Showing items 181 - 200 of 1186

Your selections:

An integrated approach for the delineation of arable land and its cropping suitability under variable soil and climatic conditions in the Nkonkobe municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa

  • Authors: Manyevere, Alen
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Soils -- Classification -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Soil degradation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Ethnoscience -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Soil Science)
  • Identifier: vital:11965 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1019856 , Soils -- Classification -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Soil degradation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Ethnoscience -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Description: Arable crop production in Nkonkobe Municipality is low due to abandonment of potentially productive land and low productivity of the cultivated land. Little attention has been given to farmers perspectives with regards to crop production and land abandonment. Understanding the relationships of indigenous knowledge systems, where local approaches to soil classification, appraisal, use and management and land evaluation, and scientific approaches could be important for the effective use of available soil resources while avoiding those resources that are vulnerable to degradation. In addition, the interactions between soil factors and climate could be useful in understanding the erodibility of soils. The intergration of scientific research and indigenous knowledge systems could help in the identification and delineation of high potential land and on crop suitability evaluation. The objectives of the study were: (i) to determine farmers‟ perspectives with regards to land utilisation and abandonment, constraints on crop production and crop preferences, (ii) to integrate and compare indigenous knowledge systems with scientific approaches of soil classification and potential, (iii) to determine the effect of climate and soil factors on erodibilities of soils in the Municipality (iv) to delineate arable land and evaluate its suitability for maize, potato, sorghum and cowpea under rainfed agriculture. Using semi-structured and open-ended interviews, information on limitations to crop production, cropping preferences, indigenous soil classifications, cropping potential ratings and erosion was captured. Descriptive and correlation statistics were used to analyse farmers‟ responses. The information was later used for a pilot participatory mapping and the determination of the agricultural potential of the soils in three selected villages of the Municipality. Field boundaries of soil texture, colour, depth, and slope position were captured using global positioning systems (GPS). The relationship between the degree of erosion and soil and slope factors was analysed by step-wise regression. Crop suitability for rainfed agriculture was done using the FAO guidelines for Land evaluation for rainfed agriculture. The spatially referenced crop suitability classes were produced by applying the Law of Limiting Combinationusing GIS Boolean Logic. The major biophysical factors, affecting crop production and land utilisation were soil degradation and low and erratic rainfall, while other factors included lack of farming equipment and security concerns. Maize, spinach and cabbage were the main crops grown, with maize sorghum and wheat the most abandoned crops. While it was difficult to accurately correlate indigenous classification with international scientific classification, the importance of colour, texture and soil depth for both classification and soil potential, suggests that some form of correlation is possible which enabled communication and other extension information to be conveyed. The shallow and stony soil (urhete) correlated well with the Leptosols in World Reference Base (WRB) or Mispah and shallow Glenrosa soils in the South African system. The red structured clays (umhlaba obomvu) matched the Nitisols in WRB or Shortlands in the South African system. The non-swelling black clayey soils (umhlaba omnyama) matched soils with melanic A horizons in both the WRB and South African soil classification systems. The dongwe and santi soils developed in alluvial sediments belonged to the Dundee, Oakleaf or Augrabies soils in the South African classification system and fluvisols or Cambisols in the WRB system. There was good agreement between farmers assessment of the cropping potential and scientific approaches but scientifically high potential red soils were rated lowly by the farmers due to difficulties in management caused by shortages of farm machinery, especially under dryland farming. Overall, the soil factors affecting erosion were influenced largely by climate, while parent material was also important. Climate had a dominant influence on soil factors most notably fine sand and very fine sand fractions and exchangeable sodium percentage being more important on soil forms occurring in arid and semi-arid climate and less in the sub-humid and humid areas, where clay mineralogy, particularly kaolinite and sesquioxide dominated. Dolerite derived soils were the most stable and should be given the highest priority for cropping development while mudstone and shale derived soils had a lower cropping potential. While slope gradient and length had some effect on soil erosion in arid and semi arid environments its influence was generally overshadowed by soil factors especially in humid zones. Cow pea and sorghum were the most adapted crops in the region while potato and maize were marginally suitable under rainfed agriculture. The study revealed that most adapted crops were not necessarily the most preferred crops by the farmers. A small percentage of the land was delineated as arable and therefore optimisation of this available land should be prioritized.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An Interview with Ken Barris:

  • Authors: Marais, Mike
  • Date: 2014
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144050 , vital:38306 , DOI: 10.4314/eia.v41i1.9
  • Description: Ken Barris was born in Port Elizabeth and lives in Cape Town, where he works at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. His writing includes two collections of poetry, a collection of short stories, and five novels, the most recent being What Kind of Child (2006) and Life Underwater (2012). His work has been translated into Turkish, Danish, German and Slovenian, and poetry and short fiction have appeared in various anthologies. More recently, he has turned to writing for academic journals. His research interests are postapartheid fiction and language education.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation into second language Learners’ proficiency in Mathematical language

  • Authors: Ngibe, Ntsikelelo Hector
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Second language acquisition -- Teaching and learning -- Mathematics Mathematics -- Language -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , M Ed
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/845 , vital:29936
  • Description: The purpose of the study was to investigate second language learner‟s proficiency in mathematical language. The study was conducted using the Grade 12 learners in a senior secondary school in the district of Mthatha, Eastern Cape. The researcher used a case study approach and a questionnaire was used to investigate whether or not learners understood the language rather than to assess their mathematical ability. English was the language in question and used as the medium of instruction (MOI). In this study, aspects of the language used for mathematics are highlighted, the importance of mathematical vocabulary is discussed and reference is made to some recent research concerned with the understanding of mathematical language. The importance of language as a factor in the learning of mathematics is established through a consideration of bilingualism and the writer‟s own research into the understanding of mathematical language. Perhaps the most obvious educational difficulty which students encounter is that of language. Teachers and curriculum planners need to assess whether this is desirable, and to attempt to find ways in which learners in bilingual education programmes can learn mathematics in a meaningful way. Theories on the interaction between language and mathematical thinking, as well as the studies conducted with bilingual students can inform one‟s thinking about this issue. These ideas have important implications for teaching, texts and curriculum development. The study examined some of the above aspects in the context of South African Education.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation into the bacterial diversity associated with South African latrunculid sponges that produce bioactive secondary metabolites

  • Authors: Walmsley, Tara Aisling
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Sponges -- South Africa -- Algoa Bay , Sponges -- Classification , Metabolites -- South Africa -- Algoa Bay , Marine metabolites -- South Africa -- Algoa Bay , PQQ (Biochemistry) , Bacterial diversity
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:4109 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012943
  • Description: Algoa Bay Latrunculid sponges are well known for their production of cytotoxic pyrroloiminoquinones with speculation that these secondary metabolites may have a microbial origin. This study describes a thorough investigation into the bacterial community associated with Tsitsikamma favus, Tsitsikamma scurra a newly described Latrunculia sp. and a yellow encrusting sponge associated with T. scurra. Molecular and chemical characterisation were used in conjunction with traditional taxonomy in identification of the sponge specimens. The 28S rRNA and COX1 analysis confirmed the traditional taxonomy with T. favus and T. scurra being very closely related. Chemical analysis revealed that T. favus and T. scurra shared the discorhabdins 2,4-debromo-3-dihydrodiscorhabdin C, 7,8-dehydro-3-dihydrodiscorhabdin C and 14-bromo-1-hydroxy-discorhabdin V in common with each other and Tsitsikamma pedunculata indicating that these pyrroloiminoquinones are common to Tsitsikamma sponges in general. The bacterial community associated with T. favus was explored using 16S rRNA molecular techniques including DGGE, clonal libraries of full length 16S rRNA genes, as well as 454 pyrosequencing. DGGE analysis revealed that the bacterial community associated with T. favus appeared to be highly conserved, which was confirmed by both the clone library and 454 pyrosequencing, with the Betaproteobacteria as the most dominant class. Further exploration into T. favus, as well as T. scurra, Latrunculia sp. and the yellow encrusting sponge indicated that the bacterial populations associated with each of these sponge species were conserved and species specific. OTU analysis to the species level revealed that T. favus and T. scurra shared an abundant Spirochaete species in common while the most abundant species in the Latrunculia sp. and the yellow encrusting sponge belonged to the class Betaproteobacteria. The exclusivity of the tsitsikammamines to T. favus precipitated attempts to culture the T. favus associated bacteria, with a focus on the dominant betaproteobacterium as indicated by the 16S rRNA clone library. Actinobacteria associated with the Algoa Bay sponge specimens were also cultured and the actinobacterial isolates were sent for screening against Mycobacterium aurum with two Kocuria kristinae isolates and a Streptomyces albdioflavus isolate showing good antimycobacterial activity.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation into the development of knowledge and strategies for the teaching of visual literacy in under-resourced Eastern Cape schools

  • Authors: Mbelani, Madeyandile
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Uncatalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/64401 , vital:28540
  • Description: This thesis reports on a multiple case study PhD project that aimed to investigate meaningful and critical development of knowledge and strategies to teach visual literacy, a component of English First Additional Language (FAL) in six under-resourced schools of the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The study begins by locating visual literacy within a broad framework of literacy as a social practice, and discusses its importance. Further, it discusses complexities of making sense of and teaching visual literacy, especially for the majority of in-service teachers who experienced visual literacy neither as learners nor as teacher trainees. The gap between the curriculum and teachers’ classroom practices is what triggered this study to adopt a transformative paradigm. The main research question is, “How can teacher professional development in English Language Teaching advance in-service teachers’ knowledge of and strategies for meaningful and critical teaching and learning of visual literacy?” To respond to this question, I drew on cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) and critical realism (CR) to design four phases of this study that incorporated the seven stages of an expansive learning cycle. These phases focussed on exploring and expanding teachers’ sense making and teaching of visual literacy. I collected data through interviews, document analysis, videoed lessons and change laboratory (CL) workshops. I designed a data analysis tool that brought together CHAT, CR, multimodal social semiotics, critical discourse analysis and pedagogical discourse to make sense of the data. Through a process of reflexivity, the study illuminated layers of factors that constrained meaningful and critical teaching of visual literacy in the empirical, the actual and the real domains of reality. These factors include teachers’ unconscious reproduction of discourses of domination, their intolerance of diverse cultural discourses, resistance to curriculum change, and the fact that they are comfortable with the status quo. I brought these factors to CL workshops for expansive learning. The study contributes in-depth insight into English FAL in-service teacher development in the area of visual literacy. By locating the study within meaning making and teaching of visual literacy, it was possible to interrogate access, diversity, domination and design in teachers’ classroom practices. As a result of this study participants were made aware of the extent to which these factors enabled or hindered meaningful and critical teaching. Participants repositioned themselves as subjects of the activity system, thereby mobilising their agency to take control of the structures and cultures that condition their teaching.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation into the impact of citizen’s protests on the performance of municipalities: a case of Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality

  • Authors: Ncipha, Bukiwe
  • Date: 2014
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
  • Identifier: vital:11692 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1014677
  • Description: The aim of this paper is to establish the impact of citizen’s protests on the performance of municipalities with particular reference to Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality. The basis for this study is the wave of strikes that are directed towards municipalities bearing demands for the delivery of basic services. The protests give an indication that municipalities throughout the country are faced with challenges in carrying out their constitutional mandate of delivering basic services and developing the socio-economic status of their constituencies. It thus becomes crucial to get a grasp of the causal factors and to understand the impact of such protest on the performance of municipalities, in order to develop relevant intervention strategies. The research aims to identify the trends and define the nature of these service delivery protests. In order to preserve democracy government ought to take note of the demonstrations because they are a re-occurrence of the past. During the apartheid regime, non-voting civilians used violent protests to raise their dissatisfaction with the government of the day; primarily the protests were aimed at disorganizing and bringing pressure to the government. The situation is different because nowadays citizens have various platforms to raise their concerns hence it becomes crucial to analyse the protests because they may be an indication that the various platforms are not functional and that people want to raise a vote of no confidence to the reigning party. The research entails an overview of local government, the constitutional mandate and developmental role of local government. The paper will also provide a brief synopsis on the state of affairs with regards to the delivery of basic services in Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality. In conclusion there is going to be a list of recommendation based on the findings of this investigation. The recommendations will assist Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality and other municipalities in developing their strategies of delivering services in an effective and efficient manner thus giving meaning to the objectives of the constitution.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation into the nature of grade 4 learners’ evolving mathematics learning dispositions: a case study of 3 learners participating in an after school mathematics club

  • Authors: Hewana, Diliza Ronald
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Case studies , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Psychological aspects , After-school programs -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Students -- Attitudes -- Case studies , Education, Elementary -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1983 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013140
  • Description: Through a qualitative case study approach this research investigated the nature of three Grade 4 learners’ mathematical learning dispositions. It further explored how these dispositions evolve within the context of their participation in a weekly after school mathematics club over time. Of particular significance the research drew on the dispositional frameworks of Kilpatrick, Swafford and Findell’s (2001) and Carr & Claxton (2002) and pointed to ways in which these framework can be usefully brought together to provide a richer picture of learning dispositions. Kilpatrick, Swafford and Findell’s (2001) framework of mathematical proficiency involves five interrelated strands of which productive disposition is the fifth strand and largely underresearched (Graven, 2012). This strand is defined as ‘the tendency to see sense in mathematics, to perceive it as both useful and worthwhile, to believe that steady effort in learning mathematics pays off, and to see oneself as an effective learner and doer of mathematics’ (Kilpatrick, Swafford and Findell, 2001, p. 131). Carr & Claxton (2002) similarly argue for the importance of learning dispositions and point to the importance of resilience, playfulness and resourcefulness as three key indicators. The research outlines findings of the three case study learners in terms of data obtained from a questionnaire and interview about students’ learning dispositions. The interview asked learners various questions including for example, complete the sentence ‘Maths is…’, describe an effective learner of mathematics and say what you do if you don’t know an answer. The instrument was first administered orally and learners were asked to write their answers (in May 2012) and a year later it was administered as an interview by the club facilitator (in May 2013). While there is the limitation of comparison due to the different ways in which learners responded in 2012 (written) and 2013 (oral) the shifting nature of responses in certain respects provides some indication of shifts towards increasingly productive dispositions. Additionally the research analysed detailed transcripts of video recordings of several club sessions over a five-month period. Findings suggest ways of extending dispositional frameworks and that learners have restricted dispositions particularly in terms of sense making and resourcefulness across time. The findings also suggest shifts in dispositions over time especially in terms of seeing steady effort as paying off.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation into the relationship of job satisfaction, organisational commitment and the intention to quit among academics and administrative employees at the University of Fort Hare

  • Authors: Gomomo, Nokuzola Ruth
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Employee retention -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Employees -- Resignation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Labor turnover -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , M Com
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/1730 , vital:27553
  • Description: University of Fort Hare Human Resource Department reports show evidence relating to high labour turnover. Between 2009 and 2012 there was a high degree of labour turnover. A total 1127 staff left the University. This study investigated the relationship between job satisfaction, organisational commitment and intention to quit among academics and administrative employees at the University of Fort Hare. Data was collected from a random sample of 289 employees of the University staff. To obtain data in this study a questionnaire was utilised. This questionnaire was divided into four sections viz, biographical information, measured ten-items which range from age to condition of employment, Halpern’s (1966) seven-level evaluation scale was utilised to measure job satisfaction, to measure organisational commitment, Meyer, and Allen (1984) 24-item rating point scale was applied and Canmann, Fichman, Jenkins and Klesh’s questionnaire was used to measure intention to quit. Data analysis was performed by way of several statistical techniques, including the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Technique and Multiple Regression analysis. The results obtained revealed that job satisfaction has a significant positive correlation with intention to leave while organisational commitment showed no substantial correlation with intention to quit work.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation into the use of a ceramifiable Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) co-polymer formulation to aid flame retardency in electrical cables

  • Authors: Bambalaza, Sonwabo Elvis
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Vinyl acetate , Polymeric composites , Inorganic compounds
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:10433 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020159
  • Description: The concept of a unique ceramifiable Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) based polymer composite was based on the incorporation of inorganic compounds such as aluminium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, muscovite mica, and calcined kaolinite within a 95 percent EVA/ 5 percent Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer matrix such tha t upon heating to elevated temperatures of about 1000 oC, a solid end-product with ceramic-like properties would be formed. The ceramifiable EVA based polymer composite was developed to be used as electric cable insulation or sheath as the formation of a ceramic based material at elevated temperatures would provide flame retardant properties during fire situations. The flame retardant properties at elevated temperatures would ensure that the insulation remains at such temperatures due to some of the properties of the resultant ceramic such as reasonably high flexural strength, high thermal stability, non-reactivity and high melting point. During a fire this would ensure that flames would not be propagated along the length of the cable and also protect the underlying conducting wires from being exposed to the high temperatures of the fire. Its application as a cable insulation also required that the material functions as a cable insulator under ambient temperature conditions where the ceramifiable polymer composite should retain certain polymer properties such as the post-cure tensile strength (MPa), degree of polymer elongation (percent), thermal expansion, thermal slacking, limited oxygen index and electrical insulation. This study made use of a composite experimental design approach that would allow for the optimization of the amounts of the additives in the ceramifiable polymer composite giving both the desired mechanical properties of the material under normal operating temperatures as a polymer and also as a ceramic once exposed to elevated temperatures. The optimization of additives used in the ceramifiable polymer composite was done by using a D-optimal mixture design of experiments (DoE) which was analyzed by multiple linear regression.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation into understanding of academic literacies of students registered in Early Childhood Development courses

  • Authors: Hackmack, Karin Erna
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Academic writing -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Discourse analysis , Information literacy -- Study and teaching (Higher) , Information literacy -- Social aspects , Early childhood education -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Education -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1996 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013548
  • Description: Purpose and research questions- This research was based on students enrolled on courses at Rhodes University's Centre for Social Development, an Institute delivering Early Childhood Development courses in the Grahamstown area. Having provided the students with access to a career path and its courses, it was imperative to assist the students to develop a standard of academic literacy comparable to that of in-service education students, in the Intermediate and Senior Phases. This study was influenced by Gee's (2004) definition of literacy as 'mastery over a discourse'. Gee (1990) termed discourse as the socially accepted way of thinking, believing and being. The study therefore investigated the enablers which assisted students to produce academic texts. This was achieved by finding out how the students and the course facilitators construct academic literacy; in other words what their discourses were regarding academic literacy. In order to ascertain this information, the students and the course facilitators were asked what reading and writing the students had done prior to enrolling on the course, what they had brought to the course, what the students and the course facilitators thought comprised a successful academic assignment, and how the students were supported in their academic literacy during the course. Data was gathered through interviews with both students and course facilitators, analysis of course assignments, and assessment reports written by the course facilitators. This data was analysed, looking for discourses on similarities and contradictions. Critical Discourse analysis was used to investigate the discourses that the course facilitators and students were using. Findings: It was evident from the data that the autonomous view of literacy was predominantly used. The course facilitators and, to a limited extent, the students, saw literacy as a set of technical skills that needed to be mastered. The students and course facilitators did not take into account that literacy is a social practice, and that literacy occurs within a particular social context and cultural context. The course facilitators tended to hold a deficit discourse related to the perception of inferior education under Bantu Education, which was seen as an inhibiting factor to academic literacy and academic success. The discourse of second language was also an issue that both the course facilitators and the students noted which prevented students' academic literacy. Christie's (1985) Received Tradition of Literacy, which focused on the forms and functions of literacy, was a discourse that both the students and the course facilitators ascribed to. Conclusions and recommendations: The course facilitators' and students' discourses were very similar, both being embedded within the autonomous and deficit models of literacy. It is recommended that course facilitators become cognisant with the models of academic literacy and that they become aware of the various discourses evident on the course and articulate these discourses for themselves. Furthermore they should assist the students by clearly articulating and unpacking the course requirements regarding academic literary.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation into XSets of primitive behaviours for emergent behaviour in stigmergic and message passing antlike agents

