The effect of appetite suppressants on pineal function
- Authors: Mchunu, Bongani Isaac
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Pineal gland -- Research , Pineal gland -- Secretions , Appetite depressants -- Physiological effect
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4038 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004098 , Pineal gland -- Research , Pineal gland -- Secretions , Appetite depressants -- Physiological effect
- Description: The pineal gland has become the subject of considerable investigation as it provides a productive experimental model for studying circadian rhythms and regulation of end organs. In the rat, the pineal gland provides a convenient model for investigating the noradrenergic receptor system and the effects of various drugs on this system. The effect of appetite suppressants on the rat pineal gland function is described. Appetite suppressants increase melatonin synthesis in organ cultures of rat pineal glands. This effect appears to be mediated by noradrenaline acting on β-adrenoceptors on the pinealocyte membrane. When β-adrenoceptors are blocked, the appetite suppressant-induced rise in melatonin synthesis is prevented. Depletion of noradrenaline in sympathetic nerve terminals also prevented the appetite suppressant-induced rise in melatonin synthesis. Activation of β-adrenoceptors is followed by a rise in N-acetyltransferase activity via a cyclic adenosine monophosphate second messenger system. The effect of appetite suppressants on the activity of liver tryptophan pyrrolase was also investigated. The activity of this enzyme is an important determinant of tryptophan availability to the brain and consequently of brain serotonin levels. The results show that appetite suppressants inhibit both holoenzyme and total enzyme activities of tryptophan pyrrolase. This finding suggests that appetite suppressants may act by inhibiting tryptophan pyrrolase activity thereby increasing brain serotonin, a phenomenon known to be associated with anorexia. There are two possible mechanisms by which appetite suppressants inhibit tryptophan pyrrolase activity. Firstly, these agents, being drugs of dependence, may increase liver NADPH concentrations which inhibit pyrrolase activity. Secondly, appetite suppressants may act on the pineal gland to stimulate melatonin synthesis. Melatonin inhibits pyrrolase activity in a dose-dependent manner. This inhibition will elevate plasma tryptophan levels which result in a rise in brain serotonin synthesis. The present study suggests a possible relationship between the pineal gland and appetite centres in the hypothalamus. Melatonin may have a direct effect on appetite centres since food restriction is associated with an increased melatonin binding in the hypothalamus. If this possible relationship can be extended, melatonin can open new possibilities for the control of food intake and consequently, of pathological obesity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Mchunu, Bongani Isaac
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Pineal gland -- Research , Pineal gland -- Secretions , Appetite depressants -- Physiological effect
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4038 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004098 , Pineal gland -- Research , Pineal gland -- Secretions , Appetite depressants -- Physiological effect
- Description: The pineal gland has become the subject of considerable investigation as it provides a productive experimental model for studying circadian rhythms and regulation of end organs. In the rat, the pineal gland provides a convenient model for investigating the noradrenergic receptor system and the effects of various drugs on this system. The effect of appetite suppressants on the rat pineal gland function is described. Appetite suppressants increase melatonin synthesis in organ cultures of rat pineal glands. This effect appears to be mediated by noradrenaline acting on β-adrenoceptors on the pinealocyte membrane. When β-adrenoceptors are blocked, the appetite suppressant-induced rise in melatonin synthesis is prevented. Depletion of noradrenaline in sympathetic nerve terminals also prevented the appetite suppressant-induced rise in melatonin synthesis. Activation of β-adrenoceptors is followed by a rise in N-acetyltransferase activity via a cyclic adenosine monophosphate second messenger system. The effect of appetite suppressants on the activity of liver tryptophan pyrrolase was also investigated. The activity of this enzyme is an important determinant of tryptophan availability to the brain and consequently of brain serotonin levels. The results show that appetite suppressants inhibit both holoenzyme and total enzyme activities of tryptophan pyrrolase. This finding suggests that appetite suppressants may act by inhibiting tryptophan pyrrolase activity thereby increasing brain serotonin, a phenomenon known to be associated with anorexia. There are two possible mechanisms by which appetite suppressants inhibit tryptophan pyrrolase activity. Firstly, these agents, being drugs of dependence, may increase liver NADPH concentrations which inhibit pyrrolase activity. Secondly, appetite suppressants may act on the pineal gland to stimulate melatonin synthesis. Melatonin inhibits pyrrolase activity in a dose-dependent manner. This inhibition will elevate plasma tryptophan levels which result in a rise in brain serotonin synthesis. The present study suggests a possible relationship between the pineal gland and appetite centres in the hypothalamus. Melatonin may have a direct effect on appetite centres since food restriction is associated with an increased melatonin binding in the hypothalamus. If this possible relationship can be extended, melatonin can open new possibilities for the control of food intake and consequently, of pathological obesity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Maps for Africa
- Authors: Cosser, M , West, W O
- Date: 1994
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:555 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020643
- Description: [Introduction] Opening address by Oakley West at exhibition: Maps: Knowledge and Power - A Teaching Exhibition at the Albany Museum, November 1992. Maps, like art, reflect man's perception of the world in which he lives. Often they are coloured both by the known and unknown, by fact and fancy, myth and mystery. Maps are not just merely bits of paper. They are, and have been, important instruments in conquest and empire building. They reflect not only the perceived glory of war and occupation, but survival under siege, the protection or defence of people, property and resources, and, believe it or not, the accidental inheritance of territory, like India. Maps reflect the build-up of nations bent on expansion, resulting in the dreadful years of trench warfare in 1914 - 1918. And who of us can honestly admit that we knew exactly where Kuwait was before that conflict began? Thus in many cases lands were often first claimed on paper before they were effectively occupied. It has been said that no place is truly discovered until it has been mapped and as much as guns and warships, they have played significant roles in manifesting the realities of conquest and empire building. Maps are storehouses of knowledge and information and often it is in that very knowledge that lies the power to conquer, control, defend, divide or develop, to govern or administer or even mislead or misinform. This exhibition attempts to trace almost 2 000 years of cartography. It starts with the great insights of Claudius Ptolomy and his Geographia, continues through the retrogressive perceptions of the Church fathers and their decrees that Jerusalem was the centre of the world, to the perception of a flat Earth and a rather whimsical look at modern "upside-down" cartography which has proved to be only 300 years late in its conception. One can explore the opening up of the dark continent of Africa with its myths and mysteries, the source of the Nile, Mountains of the Moon and the mythical kingdom of Monomatapa. One can "see" the gradual growth of knowledge as first the coasts and later the interior was discovered and made known by men like Diaz, Da Gama, Livingstone, Stanley and Andersson. The discoveries of these explorers were recorded in the great maps of cartographers like John Arrowsmith and Henry Hall, the former incidentally never ever having visited Africa. A quantum leap takes us to some of the newest techniques, the satellite image, which still reflects the historical heritage in the shapes and patterns formed, in what has become known as Settler Country, from as early as the 1800s. By these images one is still able to appreciate the ravages of drought, overgrazing and perhaps the mismanagement of natural resources. Maps show us a different Grahamstown, a Graham's Town lit by gaslamp light. They help us to "see" prison gangs building the Queen's Road to Fort Beaufort, or appreciate the scramble for river frontage farming land. We see the early conceptualization of a harbour scheme at the mouth of the Kowie River, dreamed of by those intent on opening up a gateway to the Eastern Frontier through its wide waters. (A scheme, incidentally, which finally found a different, but nonetheless effective, realisation in the Marina built in the 1990s). Dreams were dreamed of a wide-spread colonial administration, though not without its nostalgic overtones: King William's Town would be the principal town in the county of Middlesex and Komga that of the county Cambridge in British Kaffraria! One can trace in maps the expanding horizons of the colonial powers as they appropriated land in the name of civilisation. As the church and the courts moved in to replace tribal customs and laws, maps reflected the more tangible results of expansion - telegraph, road and rail networks, as well as the more abstract and intangible - the spread of violence. On the other hand, we can follow the development of a great city, the city of London, though almost 400 years, witnessing the growth of its urban sprawl, the depiction of the famous bridges over. the Thames and who could not but be thrilled by the panoramic sweep of London from the Houses of Parliament through St Pauls to the sailing ship harbour, cartography par excellence which evidences the birth of a rail system with engines looking distinctly more akin to Stevenson's rocket than the locomotives we are used to seeing. An exceptionally fine relief model of the Western and Southern Cape coastal area serves to highlight the unending struggle of cartographers to portray that troublesome third dimension, height, on flat pieces of paper. Such struggles are revealed both in maps of topographic landscape as well as the urban complex - some successful, some not so. Finally, the exhibition touches lightly on the wonders of satellite imagery and the coming of the computer to cartography, as in all things. An attempt is made to explain in simple terms the art, science and technology of the cartographer in the production of the multicoloured maps we are all so familiar with.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Cosser, M , West, W O
- Date: 1994
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:555 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020643
