A decision-making model to guide securing blockchain deployments
- Authors: Cronje, Gerhard Roets
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Blockchains (Databases) , Bitcoin , Cryptocurrencies , Distributed databases , Computer networks Security measures , Computer networks Security measures Decision making , Ethereum
- Language: English
- Type: Masters theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/188865 , vital:44793
- Description: Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudo-identity accredit with the paper that sparked the implementation of Bitcoin, is famously quoted as remarking, electronically of course, that “If you don’t believe it or don’t get it, I don’t have time to try and convince you, sorry” (Tsapis, 2019, p. 1). What is noticeable, 12 years after the famed Satoshi paper that initiated Bitcoin (Nakamoto, 2008), is that blockchain at the very least has staying power and potentially wide application. A lesser known figure Marc Kenisberg, founder of Bitcoin Chaser which is one of the many companies formed around the Bitcoin ecosystem, summarised it well saying “…Blockchain is the tech - Bitcoin is merely the first mainstream manifestation of its potential” (Tsapis, 2019, p. 1). With blockchain still trying to reach its potential and still maturing on its way towards a mainstream technology the main question that arises for security professionals is how do I ensure we do it securely? This research seeks to address that question by proposing a decision-making model that can be used by a security professional to guide them through ensuring appropriate security for blockchain deployments. This research is certainly not the first attempt at discussing the security of the blockchain and will not be the last, as the technology around blockchain and distributed ledger technology is still rapidly evolving. What this research does try to achieve is not to delve into extremely specific areas of blockchain security, or get bogged down in technical details, but to provide a reference framework that aims to cover all the major areas to be considered. The approach followed was to review the literature regarding blockchain and to identify the main security areas to be addressed. It then proposes a decision-making model and tests the model against a fictitious but relevant real-world example. It concludes with learnings from this research. The reader can be the judge, but the model aims to be a practical valuable resource to be used by any security professional, to navigate the security aspects logically and understandably when being involved in a blockchain deployment. In contrast to the Satoshi quote, this research tries to convince the reader and assist him/her in understanding the security choices related to every blockchain deployment. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Computer Science, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Cronje, Gerhard Roets
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Blockchains (Databases) , Bitcoin , Cryptocurrencies , Distributed databases , Computer networks Security measures , Computer networks Security measures Decision making , Ethereum
- Language: English
- Type: Masters theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/188865 , vital:44793
- Description: Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudo-identity accredit with the paper that sparked the implementation of Bitcoin, is famously quoted as remarking, electronically of course, that “If you don’t believe it or don’t get it, I don’t have time to try and convince you, sorry” (Tsapis, 2019, p. 1). What is noticeable, 12 years after the famed Satoshi paper that initiated Bitcoin (Nakamoto, 2008), is that blockchain at the very least has staying power and potentially wide application. A lesser known figure Marc Kenisberg, founder of Bitcoin Chaser which is one of the many companies formed around the Bitcoin ecosystem, summarised it well saying “…Blockchain is the tech - Bitcoin is merely the first mainstream manifestation of its potential” (Tsapis, 2019, p. 1). With blockchain still trying to reach its potential and still maturing on its way towards a mainstream technology the main question that arises for security professionals is how do I ensure we do it securely? This research seeks to address that question by proposing a decision-making model that can be used by a security professional to guide them through ensuring appropriate security for blockchain deployments. This research is certainly not the first attempt at discussing the security of the blockchain and will not be the last, as the technology around blockchain and distributed ledger technology is still rapidly evolving. What this research does try to achieve is not to delve into extremely specific areas of blockchain security, or get bogged down in technical details, but to provide a reference framework that aims to cover all the major areas to be considered. The approach followed was to review the literature regarding blockchain and to identify the main security areas to be addressed. It then proposes a decision-making model and tests the model against a fictitious but relevant real-world example. It concludes with learnings from this research. The reader can be the judge, but the model aims to be a practical valuable resource to be used by any security professional, to navigate the security aspects logically and understandably when being involved in a blockchain deployment. In contrast to the Satoshi quote, this research tries to convince the reader and assist him/her in understanding the security choices related to every blockchain deployment. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Computer Science, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Being moved by a way the world is not
- Authors: Jones, Ward E
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/275631 , vital:55064 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-009-9522-z"
- Description: At the end of Lecture 3 of The Empirical Stance, Bas van Fraassen suggests that we see the change of view involved in scientific revolutions as being, at least in part, emotional. In this paper, I explore one plausible way of cashing out this suggestion. Someone’s emotional approval of a description of the world, I argue, thereby shows that she takes herself to have reason to take that description seriously. This is true even if she is convinced—as a scientific community is when it considers alternative theories—that this description is false, that it is not the way the world is.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Jones, Ward E
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/275631 , vital:55064 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-009-9522-z"
- Description: At the end of Lecture 3 of The Empirical Stance, Bas van Fraassen suggests that we see the change of view involved in scientific revolutions as being, at least in part, emotional. In this paper, I explore one plausible way of cashing out this suggestion. Someone’s emotional approval of a description of the world, I argue, thereby shows that she takes herself to have reason to take that description seriously. This is true even if she is convinced—as a scientific community is when it considers alternative theories—that this description is false, that it is not the way the world is.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Wisdom as an aim of higher education
