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The unfair labour practice relating to promotion

  • Authors: Abrahams, Dawood
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Unfair labor practices -- South Africa , Promotions -- South Africa , Labor laws and legislation -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
  • Identifier: vital:11035 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/329 , Unfair labor practices -- South Africa , Promotions -- South Africa , Labor laws and legislation -- South Africa
  • Description: This article deals with the South African law relating to promotions. As promotion disputes mostly arise as alleged unfair labour practices, a short discussion on how the concept of an unfair labour practice developed in South Africa is undertaken. In this regard the common law is studied in order to see whether it makes provision for protection of employees subjected to unfair labour practices relating to promotions. Through this study one soon realises that the common law is in fact inadequate to deal with unfair labour practices relating to promotions, and thus an enquiry into various legislative provisions are undertaken. The impact of the all-important Wiehahn Commission of Enquiry, established in 1979, is also briefly discussed. In this article an attempt is made to define the term ‘promotion’. In this regard reference is made to some cases adjudicated upon by the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (the “CCMA”). The cases referred to seem to favour the view that when one is defining the term ‘promotion’, regard must be had to the employment relationship between the employer and the employee, as well as the nature of the employee’s current work in relation to the work applied for, in order to establish whether in fact a promotion has taken place. It is necessary to consider what unfair conduct is defined as in the context of promotions. It seems that managerial prerogative is at the center of the enquiry into unfair conduct of the employer. Further to the analysis of unfair conduct, various principles that govern both procedural and substantive unfairness are considered. These principles are dealt with separately with reference to case law. Lastly the dispute resolution mechanisms are considered and a brief discussion on remedies is undertaken. The remedies are discussed with reference to case law, as well as the provisions of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 as amended by the Labour Relations Amendment Act 12 of 2002. The broad headings of this article are accordingly unfair labour practices, definition of promotions, unfair conduct of the employer, onus of proof and remedies. It is concluded with the proposition that once an employer has set policies and procedures in place in dealing with promotions, then such an employer should stick to those policies and procedures within the context of the law, as well as within the percepts of the vague and nebulous term of ‘fairness’. Should the employer fail to do so, the majority of cases indicate that such an employer will be guilty of an unfair labour practice relating to promotion.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

Probing learners' conceptual understanding of oxidation and reduction (redox) reactions : a case study

  • Authors: Addam, Billey Bright
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Competency based education -- South Africa Oxidation-reduction reaction -- Study and teaching Science -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1409 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002950
  • Description: The new political dispensation in South Africa has seen a lot of changes taking place. The democratic wind, which has been blowing in all spheres of the political arena, could not leave out Education. This has led to the transformation in education and the revision of the curriculum guided by the Outcomes-Based Education philosophy (OBE). Thus, require education authorities as well as educators to look at education more comprehensively. The challenge posed to educators now is to develop tools and strategies that will make learning accessible to as many learners as possible and to teach for understanding and construction of knowledge. The principal objective of this study was to investigate the important role the learner's prior knowledge plays and the use of different tools and strategies in stimulating conceptual understanding and construction of knowledge of redox reactions. This was done using learners' own investigations, practical activities, teaching settings and a workshop. The findings show that the learners lacked organized and structured prior knowledge. Learners could not integrate prior experience with new experience. The main issue seems to be the failure of learners to relate classroom experience to everyday redox phenomena. Possible reasons are discussed with some implications for teaching redox. The study further postulates that to assist learners to develop conceptual understanding of redox reactions, different tools and strategies should be employed and teaching made relevant to real-life situations. In so doing, redox concepts would not be abstract to learners.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

A resource-based learning approach to professional development: the case of the ACEE (Rhodes University Advanced Certificate in Environmental Education)

  • Authors: Agria Russo, Vladimir Kiluange
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Rhodes University Advanced Certificate in Environmental Education Teaching -- Aids and devices -- South Africa Environmental education -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1741 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003625
  • Description: This interpretative case study derives and examines the characterising features of the resource-based learning approach used in the Rhodes University Advanced Certificate in Environmental Education (ACEE), particularly in Module 1 (Environment and Environmental Issues) and Module 3 (Contemporary Environmental Issues). The study explores processes of resource-based learning through the analysis of three individual case stories of participants’ experience in adaptive use of learning support materials in different work contexts. It discusses the relationship between thematic categories related to participants’ experience of assignment work, and course design and course implementation. This study indicates that resource-based learning processes in the ACEE involve curriculum deliberation and the use of resource packs in supporting participants’ practice. It also indicates that the ACEE’s practice-based orientation to workplace-based assignments plays an important role in supporting the adaptive use of learning support materials, encouraging lifelong learning and developing applied competence. It highlights the significance of reflexive narration of practice in improving course participants’ educational practice. A diagrammatic representation of the unfolding and intermeshed characterising features of resource-based learning is presented. The study argues that resource-based learning in the ACEE appears to create possibilities for the course participants to become scaffolders and co-constructors of their own learning. It notes that resource-based learning can enable course participants to take ownership of their educational and workplace needs, and to develop skills and competences necessary to respond to environmental issues and risks in southern Africa. This study examines the potential that the reflexive narration of practice has in supporting course participants to engage in better ways of doing things in their workplace-based contexts. This study provides some recommendations to enhance the Advanced Certificate in Environmental Education as well as some ‘fuzzy generalisations’ that might guide the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Environmental Education Programme (REEP) in the development and adaptation of professional development courses in southern Africa.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

