Observed pathological changes in male Wistar rats after co-treatment of Type II Diabetes with metformin and sutherlandia frutescens
- Authors: Tili, Siphokazi Pamphilia
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Rats -- Physiology , Rats as laboratory animals , Non-insulin-dependent diabetes -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10123 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012644 , Rats -- Physiology , Rats as laboratory animals , Non-insulin-dependent diabetes -- Research
- Description: Diabetes is a serious condition that affects all the body’s systems including kidneys, heart, eyes and limbs. This alone makes type II diabetes a life threatening disease; an expensive disease and economic burden that many individuals struggle to cope with.The rapid growth type II diabetes in South Africa is associated with the change of life style, and environmental factors brought by westernized way of life living in rural areas. Despite the technical advances in diagnosis and therapy of diabetes many people still use alternative forms of therapy due to the cost, traditional reasons and religion. Some of the people use the conventional medication together with the alternative therapy without informing their doctor and knowing the pathological changes. The aim of the study was to investigate pathological changes in male Wistar rats after co-treatment of type II diabetes with metformin and Sutherlandia frutescens and the possible synergistic and antagonistic effects. The thirty five rats were divided into five groups, seven in each group. There were two control groups and three test groups. Only the first control group was on a low fat diet (normal rat pellets) and second control group and test groups were on a high fat diet which induces obesity, insulin resistance and leads a typical prediabetic state for 12 weeks (Buettner et al., 2006). After 11.5 weeks medication was administered by oral gavaging to the test groups for 4 weeks and control groups received water. Blood was collected for determination of glucose, insulin, lipid profile and the concentrations of the liver enzymes. Pancreas, liver and kidney tissue were removed and used for histology. Urine was collected from the bladder for creatinine analyses. The plant + metformin group co-treatment was better in managing hyperglycemia, liver damages were minimal and also weight control was better when compared to metformin alone.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tili, Siphokazi Pamphilia
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Rats -- Physiology , Rats as laboratory animals , Non-insulin-dependent diabetes -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10123 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012644 , Rats -- Physiology , Rats as laboratory animals , Non-insulin-dependent diabetes -- Research
- Description: Diabetes is a serious condition that affects all the body’s systems including kidneys, heart, eyes and limbs. This alone makes type II diabetes a life threatening disease; an expensive disease and economic burden that many individuals struggle to cope with.The rapid growth type II diabetes in South Africa is associated with the change of life style, and environmental factors brought by westernized way of life living in rural areas. Despite the technical advances in diagnosis and therapy of diabetes many people still use alternative forms of therapy due to the cost, traditional reasons and religion. Some of the people use the conventional medication together with the alternative therapy without informing their doctor and knowing the pathological changes. The aim of the study was to investigate pathological changes in male Wistar rats after co-treatment of type II diabetes with metformin and Sutherlandia frutescens and the possible synergistic and antagonistic effects. The thirty five rats were divided into five groups, seven in each group. There were two control groups and three test groups. Only the first control group was on a low fat diet (normal rat pellets) and second control group and test groups were on a high fat diet which induces obesity, insulin resistance and leads a typical prediabetic state for 12 weeks (Buettner et al., 2006). After 11.5 weeks medication was administered by oral gavaging to the test groups for 4 weeks and control groups received water. Blood was collected for determination of glucose, insulin, lipid profile and the concentrations of the liver enzymes. Pancreas, liver and kidney tissue were removed and used for histology. Urine was collected from the bladder for creatinine analyses. The plant + metformin group co-treatment was better in managing hyperglycemia, liver damages were minimal and also weight control was better when compared to metformin alone.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Political parties in South African law
- Authors: Tiry, Zaahira
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Political parties -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Politics -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:10285 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012414 , Political parties -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Politics -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Description: This dissertation is a literature study of the legal regime of political parties in post-apartheid South Africa. A constitutional perspective is adopted throughout the study in order to confine the topic to the realm of South African law. Hence, the focus of the study is to identify legal rights contained in chapter two of the Constitution and to also identify other provisions of the Constitution that have a bearing on political parties. As mentioned in the conclusion, section 19 of the Constitution, set the scene for the development of this study. An analysis of the constitutional provisions highlighted in this study, case law and present legislation dealing with political parties reveals that there is a need for comparative research and the adoption of adequate legislation to regulate the functioning of political parties in South Africa. It is submitted that the regulation of parties by statute is required to ensure a just political order whereby the functioning of political parties is in line with the Constitution.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tiry, Zaahira
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Political parties -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Politics -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:10285 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012414 , Political parties -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Politics -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Description: This dissertation is a literature study of the legal regime of political parties in post-apartheid South Africa. A constitutional perspective is adopted throughout the study in order to confine the topic to the realm of South African law. Hence, the focus of the study is to identify legal rights contained in chapter two of the Constitution and to also identify other provisions of the Constitution that have a bearing on political parties. As mentioned in the conclusion, section 19 of the Constitution, set the scene for the development of this study. An analysis of the constitutional provisions highlighted in this study, case law and present legislation dealing with political parties reveals that there is a need for comparative research and the adoption of adequate legislation to regulate the functioning of political parties in South Africa. It is submitted that the regulation of parties by statute is required to ensure a just political order whereby the functioning of political parties is in line with the Constitution.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Interest rate pass-through in Cameroon and Nigeria: a comparative analysis
- Authors: Tita, Anthanasius Fomum
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Interest rates -- Cameroon Interest rates -- Nigeria Interest rates -- Effect of inflation on -- Cameroon Interest rates -- Effect of inflation on -- Nigeria Interest rates -- Econometric models Cointegration Monetary policy -- Cameroon Monetary policy -- Nigeria Banque des états de l'Afrique centrale Banks and banking -- Cameroon Banks and banking -- Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1005 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002740
- Description: One of the most important aspects of monetary policy is an understanding of the transmission process: the mechanism through which the monetary policy actions of the Central Bank impact on aggregate demand and prices by influencing the investment and consumption decisions of households and firms. Thus, commercial banks are regarded as conveyers of monetary policy shocks and are expected to adjust retail interest rates in response to policy shocks one-to-one. In practice, commercial banks adjust their retail rates in response to changes in monetary policy with a lag of several months and this delay is often viewed as an impediment on the ability of the Central Bank to steer the economy. Several reasons, such as credit rationing and adverse selection, switching costs, risk sharing, consumer irrationality, structure of the financial system, menu costs and asymmetric information are some of the causes advanced for commercial banks retail rates being sticky. In spite of the important role of pass-through analysis in the monetary policy transmission process, it has received very little attention in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Cameroon and Nigeria, which have implemented a series of reforms. To this end, this study gives a comparative analysis of interest rate pass-through in Nigeria and Cameroon using retail rates (lending and deposit) and a discount rate (policy rate) from January 1990 to December 2010 for Nigeria and from January 1990 to June 2008 for Cameroon. The study examines the magnitude and speed of retail rate adjustments to changes in the Central Bank policy rate as well as examining the possibility of symmetric and asymmetric pass-through in both countries. In addition, the study also investigates whether there is pass-through of monetary policy from one country to the other. The empirical analysis employs four different types of co-integration techniques to test the presence of a long run co-integrating relationship between retail and the policy rates in order to ensure that the relationship detected is robust. Three sets of analyses are carried out in the study. Following Cottarelli and Kourelis (1994), the study employed a co-integration technique, firstly, to analyse pass-through for the entire sample, secondly, to analyse symmetric and asymmetric pass-through using a ten year rolling window analysis in an error correction framework. Finally, the policy rates were swapped around to investigate if there are transmissions of impulses from one country to the other. Overall, evidence from the entire sample and rolling window analysis suggests that monetary policy in Cameroon is less effective. This is perhaps one of the reasons why the Banque Des Etats De L’Afrique Centrale (BEAC) is unable to sterilise the excess liquidity of the banking sector in Cameroon. The long run pass-through of 0.72 and 0.71 for the entire sample, and the average long run pass-through for the rolling window of 0.78 and 0.76 for the lending and deposit rates, suggest that monetary policy is highly effective in Nigeria compared to Cameroon. The empirical evidence confirmed asymmetric adjustment in six rolling windows in the lending rate in Nigeria. Three rolling windows indicated that the direction of rigidity is downward, supporting Scholnick’s (1996) collusive pricing arrangement between banks, and the other three suggested that the lending rate is rigid in the upward direction, corroborating Scholnick’s (1996) customer reaction hypothesis. The deposit rate in Cameroon was also found to adjust asymmetrically and the direction of rigidity is downward, supporting Hannan and Berger’s (1991) customer reaction hypothesis. The investigation of impulse transmission between the two countries revealed that only the policy rate in Nigeria exerts some influence on the deposit rate in Cameroon. Policy recommendations are also discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tita, Anthanasius Fomum
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Interest rates -- Cameroon Interest rates -- Nigeria Interest rates -- Effect of inflation on -- Cameroon Interest rates -- Effect of inflation on -- Nigeria Interest rates -- Econometric models Cointegration Monetary policy -- Cameroon Monetary policy -- Nigeria Banque des états de l'Afrique centrale Banks and banking -- Cameroon Banks and banking -- Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1005 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002740