- Authors: Jones, Ward E
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/275765 , vital:55077 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10790-014-9443-z"
- Description: A central concern of theoretical speculation about education is the kind of epistemic states that education can and should aim to achieve. One such epistemic state, long neglected in both education theory and philosophy, is wisdom. Might wisdom be something that educators should aim for? And might it be something that their students can achieve? My answer will be a qualified yes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Jones, Ward E
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/275765 , vital:55077 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10790-014-9443-z"
- Description: A central concern of theoretical speculation about education is the kind of epistemic states that education can and should aim to achieve. One such epistemic state, long neglected in both education theory and philosophy, is wisdom. Might wisdom be something that educators should aim for? And might it be something that their students can achieve? My answer will be a qualified yes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Religiosity and sexual risk-taking behaviour among Black female students attending university
- Authors: Yona, Nombeko
- Date: 2009-02
- Subjects: College students -- Sexual behavior , Women college students , Risk-taking (Psychology)
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/25129 , vital:63980
- Description: The degree to which religious identity acts as a protective buffer against sexual risk - taking in late adolescence and young adults was investigated among 100 Black female university students. Allport and Ross’ Religious Orientation Scale was used to examine the relationship among religiosity, sexual activity and condom use. The results indicated that greater intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity were associated with less sexual activity and condom use. Religious identification therefore protected respondents from sexual risk- taking but sexually active students with high levels of intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity were less likely to use condoms. , Thesis (MSoc) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2009
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009-02
- Authors: Yona, Nombeko
- Date: 2009-02
- Subjects: College students -- Sexual behavior , Women college students , Risk-taking (Psychology)
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/25129 , vital:63980
- Description: The degree to which religious identity acts as a protective buffer against sexual risk - taking in late adolescence and young adults was investigated among 100 Black female university students. Allport and Ross’ Religious Orientation Scale was used to examine the relationship among religiosity, sexual activity and condom use. The results indicated that greater intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity were associated with less sexual activity and condom use. Religious identification therefore protected respondents from sexual risk- taking but sexually active students with high levels of intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity were less likely to use condoms. , Thesis (MSoc) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2009
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009-02
(Ferrocenylpyrazolyl) zinc (II) benzoates as catalysts for the ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone
- Obuah, Collins, Lochee, Yemanlall, Jordaan, Johan H L, Otto, Daniel P, Nyokong, Tebello, Darkwa, James
- Authors: Obuah, Collins , Lochee, Yemanlall , Jordaan, Johan H L , Otto, Daniel P , Nyokong, Tebello , Darkwa, James
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/189515 , vital:44853 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poly.2015.02.007"
- Description: The reaction of Zn(OAc)2 and C6H5COOH or 3,5-NO2-C6H3COOH with 3-ferrocenylpyrazolyl-methylenepyridine (L1), 3-ferrocenyl-5-methylpyrazolyl-methylenepyridine (L2), 3-ferrocenylpyrazolyl-ethylamine (L3) and 3-ferrocenyl-5-pyrazolyl-ethylamine (L4) afford the corresponding complexes [Zn(C6H5COO)2(L1)] (1), [Zn(C6H5COO)2(L2)] (2), [Zn(3,5-NO2-C6H3COO)2(L1)] (3), [Zn(3,5-NO2-C6H3 COO)2(L2)] (4), [Zn(C6H5COO)2(L3)] (5), [Zn(C6H5COO)2(L4)] (6), [Zn(3,5-NO2-C6H3COO)2(L3)] (7) and [Zn(3,5-NO2-C6H3COO)2(L4)] (8). These complexes behave as catalysts for the ring opening polymerization of e-caprolactone to produce polymers with molecular weight that range from 1480 to 7080 g mol1 and exhibited moderate to broad PDIs. Evidence of these complexes acting as catalysts was obtained from both the polymerization data and kinetic studies. The polymerization data show that variation of the [CL]/[C] from 100 to 800 produced PCL with relatively the same molecular weight indicative of a catalyst behavior. The appearance of induction period in kinetic plots strengthens the fact that these complexes are catalysts rather than initiators. MALDI-TOF MS and 1 H NMR data show di-hydroxy end groups, which support the coordination mechanism rather than insertion mechanism. To understand the broad PDIs obtained for some of the polymer, the electronic properties of the zinc complexes were investigated using cyclic voltammetry. The results show that the zinc complexes containing amine based ligands are highly electrophilic therefore making them unstable, hence the broad PDIs observed for zinc complexes containing amine based ligands. Among the eight complexes investigated, complex 7 is the most active catalyst with kp value of 1.18 107 h1 mol1 at 110 C.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Obuah, Collins , Lochee, Yemanlall , Jordaan, Johan H L , Otto, Daniel P , Nyokong, Tebello , Darkwa, James
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/189515 , vital:44853 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poly.2015.02.007"
