (91%) perceived IAP positively, and stated that they benefit from the IAP, with the most mentioned benefit being shade (50%). Almost two-thirds of the respondents (65%) were willing to report on the IAP in their yards to the relevant authorities that deal with the control and management of IAP. Over half (56%) of the respondents were willing to have the IAP removed from their gardens, with the most stated reason for removal was because the IAP caused damage to property (13%). Respondents thought that the local government (35%) or district government (30%) should be responsible for the control and management of IAP. Overall, the study showed that IAP species were most common in residential land use type and affluent suburbs. These findings can assist the relevant authorities that deal with IAP, regarding which plant species, suburbs, and land use types to prioritise regarding awareness and investment for control and management. This will also help explore alternative indigenous species that can be used as replacements that may offer the same benefits derived from IAP by urban residents. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Environmental Science, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
The impacts of anthropogenic fires in West African savanna woodlands and parklands: the case of the Guinea savanna, Ghana
- Authors: Amoako, Esther Ekua Amfoa
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Firemaking Ghana , Agroforestry Ghana , Parks Fire management Ghana , Nature Effect of human beings on Ghana , Land use Ghana , Savanna ecology Ghana , Traditional ecological knowledge Ghana
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/365610 , vital:65764 , DOI https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/365610
- Description: Fire is recognised as an important factor influencing the structure and function of tropical savannas. Despite the extensive studies conducted on the effects of fire on global savannas, there are relatively few studies focusing on fire-assisted land use practices in the agroforestry parkland of the Sudano-Guinean savannas of West Africa. The region experiences recurrent fires in the dry season which begins from November to April. The fires are anthropogenic and are mainly caused through rural livelihoods and cultural practices such as farming - to remove debris from crop fields and to improve soil fertility and hunting to flush out animals, among other reasons. This study therefore sought to: 1. contribute to the understanding of fire-assisted traditional land use practices, people’s knowledge and perceptions of fire use and fire regime: 2. analyse the effects of fire on vegetation, and 3. determine the effects of fire on soils in the Guinea savanna woodlands and parklands of Ghana. Study sites (burnt and unburnt land use types) were selected based on five-year daily fire counts (2013-2017) data, obtained from the Earth Observation Research and Innovation Centre (EORIC), Ghana in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Meraka Institute, South Africa. Fire densities were calculated for the 18 districts in the Guinea savanna (Northern Region of Ghana). The districts were stratified into low, medium and high fire frequency areas. The East Gonja district recorded the highest fire density (1.0 fires km-2) while Tamale recorded the lowest fire density (0.3 fires km-2). Of the eighteen districts, six districts were purposively selected and ten communities sampled. Firstly, I investigated the frequency of fire use and control, perceptions of fire regime for selected livelihood and socio-cultural activities in the six districts. The majority of respondents (83%) across the study districts indicated that they used fire once a year for at least one of the following activities: land preparation, weed/grass/pest control, burning stubble after harvest, bush clearing around homesteads, firebreaks, charcoal burning and hunting. The study showed the highest frequency of fire use in the dry season was for land preparation for cropping. However, less than a fifth of the respondents (17%) indicated that they did not use fire for any of the above activities. The results of a multiple regression predicted fire activities in the dry season from gender, age, level of education, occupation and household size. Secondly, the study examined how fire influenced the population structure and abundance of two economically important woody species Vitellaria paradoxa C. F. Gaertn. (Shea tree) and Anogeissus leiocarpa (DC.) Guill. & Perr. (African Birch) in burnt and unburnt land-use types. Stand basal area, mean densities of juveniles and adult trees and Simpson’s index of dominance were determined. Eight diameter size classes of each species were analysed by comparing their observed distributions to a three-parameter Weibull distribution across the land use types. A total of 3,366 individuals of A. leiocarpa (n = 1,846) and V. paradoxa (n = 1,520) were enumerated. The highest total basal area of Anogeissus leiocarpa (16.9 m2/ha) was estimated in sacred groves whereas Vitellaria. paradoxa (20.6 m2 /ha) was found in unburnt woodland. The highest mean densities of A. leiocarpa (22.7±29.7 stems/ha) and V. paradoxa (15.3±2.2 stems/ha) were found in sacred in groves. Anogeissus leiocarpa was, however, absent in fallows and burnt crop fields. A somewhat inverse J-shaped distribution was found in sacred groves for both species. Thirdly, the study compared species composition in early burnt, late burnt and unburnt plots in a protected area where fire was regulated. Vitellaria paradoxa C. F. Gaertn., Terminalia avicennioides