Research portfolio

  • Authors: Amweenye, Fares Frans
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Education -- Namibia Educational change -- Namibia College teachers -- Training of -- Namibia Curriculum planning -- Namibia Teaching -- Namibia Universities and colleges -- Curricula
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1730 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003613
  • Description: What is the portfolio and what are its purposes? I must define the portfolio as a summative document bearing the valuable experiences learned in a particular course of study. In this context, portfolio can be viewed as a selective entity that represents the level of learning, in terms of academic/professional growth and development, attained in one's participation in a particular course of study such as this Master one I have been attending. Portfolio can be educationally utilized to reflect and evaluate one's learning. As one goes throughout paging, one locates the level of learning achieved in terms of anticipated knowledge, understanding, and experiences, skills and attitudes or overly learning competencies. The level of development one has gone through in attempts to respond to the expected learning outcomes surface out more easily. And if further learning be conducted, the portfolio must as well shows the ways ahead. With these few words, I have attempted to present the portfolio as a useful tool that represents the level of advancement attained in learning. This portfolio comprises of my educational partaking in Rhodes University's master program (theory and practice, in particular what and how I have gained from that program participation. It may also present what I cold not learn. The arrangement of the portfolio contents assumes a progressive procession, being structured in terms of the assignments taken. There are five pieces of assignments in this research portfolio. The first assignment is a contextual analysis of the Education Theory and Practice (ETP) curriculum of our current teacher education program, namely Basic Education Teachers' Diploma. It looks at the theoretical framework that informs and shapes everyday teaching and learning practices, particularly the degree to which we have been able to implement the theoretical perspectives into operational practices. To this is how our college is equipped with the technologies necessary for possible practices of the curriculum. The other emphasis focuses at the historical backgrounds that necessitated the undertaking of the BETD as an instrument of reforming and transforming the basic education rightly at the independence. The other area is on the question of how the curriculum or program intakers, the entering students, have been prepared to consume the curriculum program. Since the program has been as well designed to address and meet the four major national goals of education for all, another part has been focused on these goals so far as to locate the degree of attainment. The second assignment is about contrasting and comparing the two main held dominant worldwide views of knowledge- namely behaviorism and constructivism. Each branch of knowledge is looked at firstly with particular attentions paid to its own individual versions of knowledge and its development and acquisition. The other focuses examine which base seems to offer better explanations of what knowledge is and how it can best be constructed and acquired in any educational setting. The third assignment is that of literature review. I have chosen action as an area that I would be interested in exploring much further. Action research is what eventually became a part of my research proposal in which I would research on how our college students carry out their action research projects to examine their own classroom makings. It has been therefore important to read what others have written about this field and locate the lessons that can be illuminated on our own curriculum context. The literature review paves the way to the research proposal. The research proposal or a research plan as I would often call it, sets the context, purpose, theoretical position and information gathering methods under which the research process will take place. The research proposal has thus been the navigating compass despite the that realities as the practical journey itself took off some deviation unavoidably came in as necessitated by the underlying research process itself. The research proposal finally accumulates into the sought, the final assignment. A critical view illustrates that this piece is actually another contextual inquiry like the first work only that this is viewing our supposed curriculum outcomes: our students, our products and how they have been equipped to carry out the research. Their research, with its successes and shortcomings, I have concluded, firmly serves to reflect the kind of education delivered from our teacher colleges. The portfolio contents also demonstrate the course orientation: focusing on one's professional field. At end, I see this research portfolio as myself, a mirror that reflects my academic and professional participation in Rhodes University's world and its vision and mission expresses in the theme of where leaders learn. It thus represents the personal, academic and development accomplished throughout this Masters' course. In the other way around, I see it as reflecting what Rhodes can offer as from when the prestigious Augustana College, my American institution, has prepared after its boundaries.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