- Description: The reaction of Zn(OAc)2 and C6H5COOH or 3,5-NO2-C6H3COOH with 3-ferrocenylpyrazolyl-methylenepyridine (L1), 3-ferrocenyl-5-methylpyrazolyl-methylenepyridine (L2), 3-ferrocenylpyrazolyl-ethylamine (L3) and 3-ferrocenyl-5-pyrazolyl-ethylamine (L4) afford the corresponding complexes [Zn(C6H5COO)2(L1)] (1), [Zn(C6H5COO)2(L2)] (2), [Zn(3,5-NO2-C6H3COO)2(L1)] (3), [Zn(3,5-NO2-C6H3 COO)2(L2)] (4), [Zn(C6H5COO)2(L3)] (5), [Zn(C6H5COO)2(L4)] (6), [Zn(3,5-NO2-C6H3COO)2(L3)] (7) and [Zn(3,5-NO2-C6H3COO)2(L4)] (8). These complexes behave as catalysts for the ring opening polymerization of e-caprolactone to produce polymers with molecular weight that range from 1480 to 7080 g mol1 and exhibited moderate to broad PDIs. Evidence of these complexes acting as catalysts was obtained from both the polymerization data and kinetic studies. The polymerization data show that variation of the [CL]/[C] from 100 to 800 produced PCL with relatively the same molecular weight indicative of a catalyst behavior. The appearance of induction period in kinetic plots strengthens the fact that these complexes are catalysts rather than initiators. MALDI-TOF MS and 1 H NMR data show di-hydroxy end groups, which support the coordination mechanism rather than insertion mechanism. To understand the broad PDIs obtained for some of the polymer, the electronic properties of the zinc complexes were investigated using cyclic voltammetry. The results show that the zinc complexes containing amine based ligands are highly electrophilic therefore making them unstable, hence the broad PDIs observed for zinc complexes containing amine based ligands. Among the eight complexes investigated, complex 7 is the most active catalyst with kp value of 1.18 107 h1 mol1 at 110 C.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Representation of the twentieth century socio-economic and political history of Red Location New Brighton (Port Elizabeth) 1903-1963
- Authors: Maliza, Nokuzola Thozama
- Date: 2012-01
- Subjects: History -- Economic conditions , World politics -- South Africa , Squatter settlements -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/26415 , vital:65306
- Description: This study sets out to recapture the rich history and diverse culture of Red Location, New Brighton. Port Elizabeth. It explains the reasons for the establishment of Red Location in 1903, and goes on to look at the Economic and Social life of the Community. Two chapters are then devoted to political struggles in Red Location and New Brighton, long regarded as one of the most militant African townships in the apartheid era. Finally, we look at the way in which Red Location has been represented in the substantial Red Location Museum project, and the extent to which the Museum reflects the historical reality. , Thesis (MHIS) -- Faculty of Humanities, 2012
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012-01
- Authors: Maliza, Nokuzola Thozama
- Date: 2012-01
- Subjects: History -- Economic conditions , World politics -- South Africa , Squatter settlements -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/26415 , vital:65306
- Description: This study sets out to recapture the rich history and diverse culture of Red Location, New Brighton. Port Elizabeth. It explains the reasons for the establishment of Red Location in 1903, and goes on to look at the Economic and Social life of the Community. Two chapters are then devoted to political struggles in Red Location and New Brighton, long regarded as one of the most militant African townships in the apartheid era. Finally, we look at the way in which Red Location has been represented in the substantial Red Location Museum project, and the extent to which the Museum reflects the historical reality. , Thesis (MHIS) -- Faculty of Humanities, 2012
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012-01
Electrocatalytic oxidation of cysteine by molybdenum (V) phthalocyanine complexes
- Mafatle, Tsukutlane J, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Mafatle, Tsukutlane J , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/293369 , vital:57079 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0728(95)04519-8"
- Description: Chemically modified electrodes, constructed by incorporating oxomolybdenum(V) phthalocyanine (OMo(V)(OH)Pc, Pc = phthalocyanine dianion) into graphite powder were used to catalyse the oxidation of cysteine. Solution catalysis of cysteine by oxomolybdenum(V) tetrasulfophthalocyanine, [OMo(V)(OH)TSPc]4−, was also investigated. A considerable reduction in overpotential for cysteine oxidation was observed. Cysteine oxidation occurred at 0.26 and 0.28 V vs. Ag/vbAgCl for catalysis by Omo(V)(OH)Pc and [OMo(V)(OH)TSPc]4− respectively as opposed to 0.77 V vs. Ag/vbAgCl observed on CoPc chemically modified electrodes. The anodic peak currents vary linearly with cysteine concentration in the range 0.02 to 0.08 mol dm−3 and 0.008 to 0.02 mol dm−3 for [OMo(V)(OH)TSPc]4− and OMo(V)Pc respectively.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1996
- Authors: Mafatle, Tsukutlane J , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/293369 , vital:57079 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0728(95)04519-8"
- Description: Chemically modified electrodes, constructed by incorporating oxomolybdenum(V) phthalocyanine (OMo(V)(OH)Pc, Pc = phthalocyanine dianion) into graphite powder were used to catalyse the oxidation of cysteine. Solution catalysis of cysteine by oxomolybdenum(V) tetrasulfophthalocyanine, [OMo(V)(OH)TSPc]4−, was also investigated. A considerable reduction in overpotential for cysteine oxidation was observed. Cysteine oxidation occurred at 0.26 and 0.28 V vs. Ag/vbAgCl for catalysis by Omo(V)(OH)Pc and [OMo(V)(OH)TSPc]4− respectively as opposed to 0.77 V vs. Ag/vbAgCl observed on CoPc chemically modified electrodes. The anodic peak currents vary linearly with cysteine concentration in the range 0.02 to 0.08 mol dm−3 and 0.008 to 0.02 mol dm−3 for [OMo(V)(OH)TSPc]4− and OMo(V)Pc respectively.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1996
The role of local economic development in poverty alleviation: a case of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality
- Authors: Mkanyeli, Vuyokazi
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa -- Buffalo City , Poverty -- Economic aspects -- South Africa -- Buffalo City
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/53478 , vital:45157
- Description: The primary purpose of Local Economic Development is centred on the improvement of the quality of life for all. Thus, LED plays a fundamental role in poverty alleviation in communities, if utilised effectively and efficiently. The present study was conducted in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, which is located in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The chosen case study is characterised by high unemployment and poverty. Thus, this study explored the role of LED strategies in alleviating poverty within the municipality. The study adopted a qualitative research methodology with the use of a case study research design. Data was collected through interviews with LED officials within the municipality and analysed through thematic analysis. The study findings showed that in as much as the BCMM is characterised by poverty, it strives to alleviate poverty through employing various LED strategies such as agriculture, tourism, Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises, and the Metro Growth and Development Strategy. The findings also revealed that the municipality is confronted with a myriad of challenges that hinder effective implementation of these strategies. If the strategies are effectively implemented, the study participants argued that it will result in job creation, income generation and skills development. The challenges include limited resources, lack of investments, lack of skilled personnel and lack of connectivity. The study recommends infrastructure development, establishment of mechanisms to attract investments and focusing more on building capabilities. The municipality should also implement more LED strategies as well as engage in more partnerships. This will ensure poverty alleviation within the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality. , Thesis (MPA) -- Faculty of Humanities, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-04