- Description: [Introduction] Opening address by Oakley West at exhibition: Maps: Knowledge and Power - A Teaching Exhibition at the Albany Museum, November 1992. Maps, like art, reflect man's perception of the world in which he lives. Often they are coloured both by the known and unknown, by fact and fancy, myth and mystery. Maps are not just merely bits of paper. They are, and have been, important instruments in conquest and empire building. They reflect not only the perceived glory of war and occupation, but survival under siege, the protection or defence of people, property and resources, and, believe it or not, the accidental inheritance of territory, like India. Maps reflect the build-up of nations bent on expansion, resulting in the dreadful years of trench warfare in 1914 - 1918. And who of us can honestly admit that we knew exactly where Kuwait was before that conflict began? Thus in many cases lands were often first claimed on paper before they were effectively occupied. It has been said that no place is truly discovered until it has been mapped and as much as guns and warships, they have played significant roles in manifesting the realities of conquest and empire building. Maps are storehouses of knowledge and information and often it is in that very knowledge that lies the power to conquer, control, defend, divide or develop, to govern or administer or even mislead or misinform. This exhibition attempts to trace almost 2 000 years of cartography. It starts with the great insights of Claudius Ptolomy and his Geographia, continues through the retrogressive perceptions of the Church fathers and their decrees that Jerusalem was the centre of the world, to the perception of a flat Earth and a rather whimsical look at modern "upside-down" cartography which has proved to be only 300 years late in its conception. One can explore the opening up of the dark continent of Africa with its myths and mysteries, the source of the Nile, Mountains of the Moon and the mythical kingdom of Monomatapa. One can "see" the gradual growth of knowledge as first the coasts and later the interior was discovered and made known by men like Diaz, Da Gama, Livingstone, Stanley and Andersson. The discoveries of these explorers were recorded in the great maps of cartographers like John Arrowsmith and Henry Hall, the former incidentally never ever having visited Africa. A quantum leap takes us to some of the newest techniques, the satellite image, which still reflects the historical heritage in the shapes and patterns formed, in what has become known as Settler Country, from as early as the 1800s. By these images one is still able to appreciate the ravages of drought, overgrazing and perhaps the mismanagement of natural resources. Maps show us a different Grahamstown, a Graham's Town lit by gaslamp light. They help us to "see" prison gangs building the Queen's Road to Fort Beaufort, or appreciate the scramble for river frontage farming land. We see the early conceptualization of a harbour scheme at the mouth of the Kowie River, dreamed of by those intent on opening up a gateway to the Eastern Frontier through its wide waters. (A scheme, incidentally, which finally found a different, but nonetheless effective, realisation in the Marina built in the 1990s). Dreams were dreamed of a wide-spread colonial administration, though not without its nostalgic overtones: King William's Town would be the principal town in the county of Middlesex and Komga that of the county Cambridge in British Kaffraria! One can trace in maps the expanding horizons of the colonial powers as they appropriated land in the name of civilisation. As the church and the courts moved in to replace tribal customs and laws, maps reflected the more tangible results of expansion - telegraph, road and rail networks, as well as the more abstract and intangible - the spread of violence. On the other hand, we can follow the development of a great city, the city of London, though almost 400 years, witnessing the growth of its urban sprawl, the depiction of the famous bridges over. the Thames and who could not but be thrilled by the panoramic sweep of London from the Houses of Parliament through St Pauls to the sailing ship harbour, cartography par excellence which evidences the birth of a rail system with engines looking distinctly more akin to Stevenson's rocket than the locomotives we are used to seeing. An exceptionally fine relief model of the Western and Southern Cape coastal area serves to highlight the unending struggle of cartographers to portray that troublesome third dimension, height, on flat pieces of paper. Such struggles are revealed both in maps of topographic landscape as well as the urban complex - some successful, some not so. Finally, the exhibition touches lightly on the wonders of satellite imagery and the coming of the computer to cartography, as in all things. An attempt is made to explain in simple terms the art, science and technology of the cartographer in the production of the multicoloured maps we are all so familiar with.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Structural studies on some enterobacterial capsular antigens
- Authors: Whittaker, Darryl Vanstone
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Bacterial antigens -- Analysis Antigens Enterobacteriaceae Escherichia coli Klebsiella
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3803 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003281
- Description: The investigations presented in this thesis form part of a systematic international effort to establish the structures of the capsules produced by the bacterial genera, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella (family enterobacteriaceae). These bacteria are of medical interest as they are opportunistic pathogens and are frequently responsible for serious infections in animals and man. Invasive strains are invariably surrounded by a structurally complex polysaccharide capsule which contributes to the organism's ability to attenuate non-specific host defence mechanisms or, in some instances, to completely prevent an immune response. A knowledge of the chemical composition and structure of the capsule is, therefore, of great value as it provides insight into the mechanisms involved in this process. The E. coli, in particular, have generated considerable interest as their capsules are more structurally diverse and cross-reactivity with other, more pathogenic bacteria has also been demonstrated. Accordingly, the structures of three previously unstudied E. coli K-antigens viz. those produced by serotypes 020:K83:H26, 020:K84:H26, and 09:K48:H9 have been established by chemical and spectroscopic means and are presented in this thesis. In addition, a reinvestigation of the structure of the capsule produced by Klebsiella K15 using a novel enzymatic approach was also undertaken and a revised structure is proposed . The E. coli K48 polysaccharide is of special interest as it was found to contain a new diacetamido trideoxy hexose hitherto unrecorded. A synthesis for this saccharide is also presented. Finally, the application of lithium dissolved in ethylenediamine for the degradation of amino sugar-containing polysaccharides was also investigated using the capsular polysaccharides produced by E. coli serotypes K38 and K84 as model compounds.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Whittaker, Darryl Vanstone
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Bacterial antigens -- Analysis Antigens Enterobacteriaceae Escherichia coli Klebsiella
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3803 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003281
- Description: The investigations presented in this thesis form part of a systematic international effort to establish the structures of the capsules produced by the bacterial genera, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella (family enterobacteriaceae). These bacteria are of medical interest as they are opportunistic pathogens and are frequently responsible for serious infections in animals and man. Invasive strains are invariably surrounded by a structurally complex polysaccharide capsule which contributes to the organism's ability to attenuate non-specific host defence mechanisms or, in some instances, to completely prevent an immune response. A knowledge of the chemical composition and structure of the capsule is, therefore, of great value as it provides insight into the mechanisms involved in this process. The E. coli, in particular, have generated considerable interest as their capsules are more structurally diverse and cross-reactivity with other, more pathogenic bacteria has also been demonstrated. Accordingly, the structures of three previously unstudied E. coli K-antigens viz. those produced by serotypes 020:K83:H26, 020:K84:H26, and 09:K48:H9 have been established by chemical and spectroscopic means and are presented in this thesis. In addition, a reinvestigation of the structure of the capsule produced by Klebsiella K15 using a novel enzymatic approach was also undertaken and a revised structure is proposed . The E. coli K48 polysaccharide is of special interest as it was found to contain a new diacetamido trideoxy hexose hitherto unrecorded. A synthesis for this saccharide is also presented. Finally, the application of lithium dissolved in ethylenediamine for the degradation of amino sugar-containing polysaccharides was also investigated using the capsular polysaccharides produced by E. coli serotypes K38 and K84 as model compounds.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
The just figure shape, harmony and proportion in a selection of Andrew Marvell's lyrics
- Authors: Gardner, Corinna
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Marvell, Andrew, 1621-1678 -- Criticism and interpretation , English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2230 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002273 , Marvell, Andrew, 1621-1678 -- Criticism and interpretation , English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- History and criticism
- Description: The phrase "the just Figure" - a quotation from Upon Appleton House - is the central theme of this thesis as it aptly describes Marvell's repeated use of shape, harmony and proportion to suggest morality and virtue. The poet's concern with geometrical imagery is conveyed by the word "figure", which also is another term for a metaphor or conceit. The word "just" suggests not only moral appropriateness, but also mathematical exactness or fit. The thesis consists of five chapters, each dealing with an aspect of the imagery of shape and form which pervades so many of Marvell's lyrics. The first chapter, "Moral Geometry", deals with the way in which Marvell uses the imagery of lines, angles and curves. In some poems the lines are curved, as in Upon the Hill and Grove at Bill-borrow, where the graceful downward curved line of the hill conveys Fairfacian humility. Symmetry and circularity are discussed in the second chapter. The poet uses the perfect shape of the circle to depict objects which convey a moral significance. Similarly, several of the lyrics are themselves quasi-circular with their closing lines echoing their openings. Chapter Three deals with liquid spheres. Marvell explores the nature, shape and texture of tears in poems such as Eyes and Tears and Mourning; and in On a Drop of Dew uses the shape of the dew drop to suggest the perfection of the heavenly realm from which it has been parted. In several of the lyrics, Marvell places a frame around his poems to create an enclosed world in which his poetic creations exist. These enclosed, or framed, worlds are discussed in Chapter Four. The final chapter, "Beyond The Frame", describes how some of the lyrics suggest a move from the world within to the world beyond the frame of the poem.This can either be a movement from confinement to release, or from the seen world to worlds unseen. Shape, harmony and proportion are the qualities which Marvell uses to convey morality and humility and a vision of the world based on what is, in the various senses of the word, "just".
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Gardner, Corinna
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Marvell, Andrew, 1621-1678 -- Criticism and interpretation , English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2230 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002273 , Marvell, Andrew, 1621-1678 -- Criticism and interpretation , English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- History and criticism
- Description: The phrase "the just Figure" - a quotation from Upon Appleton House - is the central theme of this thesis as it aptly describes Marvell's repeated use of shape, harmony and proportion to suggest morality and virtue. The poet's concern with geometrical imagery is conveyed by the word "figure", which also is another term for a metaphor or conceit. The word "just" suggests not only moral appropriateness, but also mathematical exactness or fit. The thesis consists of five chapters, each dealing with an aspect of the imagery of shape and form which pervades so many of Marvell's lyrics. The first chapter, "Moral Geometry", deals with the way in which Marvell uses the imagery of lines, angles and curves. In some poems the lines are curved, as in Upon the Hill and Grove at Bill-borrow, where the graceful downward curved line of the hill conveys Fairfacian humility. Symmetry and circularity are discussed in the second chapter. The poet uses the perfect shape of the circle to depict objects which convey a moral significance. Similarly, several of the lyrics are themselves quasi-circular with their closing lines echoing their openings. Chapter Three deals with liquid spheres. Marvell explores the nature, shape and texture of tears in poems such as Eyes and Tears and Mourning; and in On a Drop of Dew uses the shape of the dew drop to suggest the perfection of the heavenly realm from which it has been parted. In several of the lyrics, Marvell places a frame around his poems to create an enclosed world in which his poetic creations exist. These enclosed, or framed, worlds are discussed in Chapter Four. The final chapter, "Beyond The Frame", describes how some of the lyrics suggest a move from the world within to the world beyond the frame of the poem.This can either be a movement from confinement to release, or from the seen world to worlds unseen. Shape, harmony and proportion are the qualities which Marvell uses to convey morality and humility and a vision of the world based on what is, in the various senses of the word, "just".
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Laissez-nous Parler
- Tidiane Gaye (lead vocal), Assane Diop (solo guitar), Niankou Sembene (keyboards), Ousseynou Diop (drums), Moussa Sene, Mor Sourang, Thio Mbaye (percussion), Mada Ba (chorus), Galissa (kora), Mamane Thiam (tama), Studio 2000, Samassa Records
- Authors: Tidiane Gaye (lead vocal) , Assane Diop (solo guitar) , Niankou Sembene (keyboards) , Ousseynou Diop (drums) , Moussa Sene, Mor Sourang, Thio Mbaye (percussion) , Mada Ba (chorus) , Galissa (kora) , Mamane Thiam (tama) , Studio 2000 , Samassa Records
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Popular music--Africa, West , Africa Senegal Dakar f-sg
- Language: Wolof
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/130100 , vital:36375 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa , SDC37-06
- Description: Popular Senegalese music incorporating pop, funk, Congolese ndombolo, cut-shifted Ivorian or Afro-dance
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Tidiane Gaye (lead vocal) , Assane Diop (solo guitar) , Niankou Sembene (keyboards) , Ousseynou Diop (drums) , Moussa Sene, Mor Sourang, Thio Mbaye (percussion) , Mada Ba (chorus) , Galissa (kora) , Mamane Thiam (tama) , Studio 2000 , Samassa Records
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Popular music--Africa, West , Africa Senegal Dakar f-sg
- Language: Wolof
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/130100 , vital:36375 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa , SDC37-06
- Description: Popular Senegalese music incorporating pop, funk, Congolese ndombolo, cut-shifted Ivorian or Afro-dance
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1994
A combination of a stationary and non-stationary model to predict corporate failure in South Africa
- Authors: Court, Philip Wathen
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Bankruptcy -- South Africa Business planning -- South Africa Business failures -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1183 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002800
- Description: Business failure should be of concern in most industralised countries and the importance of accurately evaluating the phenomenon from a management and investment point of view is enormous. Were it possible to predict failure with a certain degree of confidence, steps could be taken to rectify the situation and the benefit would accrue to all of the stakeholders in the macroenvironment. In essence, the profitability of a business is influenced by two sets of variables. In the first instance, it is influenced by a variety of internal (microeconomic) variables which are firm- specific and which management is generally able to control. A further distinction in this regard may be made between the financial and non-financial variables. In the second instance, it is generally accepted that profitability will be influenced by a number of external (macroeconomic) variables which are generally beyond the control of management. In the main, however, the profitability of the firm is generally determined by a combination of both sets of factors. To date, a great deal of research has been undertaken in an attempt to establish a reliable model which may be used to predict failure. This has mainly been confined to the microeconomic variables which can be used to predict failure and attempts have been made to isolate either a single financial ratio or a number of financial and non-financial variables which can be used to model corporate failure. The research has met with a certain degree of success although this appears to be confined to the economic environment to which the models have been applied. The models are less successful when applied to other macroenvironments. Limited research has been undertaken into the macroeconomic variables which contribute to business failure or to a combination of the two types of variables. It is appropriate therefore that further consideration be given to the establishment of a model incorporating ALL the variables which could contribute to corporate failure. The purpose of this research is to undertake an investigation of micro- and macroeconomic variables that are freely available to reserachers and which may be used in a failure prediction model. The intention is to obtain a comprehensive, yet simple model which can be used as an overall predictor of PENDING failure.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Court, Philip Wathen
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Bankruptcy -- South Africa Business planning -- South Africa Business failures -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1183 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002800
- Description: Business failure should be of concern in most industralised countries and the importance of accurately evaluating the phenomenon from a management and investment point of view is enormous. Were it possible to predict failure with a certain degree of confidence, steps could be taken to rectify the situation and the benefit would accrue to all of the stakeholders in the macroenvironment. In essence, the profitability of a business is influenced by two sets of variables. In the first instance, it is influenced by a variety of internal (microeconomic) variables which are firm- specific and which management is generally able to control. A further distinction in this regard may be made between the financial and non-financial variables. In the second instance, it is generally accepted that profitability will be influenced by a number of external (macroeconomic) variables which are generally beyond the control of management. In the main, however, the profitability of the firm is generally determined by a combination of both sets of factors. To date, a great deal of research has been undertaken in an attempt to establish a reliable model which may be used to predict failure. This has mainly been confined to the microeconomic variables which can be used to predict failure and attempts have been made to isolate either a single financial ratio or a number of financial and non-financial variables which can be used to model corporate failure. The research has met with a certain degree of success although this appears to be confined to the economic environment to which the models have been applied. The models are less successful when applied to other macroenvironments. Limited research has been undertaken into the macroeconomic variables which contribute to business failure or to a combination of the two types of variables. It is appropriate therefore that further consideration be given to the establishment of a model incorporating ALL the variables which could contribute to corporate failure. The purpose of this research is to undertake an investigation of micro- and macroeconomic variables that are freely available to reserachers and which may be used in a failure prediction model. The intention is to obtain a comprehensive, yet simple model which can be used as an overall predictor of PENDING failure.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
An investigation of the effects which using the word processor has on the writing of standard six pupils
- Authors: McKenzie, Donald John
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Written communication -- Study and teaching -- Data processing Word processors in education Language arts -- Computer-assisted instruction English language -- Writing--Study and teaching
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1648 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003531
- Description: In order to discover to what extent the use of the word processor affects the motivation of high school students when engaged in writing tasks, and to determine the effects of the word processing on the length and quality of their work and editing, two groups, carefully matched in terms of prior computer experience, intelligence and language ability were given eight writing tasks. The test group used word processors while the control group used pen and paper. Their behaviour was closely observed and their writing was subsequently compared. It was found that while the test group were more motivated and spent longer both writing and editing their work, the quality of the work of both groups was similar. The degree of editing was greater for the test group. The conclusion is that there is a place for the use of the word processor in the English classroom, but specific strategies need to be developed to optimise its benefits.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: McKenzie, Donald John
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Written communication -- Study and teaching -- Data processing Word processors in education Language arts -- Computer-assisted instruction English language -- Writing--Study and teaching
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1648 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003531
- Description: In order to discover to what extent the use of the word processor affects the motivation of high school students when engaged in writing tasks, and to determine the effects of the word processing on the length and quality of their work and editing, two groups, carefully matched in terms of prior computer experience, intelligence and language ability were given eight writing tasks. The test group used word processors while the control group used pen and paper. Their behaviour was closely observed and their writing was subsequently compared. It was found that while the test group were more motivated and spent longer both writing and editing their work, the quality of the work of both groups was similar. The degree of editing was greater for the test group. The conclusion is that there is a place for the use of the word processor in the English classroom, but specific strategies need to be developed to optimise its benefits.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Social constructivist mathematics education in a Ciskeian secondary school classroom
- Authors: Raghavan, Prasannakumary
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Curricula -- South Africa -- Ciskei -- Case studies Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Ciskei
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1767 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003652
- Description: The researcher's experience as a high school mathematics teacher in several African countries convinced her that a good number of mathematics learners exhibit serious difficulties in conceptualising mathematics properly. Her experience in teaching the subject in the Ciskei since 1990 reinforced this conviction. The researcher's natural curiosity to probe into the causes of the poor state of mathematics education in the region served as the springboard into her investigation. Her thoughts developed in line with the emerging educational theories of social constructivism. This provided a conceptual framework for the solution of the problem, the feasibility of which was put to test practically in a Ciskeian classroom. She explicates that the difficulties experienced by the pupils in conceptualising mathematics are philosophically deep rooted and latent in the present system of mathematics education itself, which, in Ciskei, impedes the learners' conceptualisation owing to numerous problems related to their linguistic and cultural situatedness. In the analysis of the present system of mathematics education in the Ciskei she reviews a few recently published mathematics text books in the context of the topics chosen for her research study. The results of her classroom investigation establish that a possible solution to the problem lies in the social constructivist teaching approaches.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Raghavan, Prasannakumary
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Curricula -- South Africa -- Ciskei -- Case studies Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Ciskei
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1767 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003652
- Description: The researcher's experience as a high school mathematics teacher in several African countries convinced her that a good number of mathematics learners exhibit serious difficulties in conceptualising mathematics properly. Her experience in teaching the subject in the Ciskei since 1990 reinforced this conviction. The researcher's natural curiosity to probe into the causes of the poor state of mathematics education in the region served as the springboard into her investigation. Her thoughts developed in line with the emerging educational theories of social constructivism. This provided a conceptual framework for the solution of the problem, the feasibility of which was put to test practically in a Ciskeian classroom. She explicates that the difficulties experienced by the pupils in conceptualising mathematics are philosophically deep rooted and latent in the present system of mathematics education itself, which, in Ciskei, impedes the learners' conceptualisation owing to numerous problems related to their linguistic and cultural situatedness. In the analysis of the present system of mathematics education in the Ciskei she reviews a few recently published mathematics text books in the context of the topics chosen for her research study. The results of her classroom investigation establish that a possible solution to the problem lies in the social constructivist teaching approaches.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Site Tax Campaign Manual
- COSATU
- Authors: COSATU
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: COSATU
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/137159 , vital:37493
- Description: Since 1989 most workers in South Africa have had their wages taxed under the Site Tax system. SITE stands for Standard Income Tax on Employees. Under the Site Tax system, the employer is responsible for making sure that workers pay the correct, amount of tax. This is different from the old Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system where the Receiver of Revenue had to make sure that the amount of tax paid was correct. Now the employer works out how much tax has to be paid from the personal information, such as number of children, given to them by each worker. But COSATU has seen that many workers have been taxed too much by their employers. This is mostly because no-one has explained to workers how the Site Tax system works and what tax reductions they are entitled to.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: COSATU
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: COSATU
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/137159 , vital:37493
- Description: Since 1989 most workers in South Africa have had their wages taxed under the Site Tax system. SITE stands for Standard Income Tax on Employees. Under the Site Tax system, the employer is responsible for making sure that workers pay the correct, amount of tax. This is different from the old Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system where the Receiver of Revenue had to make sure that the amount of tax paid was correct. Now the employer works out how much tax has to be paid from the personal information, such as number of children, given to them by each worker. But COSATU has seen that many workers have been taxed too much by their employers. This is mostly because no-one has explained to workers how the Site Tax system works and what tax reductions they are entitled to.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Lifestyle orientation of high versus low achievers in traditional school sports: an holistic analysis
- Authors: Davies, Simeon
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: School sports Achievement motivation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5147 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009501
- Description: One hundred and four subjects aged 16-18 years volunteered to participate in this study which sought to identify via an holistic model those factors that characterise the lifestyle orientations of high and low achievers (male and female) in traditional school sport. Subjects were evaluated with respect to their anthropometric, physiological, psychological and perceptual responses. The data were statistically analyzed by one way ANOVAS for significant differences in the following pairs; males and females, high and low achievers, Mhi (male high achievers) and Mlo (male low achievers), and Fhi (female high achievers) and Flo (female low achievers). Anthropometric results indicate that Fhi and Flo were significantly different in their stature, mass and body fat, while Mhi and Mlo show no significant differences. A greater disparity existed between VO, max of Fhi and Flo compared with Mhi and Mlo, along with trends in heart rate and RPE responses that were also more divergent. Psychological responses indicate that Fhi and Flo were significantly different in five of the seven sub-domains of CATPA, while Mhi and Mlo were only identifiable in one. In the PSPP Fhi and Flo were significantly different in all five subscales, while Mhi and Mlo in only two. This contrast in variability between the paired group analysis of Fhi and Flo as compared to Mhi and Mlo appears throughout the data.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Davies, Simeon
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: School sports Achievement motivation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5147 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009501
- Description: One hundred and four subjects aged 16-18 years volunteered to participate in this study which sought to identify via an holistic model those factors that characterise the lifestyle orientations of high and low achievers (male and female) in traditional school sport. Subjects were evaluated with respect to their anthropometric, physiological, psychological and perceptual responses. The data were statistically analyzed by one way ANOVAS for significant differences in the following pairs; males and females, high and low achievers, Mhi (male high achievers) and Mlo (male low achievers), and Fhi (female high achievers) and Flo (female low achievers). Anthropometric results indicate that Fhi and Flo were significantly different in their stature, mass and body fat, while Mhi and Mlo show no significant differences. A greater disparity existed between VO, max of Fhi and Flo compared with Mhi and Mlo, along with trends in heart rate and RPE responses that were also more divergent. Psychological responses indicate that Fhi and Flo were significantly different in five of the seven sub-domains of CATPA, while Mhi and Mlo were only identifiable in one. In the PSPP Fhi and Flo were significantly different in all five subscales, while Mhi and Mlo in only two. This contrast in variability between the paired group analysis of Fhi and Flo as compared to Mhi and Mlo appears throughout the data.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Surficial placer gold deposits
- Authors: Mann, P L
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Gold mines and mining , Gold ores -- Geology , Placer deposits
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5088 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018245
- Description: This review summarises the factors which control the formation and distribution of surficial gold placer deposits. Regional tectonic and climatic conditions as well as gold source are considered. The characteristics of eluvial, alluvial, marine, glacial and fluvioglacial gold placer deposits are described. Particular attention is paid to the gold grains within these placers. These gold grains have a distinctive morphology and chemical composition which reflect the manner in which they were transported, deposited and concentrated within the placers. The knowledge of the processes which lead to the formation and location of surficial gold placers is then used to guide exploration and target potential deposits, which can then be evaluated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Mann, P L
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Gold mines and mining , Gold ores -- Geology , Placer deposits
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5088 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018245
- Description: This review summarises the factors which control the formation and distribution of surficial gold placer deposits. Regional tectonic and climatic conditions as well as gold source are considered. The characteristics of eluvial, alluvial, marine, glacial and fluvioglacial gold placer deposits are described. Particular attention is paid to the gold grains within these placers. These gold grains have a distinctive morphology and chemical composition which reflect the manner in which they were transported, deposited and concentrated within the placers. The knowledge of the processes which lead to the formation and location of surficial gold placers is then used to guide exploration and target potential deposits, which can then be evaluated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Comparative aspects of the reproductive biology of seabreams (Pisces: Sparidae)
- Authors: Garratt, Patrick Ashworth
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Sparidae -- Physiology Sparidae -- Reproduction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5245 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005088
- Description: Sexuality in seabreams (Sparidae) is considered to be more complex than in any other family of fishes. Early work indicated five reproductive styles within the family: protandry, protogyny, simultaneous hermaphroditism, rudimentary hermaphroditism and gonochorism. More recently two reproductive styles have been suggested: sex change (protandry and protogyny) and secondary gonochorism (rudimentary hermaphrodites). The need for detailed descriptions of sex differentiation, gonad development and spawning behaviour in this family has been identified by a number of workers in this field. The aims of the present study were: i) to provide accurate, detailed descriptions and comparisons of gonadal development in representatives of each reproductive style, ii) to investigate their spawning strategies, and iii) to relate these findings to current theories on hermaphroditism and sex change in fishes. Four species were investigated. Slinger, Chrysoblephus puniceus, the only known protogynous hermaphrodite in Natal. Santer, Cheimerius nufar, described in the literature as a rudimentary hermaphrodite. Riverbream, Acanthopagrus berda suspected to be a protandrous hermaphrodite. Natal stump nose, Rhabdosargus sarba, reported elsewhere as a protandrous hermaphrodite. Detailed histological analysis showed that morphological and cytological development of all gonads proceeded initially in a female direction, irrespective of reproductive style, but that differentiating gonads of protandrous and protogynous hermaphrodites could easily be distinguished from one another. Early gonadal development was similar in R. sarba and A. berda with gonadal primordia differentiating into distinctly bisexual organs. In C. puniceus and C. nufar gonadal primordia differentiated into ovaries with reduced, inert male elements in the tunica albuginea. Sex differentiation occurred relatively late (100-150mm fork length) in all the species investigated. Few cells conforming to primordial germ cells (PGC's) described in other teleosts were identified. These cells only became evident after the appearance of gonial cells and their identity is questioned. Gonial cells appeared to develop within less-electron-dense cysts of cells. Gonial cells in presumptive male and female elements could not be distinguished from one another morphologically, suggesting the bipotentiality of these cells. All R. sarba and A. berda gonads pass through a predominantly male phase and all fish function first as males, indicating protandrous sex change in both species. All C. puniceus and C. nufar gonads develop initially into ovaries. Sex change thus occurs in both species and protogyny in C. puniceus is confirmed. In C. nufar, sex change may occur before or after sexual maturity and its reproductive style remains uncertain. Investigations into the spawning habits of A. berda have shown that this species spawns inside the Kosi estuary at night. Eggs are released during peak ebb tides. Spawning occurs in large aggregations and several to many males compete to spawn with individual females. This spawning strategy does not conform to predictions made from the size advantage model for protandrous species. Chrysoblephus puniceus appears to have preferential spawning sites on down-current outer reef margins. Spawning was not observed in this species, but changes in behaviour, social structure and colour during the spawning season suggest that it may have a mating system similar to several protogynous labrids and scarids, in which territories are temporary. Cheimerius nufar has a similar mating system. Temporary territories are established by large males during the spawning season, which extends from August to November. Mating is by pair-spawning and dominant territorial males obtain a disproportionate number of matings. 'Streaking' appears to represent an alternative mating strategy for males until they attain a sufficient size to establish and defend territories. The mating pattern of C. nufar suggests that it is either a gonochorist which does not conform to current theoretical predictions; or that it is a protogynous hermaphrodite incorrectly diagnosed as a rudimentary hermaphrodite; or that protogyny in the Sparidae is an ancestral condition and C. nufar is in the process of evolutionary change from a protogynous to a gonochoristic form (or visa versa).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Garratt, Patrick Ashworth
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Sparidae -- Physiology Sparidae -- Reproduction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5245 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005088
- Description: Sexuality in seabreams (Sparidae) is considered to be more complex than in any other family of fishes. Early work indicated five reproductive styles within the family: protandry, protogyny, simultaneous hermaphroditism, rudimentary hermaphroditism and gonochorism. More recently two reproductive styles have been suggested: sex change (protandry and protogyny) and secondary gonochorism (rudimentary hermaphrodites). The need for detailed descriptions of sex differentiation, gonad development and spawning behaviour in this family has been identified by a number of workers in this field. The aims of the present study were: i) to provide accurate, detailed descriptions and comparisons of gonadal development in representatives of each reproductive style, ii) to investigate their spawning strategies, and iii) to relate these findings to current theories on hermaphroditism and sex change in fishes. Four species were investigated. Slinger, Chrysoblephus puniceus, the only known protogynous hermaphrodite in Natal. Santer, Cheimerius nufar, described in the literature as a rudimentary hermaphrodite. Riverbream, Acanthopagrus berda suspected to be a protandrous hermaphrodite. Natal stump nose, Rhabdosargus sarba, reported elsewhere as a protandrous hermaphrodite. Detailed histological analysis showed that morphological and cytological development of all gonads proceeded initially in a female direction, irrespective of reproductive style, but that differentiating gonads of protandrous and protogynous hermaphrodites could easily be distinguished from one another. Early gonadal development was similar in R. sarba and A. berda with gonadal primordia differentiating into distinctly bisexual organs. In C. puniceus and C. nufar gonadal primordia differentiated into ovaries with reduced, inert male elements in the tunica albuginea. Sex differentiation occurred relatively late (100-150mm fork length) in all the species investigated. Few cells conforming to primordial germ cells (PGC's) described in other teleosts were identified. These cells only became evident after the appearance of gonial cells and their identity is questioned. Gonial cells appeared to develop within less-electron-dense cysts of cells. Gonial cells in presumptive male and female elements could not be distinguished from one another morphologically, suggesting the bipotentiality of these cells. All R. sarba and A. berda gonads pass through a predominantly male phase and all fish function first as males, indicating protandrous sex change in both species. All C. puniceus and C. nufar gonads develop initially into ovaries. Sex change thus occurs in both species and protogyny in C. puniceus is confirmed. In C. nufar, sex change may occur before or after sexual maturity and its reproductive style remains uncertain. Investigations into the spawning habits of A. berda have shown that this species spawns inside the Kosi estuary at night. Eggs are released during peak ebb tides. Spawning occurs in large aggregations and several to many males compete to spawn with individual females. This spawning strategy does not conform to predictions made from the size advantage model for protandrous species. Chrysoblephus puniceus appears to have preferential spawning sites on down-current outer reef margins. Spawning was not observed in this species, but changes in behaviour, social structure and colour during the spawning season suggest that it may have a mating system similar to several protogynous labrids and scarids, in which territories are temporary. Cheimerius nufar has a similar mating system. Temporary territories are established by large males during the spawning season, which extends from August to November. Mating is by pair-spawning and dominant territorial males obtain a disproportionate number of matings. 'Streaking' appears to represent an alternative mating strategy for males until they attain a sufficient size to establish and defend territories. The mating pattern of C. nufar suggests that it is either a gonochorist which does not conform to current theoretical predictions; or that it is a protogynous hermaphrodite incorrectly diagnosed as a rudimentary hermaphrodite; or that protogyny in the Sparidae is an ancestral condition and C. nufar is in the process of evolutionary change from a protogynous to a gonochoristic form (or visa versa).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Planning in Ciskei secondary schools with special reference to managerial teams
- Authors: Magqaza, Ocean Bungani
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Curriculum planning -- South Africa -- Ciskei Educational planning -- South Africa -- Ciskei Teaching teams School management and organization
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1706 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003589
- Description: Educational leadership and management is a very wide field of study with interdependent components that should form a chain reaction in order to bring about effective management. This study attempts to investigate planning in schools which is one of the educational leadership and management components or functions. Very little research work has been done on educational planning in the Ciskei schools. This is a shortcoming since the number of secondary schools has mushroomed in the late twentieth century. The Ciskei educational managers and parents need to know and take note of the possible situations in the various schools. This is opportune time, particularly that recent events, i.e. students' demands and strikes, are drawing parents closer to the education of their children. The researcher's experience of inspecting school administration since 1990 has reinforced his conviction that the managerial teams in the Ciskei secondary schools have little knowledge of management, and of planning in particular. Although the investigation is into secondary school administration, it is also pertinent to primary school planning. Management, i.e. school year-planning, control of work, staff development, appointment of teachers, policy governing students and teachers are discussed at length . Joint planning, i.e. a participative or consultative approach, and advance planning, are investigated in relation to the school year-programme. The existence of statutory bodies in the various schools is assessed in order to test parents' involvement in the education of their children. School tours are discussed in relation to students' involvement in the school activities. The analysis of the results highlights areas that require attention, and the recommendations given address the controversial issues in planning in the various schools.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Magqaza, Ocean Bungani
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Curriculum planning -- South Africa -- Ciskei Educational planning -- South Africa -- Ciskei Teaching teams School management and organization
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1706 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003589
- Description: Educational leadership and management is a very wide field of study with interdependent components that should form a chain reaction in order to bring about effective management. This study attempts to investigate planning in schools which is one of the educational leadership and management components or functions. Very little research work has been done on educational planning in the Ciskei schools. This is a shortcoming since the number of secondary schools has mushroomed in the late twentieth century. The Ciskei educational managers and parents need to know and take note of the possible situations in the various schools. This is opportune time, particularly that recent events, i.e. students' demands and strikes, are drawing parents closer to the education of their children. The researcher's experience of inspecting school administration since 1990 has reinforced his conviction that the managerial teams in the Ciskei secondary schools have little knowledge of management, and of planning in particular. Although the investigation is into secondary school administration, it is also pertinent to primary school planning. Management, i.e. school year-planning, control of work, staff development, appointment of teachers, policy governing students and teachers are discussed at length . Joint planning, i.e. a participative or consultative approach, and advance planning, are investigated in relation to the school year-programme. The existence of statutory bodies in the various schools is assessed in order to test parents' involvement in the education of their children. School tours are discussed in relation to students' involvement in the school activities. The analysis of the results highlights areas that require attention, and the recommendations given address the controversial issues in planning in the various schools.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Towards the development of an environmental curriculum for members of the planning professions
- Authors: Long, Stanford Staples
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Ecology -- Policy Education -- Environmental aspects Curriculum planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1802 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003687
- Description: In exercising their professional duties professional planners inevitably impact on the environment. In the past, more often than not, this impact has been allowed to occur without sufficient forethought, and usually to the detriment of the environment. In this research it is proposed that this undesirable state of affairs arises from inadequacies within the professional education of the planners, and that greater emphasis on the environmental education of planners is called for. From the perspective of a participative approach to curriculum development, the opinions of professional planners in the Port Elizabeth area were canvassed to establish baseline data in respect of their environmental education needs. To provide further information and a background against which the perceptions of the professional planners could be assessed, the opinions of the learned societies of the planning professions and of key environmentalists were also sought. In all these opinion surveys postal questionnaires formed the basis of the methodology employed. The extent of environmental education presently available to professional planners at tertiary institutions in South Africa and overseas, with particular emphasis on that available in the civil engineering discipline, was also investigated. The surveys revealed a strongly felt need for environmental education within the planning professions. The natural environment, the social environment, environmental ethics and interdisciplinary action all emerged as acceptable themes of the said education. A number of environmental topics to be covered were also identified. Block-release and part-time courses emerged as the most popular format for such environmental education offerings. The limited environmental education practice within the civil engineering discipline at South African tertiary institutions was noted, and the overseas practice in this regard provided useful insights. The data gathered as outlined above, formed the basis from which proposals towards an environmental curriculum for professional planners were made. Although these proposals focused primarily on the civil engineering discipline within the ambit of technikon-based educational programmes, wider multi-disciplinary applications remained an important concern. In the first instance, proposals aimed at expanding the environmental component of the existing first-qualification course were suggested. Secondly, proposals in respect of a post-first qualification, interdisciplinary, environmental study programme leading to a technikon degree were formulated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Long, Stanford Staples
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Ecology -- Policy Education -- Environmental aspects Curriculum planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1802 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003687
- Description: In exercising their professional duties professional planners inevitably impact on the environment. In the past, more often than not, this impact has been allowed to occur without sufficient forethought, and usually to the detriment of the environment. In this research it is proposed that this undesirable state of affairs arises from inadequacies within the professional education of the planners, and that greater emphasis on the environmental education of planners is called for. From the perspective of a participative approach to curriculum development, the opinions of professional planners in the Port Elizabeth area were canvassed to establish baseline data in respect of their environmental education needs. To provide further information and a background against which the perceptions of the professional planners could be assessed, the opinions of the learned societies of the planning professions and of key environmentalists were also sought. In all these opinion surveys postal questionnaires formed the basis of the methodology employed. The extent of environmental education presently available to professional planners at tertiary institutions in South Africa and overseas, with particular emphasis on that available in the civil engineering discipline, was also investigated. The surveys revealed a strongly felt need for environmental education within the planning professions. The natural environment, the social environment, environmental ethics and interdisciplinary action all emerged as acceptable themes of the said education. A number of environmental topics to be covered were also identified. Block-release and part-time courses emerged as the most popular format for such environmental education offerings. The limited environmental education practice within the civil engineering discipline at South African tertiary institutions was noted, and the overseas practice in this regard provided useful insights. The data gathered as outlined above, formed the basis from which proposals towards an environmental curriculum for professional planners were made. Although these proposals focused primarily on the civil engineering discipline within the ambit of technikon-based educational programmes, wider multi-disciplinary applications remained an important concern. In the first instance, proposals aimed at expanding the environmental component of the existing first-qualification course were suggested. Secondly, proposals in respect of a post-first qualification, interdisciplinary, environmental study programme leading to a technikon degree were formulated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
The use of a database to improve higher order thinking skills in secondary school biology: a case study
- Authors: Phipps, Owen Dudley
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Education -- Data processing Biology -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Data processing Biology -- Study and teaching -- Data processing -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1810 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003696