- Description: One of the most important aspects of monetary policy is an understanding of the transmission process: the mechanism through which the monetary policy actions of the Central Bank impact on aggregate demand and prices by influencing the investment and consumption decisions of households and firms. Thus, commercial banks are regarded as conveyers of monetary policy shocks and are expected to adjust retail interest rates in response to policy shocks one-to-one. In practice, commercial banks adjust their retail rates in response to changes in monetary policy with a lag of several months and this delay is often viewed as an impediment on the ability of the Central Bank to steer the economy. Several reasons, such as credit rationing and adverse selection, switching costs, risk sharing, consumer irrationality, structure of the financial system, menu costs and asymmetric information are some of the causes advanced for commercial banks retail rates being sticky. In spite of the important role of pass-through analysis in the monetary policy transmission process, it has received very little attention in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Cameroon and Nigeria, which have implemented a series of reforms. To this end, this study gives a comparative analysis of interest rate pass-through in Nigeria and Cameroon using retail rates (lending and deposit) and a discount rate (policy rate) from January 1990 to December 2010 for Nigeria and from January 1990 to June 2008 for Cameroon. The study examines the magnitude and speed of retail rate adjustments to changes in the Central Bank policy rate as well as examining the possibility of symmetric and asymmetric pass-through in both countries. In addition, the study also investigates whether there is pass-through of monetary policy from one country to the other. The empirical analysis employs four different types of co-integration techniques to test the presence of a long run co-integrating relationship between retail and the policy rates in order to ensure that the relationship detected is robust. Three sets of analyses are carried out in the study. Following Cottarelli and Kourelis (1994), the study employed a co-integration technique, firstly, to analyse pass-through for the entire sample, secondly, to analyse symmetric and asymmetric pass-through using a ten year rolling window analysis in an error correction framework. Finally, the policy rates were swapped around to investigate if there are transmissions of impulses from one country to the other. Overall, evidence from the entire sample and rolling window analysis suggests that monetary policy in Cameroon is less effective. This is perhaps one of the reasons why the Banque Des Etats De L’Afrique Centrale (BEAC) is unable to sterilise the excess liquidity of the banking sector in Cameroon. The long run pass-through of 0.72 and 0.71 for the entire sample, and the average long run pass-through for the rolling window of 0.78 and 0.76 for the lending and deposit rates, suggest that monetary policy is highly effective in Nigeria compared to Cameroon. The empirical evidence confirmed asymmetric adjustment in six rolling windows in the lending rate in Nigeria. Three rolling windows indicated that the direction of rigidity is downward, supporting Scholnick’s (1996) collusive pricing arrangement between banks, and the other three suggested that the lending rate is rigid in the upward direction, corroborating Scholnick’s (1996) customer reaction hypothesis. The deposit rate in Cameroon was also found to adjust asymmetrically and the direction of rigidity is downward, supporting Hannan and Berger’s (1991) customer reaction hypothesis. The investigation of impulse transmission between the two countries revealed that only the policy rate in Nigeria exerts some influence on the deposit rate in Cameroon. Policy recommendations are also discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Financial sector development and sectoral output growth evidence from South Africa
- Authors: Tongo, Yanga
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- South Africa Mineral industries -- Economic aspects -- South Africa Manufacturing industries -- Economic aspects -- South Africa South Africa -- Economic conditions Autoregression (Statistics) Econometric models Stock exchanges -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1004 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002739
- Description: The goal of the study is to examine the relationship between financial sector development and output growth in the agricultural, mining and manufacturing sectors in South Africa. The analysis is based on the hypothesis that financial development is essential for promoting production growth in an economy. To test the hypothesis, in the South African context, the vector autoregressive model (VAR) framework and Granger causality test are applied to a quarterly data set starting from 1970 quarter one to 2009 quarter four. The results suggest that financial intermediary development (bank based measure) and stock market development (market based measure) have a positive impact on output growth in the agriculture, mining and manufacturing sectors in South Africa. There is evidence of a one way causal relationship between financial sector development and sectoral output growth. Particularly, there is evidence that financial intermediary development and stock market development causes output growth in the agriculture, mining and manufacturing sectors in South Africa. However, there is no evidence showing causality running from sectoral output growth to financial sector development. The results provide evidence supporting the theory which states that financial development is essential to promote output growth in a country i.e. in our case South Africa. Thus an efficient financial system which promotes efficient channeling of resources towards the agricultural, mining and manufacturing sectors should be built.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tongo, Yanga
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- South Africa Mineral industries -- Economic aspects -- South Africa Manufacturing industries -- Economic aspects -- South Africa South Africa -- Economic conditions Autoregression (Statistics) Econometric models Stock exchanges -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1004 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002739
- Description: The goal of the study is to examine the relationship between financial sector development and output growth in the agricultural, mining and manufacturing sectors in South Africa. The analysis is based on the hypothesis that financial development is essential for promoting production growth in an economy. To test the hypothesis, in the South African context, the vector autoregressive model (VAR) framework and Granger causality test are applied to a quarterly data set starting from 1970 quarter one to 2009 quarter four. The results suggest that financial intermediary development (bank based measure) and stock market development (market based measure) have a positive impact on output growth in the agriculture, mining and manufacturing sectors in South Africa. There is evidence of a one way causal relationship between financial sector development and sectoral output growth. Particularly, there is evidence that financial intermediary development and stock market development causes output growth in the agriculture, mining and manufacturing sectors in South Africa. However, there is no evidence showing causality running from sectoral output growth to financial sector development. The results provide evidence supporting the theory which states that financial development is essential to promote output growth in a country i.e. in our case South Africa. Thus an efficient financial system which promotes efficient channeling of resources towards the agricultural, mining and manufacturing sectors should be built.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Rural women and the land question in Zimbabwe: the case of Mutasa District
- Authors: Toro, Bigboy
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Land tenure -- Zimbabwe , Land reform -- Zimbabwe , Women in development -- Zimbabwe , Women farmers -- Zimbabwe , Inheritance and succession -- Zimbabwe , Rural development -- Zimbabwe , Rural women -- Zimbabwe , Women in agriculture -- Zimbabwe , Sex discrimination -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Soc Sc (Dev)
- Identifier: vital:11431 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1006945 , Land tenure -- Zimbabwe , Land reform -- Zimbabwe , Women in development -- Zimbabwe , Women farmers -- Zimbabwe , Inheritance and succession -- Zimbabwe , Rural development -- Zimbabwe , Rural women -- Zimbabwe , Women in agriculture -- Zimbabwe , Sex discrimination -- Zimbabwe
- Description: Zimbabwean rural women make significant contribution to agriculture and are the mainstay of the farm labour. Although women do the majority of agricultural work, men, for the most part continue to own the land, control women‟s labour and make agricultural decisions supported by patriarchal social systems. Thus, rural women faced difficulties than men in gaining access to land under Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP). Women‟s relationship with land is therefore through husbands, fathers, brothers or sons. Therefore, this study has undertaken with the objective of assessing the impact of land distribution programme with respect to its contribution to women‟s empowerment in the study area. The Gender and Development approach was employed to assess women access to land under the FTLRP. Such an approach to rural development can help in reducing the gender gap between women and men in order to achieve gender-balanced development. The study used qualitative research methodology where semi-structured interviews gather data from women in Mutasa District. Findings indicate that there are a number of challenges and constraints that are experienced by rural women under the Fast Track Land Reform Programme which include male land registration, no access to credit, inadequate government input support, lack of government laws and policies awareness on women land rights, shortage of farm implements and irrigation water supply and lack of agriculture training. On the other hand, culture and traditional practices still affect women in other cases, disadvantaging them in favour of men, as in inheritance of land and property in the household. It was generally assumed that the programme did not improve women access to land. To improve women access to land, in future, the study recommends that a serious intervention by the state should occur coupled with the revitalization of the programme and a paradigm shift towards an effective food security programme which emphasizes women and their important role in agriculture.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Toro, Bigboy
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Land tenure -- Zimbabwe , Land reform -- Zimbabwe , Women in development -- Zimbabwe , Women farmers -- Zimbabwe , Inheritance and succession -- Zimbabwe , Rural development -- Zimbabwe , Rural women -- Zimbabwe , Women in agriculture -- Zimbabwe , Sex discrimination -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Soc Sc (Dev)
- Identifier: vital:11431 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1006945 , Land tenure -- Zimbabwe , Land reform -- Zimbabwe , Women in development -- Zimbabwe , Women farmers -- Zimbabwe , Inheritance and succession -- Zimbabwe , Rural development -- Zimbabwe , Rural women -- Zimbabwe , Women in agriculture -- Zimbabwe , Sex discrimination -- Zimbabwe
- Description: Zimbabwean rural women make significant contribution to agriculture and are the mainstay of the farm labour. Although women do the majority of agricultural work, men, for the most part continue to own the land, control women‟s labour and make agricultural decisions supported by patriarchal social systems. Thus, rural women faced difficulties than men in gaining access to land under Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP). Women‟s relationship with land is therefore through husbands, fathers, brothers or sons. Therefore, this study has undertaken with the objective of assessing the impact of land distribution programme with respect to its contribution to women‟s empowerment in the study area. The Gender and Development approach was employed to assess women access to land under the FTLRP. Such an approach to rural development can help in reducing the gender gap between women and men in order to achieve gender-balanced development. The study used qualitative research methodology where semi-structured interviews gather data from women in Mutasa District. Findings indicate that there are a number of challenges and constraints that are experienced by rural women under the Fast Track Land Reform Programme which include male land registration, no access to credit, inadequate government input support, lack of government laws and policies awareness on women land rights, shortage of farm implements and irrigation water supply and lack of agriculture training. On the other hand, culture and traditional practices still affect women in other cases, disadvantaging them in favour of men, as in inheritance of land and property in the household. It was generally assumed that the programme did not improve women access to land. To improve women access to land, in future, the study recommends that a serious intervention by the state should occur coupled with the revitalization of the programme and a paradigm shift towards an effective food security programme which emphasizes women and their important role in agriculture.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Influence of distance from the target on total response time, repeated punch force and anaerobic fatigue of amateur boxers
- Authors: Trella, Christopher
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Boxing -- Training , Sports performance
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10106 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020024
- Description: The aim of this study was to determine the influence of distance from the target during dominant and non-dominant jab punches, on total response time, repeated jab punch force and anaerobic fatigue of amateur boxers. Data was gathered of the following variables: Biographical data, anthropometric data, total response time, change in total response time, number of punches, peak punch force and peak punch force fatigue resistance index. An exploratory and descriptive research design was used. Twelve male amateur boxers participated in this study. The participants were all either provincially or nationally ranked, between the ages 16 and 22 and in the competitive phase of their training. The data was compared to find statistical significance and it was found from the Wilcoxon ranked sign test that distance does not affect total response time, change in total response time, number of punches and peak punch force fatigue resistance index. However, it was found that distance affects peak punch force. Additionally,it was found using a Spearman rank correlation test that older boxers proved to have statistically significant faster total response times, the boxers that had slower total reponse times proved to have statistically significant less powerful peak punch force, the boxers that had slower total response times proved to have statistically significant larger fatigue resistance index, boxers with larger change in total response time proved to have statistically significant more powerful peak punch force and the boxers with larger peak punch force proved to have statistically significant smaller fatigue resistance index. The data presented provides an introduction of the exploration of how distance from a target relates to a boxer’s performance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Trella, Christopher
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Boxing -- Training , Sports performance
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10106 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020024
- Description: The aim of this study was to determine the influence of distance from the target during dominant and non-dominant jab punches, on total response time, repeated jab punch force and anaerobic fatigue of amateur boxers. Data was gathered of the following variables: Biographical data, anthropometric data, total response time, change in total response time, number of punches, peak punch force and peak punch force fatigue resistance index. An exploratory and descriptive research design was used. Twelve male amateur boxers participated in this study. The participants were all either provincially or nationally ranked, between the ages 16 and 22 and in the competitive phase of their training. The data was compared to find statistical significance and it was found from the Wilcoxon ranked sign test that distance does not affect total response time, change in total response time, number of punches and peak punch force fatigue resistance index. However, it was found that distance affects peak punch force. Additionally,it was found using a Spearman rank correlation test that older boxers proved to have statistically significant faster total response times, the boxers that had slower total reponse times proved to have statistically significant less powerful peak punch force, the boxers that had slower total response times proved to have statistically significant larger fatigue resistance index, boxers with larger change in total response time proved to have statistically significant more powerful peak punch force and the boxers with larger peak punch force proved to have statistically significant smaller fatigue resistance index. The data presented provides an introduction of the exploration of how distance from a target relates to a boxer’s performance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Influence of distance from the target on total response time, repeated punch force and anaerobic fatigue of amatuer boxers
- Authors: Trella, Christopher Andrew
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Boxers (Sports) , Physical education and training
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10111 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020942
- Description: The aim of this study was to determine the influence of distance from the target during dominant and non-dominant jab punches, on total response time, repeated jab punch force and anaerobic fatigue of amateur boxers. Data was gathered of the following variables: Biographical data, anthropometric data, total response time, change in total response time, number of punches, peak punch force and peak punch force fatigue resistance index. An exploratory and descriptive research design was used. Twelve male amateur boxers participated in this study. The participants were all either provincially or nationally ranked, between the ages 16 and 22 and in the competitive phase of their training. The data was compared to find statistical significance and it was found from the Wilcoxon ranked sign test that distance does not affect total response time, change in total response time, number of punches and peak punch force fatigue resistance index. However, it was found that distance affects peak punch force. Additionally,it was found using a Spearman rank correlation test that older boxers proved to have statistically significant faster total response times, the boxers that had slower total reponse times proved to have statistically significant less powerful peak punch force, the boxers that had slower total response times proved to have statistically significant larger fatigue resistance index, boxers with larger change in total response time proved to have statistically significant more powerful peak punch force and the boxers with larger peak punch force proved to have statistically significant smaller fatigue resistance index. The data presented provides an introduction of the exploration of how distance from a target relates to a boxer’s performance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Trella, Christopher Andrew
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Boxers (Sports) , Physical education and training
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10111 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020942
- Description: The aim of this study was to determine the influence of distance from the target during dominant and non-dominant jab punches, on total response time, repeated jab punch force and anaerobic fatigue of amateur boxers. Data was gathered of the following variables: Biographical data, anthropometric data, total response time, change in total response time, number of punches, peak punch force and peak punch force fatigue resistance index. An exploratory and descriptive research design was used. Twelve male amateur boxers participated in this study. The participants were all either provincially or nationally ranked, between the ages 16 and 22 and in the competitive phase of their training. The data was compared to find statistical significance and it was found from the Wilcoxon ranked sign test that distance does not affect total response time, change in total response time, number of punches and peak punch force fatigue resistance index. However, it was found that distance affects peak punch force. Additionally,it was found using a Spearman rank correlation test that older boxers proved to have statistically significant faster total response times, the boxers that had slower total reponse times proved to have statistically significant less powerful peak punch force, the boxers that had slower total response times proved to have statistically significant larger fatigue resistance index, boxers with larger change in total response time proved to have statistically significant more powerful peak punch force and the boxers with larger peak punch force proved to have statistically significant smaller fatigue resistance index. The data presented provides an introduction of the exploration of how distance from a target relates to a boxer’s performance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Investigating tools and techniques for improving software performance on multiprocessor computer systems
- Authors: Tristram, Waide Barrington
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Multiprocessors , Multiprogramming (Electronic computers) , Parallel programming (Computer science) , Linux , Abstract data types (Computer science) , Threads (Computer programs) , Computer programming
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4655 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006651 , Multiprocessors , Multiprogramming (Electronic computers) , Parallel programming (Computer science) , Linux , Abstract data types (Computer science) , Threads (Computer programs) , Computer programming
- Description: The availability of modern commodity multicore processors and multiprocessor computer systems has resulted in the widespread adoption of parallel computers in a variety of environments, ranging from the home to workstation and server environments in particular. Unfortunately, parallel programming is harder and requires more expertise than the traditional sequential programming model. The variety of tools and parallel programming models available to the programmer further complicates the issue. The primary goal of this research was to identify and describe a selection of parallel programming tools and techniques to aid novice parallel programmers in the process of developing efficient parallel C/C++ programs for the Linux platform. This was achieved by highlighting and describing the key concepts and hardware factors that affect parallel programming, providing a brief survey of commonly available software development tools and parallel programming models and libraries, and presenting structured approaches to software performance tuning and parallel programming. Finally, the performance of several parallel programming models and libraries was investigated, along with the programming effort required to implement solutions using the respective models. A quantitative research methodology was applied to the investigation of the performance and programming effort associated with the selected parallel programming models and libraries, which included automatic parallelisation by the compiler, Boost Threads, Cilk Plus, OpenMP, POSIX threads (Pthreads), and Threading Building Blocks (TBB). Additionally, the performance of the GNU C/C++ and Intel C/C++ compilers was examined. The results revealed that the choice of parallel programming model or library is dependent on the type of problem being solved and that there is no overall best choice for all classes of problem. However, the results also indicate that parallel programming models with higher levels of abstraction require less programming effort and provide similar performance compared to explicit threading models. The principle conclusion was that the problem analysis and parallel design are an important factor in the selection of the parallel programming model and tools, but that models with higher levels of abstractions, such as OpenMP and Threading Building Blocks, are favoured.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tristram, Waide Barrington
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Multiprocessors , Multiprogramming (Electronic computers) , Parallel programming (Computer science) , Linux , Abstract data types (Computer science) , Threads (Computer programs) , Computer programming
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4655 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006651 , Multiprocessors , Multiprogramming (Electronic computers) , Parallel programming (Computer science) , Linux , Abstract data types (Computer science) , Threads (Computer programs) , Computer programming
- Description: The availability of modern commodity multicore processors and multiprocessor computer systems has resulted in the widespread adoption of parallel computers in a variety of environments, ranging from the home to workstation and server environments in particular. Unfortunately, parallel programming is harder and requires more expertise than the traditional sequential programming model. The variety of tools and parallel programming models available to the programmer further complicates the issue. The primary goal of this research was to identify and describe a selection of parallel programming tools and techniques to aid novice parallel programmers in the process of developing efficient parallel C/C++ programs for the Linux platform. This was achieved by highlighting and describing the key concepts and hardware factors that affect parallel programming, providing a brief survey of commonly available software development tools and parallel programming models and libraries, and presenting structured approaches to software performance tuning and parallel programming. Finally, the performance of several parallel programming models and libraries was investigated, along with the programming effort required to implement solutions using the respective models. A quantitative research methodology was applied to the investigation of the performance and programming effort associated with the selected parallel programming models and libraries, which included automatic parallelisation by the compiler, Boost Threads, Cilk Plus, OpenMP, POSIX threads (Pthreads), and Threading Building Blocks (TBB). Additionally, the performance of the GNU C/C++ and Intel C/C++ compilers was examined. The results revealed that the choice of parallel programming model or library is dependent on the type of problem being solved and that there is no overall best choice for all classes of problem. However, the results also indicate that parallel programming models with higher levels of abstraction require less programming effort and provide similar performance compared to explicit threading models. The principle conclusion was that the problem analysis and parallel design are an important factor in the selection of the parallel programming model and tools, but that models with higher levels of abstractions, such as OpenMP and Threading Building Blocks, are favoured.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
An archaelogy of South Africanness: the conditions and fantasies of a post-apartheid festival
- Authors: Truscott, Ross
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Nationalism -- South Africa -- History -- 20th century , Whites -- Race identity -- South Africa , Afrikaner loyalists , Psychoanalysis , Discourse analysis , Multiculturalism -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , D Soc Sc (Psych)
- Identifier: vital:11610 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/539 , Nationalism -- South Africa -- History -- 20th century , Whites -- Race identity -- South Africa , Afrikaner loyalists , Psychoanalysis , Discourse analysis , Multiculturalism -- South Africa
- Description: It has become commonplace in academic studies, particularly those with a critical bent, to view nations as being historical constructs, as being without essence, though not without effects of exclusion and inclusion, of the constitution of the „authentic‟ national subject and the „other of the nation.‟ The critical impetus at work here is to show how a nation is constructed in order to bring into view the knowledge and power relations this construction entails, to show whose interests the construction serves, and whose it does not. This study examines the discursive production, the performative enactment and the spatial emplacement of post-apartheid „South Africanness‟ through a case study of Oppikoppi music festival. Oppikoppi is an annual event that emerged in 1994, on the threshold of the „new South Africa.‟ The festival is attended predominantly by young white Afrikaans-speaking South Africans and is held on a farm in the northernmost province of Limpopo, South Africa, an area notoriously conservative in its racial politics. Yet, curiously, Oppikoppi has been repeatedly referred to, and refers to itself with an almost obsessive regularity and repetitiveness, as a „truly South African‟ event. Indeed, the festival has been promoted, since 1998, as „The Home of South African Music,‟ and in 2009 the site of the festival was unofficially declared a „national monument.‟ Through the employment of concepts drawn from the writings of French philosopher and historian, Michel Foucault – particularly his earlier archaeological works – and from Sigmund Freud – particularly his metapsychological works – this study has posed two broad sets of questions. Firstly, from a Foucauldian perspective, what have been the conditions for the production of „South Africanness‟ at this festival? What have been the requirements, the discursive „rules of the game‟ for whiteness and Afrikanerness to become „South African‟? To what extent does this constitution of the festival as a „South African‟ event preserve older lines of division, difference and oppression? To what extent does this bring about meaningful social change? Secondly, from a psychoanalytic perspective, what are the fantasies constellated in the discourse of the festival as a „South African‟ event? Who, in these fantasies, is constituted as the „other of the post-apartheid nation‟? How has fantasy provided a kind of „hallucinatory gratification,‟ a phantasmatic compensation for, and a means of conserving, the losses of privilege in the new nation? And how has fantasy oriented the festival towards post-apartheid sociality, soliciting identifications with the post-apartheid nation? The overarching argument proposed is that anti-apartheid post-apartheid nation building has cultivated a melancholic loss of apartheid for whites in general and Afrikaners in particular, a loss that cannot be grieved – indeed, a loss that should not be grieved – and, as such, a grief that takes on an unconscious afterlife. Apartheid and the life it enabled – not only racialised privilege, but also a structure of identification and idealisation, of being and having – becomes a loss that is buried in, and by, the injunctions issued to post-apartheid memory and conduct. Without the discursive resources with which to symbolise this loss, disguised repetitions of the past, a neurotic refinding of the lost objects of apartheid, and melancholia are the likely outcomes, each of which engender a set of exclusions and enjoyments that run along old and new lines.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Truscott, Ross
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Nationalism -- South Africa -- History -- 20th century , Whites -- Race identity -- South Africa , Afrikaner loyalists , Psychoanalysis , Discourse analysis , Multiculturalism -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , D Soc Sc (Psych)
- Identifier: vital:11610 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/539 , Nationalism -- South Africa -- History -- 20th century , Whites -- Race identity -- South Africa , Afrikaner loyalists , Psychoanalysis , Discourse analysis , Multiculturalism -- South Africa
- Description: It has become commonplace in academic studies, particularly those with a critical bent, to view nations as being historical constructs, as being without essence, though not without effects of exclusion and inclusion, of the constitution of the „authentic‟ national subject and the „other of the nation.‟ The critical impetus at work here is to show how a nation is constructed in order to bring into view the knowledge and power relations this construction entails, to show whose interests the construction serves, and whose it does not. This study examines the discursive production, the performative enactment and the spatial emplacement of post-apartheid „South Africanness‟ through a case study of Oppikoppi music festival. Oppikoppi is an annual event that emerged in 1994, on the threshold of the „new South Africa.‟ The festival is attended predominantly by young white Afrikaans-speaking South Africans and is held on a farm in the northernmost province of Limpopo, South Africa, an area notoriously conservative in its racial politics. Yet, curiously, Oppikoppi has been repeatedly referred to, and refers to itself with an almost obsessive regularity and repetitiveness, as a „truly South African‟ event. Indeed, the festival has been promoted, since 1998, as „The Home of South African Music,‟ and in 2009 the site of the festival was unofficially declared a „national monument.‟ Through the employment of concepts drawn from the writings of French philosopher and historian, Michel Foucault – particularly his earlier archaeological works – and from Sigmund Freud – particularly his metapsychological works – this study has posed two broad sets of questions. Firstly, from a Foucauldian perspective, what have been the conditions for the production of „South Africanness‟ at this festival? What have been the requirements, the discursive „rules of the game‟ for whiteness and Afrikanerness to become „South African‟? To what extent does this constitution of the festival as a „South African‟ event preserve older lines of division, difference and oppression? To what extent does this bring about meaningful social change? Secondly, from a psychoanalytic perspective, what are the fantasies constellated in the discourse of the festival as a „South African‟ event? Who, in these fantasies, is constituted as the „other of the post-apartheid nation‟? How has fantasy provided a kind of „hallucinatory gratification,‟ a phantasmatic compensation for, and a means of conserving, the losses of privilege in the new nation? And how has fantasy oriented the festival towards post-apartheid sociality, soliciting identifications with the post-apartheid nation? The overarching argument proposed is that anti-apartheid post-apartheid nation building has cultivated a melancholic loss of apartheid for whites in general and Afrikaners in particular, a loss that cannot be grieved – indeed, a loss that should not be grieved – and, as such, a grief that takes on an unconscious afterlife. Apartheid and the life it enabled – not only racialised privilege, but also a structure of identification and idealisation, of being and having – becomes a loss that is buried in, and by, the injunctions issued to post-apartheid memory and conduct. Without the discursive resources with which to symbolise this loss, disguised repetitions of the past, a neurotic refinding of the lost objects of apartheid, and melancholia are the likely outcomes, each of which engender a set of exclusions and enjoyments that run along old and new lines.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Emancipatory spaces in the post-colony : South Africa and the case for AbM and UPM
- Authors: Tselapedi, Thapelo
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Local government -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Postcolonialism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Apartheid -- South Africa Civil society -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Social movements -- South Africa -- Grahamstown South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 1991- South Africa -- Economic policy South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2839 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004451
- Description: This thesis is about the relationship between local government, grassroots organisations and the organisation of power resulting from the interaction of the two. Exploring this relationship this thesis investigates whether the actions of grassroots movements can bring local government in line with their developmental role as accorded to them by the Constitution. The assumption embedded in this question is that the current balance of power at the local level exists outside of the service of the historically disadvantaged. Following on from that, the thesis explores, through different modes of analysis, theoretical and historical, the policy and constitutional framework for local government, and then it unravels the context set by the political economy of South Africa. The aim is to make a significant attempt at understanding the possible implications of the interventions grassroots movements make in the public space. The thesis does this also by looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies of the UDF to makes an assessment of the possible endurance of post-apartheid grassroots movements. Since civil society ‘suffers’ from nationalist politics, with its own corporatist institutions, the thesis searches deep within or arguably 'outside of civil society', subjecting AbM and UPM to academic critique, to see how movements embedded among the poor and carrying the political instrument of anger and marginalisation, can dislodge the power of capital. More importantly, the thesis situates the post-apartheid moment within postcolonial politics; navigating through the legacy of Colonialism of a Special Type (CSP), the thesis explores the limits and opportunities at the disposal of grassroots movements. From a different perspective, the thesis is an examination of the organisation and movement of power and the spaces within which power and ideas are contested. Drawing on the political and economic engagements, dubbed the Dar Es Salaam debates, in the 1970’s and 1980’s spurred on by Issa Shivji, the late Prof Dani Wadada Nabudere and Mahmood Mandani, the conclusions of this thesis develops these engagements, essentially making a case for the continued centrality of the post-apartheid state. However, the thesis also asserts the indubitable role that both grassroots movements and civil society need to play, not necessarily in the democratisation of the state, though that goes without saying, but in taking the post-colonial state on its own terms. Consequently, the thesis puts forward the idea that issue-based mobilisation does exactly this, and in the manner that acknowledges the state’s centrality and makes paramount the self-organisation (popular assemblies) of ordinary people in public affairs. The thesis categorically concludes that the centrality of the post-apartheid state and its progressive outlook (constitutional values) is contingent on organs of popular assemblies which need to take the state on its (progressive) terms.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tselapedi, Thapelo
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Local government -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Postcolonialism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Apartheid -- South Africa Civil society -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Social movements -- South Africa -- Grahamstown South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 1991- South Africa -- Economic policy South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2839 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004451
- Description: This thesis is about the relationship between local government, grassroots organisations and the organisation of power resulting from the interaction of the two. Exploring this relationship this thesis investigates whether the actions of grassroots movements can bring local government in line with their developmental role as accorded to them by the Constitution. The assumption embedded in this question is that the current balance of power at the local level exists outside of the service of the historically disadvantaged. Following on from that, the thesis explores, through different modes of analysis, theoretical and historical, the policy and constitutional framework for local government, and then it unravels the context set by the political economy of South Africa. The aim is to make a significant attempt at understanding the possible implications of the interventions grassroots movements make in the public space. The thesis does this also by looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies of the UDF to makes an assessment of the possible endurance of post-apartheid grassroots movements. Since civil society ‘suffers’ from nationalist politics, with its own corporatist institutions, the thesis searches deep within or arguably 'outside of civil society', subjecting AbM and UPM to academic critique, to see how movements embedded among the poor and carrying the political instrument of anger and marginalisation, can dislodge the power of capital. More importantly, the thesis situates the post-apartheid moment within postcolonial politics; navigating through the legacy of Colonialism of a Special Type (CSP), the thesis explores the limits and opportunities at the disposal of grassroots movements. From a different perspective, the thesis is an examination of the organisation and movement of power and the spaces within which power and ideas are contested. Drawing on the political and economic engagements, dubbed the Dar Es Salaam debates, in the 1970’s and 1980’s spurred on by Issa Shivji, the late Prof Dani Wadada Nabudere and Mahmood Mandani, the conclusions of this thesis develops these engagements, essentially making a case for the continued centrality of the post-apartheid state. However, the thesis also asserts the indubitable role that both grassroots movements and civil society need to play, not necessarily in the democratisation of the state, though that goes without saying, but in taking the post-colonial state on its own terms. Consequently, the thesis puts forward the idea that issue-based mobilisation does exactly this, and in the manner that acknowledges the state’s centrality and makes paramount the self-organisation (popular assemblies) of ordinary people in public affairs. The thesis categorically concludes that the centrality of the post-apartheid state and its progressive outlook (constitutional values) is contingent on organs of popular assemblies which need to take the state on its (progressive) terms.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Strategy implementation: a critical assessment of the application of integrated risk management in the implementation of Eastern Cape Province provincial growth and development strategy (ECPGDS)
- Tshayingca-Mashiya, Nontsikelelo Valencia
- Authors: Tshayingca-Mashiya, Nontsikelelo Valencia
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Risk assessment -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Growth , Risk assessment -- Development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Strategic planning , Risk management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (in Public Administration)
- Identifier: vital:11678 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007305 , Risk assessment -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Growth , Risk assessment -- Development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Strategic planning , Risk management