Guill. & Perr., Combretum adenogonium Steud. ex A. Rich. and Combretum molle R. Br. Ex. G. Don. were the most common and abundant in all treatments. Late burnt and unburnt plots recorded the lowest diversity amongst the three treatments. Unburnt plots had higher tree density than burnt plots. A Detrended Canonical Analysis showed a changing trend, indicating a moderately strong positive association between burning time and species composition. The first and second axes contributed 53% and 12% variation, respectively. Most of the species found in axis one had fairly strong positive association to early and late burnt treatment than unburnt treatments. Finally, the effects of fire on soil properties in burnt and unburnt crop fields and woodland in the ten communities were also investigated. A total of 151 composite samples in selected burnt and unburnt land use types (burnt crop field n=20; unburnt crop field n=27; burnt woodland n=53, unburnt woodland n=51) were analysed. The variables analysed were pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorous (P), Exchangeable bases - potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), cation exchange and soil texture. Total N, SOC, pH and Ca differed significantly across the burnt and unburnt land-use types. A principal component analysis showed a stronger association and more positive gradient in woodlands than in crop fields. Total N showed a positive association with SOC, whereas silt showed a negative association to sand and clay. Traditional knowledge and perceptions of users of savanna agroforestry parklands can inform the formulation of local by-laws for community fire management as well as national policy regulation on fire use in the savanna through the interlinked analysis of social and ecological systems as have been elucidated in this study. The results on vegetation assessment revealed that fire practices and land uses influenced size class distribution of the two study species as well as the densities of woody species in traditional crop fields and the National Park. The unstable populations observed in most land uses and the absence of A. leiocarpa in crop fields and fallows call for education and policy actions on the use of fire in parklands of West Africa. Furthermore, fires positively influenced some soil properties in both woodlands and crop fields confirming one of the emphasised reasons why rural subsistence farmers use fire. As an environmental management decision and land use policy intervention, early dry season burning could be an option to curbing the indiscriminate and unplanned fire use. Also, the protection of trees on farm lands could check the unstable population structure of economically important woody species leading to the different structures that deviated from the recommended reverse J-shaped distribution curve observed in these agroforestry parklands. The management of socio-ecological systems such as the agroforestry parklands of West Africa require a holistic understanding of the complexity of the different resource systems, units and actors involved for sustainable management of these natural resources. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Environmental Science, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
The nexus between Community Engagement and Academic Language Development
- Authors: Thondhlana, Mazvita Mollin
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Community engagement , Service learning Study and teaching (Higher) South Africa , Education, Higher Social aspects South Africa , Community and college South Africa , Academic writing Study and teaching (Higher) South Africa , Information literacy Study and teaching (Higher) South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/405509 , vital:70177 , DOI 10.21504/10962/405509
- Description: Community engagement (CE) is now widely considered a core function of higher education worldwide. In South African higher education institutions (HEIs), there is an increasing focus on CE as a means of transforming the role of the university in society, though the forms and shapes of CE vary by institution. CE is positioned as part of the means of addressing the challenges within the South African education system, such as ensuring equity in academic access in the face of diversity and making sure higher education institutions are responsive to the needs of society. Community Engagement is increasingly being afforded the same status as teaching and learning and research in higher education. The idea that higher education should function as a public good is central to this. This study reflects on how CE can be expansively viewed as places of learning for students to achieve epistemic access with epistemic justice, particularly in increasing diverse and changing contexts. Despite the growing research on CE in HEIs, there is comparatively limited focus on the intersection between CE and language use and potential linkages with identity and epistemic access and success. Given that one of the major challenges in South African HEIs relate to difficulties experienced by students whose home language is not English, the experiences of students learning within CE contexts within those institutions warrants investigation. The main aim of this study was to explore second language English speaking students’ experiences of language in the Engaged Citizen Programme, a Community Engagement programme at Rhodes University aimed at offering students the opportunity of enhanced learning, giving students the opportunity to evaluate the theories and ideas taught in the university against the realities of