- Description: The knowledge explosion of the last decade has left education in schools far behind. The emphasis in schools must change if they are to prepare students for their future lives. Tertiary institutions as well as commerce and industry need people who have well-developed cognitive skills. A further requirement is that the school leaver must have skills pertaining to information processing. The skills that are required are those which have been labelled higher order thinking skills. The work of Piaget, Thomas and Bloom have led to a better understanding of what these skills actually are. Resnick sees these skills as being: nonalgorithmic; complex; yielding multiple solutions; involving nuanced judgements; involving the application of multiple criteria; involving uncertainty; involving self-regulation of the thinking process; imposing meaning and being effortful. How these can be taught and the implication of doing so are considered by the researcher. The outcome of this consideration is that higher order - thinking entails communication skills, reasoning, problem solving and self management. The study takes the form of an investigation of a particular case: whether a Biology field trip could be used as a source of information, which could be handled by a computer, so that higher order thinking skills could be acquired by students. Students were instructed in the use of a Database Management System called PARADOX. The students then went on an excursion to a Rocky Shore habitat to collect data about the biotic and abiotic factors pertaining to that ecosystem. The students worked in groups sorting data and entering it into the database. Once all the data had been entered the students developed hypotheses and queried the database to obtain evidence to substantiate or disprove their hypotheses. Whilst this was in progress the researcher obtained data by means of observational field notes, tape recordings, evoked documents and interviews. The qualitative data was then arranged into classes to see if it showed that the students were using any of the higher order thinking skills. The results showed that the students did use the listed higher order thinking skills whilst working on the database.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Phipps, Owen Dudley
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Education -- Data processing Biology -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Data processing Biology -- Study and teaching -- Data processing -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1810 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003696
- Description: The knowledge explosion of the last decade has left education in schools far behind. The emphasis in schools must change if they are to prepare students for their future lives. Tertiary institutions as well as commerce and industry need people who have well-developed cognitive skills. A further requirement is that the school leaver must have skills pertaining to information processing. The skills that are required are those which have been labelled higher order thinking skills. The work of Piaget, Thomas and Bloom have led to a better understanding of what these skills actually are. Resnick sees these skills as being: nonalgorithmic; complex; yielding multiple solutions; involving nuanced judgements; involving the application of multiple criteria; involving uncertainty; involving self-regulation of the thinking process; imposing meaning and being effortful. How these can be taught and the implication of doing so are considered by the researcher. The outcome of this consideration is that higher order - thinking entails communication skills, reasoning, problem solving and self management. The study takes the form of an investigation of a particular case: whether a Biology field trip could be used as a source of information, which could be handled by a computer, so that higher order thinking skills could be acquired by students. Students were instructed in the use of a Database Management System called PARADOX. The students then went on an excursion to a Rocky Shore habitat to collect data about the biotic and abiotic factors pertaining to that ecosystem. The students worked in groups sorting data and entering it into the database. Once all the data had been entered the students developed hypotheses and queried the database to obtain evidence to substantiate or disprove their hypotheses. Whilst this was in progress the researcher obtained data by means of observational field notes, tape recordings, evoked documents and interviews. The qualitative data was then arranged into classes to see if it showed that the students were using any of the higher order thinking skills. The results showed that the students did use the listed higher order thinking skills whilst working on the database.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Ecology of the ichthyofauna in three temporarily open/closed estuaries on the Natal coast
- Authors: Harrison, Trevor D
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Estuarine ecology -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Estuarine animals -- South Africa -- Swartkops River Estuary , Fishes -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5269 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005113 , Estuarine ecology -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Estuarine animals -- South Africa -- Swartkops River Estuary , Fishes -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal
- Description: The ichthyofauna of three small Natal estuaries, the Mhlanga, Damba and Zotsha was sampled over a period of two years. A total of 68 kinds of fishes representing 24 families, 39 genera and 56 species were captured during this study. Forty seven kinds of fishes were recorded in the Mhlanga of which Gilchristella aestuaria,Oreochromis mossambicus, Valamugil cunnesius, Valamugil sp. and juvenile mugilids numerically dominated. In terms of biomass, O. mossambicus, V. cunnesius, Liza alata, Myxus capensis and Mugil cephalus dominated the ichthyofauna of the Mhlanga. In the Damba, 24 kinds of fishes were recorded. The most abundant fishes captured were Glossogobius callidus, M. capensis and O. mossambicus. M. capensis, M. cephalus, O. mossambicus and G. callidus dominated the fish biomass captured in the Damba. A total of 56 kinds of fishes were recorded in the Zotsha during this study. The ichthyofauna of the Zotsha was numerically dominated by juvenile mugilids, G. aestuaria, O. mossambicus, Rhabdosargus holubi, Terapon jarbua, Ambassis productus and G. callidus. The species which dominated the fish biomass in the Zotsha were O. mossambicus, L. alata, Valamugil robustus, Valamugil buchanani, M. capensis, M. cephalus and V. cunnesius. Classifying the species captured according to whether they were resident estuarine species, freshwater species, estuarine-dependent marine species and marine species revealed that the first three groups were all well represented in the systems. The only system in which marine species made any significant contribution to the ichthyofauna was the Zotsha. Oreochromis mossambicus was the dominant freshwater species in all three estuaries during this study. Gilchristella aestuaria and Glossogobius callidus were the principal estuarine species in the Mhlanga and the Damba respectively. Both G. aestuaria and G. callidus were the dominant estuarine species captured in the Zotsha. The principal estuarine-dependent marine fishes captured in the Mhlanga were V. cunnesius, Valamugil sp., juvenile mugilids, M. capensis, M. cephalus and L. alata. In the Damba, M. capensis and M. cephalus were the dominant estuarine-dependent marine species and in the Zotsha juvenile mugilids, R. holubi, T. jarbua, A . productus, M. capensis, V. cunnesius, V. robustus, M. cephalus and L. alata predominated. The results of this study indicate that the estuaries are dominated at different periods by different assemblages of fishes. This is linked to the spawning and migration patterns of the various species as well as the hydrological regime of each estuary. During the winter these systems are normally closed with relatively deep waters and high food resource and habitat availability. Freshwater and estuarine species mainly inhabit the upper reaches of the systems while estuarine-dependent marine species mainly occupy the middle and lower reaches and dominate the fish community. When these systems open with the onset of the spring/summer rains, adult and sub-adult estuarine-dependent marine species emigrate to the marine environment and juveniles begin recruiting into the systems. Spring is also the peak breeding period of resident estuarine and freshwater species, resulting in an increase in the contribution of these fishes to the overall population during this period. When closed estuaries open many of them drain and this results in the fishes concentrating in the lower reaches of the system where moderate water depths are present, thus further contributing to an increase in the proportion of freshwater and estuarine species in this region. The breaching of closed estuaries also results in a slump in food resources and habitat availability. Competition and possible increased vulnerability to avian predation (due to the shallow nature of the systems), may contribute to a decrease in the proportion of estuarine and freshwater species in summer. The prolonged spawning and recruitment of 0+ juveniles of estuarine-dependent marine species results in an increase in the proportion of these fishes present in the estuaries during summer. In autumn, these systems normally close, water levels rise and available food resources and habitat increase. This allows the redistribution of freshwater and estuarine species upstream, leaving estuarine-dependent marine species to dominate the middle and lower reaches. Although temporarily open/closed estuaries along the Natal coast may not be as diverse as permanently open estuaries in terms of their ichthyofauna, their importance must not be underestimated since by providing a continuous sequence of sheltered habitats along the coast they may contribute significantly to the viability of estuarine-dependent marine fish stocks.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Harrison, Trevor D
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Estuarine ecology -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Estuarine animals -- South Africa -- Swartkops River Estuary , Fishes -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5269 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005113 , Estuarine ecology -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Estuarine animals -- South Africa -- Swartkops River Estuary , Fishes -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal
- Description: The ichthyofauna of three small Natal estuaries, the Mhlanga, Damba and Zotsha was sampled over a period of two years. A total of 68 kinds of fishes representing 24 families, 39 genera and 56 species were captured during this study. Forty seven kinds of fishes were recorded in the Mhlanga of which Gilchristella aestuaria,Oreochromis mossambicus, Valamugil cunnesius, Valamugil sp. and juvenile mugilids numerically dominated. In terms of biomass, O. mossambicus, V. cunnesius, Liza alata, Myxus capensis and Mugil cephalus dominated the ichthyofauna of the Mhlanga. In the Damba, 24 kinds of fishes were recorded. The most abundant fishes captured were Glossogobius callidus, M. capensis and O. mossambicus. M. capensis, M. cephalus, O. mossambicus and G. callidus dominated the fish biomass captured in the Damba. A total of 56 kinds of fishes were recorded in the Zotsha during this study. The ichthyofauna of the Zotsha was numerically dominated by juvenile mugilids, G. aestuaria, O. mossambicus, Rhabdosargus holubi, Terapon jarbua, Ambassis productus and G. callidus. The species which dominated the fish biomass in the Zotsha were O. mossambicus, L. alata, Valamugil robustus, Valamugil buchanani, M. capensis, M. cephalus and V. cunnesius. Classifying the species captured according to whether they were resident estuarine species, freshwater species, estuarine-dependent marine species and marine species revealed that the first three groups were all well represented in the systems. The only system in which marine species made any significant contribution to the ichthyofauna was the Zotsha. Oreochromis mossambicus was the dominant freshwater species in all three estuaries during this study. Gilchristella aestuaria and Glossogobius callidus were the principal estuarine species in the Mhlanga and the Damba respectively. Both G. aestuaria and G. callidus were the dominant estuarine species captured in the Zotsha. The principal estuarine-dependent marine fishes captured in the Mhlanga were V. cunnesius, Valamugil sp., juvenile mugilids, M. capensis, M. cephalus and L. alata. In the Damba, M. capensis and M. cephalus were the dominant estuarine-dependent marine species and in the Zotsha juvenile mugilids, R. holubi, T. jarbua, A . productus, M. capensis, V. cunnesius, V. robustus, M. cephalus and L. alata predominated. The results of this study indicate that the estuaries are dominated at different periods by different assemblages of fishes. This is linked to the spawning and migration patterns of the various species as well as the hydrological regime of each estuary. During the winter these systems are normally closed with relatively deep waters and high food resource and habitat availability. Freshwater and estuarine species mainly inhabit the upper reaches of the systems while estuarine-dependent marine species mainly occupy the middle and lower reaches and dominate the fish community. When these systems open with the onset of the spring/summer rains, adult and sub-adult estuarine-dependent marine species emigrate to the marine environment and juveniles begin recruiting into the systems. Spring is also the peak breeding period of resident estuarine and freshwater species, resulting in an increase in the contribution of these fishes to the overall population during this period. When closed estuaries open many of them drain and this results in the fishes concentrating in the lower reaches of the system where moderate water depths are present, thus further contributing to an increase in the proportion of freshwater and estuarine species in this region. The breaching of closed estuaries also results in a slump in food resources and habitat availability. Competition and possible increased vulnerability to avian predation (due to the shallow nature of the systems), may contribute to a decrease in the proportion of estuarine and freshwater species in summer. The prolonged spawning and recruitment of 0+ juveniles of estuarine-dependent marine species results in an increase in the proportion of these fishes present in the estuaries during summer. In autumn, these systems normally close, water levels rise and available food resources and habitat increase. This allows the redistribution of freshwater and estuarine species upstream, leaving estuarine-dependent marine species to dominate the middle and lower reaches. Although temporarily open/closed estuaries along the Natal coast may not be as diverse as permanently open estuaries in terms of their ichthyofauna, their importance must not be underestimated since by providing a continuous sequence of sheltered habitats along the coast they may contribute significantly to the viability of estuarine-dependent marine fish stocks.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Southern African Journal of Gerontology, volume 3, number 1, April 1994
- Ferreira, Monica (editor), Møller, Valerie (editor), HSRC/UCT Centre for Gerontology
- Authors: Ferreira, Monica (editor) , Møller, Valerie (editor) , HSRC/UCT Centre for Gerontology
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Gerontology -- South Africa , Older people -- Care -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:8068 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012860
- Description: A typical case, culled from the author's own experience in the Third World, points towards a major crisis in ageing in the near future for many developing countries. Whilst the increase in numbers of elderly, both gross and proportionate, is well-known, it is not so widely realised that the increase in developing countries will far outstrip that in industrialized nations. Although the elderly were historically cared for within the traditional extended family structure, that system is now breaking down before the advance of migration and easy divorce. Many elderly persons are left alone in depopulated communities. Others fail to adapt in the rural-to-urban transition. Most developing countries have no firmly established services for the elderly. However, as awareness of the impending crisis increases, community groups assist the elderly in developing their own initiatives to avoid the local effects of the crisis.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Ferreira, Monica (editor) , Møller, Valerie (editor) , HSRC/UCT Centre for Gerontology
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Gerontology -- South Africa , Older people -- Care -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:8068 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012860
- Description: A typical case, culled from the author's own experience in the Third World, points towards a major crisis in ageing in the near future for many developing countries. Whilst the increase in numbers of elderly, both gross and proportionate, is well-known, it is not so widely realised that the increase in developing countries will far outstrip that in industrialized nations. Although the elderly were historically cared for within the traditional extended family structure, that system is now breaking down before the advance of migration and easy divorce. Many elderly persons are left alone in depopulated communities. Others fail to adapt in the rural-to-urban transition. Most developing countries have no firmly established services for the elderly. However, as awareness of the impending crisis increases, community groups assist the elderly in developing their own initiatives to avoid the local effects of the crisis.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Records of the inquest into the murder of Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkonto, Fort Calata and Sicelo Mhlauli near Port Elizabeth on 27 June 1985
- Goniwe Inquest, Du Plessis, Lourens, Van Rensburg, Janse, South African Police, South Africa
- Authors: Goniwe Inquest , Du Plessis, Lourens , Van Rensburg, Janse , South African Police , South Africa
- Date: 1993-1994 , 1994
- Subjects: Goniwe, Matthew 1946-1985 , Calata, Fort -1985 , Mkonto, Sparrow -1985 , Mhlauli, Sicelo -1985 , South Africa South African Defence Force , South African Police , Violent deaths South Africa , Inquests South Africa , Colonel Du Plessis, Lourens SADF , General Van der Westhuizen, C P SADF
- Language: English , Afrikaans
- Type: legal case and case notes , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/165353 , vital:41236 , Rhodes University, Cory Library for Humanities Research Cory Library Manuscript Collection MS 18 905
- Description: Heads of Argument presented by the South African Defence Force, Col. Lourens du Plessis, the South African Police, the Acting Attorney-General of the Eastern Cape and General Janse van Rensburg, 1993-1994.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1993-1994
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Goniwe Inquest , Du Plessis, Lourens , Van Rensburg, Janse , South African Police , South Africa
- Date: 1993-1994 , 1994
- Subjects: Goniwe, Matthew 1946-1985 , Calata, Fort -1985 , Mkonto, Sparrow -1985 , Mhlauli, Sicelo -1985 , South Africa South African Defence Force , South African Police , Violent deaths South Africa , Inquests South Africa , Colonel Du Plessis, Lourens SADF , General Van der Westhuizen, C P SADF
- Language: English , Afrikaans
- Type: legal case and case notes , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/165353 , vital:41236 , Rhodes University, Cory Library for Humanities Research Cory Library Manuscript Collection MS 18 905
- Description: Heads of Argument presented by the South African Defence Force, Col. Lourens du Plessis, the South African Police, the Acting Attorney-General of the Eastern Cape and General Janse van Rensburg, 1993-1994.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1993-1994
- Date Issued: 1994
Up Beat Issue Number 4 1994
- SACHED
- Authors: SACHED
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: SACHED
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115656 , vital:34211
- Description: Well, here we are, a month after the elections. Let us pray that everyone in our country will be able to put their differences behind them and work together to build a better South Africa. In this issue of Upbeat we speak to young people about the violence in Bophuthatswana before the elections. But there are also lots of fun stories for you to read. Meet Toni Braxton and find out more a sport that is taking over in South Africa - basketball. Finally there is a story about smoking and what it does to your body on page 12. If you are a beginner smoker, do the quiz at the end of the story and see if you really want to smoke.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: SACHED
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: SACHED
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115656 , vital:34211
- Description: Well, here we are, a month after the elections. Let us pray that everyone in our country will be able to put their differences behind them and work together to build a better South Africa. In this issue of Upbeat we speak to young people about the violence in Bophuthatswana before the elections. But there are also lots of fun stories for you to read. Meet Toni Braxton and find out more a sport that is taking over in South Africa - basketball. Finally there is a story about smoking and what it does to your body on page 12. If you are a beginner smoker, do the quiz at the end of the story and see if you really want to smoke.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Top of Howison's Poort, 4 km west of Grahamstown
- Authors: Skead, C J (Cuthbert John)
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Senecio -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Plants -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Type: still image
- Identifier: vital:12245 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013626
- Description: Dense stand of Senecio weed growth after a burn. Had a good preceding season.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Skead, C J (Cuthbert John)
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Senecio -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Plants -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Type: still image
- Identifier: vital:12245 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013626
- Description: Dense stand of Senecio weed growth after a burn. Had a good preceding season.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1994