The effect of ozone on the production of broiler

  • Authors: Amwele, Hilma Rantilla
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Broilers (Chickens) , Ozone
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
  • Identifier: vital:10585 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/226 , Broilers (Chickens) , Ozone
  • Description: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of ozone (O3) on mature body weight (MBW), feed conversion rate (FCR), mortality rate (MR) and ammonia (NH3) production of broiler chickens (referred to as “broilers” in this thesis) under controlled conditions. Ozone was used for the purifying of air and water in order to eliminate harmful microorganisms. Two trials were conducted over a twelve week production period. In experiment 1, day old broiler chicks were randomly allocated to a control (n=130) and treatment (n=130) group. The treatment groups were exposed to ozone continuously for the entire period of the trial. Both air and water were ozonated on a 24 hours daily basis, while the control group was reared under normal commercial conditions. In experiment 2: day old broiler chicks were randomly allocated to a control (n=123) and a treatment (n=123) group. The treatment group was exposed to ozone for 3 hours per day for the entire period of the trial. Both air and water were ozonated, where the air was treated for 3 hours/day and the water for 1 hour/day during the entire production period. The control group was reared under normal commercial conditions. The results indicate that broilers exposed to continuous O3 (0.1 ppm) conditions had significantly higher (P< 0.001) mortality rates than the control group. The treatment group had a mortality rate of 55.38% compared to the 5.38% for the control group. No significant difference (P= 0. 2468) for MBW was found between the broilers that were reared in the O3 environment compared to the control iii group. Although the control group were on average 200g heavier at the end of the trial. No significant difference (p = 0. 6143) was recorded in FCR between the O3 and control groups. However the FCR of the broilers treated with O3 was lower by 100g than that of the control group. The O3 significantly (P< 0. 0001) reduced the NH3 in the treatment group. When the trial was repeated with limited exposure to an O3 environment there was no significant difference in MBW (P = 0. 0979), FCR (P = 0. 8913) and MR (P = 0. 1108) between the treatment and control groups. However, ammonia levels were lower in the treatment group compared to the control group. When the data was further analyzed comparing the two trials, the results indicated that there was no significant difference (P = 0. 4112) in the MBW for the broilers reared under normal conditions (control group) from experiment 1 and experiment 2, while a significant difference (P = 0. 0002) was recorded between the broilers reared under continuous O3 and regulated O3 conditions from experiment 1 and experiment 2 respectively. When the FCR data was analyzed using the Gompertz equation a significant difference (P = 0.0403) in the FCR of broilers reared in the control group between experiment 1 and experiment 2 was recorded (Table 8). No significant difference (P = 0.3226) in the FCR of broilers raised under O3 conditions of continuous and regulated O3 production were reported between experiment 1 and experiment 2. A highly significant difference (P = 0. 0001) in the MR of broilers reared under ozone conditions was recorded between experiment 1 and experiment 2. In experiment 1, the MR was 55.38% while in experiment 2 the MR was only 8.78%. A significant difference (P = 0.0355) was also recorded in the MR of broilers that iv were raised in the control groups between experiment 1 and experiment 2. The MR for broilers in the control group was 5.38% in experiment 1 and for experiment 2 it was 9.74%. The mortality rate of broilers raised in the control groups conditions increased by approximately 4% points or 81% between experiment 1 and experiment 2. The level (0.1 ppm) of ozone production had a limited effect on the MBW and FCR of broilers, however it is evident that ozone is toxic to broilers when they are exposed to a continuous ozonated environment. Ozone was however effective in controlling ammonia levels.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

DDC344b-03.mp3

  • Authors: Andrew
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/343282 , vital:62991
  • Description: Classical piano unaccompanied
  • Full Text: false
  • Date Issued: 2004

An interdisciplinary cruise dedicated to understanding ocean eddies upstream of the Prince Edward Islands

  • Authors: Ansorge, Isabelle J , Froneman, P William , Lutjeharms, Johan R E , Bernard, Kim S , Lange, Louise , Lukáč, D , Backburg, B , Blake, Justin D , Bland, S , Burls, N , Davies-Coleman, Michael T , Gerber, R , Gildenhuys, S , Hayes-Foley, P , Ludford, A , Manzoni, T , Robertson, E , Southey, D , Swart, S , Van Rensburg, D , Wynne, S
  • Date: 2004
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6830 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007566
  • Description: A detailed hydrographic and biological survey was carried out in the region of the South-West Indian Ridge during April 2004. Altimetry and hydrographic data have identified this region as an area of high flow variability. Hydrographic data revealed that here the Subantarctic Polar Front (SAF) and Antarctic Polar Front (APF) converge to form a highly intense frontal system. Water masses identified during the survey showed a distinct separation in properties between the northwestern and southeastern corners. In the north-west, water masses were distinctly Subantarctic (>8.5°C, salinity >34.2), suggesting that the SAF lay extremely far to the south. In the southeast corner water masses were typical of the Antarctic zone, showing a distinct subsurface temperature minimum of <2.5°C. Total integrated chl-a concentration during the survey ranged from 4.15 to 22.81 mg chl-a m[superscript (-2)], with the highest concentrations recorded at stations occupied in the frontal region. These data suggest that the region of the South-West Indian Ridge represents not only an area of elevated biological activity but also acts as a strong biogeographic barrier to the spatial distribution of zooplankton.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