- Authors: Mkanyeli, Vuyokazi
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa -- Buffalo City , Poverty -- Economic aspects -- South Africa -- Buffalo City
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/53478 , vital:45157
- Description: The primary purpose of Local Economic Development is centred on the improvement of the quality of life for all. Thus, LED plays a fundamental role in poverty alleviation in communities, if utilised effectively and efficiently. The present study was conducted in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, which is located in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The chosen case study is characterised by high unemployment and poverty. Thus, this study explored the role of LED strategies in alleviating poverty within the municipality. The study adopted a qualitative research methodology with the use of a case study research design. Data was collected through interviews with LED officials within the municipality and analysed through thematic analysis. The study findings showed that in as much as the BCMM is characterised by poverty, it strives to alleviate poverty through employing various LED strategies such as agriculture, tourism, Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises, and the Metro Growth and Development Strategy. The findings also revealed that the municipality is confronted with a myriad of challenges that hinder effective implementation of these strategies. If the strategies are effectively implemented, the study participants argued that it will result in job creation, income generation and skills development. The challenges include limited resources, lack of investments, lack of skilled personnel and lack of connectivity. The study recommends infrastructure development, establishment of mechanisms to attract investments and focusing more on building capabilities. The municipality should also implement more LED strategies as well as engage in more partnerships. This will ensure poverty alleviation within the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality. , Thesis (MPA) -- Faculty of Humanities, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-04
Perceptions of mental illness among the residents of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa: The influence of culture and religion on their coping strategies.: subtitle if needed. If no subtitle follow instructions in manual
- Authors: Sikrweqe, Odwa
- Date: 2023-04
- Subjects: Mental illness , Mental illness--Religious aspects , Mental illness-- Culture aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/60445 , vital:65507
- Description: Mental illness has become a global concern, with consequences that may result in a mental health pandemic. Studies conducted on mental illness suggest that religious and cultural beliefs not only affect the expression of mental illness, but also the diagnosis and treatment of mental conditions. South Africa is a country imbued with cultural and religious diversity, which creates different groupings of people, holding diverse beliefs regarding mental illness. In many contexts, supernatural beliefs, traditional healing and indigenous medicines and treatments are considered in the treatment of the symptoms associated with mental illnesses, especially on contexts where there is a reliance on religio-cultural beliefs. Even though there has been a significant increase in the contribution to research focusing on mental health in diverse contexts, much of this research has focused on subjective experiences. Little to no information is available on population-based studies in South Africa regarding mental illness in diverse contexts, thus limiting the generalisation of findings related to cultural and religious influences on mental illness. This dearth of information further limits the development of psychological interventions. The study aimed to explore how mental illness is perceived by the participants and thereafter explored the influence of culture and religion in coping with mental illness by the residents of the Eastern Cape. The study was quantitative in nature and adopted an exploratory-descriptive design. The researcher made use of a questionnaire as a research tool and QuestionPro was utilized as a platform. A convenience sampling technique was utilised. In ensuring rigour of the study, the researcher ensured maximal validity (accurate representation of the data) and reliability (ability to repeat the research procedure). Ethical principles have been adhered to as per the principles on the Belmont Report, to ensure safety of the participants and this includes anonymity, confidentiality and the right to withdraw from participation in the study. Data has been analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A sample size of 101 participants from the general population of residents of the Eastern Cape completed the online survey. The results of the study revealed that the residents of the Eastern Cape have substantial knowledge pertaining the cause of mental illness and indicated both positive and negative attitudes towards the mentally ill and possess coping strategies to deal with a mental illness. In addition, the results show that there is a relation between religion/culture and coping with a mental illness by the participants of the study. The findings of this study emphasize the necessity of public education efforts that understand and respect people's cultural diversity, as well as teamwork among traditional and medical professionals. Future studies should focus on the use of discourse analysis to better investigate indigenous groups' conceptions of mental illness and their views about its aetiology and treatment. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Behavioural Science, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-04
- Authors: Sikrweqe, Odwa
- Date: 2023-04
- Subjects: Mental illness , Mental illness--Religious aspects , Mental illness-- Culture aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/60445 , vital:65507