  • Authors: Chibaya, Colin
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Ants -- Behavior -- Computer programs , Insects -- Behavior -- Computer programs , Ant communities -- Behavior , Insect societies
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:4698 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012965
  • Description: Ants are fascinating creatures - not so much because they are intelligent on their own, but because as a group they display compelling emergent behaviour (the extent to which one observes features in a swarm which cannot be traced back to the actions of swarm members). What does each swarm member do which allows deliberate engineering of emergent behaviour? We investigate the development of a language for programming swarms of ant agents towards desired emergent behaviour. Five aspects of stigmergic (pheromone sensitive computational devices in which a non-symbolic form of communication that is indirectly mediated via the environment arises) and message passing ant agents (computational devices which rely on implicit communication spaces in which direction vectors are shared one-on-one) are studied. First, we investigate the primitive behaviours which characterize ant agents' discrete actions at individual levels. Ten such primitive behaviours are identified as candidate building blocks of the ant agent language sought. We then study mechanisms in which primitive behaviours are put together into XSets (collection of primitive behaviours, parameter values, and meta information which spells out how and when primitive behaviours are used). Various permutations of XSets are possible which define the search space for best performer XSets for particular tasks. Genetic programming principles are proposed as a search strategy for best performer XSets that would allow particular emergent behaviour to occur. XSets in the search space are evolved over various genetic generations and tested for abilities to allow path finding (as proof of concept). XSets are ranked according to the indices of merit (fitness measures which indicate how well XSets allow particular emergent behaviour to occur) they achieve. Best performer XSets for the path finding task are identifed and reported. We validate the results yield when best performer XSets are used with regard to normality, correlation, similarities in variation, and similarities between mean performances over time. Commonly, the simulation results yield pass most statistical tests. The last aspect we study is the application of best performer XSets to different problem tasks. Five experiments are administered in this regard. The first experiment assesses XSets' abilities to allow multiple targets location (ant agents' abilities to locate continuous regions of targets), and found out that best performer XSets are problem independent. However both categories of XSets are sensitive to changes in agent density. We test the influences of individual primitive behaviours and the effects of the sequences of primitive behaviours to the indices of merit of XSets and found out that most primitive behaviours are indispensable, especially when specific sequences are prescribed. The effects of pheromone dissipation to the indices of merit of stigmergic XSets are also scrutinized. Precisely, dissipation is not causal. Rather, it enhances convergence. Overall, this work successfully identify the discrete primitive behaviours of stigmergic and message passing ant-like devices. It successfully put these primitive behaviours together into XSets which characterize a language for programming ant-like devices towards desired emergent behaviour. This XSets approach is a new ant language representation with which a wider domain of emergent tasks can be resolved.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation of a mathematics recovery programme for multiplicative reasoning to a group of learners in the South African context : a case study approach

An investigation of parameter relationships in a high-speed digital multimedia environment

  • Authors: Chigwamba, Nyasha
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Multimedia communications , Digital communications , Local area networks (Computer networks) , Computer network architectures , Computer network protocols , Computer sound processing , Sound -- Recording and reproducing -- Digital techniques
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:4725 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021153
  • Description: With the rapid adoption of multimedia network technologies, a number of companies and standards bodies are introducing technologies that enhance user experience in networked multimedia environments. These technologies focus on device discovery, connection management, control, and monitoring. This study focused on control and monitoring. Multimedia networks make it possible for devices that are part of the same network to reside in different physical locations. These devices contain parameters that are used to control particular features, such as speaker volume, bass, amplifier gain, and video resolution. It is often necessary for changes in one parameter to affect other parameters, such as a synchronised change between volume and bass parameters, or collective control of multiple parameters. Thus, relationships are required between the parameters. In addition, some devices contain parameters, such as voltage, temperature, and audio level, that require constant monitoring to enable corrective action when thresholds are exceeded. Therefore, a mechanism for monitoring networked devices is required. This thesis proposes relationships that are essential for the proper functioning of a multimedia network and that should, therefore, be incorporated in standard form into a protocol, such that all devices can depend on them. Implementation mechanisms for these relationships were created. Parameter grouping and monitoring capabilities within mixing console implementations and existing control protocols were reviewed. A number of requirements for parameter grouping and monitoring were derived from this review. These requirements include a formal classification of relationship types, the ability to create relationships between parameters with different underlying value units, the ability to create relationships between parameters residing on different devices on a network, and the use of an event-driven mechanism for parameter monitoring. These requirements were the criteria used to govern the implementation mechanisms that were created as part of this study. Parameter grouping and monitoring mechanisms were implemented for the XFN protocol. The mechanisms implemented fulfil the requirements derived from the review of capabilities of mixing consoles and existing control protocols. The formal classification of relationship types was implemented within XFN parameters using lists that keep track of the relationships between each XFN parameter and other XFN parameters that reside on the same device or on other devices on the network. A common value unit, known as the global unit, was defined for use as the value format within value update messages between XFN parameters that have relationships. Mapping tables were used to translate the global unit values to application-specific (universal) units, such as decibels (dB). A mechanism for bulk parameter retrieval within the XFN protocol was augmented to produce an event-driven mechanism for parameter monitoring. These implementation mechanisms were applied to an XFN-protocol-compliant graphical control application to demonstrate their usage within an end user context. At the time of this study, the XFN protocol was undergoing standardisation within the Audio Engineering Society. The AES-64 standard has now been approved. Most of the implementation mechanisms resulting from this study have been incorporated into this standard.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation of protocol command translation as a means to enable interoperability between networked audio devices

  • Authors: Igumbor, Osedum Peter
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Streaming audio Data transmission systems Computer network protocols Computer networks -- Management Command languages (Computer science)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:4689 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011128
  • Description: Digital audio networks allow multiple channels of audio to be streamed between devices. This eliminates the need for many different cables to route audio between devices. An added advantage of digital audio networks is the ability to configure and control the networked devices from a common control point. Common control of networked devices enables a sound engineer to establish and destroy audio stream connections between networked devices that are distances apart. On a digital audio network, an audio transport technology enables the exchange of data streams. Typically, an audio transport technology is capable of transporting both control messages and audio data streams. There exist a number of audio transport technologies. Some of these technologies implement data transport by exchanging OSI/ISO layer 2 data frames, while others transport data within OSI/ISO layer 3 packets. There are some approaches to achieving interoperability between devices that utilize different audio transport technologies. A digital audio device typically implements an audio control protocol, which enables it process configuration and control messages from a remote controller. An audio control protocol also defines the structure of the messages that are exchanged between compliant devices. There are currently a wide range of audio control protocols. Some audio control protocols utilize layer 3 audio transport technology, while others utilize layer 2 audio transport technology. An audio device can only communicate with other devices that implement the same control protocol, irrespective of a common transport technology that connects the devices. The existence of different audio control protocols among devices on a network results in a situation where the devices are unable to communicate with each other. Furthermore, a single control application is unable to establish or destroy audio stream connections between the networked devices, since they implement different control protocols. When an audio engineer is designing an audio network installation, this interoperability challenge restricts the choice of devices that can be included. Even when audio transport interoperability has been achieved, common control of the devices remains a challenge. This research investigates protocol command translation as a means to enable interoperability between networked audio devices that implement different audio control protocols. It proposes the use of a command translator that is capable of receiving messages conforming to one protocol from any of the networked devices, translating the received message to conform to a different control protocol, then transmitting the translated message to the intended target which understands the translated protocol message. In so doing, the command translator enables common control of the networked devices, since a control application is able to configure and control devices that conform to different protocols by utilizing the command translator to perform appropriate protocol translation.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation of stakeholder participation and learning in two schools within the Seychelles Eco-School programme

  • Authors: Emilie, Shane Antonio
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Environmental education -- Seychelles Schools -- Environmental aspects -- Seychelles Education, Primary -- Parent participation -- Seychelles Education, Secondary -- Parent participation -- Seychelles Student participation in administration -- Education (Primary) -- Seychelles Student participation in administration -- Education (Secondary) -- Seychelles Student participation in curriculum planning -- Education (Primary) -- Seychelles Student participation in curriculum planning -- Education (Secondary) -- Seychelles Education, Primary -- Seychelles Education, Secondary -- Seychelles
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1969 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011961
  • Description: The aim of this study was to investigate stakeholder participation and learning in the Seychelles Eco-School programme within a primary school context and a secondary school context. Findings from each Eco-School have been presented in two case studies with the goal to explore and describe how teachers, students, parents and organizations are participating and learning in the Eco-School programme. Six elements of school community were used to deepen understanding of the participatory and learning processes in each Eco-School, namely, leadership, management and administration, curriculum planning, teaching and learning, resource use and management, management of physical surrounds of the school and networks and partnerships. Some of the contextual variables in each Eco-School that were constraining and enabling stakeholder participation and learning in the programme have also been explored within this study. Data in this study was generated from historical documents analysed, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and field notes. Data was also generated from questionnaires completed by organizations involved in the programme at each Eco- School. Data was analysed in two phases, the first phase involved reading across data generated from the methods mentioned above to organize the data under broad themes in relation to the elements of school community. The second phase of analysis involved the use of the conceptual framework of situating learning in a community of practice to interpret and discuss the participatory and learning processes across the two cases. The study showed that in each Eco-School there is a community of practice with the active involvement of teachers and students and the occasional involvement of parents and organizations. Students and adults are learning as they engage together in classroom and field-work interactions, environmental projects, environmental activities to commemorate environmental theme days, environmental campaigns and co-curricular activities through the practices of each Eco-School community. It was also discovered that students and adults are making different contributions in the Eco-School community based on their level of participation in the programme. It is hoped that the findings in this research contribute information regarding community participation in environmental education programmes like the Seychelles Eco-School programme. In addition, findings will inform the Seychelles Government and its partners to consider the possibility of enhancing school and community partnerships to respond to some of the challenges of participation and learning in the Eco-School programme.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation of the expectations held by retail tenants with regards to the internal marketing function performed by their shopping centre landlord

  • Authors: Bosman, Jiminy-Ann Ashurde
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Shopping centers , Retail trade , Stores, Retail , Consumer satisfaction
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3725 , vital:20458
  • Description: While much has been written about retail stores and the retail environment, franchises and organisational marketing, not much can be found on “host” organisations such as shopping centres and their role within the marketing mix. A unique disparity exists within shopping centres in that not only are they an organisation with their own brand identity and culture, but they also play host to numerous retailers and franchises with very clear brands and messages of their own. The question that is often posed to the landlord is therefore whose message or what message is the correct one to market to the common consumer-base targeted by both the shopping centre (landlord) and the tenant (retailers). When considering this, it is important to understand that a symbiotic relationship exists between landlord and tenant within shopping centres in that if a tenant is successful this will result in greater rentals for the landlord and if the landlord’s property is successful, i.e. popular, this will result in greater revenue for the tenant. Both parties therefore actively engage in marketing of their businesses and whilst the message is often noticeably different, what is unique is that this is often to the same consumer-base. Tenants in many shopping centres contribute towards centre marketing expenses as part of their lease agreements and as a result have certain expectations in terms of what message is being marketed. Shopping centres varying in size and tenant numbers make the landlords marketing role that much more complex and often generic messaging is employed to umbrella the wide offering available. This study aims at investigating the expectations held by retail tenants of their shopping centre landlords through the internal communications function. Corporate communication theory as well as public relations theory was used as a grounding.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation of the intention to leave or stay of health care professionals at St. Andrews Hospital

  • Authors: Amanambu, Rochelle Aneeta
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Medical personnel -- Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies Medical personnel -- Job stress -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies Hospitals -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Administration Hospitals -- Medical staff -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Hospitals -- Officials and employees -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Turnover Health services administration -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Health planning -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: vital:823 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011091
  • Description: Background: The demand for and retention of talent worldwide is aggravated by revolutionary trends that include global competition, demographic changes and technological advances. In South Africa this phenomenon according to Frost (2002) is further challenged by the emigration of skilled people; the relative scarcity of specialist and managerial employees; employment equity and affirmative action procedures. But the development of strategies first requires an understanding of the factors which influence decisions to leave or stay particularly in rural and remote areas. St. Andrews Hospital is a rural district hospital in Ugu District, KZN. Its remoteness from urban areas and the lack of resources contributes towards challenges of attracting and retaining health care professionals to the area. It is the aim of this study to identify the ten most prevalent turnover and retention factors in a rural district hospital with the intention of making recommendations towards strategies to mitigate turnover and improve retention of health care professionals. This study will not only serve the local Human Resource Department but may also be used to inform district and provincial policies as well as departments’ decisions in the design or the review of current retention strategies aimed at reducing turnover. Method: The survey method was used to collect the primary data by distribution of self-administered questionnaires to Health Care Professionals at St. Andrews Hospital. Of the one hundred and fifty questionnaires distributed, one hundred and seven were returned (71% response rate) and formed the basis of the study. Results: Based on the impact scores, the top three turnover factors identified were, the way the organisation is led by top management (0.934); the size of the workload (0.862); and the way problems are dealt with by managers in the organisation (0.817). No statistically significant relationships were found between turnover factors and biographical variable. Availability of quality health services was ranked as the external factor that had the highest influence (78%) on turnover, while geographical location was ranked the lowest. The main reason given by respondents for leaving their previous employment was promotion, followed by distance and personal/family reasons. The top three retention factors identified from the impact scores were the quality of relationships with colleagues (1.698); the amount of support received from managers and colleagues (1.484); and the level of engagement and involvement with the job (1.390). This demonstrates that the salary package often thought to be a first priority factor Mobley, Horner and Hollingsworth (1978); Mobley (1982) and Herzberg (2003) is far less of a determining factor at St. Andrews Hospital than management support, job involvement and person-organisation fit as well as the social relationships formed in the workplace. A positive relationship was found between leadership and job dimension factors at the 1% level of significance. This supports the strong social bond (person-organisation fit) formed in the work environment between management and colleagues that supports retention and increases level of commitment. An important result of the study was that 46% of the respondents were thinking of leaving the town within the year while 29% were considering resigning from St. Andrews Hospital within the year. Conclusion: The results reveal a complex interaction of factors impacting on turnover and retention. The Human Resource Management function has a pivotal role to play in improving its ability to attract and retain professionals through developing comprehensive strategies based on external and internal and environmental factors. The study conveys to the St. Andrews Hospital management that turnover and retention factors are unique to the location and the working environment and differs amongst Health Care Professionals – this should be deliberated on when formulating Hospital Human Resource retention policies.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation of the potential anti-diabetic (insulinomimetic) activity of anti-oxidant compounds derived from Sargassum heterophyllum

  • Authors: Nyambe, Mutenta Nsokolo
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Sargassum , Diabetes -- Chemotherapy , Diabetes -- Africa , Antioxidants -- Therapeutic use , Marine algae , Endemic plants -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:3874 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021020
  • Description: In Africa, non-communicable diseases such as diabetes mellitus have been generally neglected. This problem has worsened over the years owing to continuous threats from infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Despite this, statistics have shown that by 2030, the African region will have the highest proportional increase in diabetes prevalence. Over 80% of all diabetic deaths occur in developing countries probably not only due to poor equity of access to medication but also due to limited efficacy and side effects associated with the commonly available anti-diabetic agents. Therefore, this creates the desperate need for the development of new anti-diabetic agents that are more efficacious and can be sourced from within the continent. With oxidative stress as a suggested mechanism underlying the cause of diabetes mellitus and diabetic complications, the discovery of natural anti-oxidants that prevent free radical mediated damage is important for developing new treatment strategies. Marine algae have been identified as good sources for natural anti-oxidants. Unfortunately, very few studies have embarked on the discovery of marine-derived anti-oxidant compounds with potential anti-diabetic activity. In this project, we investigated the potential anti-oxidant activity of the South African endemic algae Stypopodium multipartitum, Dictyopterus ligulata, Cystophora fibriosa, Bifurcariopsis capensis, Sargassum sp. and Sargassum heterophyllum. From these studies, Sargassum heterophyllum yielded prenylated compounds, the main compound being sargahydroquinoic acid (3.6) and the carotenoid metabolite fucoxanthin (3.8), which are in part responsible for the radical scavenging activity of the crude extract. Sargahydroquinoic acid (3.6) and fucoxanthin (3.8) also exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity. Sargaquinoic acid (3.1), sargachromenoic acid (3.9) and sarganaphthoquinoic acid (3.10) were then semi-synthesized from sargahydroquinoic acid (3.6) and their in-vitro cytotoxicity profiles evaluated using Chang Liver, HT-29, Caco-2 and 3T3-L1 cell lines prior to antidiabetic testing. From the semi-synthetic derivatives, sargachromenoic acid (3.9) exhibited the most potent anti-oxidant activity (IC₅₀ = 6.99 μg/mL). After the evaluation of antidiabetic activity using 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation, sarganaphthoquinoic acid (3.10) showed the most potent insulinomimetic activity at 1.19 μM by inducing a PPARγ response similar to that of rosiglitazone at 1 μM.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation of the question of cyber-ethics in social media-communications within selected South African NGOs

  • Authors: Mbinjama-Gamatham, Adelina
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Social media -- Moral and ethical aspects Non-governmental organizations -- South Africa , Online social networks -- Moral and ethical aspects , Communication -- Social aspects
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45804 , vital:39196
  • Description: The issue of ethics on the internet has become complicated due to a number of people placing material on cyberspace. NGOs are increasingly using social media to promote their products and services. Jürgen Habermas’ theory of communicative action and discourse ethics as a theoretical basis to the study merges together several factors which impact on the use of social media as a communicational tool for social marketing. The study explores how eight “ethical variables” (ethical and moral problems) are impacted by social media. The variables- justice, privacy, access, accuracy, truth, human dignity, regulation and ownership of information are a basis of enquiry by conducting in-depth interviews with employers/managers of 10 selected South African NGOs, as well as distributing survey questionnaires to 150 employees/volunteers of the NGOs to determine their experiences with cyberspace. The research investigates the social contexts of the selected NGOs and the safety measures they implement to protect their reputations and corporate identities. The study analyzes unethical behaviours that exist within the selected virtual organizations of the NGOs and investigates the ethical guidelines they follow in order to deal with the breaches of ethics. The study offers recommendations into amending drafted or existing public procedural policies for the purpose of self-regulating present and future users of social media. The study proposes that the continued misuse of social media may cause social media guidelines to be embedded into existing national legislative frameworks, such as South Africa’s Bill of Rights, as well as media and communications Acts.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014

An investigation of the relationship between financial sector development and economic growth in South Africa

  • Authors: Lotz, Michael James
  • Date: 2014
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom (Economics)
  • Identifier: vital:11482 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1015285
  • Description: This study examines the relationship between financial development and economic growth in South Africa in order to get a better understanding of which direction the causality runs. The study takes a look at the literature on the topic as well as econometric techniques using data from 1990 to 2011. A Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) is used to determine the long run relationship between the variables. The Granger causality tests are done in order to determine the direction of causality between variables. Economic growth is proxied by GDP and financial development is proxied by liquid liabilities, credit to the private sector and turnover of shares traded. After careful evaluation and interpretation, it is determined that there is indeed a relationship between financial development and economic growth. Furthermore, the relationship is bidirectional. Policies should thus take on a balanced approach in that they should pursue both financial development and economic growth in order to maximise growth and development in the country.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2014
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Contact