From imifino to umfuno : a case study foregrounding indigenous agricultural knowledge in school-based curriculum development

  • Authors: Asafo-Adjei, Robert Tetteh
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Plants, Edible -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Wild plants, Edible -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Human-plant relationships -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Endemic plants -- South Africa Agricultural education Agriculture -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1829 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003731
  • Description: This work is a school-based case study conducted amongst learners of a rural High School and the immediate community in Whittlesea in the Eastern Cape where I teach. The research was conducted by using different research methods such as worksheets, questionnaires, interviews, practical activities and observations as well as photographs to investigate three indigenous wild local vegetable food plants (imifino). The fundamental assumption of the research is that, imifino can be looked after and cared for, to become valuable vegetable food plants which can be used as supplements to the cultivated vegetable food plants (umfuno). The question was: How could this concept be brought into the curriculum? It had also been assumed that bringing knowledge of imifino into curriculwn contexts could be of benefit to South African learners. The study produced a variety of findings: • There is a general feeling that those who eat imifino are the poor. • There is a lack of interest among women interviewed in the preparation process, for example going to pick the food plants from the fields, washing them and preparing the leaves as food. • AmaXhosa males look upon eating imifino with contempt. • Some males among the younger generation are beginning to overlook tradition and are eating imifino. • Inclusion of indigenous agricultural knowledge in the curriculum was supported by learners and community members. Learners have interest in knowing about indigenous food plants. • Learners feel as Africans that they must learn about the indigenous food plants in school in order not to lose knowledge of these plants completely. • The study also identified that interpretation of learning outcomes with an indigenous knowledge focus, requires careful attention to socio-cultural factors, and not just technical/ practical factors. Previous knowledge of learners and community members about imifino was mobilized to develop a sample OBE learning programme unit (LPU /Lesson plan) for the Grade 10 FET of Agricultural Science curriculum. The case study illustrates that Learning outcome 3 of the Agricultural Science subject can be achieved if educators involve learners and community members in developing learning programmes.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

A statistical evaluation and analysis of mosquito repellent combination

  • Authors: Asquith, Ilse Bernadette
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Mosquitoes -- Control , Insect baits and repellents
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:10422 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1015732
  • Description: The present product development project was aimed at studying the synergism and/or antagonism amongst various known insect repellent actives with the view to formulating a multi-active repellent product with improved properties when compared to current single-active commercial products. Advanced statistical methods were used to identify synergism between individual active substances and to define a formulation as close as possible to the “ideal” formulation. Several mosquito repellent samples were prepared and sent to the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) in Pretoria to test for their efficiency in repelling mosquitoes. From the results of the repellency tests of the various active combinations, three actives were identified that showed promising signs of synergism. These actives were then studied in further detail to determine their optimum combination. In addition, it was shown that when using a natural flavourant as promoter and incorporating a slow-release agent into formulations for aerosols and lotions, a product is obtained that gives comparable levels of efficiency to current commercial products, but at much reduced levels of active loading. Accelerated stability tests performed on the final combination of the three actives used in the final formulation showed no adverse reactions over a three-week study. These tests shall be repeated once the final application form (lotion, aerosol, etc) and product packing have been decided.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

Scientific evaluation in women’s participatory management: monitoring marine invertebrate refugia in the Solomon Islands

  • Authors: Aswani, Shankar , Weiant, Pamela
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/439983 , vital:73725 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.17730/humo.63.3.r7kgd4thktmyf7k1"
  • Description: This paper summarizes the results of a women’s community-based marine protected area that has been successful in sustaining invertebrate biological resources and in promoting strong community support. We outline the project and the associated biological results, describe the processes involved in attaining a committed level of community participation, and review the lessons learned during the project’s implementation. We attribute the project’s preliminary success—improved shellfish biomass, enhanced local environmental awareness, and the reinvigoration of cultural management practices—to the following factors: 1) the high level of participatory involvement and community leadership; 2) the local perception that shell beds have recovered rapidly and the role that scientific evaluation has played in reinforcing this notion; 3) a research program that is cross-fertilizing indigenous and scientific ecological knowledge; 4) the unique marine tenure system that allows for the project’s development and the area’s policing; and 5) the tangible economic incentives created by the development project, which ultimately empowers local women. We hope that the project’s findings can be generalized to other regions of the world with operational sea-tenure regimes and that it can help to make the establishing of community-based marine protected areas (CBMPAs) across the Pacific region more effective.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

The value of many small vs. few large marine protected areas in the Western Solomon Islands