- Description: Mental illness has become a global concern, with consequences that may result in a mental health pandemic. Studies conducted on mental illness suggest that religious and cultural beliefs not only affect the expression of mental illness, but also the diagnosis and treatment of mental conditions. South Africa is a country imbued with cultural and religious diversity, which creates different groupings of people, holding diverse beliefs regarding mental illness. In many contexts, supernatural beliefs, traditional healing and indigenous medicines and treatments are considered in the treatment of the symptoms associated with mental illnesses, especially on contexts where there is a reliance on religio-cultural beliefs. Even though there has been a significant increase in the contribution to research focusing on mental health in diverse contexts, much of this research has focused on subjective experiences. Little to no information is available on population-based studies in South Africa regarding mental illness in diverse contexts, thus limiting the generalisation of findings related to cultural and religious influences on mental illness. This dearth of information further limits the development of psychological interventions. The study aimed to explore how mental illness is perceived by the participants and thereafter explored the influence of culture and religion in coping with mental illness by the residents of the Eastern Cape. The study was quantitative in nature and adopted an exploratory-descriptive design. The researcher made use of a questionnaire as a research tool and QuestionPro was utilized as a platform. A convenience sampling technique was utilised. In ensuring rigour of the study, the researcher ensured maximal validity (accurate representation of the data) and reliability (ability to repeat the research procedure). Ethical principles have been adhered to as per the principles on the Belmont Report, to ensure safety of the participants and this includes anonymity, confidentiality and the right to withdraw from participation in the study. Data has been analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A sample size of 101 participants from the general population of residents of the Eastern Cape completed the online survey. The results of the study revealed that the residents of the Eastern Cape have substantial knowledge pertaining the cause of mental illness and indicated both positive and negative attitudes towards the mentally ill and possess coping strategies to deal with a mental illness. In addition, the results show that there is a relation between religion/culture and coping with a mental illness by the participants of the study. The findings of this study emphasize the necessity of public education efforts that understand and respect people's cultural diversity, as well as teamwork among traditional and medical professionals. Future studies should focus on the use of discourse analysis to better investigate indigenous groups' conceptions of mental illness and their views about its aetiology and treatment. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Behavioural Science, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-04
Computational analysis of known drug resistant mutants of Plasmodium falciparum Dihydrofolate Reductase (PfDHFR) and screening for novel antifolates against the enzyme
- Authors: Tata, Rolland Bantar
- Date: 2022-04-08
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/234184 , vital:50170
- Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-04-08
- Authors: Tata, Rolland Bantar
- Date: 2022-04-08
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/234184 , vital:50170
- Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-04-08
Effect of doping vs covalent linking of a low symmetry zinc phthalocyanine to silica nanoparticles on singlet oxygen production
- Peteni, Siwaphiwe, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Peteni, Siwaphiwe , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/187873 , vital:44705 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ica.2018.06.029"
- Description: Tris[(4-(pyridin-4-ylthio)-2-thio-4-methylthiazol-5-yl)acetic acid phthalocyaninato] zinc (II) (3) was covalently linked to and doped onto SiNPs. An increase in triplet quantum yields for 3-SiNPs (linked) with decreasing lifetimes was observed. For 3-SiNPs (doped) there was a decrease in both the triplet quantum yield and lifetimes when compared to 3 alone. There was an increase in singlet oxygen quantum yields for 3-SiNPs (linked) compared to 3 from 0.67 to 0.80, while there was a decrease for 3-SiNPs (doped) to 0.25.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Peteni, Siwaphiwe , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/187873 , vital:44705 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ica.2018.06.029"
- Description: Tris[(4-(pyridin-4-ylthio)-2-thio-4-methylthiazol-5-yl)acetic acid phthalocyaninato] zinc (II) (3) was covalently linked to and doped onto SiNPs. An increase in triplet quantum yields for 3-SiNPs (linked) with decreasing lifetimes was observed. For 3-SiNPs (doped) there was a decrease in both the triplet quantum yield and lifetimes when compared to 3 alone. There was an increase in singlet oxygen quantum yields for 3-SiNPs (linked) compared to 3 from 0.67 to 0.80, while there was a decrease for 3-SiNPs (doped) to 0.25.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Identification of novel compounds against Plasmodium falciparum Cytochrome bc1 Complex inhibiting the trans-membrane electron transfer pathway: an In Silico study
- Authors: Chebon, Lorna Jemosop
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Malaria , Plasmodium falciparum , Molecular dynamics , Antimalarials , Molecules Models , Docking , Cytochromes , Drug resistance , Computer simulation , Drugs Computer-aided design , System analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/365666 , vital:65774 , DOI https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/365666
- Description: Malaria continues to be a burden globally with a myriad of challenges deterring eradication efforts. With most antimalarials facing drug resistance, such as atovaquone (ATQ), alternative compounds that can withstand resistance are warranted. The Plasmodium falciparum cytochrome b (PfCytb), a subunit of P. falciparum cytochrome bc1 complex, is a validated drug target. Structurally, cytochrome b, cytochrome c1, and iron sulphur protein (ISP) subunits form the catalytic domain of the protein complex having heme bL, heme bH and iron-sulphur [2FE-2S] cluster cofactors. These cofactos have redox centres to aid in the electron transfer (ET) process. These subunits promote ET mainly through the enzyme’s ubiquinol oxidation (Qo) and ubiquinone reduction (Qi) processes in the catalytic domain. ATQ drug has been used in the prevention and treatment of uncomplicated malaria by targeting PfCytb protein. Once the mitochondrial transmembrane ET pathway is inhibited, it causes a collapse in its membrane potential. Previously reported ATQ drug resistance has been associated with the point mutations Y268C, Y268N and Y268S. Thus, in finding alternatives to the ATQ drug, this research aimed to: i) employ in silico approaches incorporating protein into phospholipid bilayer for the first time to understand the parasites’ resistance mechanism; ii) determine any sequence and structural differences that could be explored in drug design studies; and iii) screen for PfCytb-iron sulphur protein (Cytb-ISP) hit compounds from South African natural compound database (SANCDB) and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) that can withstand the identified mutations. Using computational tools, comparative sequence and structural analyses were performed on the cytochrome b protein, where the ultimate focus was on P. falciparum cytochrome b and its human homolog. Through multiple sequence alignment, motif discovery and