Enantioselective transformations using tetrol as a chiral mediator
- Authors: Dorfling, Sasha-Lee
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Enantioselective catalysis , Trichothecenes , Catalysts , Titanium
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10445 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021195
- Description: (+)-(2R,3R)-1,1,4,4-Tetraphenylbutane-1,2,3,4-tetraol (TETROL) and its derivatives were reacted with varying molar ratios of titanium isopropoxide (2:1, 1:1 and 1:2 tetraol:titanium isopropoxide) in an attempt to prepare potential titanium-based tetraol catalysts for enantioselective transformations. In each case, infrared and HNMR spectra suggested that the product was formed. We tentatively proposed that the structure of the catalyst was a spiro-type, but we could not determine conclusively what its exact structure was, despite using numerous techniques at our disposal (molecular modelling calculations, H NMR and IR spectroscopy, thermal analyses, powder diffraction, and single crystal X-ray diffraction). The catalyst and derivatives thereof were able to act catalytically for the enantioselective additions of diethylzinc compounds to aldehydes. The effects of temperature and solvent were investigated, and toluene and -78 °C were selected as optimal from the results obtained. (The reaction could, however, not be maintained at this low temperature for extended periods due to the fact that we did not have, at our disposal, the correct equipment. Each 16 h reaction was thus allowed to reach room temperature in each case.) The selectivity for the product 1-phenylpropan-1-ol (when benzaldehyde was the starting aldehyde) varied depending on the nature of the aryl substituents of the titanium-based catalyst. Using 0.2 molar equivalents of the chiral titanates, the highest selectivity was 42 percent (e.e.), but only when excess Ti(O-i-Pr)4 had been added to the reaction mixture. This was achieved with the tetra(ortho-methoxyphenyl)-TETROLate derivative. TETROL and its derivatives were also successful in metal-free catalysis where higher conversions and selectivities were observed, compared to when these were complexed to titanium. The highest selectivity was 70 percent (e.e.), achieved with the tetra(ortho-methylphenyl)TETROL derivative.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Dorfling, Sasha-Lee
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Enantioselective catalysis , Trichothecenes , Catalysts , Titanium
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10445 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021195
- Description: (+)-(2R,3R)-1,1,4,4-Tetraphenylbutane-1,2,3,4-tetraol (TETROL) and its derivatives were reacted with varying molar ratios of titanium isopropoxide (2:1, 1:1 and 1:2 tetraol:titanium isopropoxide) in an attempt to prepare potential titanium-based tetraol catalysts for enantioselective transformations. In each case, infrared and HNMR spectra suggested that the product was formed. We tentatively proposed that the structure of the catalyst was a spiro-type, but we could not determine conclusively what its exact structure was, despite using numerous techniques at our disposal (molecular modelling calculations, H NMR and IR spectroscopy, thermal analyses, powder diffraction, and single crystal X-ray diffraction). The catalyst and derivatives thereof were able to act catalytically for the enantioselective additions of diethylzinc compounds to aldehydes. The effects of temperature and solvent were investigated, and toluene and -78 °C were selected as optimal from the results obtained. (The reaction could, however, not be maintained at this low temperature for extended periods due to the fact that we did not have, at our disposal, the correct equipment. Each 16 h reaction was thus allowed to reach room temperature in each case.) The selectivity for the product 1-phenylpropan-1-ol (when benzaldehyde was the starting aldehyde) varied depending on the nature of the aryl substituents of the titanium-based catalyst. Using 0.2 molar equivalents of the chiral titanates, the highest selectivity was 42 percent (e.e.), but only when excess Ti(O-i-Pr)4 had been added to the reaction mixture. This was achieved with the tetra(ortho-methoxyphenyl)-TETROLate derivative. TETROL and its derivatives were also successful in metal-free catalysis where higher conversions and selectivities were observed, compared to when these were complexed to titanium. The highest selectivity was 70 percent (e.e.), achieved with the tetra(ortho-methylphenyl)TETROL derivative.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Electrical-static discharge in single point diamond turning machining of contact lens polymers
- Authors: Kadermani, Mohamed Munir
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Electric discharges , Electrostatics , Contact lenses , Polymers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEngineering (Mechatronics)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/4055 , vital:20508
- Description: Single Point Diamond Turning (SPDT) is a technology widely applied for the fabrication of contact lenses. One of the limiting factors in polymer machining is wear of the diamond tool due to electrostatic discharge resulting in poor surface quality of the machined products. The research work presented in this dissertation highlights the electrostatic properties of contact lenses during machining operations and the effects these properties have on the surface quality of the work piece materials. Two contact lens samples were experimented on, Definitive 74 (Silicone Hydrogel) and Tyro 97 (Rigid Gas Permeable). The electrostatic surface potentials (ESPs) were measured during turning operations using an electrostatic voltmeter and the surface roughness measurements were taken using a surface profilometer. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) techniques were employed to create predictive models for both surface roughness and ESPs with respect to the cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut. Predictive surface roughness models were successfully generated for both materials and the cutting speed and feed rate were identified as the parameters with most effect on surface roughness. In addition, an electrostatic model was successfully generated for the Definitive 74 contact lens material which cited the cutting speed and feed rate as the most effective parameters on the material’s electrostatic behaviour. However, no relationship was evident between the machining parameters and electrostatic behaviour of Tyro 97.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Kadermani, Mohamed Munir
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Electric discharges , Electrostatics , Contact lenses , Polymers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEngineering (Mechatronics)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/4055 , vital:20508
- Description: Single Point Diamond Turning (SPDT) is a technology widely applied for the fabrication of contact lenses. One of the limiting factors in polymer machining is wear of the diamond tool due to electrostatic discharge resulting in poor surface quality of the machined products. The research work presented in this dissertation highlights the electrostatic properties of contact lenses during machining operations and the effects these properties have on the surface quality of the work piece materials. Two contact lens samples were experimented on, Definitive 74 (Silicone Hydrogel) and Tyro 97 (Rigid Gas Permeable). The electrostatic surface potentials (ESPs) were measured during turning operations using an electrostatic voltmeter and the surface roughness measurements were taken using a surface profilometer. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) techniques were employed to create predictive models for both surface roughness and ESPs with respect to the cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut. Predictive surface roughness models were successfully generated for both materials and the cutting speed and feed rate were identified as the parameters with most effect on surface roughness. In addition, an electrostatic model was successfully generated for the Definitive 74 contact lens material which cited the cutting speed and feed rate as the most effective parameters on the material’s electrostatic behaviour. However, no relationship was evident between the machining parameters and electrostatic behaviour of Tyro 97.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Modification and application of the decentralised wastewater treatment technology for greywater treatment to reduce water needs
- Authors: Ngqwala, Nosiphiwe P