  • Authors: Aswani, Shankar , Hamilton, Richard
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/440050 , vital:73731
  • Description: Scientists and policy makers are universally promoting marine protected areas (MPAs) as a fisheries and ecosystem management tool. Experts generally agree that MPAs, particularly fully protected “no-take” zones, can enhance spawning stock biomass, allow for larval dispersal and the export of adults to adjacent non-protected areas, maintain species diversity, preserve habitat, and sustain ecosystem function (eg Bergen and Carr 2003; Johnson et al. 1999; Russ and Alcala 1999). In the case of tropical multi-species fisheries, in which absolute yields are difficult to predict and in which there are multiple users and fishing techniques, marine reserves also can act as precautionary tools to prevent overexploitation. Considering that orthodox fisheries management strategies have generally failed to prevent overfishing globally, the inception of MPAs as a management tool is of particular preventive significance (Russ 2002). Proponents of MPAs have broadly debated the appropriate size and number of MPAs that should be established in order to produce what a particular management prescription proposes to deliver. Some scientists argue that for MPAs to be effective they should cover areas in the magnitude of hundreds or even thousands of square miles, depending upon the type of environment (eg Beattie et al. 2002; Man et al. 1995; Walters 2000). Others have suggested that from a fisheries enhancement perspective, many small reserves in a network are preferred over fewer, larger reserves (eg Roberts et al. 2003). Other debates have centred on how much attention should be paid to science-driven vs. stakeholder-driven considerations when designing MPAs (eg Agardy 1997; Alder et al. 2002; Christie et al. 2003; Jones 2002).
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  • Date Issued: 2004

Integrating indigenous ecological knowledge and customary sea tenure with marine and social science for conservation of bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) in the Roviana Lagoon, Solomon Islands

  • Authors: Aswani, Shankar , Hamilton, Richard
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/439945 , vital:73722 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S037689290400116X"
  • Description: Indigenous ecological knowledge and customary sea tenure may be integrated with marine and social science to conserve the bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) in the Roviana Lagoon, Western Solomon Islands. Three aspects of indigenous ecological knowledge in Roviana were identified as most relevant for the management and conservation of bumphead parrotfish, and studied through a combination of marine science and anthropological methods. These were (1) local claims that fishing pressure has had a significant impact on bumphead parrotfish populations in the Roviana Lagoon; (2) the claim that only small bumphead parrotfish were ever seen or captured in the inner lagoon and that very small fish were restricted to specific shallow inner-lagoon nursery regions; and (3) assertions made by local divers that bumphead parrotfish predominantly aggregated at night around the new moon period and that catches were highest at that time. The research supported claims (1) and (2), but did not support proposition (3). Although the people of the Roviana Lagoon had similar conceptions about their entitlement rights to sea space, there were marked differences among regional villages in their opinions regarding governance and actual operational rules of management in the Lagoon. Contemporary differences in management strategies resulted from people's historical and spatial patterns of settlement across the landscape and adjoining seascapes, and the attendant impact of these patterns on property relations. This was crucial in distinguishing between those villages that held secure tenure over their contiguous sea estates from those that did not. Indigenous ecological knowledge served to (1) verify that the bumphead parrotfish was a species in urgent need of protection; (2) explain how different habitats structured the size distribution of bumphead parrotfish; (3) identify sensitive locations and habitats in need of protection; and (4) explain the effect of lunar periodicity on bumphead parrotfish behaviour and catch rates. Secure customary sea tenure identified locations best suited to bumphead parrotfish management programmes, with a greater likelihood for local participation and programme success. The information was used to establish two marine protected areas in the region for bumphead parrotfish conservation.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

A phenomenological exploration of adoptive parents' motivation for and experience of transracial adoption in South Africa

  • Authors: Attwell, Terry-Anne
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Interracial adoption -- South Africa , Race awareness in children -- South Africa , Prejudices in children -- South Africa , Adoption -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Children's rights -- South Africa , South Africa -- Race relations
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2927 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002436 , Interracial adoption -- South Africa , Race awareness in children -- South Africa , Prejudices in children -- South Africa , Adoption -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Children's rights -- South Africa , South Africa -- Race relations
  • Description: Prior to the democratic elections of 1994, South Africa was daunted by legislation flooded with racial segregation. Adoption across racial lines is, because of South Africa’s racially segregated past, a relatively recent phenomenon in this country. The number of legal adoptions has increased dramatically, especially after its legalization in 1991. Parents may adopt across racial lines for an array of different reasons, from not being able to conceive a baby, to wanting to give a child the best opportunity in life. This study explored the experiences of white parents who have adopted black children, paying particular attention to how they deal with issues of “racial” identity. In-depth interviews were used to generate qualitative data pertaining to the parental perceptions of their motivation for, and experiences of adopting a child transracially in South Africa. The study aimed to explore their motivation for adopting and experiences, as well as issues relating to “racial” identity. Recommendations have been made to assist parents who are interested in adopting transracially. The report presents findings relating to the unique characteristics of the participants who have adopted transracially. These include adopters’ motivation and thought processes before taking the relevant steps to adopt transracially; the support that they have received from others in their decision to adopt transracially; communication patterns; their relevant concerns regarding the future of their adopted child; and issues pertaining to race, culture, heritage, prejudices and stereotypes. The findings suggest that parents were pragmatic, without regrets, in their views about adopting across racial lines. The parents’ motivations for adopting across racial lines were very similar to various perspectives, but were all due to the fact that they were unable to have biological children. Parents were aware of the child’s identity and cultural issues, which may be more perceptible in the future. Their perceptions, views and opinions, and the future concerns of their children were not unrealistic. Due to the children’s young age a follow-up study of these children should be considered.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