- Description: Strategic Management cycle consist of strategic planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and review of strategy. Strategy implementation has thus become the most significant management challenge. Yang et al. (2010) claim that although formulating a consistent strategy is a difficult task for any management team, making that strategy work and implementing it throughout the organisation is even more difficult. Yang further argues that Strategy implementation has been recorded as a key challenge for today’s organisations. According to Gurowitz (2008, there is evidence which shows that less than 10 percent of strategies formulated are effectively executed. Hrebiniak (2005) advances that; failure in organisations to effectively execute strategies is often as a result of limitation in linking organisational goals with objectives (operations). There are many other factors that influence the success of strategy implementation, ranging from the people who communicate or implement the strategy, to the systems or mechanisms in place for co-ordination. Brynard (2005) asserts that strategy implementation is equally challenging for management in Government departments, given that efforts of Government are aimed at improving service delivery. Poor strategy implementation is linked to poor service delivery. It is also worth noting that whilst implementation is acknowledged as a challenge, joint planning and joint implementation policies and strategies experience even a greater challenge in their implementation According to Young (2006), Debra and Yeates (2008), strategy implementation is in itself a risk because of its impact on the processes, people, and the systems. Strategy implementation is thus considered one of the main risk factors in organisations. In concurring with this view, Lorenzi et al. (2008) proposes that, strategy implementation implies change, and therefore poses risk to the processes, the people and the systems.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tshayingca-Mashiya, Nontsikelelo Valencia
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Risk assessment -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Growth , Risk assessment -- Development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Strategic planning , Risk management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (in Public Administration)
- Identifier: vital:11678 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007305 , Risk assessment -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Growth , Risk assessment -- Development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Strategic planning , Risk management
- Description: Strategic Management cycle consist of strategic planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and review of strategy. Strategy implementation has thus become the most significant management challenge. Yang et al. (2010) claim that although formulating a consistent strategy is a difficult task for any management team, making that strategy work and implementing it throughout the organisation is even more difficult. Yang further argues that Strategy implementation has been recorded as a key challenge for today’s organisations. According to Gurowitz (2008, there is evidence which shows that less than 10 percent of strategies formulated are effectively executed. Hrebiniak (2005) advances that; failure in organisations to effectively execute strategies is often as a result of limitation in linking organisational goals with objectives (operations). There are many other factors that influence the success of strategy implementation, ranging from the people who communicate or implement the strategy, to the systems or mechanisms in place for co-ordination. Brynard (2005) asserts that strategy implementation is equally challenging for management in Government departments, given that efforts of Government are aimed at improving service delivery. Poor strategy implementation is linked to poor service delivery. It is also worth noting that whilst implementation is acknowledged as a challenge, joint planning and joint implementation policies and strategies experience even a greater challenge in their implementation According to Young (2006), Debra and Yeates (2008), strategy implementation is in itself a risk because of its impact on the processes, people, and the systems. Strategy implementation is thus considered one of the main risk factors in organisations. In concurring with this view, Lorenzi et al. (2008) proposes that, strategy implementation implies change, and therefore poses risk to the processes, the people and the systems.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Challenges of instructional leadership in historically disadvantaged schools in South Africa
- Authors: Tshazibana, Vukile Shadrack
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: School management and organization -- South Africa , Educational leadership -- South Africa , Children with social disabilities -- Education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:9565 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1016059
- Description: The research presented in this thesis investigates challenges faced by principals in historically disadvantaged schools in terms of their role as instructional leaders facilitating the implementation of curriculum policies. The study consists of two parts. The first study sampled 25 school principals, 80 teachers and 11 department of education officials from the Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth education districts in the Eastern Cape. Data obtained in the first study were generated by administering a pen-and-paper questionnaire and individual interviews to selected participants. The second study employed an online questionnaire that was open to principals, teachers and departmental officials in all provinces of South Africa in order to generate data over as wide a geographic range as possible. Mixed methods were used to analyse the qualitative and quantitative data from the two studies. Thematic analysis techniques were employed to categorise qualitative data and the quantitative data were subjected to analytical techniques to provide descriptive and inferential statistics. The data revealed that school principals view themselves as change agents who should be in the forefront of change and curriculum implementation, and that they believe that they know what is expected of them in this regard. However, they recognise that they are not adequately prepared for the task of instructional leadership. The data also suggest that teachers have expectations that principals should be trained in instructional leadership and work closely with departmental officials in order to provide guidance and leadership at school level to address their professional needs. Problems related to capacity and skills of subject advisors and other district officials were revealed by the study. These issues are generally and informally recognised, but have not been formally raised within the Department of Education. The findings of the study also highlight the fact that, after nearly two decades in the new political dispensation, there are still vast differences within the South African schooling system between school types. These differences are most evident between ex-Model C schools and historically disadvantaged ex-DET schools, and it is recognised that principals in ex-DET schools need support tailored to their particular circumstances and context. The findings in this study support the notion that much needs to be done in South Africa in terms of empowering school principals; especially those from historically disadvantaged schools. The data provide insights into some of the constraints of local context, which enables better understandings of the challenges of instructional leadership in historically disadvantaged schools. These understandings should be of value when considering strategies to support principals in their role of instructional leaders.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tshazibana, Vukile Shadrack
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: School management and organization -- South Africa , Educational leadership -- South Africa , Children with social disabilities -- Education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:9565 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1016059
- Description: The research presented in this thesis investigates challenges faced by principals in historically disadvantaged schools in terms of their role as instructional leaders facilitating the implementation of curriculum policies. The study consists of two parts. The first study sampled 25 school principals, 80 teachers and 11 department of education officials from the Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth education districts in the Eastern Cape. Data obtained in the first study were generated by administering a pen-and-paper questionnaire and individual interviews to selected participants. The second study employed an online questionnaire that was open to principals, teachers and departmental officials in all provinces of South Africa in order to generate data over as wide a geographic range as possible. Mixed methods were used to analyse the qualitative and quantitative data from the two studies. Thematic analysis techniques were employed to categorise qualitative data and the quantitative data were subjected to analytical techniques to provide descriptive and inferential statistics. The data revealed that school principals view themselves as change agents who should be in the forefront of change and curriculum implementation, and that they believe that they know what is expected of them in this regard. However, they recognise that they are not adequately prepared for the task of instructional leadership. The data also suggest that teachers have expectations that principals should be trained in instructional leadership and work closely with departmental officials in order to provide guidance and leadership at school level to address their professional needs. Problems related to capacity and skills of subject advisors and other district officials were revealed by the study. These issues are generally and informally recognised, but have not been formally raised within the Department of Education. The findings of the study also highlight the fact that, after nearly two decades in the new political dispensation, there are still vast differences within the South African schooling system between school types. These differences are most evident between ex-Model C schools and historically disadvantaged ex-DET schools, and it is recognised that principals in ex-DET schools need support tailored to their particular circumstances and context. The findings in this study support the notion that much needs to be done in South Africa in terms of empowering school principals; especially those from historically disadvantaged schools. The data provide insights into some of the constraints of local context, which enables better understandings of the challenges of instructional leadership in historically disadvantaged schools. These understandings should be of value when considering strategies to support principals in their role of instructional leaders.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Hydrological uncertainty analysis and scenario-based streamflow modelling for the Congo River Basin
- Authors: Tshimanga, Raphael Muamba
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Congo River -- Regulation Hydrological surveys -- Congo River Watershed Water resources development -- Congo River Watershed Water resources development -- Environmental aspects -- Congo River Watershed Water supply -- Congo River Watershed River engineering -- Congo River Watershed
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:6029 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006158
- Description: The effects of climate and environmental change are likely to exacerbate water stress in Africa over the next five decades. It appears obvious, therefore, that large river basins with considerable total renewable water resources will play a prominent role in regional cooperation to alleviate the pressure of water scarcity within Africa. However, managing water resources in the large river basins of Africa involves problems of data paucity, lack of technical resources and the sheer scale of the problem. These river basins are located in regions that are characterized by poverty, low levels of economic development and little food security. The rivers provide multiple goods and services that include hydro-power, water supply, fisheries, agriculture, transportation, and maintenance of aquatic ecosystems. Sustainable water resources management is a critical issue, but there is almost always insufficient data available to formulate adequate management strategies. These basins therefore represent some of the best test cases for the practical application of the science associated with the Predictions in Ungauged Basins (PUB). The thesis presents the results of a process-based hydrological modelling study in the Congo Basin. One of the primary objectives of this study was to establish a hydrological model for the whole Congo Basin, using available historical data. The secondary objective of the study was to use the model and assess the impacts of future environmental change on water resources of the Congo Basin. Given the lack of adequate data on the basin physical characteristics, the preliminary work consisted of assessing available global datasets and building a database of the basin physical characteristics. The database was used for both assessing relationships of similarities between features of physiographic settings in the basin (Chapters 3 and 4), and establishing models that adequately represent the basin hydrology (Chapters 5, 6, and 7). The representative model of the Congo Basin hydrology was then used to assess the impacts of future environmental changes on water resources availability of the Congo Basin (Chapter 8). Through assessment of the physical characteristics of the basin, relationships of similarities were used to determine homogenous regions with regard to rainfall variability, physiographic settings, and hydrological responses. The first observation that comes from this study is that these three categories of regional groups of homogenous characteristics are sensible with regards to their geographical settings, but the overlap and apparent relationships between them are weak. An explanation of this observation is that there are insufficient data, particularly associated with defining sub-surface processes, and it is possible that additional data would have assisted in the discrimination of more homogenous groups and better links between the different datasets. The model application in this study consisted of two phases: model calibration, using a manual approach, and the application of a physically-based a priori parameter estimation approach. While the first approach was designed to assess the general applicability of the model and identify major errors with regard to input data and model structure, the second approach aimed to establish an understanding of the processes and identify useful relationships between the model parameters and the variations in real hydrological processes. The second approach was also designed to quantify the sensitivity of the model outputs to the parameters of the model and to encompass information sharing between the basin physical characteristics and quantifying the parameters of the model. Collectively, the study’s findings show that these two approaches work well and are appropriate to represent the real hydrological processes of Congo Basin. The secondary objective of this study was achieved by forcing the hydrological model developed for the Congo Basin with downscaled Global Climate Model (GCMs) data in order to assess scenarios of change and future possible impacts on water resources availability within the basin. The results provide useful lessons in terms of basin-wide adaptation measures to future climates. The lessons suggest that there is a risk of developing inappropriate adaptation measures to future climate change based on large scale hydrological response, as the response at small scales shows a completely different picture from that which is based on large scale predictions. While the study has concluded that the application of the hydrological model has been successful and can be used with some degree of confidence for enhanced decision making, there remain a number of uncertainties and opportunities to improve the methods used for water resources assessment within the basin. The focus of future activities from the perspective of practical application should be on improved access to data collection to increase confidence in model predictions, on dissemination of the knowledge generated by this study, and on training in the use of the developed water resources assessment techniques.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tshimanga, Raphael Muamba
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Congo River -- Regulation Hydrological surveys -- Congo River Watershed Water resources development -- Congo River Watershed Water resources development -- Environmental aspects -- Congo River Watershed Water supply -- Congo River Watershed River engineering -- Congo River Watershed
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:6029 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006158
- Description: The effects of climate and environmental change are likely to exacerbate water stress in Africa over the next five decades. It appears obvious, therefore, that large river basins with considerable total renewable water resources will play a prominent role in regional cooperation to alleviate the pressure of water scarcity within Africa. However, managing water resources in the large river basins of Africa involves problems of data paucity, lack of technical resources and the sheer scale of the problem. These river basins are located in regions that are characterized by poverty, low levels of economic development and little food security. The rivers provide multiple goods and services that include hydro-power, water supply, fisheries, agriculture, transportation, and maintenance of aquatic ecosystems. Sustainable water resources management is a critical issue, but there is almost always insufficient data available to formulate adequate management strategies. These basins therefore represent some of the best test cases for the practical application of the science associated with the Predictions in Ungauged Basins (PUB). The thesis presents the results of a process-based hydrological modelling study in the Congo Basin. One of the primary objectives of this study was to establish a hydrological model for the whole Congo Basin, using available historical data. The secondary objective of the study was to use the model and assess the impacts of future environmental change on water resources of the Congo Basin. Given the lack of adequate data on the basin physical characteristics, the preliminary work consisted of assessing available global datasets and building a database of the basin physical characteristics. The database was used for both assessing relationships of similarities between features of physiographic settings in the basin (Chapters 3 and 4), and establishing models that adequately represent the basin hydrology (Chapters 5, 6, and 7). The representative model of the Congo Basin hydrology was then used to assess the impacts of future environmental changes on water resources availability of the Congo Basin (Chapter 8). Through assessment of the physical characteristics of the basin, relationships of similarities were used to determine homogenous regions with regard to rainfall variability, physiographic settings, and hydrological responses. The first observation that comes from this study is that these three categories of regional groups of homogenous characteristics are sensible with regards to their geographical settings, but the overlap and apparent relationships between them are weak. An explanation of this observation is that there are insufficient data, particularly associated with defining sub-surface processes, and it is possible that additional data would have assisted in the discrimination of more homogenous groups and better links between the different datasets. The model application in this study consisted of two phases: model calibration, using a manual approach, and the application of a physically-based a priori parameter estimation approach. While the first approach was designed to assess the general applicability of the model and identify major errors with regard to input data and model structure, the second approach aimed to establish an understanding of the processes and identify useful relationships between the model parameters and the variations in real hydrological processes. The second approach was also designed to quantify the sensitivity of the model outputs to the parameters of the model and to encompass information sharing between the basin physical characteristics and quantifying the parameters of the model. Collectively, the study’s findings show that these two approaches work well and are appropriate to represent the real hydrological processes of Congo Basin. The secondary objective of this study was achieved by forcing the hydrological model developed for the Congo Basin with downscaled Global Climate Model (GCMs) data in order to assess scenarios of change and future possible impacts on water resources availability within the basin. The results provide useful lessons in terms of basin-wide adaptation measures to future climates. The lessons suggest that there is a risk of developing inappropriate adaptation measures to future climate change based on large scale hydrological response, as the response at small scales shows a completely different picture from that which is based on large scale predictions. While the study has concluded that the application of the hydrological model has been successful and can be used with some degree of confidence for enhanced decision making, there remain a number of uncertainties and opportunities to improve the methods used for water resources assessment within the basin. The focus of future activities from the perspective of practical application should be on improved access to data collection to increase confidence in model predictions, on dissemination of the knowledge generated by this study, and on training in the use of the developed water resources assessment techniques.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Implementation of environmental learning in the NSSC biology curriculum component: a case study of Namibia
- Tshiningayamwe, Sirkka Alina Nambashusan
- Authors: Tshiningayamwe, Sirkka Alina Nambashusan
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Environmental education -- Namibia -- Case studies Environmental education -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Case studies Environmental education -- Evaluation -- Namibia -- Case studies Biology -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Case studies Biology -- Curricula
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1564 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003446
- Description: In the context of ecological crisis and environmental deterioration, teaching about environmental issues and the preservation of the world’s environment has become increasingly important across the globe (Chi-chung Ko & Chi-kin Lee, 2003). Of the various subjects taught in secondary schools, Science is often perceived as one that can make a significant contribution to environmental education. It is in this light that the study has looked at how Grade 11 and 12 Biology teachers in the Namibian context implement Environmental Learning (EL). This study was constituted as a case study of two schools in Windhoek, in the Khomas region. The study investigated the implementation of EL in the Biology curriculum focusing on the constraints and enabling factors influencing the implementation. This study employed qualitative methods, specifically semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and document analysis in its investigation of EL implementation. Purposive sampling was done and piloting of interview and observation schedules was used to refine the schedules. Ethical issues were taken into consideration throughout the study. The key findings from the study are as follows: - Teachers’ knowledge and interest in environmental education influence how teachers facilitate EL; - There is a mismatch between EL theories and practice; - Teaching of EL is mainly informed by the syllabus and not other curriculum documents, - Current assessment policy and practice impact on EL; and - Possibilities exist for improving EL in Namibia’s Biology curriculum. These key findings have been used to make recommendations for the study which are as follows: - Strengthen the subject content and interest of teachers; - There should be a match between EL theories and practice; - Reorient curriculum documents and other learning support materials used for EL; - Change in assessment approaches; and - Translate constraints of EL into enablers. The study concludes by calling for further research into EL pedagogies. This can be used to improve EL implementation in the region where the study was situated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tshiningayamwe, Sirkka Alina Nambashusan
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Environmental education -- Namibia -- Case studies Environmental education -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Case studies Environmental education -- Evaluation -- Namibia -- Case studies Biology -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Case studies Biology -- Curricula
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1564 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003446
- Description: In the context of ecological crisis and environmental deterioration, teaching about environmental issues and the preservation of the world’s environment has become increasingly important across the globe (Chi-chung Ko & Chi-kin Lee, 2003). Of the various subjects taught in secondary schools, Science is often perceived as one that can make a significant contribution to environmental education. It is in this light that the study has looked at how Grade 11 and 12 Biology teachers in the Namibian context implement Environmental Learning (EL). This study was constituted as a case study of two schools in Windhoek, in the Khomas region. The study investigated the implementation of EL in the Biology curriculum focusing on the constraints and enabling factors influencing the implementation. This study employed qualitative methods, specifically semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and document analysis in its investigation of EL implementation. Purposive sampling was done and piloting of interview and observation schedules was used to refine the schedules. Ethical issues were taken into consideration throughout the study. The key findings from the study are as follows: - Teachers’ knowledge and interest in environmental education influence how teachers facilitate EL; - There is a mismatch between EL theories and practice; - Teaching of EL is mainly informed by the syllabus and not other curriculum documents, - Current assessment policy and practice impact on EL; and - Possibilities exist for improving EL in Namibia’s Biology curriculum. These key findings have been used to make recommendations for the study which are as follows: - Strengthen the subject content and interest of teachers; - There should be a match between EL theories and practice; - Reorient curriculum documents and other learning support materials used for EL; - Change in assessment approaches; and - Translate constraints of EL into enablers. The study concludes by calling for further research into EL pedagogies. This can be used to improve EL implementation in the region where the study was situated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Ties that bind
- Authors: Tshisela, Namhla
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:20988 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5913
- Description: This collection of short stories about contemporary black South African women reveals their hopes and anxieties, and explores their relationships with themselves, their families, and the people around them. It sets out to challenge stereotypes about black women being browbeaten in a country riddled by poverty and disease by portraying women successfully forging their identities in society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tshisela, Namhla
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:20988 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5913
- Description: This collection of short stories about contemporary black South African women reveals their hopes and anxieties, and explores their relationships with themselves, their families, and the people around them. It sets out to challenge stereotypes about black women being browbeaten in a country riddled by poverty and disease by portraying women successfully forging their identities in society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Management perceptions regarding privatisation of parastatals in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Tshuma, Edward
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Privatization -- Zimbabwe , Government business enterprises -- Zimbabwe , Zimbabwe -- Economic policy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9324 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020923
- Description: In recent years the ownership of public organisations has been transferred from government to the private sector through privatisation owing to the poor performance of parastatals. In Zimbabwe, the privatisation of parastatals has been criticised as a result of the approach which has been adopted to privatise them, the transparency and the paceof the privatisation, the factors pushing for privatisation at the expense of local demand as well as the lack of an institutional framework for privatisation. The main objective of this study was to explore management perceptions regarding the privatisation of parastatals in Zimbabwe. This study is based on a combination of theories of privatisation and preceding results of studies looking at privatisation of parastatals in developing and developed countries. The secondary sources were the backbone in the formulation of a theoretical model on the management perceptions of privatisation which was used to guide this study. The extensive literature which was analysed revealed that independent factors such as stakeholder consultation, business conditions, government considerations, institutional framework and management of the privatisation process could influence management perceptions regarding privatisation. Perceptions of privatisation were identified as influencing two dependent variables, economic benefits and organisational performance. The variables of the study were operationalised and the hypotheses which identified relationships between the independent variables and perceptions of privatisation were formulated. Hypotheses in respect of perceptions of privatisation and the dependent variables were also formulated. In this study, a quantitative research approach was adopted as the study sought to investigate the relationships between variables. This study collected data through the use of a structured self-administered survey questionnaire which was distributed to 700 managers of parastatals in Zimbabwe. The parastatals which were used in this study were selected using the simple random sampling method whilst convenience sampling technique was used to select the managers. The survey yielded 301 usable questionnaires which were analysed using several statistical analysis techniques. The major findings of this study show that managers, employees and customers participate during privatisation and that privatisation in Zimbabwe is guided by a formal action plan. The study also showed that parastatals in Zimbabwe operate under stable macroeconomic conditions and that information regarding the bidding process is accessible to all parties. However, the results also showed that, in Zimbabwe privatisation is poorly implemented as a result of lack of structural capacity to enhance privatisation, lack of an autonomous institution to manage and lead the privatisation process. The results also show that privatisation in Zimbabwe lacks credibility as the valuation of organisations and assets is poorly done resulting in organisations being acquired at rates which are below market value. In addition, the results indicate that privatisation has failed to improve organisational performance and to change the management style from being reactive to being proactive. The study also found that privatisation brings about economic benefits such as effective governance and economic empowerment. The study recommends that government should ensure that managers, employees and customers participate in the privatisation process and that privatisation is implemented in a transparent manner so as to have a credible programme and achieve the intended objectives. The study also recommends that government should engage people and institutions which have the capacity to efficiently value the organisations and assets identified for privatisation. In addition, the study recommends that the government should appoint board members who possess the requisite skills and competencies, encourage partnerships between local and foreign investors so as to produce quality products and services as well as economic growth. This study has contributed to the existing body of knowledge by developing a theoretical model which can be utilised in other developing countries to test perceptions regarding the privatisation of parastatals. This study could assist the government, parastatals and other stakeholders by providing feedback regarding the privatisation of parastatals in Zimbabwe, so that remedial action can be implemented where deviations are recorded. The findings of this study could also assist the government of Zimbabwe and also other governments, by providing guidelines which can be adopted to implement a successful privatisation programme. This study provides useful and very practical guidelines to parastatals so as to ensure successful privatisation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tshuma, Edward
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Privatization -- Zimbabwe , Government business enterprises -- Zimbabwe , Zimbabwe -- Economic policy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9324 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020923
- Description: In recent years the ownership of public organisations has been transferred from government to the private sector through privatisation owing to the poor performance of parastatals. In Zimbabwe, the privatisation of parastatals has been criticised as a result of the approach which has been adopted to privatise them, the transparency and the paceof the privatisation, the factors pushing for privatisation at the expense of local demand as well as the lack of an institutional framework for privatisation. The main objective of this study was to explore management perceptions regarding the privatisation of parastatals in Zimbabwe. This study is based on a combination of theories of privatisation and preceding results of studies looking at privatisation of parastatals in developing and developed countries. The secondary sources were the backbone in the formulation of a theoretical model on the management perceptions of privatisation which was used to guide this study. The extensive literature which was analysed revealed that independent factors such as stakeholder consultation, business conditions, government considerations, institutional framework and management of the privatisation process could influence management perceptions regarding privatisation. Perceptions of privatisation were identified as influencing two dependent variables, economic benefits and organisational performance. The variables of the study were operationalised and the hypotheses which identified relationships between the independent variables and perceptions of privatisation were formulated. Hypotheses in respect of perceptions of privatisation and the dependent variables were also formulated. In this study, a quantitative research approach was adopted as the study sought to investigate the relationships between variables. This study collected data through the use of a structured self-administered survey questionnaire which was distributed to 700 managers of parastatals in Zimbabwe. The parastatals which were used in this study were selected using the simple random sampling method whilst convenience sampling technique was used to select the managers. The survey yielded 301 usable questionnaires which were analysed using several statistical analysis techniques. The major findings of this study show that managers, employees and customers participate during privatisation and that privatisation in Zimbabwe is guided by a formal action plan. The study also showed that parastatals in Zimbabwe operate under stable macroeconomic conditions and that information regarding the bidding process is accessible to all parties. However, the results also showed that, in Zimbabwe privatisation is poorly implemented as a result of lack of structural capacity to enhance privatisation, lack of an autonomous institution to manage and lead the privatisation process. The results also show that privatisation in Zimbabwe lacks credibility as the valuation of organisations and assets is poorly done resulting in organisations being acquired at rates which are below market value. In addition, the results indicate that privatisation has failed to improve organisational performance and to change the management style from being reactive to being proactive. The study also found that privatisation brings about economic benefits such as effective governance and economic empowerment. The study recommends that government should ensure that managers, employees and customers participate in the privatisation process and that privatisation is implemented in a transparent manner so as to have a credible programme and achieve the intended objectives. The study also recommends that government should engage people and institutions which have the capacity to efficiently value the organisations and assets identified for privatisation. In addition, the study recommends that the government should appoint board members who possess the requisite skills and competencies, encourage partnerships between local and foreign investors so as to produce quality products and services as well as economic growth. This study has contributed to the existing body of knowledge by developing a theoretical model which can be utilised in other developing countries to test perceptions regarding the privatisation of parastatals. This study could assist the government, parastatals and other stakeholders by providing feedback regarding the privatisation of parastatals in Zimbabwe, so that remedial action can be implemented where deviations are recorded. The findings of this study could also assist the government of Zimbabwe and also other governments, by providing guidelines which can be adopted to implement a successful privatisation programme. This study provides useful and very practical guidelines to parastatals so as to ensure successful privatisation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A structural and functional specification of a SCIM for service interaction management and personalisation in the IMS
- Authors: Tsietsi, Mosiuoa Jeremia
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Internet Protocol multimedia subsystem , Internet Protocol multimedia subsystem -- Specifications , Long-Term Evolution (Telecommunications) , European Telecommunications Standards Institute , Wireless communication systems , Multimedia communications
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4606 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004864 , Internet Protocol multimedia subsystem , Internet Protocol multimedia subsystem -- Specifications , Long-Term Evolution (Telecommunications) , European Telecommunications Standards Institute , Wireless communication systems , Multimedia communications
- Description: The Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a component of the 3G mobile network that has been specified by standards development organisations such as the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) and ETSI (European Telecommunication Standards Institute). IMS seeks to guarantee that the telecommunication network of the future provides subscribers with seamless access to services across disparate networks. In order to achieve this, it defines a service architecture that hosts application servers that provide subscribers with value added services. Typically, an application server bundles all the functionality it needs to execute the services it delivers, however this view is currently being challenged. It is now thought that services should be synthesised from simple building blocks called service capabilities. This decomposition would facilitate the re-use of service capabilities across multiple services and would support the creation of new services that could not have originally been conceived. The shift from monolithic services to those built from service capabilities poses a challenge to the current service model in IMS. To accommodate this, the 3GPP has defined an entity known as a service capability interaction manager (SCIM) that would be responsible for managing the interactions between service capabilities in order to realise complex services. Some of these interactions could potentially lead to undesirable results, which the SCIM must work to avoid. As an added requirement, it is believed that the network should allow policies to be applied to network services which the SCIM should be responsible for enforcing. At the time of writing, the functional and structural architecture of the SCIM has not yet been standardised. This thesis explores the current serv ice architecture of the IMS in detail. Proposals that address the structure and functions of the SCIM are carefully compared and contrasted. This investigation leads to the presentation of key aspects of the SCIM, and provides solutions that explain how it should interact with service capabilities, manage undesirable interactions and factor user and network operator policies into its execution model. A modified design of the IMS service layer that embeds the SCIM is subsequently presented and described. The design uses existing IMS protocols and requires no change in the behaviour of the standard IMS entities. In order to develop a testbed for experimental verification of the design, the identification of suitable software platforms was required. This thesis presents some of the most popular platforms currently used by developers such as the Open IMS Core and OpenSER, as well as an open source, Java-based, multimedia communication platform called Mobicents. As a precursor to the development of the SCIM, a converged multimedia service is presented that describes how a video streaming application that is leveraged by a web portal was implemented for an IMS testbed using Mobicents components. The Mobicents SIP Servlets container was subsequently used to model an initial prototype of the SCIM, using a mUlti-component telephony service to illustrate the proposed service execution model. The design focuses on SIP-based services only, but should also work for other types of IMS application servers as well.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tsietsi, Mosiuoa Jeremia
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Internet Protocol multimedia subsystem , Internet Protocol multimedia subsystem -- Specifications , Long-Term Evolution (Telecommunications) , European Telecommunications Standards Institute , Wireless communication systems , Multimedia communications
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4606 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004864 , Internet Protocol multimedia subsystem , Internet Protocol multimedia subsystem -- Specifications , Long-Term Evolution (Telecommunications) , European Telecommunications Standards Institute , Wireless communication systems , Multimedia communications
- Description: The Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a component of the 3G mobile network that has been specified by standards development organisations such as the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) and ETSI (European Telecommunication Standards Institute). IMS seeks to guarantee that the telecommunication network of the future provides subscribers with seamless access to services across disparate networks. In order to achieve this, it defines a service architecture that hosts application servers that provide subscribers with value added services. Typically, an application server bundles all the functionality it needs to execute the services it delivers, however this view is currently being challenged. It is now thought that services should be synthesised from simple building blocks called service capabilities. This decomposition would facilitate the re-use of service capabilities across multiple services and would support the creation of new services that could not have originally been conceived. The shift from monolithic services to those built from service capabilities poses a challenge to the current service model in IMS. To accommodate this, the 3GPP has defined an entity known as a service capability interaction manager (SCIM) that would be responsible for managing the interactions between service capabilities in order to realise complex services. Some of these interactions could potentially lead to undesirable results, which the SCIM must work to avoid. As an added requirement, it is believed that the network should allow policies to be applied to network services which the SCIM should be responsible for enforcing. At the time of writing, the functional and structural architecture of the SCIM has not yet been standardised. This thesis explores the current serv ice architecture of the IMS in detail. Proposals that address the structure and functions of the SCIM are carefully compared and contrasted. This investigation leads to the presentation of key aspects of the SCIM, and provides solutions that explain how it should interact with service capabilities, manage undesirable interactions and factor user and network operator policies into its execution model. A modified design of the IMS service layer that embeds the SCIM is subsequently presented and described. The design uses existing IMS protocols and requires no change in the behaviour of the standard IMS entities. In order to develop a testbed for experimental verification of the design, the identification of suitable software platforms was required. This thesis presents some of the most popular platforms currently used by developers such as the Open IMS Core and OpenSER, as well as an open source, Java-based, multimedia communication platform called Mobicents. As a precursor to the development of the SCIM, a converged multimedia service is presented that describes how a video streaming application that is leveraged by a web portal was implemented for an IMS testbed using Mobicents components. The Mobicents SIP Servlets container was subsequently used to model an initial prototype of the SCIM, using a mUlti-component telephony service to illustrate the proposed service execution model. The design focuses on SIP-based services only, but should also work for other types of IMS application servers as well.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
An evaluation of gender equity in the Amathole District Council head office, East London 2006-2010
- Authors: Tsomo, Zixolele
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Sex discrimination against women -- South Africa -- East London , Sex discrimination -- South Africa -- East London , Gender identity in the workplace -- South Africa -- East London , Women's rights -- South Africa -- East London
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8259 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012685 , Sex discrimination against women -- South Africa -- East London , Sex discrimination -- South Africa -- East London , Gender identity in the workplace -- South Africa -- East London , Women's rights -- South Africa -- East London
- Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the promotion of gender equity in the Amathole District Municipality (ADM). This investigation originated against the phenomenon that women are continuously faced with barriers to progress in the workplace. In an endeavour to find a meaningful solution to the problem, it was necessary to assess the degree of transformational change in the workplace; to ascertain what these barriers are; and how they can be overcome. The study commenced with an overview of the stance of women in the Republic of South Africa, especially their struggle to find a platform from where their voice could be heard. In order to achieve the research objectives, an in-depth literature study was undertaken. A survey was also conducted to examine the perceptions of gender equity in the ADM. The required data was collected by means of face-to-face semi-structured interviews with female officials in senior managerial positions. The study concludes with a number of recommendations that emanate from the literature review and qualitative study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tsomo, Zixolele
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Sex discrimination against women -- South Africa -- East London , Sex discrimination -- South Africa -- East London , Gender identity in the workplace -- South Africa -- East London , Women's rights -- South Africa -- East London
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8259 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012685 , Sex discrimination against women -- South Africa -- East London , Sex discrimination -- South Africa -- East London , Gender identity in the workplace -- South Africa -- East London , Women's rights -- South Africa -- East London
- Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the promotion of gender equity in the Amathole District Municipality (ADM). This investigation originated against the phenomenon that women are continuously faced with barriers to progress in the workplace. In an endeavour to find a meaningful solution to the problem, it was necessary to assess the degree of transformational change in the workplace; to ascertain what these barriers are; and how they can be overcome. The study commenced with an overview of the stance of women in the Republic of South Africa, especially their struggle to find a platform from where their voice could be heard. In order to achieve the research objectives, an in-depth literature study was undertaken. A survey was also conducted to examine the perceptions of gender equity in the ADM. The required data was collected by means of face-to-face semi-structured interviews with female officials in senior managerial positions. The study concludes with a number of recommendations that emanate from the literature review and qualitative study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Reverse saturation absorption spectra and optical limiting properties of chlorinated tetrasubstituted phthalocyanines containing different metals
- Tuhl, Ahmad, Manaa, Hacene, Makhseed, Saad, Al-Awadi, Nouria, Matthew, Jacob, Ibrahim, Hamada Mohamed, Nyokong, Tebello, Behbehani, Haider
- Authors: Tuhl, Ahmad , Manaa, Hacene , Makhseed, Saad , Al-Awadi, Nouria , Matthew, Jacob , Ibrahim, Hamada Mohamed , Nyokong, Tebello , Behbehani, Haider
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/243498 , vital:51158 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2012.05.018"
- Description: A highly non-aggregated series of peripherally tetra(2,6-diisopropylphenoxy) substituted phthalocyanines (Pcs) containing different metals (Al, Ga, In and Zn) were prepared and their nonlinear optical properties (NLO), including the optical limiting behavior were investigated. This study explores the effect of the implanted metals along with the peripheral chlorine atoms on the NLO of the prepared complexes, thereby improving their optical limiting performance. The best wavelength at which the Pc complex exhibits the strongest nonlinear effect was determined over the low absorption window region (420–590 nm) comprised between the Q and B bands using a nanosecond pulsed laser with the aid of a Z-scan technique. The excited state absorption cross sections (σeff) have been found to be wavelength dependent with common double peaks at 505 nm and around 485 nm and the highest value was calculated for Pc1–In (1.1 × 10−16 cm2). The figure of merit spectra show different spectral structure when compared to the excited state absorption spectra and the largest figure of merit value was found to be around 107 for Pc1–In derivative. In full agreement with reverse saturation results, the optical limiting measurements, carried out at 485 nm and 532 nm for each derivative, show very low optical limiting thresholds at the former wavelength. In the continuous wave excitation regime, the Z-scan measurements, which were carried out at 632.8 and 532 nm, showed strong refractive and absorptive nonlinear effects.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tuhl, Ahmad , Manaa, Hacene , Makhseed, Saad , Al-Awadi, Nouria , Matthew, Jacob , Ibrahim, Hamada Mohamed , Nyokong, Tebello , Behbehani, Haider
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/243498 , vital:51158 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2012.05.018"
- Description: A highly non-aggregated series of peripherally tetra(2,6-diisopropylphenoxy) substituted phthalocyanines (Pcs) containing different metals (Al, Ga, In and Zn) were prepared and their nonlinear optical properties (NLO), including the optical limiting behavior were investigated. This study explores the effect of the implanted metals along with the peripheral chlorine atoms on the NLO of the prepared complexes, thereby improving their optical limiting performance. The best wavelength at which the Pc complex exhibits the strongest nonlinear effect was determined over the low absorption window region (420–590 nm) comprised between the Q and B bands using a nanosecond pulsed laser with the aid of a Z-scan technique. The excited state absorption cross sections (σeff) have been found to be wavelength dependent with common double peaks at 505 nm and around 485 nm and the highest value was calculated for Pc1–In (1.1 × 10−16 cm2). The figure of merit spectra show different spectral structure when compared to the excited state absorption spectra and the largest figure of merit value was found to be around 107 for Pc1–In derivative. In full agreement with reverse saturation results, the optical limiting measurements, carried out at 485 nm and 532 nm for each derivative, show very low optical limiting thresholds at the former wavelength. In the continuous wave excitation regime, the Z-scan measurements, which were carried out at 632.8 and 532 nm, showed strong refractive and absorptive nonlinear effects.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Tetra and octa (2, 6-di-iso-propylphenoxy)-substituted phthalocyanines
- Tuhl, Ahmad, Chidawanayika, Wadzanai J U, Ibrahim, Hamada Mohamed, Al-Awadi, Nouria, Litwinski, Christian, Nyokong, Tebello, Behbehani, Haider, Manaa, Hacene, Makhseed, Saad
- Authors: Tuhl, Ahmad , Chidawanayika, Wadzanai J U , Ibrahim, Hamada Mohamed , Al-Awadi, Nouria , Litwinski, Christian , Nyokong, Tebello , Behbehani, Haider , Manaa, Hacene , Makhseed, Saad
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/245855 , vital:51411 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S1088424612004495"
- Description: This work reports on the synthesis of novel metal free, zinc, aluminum, gallium and indium tetra and octa (2,6-di-iso-propylphenoxy)-substituted phthalocyanine derivatives. UV-visible and 1H NMR analyses confirm that a non-planar conformation, adapted by the phenoxy substituents due to steric interaction in both derivative series, perfectly discourage cofacial aggregation. Fluorescence quantum yields vary as a function of the number of substituents on the ring periphery, while the fluorescence lifetimes display no distinct trend. Triplet quantum yields are significantly larger for the tetra 2,6-di-iso-propylphenoxy- substituted derivatives relative to their corresponding octa-substituted species. However there was no overall trend in the triplet lifetime values. For almost all of the phthalocyanine derivatives, singlet oxygen was produced with relatively good quantum yields. This study explores the possibility of fine-tuning their physicochemical properties by simple structural modification.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tuhl, Ahmad , Chidawanayika, Wadzanai J U , Ibrahim, Hamada Mohamed , Al-Awadi, Nouria , Litwinski, Christian , Nyokong, Tebello , Behbehani, Haider , Manaa, Hacene , Makhseed, Saad
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/245855 , vital:51411 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S1088424612004495"
- Description: This work reports on the synthesis of novel metal free, zinc, aluminum, gallium and indium tetra and octa (2,6-di-iso-propylphenoxy)-substituted phthalocyanine derivatives. UV-visible and 1H NMR analyses confirm that a non-planar conformation, adapted by the phenoxy substituents due to steric interaction in both derivative series, perfectly discourage cofacial aggregation. Fluorescence quantum yields vary as a function of the number of substituents on the ring periphery, while the fluorescence lifetimes display no distinct trend. Triplet quantum yields are significantly larger for the tetra 2,6-di-iso-propylphenoxy- substituted derivatives relative to their corresponding octa-substituted species. However there was no overall trend in the triplet lifetime values. For almost all of the phthalocyanine derivatives, singlet oxygen was produced with relatively good quantum yields. This study explores the possibility of fine-tuning their physicochemical properties by simple structural modification.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012