phylogeny, differences between P. falciparum and H. sapiens cytochrome b were identified. Protein modelling of both P. falciparum and H. sapiens cytochrome b - iron sulphur protein (PfCytb-ISP and HsCytb-ISP) was performed. Results showed that at the sequence level, there were few amino acid residue differences because the protein is highly conserved. Important to note is the four-residue deletion in Plasmodium spp. absent in the human homolog. Motif analysis discovered five unique motifs in P. falciparum cytochrome b protein which were mapped onto the predicted protein model. These motifs were not in regions of functional importance; hence their function is still unknown. At a structural level, the four-residue deletion was observed to alter the Qo substrate binding pocket as reported in previous studies and confirmed in this study. This deletion resulted in a 0.83 Å structural displacement. Also, there are currently no in silico studies that have performed experiments with P. falciparum cytochrome b protein incorporated into a phospholipid bilayer. Using 350 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the holo and ATQ-bound systems, the study highlighted the resistance mechanism of the parasite protein where the loss of active site residue-residue interactions was identified, all linked to the three mutations. The identified compromised interactions are likely to destabilise the protein’s function, specifically in the Qo substrate binding site. This showed the possible effect of mutations on ATQ drug activity, where all three mutations were reported to share a similar resistance mechanism. Thereafter, this research work utilised in silico approaches where both Qo active site and interface pocket were targeted by screening the South African natural compounds database (SANCDB) and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) compounds to identify novel selective hits. SANCDB compounds are known for their structural complexity that preserves the potency of the drug molecule. Both SANCDB and MMV compounds have not been explored as inhibitors against the PfCytb drug target. Molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, principal component, and dynamic residue network (DRN; global and local) analyses were utilised to identify and confirm the potential selective inhibitors. Docking results identified compounds that bound selectively onto PfCytb-ISP with a binding energy ≤ -8.7 kcal/mol-1. Further, this work validated a total of eight potential selective compounds to inhibit PfCytb-ISP protein (Qo active site) not only in the wild-type but also in the presence of the point mutations Y268C, Y268N and Y268S. The selective binding of these hit compounds could be linked to the differences reported at sequence/residue level in chapter 3. DRN and residue contact map analyses of the eight compounds in holo and ligand-bound systems revealed reduced residue interactions and decreased protein communication. This suggests that the eight compounds show the possibility of inhibiting the parasite and disrupting important residue-residue interactions. Additionally, 13 selective compounds were identified to bind at the protein’s heterodimer interface, where global and local analysis confirmed their effect on active site residues (distal location) as well as on the communication network. Based on the sequence differences between PfCytb and the human homolog, these findings suggest these selective compounds as potential allosteric modulators of the parasite enzyme, which may serve as possible replacements of the already resistant ATQ drug. Therefore, these findings pave the way for further in vitro studies to establish their anti-plasmodial inhibition levels. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
- Authors: Chebon, Lorna Jemosop
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Malaria , Plasmodium falciparum , Molecular dynamics , Antimalarials , Molecules Models , Docking , Cytochromes , Drug resistance , Computer simulation , Drugs Computer-aided design , System analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/365666 , vital:65774 , DOI https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/365666
- Description: Malaria continues to be a burden globally with a myriad of challenges deterring eradication efforts. With most antimalarials facing drug resistance, such as atovaquone (ATQ), alternative compounds that can withstand resistance are warranted. The Plasmodium falciparum cytochrome b (PfCytb), a subunit of P. falciparum cytochrome bc1 complex, is a validated drug target. Structurally, cytochrome b, cytochrome c1, and iron sulphur protein (ISP) subunits form the catalytic domain of the protein complex having heme bL, heme bH and iron-sulphur [2FE-2S] cluster cofactors. These cofactos have redox centres to aid in the electron transfer (ET) process. These subunits promote ET mainly through the enzyme’s ubiquinol oxidation (Qo) and ubiquinone reduction (Qi) processes in the catalytic domain. ATQ drug has been used in the prevention and treatment of uncomplicated malaria by targeting PfCytb protein. Once the mitochondrial transmembrane ET pathway is inhibited, it causes a collapse in its membrane potential. Previously reported ATQ drug resistance has been associated with the point mutations Y268C, Y268N and Y268S. Thus, in finding alternatives to the ATQ drug, this research aimed to: i) employ in silico approaches incorporating protein into phospholipid bilayer for the first time to understand the parasites’ resistance mechanism; ii) determine any sequence and structural differences that could be explored in drug design studies; and iii) screen for PfCytb-iron sulphur protein (Cytb-ISP) hit compounds from South African natural compound database (SANCDB) and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) that can withstand the identified mutations. Using computational tools, comparative sequence and structural analyses were performed on the cytochrome b protein, where the ultimate focus was on P. falciparum cytochrome b and its human homolog. Through multiple sequence alignment, motif discovery and phylogeny, differences between P. falciparum and H. sapiens cytochrome b were identified. Protein modelling of both P. falciparum and H. sapiens cytochrome b - iron sulphur protein (PfCytb-ISP and HsCytb-ISP) was performed. Results showed that at the sequence level, there were few amino acid residue differences because the protein is highly conserved. Important to note is the four-residue deletion in Plasmodium spp. absent in the human homolog. Motif analysis discovered five unique motifs in P. falciparum cytochrome b protein which were mapped onto the predicted protein model. These motifs were not in regions of functional importance; hence their function is still unknown. At a structural level, the four-residue deletion was observed to alter the Qo substrate binding pocket as reported in previous studies and confirmed in this study. This deletion resulted in a 0.83 Å structural displacement. Also, there are currently no in silico studies that have performed experiments with P. falciparum cytochrome b protein incorporated into a phospholipid