"Speak American"! or language, power and education in Dearborn, Michigan: a case study of Arabic heritage learners and their community

  • Authors: Ayouby, Kenneth Kahtan
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Arabic language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Michigan -- Dearborn , Education and language -- Michigan -- Dearborn
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DEd
  • Identifier: vital:11015 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/369 , Arabic language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Michigan -- Dearborn , Education and language -- Michigan -- Dearborn
  • Description: This study examines the history and development of the “Arabic as a foreign language” (AFL) programme in Dearborn Public Schools (in Michigan, the United States) in its socio-cultural and political context. More specifically, this study examines the significance of Arabic to the Arab immigrant and ethnic community in Dearborn in particular, but with reference to meanings generated and associated to Arabic by non- Arabs in the same locale. Although this study addresses questions similar to research conducted on Arab Americans in light of anthropological and sociological theoretical constructs, it is, however, unique in examining education and Arabic pedagogy in Dearborn from an Arab American studies and an educational multi-cultural perspective, predicated on/and drawing from Edward Said’s critique of Orientalism, Paulo Freire’s ideas about education, and Henry Giroux’s concern with critical pedagogy. In the American mindscape, the "East" has been the theatre of the exotic, the setting of the Other from colonial times to the present. The Arab and Muslim East have been constructed to represent an opposite of American culture, values and life. Through the agency of conflation, Arab (and Muslim) Americans are accordingly lumped together with people from abroad, making for their status as permanent outsiders. Thus, if the American Self represents an ideal, the inhabitants of this oppositional world of Arabs and Islam (an Anti-world) represent an Anti-self. A source of fear and object of hate and prejudice, this Anti-self is the object of derision and anything connected with it (e.g. language, customs, religion, etc.) becomes suspect and is devalued by association. This document has two objectives: First, to present an historical account of this context, and, secondly, to shed light on how and why things that are associated with Arab Americans in Dearborn are devalued. This is achieved by addressing the developments of meanings (of actions and symbols) in their American context, and how they have shaped (and still shape) the local culture's depiction of and understanding of Arab (and Muslim) Americans. Therefore, Arab American issues of language, culture and societal interactions should be understood as constituting a stream of American life, which represent a dimension of the total American experience, past and present, that is best understood through the paradigm of American studies. Viewing this experience as a cultural whole rather than as a series of unrelated fragments (e.g. immigration waves and settlement patterns, religious and state affiliations, assimilation and preservation debates), Arab American culture and issues begin to shine through as an organic and holistic experience whose characteristics are shared with other groups, suggesting research on this community is equally generalisable to others. ii As an academic work, this document promotes an understanding of the Arab American experience from an interdisciplinary point of view through focusing on the phenomenon of language in the community with emphasis placed on the AFL experience at school. Therefore, it is a broadly-framed outlook that permits, in an introductory way, a view of the richness of the Arab American experience, particularly in Dearborn, Michigan, as part of the American experience. Data were collected using two surveys, one for AFL students at a high school, and another was administered to adults in the community—in Dearborn. In addition, an action-research-based effort, individual personal interviews and focus groups were conducted with stakeholders in the community: parents/community members, teachers/school personnel and students, utilising personal involvement in understanding and analysing the data. Also, the study referred to archival and documentary evidence available in the school system. Four hypotheses regarding importance/significance and utility of Arabic were offered and tested by means of qualitative, interpretive analysis. Findings included: (1) Arab Americans valued Arabic as an emblem of their community in Dearborn, suggesting its employment as an indicator of political empowerment. (2) Conversely, in the non-Arab community Arabic was observed as a mark of the Other, and an artefact of ethnic retrenchment and rejection of assimilation. (3) Interestingly, however, development of English language competence emerged as a major concern in the community, outweighing Arabic language preservation. (4) While, language maintenance efforts in the community were observed as minimal, especially at the organisational level, and support for such programmes was marginal to nil. (5) Additionally, Arabic, while not the object of a desire to master as a medium of communication, was observed to signify a special symbol of heritage for Arab American youth in the Dearborn community, who may have rejected their parents’ ideas about learning Arabic, but had developed their own. (6) What is more, Arab American youth were observed developing a viable hybridised identity, whose mainstay is being “Arabic”, despite the dominance of English and Euro-Anglo cultural norms. (7) At the institutional level, Arabic was observed devalued in the school setting due to its association with Arabs, Islam, Arab Americans, and immigration. (8) Moreover, relations between Arab Americans and non-Arab Americans in the school system seems to have been equally impacted by this process of devaluation, furthering the cause of stigmatisation, prejudice and racism.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

Financial liberalization, currency substitution and savings in Nigeria: Evidence from cointegration and error correction modeling

  • Authors: Aziakpono, Meshach J , Babatope-Obasa, Sanmi
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/469837 , vital:77299 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC31436
  • Description: The study set out to test the McKinnon-Shaw proposition that financial liberalization will significantly increase savings mobilization. The results partly supported the financial liberalization proposition. Variables that capture the effects of currency substitution such as the interest rate differential, a proxy for underground economy, the inflation differential (as a measure of macroeconomic instability) and a dummy for political instability were significant in their adverse impacts on the saving mobilization process in Nigeria. We, therefore, advocate for an active monetary policy that will help manage the delicate balance between domestic and foreign interest rates. This should be combined with macroeconomic policies that create a stable economic environment along with appropriate financial and exchange rate policies, in order to discourage economic agents from preferring foreign denominated assets to those held in the domestic currency.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

Determinants of financial intermediation in the SACU countries: Preliminary evidence from a panel data analysis

  • Authors: Aziakpono, Meshach J
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/469687 , vital:77278
  • Description: The study explores empirically five macroeconomic determinants of financial intermediation, namely: growth in income, level of real income, inflation rate, exchange rate and interest rate spread in five SACU countries. Employing four measures of financial intermediation, an equilibrium model of financial intermediation was estimated using a system seemingly unrelated regression panel estimator. The fixed effect and country-specific coefficients were obtained and interpreted. The level of income and exchange rate were the most important determinants of financial intermediation among the countries. In line with theoretical models, which indicate that the level of economic growth can accelerate the process of financial intermediation, in three of the countries - Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, a very significant positive relationship between level of income and the indexes of financial intermediation was observed. But for Lesotho and Swaziland, a reverse relationship was obtained. This may be due to negative externalities from the more developed financial sectors of South Africa resulting from the economic and monetary integration. The results on the exchange rate highlight the need for a stable and predictable exchange rate policy in order to stimulate financial intermediation. Also, the results confirm the potential for inflation to negatively affect financial intermediation. Lastly, the results relating to interest rate spread highlight how high levels of the spread can prevent deep financial intermediation.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

'Environmental policy to community action': methodology and approaches in community-based environmental education programmes in Uganda

  • Authors: Babikwa, Daniel J
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Environmental education -- Uganda -- Case studies Education and state -- Uganda Community development -- Uganda -- Case studies Sustainable development -- Uganda -- Case studies Environmental policy -- Uganda -- Case studies
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:1518 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003400
  • Description: This research was conducted in Luwero, a rural district in central Uganda, over a period of three years, half of which entailed fulltime engagement in a participatory action research process with VEDCO, an indigenous NGO. The study focuses on the educational processes involved in the translation of Uganda's environmental policy into action at community level. It looks at community-based education and development activities run by VEDCO among smallholder farmers. The study addressed four objectives. For the first objective I developed a conceptual framework through a review of theories informing education in general and environmental education, adult education, community education, and community development in particular. The second objective was to conduct a situational analysis to identify contextual issues related to policy implementation at community level. The third objective was to engage in a participatory action research process with the NGO in the farming community in response to the identified contextual issues, and the fourth was to explore and comment on environmental education methods used within a community context. PRA techniques, interviews, and other participatory data collection methods were used to generate the data. The study reveals contradictions that limit NGO capacity to make appropriate use of participatory education processes in implementing policy-related training at community level. Elements in the National Plan for the Modernisation of Agriculture, for example, conflicted with the principle of sustainable development underlying the policy. VEDCO itself was changing from a social-welfare-oriented organisation into a commercial enterprise pursuing economic goals, which conflicted with its social goals. The capitalist development ideology of the donor was being adopted by VEDCO, which contradicted the goals of people-centred development. This was exacerbated by VEDCO's dependency on donor funds for its activities. Contextual issues like people's history; poverty, gender and inconsistent land policies further complicated the policy implementation processes. There were also inconsistencies in the epistemological assumptions and didactic approaches evident in the implementation. The study shows that the intended emancipatory education processes are more often supplanted by technicist methodologies. Thus, it exposes the underlying historical, ideological and epistemological tensions and contradictions within the field of education, particularly in relation to the `paradigmatic' orientations (neo-classical, liberal and socially critical/emancipatory) outlined in the literature. Conclusions are made at two levels: in relation to the study goals, of examining policy implementation at community level and in terms of the study's contribution to the understanding of current education theory in the context of sustainable development among communities.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

Jah children the experience of Rastafari children in South Africa as members of a minority group with particular reference to communities in the former Cape Province

  • Authors: Bain, Pauline
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Rastafari movement -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rastafari movement -- South Africa -- Western Cape , Rastafari movement -- South Africa -- Northern Cape , Reggae music -- South Africa -- History and criticism , Rastafarian ethics -- South Africa , Rastafari movement -- Doctrines , Children of minorities -- South Africa -- Education , Socialization -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2087 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002650 , Rastafari movement -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rastafari movement -- South Africa -- Western Cape , Rastafari movement -- South Africa -- Northern Cape , Reggae music -- South Africa -- History and criticism , Rastafarian ethics -- South Africa , Rastafari movement -- Doctrines , Children of minorities -- South Africa -- Education , Socialization -- South Africa
  • Description: This thesis is an ethnography of Rastafari childhood in the former Cape Province, South Africa, through the eyes of both parents and children. If children are a ‘muted group’, then what are the identity formation implications for “double-muted” groups, the children of ethnic minorities whose voices are not heard? Rasta parents’ experience of the struggle, ie. the opposition to apartheid, has shaped the Rastafari chant of ‘equal rights’ and ‘justice’ into a distinctly South African form of protest and resistance. Their childhood experiences have resulted in a desire to provide a better life for their children, using Rastafari as a vehicle. This is expressed in a continuation of the struggle that was started during apartheid, in the Rasta ideology children grow up learning. The Rasta child has become a contested body in this struggle. The South African Government, through policy, has a mandate to protect the child, and legislature exists to do so in accordance with international law. However, as child-raising differs phenomenally from culture to culture, these goals on the part of the State start infringing upon the rights and freedoms of minorities to raise their children according to their own cultural goals. This study examines the tension between Rastafari and government with regards to child raising, specifically looking at the following main points of contestation: public health, public schools and policy/legislation; in order to examine how Rasta children negotiate their identity in the face of these conflicting messages and struggles. Their identity can be influenced by three main groups, the Rasta family they grow up in; school; and multi-media. What these children choose to accept or reject in their worldview is moderated by their own agency. This study shows that this tension results in a new generation of Rastafari children, who are strongly grounded in an identity as Rastafari and take pride in this identity. It also illustrates how Rastafari are impacting on and changing government policy through resistance. Their successes in challenging the state on the grounds of multiculturalism and religious freedom, has helped in the attainment of a sense of dignity.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

Filling the gap : Nietzsche's account of authenticity as a supplementary ideal

  • Authors: Baker, Michaela Christie
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900 -- Ethics , Authenticity (Philosophy) , Ethics, Modern , Normativity (Ethics) , Self-knowledge, Theory of
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2727 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003734 , Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900 -- Ethics , Authenticity (Philosophy) , Ethics, Modern , Normativity (Ethics) , Self-knowledge, Theory of
  • Description: This thesis examines the ideal of authenticity: why we might want or need such an ideal, what such an ideal would look like, and what mechanisms we would need to ensure the successful operation of such an ideal. The thesis has three main parts. The first part of the thesis aims at motivating the need to look to authenticity as a supplementary ideal to normative moral theory. I do this by drawing a distinction between ethics and morality and arguing that there are important aspects of our lives (such as our relations to ourselves) our beliefs and projects) about which normative moral theory fails to give us guidance and about which an ethical ideal, namely that of authenticity, can provide us with the requisite guidance. The second part of the thesis elucidates Nietzsche's view of authenticity as eternal return. I argue that eternal return consists in holding a particular attitude to one's life - one's past, present and future. I then demonstrate that what is fundamental to successfully living authentically in accordance with eternal return is a rigorous search for self-knowledge. In the third part of the thesis I argue that, in order to achieve the self-knowledge necessary to being a successful authentic agent, one must acquire it through a process of dialogue with other agents. I give a model of self-knowledge as a dialogic encounter that provides two important mechanisms whereby such self-knowledge can be gained.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

Kaleidoscope configurations for reflectance measurement

  • Authors: Bangay, Shaun D , Radloff, Judith D
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/432891 , vital:72910 , https://doi.org/10.1145/1029949.1029979
  • Description: Simulations of different configurations of the symmetrical tapered kaleidoscope are performed to assess their merits for measurement of BRDFs and BTFs. The relationship between optimal kaleidoscope layout, and factors such as hardware restrictions and the resolution of the required reflectance function, is derived. The effect on the measurement of the reflectance function of changing these independent variables is examined through the simulation. These experiments highlight issues affecting the measurement of BTFs using kaleidoscopes, and suggest configurations that allow sampling at regular parameter intervals. A number of other kaleidoscope architectures are explored, which offer the benefits of potentially doubling the range of directions that can be sampled, and allowing adaptive control of sample intervals.
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  • Date Issued: 2004
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