the South African context. The programme is also intended to offer students the opportunity to learn with and from communities and thereby enable personal growth (ECP Handbook: 2020; p.3). Using an in-depth phenomenological approach, this study explored diverse students’ experiences of language use in both community engaged programmes and in the classroom as a basis for understanding the role language plays in such spaces and the impact of these programmes on epistemic access, justice and success for students in HEIs. The study explored the role that CE plays for second language English students as they navigate complex questions of identity and belonging in HEIs. In CE activities, such as the Engaged Citizen Programme, unlike traditional classroom learning, English is often not the medium of instruction, as learning takes place in community sites, where multiple other languages are spoken. In the traditional classrooms, English is the dominant medium of instruction which can bring challenges for students whose home language is not English. Students are faced with various challenges including failure to communicate effectively and understand content knowledge. Significantly this study found that this often related to a sense of self-worth and belonging and constrained their participation and engagement in class. It was evident from the students’ reflections on their experiences in the Engaged Citizen Programme that CE provided a more flexible space generally more comfortable to these participants; a space that promotes engaged learning without rigid rules. The students’ reflections affirmed the contribution of CE in promoting engagement of students outside the formal classes and enhancing the ways in which they use language freely. It was also evident from the students’ reflections that CE provided a space in which students can identify who they are and have a sense of belonging. In the context of diversity, the majority of the students said they come to the university feeling a level of under preparedness and cannot identity with dominant groups. The reflections from the students’ experiences therefore offer some insights into ways in which we can actively promote CE in supporting student access and addressing issues of epistemic justice in higher education. The findings suggest that many of the benefits of CE, such as higher levels of interaction and significant amounts of translanguaging, need to be brought into the formal classroom spaces because they enhanced student engagement. While CE was also seen to be challenging and there were calls for more support, the essence of the experience was as a space of personal development and awareness of social responsibility. The explicit normative value of CE was in contrast to the absence of such considerations in the formal HE curriculum and the student experiences suggest that much could be learned from this. The use of English, both on campus and in CE activities, was found to be value-laden and politically charged. The participants, black students who spoke English as an additional language, all related experiences of English being positioned as a ‘superior’ language. The students who were highly fluent in English experienced being positioned as ‘showing off’ and seen to have ‘forgotten their roots’. Students who were not highly fluent in English, on the other hand, often constrained their participation in class because they experienced concern that their mispronunciations and accents may be mocked. The essence of the experience of language use in both formal classroom settings and in CE activities is that this is tightly bound to identity and is ideologically fraught. This requires more explicit conversation in all learning spaces. , Kubatirana pamwe nenharaunda (KPN) (CE) iko zvino kwave kutariswa zvakanyanya sembiru yebasa redzidzo yepamusoro pasirese. MuSouth Africa muzvikoro zvedzidzo yepamusoro (ZZY) (HEIs), kune kuwedzera kwekupa nguva kuKPN kunyangwe mamiriro uye maumbirwo eKPN achisiyana zvichienderana nechikoro chacho. Nematambudziko ari mukati memunezvedzidzo muSouth Africa uye nekumwewo, sekuenzanisira mukuwanikwa kwedzidzo mukusiyana kwevanhu nemaitiro uye kuona kuti zvikoro zvepamusoro zvinoteerera zvinodiwa munharaunda, KPN yaakupihwa kukosha kumwechete nekudzidzisa nekudzidza uyewonetsvagiridzo mudzidzo yepamusoro nechinangwa chekushandura nzira idzo ruzivo rwunoshandurwa mukushanda kwedzidzo yepamusoro sechinhu chakanakira munhu wese (ona Bhagwan: 2017). Shanduko yemaonero ekugadzirwa kwezivo nebasa remayunivhesiti mumagariro, kubva kunzira dzakare dzekuzvionera pamusoro kuenda kumayunivhesiti anobatikana nenharaunda zvinoonekwa senzira chaiyo yekuzadzisa chinangwa chekuti mayunivhesiti ave anodavira kune zvakapoteredza, aine mutoro nazvo uye achiunza shanduko. Pamwongo wemakakatanwa anechekuita neKPN panenyaya yekuti KPN inogona kutariswa zvakanyanya sevanze dzekudzidza dzevadzidzi uye kuwana kupinda munezveruzivo nezvekururamisira, kunyanya mukuwedzera kwokusiyana nekushanduka kwemamiriro ezvinhu. Zvakadaro, kunyangwe paine kukura mukufarirwa kweKPN muZZY, kune kushomeka kwekutarisa panosangana KPN nekushandiswa kwemutauro uye hukama nezvekuti unozviti uri ani uye kuwana kupinda munezvezivo nekubudirira. Muchiitiko chekudzidza kuburikidza nezviitwa zveKPN, zvichisiyana nekudzidza muimba yekudzidzira (kirasi) kwagara kuripo muZZY, Chirungu hachisiriicho nzira yekuraira nayo, sezvo kudzidza kuchiitika munzvimbo dzirimunharaunda. Mumakirasi ekudzidza kwagara kuripo, Chirungu ndomutauro unonyanyoshandiswa pakurairidza izvo zvinogona kuita kuti vadzidzi vanotaura mutauro usiri Chirungu kumba