bilayer. Using 350 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the holo and ATQ-bound systems, the study highlighted the resistance mechanism of the parasite protein where the loss of active site residue-residue interactions was identified, all linked to the three mutations. The identified compromised interactions are likely to destabilise the protein’s function, specifically in the Qo substrate binding site. This showed the possible effect of mutations on ATQ drug activity, where all three mutations were reported to share a similar resistance mechanism. Thereafter, this research work utilised in silico approaches where both Qo active site and interface pocket were targeted by screening the South African natural compounds database (SANCDB) and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) compounds to identify novel selective hits. SANCDB compounds are known for their structural complexity that preserves the potency of the drug molecule. Both SANCDB and MMV compounds have not been explored as inhibitors against the PfCytb drug target. Molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, principal component, and dynamic residue network (DRN; global and local) analyses were utilised to identify and confirm the potential selective inhibitors. Docking results identified compounds that bound selectively onto PfCytb-ISP with a binding energy ≤ -8.7 kcal/mol-1. Further, this work validated a total of eight potential selective compounds to inhibit PfCytb-ISP protein (Qo active site) not only in the wild-type but also in the presence of the point mutations Y268C, Y268N and Y268S. The selective binding of these hit compounds could be linked to the differences reported at sequence/residue level in chapter 3. DRN and residue contact map analyses of the eight compounds in holo and ligand-bound systems revealed reduced residue interactions and decreased protein communication. This suggests that the eight compounds show the possibility of inhibiting the parasite and disrupting important residue-residue interactions. Additionally, 13 selective compounds were identified to bind at the protein’s heterodimer interface, where global and local analysis confirmed their effect on active site residues (distal location) as well as on the communication network. Based on the sequence differences between PfCytb and the human homolog, these findings suggest these selective compounds as potential allosteric modulators of the parasite enzyme, which may serve as possible replacements of the already resistant ATQ drug. Therefore, these findings pave the way for further in vitro studies to establish their anti-plasmodial inhibition levels. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
The macroeconomic impact of ocean economy financing in South Africa
- Authors: Matekenya, Weliswa
- Date: 2022-12
- Subjects: Macroeconomics , Maritime –- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral's theses , Thesis
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/60305 , vital:64343
- Description: The global ocean is responsible for providing seafood and employment to the world’s population and is the key driver of global gross domestic product. The ocean economy (blue economy) has been identified as key to unlocking the growth potential of many economies. It is in this context that both the South African government and the private sector have invested in the ocean economy with the purpose of sustaining it and making it more productive. To this end, the government established the Operation Phakisa programme which is meant to fast-track ocean economy development. In line with operation Phakisa imperatives, the South African government began a series of budget allocations towards the various sectors of the oceans economy. This flow of public funds towards oceans economy sectors was with a view to reduce unemployment, grow the economy, increase trade as well as boost entrepreneurship. It is for this reason that the financing of the ocean economy needs to be assessed in terms of its role in ensuring sustainable economic growth through ocean economy activities. While the ocean economy is becoming a new focal point in the discourse on growth and sustainable development both globally and locally, it remains faced with a series of challenges in South Africa. These include inadequate economic incentives, outdated infrastructure, ineffective governance institutions, lack of technological advances, and insufficient management tools. All of these have led to unregulated competition among users, albeit in the context of extensive opportunities offered by the rising demand for seafood. The specific focus of the study is the macroeconomic impact of ocean economy financing in South Africa during the 1994 to 2019 period. The study employed ARDL to test long and short-run relationships. The results show that ocean economy financing in South Africa during this time to have had a positive effect on economic growth, and a negative relationship on unemployment, although the latter is statically insignificant, while ocean economy financing has a negative relationship with entrepreneurship, to have a positive relationship with total trade, and statistically significant. Based on the findings of the study recommendations are made for the South African government to continue investing in oceans economy marine infrastructure and to address any constraints that hinder the growth and sustainability of the country’s ocean economy. In order to ensure the economic viability of ocean ii economy financing four areas need attention, namely economic growth, entrepreneurship, job creation, and total trade. This study recommends that in order to grow the South African economy, a comprehensive growth strategy that looks beyond ocean economy should be adopted. Regarding entrepreneurship ease of doing business should be improved and all factors inhibiting entrepreneurship should be addressed. The requisite skills through human capital investment should be harnessed and decent and sustainable jobs in the ocean sector should be created. It is a well-known fact that an aggressive drive towards economic growth is not without negative externalities e.g pollutions, unreported, unregulated, and over-exploitation of ocean resources. Ocean governance is vital in preventing such negative externalities. The results of the study show that ocean governance boosts trade and reduces unemployment. , Thesis (PHD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-12
- Authors: Matekenya, Weliswa
- Date: 2022-12
- Subjects: Macroeconomics , Maritime –- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral's theses , Thesis
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/60305 , vital:64343
- Description: The global ocean is responsible for providing seafood and employment to the world’s population and is the key driver of global gross domestic product. The ocean economy (blue economy) has been identified as key to unlocking the growth potential of many economies. It is in this context that both the South African government and the private sector have invested in the ocean economy with the purpose of sustaining it and making it more productive. To this end, the government established the Operation Phakisa programme which is meant to fast-track ocean economy development. In line with operation Phakisa imperatives, the South African government began a series of budget allocations towards the various sectors of the oceans economy. This flow of public funds towards oceans economy sectors was with a view to reduce unemployment, grow the economy, increase trade as well as boost entrepreneurship. It is for this reason that the financing of the ocean economy needs to be assessed in terms of its role in ensuring sustainable economic growth through ocean economy activities. While the ocean economy is becoming a new focal point in the discourse on growth and sustainable development both globally and locally, it remains faced with a series of challenges in South Africa. These include inadequate economic incentives, outdated infrastructure, ineffective governance institutions, lack of technological advances, and insufficient management tools. All of these have led to unregulated competition among users, albeit in the context of extensive opportunities offered by the rising demand for seafood. The specific focus of the study is the macroeconomic impact of ocean economy financing in South Africa during the 1994 to 2019 period. The study employed ARDL to test long and short-run relationships. The results show that ocean economy financing in South Africa during this time to have had a positive effect on economic growth, and a negative relationship on unemployment, although the latter is statically insignificant, while ocean economy financing has a negative relationship with entrepreneurship, to have a positive relationship with total trade, and statistically significant. Based on the findings of the study recommendations are made for the South African government to continue investing in oceans economy marine infrastructure and to address any constraints that hinder the growth and sustainability of the country’s ocean economy. In order to ensure the economic viability of ocean ii economy financing four areas need attention, namely economic growth, entrepreneurship, job creation, and total trade. This study recommends that in order to grow the South African economy, a comprehensive growth strategy that looks beyond ocean economy should be adopted. Regarding entrepreneurship ease of doing business should be improved and all factors inhibiting entrepreneurship should be addressed. The requisite skills through human capital investment should be harnessed and decent and sustainable jobs in the ocean sector should be created. It is a well-known fact that an aggressive drive towards economic growth is not without negative externalities e.g pollutions, unreported, unregulated, and over-exploitation of ocean resources. Ocean governance is vital in preventing such negative externalities. The results of the study show that ocean governance boosts trade and reduces unemployment. , Thesis (PHD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-12
Perceptions of blended learning by academic staff in the Health Sciences Faculty at Nelson Mandela University
- Authors: Barry, Janet
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Blended learning -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality -- Faculty , Medical sciences -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality -- Faculty
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/50999 , vital:43199
- Description: Numerous studies have investigated the use of blended learning by academic staff at tertiary institutions. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of blended learning by academic staff at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Nelson Mandela University. A related objective was to identify barriers and facilitators to the adoption of blended learning by academic staff. A sequential, exploratory mixed-methods design was adopted for this study whereby Phase 1 (focus groups) was used to inform Phase 2 (questionnaire) of the study. Results were analysed from both phases and organised according to strategies, support, and structure of a blended learning adoption framework. Existing support structures to assist with blended learning adoption, understanding of what blended learning is, confidence in using blended learning tools, and time to attend training were some of the findings of the study. The researcher concluded that academic staff in the Health Sciences Faculty at Nelson Mandela University are positioned in the second stage of the blended learning adoption framework, namely the early adoption stage of blended learning. These findings imply that existing strategies and support within the Faculty and the University need to be further developed, and structures put into place to move to an advanced stage of adoption of blended learning by academic staff in Health Sciences Faculty of Nelson Mandela University. , Thesis (MPharm) -- Faculty of Health Sciences, Pharmacy, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-04
- Authors: Barry, Janet
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Blended learning -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality -- Faculty , Medical sciences -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality -- Faculty
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/50999 , vital:43199
- Description: Numerous studies have investigated the use of blended learning by academic staff at tertiary institutions. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of blended learning by academic staff at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Nelson Mandela University. A related objective was to identify barriers and facilitators to the adoption of blended learning by academic staff. A sequential, exploratory mixed-methods design was adopted for this study whereby Phase 1 (focus groups) was used to inform Phase 2 (questionnaire) of the study. Results were analysed from both phases and organised according to strategies, support, and structure of a blended learning adoption framework. Existing support structures to assist with blended learning adoption, understanding of what blended learning is, confidence in using blended learning tools, and time to attend training were some of the findings of the study. The researcher concluded that academic staff in the Health Sciences Faculty at Nelson Mandela University are positioned in the second stage of the blended learning adoption framework, namely the early adoption stage of blended learning. These findings imply that existing strategies and support within the Faculty and the University need to be further developed, and structures put into place to move to an advanced stage of adoption of blended learning by academic staff in Health Sciences Faculty of Nelson Mandela University. , Thesis (MPharm) -- Faculty of Health Sciences, Pharmacy, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-04
The importance of learning agility as a component of sustained business success
- Authors: Hennig, Mark Robert
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Success in business -- South Africa , Management -- South Africa , