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A study of the Amathole District Municipality's settlement plan in the light of the land reform and spatial planning measures

  • Authors: Zenzile, Mlamli Lennox
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: Land reform -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land tenure -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land settlement -- Government policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land use -- Planning -- South Africa , Restitution -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Compensation (Law) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Human rights -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Right of property -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
  • Identifier: vital:3700 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003215 , Land reform -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land tenure -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land settlement -- Government policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land use -- Planning -- South Africa , Restitution -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Compensation (Law) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Human rights -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Right of property -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Description: This study concerns the analysis of policy, and the statutory and regulatory impact of spatial planning on the land reform programme with emphasis on the land reform settlement plan (LSRP) of the Amathole District Municipality (ADM). There is a brief historical overview of the effect of the policy of spatial segregation in both rural and urban areas of the ADM. This study demonstrates, inter alia, the challenges faced by the ADM in both consolidating and physically integrating communities that were hitherto divided across racial lines. The critical question is whether the ADM has the ability to produce a Spatial Development Framework (SDF), which will be responsive to the needs of the region and serve as a catalyst in reversing the physical distortions caused by the land-planning legislation of the apartheid past. The greatest challenge lies in meeting the developmental aspirations of the Development Facilitation Act, 1995, the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 and the National Spatial Development Perspective, 2003. Chapter 1 deals with the purpose, research problem and the method of research, as well as the definition of terms used in this research and literature review. Chapter 2 deals with the evolution of central themes of spatial planning and land reform, spatial development plans and integrated development plans (IDPs), the alignment of Amathole SDF and Eastern Cape Spatial Development Plan and the co-ordination of spatial frameworks. Chapter 3 deals with the composition of the ADM and the evolution of the LRSP, as well as land-tenure reform programmes impacting on the Amathole Municipality region. This chapter analyses the settlement plan against spatial planning legislation, the issue of institutional arrangements and mechanisms of consolidated local planning processes. Chapter 5 deals with the thorny issue of participation of traditional leaders in municipal planning and the government’s land-reform programme. Despite the existence of legislation in this regard, implementation seems to pose some difficulties. This chapter also deals with the co-operative governance framework. Chapter 6 is a concluding chapter dealing with the gaps discovered in the Amathole Municipality in the light of existing legislation. Reference to cases is made to demonstrate the challenges confronting the ADM. One notable aspect is the issue of urban-rural dichotomy and how the two worlds are positioned in their competition for the use of space. It is evident from this research that the post-1994 policy and legislative framework and implementation machinery lacks capacity to change the current form of the apartheid city-planning paradigm, something which impacts immensely on the sustainability of the current human-settlement development programmes. Population dynamics in terms of migration are hugely driven by search for employment opportunities and better services. The efficiency and ability of the municipal spatial evelopment frameworks in directing and dictating the identification of development nodes in its juristic boundary informed by the overarching national policy and legislative framework is key in building a better South Africa.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Representation and use of indigenous heritage constructs : implications for the quality and relevance of heritage education in post colonial southern Africa

  • Authors: Zazu, Cryton
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Albany Museum (Grahamstown, South Africa) Cultural property -- Conservation and restoration -- Research -- Africa, Southern Great Zimbabwe (Extinct city) Indigenous peoples -- Material culture -- Africa, Southern Anthropological museums and collections -- Management -- Research -- Africa, Southern Cultural property -- Management -- Research Ethnoscience -- Study and teaching -- Africa, Southern
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:1407 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002015
  • Description: This study explores representation and use of indigenous heritage constructs with a view to identifying implications thereof for the quality and relevance of heritage education practices in post colonial southern Africa. Framed within a critical hermeneutic research paradigm under-laboured by critical realist ontology, the study was conducted using a multiple case study research design. The data collection protocol was three-phased, starting with a process of contextual profiling, within which insights were gained into discourses shaping the constitution and orientation of heritage education practices at the Albany Museum in South Africa, the Great Zimbabwe Monument in Zimbabwe and the Supa Ngwao Museum in Botswana. The second phase of data collection entailed modelling workshops in which educators engaged in discussion around the status of heritage education in post apartheid South Africa. This highlighted, through modelled lessons, some of the tensions, challenges and implications for working with notions of social transformation and inclusivity in heritage education. The third phase of data collection involved in-depth interviews. Twelve purposively selected research participants were interviewed between 2010 and 2011. Data generated across the study was processed and subjected to different levels of critical discourse analysis. Besides noting how heritage education in post colonial southern Africa is poorly framed and under-researched, this study revealed that current forms of representing indigenous heritage constructs are influenced more by socio-political discourses than the need to protect and conserve local heritage resources. The study also noted that the observed heritage education practices are oriented more towards addressing issues related to marginalisation and alienation of indigenous cultures and practices, than enhancing learners’ agency to manage and utilise local heritage resources in a more sustainable ways. Based on these findings the study recommends re-positioning heritage education within the framework of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). ESD acknowledges both issues of social justice and the dialectical interplay between nature and culture; as such, it may allow for representation and use of indigenous heritage constructs in ways that expand current political orientations to include sustainability as an additional objective of heritage education. Given that little research focusing on heritage education has been undertaken within southern Africa, the findings of this study provide a basis upon which future research may emerge.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

