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Building cultural capital through value-driven leadership: a case study in an international finance company

  • Authors: Ackerman, Mariana
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Financial institutions, International -- Namibia Case studies , Leadership -- Namibia Case studies , Corporate culture -- Namibia Case studies , Organizational change -- Namibia Case studies , Organizational effectiveness -- Namibia Case studies
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
  • Identifier: vital:2919 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002428 , Financial institutions, International -- Namibia Case studies , Leadership -- Namibia Case studies , Corporate culture -- Namibia Case studies , Organizational change -- Namibia Case studies , Organizational effectiveness -- Namibia Case studies
  • Description: Today, organizations are placed under extreme pressure to adapt to the ever-increasing changes in their environments in order to survive. Research proves that corporate culture has the ability to either blunt or aid change. Past research conducted in Z-Nam, a subsidiary of an international finance company situated in Namibia, indicated that a divided culture resulted in limitations in their functioning, including their adaptability. Pressure was placed on Z-Nam by its majority shareholder to internalise a set of core values into its daily functioning in order to build a strong adaptable culture. This objective called for values-driven leadership. The four core values identified by Head Office were integrity, respect, accountability and pushing beyond boundaries. In becoming more values-driven, values theory posits that Z-Nam will build its cultural capital and so reap the benefits of higher performance, talent retention and adaptability. In this way Z-Nam will be able to combat the weaknesses in its current culture. Leadership adaptability and the capacity to lead change were seen to distinguish cultural changes that succeed from those that do not. Principles inherent in the field of OD were also considered, as they are seen to assist in the effective management of change. The methodology involved a purposive sample being drawn that included the top leadership team and internal OD consultant. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and thematic analysis employed in analysing the resultant data with three main aims in mind. Firstly, to assess Z-Nam's top management's perception of the current set of values being lived in the organization, to establish their level of support for the desired set of values proposed by Head Office and lastly to establish whether the leadership team is ready to promote the adoption of a new set of core values. Through comparing the themes that emerged from the data with literature on OD, values, culture and change, the researcher was able to make inferences as to the leadership's readiness and capacity to successfully lead cultural change. These findings were substantiated with secondary data from previous research activities. It was found that Z-Nam was not utilising its culture as an asset and that several barriers existed to adopting and implementing the desired values. It was concluded that Z-Nam will not be able to successfully embark on cultural change until its leadership recognises the importance of culture and their personal responsibility in bringing about the desired change, adequately assimilates information from past research and comes to a consensus as to the necessary accommodations that need to be made.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

An exploration of collaborative group work with science students

  • Authors: Adams, Aadiel
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Group work in education , Educational change -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:9840 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/392 , Science -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Group work in education , Educational change -- South Africa
  • Description: Part of the transformation of education in South Africa emphasises the need to address historical barriers that have been impeding access into institutions of learning, and the need for empowering stakeholders democratically. Improving institutional responsiveness and focusing on Science, Technology, and Engineering and increasing the number of university graduates are amongst the more prominent strategies for changing the educational, socioeconomic, and political landscape within a global context. This research, as the first cycle of an action research project, explores collaborative group work with a group of science students at a Vista University campus (that is now part of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) as a contribution to institutional, professional, and personal responsiveness. The treatise traces my development as a novice researcher within an evolving action research context that became a terrain for facilitating a collaborative approach to learning. I describe my personal experience and the experiences of my co-researchers as collaborative partners, the systemic influences considered during the study, and the process of action research that encouraged movement from feelings of apprehension and inadequacy to feelings of anticipation and excitement regarding collaborative interactive learning and development opportunities. For the co-researchers and me an action research process in an interpretivist paradigm was not just suited to an exploration of collaboration, but also evolved into a vehicle for interactive teaching and learning, in a collaborative and student-centred way. Giving voice and being listened to, having perspectives validated, engaging in learning that could accompany academic and personal growth, and an acute sense of being empowered are ingredients that participants, and institutions of learning, can continue building on and building with along evolving spirals of life-long learning and meaning making.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

Floral resources of Apis mellifera capensis in the fynbos biome in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

  • Authors: Addi, A , Phillipson, P , Hepburn, H Randall
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/451845 , vital:75081 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC32660
  • Description: The plant species utilized by Cape honeybees, Apis mellifera capensis, as primary nectar and pollen sources were studied in the Eastern Cape Province in an area where fynbos vegetation mingles with grassland communities. From direct field observations and analyses of pollen loads collected by foragers, 54 plant species were identified as nectar and pollen sources. Of 37 endemic and exotic pollen source plants, Metalasia muricata, Eucalyptus grandis, E. camadulensis, Erica chamissonis, Helichrysum odoratissimum, H. anomalum, Crassula cultrata and Acacia longifolia were dominant species.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

Plastochron index - an indicator of plant structure and function a case study using Pisum sativum L