vatarisane nematambudziko anosanganisira kukundikana kutaura zvavarikuda, kuvenehukama nezvirikuitika chaizvo uye kunzwisisa ruzivo rwezvinodzidzwa zvinogona kukanganisa kutora chikamu kwavo nokubatirana kwavo nezvinengezvichiitika mukirasi. Nokuda kwokuti rimwe rematambudziko makuru muZZY zvemuSouth Africa rinechekuita nezvinetso zvinosangana nevadzidzi vane mutauro wekumba usiri Chirungu, panefaniro yekuoongorora zvinosanganikwa nazvo nevadzidzi mukati meKPN. Wongororo iyi idavidzo kumukaha uwu. Chinangwa chikuru chewongororo iyi chachiri chekuongorora zvinosanganikwa nazvo nevadzidzi vanotaura Chirungu semutauro wechipiri muEngaged Citizen Programme, chirongwa cheCommunity Engagement chine chinangwa chekupa vadzidzi mukana wekusimudzira madzidziro, kupa vadzidzi mukana wekuyera/kuongorora pfungwa dzirimukudzidza nemaonero munezvinodzidziswa muyunivhesiti zvichiyenzaniswa nezviri kuitika muSouth Africa pamwe nekupa vadzidzi mukana wekudzidza kubva kune nepamwe nenharaunda zvichitungamirira kukukura semunhu mumwe nemumwe (ECP Handbook: 2020; p.3) paRhodes University, inovayunivhesiti inoshandisaChirungu pakurairidza. Ichishandisa nemaitiro akadzama nzira yekuongorora inonzi phenomenological approach wongororo iyi yakatarisa zvinosanganikwa nazvo zvevadzidzi vakasiyana-siyana mukushandiswa kwemutauro muzvirongwa zvokubatirana pamwe nenharaunda uye mukirasi sehwaro hwekunzwisisa zvibereko zvezvirongwa izvi pakuwanikwa kwezvezivo, kururamisira uye kubudirira kwevadzidzi muZZY. Wongororo iyi yangayakanangawo zvakare kuongorora basa rinoitwa neKPN kuvadzidzi avo mutauro wechipiri urichiRungu pavanenge vachiedza kupindura mibvunzo yakaoma inechekuita nezvekuti ndivanaani uye nekuva kwavo chikamu chemuZZY. Zvakava pachena kubva mukufungisisa kwevadzidzi pamusoro pekuvevangavarimuchirongwa Engaged Citizen Programme kuti KPN kwakavapa nzvimbo yakasununguka uye yakagadzikana, inosimudzira kudzidza kunobata pasina mitemo yakaoma/isingashandurwi. Kufungisisa kwevadzidzi kwakasimbisa zvinounzwa neKPN mukusimudzira kuvanechekuita kwevadzidzi munezvinoitika kunze kwemakirasi nekusimudzira nzira dzavanoshandisa mutauro nadzo vakasununguka. Zvaivawo pachena kubva mukufungisisa kwevadzidzi kuti CE yakapa nzvimbo yekuti vadzidzi vazive kuti ndivanaani uye kuti vanzwe kuti ndevepi. Mumamiriro ekusiyana kwezvinhu, vazhinji vevadzidzi vakati vanouya kuyunivhesiti vachinzwa vaine chiyero chekugadzirira chepasi uye vasingagoni kufambidzana nevemapoka aripamusoro/anemukundo. Zvakabuda mukufungisisa kwevadzidzi pamusoro pezvavakapinda mazviri/zvavakasangana nazvo zvinopa mamwe manzwisisiro atingashandisa enzira dzatingashingairira nadzo kusimudzira CE mukutsigira vadzidzi kuwana kupinda nekugadzirisa nyaya dzekururamisira munezvezivo mudzidzo yepamusoro. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
The practical implications of taxing the informal sector in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Mashate, Fredy
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Informal sector (Economics) Taxation Zimbabwe , Small business Taxation Law and legislation Zimbabwe , Tax administration and procedure Zimbabwe , Taxpayer compliance Zimbabwe , Taxation Public opinion , Zimbabwe. Revenue Authority , Informal sector (Economics) Taxation Tanzania , Informal sector (Economics) Taxation Ghana
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/357594 , vital:64758
- Description: The taxation of informal sector business is increasingly becoming a topical issue in many developing countries, and Zimbabwe is no exception. The Zimbabwean government has been experiencing shrinking revenue in the wake of an increased informal sector and a declining formal sector. In an effort to broaden the tax base and increase revenue for government in Zimbabwe, presumptive tax levied against certain informal sector activities was first introduced in 2005 and later expanded to other sectors. Despite the effort, the informal sector has responded with low tax morale and non-compliance, which creates the need to reassess the current administrative strategies in a bid to build a successful tax system for the informal sector. The main goal of the research is to establish clear, innovative and practical administrative strategies that can be adopted by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority in taxing the informal sector in Zimbabwe. An initial investigation was done to identify the current state of affairs in relation to informal sector taxation in Zimbabwe. A number of challenges were recorded and the research the sought to learn from examples of recent innovation in administrative strategies successfully applied in taxing the informal sector in other jurisdictions like Tanzania and Ghana. Learning from these examples, a number of practical administrative strategies that are mindful of the Zimbabwean economic context were proposed. , Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Commerce, Accounting, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
The process of thicket encroachment in semi-arid savanna: community patterns and biotic interactions
- Authors: Nell, Rhys
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Scrub encroachment , Savanna ecology , Biotic interaction , Plant nutrients , Plant-water relationships
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/364966 , vital:65666