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/103714 , vital:32290
- Description: Expected release date-April 2017
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Ngqwala, Nosiphiwe P
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/103714 , vital:32290
- Description: Expected release date-April 2017
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2015
Inkblots and their indices: rethreading perception in the work of Igshaan Adams
- Authors: Ball, Jennifer
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/147293 , vital:38612 , https://0-hdl.handle.net.wam.seals.ac.za/10520/EJC176316
- Description: Igshaan Adams is a young artist from Cape Town, working in multimedia and performance. In his practice, Adams brings ways of seeing and also ways of being into consideration through meditations on objects, dreams, Sufism, family relationships and the changeability of self-hood through perception of these phenomena. This paper engages with Adams' affinity with objects, their agency and biography,and considers how his sensitive interventions alter their materiality, shifting the ways in which they can be seen. The ways in which Adams' family relationships play out in the processes of making his sculptural works, and also in his performances, are then elucidated and related to his ongoing processes of self-enquiry. Furthermore, I consider Adams' latest body of work, a critical enquiry into the variable meanings of Rorschach inkblots. Adams reflects on the grounds for inkblot testing and, in so doing, tests and measures the nature of looking, perceiving and projecting.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Ball, Jennifer
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/147293 , vital:38612 , https://0-hdl.handle.net.wam.seals.ac.za/10520/EJC176316
- Description: Igshaan Adams is a young artist from Cape Town, working in multimedia and performance. In his practice, Adams brings ways of seeing and also ways of being into consideration through meditations on objects, dreams, Sufism, family relationships and the changeability of self-hood through perception of these phenomena. This paper engages with Adams' affinity with objects, their agency and biography,and considers how his sensitive interventions alter their materiality, shifting the ways in which they can be seen. The ways in which Adams' family relationships play out in the processes of making his sculptural works, and also in his performances, are then elucidated and related to his ongoing processes of self-enquiry. Furthermore, I consider Adams' latest body of work, a critical enquiry into the variable meanings of Rorschach inkblots. Adams reflects on the grounds for inkblot testing and, in so doing, tests and measures the nature of looking, perceiving and projecting.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Comparison of protein binding microarray derived and ChIP-seq derived transcription factor binding DNA motifs
- Hlatshwayo, Nkosikhona Rejoyce
- Authors: Hlatshwayo, Nkosikhona Rejoyce
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Protein binding , DNA , DNA microarrays , Transcription factors , DNA-protein interactions , Gene regulatory networks
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4146 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017907
- Description: Transcription factors (TFs) are biologically important proteins that interact with transcription machinery and bind DNA regulatory sequences to regulate gene expression by modulating the synthesis of the messenger RNA. The regulatory sequences comprise of short conserved regions of a specific length called motifs . TFs have very diverse roles in different cells and play a very significant role in development. TFs have been associated with carcinogenesis in various tissue types, as well as developmental and hormone response disorders. They may be responsible for the regulation of oncogenes and can be oncogenic. Consequently, understanding TF binding and knowing the motifs to which they bind is worthy of attention and research focus. Various projects have made the study of TF binding their main focus; nevertheless, much about TF binding remains confounding. Chromatin immunoprecipitation in conjunction with deep sequencing (ChIP-seq) techniques are a popular method used to investigate DNA-TF interactions in vivo. This procedure is followed by motif discovery and motif enrichment analysis using relevant tools. Protein Binding Microarrays (PBMs) are an in vitro method for investigating DNA-TF interactions. We use a motif enrichment analysis tools (CentriMo and AME) and an empirical quality assessment tool (Area under the ROC curve) to investigate which method yields motifs that are a true representation of in vivo binding. Motif enrichment analysis: On average, ChIP-seq derived motifs from the JASPAR Core database outperformed PBM derived ones from the UniPROBE mouse database. However, the performance of motifs derived using these two methods is not much different from each other when using CentriMo and AME. The E-values from Motif enrichment analysis were not too different from each other or 0. CentriMo showed that in 35 cases JASPAR Core ChIP-seq derived motifs outperformed UniPROBE mouse PBM derived motifs, while it was only in 11 cases that PBM derived motifs outperformed ChIP-seq derived motifs. AME showed that in 18 cases JASPAR Core ChIP-seq derived motifs did better, while only it was only in 3 cases that UniPROBE motifs outperformed ChIP-seq derived motifs. We could not distinguish the performance in 25 cases. Empirical quality assessment: Area under the ROC curve values computations followed by a two-sided t-test showed that there is no significant difference in the average performances of the motifs from the two databases (with 95% confidence, mean of differences=0.0088125 p-value= 0.4874, DF=47) .
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Hlatshwayo, Nkosikhona Rejoyce
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Protein binding , DNA , DNA microarrays , Transcription factors , DNA-protein interactions , Gene regulatory networks
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4146 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017907
- Description: Transcription factors (TFs) are biologically important proteins that interact with transcription machinery and bind DNA regulatory sequences to regulate gene expression by modulating the synthesis of the messenger RNA. The regulatory sequences comprise of short conserved regions of a specific length called motifs . TFs have very diverse roles in different cells and play a very significant role in development. TFs have been associated with carcinogenesis in various tissue types, as well as developmental and hormone response disorders. They may be responsible for the regulation of oncogenes and can be oncogenic. Consequently, understanding TF binding and knowing the motifs to which they bind is worthy of attention and research focus. Various projects have made the study of TF binding their main focus; nevertheless, much about TF binding remains confounding. Chromatin immunoprecipitation in conjunction with deep sequencing (ChIP-seq) techniques are a popular method used to investigate DNA-TF interactions in vivo. This procedure is followed by motif discovery and motif enrichment analysis using relevant tools. Protein Binding Microarrays (PBMs) are an in vitro method for investigating DNA-TF interactions. We use a motif enrichment analysis tools (CentriMo and AME) and an empirical quality assessment tool (Area under the ROC curve) to investigate which method yields motifs that are a true representation of in vivo binding. Motif enrichment analysis: On average, ChIP-seq derived motifs from the JASPAR Core database outperformed PBM derived ones from the UniPROBE mouse database. However, the performance of motifs derived using these two methods is not much different from each other when using CentriMo and AME. The E-values from Motif enrichment analysis were not too different from each other or 0. CentriMo showed that in 35 cases JASPAR Core ChIP-seq derived motifs outperformed UniPROBE mouse PBM derived motifs, while it was only in 11 cases that PBM derived motifs outperformed ChIP-seq derived motifs. AME showed that in 18 cases JASPAR Core ChIP-seq derived motifs did better, while only it was only in 3 cases that UniPROBE motifs outperformed ChIP-seq derived motifs. We could not distinguish the performance in 25 cases. Empirical quality assessment: Area under the ROC curve values computations followed by a two-sided t-test showed that there is no significant difference in the average performances of the motifs from the two databases (with 95% confidence, mean of differences=0.0088125 p-value= 0.4874, DF=47) .