  • Authors: Ade-Ademilua, Omobolanle Elizabeth
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Plant anatomy Plant physiology Peas -- Anatomy Peas -- Physiology
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:4183 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003751
  • Description: The use of chronological age for example, using days after sowing (DAS), or days after germination (DAG) as a time variable may result in the inherent variability between plants resulting in differences which can be large enough to obscure subtle developmental trends that become evident among plants sown at the same time. An alternative to DAS or DAG is the plastochron index (PI), first used by Erickson and Michelini (1957) as a morphological time scale and numerical index; which to according to the authors suggested and represented a more accurate reflection of the developmental status of a plant. The research presented in this thesis was therefore aimed specifically at utilizing the index in qualitative and quantitative analyses, to confirm its usefulness in analyzing and predicting plant growth and development. Specifically this research focused on investigating various morphological and physiological events that together, hopefully, would serve as a template for the prediction of the growth, development and reactions of Pisum sativum L. to different growth conditions. In Chapter 3, the use of the average length of the first pair of leaflets on each node as a suitable parameter for calculating PI in P. sativum is suggested. The results presented in Chapter 3 suggest that plant age is best expressed using the plastochron index, as this reflects the time interval between the initiations of successive pairs of leaflets. This section of the research has been published as “Ade-Ademilua OE, Botha CEJ (2005) A re-evaluation of plastochron index in peas - a case for using leaflet length. South African Journal of Botany 71: 76-80”. The PI formula developed was subsequently used in this research to conduct qualitative and quantitative investigations of plant growth and development in which all data and observations were related directly to the plastochron index. In Chapter 4, the sink to source transition in Pisum sativum L. leaves at different plastochron ages in nodulating plants was investigated using the phloem-mobile fluorescent marker, 5,6-carboxyfluorescein (5,6-CF). The results demonstrated that young leaves remained strong sinks up until LPI 0, after which sink-source transition occurred up to LPI 1.8 and leaflets transitioned to strong source systems by LPI 2.0. A well-developed cross-connected phloem system between paired leaflets in peas, and the petiole and the stem vascular supply was observed. The data presented in the second part of Chapter 4 suggest that the phloem transport between leaflet pairs is independent of the sink/source state of the leaflets, or of movement along the source to sink gradient. The data support the presence of a modular transport system which may ensure re-allocation and balancing between leaflets of the same physiological age and photosynthetic and transport status, thereby load-balancing the local transport system, before exporting to other younger (sink) regions. The investigation of leaf development using the plastochron index (Chapter 5) revealed that the formation of air spaces in the palisade and spongy mesophyll, one of the preparatory events for transition from sink to source state in developing leaves, occurs between LPI 0 and LPI 1 in pea leaflets. Results of the anatomical and ultrastructural study related to PI are presented in Chapter 5. The density of wall ingrowths in transfer cells of minor veins increased with LPI and appeared to be associated with the probable transition to source state and the related potential increase in the production of assimilates for export. The onset of wall ingrowth development in leaflets at LPI 0 provided evidence that sink-to-source transition commences at LPI 0 in P. sativum. Presumably-functional plasmodesmata as well as a few mature sieve elements were evident in class IV veins in the apical region of young and older leaflets at LPI 0. The number of mature sieve elements per vein however, increased with increasing LPI. Most class V veins were still undergoing division at LPI 0 and their sieve elements did not show signs of maturity until LPI 1. The increase in the number of mature metaphloem sieve elements in young, supposedly importing tissue at LPI 0 to older, supposedly exporting tissues at LPI 2 is evidence of the association between phloem maturation and transition from importing to exporting status. In Chapter 6, I report on the effects of elevated CO[subscript 2] on the growth and leaf development of nodulating and non-nodulating Pisum sativum L var. Greenfeast grown under controlled environment of the same nitrogen (6mM) and nitrogen- free nutrient solution conditions. Shortterm exposure to elevated CO[subscript 2] induced rapid plant growth, irrespective of treatment. However, long-term elevated CO[subscript 2] treatment did not affect rate of leaf appearance (RLA) in nodulated plants, irrespective of mineral N supply but enhanced RLA in non- nodulating plants supplied with mineral N. Supplied N resulted in a significant increase in leaflet elongation rate (LfER) under both ambient and elevated CO[subscript 2], but LfER was not significantly affected by nodulation but was increased by high CO[subscript 2]. This suggested that the growth of nodulating P. sativum L may not be significantly affected under CO[subscript 2] levels as high as 1000 μmol mol[superscript -1]. The data suggest that elevated CO[subscript 2] will enhance canopy size, provided adequate soil N is available and more so in non-nodulating plants. This section of the research has been published as “Ade-Ademilua OE, Botha CEJ (2004) The effects of elevated CO[subscript 2] and nitrogen availability supersedes the need for nodulation in peas grown under controlled environmental conditions. South African Journal of Botany 70: 816 – 823”. This thesis demonstrates that the similarity in the qualitative analyses results obtained from plants from different CO[subscript 2], nitrogen and nodulation treatment conditions, highlights the fact that plants of same PI value are at the same developmental state, irrespective of the growth condition. Furthermore, changes in plant structure and function observed under different growth conditions can be related simply to changes in plastochron index. The work presented in this thesis demonstrate that changes in plant structure and function analyzed are related to changes in PI. An important finding of this thesis is that with the use of PI, results can be compiled as a template for predicting the structure- function state of pea plants at any plastochron age, under any growth conditions, before using small representative sample populations.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