- Description: Bush encroachment in savannas is widespread in South Africa and is concerning, from both socio-economic and conservation viewpoints, as it affects ecosystem services, functioning and productivity. This phenomenon depends on multiple factors such as history, vegetation, management and environmental conditions, and their interplay. Encroachment into savannas has been relatively well-documented, however understanding of the different roles of tree-tree interactions between species that occur during this process is still limited. This includes the interactions causing spatial patterning, or how interactions and outcomes change over time in terms of encroachment succession from open savanna to closed-canopy thicket. The main objectives of this research are to document thicket establishment in a savanna ecosystem and consider the ecological roles of the key woody species and the abiotic properties of their micro-sites. Determining interactive effects of species co-occurrence is critical to understanding or predicting patterns and changes in biodiversity, nutrient distribution and available water resources. It is also imperative in determining correct and effective land management practices, particularly for reducing bush encroachment and its negative effect on rangelands. All data were collected on Endwell farm, located in the Smaldeel region of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Endwell farm is a semi-arid savanna with a mean annual rainfall of 730 mm. First, I examine and describe the thicket encroachment process by exploring the associations between species and their size classes in the field. This was done by using plot-based belt transects and looking at changes in species size-class compositions from early to late successional stages. Association rules (market basket) analysis was used to identify the most common species size-class association patterns. The association between the savanna tree Vachellia karroo and the thicket pioneer Scutia myrtina was the most prevalent at all stages, with V. karroo being central to all associations in the first stage of encroachment; during later stages of encroachment, associations shift to incorporating other thicket pioneer species. The demography and clump formation of S. myrtina was strongly linked to associations with V. karroo to initiate bush clump formation. Results suggest that mature V. karroo facilitate the establishment and growth of S. myrtina. These two species were the focus of more detailed investigations to explore the nature and magnitude of their interspecific interactions. I then examined the effects of pairwise tree interactions between V. karroo and S. myrtina on soil and leaf nutrient content. I measureddifferences betweeninter-canopy and sub-canopy soil nutrient content, and the effect of associations on plant leaf nutrients, between pair-size combinations and individual controls. Results confirmed that pair-size tree interactions affected both soil nutrient and leaf nutrient content. All individuals increased soil K, N and organic C in the sub-canopy, while association with V. karrooincreased S. myrtinafoliar N, Pand K. In contrast, association with S. myrtinaloweredV. karroofoliar N, P and K. Small S. myrtina individuals werefound to benefit most from establishing and growing next to a large V. karroo individual, through mechanisms affecting soil and foliar nutrients. Scutia myrtina individuals establishing in association with smaller size classes of V. karroo showed no significant effects. I tested for positive and negative effects of pairwise tree interactions between Vachellia karroo and Scutia myrtina on available soil water and plant water potential (Ψ). This was done by looking at differences betweeninter-canopy and sub-canopy soil moisture and bulk density and associations on plant water stress (pre-dawn and mid-day leaf Ψ), between pair-size combinations and individual controls. I also selectively removed large V. karroo individuals from pairs to confirm the effects of competition andfacilitation. Similar to other studies, results confirmed positive and negative effects of pairwise tree interactions. Small S. myrtina individuals weremost facilitated by establishing and growing up next to a large V. karroo individual, through mechanisms affecting soil water content, bulk density and leaf Ψ. Scutia myrtina establishing in association with other size classes of V. karroo were much less facilitated, showing no significant effects. In contrast, large S. myrtina showed competitive interactions with V. karroo. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Botany, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
The soul of Mozambique: an autoethnographic and performance-based study on the correlation of glabalisation, Chopi people migrations and the reinterpretation of timbila music in Mozambique
- Authors: Bande Júnior, Venâncio
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Timbila , Chopi (African people) Mozambique , Music festivals Mozambique , Traditional knowledge , Music and globalization , Modernity , Traditional folk music
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/406818 , vital:70310
- Description: This is an autoethnographic and performance-based study on the correlation between indigenous and modern cultures. It discusses the influence of globalisation, modernity, and of the Chopi people migrations to Maputo, the main city of Mozambique and to gold and platinum mines in South Africa, on timbila music. Timbila is both the name of a musical instrument (xylophone) and of a cultural manifestation, practiced by the Chopi people from Mozambique. It is one of the most documented music and dance cultures in Mozambique and was proclaimed as a masterpiece of the oral and immaterial heritage of humanity by UNESCO in 2005. The oldest references by Father Andre Fernandes date from the 16th century. However, the most well-known timbila sources were written and recorded by Hugh Tracey, the founder of the International Library of African Music (ILAM), from 1940s. All these sources were based on traditional timbila music. None refers to contemporary timbila music, which is a mixture of timbila with Western musical instruments. The research is thus based on both historical and is new research to understand the role of the phenomena mentioned above to the reinterpretation of timbila music over the time. Performance based and autoethnography methods were selected because of my role as a pedagogue of the music and culture of timbila, allowing me to express my knowledge on this cultural expression. Literature review and interviews are the two procedures of data collecting employed to get an understanding of the research methods; the phenomena of modernity, globalisation and of the Chopis migration for the searching of better living conditions in Maputo and South Africa; and the approaches of different scholars who have written about timbila. The use of these methods and methodologies, allowed me to conclude that, Chopis migrations, modernity and globalisation has allowed the emergence of a modern version of timbila music; internationalisation and dissemination of this musical expression; and contributes to the extinction of traditional timbila orchestras in Zavala. Despite considerable studies on timbila music and culture, this thesis is important and pioneering, from the perspective of studying the influence of Chopis migrations, globalisation and modernity on timbila and is one of the few sources that approach the contemporary timbila music. , Thesis (MMus) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
Towards an improved understanding of episodic benthic turbidity events (Benthic Nepheloid Layer) on the Eastern Agulhas Bank, South Africa
- Authors: Johnstone, Brett Mordaunt
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Nepheloid layer , Turbidity , Loligo reynaudii , Fisheries South Africa , Oceanography , Remote sensing , Altimetry , Climatic changes
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/362883 , vital:65371
- Description: The harvest of Loligo reynaudii, or "chokka," represents a critical source of revenue and job creation in the historically impoverished Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Due to the importance of visual stimuli in the reproductive processes, it has been hypothesized that a primary driver of successful reproduction is the clarity of the water column. The presence of increased particulate matter concentrations within the water column generates turbid conditions near the seafloor (visibility < 1m), that are proposed to restrict spawning activity. This benthic nepheloid layer (BNL) contains both organic and inorganic components, with the BNL intensity a function of bottom turbulence, substratum type, and detritus level. However, the spatial and temporal resolution of BNL intensity on the Eastern Agulhas Bank (EAB) and the environmental drivers thereof remain unknown. Here we show that benthic turbidity events are a common but highly variable occurrence on the EAB. Results from a 17-month time-series of in-situ and remote sensing data between 2002 – 2004 in Algoa Bay, supplemented by experiments in other bays important for spawning, show that turbid conditions existed for ∼ 30 % of the sample period. Exploration of environmental drivers, including the influence of wind, altimeter-derived significant wave height (Hs), sea surface temperature (SST), and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations indicate that BNL intensity does not conform to a "one-size-fits-all" approach. Rather, complex local hydrological and physiochemical parameters control the BNL characteristics on the EAB. Global warming is likely to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme westerly-wind and storm events, promoting BNL events on the Eastern Agulhas Bank and possibly causing a shift in the reproductive strategy of chokka squid to the cooler mid shelf region. This is likely to have consequences for both the species in terms of reproductive success and the fishery, which is concentrated on inshore spawning aggregations. Future research needs to quantify and characterize the constituents, source particles and spatial-temporal variability of BNL events in order to build a predictive capacity. Through incorporating the qualitative analysis of the dynamics of nepheloid layers on the EAB into Regional Oceanographic Models (ROMS), General Linear Models (GLM) and particle distribution models such as DELFT-3D, it is possible to move toward predicting the timing and intensity of these events. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
“Around Hip Hop” : rethinking and reconstructing urban youth identities in South Africa - a case study of Fingo Village, Makhanda
- Authors: Futshane, Luniko
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Hip-hop South Africa Makhanda , Urban youth South Africa Makhanda , Youth development South Africa Makhanda , Social change , Multiculturalism , Black Consciousness Movement of South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/406760 , vital:70305
- Description: The main objective of this thesis is to investigate how conscious hip hop culture is used to reconstruct and influence urban youth identities in South Africa, in the case of Fingo Village, Makhanda. In addition, it aims to understand how the South African conscious hip hop scene, appropriated from the West, can be used to shape the identities of the urban youth, instead of the materialistic commercial/mainstream gangsta rap that is currently dominating popular culture and media today. Kellner’s (1995: 10) multicultural critical approach is appropriate for this thesis, as it “provides a critical multiculturalist politics and media pedagogy that aims to make people sensitive to the relations of power and domination which are encoded in cultural texts, such as those of television and film, or new technologies and media such as Internet, and social networking”. Moreover, in the words of Cvetkovich and Kellner (cited in Dolby, 2010:11), this dissertation “investigates the increasing influence of global popular culture and its possibility to equip the urban youth with new sources of identification”, as well as opportunities for social change. In Makhanda, rappers, community activists, B-Boy crews, graffiti artists, spoken-word poets, photographers, and journalists all assembled in Fingo Village for the social event Around Hip Hop, at the multipurpose Fingo square, between 2011 and 2019. Today, Around Hip Hop is an arts based organization that produces hip hop mixtapes, short documentaries, and educational events aimed at creating a cross-cultural exchange and increasing awareness of South African politics. Around Hip Hop has hosted various events, dialogues, and performances where hip hop is used as a cultural expression, which continuously creates spaces for the urban youth to rethink and reconstruct their identities; not only as artists, but as audience members as well. Events, such as The Return of the Cypher, Intyatyamo Elityeni, and Business beyond Fingo Festival all form part of Around Hip Hop. The Return of the Cypher is an open music event, where rappers, usually gathered in a circular formation with one or more artists performing in the middle, showcase their skills. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight local hip hop artists in Makhanda, in order to investigate how conscious hip hop is used to rethink and reconstruct urban youth identities. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
Exploring the value of an educational partnership within a multilingual pre-school setting
- Authors: Maritz, Anneliese
- Date: 2022-10-04
- Subjects: Early childhood education Parent participation South Africa Eastern Cape , Early childhood teachers Training of , Home and school South Africa Eastern Cape , Parent-teacher relationships South Africa Eastern Cape , Communication and education South Africa Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/327111 , vital:61082 , DOI 10.21504/10962/327111
- Description: This modest research project was situated in a multilingual Early Childhood Development (ECD) setting in the Eastern Cape (EC) province of South Africa. In the context of high levels of poverty and unemployment in the EC, issues such as under-funding, the nature of the training of practitioners, translating the importance of learning through play into practice, difficulties dealing with diverse cultural practices and the use of multiple languages, all impact ECD provision. Research has shown that parental involvement and creating parent-school partnerships can assist children to progress at school. The overall objectives of this project were to explore how a team in an ECD centre might communicate more effectively with parents and how early stimulation practices in home and school might benefit the child’s development. The theoretical framework draws upon Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural historical theory, Bernstein’s (1971) elaborated and restricted language codes and Bourdieu’s (1977) concepts of social reproduction. A research project in the Netherlands Thuis in School, used an education partnership approach (Iliás et al., 2019). They developed a manual that was adapted for our local context by drawing from the theories mentioned, and to counter the dominant approaches where parenting programs have often been offered from a deficit, narrow perspective. Action Research guided the interventionist approach to workshop sessions, to enable mutual capacity-building of parents and practitioners. To ensure informed consent, participants’ first languages were used. High risk factors related to photographs and videos of participating parents and minor children were successfully addressed. Pre- and post-interviews and workshop data were analysed using template analysis, within a constructivist paradigm. Findings include vignettes to introduce the contexts and parents' ideas prior to the sessions. Then, sessions are summarised as action cycles, with key participants' responses. Finally, post-session evaluations highlight the topics the parents found most meaningful; and parents’ and practitioner accounts of changes in practices. This research illustrates ways that educational partnership elements can influence practice and policy, to improve home and school environments for the benefit of children. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-04
Digital finance and poverty in selected Sub-Saharan Countries
- Authors: Dube, Ziphozethu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4532-5346
- Date: 2022-10
- Subjects: Electronic funds transfers , Transmission mechanism (Monetary policy)
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23347 , vital:57616
- Description: Since the 21st century, digital finance has emerged as a critical enabler and an excellent tool for meeting the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through increasing financial inclusion and poverty reduction. The objective of achieving universal financial access by 2030 has led to recognising that financial inclusion has a significant role in economic growth and poverty eradication. The literature demonstrates that access to finance can affect poverty through access to credit, enabling savings, thereby facilitating intertemporal consumption smoothing. Digital finance is key to unlocking financial inclusion, particularly in developing countries. Building capacity in digital payments is one of the best ways to ensure a faster, better, and more cost-effective way to access financial services. The gender gap in developing countries states that (59% of men were reported to have a bank account in 2014, while 50% of women only had a bank account). Some groups, including women and the rural poor, are financially excluded compared to others. This study applied panel data regression analysis and structural equation modelling to investigate the nature of digital finance, its relationship with poverty and the transmission mechanism from digital finance to poverty in selected Sub-Saharan Countries. The results indicate that remittance is one of the most significant determinants of the use of digital finance in the Sub-Saharan region compared to other determinants of use for digital finance. Regarding the transmission mechanism between digital finance and poverty, the path analysis results suggest that the channel for remittance in the transmission mechanism has a more substantial impact on reducing poverty than savings in the Sub-Saharan region. The study recommends that remittance is essential, but savings are not critical in this digital age. This study contributed to literature by identifying the transmission mechanism between digital finance and poverty. This is beneficial to researchers and policymakers . It provides policy practitioners with a reference point on a model to build upon towards providing solutions to the problem, Sub-Saharan Countries encounter on delivering sustainable and broad-based economic growth. The study concludes by proposing that digital finance, particularly mobile money presents an excellent opportunity to increase access to finance and reduce poverty. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10
Land expropriation without compensation: a study of constructions of the Parliamentary process in selected mainstream and “ground-up” media from 27 February – 12 August 2018
- Authors: Jacobs, Luzuko G
- Date: 2022-10
- Subjects: Discourse analysis , Communication Political aspects South Africa , Land reform Press coverage South Africa , Land reform Government policy South Africa , Communication in mass media , Frames (Sociology) South Africa , Journalism Political aspects South Africa , Moneyweb Holdings Ltd. , City Press (South Africa) , Afriforum (South Africa) , African Farmers’ Association of South Africa (AFASA)
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/297807 , vital:57630 , DOI 10.21504/10962/297807
- Description: This study investigates the constructions of land expropriation without compensation (LEwC) in the discourses of two mainstream media, Moneyweb and City Press, and two ground-up platforms, Afriforum and the African Farmers’ Association of South Africa (AFASA). It follows the February 2018 adoption by Parliament, of LEwC as a policy to reorder the country’s unequal and racially bifurcated economy. The motivations for, and opposition to the policy locate land as ‘the issue’ in conquest and capitalism. How land is signified therefore, is important to the understandings of ‘restitution’ and/or ‘resolution’. The news platforms selected here are diverse: Moneyweb focuses on investments. City Press concerns itself with politics. Afriforum and AFASA are alternative sphericules linked to ethnically- polarised quotidian concerns with land as a key focus. Discourses are central to how citizens see and construct themselves and one another as subjects. As such, media frames can be connected to justice and inter-‘race’ complexities. This is a study of media influences in cultivating certain meanings and understandings of tenuous and fractious political situations characterised by inequality and interracial enmity. The thesis draws from the Epistemologies of the South as well as Marxism to constitute the locus of its enunciation of colonisation, liberal capitalism, land question, justice, ideology, discourse, and framing. This framework is geared towards emic understanding of interrelated local and global contexts of the land question. Conceptual clarity is key to the development of an emancipatory imagination. Qualitative framing analysis and critical discourse analysis are used in this study to examine a diachronic corpus of 124 articles from the four platforms covering 167-days, from the adoption of the LEwC motion through the initial round of public hearings. The findings suggest a strong influence of the structures of coloniality in discourses across a wide political spectrum. The frames and counter-frames in the four platforms are simultaneously divergent and similar. Some are reactionary and conservative, others are liberal-transformational and even radical-prefigurative. All however, orbit around abyssal, North-centric, liberal capitalist normativity as the centripetal centre. The study proposes rethinking of the land question, a radical exorcism from land discourses, of structures of coloniality of power, knowledge, and being. Their mobilisation, predominance and naturalisation in political communication is anti-transformation and helps keep Black South Africans to this day, under the heavy yoke of an oppressive colonial and Apartheid reality as perpetual economic slaves. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10