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
A comparative exploratory analysis of vigilante occurrences in two communities in Port Elizabeth (Kwazakhele and New Brighton)
- Authors: Loqani, Anelisa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Vigilantes Crime prevention -- Citizen participation -- Social aspects -- South Africa --Eastern Cape Crime -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Degree
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5369 , vital:29216
- Description: The study explores and compares the incidents of vigilantism in two selected communities in Port Elizabeth. However, the word ‘vigilantism’ as utilized in the study can be explained as the group of people in a community who take the law into their own hands and punish alleged societal offenders on the spot. Vigilante activities have become a regular occurrence in many communities in Port Elizabeth and in South Africa as whole. This phenomenon as reported by several authors has destroyed many young men’s lives and ambitions. This is a paradoxical situation that violates human rights because South Africa is a country with a Constitution that prioritizes human dignity for all, and citizens that are totally free from violence of any kind. The aim of the study is to explore, analyze and compare the incidents of vigilantism in New Brighton and Kwazakhele communities in Port Elizabeth. The intention is to educate and enlighten the members of the selected communities, together with the public about vigilantism and its impact on communities. The researcher achieved the aim of this study by asking the following questions: • What are the motives of individuals/communities who take the law into their own hands? • What impact do vigilante incidents have on communities? • Which effective preventative measures can be utilized to combat vigilantism? To answer these questions, questionnaires for data collection were utilized. The study was conducted using a total population of one hundred (100) participants who were divided by two. Each community had a sample of fifty (50) participants. The participants were selected by utilizing purposive sampling technique which is non-probability sampling. The participants were the community members of the selected communities. The researcher applied a qualitative research methodology in order to obtain in-depth information and utilized content thematic analysis and SPSS software for the analysis of the data gathered. Two theories a) Differential Association Theory and b) Social Learning Theory were employed to interpret the findings of the study. iv The results of the study demonstrate that there has been an escalation in vigilante activities in Port Elizabeth communities since 2000 and 2010. In many vigilante actions that occurred, males (ages between 18 and 30 years) were found to be the majority of the people who were more likely to be victims of vigilantism because of the crimes they commit. The results also demonstrate that an increase in vigilante incidents in New Brighton and Kwazakhele have been reported to be a result of the ineffectiveness of visible policing, easy bail conditions and frustration and anger of the community members, who do not see the criminals being arrested. These vigilante activities have been reported to have negative impact in these communities specifically on children. Based on this issue of vigilantism, several strategies that could assist to combat vigilante actions were made. The participants suggested that government should improve the criminal justice system as a whole in order to reduce vigilantism. The respondents also indicated that government should create jobs for the youths because other people become involved in criminal activities, because of poverty and lack of employment opportunities. Furthermore, the participants proposed that government should enact tough laws on offenders. v.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Loqani, Anelisa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Vigilantes Crime prevention -- Citizen participation -- Social aspects -- South Africa --Eastern Cape Crime -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Degree
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5369 , vital:29216
- Description: The study explores and compares the incidents of vigilantism in two selected communities in Port Elizabeth. However, the word ‘vigilantism’ as utilized in the study can be explained as the group of people in a community who take the law into their own hands and punish alleged societal offenders on the spot. Vigilante activities have become a regular occurrence in many communities in Port Elizabeth and in South Africa as whole. This phenomenon as reported by several authors has destroyed many young men’s lives and ambitions. This is a paradoxical situation that violates human rights because South Africa is a country with a Constitution that prioritizes human dignity for all, and citizens that are totally free from violence of any kind. The aim of the study is to explore, analyze and compare the incidents of vigilantism in New Brighton and Kwazakhele communities in Port Elizabeth. The intention is to educate and enlighten the members of the selected communities, together with the public about vigilantism and its impact on communities. The researcher achieved the aim of this study by asking the following questions: • What are the motives of individuals/communities who take the law into their own hands? • What impact do vigilante incidents have on communities? • Which effective preventative measures can be utilized to combat vigilantism? To answer these questions, questionnaires for data collection were utilized. The study was conducted using a total population of one hundred (100) participants who were divided by two. Each community had a sample of fifty (50) participants. The participants were selected by utilizing purposive sampling technique which is non-probability sampling. The participants were the community members of the selected communities. The researcher applied a qualitative research methodology in order to obtain in-depth information and utilized content thematic analysis and SPSS software for the analysis of the data gathered. Two theories a) Differential Association Theory and b) Social Learning Theory were employed to interpret the findings of the study. iv The results of the study demonstrate that there has been an escalation in vigilante activities in Port Elizabeth communities since 2000 and 2010. In many vigilante actions that occurred, males (ages between 18 and 30 years) were found to be the majority of the people who were more likely to be victims of vigilantism because of the crimes they commit. The results also demonstrate that an increase in vigilante incidents in New Brighton and Kwazakhele have been reported to be a result of the ineffectiveness of visible policing, easy bail conditions and frustration and anger of the community members, who do not see the criminals being arrested. These vigilante activities have been reported to have negative impact in these communities specifically on children. Based on this issue of vigilantism, several strategies that could assist to combat vigilante actions were made. The participants suggested that government should improve the criminal justice system as a whole in order to reduce vigilantism. The respondents also indicated that government should create jobs for the youths because other people become involved in criminal activities, because of poverty and lack of employment opportunities. Furthermore, the participants proposed that government should enact tough laws on offenders. v.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Nonlinear optical studies of phthalocyanines and triazatetrabenzcorroles in solution and in thin films
- Authors: Mkhize, Nhlakanipho Colin
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Phthalocyanines , Thin films , Nonlinear optics , Phosphorus
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4542 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017922
- Description: This work presents photophysical and nonlinear optical properties of a novel Cd 2,3-[octakis{4-tert-butylphenoxyphthalocyanine}] (CdOtBPPc) and compared with those of Pb 2,3-[octakis{4-tert-butylphenoxyphthalocyanine}] (PbOtBPPc). For both the CdOtBPPc and PbOtBPPc, third order imaginary susceptibility and second order hyperpolarizability values were found to be within the limit set for good optical limiters. The Pcs were embedded in poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (PBC) as thin films. The optical limiting values of the Pcs once embedded in film were found to be greatly improved and the limiting intensity of each film was well below the maximum threshold. Both PbOtBPPc and CdOtBPPc showed better optical limiting when embedded in PBC compared to PMMA. CdOtBPPc shows better nonlinear optical behaviour than PbOtBPPc in solution and as thin films, even though the former is aggregated in solution. Novel phosphorus triazatetrabenzcorroles (TBC) tetrasubstituted at the α- and β- and octa substituted at the β- positions of the peripheral fused benzene rings with t-butylphenoxy substituents were prepared and characterized. The effects of the substituents and the missing aza-nitrogen on the electronic structures and optical spectroscopy are investigated with TD-DFT calculations and MCD spectroscopy. The optical limiting properties were investigated to examine whether the lower symmetry that results from the direct pyrrole-pyrrole bond and hence the permanent dipole moment that is introduced result in higher safety thresholds, relative to the values that have been reported for phthalocyanines. The suitability of the compounds for singlet oxygen applications has also been examined. Novel phosphorus phthalocyanines, analogous to the triazatetrabenzcorroles were also investigated. Due to their high photodegradation quantum yield however, only the fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes were able to be determined.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Mkhize, Nhlakanipho Colin
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Phthalocyanines , Thin films , Nonlinear optics , Phosphorus
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4542 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017922