What does the movement of the Phloem-mobile symplastic tracer, 5,6-carboxyfluorescein in shoots of Pisum Sativum L. Indicate - the existence of a symplastic transport system? - a bid to answer some puzzling questions

  • Authors: Ade-Ademilua, Omobolanle Elizabeth , Botha, Christiaan E J
  • Date: 2006
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6492 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004475 , http://dx.doi.org/10.3923/ajpp.2006.127.131
  • Description: Like other members of the Fabaceae, the minor veins of Pisum are categorized as a closed system termed type 2 minor vein configuration due to the presence of few or no plasmodesmal connections between the sieve element-transfer cell complex (SE-TCC) and the adjacent cells (Gamalei, 1989; van Bel and Gamalei, 1991) Pisum is classified further into the category of type 2 b minor vein configuration due to the presence of transfer cells with the characteristic wall ingrowths in the minor vein phloem (Gamalei, 1989). According to van Bel et al. (1992), there is a correlation between minor vein configuration and phloem loading. However, by reason of low plasmodesmal frequency, the pathway of the flow of assimilates in plants with type 2 minor vein configuration is considered to be apoplasmic (Gamalei, 1989; van Bel and Gamalei, 1991). Therefore, present reports on the movement of phloem-mobile 5,6-carboxyfluorescein, a known symplamically transported compound between pea leaflets raises some doubts on the accession that transport within the phloem in pea is strictly apoplasmic. In this study we look at different points of arguments and try to offer our explanation and conclusions on the transport pathways that are likely to exist in Pisum.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

Comparative efficiency of immobilized non-transition metal phthalocyanine photosensitizers for the visible light transformation of chlorophenols

  • Authors: Agboola, Bolade , Ozoemena, Kenneth I , Nyokong, Tebello
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/286043 , vital:56233 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcata.2005.12.009"
  • Description: Photolysis of aqueous solutions of chlorophenols (4-chlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol and pentachlorophenol) in the presence of immobilized non-transition metal phthalocyanine photosensitizers onto Amberlite® is presented. The photosensitizers studied are: Al (AlOCPc) and Zn (ZnOCPc) octacarboxyphthalocyanines; Al (AlPcS4) and Zn (ZnPcS4) tetrasulfophthalocyanines; sulfonated phthalocyanine complexes (containing mixtures of differently substituted derivatives) of Al (AlPcSmix), Zn (ZnPcSmix), Ge (GePcSmix), Si (SiPcSmix) and Sn (SnPcSmix). Photolysis of the chlorophenols resulted mainly in the formation of chlorobenzoquinone derivatives. The complexes showed order of activity towards the transformation of pentachlorophenol as follows: ZnOCPc > SiPcSmix > SnPcSmix > ZnPcSmix > GePcSmix > ZnPcS4 > AlPcSmix > AlOCPc > AlPcS4. The generation of singlet oxygen (1O2) by these immobilized MPc photosensitizers was found to play a major role in their photoactivities towards the transformation of these chlorophenols. Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) kinetic model studies showed that the ZnOCPc, GePcSmix and ZnPcSmix photocatalysis occurred on the catalysts surface. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

Electrochemical properties of benzylmercapto and dodecylmercapto tetra substituted nickel phthalocyanine complexes: Electrocatalytic oxidation of nitrite

  • Authors: Agboola, Bolade O , Ozoemena, Kenneth I , Nyokong, Tebello
  • Date: 2006
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6562 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003826
  • Description: Nickel tetrakis(benzylmercapto)phthalocyanine (NiTBMPc) and nickel tetrakis(dodecylmercapto)phthalocyanine (NiTDMPc) complexes were synthesized and their spectral and electrochemical properties reported. The CV showed four or five redox processes for NiTBMPc and NiTDMPc, respectively. For the first time, spectroelectrochemistry gave evidence for the formation of NiII/NiI process in a NiPc complex. The rest of the processes were ring based. The NiTBMPc complex was successfully deposited on both gold and glassy carbon electrodes by electropolymerisation while NiTDMPc complex was deposited on gold electrode only. The films were electro-transformed in aqueous 0.1 M NaOH solution to the O–Ni–O oxo bridged form. The modified electrodes were characterized using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and the results showed typical behavior for modified electrodes. Electrodes with poly-Ni(OH)Pcs films exhibited higher charge transfer resistance values, Rp than their corresponding poly-NiPcs films counterparts. All the modified electrodes showed improved catalytic activities than the unmodified electrodes towards nitrite ions electrooxidation. Better catalytic activities were observed for the modified electrodes when they were transformed to O–Ni–O oxo bridge form. All the modified electrodes exhibited high resistance to electrode surface passivation.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

Exploring and describing depressogenic cognitive schema, levels of depression and hopelessness among depressed and non depressed adults

  • Authors: Ahlfeldt, Alan
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Depression, Mental -- South Africa , Depressed persons -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:9845 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/393 , Depression, Mental -- South Africa , Depressed persons -- South Africa
  • Description: The subject of mood disorders and in particular depression is pertinent with rapidly increasing incidences of depression and suicide a widespread phenomenon in the world today. In South Africa, the rates of depression are increasing steadily each year. Much research has been undertaken in the area of depression, with negative cognitive schema identified as a common factor, which increases an individual’s vulnerability or diathesis to depression and hopelessness. The primary aims of this research are to explore and describe the depressogenic cognitive schema of both a depressed as well as normal (nondepressed) individuals and identify the relationship these schema have to levels of depression and hopelessness. In order to achieve these objectives, three measures were administered, the Beck’s Depression Inventory, the Beck’s Hopelessness Scale and the Inferential Style Questionnaire. The research design is quantitative in nature and took the form of an exploratory-descriptive study. The researcher made use of frequency tests to identify frequencies of scores and descriptive statistics to identify the mean, range and standard deviations. T tests, a Pearson product- moment correlation coefficient and factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) were also employed for statistical analysis within this research study. The findings of this research study identify that the depressed sample scored higher levels of depression, hopelessness and negative inferential style than that of the normal sample.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

Between the 'sectional' and the 'national' : oil, grassroots discontent and civic discourse in Nigeria

  • Authors: Akpan, Wilson Ndarake
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Petroleum industry and trade -- Nigeria Revenue -- Nigeria Nigeria -- Social conditions Nigeria -- Economic conditions Niger River Delta (Nigeria) -- Environmental conditions
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:3294 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003082
  • Description: This thesis examines the social character of petroleum-related grassroots struggles in Nigeria’s oil-producing region. It does this against the background of the dominant scholarly narratives that portray the struggles as: a) a disguised pursuit of an ethnic/sectional agenda, b) a 'minority rights' project, and c) a minority province’s protest against 'selective' environmental 'victimisation' by the majority ethnic nationalities. While the dominant scholarly analyses of the struggles are based on the activities of the better known activist organisations operating in the oil region, this thesis focuses primarily on the everyday 'grammar' of discontent and lived worlds of ordinary people vis-à-vis upstream petroleum operations and petroleum resource utilisation. The aim has been to gain an understanding of the forces driving community struggles in the oil region and their wider societal significance. Examined alongside the narratives of ordinary people are the legal/institutional framework for upstream petroleum operations and the operational practices of the oil-producing companies. Using primary data obtained through ethnography, focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and visual sociology, as well as relevant secondary data, the researcher constructs a discourse matrix, showing how grassroots narratives in selected oilproducing communities intersect with contemporary civic discourses in the wider Nigerian context. The thesis highlights the theoretical and policy difficulties that arise when the social basis of petroleum-related grassroots struggles and ordinary people’s narratives are explained using an essentialist idiom. It reveals, above all, the conditions under which so-called 'locale-specific' struggles in a multi-ethnic, oil-rich African country can become a campaign for the emancipation of ordinary people in the wider society. This research extends the existing knowledge on citizen mobilisation, extractive capitalism, transnational corporate behaviour, and Nigeria’s contemporary development predicament. It sheds light on some of the processes through which ordinary people are forcing upon the state a change agenda that could drive the country along a more socially sensitive development and democratisation trajectory.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

An investigation of integrated development planning (IDP) as a mechanism for poverty alleviation in Grahamstown in the Makana Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa

  • Authors: Alebiosu, Olumide Ademola
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Makana Municipality , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- Government policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:4841 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005517 , Makana Municipality , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- Government policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Description: Poverty among individuals, households or communities is not a static condition. There are many factors which contribute to its causes and depth. In South Africa the economic gaps imposed by the previous apartheid government aggravated economic inequalities and caused considerable disparities, which has resulted in high unemployment rates. Inequalities were also manifest in the neglect of infrastructural and service provision as well in the effective absence of independent governance among some race group. This led to a call for pro-active initiatives by the post-1994 democratic government to remedy the living condition of the previously disadvantaged people. As part of its poverty relief drive the South African government has embarked on a series of developmental initiatives in bringing infrastructure related services to the poor and to reduce the enormous prevailing backlog, with the aim of increasing community participation, improving service delivery and promoting the upliftment of the lives of poor people through the medium of local governance. This study investigated the Integrated Development Planning, which has been undertaken in Grahamstown in the Makana Municipality in the Eastern Cape to respond to the prevailing poverty and underdevelopment among the poor communities. Relying on their developmental mandate to initiate and co-ordinate all development activities within their area of jurisdiction through the IDP, the Makana Municipality has drawn up a development strategic plan in conjunction with the local communities and with other stakeholders and organisations to identify and assess development backlogs within the communities with the aim of addressing such backlogs. This study revealed from the interviews conducted with some municipal personnel and questionnaires administered to sampled residents of Grahamstown that some faces of poverty, such as unemployment and lack of access to some of the most basic of infrastructure such as, sanitation facilities, water, electricity, formal house, education, security and recreation facilities are apparent in Grahamstown. However, the Makana Municipality through, the IDP has achieved some notable feats in the provision of providing some of the basic amenities such as water, housing, electricity and sanitation albeit at a slow rate. The mechanism of delivery is hampered by bureaucratic settings within government and the ambiguity attached to some of the projects. The service and infrastructural developments targeted towards the poor and the involvement of communities in the affairs of the local government might be seen as a partially panacea for poverty alleviation in South Africa. However the capacity of the local governments to effectively carry out this developmental challenge assignment might be a new twist in the developmental challenge facing local governments in South Africa. The thesis provides an overview of the Makana Municipality IDP and the degree to which is serving as one mechanism to address poverty in the Grahamstown urban area
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  • Date Issued: 2006

Stirring the hornet's nest: women's citizenship and childcare in post-apartheid South Africa

  • Authors: Alfers, Laura Corrigall
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Women's rights -- South Africa , Citizenship -- South Africa , Women -- Political activity , Feminist theory -- Political aspects , Child care -- South Africa , Sex discrimination against women
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2757 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002967 , Women's rights -- South Africa , Citizenship -- South Africa , Women -- Political activity , Feminist theory -- Political aspects , Child care -- South Africa , Sex discrimination against women
  • Description: It is a widely acknowledged fact that women’s access to the full rights of citizenship in the liberal state is restricted because of their unequal responsibility for childcare. The South African state, however, despite its theoretical commitment to gender equality, has failed substantially to engage with the issue of childcare and women’s citizenship. This is problematic because in failing to envisage a role for itself in supporting women with their responsibility for childcare, the state has not only neglected its Constitutional commitments to gender equality, but it has also failed to realise the benefits that could potentially accrue to children if women’s access to economic citizenship is not hampered by childcare. Recognising this problem, this thesis attempts to engender some debate as to how the South African state could feasibly correct this failure. In doing so, it uses feminist political theory as a basis and takes a critical view of the two childcare policies that have dominated the debate over women’s citizenship and childcare in Western liberal democracies – socialised care and the neofamilialist model. In concluding it attempts to provide an idea of what feasible, state-based childcare policies could look like in present-day South Africa.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

Does primary resource-based industrialisation offer an escape from underdevelopment?

  • Authors: Ali, Fatimah
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Comparative advantage (International trade) , Exports -- Africa, West , Exports -- Mauritius , Exports -- South Africa , Foreign trade promotion -- Mauritius , International trade , Primary commodities -- Africa , Human capital -- Economic aspects -- Africa , Natural resources -- Africa , Africa -- Commerce
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
  • Identifier: vital:1018 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002753 , Comparative advantage (International trade) , Exports -- Africa, West , Exports -- Mauritius , Exports -- South Africa , Foreign trade promotion -- Mauritius , International trade , Primary commodities -- Africa , Human capital -- Economic aspects -- Africa , Natural resources -- Africa , Africa -- Commerce
  • Description: It is commonly believed about sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) that the region has a comparative advantage in primary resources as reflected by its high share of primary exports to total exports. In acknowledging the region's comparative advantage, the study tries to put the determinants from the Wood and Mayer (1998, (999) (W-M) Heckscher-Ohlin based model in the context of two relatively diversified countries (South Africa and Mauritius) and two commodity-export-dependent countries of sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria and Cô̌̌te d'Ivoire). The study finds that the skill and land resource measures used in the W -M (1998, 1999) thesis do not explain why Nigeria, having a similar level of skill per worker ratio to South Africa, has not diversified. Further, Mauritius having relatively the highest skill per land ratio specialises in low-skill textiles and clothing, while South Africa specialises in the more human capital-intensive "other manufactures" group. The other measure, a low land per worker ratio that explains Mauritius' relatively higher share of manufacturing exports, also fails to apply to Nigeria. The thesis thus concludes that the W-M land and skill measures could only be rough proxies in determining comparative advantage in manufacturing exports. However, employing the Dutch disease hypothesis recognises the potential of land abundance as a natural resource, namely minerals in South Africa, oil in Nigeria, and cocoa in Cǒ̌te d'Ivoire. The Dutch disease is a dynamic process of structural economic and political development that will permit an understanding of why natural resource abundant countries do not have a comparative advantage in manufacturing, at least in the short to medium term. The study therefore investigates commodity dependence and the Dutch disease effects to examine whether primary resource- based industrialisation offers an escape from underdevelopment. It establishes that South Africa, a mineral resource rich country, diversified based on a broad mineral-energy-complex (MEC) reinforcing the notion that land abundant countries will first invest in capital- intensive primary resource processing. However, the thesis concludes that in Nigeria and Cǒ̌te d'Ivoire where external shocks are more predominant probably because of single commodity export reliance, the manufacturing sector lags behind more due to resource and spending effects that a natural resource boom generates in these economies.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

Effects of temperature and salinity on the standard metabolic rate (SMR) of the caridean shrimp Palaemon peringueyi

  • Authors: Allan, Elizabeth L , Froneman, Pierre W , Hodgson, Alan N
  • Date: 2006
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6831 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007567
  • Description: The standard metabolic rate (SMR) of the caridean shrimp Palaemon peringueyi to changes in temperature (15–30 °C), salinity (0–45‰) and a combination thereof was investigated. The rate of oxygen consumption of the shrimp was determined using a YSI oxygen meter. At a constant salinity of 35‰ the respiration rate of P. peringueyi increased with an increase in temperature and ranged between 0.260 and 0.982 μl O[subscript 2] mg wwt[superscript −1] h[superscript −1]. The Q[subscript 10] value over the temperature range 15–25 °C was estimated at 3.13. At a constant temperature of 15 °C the respiration rate of P. peringueyi also increased with an increase in salinity and ranged between 0.231 and 0.860 μl O[subscript 2] mg wwt[superscript −1] h[superscript −1]. For combination experiments the absence of any significant difference in the respiration rate of P. peringueyi at the four temperatures over the salinity range 15–35‰ suggests that the shrimp is well adapted to inhabiting environments characterised by variations in salinity and temperature such as those encountered within the middle and lower reaches of permanently open estuaries with substantial freshwater inflow. On the other hand, the total mortality of the shrimp recorded at salinities < 5‰ at all four temperatures suggests that the upper distribution of the shrimp may reflect physiological constraints. Similarly, the increase in the respiration rate of the shrimp at the four temperatures at salinities > 35‰ suggests that the shrimp may experience osmotic stress in freshwater deprived permanently open and intermittently open estuaries where hypersaline conditions may develop.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

Competing interests and change within the pharmacy education system in South Africa

  • Authors: Allan, Lucie
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Pharmacy -- South Africa Pharmacy -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Pharmacy -- Practice -- South Africa Community pharmacy services -- South Africa Community health services -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MPharm
  • Identifier: vital:3741 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003219
  • Description: This thesis provides a historical account of the emergence of the pharmacy education system in South Africa, and an analysis of the influence of competing interest groups over the pharmacy education curriculum. It provides a critical evaluation of structural-consensus and micro-interpretive approaches to medical and pharmacy education, and sets out a macrointerpretive account of pharmacy education in South Africa. Following Margaret Archer (1979) it analyzes three forms of negotiation between competing interest groups in their efforts to change the pharmacy curriculum; these are political manipulation, external transaction and internal initiation. The thesis argues that whilst the private sector interest group (comprising of retail, wholesale and manufacturing pharmacy) dominated the pharmacy education system until 1994, since then a newly emerged government interest group has begun to compete for educational control. The priorities pursued by this interest group have consistently reflected the objectives set out in the ANC National Health Plan of 1994. The thesis maintains that given its frustration over the non-implementation of the ANC’s health policy objectives, the government interest group is likely to resort to direct political manipulation by passing legislation to alter the content of the current pharmacy curriculum. Such changes would seek to ensure that the syllabus more accurately reflects the ANC Plan’s community health and primary health care objectives. The thesis asserts that such an outcome (of direct political manipulation of the curriculum) is not inevitable, and can be avoided through a process of internally initiated change. It presents the findings of an interpretive case study into how the Rhodes University Community Experience Programme (CEP) influenced final year pharmacy students’ perceptions of the role of the pharmacist. The students’ comments were collected by means of focus group interviews, participant observation and documentary analysis. Whilst the CEP did not successfully transform their concept of the pharmacist’s role, it did succeed in influencing students’ understanding of the notions of community pharmacy and primary health care in line with the government interest group’s health objectives. This thesis concludes that internally initiated change within the pharmacy education system, would be preferable to that imposed through external political manipulation, as such change would be more likely to preserve the independent professional interests of pharmacy academics.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

The appropriateness of Holland's interest code typology for South African field guides

  • Authors: Allen, Lynda Jean
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Personality and occupation -- South Africa , Vocational interests -- South Africa , Personality
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:9846 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/432 , Personality and occupation -- South Africa , Vocational interests -- South Africa , Personality
  • Description: The foundational principles of Holland’s (1985b, 1992, 1997) vocational theory state that career choice is an expression of personality, in that individuals with specific personality types seek out work or learning environments that match their personality types. Furthermore, interest inventories such as the Self-Directed Search (Holland, Powell, & Fritzsche, 1994) can be regarded as personality inventories and used to ensure that individuals find themselves in a working environment that is best suited to their interests and personality type. In addition to instruments that measure interests, Holland also developed dictionaries of occupations coded according to the characteristics and interests of different occupations and working environments, such as the Dictionary of Holland occupational codes (Gottfredson & Holland, 1996). The level of congruence between personality types and occupational types is linked to career satisfaction, stability and achievement. This premise only holds true, however, if the codes for the occupational environment suggested by Holland (1985c) are, in fact, valid. In other words, do the codes suggested by Holland match the personality types of individuals entering or who are already employed in a particular work or learning environment? There have been many studies conducted with regard to the validity of Holland’s prescribed interest typology codes. Spokane, Meier and Catalano (2000) located a large number of empirical studies published since 1985 that relate directly to the validity of Holland’s codes, many of which have suggested that the existing codes may not be valid. There is a scarcity of such research in South Africa, especially with regard to vital and growing occupational fields, such as the ecotourism industry, that are so important to the economic well-being of the country. Consequently, the overall aim of the present study was to explore and describe the interest codes of male and female South African student and working field guides in order to discuss the appropriateness of the occupational codes prescribed by Holland for the field guiding profession. The quantitative design of the study was exploratory-descriptive in nature and made use of the Self-Directed Search Questionnaire (Holland, Fritzsche, & Powell, 1994). The total sample consisted of 100 participants (68 male and 32 female), constituting 40 working field guides and 60 field guide students. Descriptive analyses were conducted with the use of frequency tables, charts, means and standard ix deviations. In addition, Independent sample t-tests were computed in order to describe and compare the mean scores of the interests for males and females, and to compare the mean scores of the interests for student and working field guides. The results of this study suggest that the prescribed occupational code (SRI; Social, Realistic, Investigative) for South African field guides may not be appropriate and that an interest profile such as SREI AC may be more appropriate. These results, in combination with the findings of the research review, suggest the need for a more extensive, cross-cultural study to determine the appropriateness of Holland’s occupational codes for South African occupations, which may lead to a revision of the South African Dictionary of Occupations (Taljaard & von Mollendorf, 1987).
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  • Date Issued: 2006

The role of language and mediation in selected aspects of contemporary culture

  • Authors: Allen, Nicholas Peter Legh
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Language and languages -- Philosophy , Language and education
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:8413 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/468 , Language and languages -- Philosophy , Language and education
  • Description: Statement of the Problem: Specifically, how suitable is a textual language in communicating “irrational concepts” and religious myths designed to explain the irrational? Furthermore, how important is the mastery of a textual language apropos of our conceptual processes and in what ways can the structure of a specific language-game impact on a person’s conceptual abilities? To undertake this enquiry, certain assumptions will have to be made. For example, it is accepted that everything we interpret and ultimately understand is mediated solely through language in the broad sense (which includes visual cognition or literacy). Here it is accepted that without language we cannot think. Indeed, even our most private thoughts are based on a language, which embodies communally sanctioned criteria. Hypothesis: It is then the premise of this dissertation that the very architecture of a person’s mother-tongue has a profound influence on the worldview and perception of a particular person. Also it is possible to consider that certain languages, by virtue of their very structure, either hinder or facilitate certain cognitive development or potential. Further, if we could but increase the linguistic proficiency of our citizens, we will be better positioned to develop a critical mass of people who are problem solvers, mathematicians and conceptualizers; and who will address the shortfall of graduates in science, engineering, technology and business in South Africa. If in any way accurate, this would tend to imply that (inter alia) the retention rate of potential graduates in the SET and business disciplines will be significantly improved if educational policy-makers embraced even the most basic tenets of the linguistic paradigm.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

Foucault, historicism and political philosophy

  • Authors: Allsobrook, Christopher John
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984 Sartre, Jean Paul, 1905-1980 Political science -- Philosophy Power (Philosophy) Existential phenomenology Knowledge, Theory of History -- Philosophy Historicism
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
  • Identifier: vital:2726 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003073
  • Description: This thesis defends an ontological and epistemological account of Michel Foucault's post-structuralist philosophy, to argue that political philosophy needs to take into account the historical and political contingency of subjectivity and discourse. I show that by addressing the historical and political contingency of knowledge, Foucault's work overcomes the flaw of foundational epistemology in political philosophy, which treats true discourse as universal and disinterested. In doing so I hope to have to refuted the mainly positivistic and humanist schools of thought that lay claim to universal and foundationalist notions, by demonstrating the extent to which their misgivings about Foucault's work are informed by and founded upon an unjustified a-historicism. The thesis is composed of three chapters, the first of which deals with an ontology of the subject, the second, with an ontology of social relations, and the last with epistemology. In each chapter I use dialectical analysis to reveal how interests necessarily mediate subjectivity, social relations, and knowledge. The first two chapters defend Foucault's conception of power, by way of an analysis of the relations between Foucault's work and Sartre's existential phenomenology. I show how both Foucault and Sartre successfully address the problem of historicism for political philosophy with their respective conceptions of human freedom. The final chapter defends Foucault's conception of the relations between power and discourse, to show how it overcomes the a-historicism of universal, foundational epistemology. These three chapters demonstrate the importance of accounting for historicism in political philosophy. Claims to universal interest, because knowledge is conditioned by conflicts of interest, often mask political domination. It is important, then, to remember, in political philosophy, that knowledge is evaluative and interested, reflecting historically and politically mediated evaluations. One should be suspicious of ' natural facts' , used to justify actions or beliefs, thereby masking the choices that inform them. I have used the work of Michel Foucault to motivate this claim.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

Towards theorizing human resource development in South Africa: a critical analysis and the development of a tool to facilitate improved understanding and practice

  • Authors: Anderson, Amber Cristal
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Manpower planning -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
  • Identifier: vital:16130 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/469 , Manpower planning -- South Africa
  • Description: The primary objective of this study is to generate pathways to understanding Human Resources Development (HRD) by developing a tool which enables and enhances a shared and common understanding of HRD in South Africa (SA). To achieve this objective, this research explores the nature and importance of HRD and articulates and aggregates these thoughts and practices into a tool which facilitates an understanding of HRD with the overarching aim of improving HRD thoughts and practices in South Africa. While there is substantial international and local literature on HRD, the existing body of research on the nature and importance of HRD in South Africa is skeletal. National HRD concepts and practices are fragmented, and are as diverse as the number of stakeholders and partners that it serves. In addition, theory-building in HRD is disconnected and removed from practice. In order to address this problem, a qualitative, interpretive, theory-building social constructionist research strategy was embarked upon. The research strategy was executed in an iterative, cyclical manner, using theoretical sampling and content analysis rigorously executed within a coding paradigm informed by open, axial and selective coding techniques with local and international literature and informal reviews as the units of analysis. Qualitative and quantitative findings of the South African Qualifications Authority ground-breaking, world-first longitudinal study was analyzed and used to find relevance and corroborate the international literature available on HRD. Informal reviews were conducted with 7 human resources (HR) practitioners and 54 internationally-based HR colleagues of the researcher in order to ensure as appropriate a degree of integration between theory and practice as was possible. This process culminated in the most significant contribution of this research, which is a tool consisting of six pathways, that facilitates an understanding of the nature and importance of HRD in South Africa. The development of the tool enabled the articulation and aggregation of a thorough and coherent description, explanation and representation of HRD. The research highlights the need for HRD scholars and practitioners to channel their energies and effort on all the catalytic aspects of organizational life, namely uniqueness, social complexity, knowledge, and path dependency, by acquiring critical insight into the profound value of HRD which will allow the realization and sustainability of competitive advantage in a rich and dynamic global economy.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

Designing a lean manufacturing model for Johnson Controls SA

  • Authors: Andersson, Carl
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Production management -- South Africa , Just-in-time systems , Manufacturing resource planning
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: vital:8566 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/188 , Production management -- South Africa , Just-in-time systems , Manufacturing resource planning
  • Description: An increase in global competitiveness has forced manufacturing organisations to re – look at their facility from an output and quality standpoint. Leveraging a manufacturing operation into a competitive advantage must at all times support the organisation’s objectives. It is therefore vital that the operation reviews its strategy so that it fulfils the everchanging needs of its market. The main objective of this research was to identify possible approaches that Johnson Controls South Africa (JCI SA) could pursue when implementing a Lean Manufacturing model. In doing this it will improve JCI SA’s manufacturing efficiency and quality, thus giving the organisation a competitive edge over its opposition. The research presented an empirical study of how a Lean Manufacturing model should be implemented in JCI SA. A theoretical and empirical study was conducted on how to successfully implement Lean Manufacturing within an organisation. The main purpose was to establish a theoretical Lean Manufacturing model that the organisation can utilise as a strategic plan to become the global leader in its market place.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

Impact of climate change and development scenarios on flow patterns in the Okavango River

  • Authors: Andersson, L , Wilk, J , Todd, M C , Hughes, Denis A , Earle, A , Kniveton, D , Layberry, R , Savenije, H H G
  • Date: 2006
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:7086 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012346
  • Description: This paper lays the foundation for the use of scenario modelling as a tool for integrated water resource management in the Okavango River basin. The Pitman hydrological model is used to assess the impact of various development and climate change scenarios on downstream river flow. The simulated impact on modelled river discharge of increased water use for domestic use, livestock, and informal irrigation (proportional to expected population increase) is very limited. Implementation of all likely potential formal irrigation schemes mentioned in available reports is expected to decrease the annual flow by 2% and the minimum monthly flow by 5%. The maximum possible impact of irrigation on annual average flow is estimated as 8%, with a reduction of minimum monthly flow by 17%. Deforestation of all areas within a 1 km buffer around the rivers is estimated to increase the flow by 6%. However, construction of all potential hydropower reservoirs in the basin may change the monthly mean flow distribution dramatically, although under the assumed operational rules, the impact of the dams is only substantial during wet years. The simulated impacts of climate change are considerable larger that those of the development scenarios (with exception of the high development scenario of hydropower schemes) although the results are sensitive to the choice of GCM and the IPCC SRES greenhouse gas (GHG) emission scenarios. The annual mean water flow predictions for the period 2020–2050 averaged over scenarios from all the four GCMs used in this study are close to the present situation for both the A2 and B2 GHG scenarios. For the 2050–2080 and 2070–2099 periods the all-GCM mean shows a flow decrease of 20% (14%) and 26% (17%), respectively, for the A2 (B2) GHG scenarios. However, the uncertainty in the magnitude of simulated future changes remains high. The simulated effect of climate change on minimum monthly flow is proportionally higher than the impact on the annual mean flow.
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  • Date Issued: 2006
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