Exploring opportunities and challenges for achieving the integration of indigenous knowledge systems into environmental education processes: a case study of the Sebakwe Environmental Education programme (SEEP) in Zimbabwe

  • Authors: Zazu, Cryton
  • Date: 2007
  • Subjects: Sebekwane Environmental Education programme Ethnoscience -- Study and teaching -- Zimbabwe Environmental education -- Zimbabwe Mainstreaming in education -- Zimbabwe
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1540 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003422
  • Description: The role and value of indigenous knowledge systems in enhancing and contextualizing education has long been recognized (UNESCO, 1978). Against this background a lot of research focusing on the documentation and study of the world’s indigenous knowledge systems, including those of Southern African countries was done. However, within the Southern African context much of this research did not translate into practical curriculum processes leaving educational processes de-contextualized (O’Donoghue, 2002; Mokuku, 2004; Shava, 2005). The linkages between the school, the home and the wider community remained weak (Taylor & Mulhall, 2001). The net effect of the limited integration of indigenous knowledge systems into mainstream environmental education processes has been that indigenous learners (such as those within the Sebakwe rural community) continued to get exposed to two different world views, the western scientific world view and the everyday life world views. The integration of indigenous knowledge systems into mainstream education such as the Sebakwe Environmental Education programme (SEEP) is one way of contextualizing education and improving its relevance to learners’ socio-cultural backgrounds. This research was conceptualized against such a context and seeks to explore the opportunities and challenges for the integration of indigenous knowledge systems into the Sebakwe Environmental Education programme. The ultimate purpose of this research is to contextualize SEEP both in its epistemology, and pedagogy. The research was designed and conducted within a qualitative interpretive case study methodology. The methodology involved a three-phased data collection method namely document analysis, focus group interviews and an inquiry-based workshop. The data was then analyzed and interpreted in relation to a set of theoretical perspectives. This research concluded that there is a possibility of integrating indigenous knowledge systems into the Sebakwe Environmental Education programme. Based on the findings the research came up with a list of recommendations to guide the process of working with indigenous knowledge within the Sebakwe Environmental Education programme.
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  • Date Issued: 2007

The praxis of responsible investment in South Africa: a holistic case study of Evolution One Fund

  • Authors: Zaulochnaya Ya-Brouwer, Irina
  • Date: 2012
  • Subjects: Social responsibility of business -- South Africa Investments -- Moral and ethical aspects -- South Africa Institutional investments -- Moral and ethical aspects -- South Africa Private equity funds -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: vital:778 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003899
  • Description: At the beginning of the 21st century the public interest in environmental and social sustainability, and corporate governance grew exponentially fuelled by recurring ecological and financial crises. The market demand for cleaner production and corporate transparency created opportunities for sustainability entrepreneurs in a variety of industries, including financial markets and investment management. An increasing number of financial institutions across the world now offer ethical or socially responsible products to meet the environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspirations of their clients. In the US, according to the Social Investment Forum (SIF), responsible investment (RI) assets reached US$ 2,29 trillion in 2007 (Mitchell, 2008). The European Sustainable Investment Forum (EuroSIF) estimated that total European SRI assets reached EUR 5 trillion in 2009 (Wheelan, 2010). In June 2011 the International Finance Corporation (IFC) reported that at the end of 2010 professional sustainable investment under management in South Africa approximately equalled US$ 122,6 billion (IFC, 2011:44). The statistics describing the rapid growth in the ESG-type investments are, however, complicated by the variety of names and definitions used to describe this emerging type of investment and a general market uncertainty about what constitutes the practice of RI. The purpose of this case study is to better understand responsible investment principles and practice as seen through the eyes of a South African private equity fund, which specializes in clean technology.
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  • Date Issued: 2012

A genetic and ecophysiological comparison of co-occuring indigenous (Perna perna) and invasive (Mytilus galloprovincialis) intertidal mussels

  • Authors: Zardi, Gerardo Ivan
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: Perna -- South Africa Mytilus galloprovincialis -- South Africa Mussels -- South Africa Mytilidae -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:5613 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003066
  • Description: The Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis is the most successful marine invasive species in South Africa. Its presence has had significant ecological consequences on the intertidal communities of the west coast. On the south coast, M galloprovincialis co-exists and competes with the indigenous intertidal mussel Perna perna in the lower balanoid zone, where they show partial habitat segregation. The upper and the lower mussel zones are dominated by M. galloprovincialis and P. perna respectively while they co-occur in the mid zone. In this thesis M. galloprovincialis and P. perna are compared in terms of their population genetics and their ecophysiology. The success of an invader depends on its ability to react to new environmental factors, especially when compared to indigenous species. The distribution and diversity of intertidal species throughout the world are strongly influenced by periodic sand inundation and hydrodynamic stress. Occupying the lower intertidal zone, P. perna is more strongly influenced by sand (burial and sand in suspension) than M. galioprovincialis. Despite this, P. perna is more vulnerable to the effects of sand, showing higher mortality rates under experimental conditions in both the laboratory and the field. M. galioprovincialis has longer labial palps than P. perna, indicating a better ability to sort particles. This, and a higher tolerance to anoxia, explains its lower mortality rates when exposed to burial or suspended sand. Habitat segregation is often explained by physiological tolerances, but in this case, such explanations fail. The ability of a mussel to withstand wave-generated hydrodynamic stress depends mainly on its byssal attachment strength. The higher attachment strength of P. perna compared to M. galioprovincialis and of solitary mussels compared to mussels living within a bed (bed mussels) can be explained by more and thicker byssal threads. M galloprovincialis also has a wider shell, is subjected to higher hydrodynamic loads than P. perna and shows a higher theoretical probability of dislodgement, this is borne out under field conditions. The attachment strength of both species increased from higher to lower shore, in parallel to a gradient of a stronger wave action. Monthly measurements showed that P. perna is always more strongly attached than M. galloprovincialis and revealed seasonal fluctuations of attachment strength for both species in response to wave height. The gonad index of both species was negatively cross-correlated with attachment strength. The results are discussed in the context of the evolutionary strategy of the alien mussel, which directs most of its energy to fast growth and high reproductive output, apparently at the cost of reduced attachment strength. This raises the prediction that its invasive impact will be more pronounced at sites subjected to low or moderate wave action at heavily exposed sites. The potential of a species for invasion is also determined by the ability of the invader to disperse. Population genetics provide indirect information about dispersal through a direct measurement of gene flow. The low genetic divergence (measured as mtDNA) of M. galloprovincialis confirms its recent arrival in South Africa. In contrast, the population genetics structure of P. perna revealed strong divergence on the south-east coast, resulting in a western lineage (straddling the distributional gap of the Benguela System), and an eastern lineage, with an overlap region of the two on the south coast between Kenton-on-Sea and Haga Haga. This genetic disjunction may be caused by Agulhas Current acting as an oceanographic barrier to larval dispersal, or by different environmental selective forces acting on regional populations. Over the last ten years, M. galloprovincialis has shown a decrease or cessation of its spread to the east in exactly the region of the genetic disjunction in P. perna, again suggesting either an oceanographic barrier to larval dispersal, or increasing selection driven by sharp gradients in environmental conditions.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

IsiXhosa storytelling (iintsomi) as an alternative medium for maternal health education in primary healthcare in the Eastern Cape

  • Authors: Zakaza, Nompucuko
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Communication in community health services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communication in reproductive health -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Storytelling in education , Applied folklore
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:3648 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017188
  • Description: The aim of this study is to explore the introduction of IsiXhosa (iintsomi) as an alternative method in the maternal health education in rural Primary Health Care in the Eastern Cape. An informal preliminary observation of a maternal health lesson by the researcher indicated a further need for maternal health educators to introduce storytelling into the health content themes. To re-inforce the maternal health educator lesson on the causes of teenage pregnancy, lifestyles for pregnant women, causes of miscarriage and termination of pregnancy, the Community Health Workers can undoubtedly use isiXhosa iintsomi in selected clinics and maternal waiting homes. As a readily available resource that cuts across all literacy barriers, iintsomi (isiXhosa) fosters a cross-cultural consultation which enables the healthcare worker to convey messages that make sense to the rural women. While the conventional methods of teaching have a tendency to create tension and lack of participation, use of folktale (iintsomi) have huge potential to bring lesson enjoyment; a meaningful interaction and story sharing by the maternal health educator, the pregnant women and greater community; access to important health messages; and strengthened utilisation of Primary Health Care. The study therefore suggests that there is a place for isiXhosa iintsomi: From the Fireplace into the Workplace.
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  • Date Issued: 2015

Complex interactions involving the Cape fig, Ficus sur Forsskål, and its associated insects

  • Authors: Zachariades, Costas
  • Date: 1995
  • Subjects: Insect-plant relationships Mutualism (Biology) Fig -- South Africa Fig wasp -- South Africa Ants Homoptera
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:5655 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005338
  • Description: The inadequacy of arbitrarily classifying interactions between species as antagonistic, neutral or mutualistic has become clear in recent years. Both direct and indirect interactions between species can vary between mutualism and antagonism, depending on the intrinsic and extrinsic contexts of the interaction. This study investigated the characteristics of an ant-plant-homopteran interaction in southern Africa. The polyphagous homopteran Hilda patruelis (Tettigometridae) feeds primarily on the trunk-borne fruiting branches and figs of the Cape fig tree, Ficus sur, and produces honeydew which attracts tending ants. Ten of the sixteen ant species/species groups present on F. sur tended H. patruelis, with Pheidole megacephala the most frequent attendant. Ants attracted to F. sur by H. patruelis honeydew or other liquid food sources also preyed on insects on the tree, including adults of the small agaonid fig wasps whose larvae feed on the ovules in the developing figs. One fig wasp species (Ceratosolen capensis) is also the tree's only pollinator. No benefits to H. patruelis from being tended by ants were detected, either in terms of reduced parasitism, or predation by a lycaenid caterpillar. A P. megacephala colony foraging on a F. sur tree was found to receive a high proportion of its likely energy requirements from the tree, mainly in the form of H. patruelis honeydew, during periods when it was bearing fruit. It is probable that the H. patruelis-P. megacephala interaction constitutes a direct mutualism at times, but that benefits to the homopteran are intermittent or weak. Both H. patruelis and ants benefitted from F. sur, directly or indirectly, through the provision of food (and for some ants, nesting sites). The removal of phloem sap by H. patruelis did not detectably reduce the trees' reproductive output, either in terms of pollinator or viable seed production. The indirect effects of ant and H. patruelis presence on the F. sur trees were on average positive, as ants preyed disproportionately heavily on fig wasp species parasitic on or competing with the pollinator, thus increasing pollinator production. Effects of ant presence on seed production were not investigated, but have been demonstrated as beneficial elsewhere. However, there is great varatlon both in the composition of the wasp fauna arriving to oviposit at different crops, and in ant densities per fig, on several temporal and spatial scales. This results in high variability in the effects of ants on the pollinator and, through it, the tree, from positive to zero and potentially even negative. Despite this conditionality of beneficial outcomes for the tree, the mean effect of ants on the F. sur population studied was to increase pollinator production by up to nearly 20%. This study is among the few to have demonstrated an overall benefit to a plant of having homopteran-tending ants present on it.
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  • Date Issued: 1995

In silico substrate binding profiling for SARS-COV-2 main protease (mpro) using hexapeptide substrates

  • Authors: Zabo, Sophakama
  • Date: 2022-10-14
  • Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease) , Peptides , Chymotrypsin like , Chymotrypsin , Proteases , Proteolytic enzymes
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/365566 , vital:65760
  • Description: COVID-19, as a disease resulting from SARS-CoV-2 infection, and a pandemic has had a devastating effect on the world. There are limited effective measures that control the spread and treatment of COVID-19 illness. The homodimeric cysteine main protease (Mpro) is crucial to the life cycle of the virus, as it cleaves the large polyproteins 1a and 1ab into matured, functional non-structural proteins. The Mpro exhibits high degrees of conservation in sequence, structure and specificity across coronavirus species, making it an ideal drug target. The Mpro substrate-binding profiles remain, despite the resolution of its recognition sequence and cleavage points (Leu-Gln↓(Ser/Ala/Gly)). In this study, a series of hexapeptide sequences containing the appropriate recognition sequence and cleavage points were generated and screened against the Mpro to study these binding profiles, and to further be the basis for efficiency-driven drug design. A multi-conformer hexapeptide substrate library comprising optimised 81000 models of 810 unique sequences was generated using RDKit within the context of python. Terminal capping with ACE and NMe was effected using SMILES and SMARTS matching. Multiple hexapeptides were complexed with chain B of crystallographic Mpro (PDS ID: 6XHM), following the validation of chain B for this purpose using AutoDock Vina at high levels of exhaustiveness (480). The resulting Vina scores ranged between -8.7 and -7.0 kcal.mol-1, and the reproducibility of best poses was validated through redocking. Ligand efficiency indices were calculated to identify substrate residues with high binding efficiency at their respective positions, revealing Val (P3), Ala (P1′); and Gly and Ala (P2′ and P3′) as leading efficient binders. Binding efficiencies were lowered by molecular weight. Substrate recognition was assessed by mapping of binding subsites, and Mpro specificity was evaluated through the resolution of intermolecular interaction at the binding interface. Molecular dynamics simulations for 20 ns were performed to assess the stability and behaviour of 132 Mpro systems complexed with KLQ*** substrates. Principal component analysis (PCA), was performed to assess II protein motions and conformational changes during the simulations. A strategy was formulated to classify and evaluate relations in the Mpro PCA motions, revealing four main clades of similarity. Similarity within a clade (Group 2) and dissimilarity between clades were confirmed. Trajectory visualisation revealed complex stability, substrate unbinding and dimer dissociation for various Mpro systems. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-10-14

Secondary effects of oral contraceptives

  • Authors: Yuen, E Ho
  • Date: 1978
  • Subjects: Oral contraceptives , Oral contraceptives -- Side effects
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:3847 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012296
  • Description: Norethynodrel, a common progestin in oral contraceptives, produces in female rats several significant physiological, cytological and biochemical changes at dose levels of 1 mg and 20 mg per kg: 1) a relative increase in liver mass 2) modification of appearance and extent of the endoplasmic reticulum 3) augmentation of the protein content of the liver 4) increase of the level of cytochrome P- 450 in the liver as determined by : a) difference spectroscopy b) increases in biotransformation of aniline and aminopyrine in vitro and c) reduction of sleeping times of rats dosed with phenobarbital The significance of these findings becomes evident when it is realized that norethynodrel affects and is affected by the same enzyme system which oxidizes medicaments in general in the body: induction of cytochrome P-450 by administration of norethynodrel may interfere with the action of other drugs . Ethinyl estradiol alone showed none of the inductive effects. At high dose levels (20 mg per kg) both norethynodrel and ethinyl estradiol caused a marked inhibition of growth of the animals, producing a net loss of body mass over the 30- day experimental period. Electron micrographic evidence implies that there is also a lowering of glycogen content and a chemical change in the lipids of adrenocortical and liver cells accompanying the use of these agents.
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  • Date Issued: 1978

The spatial evolution of the chemotaxis proteins of the Bacillus subtilis group

  • Authors: Yssel, Anna Elizabeth Johanna
  • Date: 2011
  • Subjects: Chemotaxis , Bacillus subtilis , Bacillus (Bacteria) , Homology (Biology) , Plants -- Microbiology
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:4027 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004087 , Chemotaxis , Bacillus subtilis , Bacillus (Bacteria) , Homology (Biology) , Plants -- Microbiology
  • Description: The aim of this work was to study spatial evolution of the chemotaxis proteins of a group of plant-associated soil-dwelling bacteria vernacularly referred to as the B. subtilis group. This was achieved by creating homology models for the chemotaxis proteins if a suitable template was available, and by analysing the selective forces (positive, purifying or neutral) acting upon the chemotaxis proteins. Chemotaxis is the phenomenon in which bacteria direct their movement towards more favourable conditions, and is critical for processes such as obtaining nutrients, escaping toxic compounds, host colonization and bio-film formation. Members of the B. subtilis group exhibit different preferences for certain host plants, and it is therefore feasible that their chemotactic machinery are fine-tuned to respond optimally to the conditions of the various niches that the strains inhabit. Homology models were inferred for the plant growth promoting B. amyloliquefaciens FZB42 proteins CheB, CheC, CheD, CheR, CheW and CheY. The interactions between: CheC-CheD, the P1 and P2 domains of CheA with CheY and CheB, and the P4 and P5 domains of CheA with CheW were also modelled. The hydrophobic interactions contributing to intra- and inter-protein contacts were analysed. The models of the interactions between CheB and the various domains of CheA are of particular interest, because to date no structures have been solved that show an interaction between a histidine kinase (such as CheA) and a multidomain response regulator (such as CheB). Furthermore, evidence that phospho-CheB may inhibit the formation of phospho-CheY by competitively binding to the P2 domain of CheA is also presented. Proteins were analysed to determine if individual amino acid sites are under positive, neutral or purifying selection. The Methyl Accepting Chemotaxis Proteins (MCPs), CheA and CheV were also analyzed, but due to a lack of suitable templates, no homology models were constructed. Site-specific positive and purifying selection were estimated by comparing the ratios of non-synonymous to synonymous substitutions at each site in the sequences for the chemotaxis proteins as well as for the receptors McpA, McpB, and McpC. Homology models were coloured according to intensity of selective forces. It was found that the chemotaxis proteins of member of the B. subtilis group are under strong evolutionary constraints, hence it is unlikely that positive selection in these proteins are responsible for the differences in habitat preference that these organism exhibit.
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  • Date Issued: 2011

A review of the implementation of the CAPS Life Skills curriculum training, as a recontextualising process, in engaging teachers in environmental education in two districts of the Eastern Cape Province

  • Authors: Yoyo, Sindiswa
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Life skills Study and teaching (Continuing education) South Africa Eastern Cape , Environmental education Curricula South Africa Eastern Cape , Teachers In-service training South Africa Eastern Cape , Curriculum change South Africa Eastern Cape , Teachers Education (Continuing education) South Africa Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61767 , vital:28057
  • Description: This study examines how the implementation of CAPS Life Skills curriculum training (as a recontextualising process) is engaging teachers in environmental education. The research was centred on training manuals for Life Skills (Official Recontextualisation Field) and their use in CAPS training at district level in two Eastern Cape sites of recontextualisation (Professional Recontextualisation Field). During the training, teachers developed lesson plans that were reviewed and group interviews were conducted on the training process and its outcomes. The manuals, training process, lesson plans and interview transcripts were analysed for evidence of environmental education, notably content, teaching and learning methods and assessment strategies. Bernstein’s (1990) framework of the pedagogic device underpins this study. Here the concept of the relay is key for tracking the "relay” of the content, teaching and learning methods and assessment strategies through the processes of recontextualisation into the lesson plans for the field of production. During the process of de-location and relocation, gaps are created and this study sought to track and probe patterns of omissions that took place during the relay process in two cases of training. The review of the in-service training course process of recontextualisation and its cascading approach exposed challenges of omission as it became clear that at each level of the recontextualisation process, gaps were apparent. The study highlighted how the 3-5 day workshop process reviewed was not a robust model for professional development. It was not effective and changes in the mode of delivery and processes of support that reach into curriculum practice in the context of the school are recommended. The study concludes that there is a need for continuous professional development as teachers need ongoing support especially for a "new” curriculum like CAPS that is content driven.
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  • Date Issued: 2018

A predictive biogeography of selected alien plant invaders in South Africa

  • Authors: Youthed, Jennifer Gay
  • Date: 1997
  • Subjects: Alien plants -- South Africa , Biogeography -- South Africa , Acacia -- South Africa , Acacia mearnsii -- South Africa , Opuntia ficus-indica -- South Africa , Solanum -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:4846 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005522 , Alien plants -- South Africa , Biogeography -- South Africa , Acacia -- South Africa , Acacia mearnsii -- South Africa , Opuntia ficus-indica -- South Africa , Solanum -- South Africa
  • Description: Five techniques were used to predict the potential biogeography of the four alien plant species, Acacia longifolia, Acacia mearnsii, Opuntia ficus-indica and Solanum sisymbrifolium. Prediction was based on five environmental factors, median annual rainfall, co-efficient of variation for rainfall, mean monthly maximum temperature for January, mean monthly minimum temperature for July and elevation. A geographical information system was used to manage the data and produce the predictive maps. The models were constructed with presence and absence data and then validated by means of an independent data set and chisquared tests. Of the five models used, three (the range, principal components analysis and discriminant function analysis) were linear while the other two (artificial neural networks and fuzzy logic) were non-linear. The two non-linear techniques were chosen as a plant's response to its environment is commonly assumed to be non-linear. However, these two techniques did not offer significant advantages over the linear methods. The principal components analysis was particularly useful in ascertaining the variables that were important in determining the distribution of each species. Artifacts on the predictive maps were also proved useful for this purpose. The techniques that produced the most statistically accurate validation results were the artificial neural networks (77% correct median prediction rate) and the discriminant function analysis (71% correct median prediction rate) while the techniques that performed the worst were the range and the fuzzy classification. The artificial neural network, discriminant function analysis and principal component analysis techniques all show great potential as predictive distribution models.
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  • Date Issued: 1997

Some adaptations of myrmeleontid (Neuroptera) and rhagionid (Diptera) larvae to life in hot dry sand

  • Authors: Youthed, Gayle Jean
  • Date: 1974
  • Subjects: Ant lions Rhagionidae
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:5818 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007228
  • Description: From Introduction: Larvae of the families Myrmeleontidae, Neuroptera, (ant-lions) and Rhagionidae, Diptera, (worm-lions) all live in hot dry sand. Many of the ant-lion larvae and all the worm-lion larvae, construct small conical pits in the sand which are used for the capture of prey (Haub, 1942; Youthed and Horan, 1969a). Those ant-lion larvae which do not construct pits lie in wait for their prey just below the surface of the sand.
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  • Date Issued: 1974

Designing and implementing a new pulsar timer for the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory

  • Authors: Youthed, Andrew David
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: Astronomical observatories , Radio astronomy , Pulsars , Astronomical instruments , Reduced instruction set computers , Random access memory
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:5458 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005243 , Astronomical observatories , Radio astronomy , Pulsars , Astronomical instruments , Reduced instruction set computers , Random access memory
  • Description: This thesis outlines the design and implementation of a single channel, dual polarization pulsar timing instrument for the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO). The new timer is designed to be an improved, temporary replacement for the existing device which has been in operation for over 20 years. The existing device is no longer reliable and is di±cult to maintain. The new pulsar timer is designed to provide improved functional- ity, higher sampling speed, greater pulse resolution, more °exibility and easier maintenance over the existing device. The new device is also designed to keeping changes to the observation system to a minimum until a full de-dispersion timer can be implemented at theobservatory. The design makes use of an 8-bit Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) micro-processor with external Random Access Memory (RAM). The instrument includes an IEEE-488 subsystem for interfacing the pulsar timer to the observation computer system. The microcontroller software is written in assembler code to ensure optimal loop execution speed and deterministic code execution for the system. The design path is discussed and problems encountered during the design process are highlighted. Final testing of the new instrument indicates an improvement in the sam- pling rate of 13.6 times and a significant reduction in 60Hz interference over the existing instrument.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Synthetic and bioactivity studies of antiplasmodial and antibacterial marine natural products

  • Authors: Young, Ryan Mark
  • Date: 2012
  • Subjects: Antibacterial agents Marine natural products Marine pharmacology Plasmodium falciparum Staphylococcus aureus Isocyanides Imidazoles
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:4378 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005043
  • Description: This thesis is divided into two parts, assessing marine and synthetic compounds active firstly against Plasmodium falciparum (Chapter 3 and 4) and secondly active against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, Chapter 5). In Chapter 3 the synthesis of nine new tricyclic podocarpanes (3.203-3.207 and 3.209-3.212) from the diterpene (+)-manool is described. Initial SAR study of synthetic podocarpanes concluded that the most active compound was a C-13 phenyl substituted podocarpane (3.204, IC₅₀ 6.6 μM). By preparing analogues with varying halogenated substituents on the phenyl ring (3.209-3.212) the antiplasmodial activity was improved (IC₅₀ 1.4 μM), while simultaneously decreasing the haemolysis previously reported for this class of compounds. Inspired by the antiplasmodial activity of Wright and Wattanapiromsakul’s tricycle marine isonitriles (2.16-2.21 and 2.24-2.27) an unsuccessfully attempt was made to convert tertiary alcohol moieties to isonitrile functionalities in compounds 3.188, 3.204-3.207 and 3.209-3.212. Over a decade ago Wright et al. proposed a putative antiplasmodial mechanism of action for marine isonitriles (2.4, 2.9, 2.15, 2.19 and 2.35) and isothiocyanate (2.34) which involved interference in haem detoxification by P. falciparum thus inhibiting the growth of the parasite. In Chapter 4 we describe how we successfully managed to scale down Egan’s β-haematin inhibition assay for the analyses of small quantities of marine natural products as potential β-haematin inhibitors. Our modified assay revealed that the most active antiplasmodial marine isonitrile 2.9 (IC₅₀ 13 nM) showed total β-haematin inhibition while 2.15 (IC₅₀ 81 nM) and 2.19 (IC₅₀ 31 nM) showed partial inhibition at three equivalents relative to haem. Using contempary molecular modelling techniques the charge on the isonitrile functionality was more accurately describe and the modified charge data sets was used to explore docking of marine isonitriles to haem using AutoDock. In Chapter 5 we describe how a lead South African marine bisindole MRSA pyruvate kinase inhibitor (5.8) was discovered in collaboration with colleagues at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and how this discovery inspired us to design a synthetic route to the dibrominated bisindole, isobromotopsentin (5.20) in an attempt to increase the bioactivity displayed by 5.8. We devised a fast and high yielding synthetic route using microwave assited organic synthesis. We first tested this synthesis using simple aryl glyoxals (5.27-5.32) as precursors to synthesize biphenylimidazoles (5.21-5.26), which later allowed us to synthesize the ascidian natural product 5.111. This method was sucessfully extended to the synthesis of deoxytopsentin (5.33) from an N-Boc protected indole methyl ketone (5.89). We subsequently were able to effectively remove the carbamate protection via thermal decomposition by heating the protected bisindole imidazole (5.90) in a microwave reactor for 5 min under argon. The synthesis of 5.20 resulted in an inseparable mixture of monoprotected and totally deprotected topsentin products, and due to time constraints we were not able to optimise this synthesis. Nonetheless our synthesis of the marine natural product 5.33 which was faster and higher yielding than previously reported routes could be extended to the synthesis of other topsentin bisindoles (5.138-5.140). Work towards this goal continues in our laboratory.
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  • Date Issued: 2012

The effect of global e-commerce on taxation legislation and the permanent establishment concept in South Africa

  • Authors: Young, Nikita Jade
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Electronic commerce , Electronic commerce -- Taxation , Electronic commerce -- South Africa , Taxation -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , South African taxation , E-commerce , Permanent establishment , Foreign business entity
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
  • Identifier: vital:876 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001608 , Electronic commerce , Electronic commerce -- Taxation , Electronic commerce -- South Africa , Taxation -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
  • Description: The objective of this thesis was to analyse the effect of the increasing popularity of global e-commerce on the South African legislative framework in respect of the taxation of non-resident enterprises, and to propose a possible solution for the taxation of e-commerce, taking into account previous theories. The methodology utilised comprised of a critical analysis of the legal rules relating to the taxation of a foreign entity's business profits by virtue of the application of the permanent establishment principle, its definition and evolution as a conceptual basis for taxation. Furthermore, an in depth evaluation of the various solutions that have already been proposed and, in some cases, implemented was undertaken. It was concluded that the application of the permanent establishment principle is wholly ineffective as a means to levy tax on the e-commerce business profits of a foreign entity as the principle relies too heavily upon a physical intermediary in the source state, whereas e-commerce transactions are conducted on the intangible trading platform of the Internet. In light of the numerous policy proposals advanced over the years, it was concluded that the most feasible and practical solution for the taxation of foreign e-commerce would be the imposition on a foreign entity in South Africa of a low withholding tax on the active business profits in excess of a pre-determined threshold. Key words: South African taxation; e-commerce; foreign business entity; permanent establishment; withholding tax
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  • Date Issued: 2013

A critical edition of the Memoirs of Amelia de Henningsen (Notre Mère)

  • Authors: Young, Margaret
  • Date: 1984
  • Subjects: Henningsen family , Henningsen family -- History , Autobiography
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2575 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003067 , Henningsen family , Henningsen family -- History , Autobiography
  • Description: The chief purpose in editing the Memoirs of Amelia de Henningsen (Notre Mère) is to place on record the role played by this remarkable woman in laying the foundations of Catholic Education in southern Africa and in the building up of the Catholic Church in the Eastern Vicariate of the Cape of Good Hope and beyond. Emphasis has been placed on her achievements in these fields of labour.
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  • Date Issued: 1984

Justifiability as grounds for the review of labour arbitration proceedings

  • Authors: Young, Kirsty Leigh
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: South Africa. Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Mediation and conciliation, Industrial -- South Africa Arbitration, Industrial -- South Africa Arbitration, Industrial -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
  • Identifier: vital:3666 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003070
  • Description: This thesis focuses on the review of labour arbitration awards given under the auspices of the following bodies: the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration ("CCMA"), bargaining councils, statutory councils, accredited private agencies and private arbitration tribunals. The general grounds of review applicable to the arbitration awards of each body are set out. Against this background, the case of Carephone (Pty) Ltd v Marcus NO & Others (1998) 19 ILJ 1425 (LAC) is analysed and the principles pertaining to the justifiability test are clarified. The judicial rationale for the application of the test to CCMA arbitration proceedings and criticisms of the test are then examined. Currently the justifiability test applies in the review of CCMA proceedings only, so the judicial reasoning for the rejection of justifiability as a ground for private arbitration review is examined. Three approaches are suggested for the application of the justifiability test in private arbitration review. First it is proposed that the Arbitration Act could be interpreted to include the justifiability test under the statutory review grounds. Failing the acceptance of this approach, the second submission is that arbitration agreements could be interpreted to include an implied term that the arbitrator is under a duty to give justifiable awards. A third suggestion is that the law should be developed by attaching an ex lege term to all arbitration agreements requiring arbitrators to give justifiable awards. In the final chapter, the requirement of justifiability in awards given under the auspices of collective bargaining agents and accredited private agencies highlights the incongruity in applying the justifiability test in CCMA arbitration review and in rejecting this test in private arbitration review.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

An analysis of ways in which the South African tax system could be simplified

  • Authors: Young, Gail Jeni
  • Date: 2021-04
  • Subjects: Taxation -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Income tax -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , South African Revenue Service , Tax administration and procedure -- South Africa , Tax accounting -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: thesis , text , Masters , MCom
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/178235 , vital:42923
  • Description: It has been said that the fundamental paradox of tax simplification is that, despite consensus, almost every year tax rules become more complex. This thesis considers tax simplification measures which have been implemented internationally, in order to provide a basis for an analysis of ways in which the South African tax system could be simplified. A doctrinal methodology is applied, and an analysis is carried out of possible tax simplification measures, based on the commentary of experts in the field of tax law. Simplification measures adopted in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States of America, Egypt, and certain European countries are discussed, together with their possible adoption in South Africa. Tax simplification has a broad scope. This research identifies four areas in which the South African tax system could simplified: the simplification of tax legislation, addressing the role of accounting in the simplification process, reducing the number of taxes currently levied, and finally addressing the complexities evident in the SARS e-filing system. This thesis illustrates several measures which could be used to address the current areas of complexity. Re-writing tax legislation to assist the understanding of taxpayers is suggested. An increase in the inclusion rate for individuals of capital gains in taxable income from 40% to 60% is suggested, to compensate for the loss of revenue due to the recommended repeal of donations tax and estate duty. Aligning tax legislation with accounting standards is identified as a possible area for simplification, as there are many similarities between the two systems. To address the usability of SARS’ e-filing platform, suggestions are made regarding the further pre-population of returns, introducing e-invoicing and providing a “sandbox” function that taxpayers could use to familiarise themselves with how e-filing works. This research highlights tax simplification as a process that needs to be prioritized in order to achieve the associated benefits. , Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Commerce, Accounting, 2021
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  • Date Issued: 2021-04

The meaning and significance of intercessory prayer for the Christian

  • Authors: Young, Ernlé W D
  • Date: 1964
  • Subjects: Prayer , Intercessory prayer , Intercessory prayer -- Christianity
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Bachelor , BDiv
  • Identifier: vital:1279 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013439
  • Description: [From Introduction] ‘It is a difficult and even formidable thing to write on prayer, and one fears to touch the Ark. Perhaps no one ought to undertake it unless he has spent more toil in the practice of prayer than on its principle. But perhaps also the effort to look into its principle may be graciously regarded by Him who ever liveth to make intercession as itself a prayer to know better how to pray'. So wrote P.T.Forsyth in the opening chapter of his work on prayer, 1, and at the outset of this study of the meaning and significance of Christian intercession one finds oneself echoing and endorsing his words. Intercession, of course, is only a single aspect of a far greater whole. The whole, to use Francis Thompson's phrase, is a 'many-splendoured thing'. No attempt to define and designate the limits of each of the elements which together make up prayer in its Christian fulness has ever been either entirely satisfactory or generally acceptable. But roughly speaking, there are seven colours on the palette of prayer or, to change the metaphor for one used by Leslie Weatherhead, 2, there are seven rooms in the house of prayer : Affirmation or Invocation of the Divine Presence; Adoration and Praise; Confession and the penitent seeking of Forgiveness, with the Positive Affirmation and Reception of that Forgiveness; Thanksgiving; Petition; Intercession; and Meditation. There are as well the more mystical forms of prayer admirably analysed and distinguished, for example, by Bede Frost.3. In practice, no element can be isolated or divorced from the other elements which with it make up the whole. Affirmation of God's presence issues quite naturally in adoration, which in turn leads spontaneously into confession, and so on. Each aspect of prayer acts and reacts on the others. To single out Intercession (and, insofar as it is related to it, Petition) and to write on it alone would therefore seem to require some explanation.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1964
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