- Description: This work presents photophysical and nonlinear optical properties of a novel Cd 2,3-[octakis{4-tert-butylphenoxyphthalocyanine}] (CdOtBPPc) and compared with those of Pb 2,3-[octakis{4-tert-butylphenoxyphthalocyanine}] (PbOtBPPc). For both the CdOtBPPc and PbOtBPPc, third order imaginary susceptibility and second order hyperpolarizability values were found to be within the limit set for good optical limiters. The Pcs were embedded in poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (PBC) as thin films. The optical limiting values of the Pcs once embedded in film were found to be greatly improved and the limiting intensity of each film was well below the maximum threshold. Both PbOtBPPc and CdOtBPPc showed better optical limiting when embedded in PBC compared to PMMA. CdOtBPPc shows better nonlinear optical behaviour than PbOtBPPc in solution and as thin films, even though the former is aggregated in solution. Novel phosphorus triazatetrabenzcorroles (TBC) tetrasubstituted at the α- and β- and octa substituted at the β- positions of the peripheral fused benzene rings with t-butylphenoxy substituents were prepared and characterized. The effects of the substituents and the missing aza-nitrogen on the electronic structures and optical spectroscopy are investigated with TD-DFT calculations and MCD spectroscopy. The optical limiting properties were investigated to examine whether the lower symmetry that results from the direct pyrrole-pyrrole bond and hence the permanent dipole moment that is introduced result in higher safety thresholds, relative to the values that have been reported for phthalocyanines. The suitability of the compounds for singlet oxygen applications has also been examined. Novel phosphorus phthalocyanines, analogous to the triazatetrabenzcorroles were also investigated. Due to their high photodegradation quantum yield however, only the fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes were able to be determined.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Troubling the troubled identities of victims and perpetrators in approaches to social justice:
- Authors: Edlmann, Theresa
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143593 , vital:38265 , https://ischp.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/ischp_2015_abstract_booklet.pdf
- Description: The terms “victim” and “perpetrator” have become an integral part of human rights-based language about systemic, political, sexual and interpersonal violence. This paper will argue that the terms “victim” and “perpetrator” reflect social constructs whose meaning and impact have shifted and changed over time, but that these evolutions have seldom been adequately interrogated or understood. In developing this argument, the paper will provide a brief historical outline of the emergence and use of these terms in social justice work since the mid-twentieth century, and explore the extent to which they comprise what narrative inquiry would call “discursive resources” which are often “troubled”. The paper will highlight the need for greater critical refection about the psychological, social and political discourses of identity that constellate around terms such as “victim” and “perpetrator”. It will also reflect on the conceptual underpinnings of contemporary mechanisms to address violence that these constructs and discourses give rise to.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Edlmann, Theresa
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143593 , vital:38265 , https://ischp.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/ischp_2015_abstract_booklet.pdf
- Description: The terms “victim” and “perpetrator” have become an integral part of human rights-based language about systemic, political, sexual and interpersonal violence. This paper will argue that the terms “victim” and “perpetrator” reflect social constructs whose meaning and impact have shifted and changed over time, but that these evolutions have seldom been adequately interrogated or understood. In developing this argument, the paper will provide a brief historical outline of the emergence and use of these terms in social justice work since the mid-twentieth century, and explore the extent to which they comprise what narrative inquiry would call “discursive resources” which are often “troubled”. The paper will highlight the need for greater critical refection about the psychological, social and political discourses of identity that constellate around terms such as “victim” and “perpetrator”. It will also reflect on the conceptual underpinnings of contemporary mechanisms to address violence that these constructs and discourses give rise to.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Working Towards Improved Facilitation of Research Capacity Development at Walter Sisulu University (WSU) Using Action Research (AR) Methodology
- Sotshangane, Nkosinathi Owen
- Authors: Sotshangane, Nkosinathi Owen
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Capacity development -- Research Research -- Higher education Research development -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Education, higher -- Action Research -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , D Ed
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/901 , vital:30009
- Description: This study was originally undertaken to change and improve the way I do my practice at Walter Sisulu University as a Research Associate whose responsibility is to facilitate research capacity development and research excellence within the University, amongst academics and postgraduate students. The success of the Research Resource Centre that I manage depends on the way I promote research culture and research productivity amongst academics and postgraduate students. According to Leedy and Ormrod (2013, p. 2), research is a systematic process that is used to collect, analyse, and interpret data in order to increase my understanding of the phenomenon about interest and concern about a given/identified phenomenon. In this case my own practice changed and improved for the better. The main objective of this study, therefore, was to examine the reasons behind the decline in research productivity in terms of research output and how this could be reversed through action research study intervention in order to enhance research productivity at Walter Sisulu University (WSU). The Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) allocation of research output units for WSU indicated that there was a decline in research output from 2005 to 2010. The extent to which my practice improvement could contribute towards changing or improving research productivity was a question which this study addressed through a quantitative, qualitative and self-reflective action research cyclic inquiry. I organized sample strategies of this study as follows: For quantitative data, I used 120 lecturers as my respondents through questionnaires (females = 47 and males = 73) who were randomly selected; For qualitative data, I used 24 lecturers as respondents who were randomly selected with whom I conducted interviews; and For self-reflective action research cyclic inquiry I used 7 Transformative Education/al Studies (TES) project group members as my focus group. My research findings concluded that the heavy teaching workload at WSU was problematic and lecturers/academics could not devote time to do research. My recommendation is that research should be made compulsory so that academics become aware that at least one or two published articles are required from them, for the benefit of annual university research productivity. Some research participants also recommended that the Research Resource Centre must include programs that focus directly on active participation in research in order to increase the capacity of individual researchers so as to build a critical mass of competent researchers, perhaps by even including incentives as a reward for doing research. According to Koshy (2010), action research is a specific method of conducting research by professionals and practitioners with the ultimate aim of improving practice. My new knowledge, therefore, in respect of how a concerned Research Associate, from a Historically Disadvantaged Institution (HDI), provided the impetus to create a collaborative practice in a higher education institution which was forced to merge with two former technikons (which lacked understanding of what a university means by research productivity and research output). I consequently developed the Nkosinathi Sotshangane’s cyclic practice improvement model through self-reflective action research, from which I believed other research practitioners could learn by doing something similar in their own context.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Sotshangane, Nkosinathi Owen
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Capacity development -- Research Research -- Higher education Research development -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Education, higher -- Action Research -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , D Ed
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/901 , vital:30009
- Description: This study was originally undertaken to change and improve the way I do my practice at Walter Sisulu University as a Research Associate whose responsibility is to facilitate research capacity development and research excellence within the University, amongst academics and postgraduate students. The success of the Research Resource Centre that I manage depends on the way I promote research culture and research productivity amongst academics and postgraduate students. According to Leedy and Ormrod (2013, p. 2), research is a systematic process that is used to collect, analyse, and interpret data in order to increase my understanding of the phenomenon about interest and concern about a given/identified phenomenon. In this case my own practice changed and improved for the better. The main objective of this study, therefore, was to examine the reasons behind the decline in research productivity in terms of research output and how this could be reversed through action research study intervention in order to enhance research productivity at Walter Sisulu University (WSU). The Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) allocation of research output units for WSU indicated that there was a decline in research output from 2005 to 2010. The extent to which my practice improvement could contribute towards changing or improving research productivity was a question which this study addressed through a quantitative, qualitative and self-reflective action research cyclic inquiry. I organized sample strategies of this study as follows: For quantitative data, I used 120 lecturers as my respondents through questionnaires (females = 47 and males = 73) who were randomly selected; For qualitative data, I used 24 lecturers as respondents who were randomly selected with whom I conducted interviews; and For self-reflective action research cyclic inquiry I used 7 Transformative Education/al Studies (TES) project group members as my focus group. My research findings concluded that the heavy teaching workload at WSU was problematic and lecturers/academics could not devote time to do research. My recommendation is that research should be made compulsory so that academics become aware that at least one or two published articles are required from them, for the benefit of annual university research productivity. Some research participants also recommended that the Research Resource Centre must include programs that focus directly on active participation in research in order to increase the capacity of individual researchers so as to build a critical mass of competent researchers, perhaps by even including incentives as a reward for doing research. According to Koshy (2010), action research is a specific method of conducting research by professionals and practitioners with the ultimate aim of improving practice. My new knowledge, therefore, in respect of how a concerned Research Associate, from a Historically Disadvantaged Institution (HDI), provided the impetus to create a collaborative practice in a higher education institution which was forced to merge with two former technikons (which lacked understanding of what a university means by research productivity and research output). I consequently developed the Nkosinathi Sotshangane’s cyclic practice improvement model through self-reflective action research, from which I believed other research practitioners could learn by doing something similar in their own context.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The socio-economic impact of a food production programme: Qamata irrigation scheme
- Authors: Mafu, Nozipho
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Food security -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Irrigation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7772 , vital:24283
- Description: Irrigation Schemes were introduce to be hub for food production and provision of job opportunities for rural communities. The idea also focused on provision of water in most dry areas but with potential soil for production. The introduction of government food security program came as means to achieve these objectives by subsidizing farmers with inputs and mechanical operations so as to reduce cost of production. This paper analyses the social and economic impact of massive food program in changing the lives of communities at Qamata Irrigation scheme. The data were collected from households who were beneficiaries of massive food program at Qamata Irrigation scheme and analysed using a descriptive statistics. The results show that socio-economic factors which include storage facilities, access to markets channels, land acquisition and size, change in income limit the ability of farmers to produce and sell productively, since they cannot store their produce for better market prices and are also limited in terms of available market. They are forced to sell at local village level on credit or have their produce loss in poor storage facilities. Qamata irrigation scheme had limited access to formal markets and market information.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Mafu, Nozipho
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Food security -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Irrigation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7772 , vital:24283
- Description: Irrigation Schemes were introduce to be hub for food production and provision of job opportunities for rural communities. The idea also focused on provision of water in most dry areas but with potential soil for production. The introduction of government food security program came as means to achieve these objectives by subsidizing farmers with inputs and mechanical operations so as to reduce cost of production. This paper analyses the social and economic impact of massive food program in changing the lives of communities at Qamata Irrigation scheme. The data were collected from households who were beneficiaries of massive food program at Qamata Irrigation scheme and analysed using a descriptive statistics. The results show that socio-economic factors which include storage facilities, access to markets channels, land acquisition and size, change in income limit the ability of farmers to produce and sell productively, since they cannot store their produce for better market prices and are also limited in terms of available market. They are forced to sell at local village level on credit or have their produce loss in poor storage facilities. Qamata irrigation scheme had limited access to formal markets and market information.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The investigation of perceptions of professional nurses regarding care of mental health care users in a general hospital setting
- Manona-Nkanjeni, Nonkanyiso Yvonne
- Authors: Manona-Nkanjeni, Nonkanyiso Yvonne
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Nursing Science)
- Identifier: vital:11924 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1020200
- Description: This study sought to explore the perceptions of professional nurses regarding care of stabilised mental health care users in a general hospital setting. A qualitative, explanatory, descriptive and contextual design was used for the study. A non-probability, purposive sampling method was used to select 12 participants from the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The services of an independent interviewer were used to avoid any bias as interviews took place where the researcher is employed. The services of an editor were also used for language control (see Annexure H). The researcher repeatedly listened to the tapes used for data collection until completely satisfied with the interpretation of verbatim data. The research study was conducted in an ethically reflective manner and trustworthiness was ensured at all times. Four themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews: fear, stigma, myths and training. The researcher utilised the services of an independent coder who verified the identified major themes. The findings revealed that participants were fearful due to lack of knowledge, experience and psychiatric nursing skills. Participants feared because they lack knowledge about psychiatric medication and because mental health care users may have relapse. The participants also attached a stigma to mental health care users, which resulted in poor communication between participants and the stabilised mental health care user; a negative attitude towards mental health care users; and non-acceptance. Participants believed in myths about mental illness; they regarded it as contagious; and perceived mental health care users as dangerous. The participants strongly recommended that training should be provided to improve their knowledge and skills to enable them to care for stabilised mental health care users in a general hospital setting. The following should be facilitated: in-service training; adoption of a positive attitude; dispersal of myths and fear; education about referral systems; and allocation of specialist psychiatric nurses to medical wards for referral purposes with regard to complicated cases.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Manona-Nkanjeni, Nonkanyiso Yvonne
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Nursing Science)
- Identifier: vital:11924 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1020200
- Description: This study sought to explore the perceptions of professional nurses regarding care of stabilised mental health care users in a general hospital setting. A qualitative, explanatory, descriptive and contextual design was used for the study. A non-probability, purposive sampling method was used to select 12 participants from the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The services of an independent interviewer were used to avoid any bias as interviews took place where the researcher is employed. The services of an editor were also used for language control (see Annexure H). The researcher repeatedly listened to the tapes used for data collection until completely satisfied with the interpretation of verbatim data. The research study was conducted in an ethically reflective manner and trustworthiness was ensured at all times. Four themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews: fear, stigma, myths and training. The researcher utilised the services of an independent coder who verified the identified major themes. The findings revealed that participants were fearful due to lack of knowledge, experience and psychiatric nursing skills. Participants feared because they lack knowledge about psychiatric medication and because mental health care users may have relapse. The participants also attached a stigma to mental health care users, which resulted in poor communication between participants and the stabilised mental health care user; a negative attitude towards mental health care users; and non-acceptance. Participants believed in myths about mental illness; they regarded it as contagious; and perceived mental health care users as dangerous. The participants strongly recommended that training should be provided to improve their knowledge and skills to enable them to care for stabilised mental health care users in a general hospital setting. The following should be facilitated: in-service training; adoption of a positive attitude; dispersal of myths and fear; education about referral systems; and allocation of specialist psychiatric nurses to medical wards for referral purposes with regard to complicated cases.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The role of RDP housing in revitalising the socio-economic environment
- Authors: Ntlangula, Zininzi
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Low-income housing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economics -- Sociological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5268 , vital:20829
- Description: The role of RDP housing cannot be underestimated and it plays a big role in South Africa. It assists those who are less fortunate to afford to buy houses. RDP housing delivery is not only expected to put a roof over people's heads but to change their lives in various ways. RDP housing delivery tackles issues related to social and economic enviroment. In terms of policy documents and surveys, research has shown that it is critical to incorporate RDP housing beneficiaries from planning right up to development stage. Public participation and the involvement of beneficiaries from the planning stage onward assists in determining the basic needs of the community that can be addresed through RDP housing development. This study is about the role of RDP housing in revitalising the socio-economic environment with a specific reference to Second Creek, which is under the jurisdiction of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Ntlangula, Zininzi
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Low-income housing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economics -- Sociological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5268 , vital:20829
- Description: The role of RDP housing cannot be underestimated and it plays a big role in South Africa. It assists those who are less fortunate to afford to buy houses. RDP housing delivery is not only expected to put a roof over people's heads but to change their lives in various ways. RDP housing delivery tackles issues related to social and economic enviroment. In terms of policy documents and surveys, research has shown that it is critical to incorporate RDP housing beneficiaries from planning right up to development stage. Public participation and the involvement of beneficiaries from the planning stage onward assists in determining the basic needs of the community that can be addresed through RDP housing development. This study is about the role of RDP housing in revitalising the socio-economic environment with a specific reference to Second Creek, which is under the jurisdiction of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2015
The role of child support grants in poverty alleviation in rural communities
- Authors: Yapi, Kanyisa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Child welfare -- South Africa , Child support -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7710 , vital:23396
- Description: This study seeks to investigate the challenges faced by the recipients of the child support grant, with special reference to Morgan Bay, a rural area under the aegis of the Amathole District Municipality in East London. The child support grant is a strategy that was introduced to alleviate poverty in previously disadvantaged communities. The child support grant replaced the state maintenance grant. South Africa has high levels of unemployment; and this situation is considered to be a major contributing factor to poverty. After the apartheid era, the African National Congress (ANC) led government introduced a litany of redistributive policy frameworks aimed at reversing the imbalances of the past created by the apartheid government. The child support grant, which was established during the year 1998, is viewed as one of the strategies introduced by the South African government aimed at alleviating poverty caused by the lack of jobs. The aim of the study is to assess the implementation of the child support grant impact as a developmental strategy in rural communities, such as Morgan Bay. The study seeks to determine how the child support grant redistribution has affected rural communities. In other words, the research seeks to determine whether the child support grant redistribution has affected rural communities positively or negatively, and to ascertain whether it has mitigated the impact of socio-economic challenges in rural communities. The study also seeks to explore other strategies, which could be implemented to supplement the child support grant, and possibly decrease the level of dependence on the child support grant – by having a back-up strategy for alleviating poverty.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Yapi, Kanyisa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Child welfare -- South Africa , Child support -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7710 , vital:23396
- Description: This study seeks to investigate the challenges faced by the recipients of the child support grant, with special reference to Morgan Bay, a rural area under the aegis of the Amathole District Municipality in East London. The child support grant is a strategy that was introduced to alleviate poverty in previously disadvantaged communities. The child support grant replaced the state maintenance grant. South Africa has high levels of unemployment; and this situation is considered to be a major contributing factor to poverty. After the apartheid era, the African National Congress (ANC) led government introduced a litany of redistributive policy frameworks aimed at reversing the imbalances of the past created by the apartheid government. The child support grant, which was established during the year 1998, is viewed as one of the strategies introduced by the South African government aimed at alleviating poverty caused by the lack of jobs. The aim of the study is to assess the implementation of the child support grant impact as a developmental strategy in rural communities, such as Morgan Bay. The study seeks to determine how the child support grant redistribution has affected rural communities. In other words, the research seeks to determine whether the child support grant redistribution has affected rural communities positively or negatively, and to ascertain whether it has mitigated the impact of socio-economic challenges in rural communities. The study also seeks to explore other strategies, which could be implemented to supplement the child support grant, and possibly decrease the level of dependence on the child support grant – by having a back-up strategy for alleviating poverty.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Dear space dad and other stories
- Authors: Kuit, Henali
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century , Short stories, South African -- 21st century , Creative writing (Higher education) , South African fiction -- Study and teaching (Higher)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5990 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017774
- Description: My stories are set around the themes of family, animals and outer space -- which leads to other themes like religion, loneliness, romance, eating animals, growing up and longing for the past. Most of the stories have non-linear structures. Some use gradual shiftings of narrator voice; in others the narrative is flat, lacking plot. I favour repetition over plot-based climaxes to create coherency and narrative flow. I also favour free indirect discourse over dialogue or description as a means to characterize.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Kuit, Henali
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century , Short stories, South African -- 21st century , Creative writing (Higher education) , South African fiction -- Study and teaching (Higher)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5990 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017774
- Description: My stories are set around the themes of family, animals and outer space -- which leads to other themes like religion, loneliness, romance, eating animals, growing up and longing for the past. Most of the stories have non-linear structures. Some use gradual shiftings of narrator voice; in others the narrative is flat, lacking plot. I favour repetition over plot-based climaxes to create coherency and narrative flow. I also favour free indirect discourse over dialogue or description as a means to characterize.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
An investigation into how two Natural Science teachers in the Khomas region mediate learning of the topic of atoms and molecules in Grade 7 : a case study
- Authors: Hoepfner, Narenda
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Namibia -- Khomas , Life sciences -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Namibia -- Khomas , Pedagogical content knowledge , Cognitive learning , Teachers -- In-service training -- Namibia -- Khomas
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2031 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017342
- Description: The teaching of abstract concepts requires higher cognitive thinking skills and thus presents a challenge for most subjects in the curriculum, in particular, science subjects. Teachers often complain that they struggle to develop higher cognitive skills in learners in such topics. As a result, learners fail to understand science concepts and then complain that science is boring and hence lose interest in the subject. The main reason for this study was to investigate how Grade 7 Natural Science teachers mediate the learning of abstract topics, in particular, atoms and molecules which are regarded as the building blocks in chemistry. This study further sought to develop a teaching unit of work on atoms, molecules and the Periodic Table in partnership with the participating teachers, in order to help improve teaching and learning of the topic. The study is located within an interpretive paradigm. Within this paradigm, a qualitative case study approach was adopted whereby two Grade 7 Natural Science teachers in the Khomas Region were the research participants. This approach enabled me to seek for answers beyond the obvious classroom experiences by using document analysis, semi-structured interviews and classroom observation (which were video-taped and transcribed). The theoretical frameworks underpinning this study focused on mediation of learning and social constructivism as expounded by Vygotsky, in conjunction with Shulman’s pedagogical content knowledge. Hence, emphasis was placed on the teaching strategies used by teachers, such as elicitation of prior knowledge during the lessons, language used, interaction of learners and ways how teachers deal with the challenges faced by them in the mediation of learning. An inductive analysis to discover patterns and themes was applied during the data analysis process. The themes were further turned into analytical statements to interpret the data. The validation process was achieved by using a variety of data gathering techniques. I watched the videotaped lessons with the observed teachers and I made use of member checking in the form of stimulated recall interviews and transcripts of the interviews. Thus, a summary of discussions were given back to the respondents to verify their responses and check for any misinterpretations. Different chapters of my study were given to colleagues to read through as a means of the validation process. Herein lies the importance of a critical friend in qualitative research. The findings of the study revealed that concepts of high cognitive demand should not be oversimplified when introduced to learners, as learners might find it difficult to define and conceptualise concepts as they do not have proper insights into the concepts. The findings further illuminated that teachers should develop a strong subject content knowledge as well as pedagogical content knowledge to have the best strategies in place to mediate learning of this topic. The study concludes, with Phase 2, that the exposure of and cooperation between teachers plays an indispensable role in their professional development. Essentially, this enables teachers to make use of different teaching styles as they scaffold learners in the process of making sense of, in particular, abstract science concepts. Finally, this study recommends that teachers need to engage in on-going professional development opportunities and be equipped with suitable learning support and other necessary physical resources, as a way of motivation and to be in a position to deal with all the many challenges they have to face during the mediation of learning.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Hoepfner, Narenda
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Namibia -- Khomas , Life sciences -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Namibia -- Khomas , Pedagogical content knowledge , Cognitive learning , Teachers -- In-service training -- Namibia -- Khomas
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2031 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017342
- Description: The teaching of abstract concepts requires higher cognitive thinking skills and thus presents a challenge for most subjects in the curriculum, in particular, science subjects. Teachers often complain that they struggle to develop higher cognitive skills in learners in such topics. As a result, learners fail to understand science concepts and then complain that science is boring and hence lose interest in the subject. The main reason for this study was to investigate how Grade 7 Natural Science teachers mediate the learning of abstract topics, in particular, atoms and molecules which are regarded as the building blocks in chemistry. This study further sought to develop a teaching unit of work on atoms, molecules and the Periodic Table in partnership with the participating teachers, in order to help improve teaching and learning of the topic. The study is located within an interpretive paradigm. Within this paradigm, a qualitative case study approach was adopted whereby two Grade 7 Natural Science teachers in the Khomas Region were the research participants. This approach enabled me to seek for answers beyond the obvious classroom experiences by using document analysis, semi-structured interviews and classroom observation (which were video-taped and transcribed). The theoretical frameworks underpinning this study focused on mediation of learning and social constructivism as expounded by Vygotsky, in conjunction with Shulman’s pedagogical content knowledge. Hence, emphasis was placed on the teaching strategies used by teachers, such as elicitation of prior knowledge during the lessons, language used, interaction of learners and ways how teachers deal with the challenges faced by them in the mediation of learning. An inductive analysis to discover patterns and themes was applied during the data analysis process. The themes were further turned into analytical statements to interpret the data. The validation process was achieved by using a variety of data gathering techniques. I watched the videotaped lessons with the observed teachers and I made use of member checking in the form of stimulated recall interviews and transcripts of the interviews. Thus, a summary of discussions were given back to the respondents to verify their responses and check for any misinterpretations. Different chapters of my study were given to colleagues to read through as a means of the validation process. Herein lies the importance of a critical friend in qualitative research. The findings of the study revealed that concepts of high cognitive demand should not be oversimplified when introduced to learners, as learners might find it difficult to define and conceptualise concepts as they do not have proper insights into the concepts. The findings further illuminated that teachers should develop a strong subject content knowledge as well as pedagogical content knowledge to have the best strategies in place to mediate learning of this topic. The study concludes, with Phase 2, that the exposure of and cooperation between teachers plays an indispensable role in their professional development. Essentially, this enables teachers to make use of different teaching styles as they scaffold learners in the process of making sense of, in particular, abstract science concepts. Finally, this study recommends that teachers need to engage in on-going professional development opportunities and be equipped with suitable learning support and other necessary physical resources, as a way of motivation and to be in a position to deal with all the many challenges they have to face during the mediation of learning.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
End of the march
- Authors: Thomas, Cornelius
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: still image
- Identifier: vital:7981 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020456
- Description: On Wednesday, 21 October 2015, Rhodes University closed in solidarity with the higher education sector as students and staff embarked on nationwide protest action against the shortage of funding in the South African higher education sector. #FeesMustFall is a national student led protest movement that began in mid-October 2015 in response to proposed increases in fees at South African universities. These images depict the peaceful march and illustrate the extent of solidarity among staff, students and community members who joined in support of the protest.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Thomas, Cornelius
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: still image
- Identifier: vital:7981 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020456
- Description: On Wednesday, 21 October 2015, Rhodes University closed in solidarity with the higher education sector as students and staff embarked on nationwide protest action against the shortage of funding in the South African higher education sector. #FeesMustFall is a national student led protest movement that began in mid-October 2015 in response to proposed increases in fees at South African universities. These images depict the peaceful march and illustrate the extent of solidarity among staff, students and community members who joined in support of the protest.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2015
Expanding access to essential medicines through the right to health: a case study of South Africa
- Authors: Motamakore, Shelton Tapiwa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Right to health -- South Africa Medical care -- Law and legislation -- South Africa AIDS (Disease) -- Government policy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5620 , vital:29352
- Description: Lack of access to essential medicines has proven to be a persisting problem which is in conflict with the goal of realising the right to health envisaged by the South African constitution and international human rights instruments. With more than twenty years of democracy, South Africa is still plaguing with a multiplicity of pandemics such as HIV and AIDS, cancer, malaria, tuberculosis, among others, leading to premature death and untold suffering of the people. According to a 2015 United Nations AIDS (UNAIDS) Gap report, South Africa is still regarded as the epicentre of HIV and other infectious diseases. The 2015 UNAIDS Gap report states that South Africa has more women than men living with HIV and AIDS. The report further indicates that the impact of this pandemic is worsened by the inaccessibility of essential medicines that are vital for life saving. This dissertation posits that the epidemiological health crisis described above can be largely eradicated through the utilisation of the right to health. The right to health, according to this dissertation, contains a legal and transformative power which can be utilised to limit the negative impact of patent laws on access to essential medicines in South Africa. This dissertation validates the long held view that World Trade Organisation (WTO) intellectual property laws have contributed to the inaccessibility of essential medicines through causing patent ever greening, patent linkages and pharmaceutical company’s monopolies. Consequently, many marginalised groups in South Africa lack access to essential medicines owing to the higher prices charged for such medicines thus violating the right to health, life and other fundamental human rights. The right to health which is the immediate right infringed when there is lack of access to essential medicines form the core theme of this dissertation. This dissertation argues that access to essential medicine is a fundamental part of the right to health protected under international and national human rights instruments. This dissertation further argue that the right to health imposes obligations which requires South African government to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to provide access to essential medicines. The dissertation‘s key contribution is its proposed solutions on how to ensure that patents rules in South Africa are tamed with obligations consistent with the right to health. If properly implemented, these solutions have the potential to give greater specification to the normative commitments imposed by the right to health in the patent claims scenarios.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Motamakore, Shelton Tapiwa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Right to health -- South Africa Medical care -- Law and legislation -- South Africa AIDS (Disease) -- Government policy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5620 , vital:29352
- Description: Lack of access to essential medicines has proven to be a persisting problem which is in conflict with the goal of realising the right to health envisaged by the South African constitution and international human rights instruments. With more than twenty years of democracy, South Africa is still plaguing with a multiplicity of pandemics such as HIV and AIDS, cancer, malaria, tuberculosis, among others, leading to premature death and untold suffering of the people. According to a 2015 United Nations AIDS (UNAIDS) Gap report, South Africa is still regarded as the epicentre of HIV and other infectious diseases. The 2015 UNAIDS Gap report states that South Africa has more women than men living with HIV and AIDS. The report further indicates that the impact of this pandemic is worsened by the inaccessibility of essential medicines that are vital for life saving. This dissertation posits that the epidemiological health crisis described above can be largely eradicated through the utilisation of the right to health. The right to health, according to this dissertation, contains a legal and transformative power which can be utilised to limit the negative impact of patent laws on access to essential medicines in South Africa. This dissertation validates the long held view that World Trade Organisation (WTO) intellectual property laws have contributed to the inaccessibility of essential medicines through causing patent ever greening, patent linkages and pharmaceutical company’s monopolies. Consequently, many marginalised groups in South Africa lack access to essential medicines owing to the higher prices charged for such medicines thus violating the right to health, life and other fundamental human rights. The right to health which is the immediate right infringed when there is lack of access to essential medicines form the core theme of this dissertation. This dissertation argues that access to essential medicine is a fundamental part of the right to health protected under international and national human rights instruments. This dissertation further argue that the right to health imposes obligations which requires South African government to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to provide access to essential medicines. The dissertation‘s key contribution is its proposed solutions on how to ensure that patents rules in South Africa are tamed with obligations consistent with the right to health. If properly implemented, these solutions have the potential to give greater specification to the normative commitments imposed by the right to health in the patent claims scenarios.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
An evaluation of the Integrated Quality Management System at selected schools within the Lukhanji Circuit, Queenstown District
- Authors: Gongqa, Mxolanisi Michael
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Total quality management in education -- South Africa -- Queenstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3285 , vital:20420
- Description: The study focused on the evaluation of the integrated management system (IQMS) at selected schools within the Queenstown Education District. A quantitative research method was used for the study and questionnaires were used as a research tool to collect data. The respondents were members of the school management teams (SMT) which comprised the principals, deputy principals, heads of departments, senior educators and educators. These are key role-players in the management and implementation of IQMS. The rationale was to obtain pertinent information which would address the research questions and objectives of the study. The primary objective of the study as outlined above was to evaluate the impact of IQMS implementation in the Queenstown district with specific reference to the Lukhanji Circuit, on the performance of the high schools selected. It was envisaged that the results of the study would contribute towards developing measures to ensure that IQMS implementation achieves the desired objectives. The research questions were: To what extent can IQMS implementation be used as a tool to measure and improve teaching and learning? What measures have been put in place by the district to support and build capacity of the educators to perform? What factors hinder the effective IQMS implementation? The key findings of the study reveal that IQMS as a tool to improve teaching and learning had the overwhelming support of the majority of the respondents. However, a reasonable percentage of the respondents were of the view that IQMS constituted an administrative burden to educators. There are educators who displayed a negative attitude towards the implementation of IQMS. The respondents also felt that the district office needs to provide more support for IQMS implementation so that its objectives can be fully realised. The study makes clear recommendations such as the de-linking of IQMS from salaries and pay progression, provision of more support by the district, to make IQMS more user-friendly to educators and additional budget and teacher training to enhance educators’ professional development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Gongqa, Mxolanisi Michael
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Total quality management in education -- South Africa -- Queenstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3285 , vital:20420
- Description: The study focused on the evaluation of the integrated management system (IQMS) at selected schools within the Queenstown Education District. A quantitative research method was used for the study and questionnaires were used as a research tool to collect data. The respondents were members of the school management teams (SMT) which comprised the principals, deputy principals, heads of departments, senior educators and educators. These are key role-players in the management and implementation of IQMS. The rationale was to obtain pertinent information which would address the research questions and objectives of the study. The primary objective of the study as outlined above was to evaluate the impact of IQMS implementation in the Queenstown district with specific reference to the Lukhanji Circuit, on the performance of the high schools selected. It was envisaged that the results of the study would contribute towards developing measures to ensure that IQMS implementation achieves the desired objectives. The research questions were: To what extent can IQMS implementation be used as a tool to measure and improve teaching and learning? What measures have been put in place by the district to support and build capacity of the educators to perform? What factors hinder the effective IQMS implementation? The key findings of the study reveal that IQMS as a tool to improve teaching and learning had the overwhelming support of the majority of the respondents. However, a reasonable percentage of the respondents were of the view that IQMS constituted an administrative burden to educators. There are educators who displayed a negative attitude towards the implementation of IQMS. The respondents also felt that the district office needs to provide more support for IQMS implementation so that its objectives can be fully realised. The study makes clear recommendations such as the de-linking of IQMS from salaries and pay progression, provision of more support by the district, to make IQMS more user-friendly to educators and additional budget and teacher training to enhance educators’ professional development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
"Peace love education"
- Authors: Thomas, Cornelius
- Date: 2015
- Type: Image
- Identifier: vital:8055 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020552
- Description: On Wednesday, 21 October 2015, Rhodes University closed in solidarity with the higher education sector as students and staff embarked on nationwide protest action against the shortage of funding in the South African higher education sector. #FeesMustFall is a national student led protest movement that began in mid-October 2015 in response to proposed increases in fees at South African universities. These images depict the peaceful march and illustrate the extent of solidarity among staff, students and community members who joined in support of the protest.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Thomas, Cornelius
- Date: 2015
- Type: Image
- Identifier: vital:8055 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020552
- Description: On Wednesday, 21 October 2015, Rhodes University closed in solidarity with the higher education sector as students and staff embarked on nationwide protest action against the shortage of funding in the South African higher education sector. #FeesMustFall is a national student led protest movement that began in mid-October 2015 in response to proposed increases in fees at South African universities. These images depict the peaceful march and illustrate the extent of solidarity among staff, students and community members who joined in support of the protest.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2015
Evaluating support service co-operation in the Netcare-Settlers public private partnership, Grahamstown, South Africa
- Authors: Mahote, Tulisa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Settlers Hospital , Netcare 911 , Public-private sector cooperation -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Privatization -- South Africa , Medical care -- Privatization -- South Africa , Health services accessibility -- South Africa , Contracting out -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3408 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020834
- Description: The neo-liberal restructuring of state assets and facilities, which has taken place internationally over the past three decades, as well as in South Africa, has been a matter of great controversy. Privatisation, in particular, has been a polarising issue, especially when applied to fields like healthcare. Supporters of privatisation view it as cutting costs, mobilising funding, expertise and innovation, resulting in improved delivery, and opening possibilities for a spread of ownership. Critics claim the process involves retrenchments, declining services for the (poorer) majority of people, and a focus on the elites as citizens become transformed into customers, and with any economic empowerment going to the already prosperous. This thesis examines these issues by looking at the privatisation of hospitals in South Africa, with a case study of the Netcare-Settlers Public Private Partnership (PPP) (also known as the Settlers Private Hospital) in Grahamstown, South Africa. Netcare is South Africa’s largest private hospital company, and also has substantial operations in the United Kingdom. The thesis sets out the context: a highly inequitable healthcare system in the country, the rise of privatisation in the apartheid and post-apartheid eras, and healthcare privatisation. In terms of the Netcare-Settlers PPP, the thesis examines how the PPP was structured and developed, focusing on the impact of the PPP on non-clinical operations. The thesis argues that the results of the PPP are mixed, that it has greatly improved areas like facilities, maintenance, cleaning and catering, performed less well in increasing the doctor/ patient ratio or in attracting specialists, and is associated with the widespread and problematic use of outsourcing of service workers like cleaners and security. Overall, the PPP has improved healthcare, with some effective sharing of resources between the public and private parts of the hospital, but also relies on a pool of relatively low waged, under-unionised, labour. In terms of the general debate over privatisation, the Netcare-Settlers PPP shows that both supporters and critics have some valid points, and that privatisation in practice is not an either/ or, black/ white, good/ bad proposition, but something more complex. The success and failure of PPPs depend on the details of the contracts, and these can be used to maximise the performance of both the public and private partners. Better contracts may help avoid the uneven results seen at institutions like the Netcare-Settlers PPP.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Mahote, Tulisa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Settlers Hospital , Netcare 911 , Public-private sector cooperation -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Privatization -- South Africa , Medical care -- Privatization -- South Africa , Health services accessibility -- South Africa , Contracting out -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3408 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020834
- Description: The neo-liberal restructuring of state assets and facilities, which has taken place internationally over the past three decades, as well as in South Africa, has been a matter of great controversy. Privatisation, in particular, has been a polarising issue, especially when applied to fields like healthcare. Supporters of privatisation view it as cutting costs, mobilising funding, expertise and innovation, resulting in improved delivery, and opening possibilities for a spread of ownership. Critics claim the process involves retrenchments, declining services for the (poorer) majority of people, and a focus on the elites as citizens become transformed into customers, and with any economic empowerment going to the already prosperous. This thesis examines these issues by looking at the privatisation of hospitals in South Africa, with a case study of the Netcare-Settlers Public Private Partnership (PPP) (also known as the Settlers Private Hospital) in Grahamstown, South Africa. Netcare is South Africa’s largest private hospital company, and also has substantial operations in the United Kingdom. The thesis sets out the context: a highly inequitable healthcare system in the country, the rise of privatisation in the apartheid and post-apartheid eras, and healthcare privatisation. In terms of the Netcare-Settlers PPP, the thesis examines how the PPP was structured and developed, focusing on the impact of the PPP on non-clinical operations. The thesis argues that the results of the PPP are mixed, that it has greatly improved areas like facilities, maintenance, cleaning and catering, performed less well in increasing the doctor/ patient ratio or in attracting specialists, and is associated with the widespread and problematic use of outsourcing of service workers like cleaners and security. Overall, the PPP has improved healthcare, with some effective sharing of resources between the public and private parts of the hospital, but also relies on a pool of relatively low waged, under-unionised, labour. In terms of the general debate over privatisation, the Netcare-Settlers PPP shows that both supporters and critics have some valid points, and that privatisation in practice is not an either/ or, black/ white, good/ bad proposition, but something more complex. The success and failure of PPPs depend on the details of the contracts, and these can be used to maximise the performance of both the public and private partners. Better contracts may help avoid the uneven results seen at institutions like the Netcare-Settlers PPP.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015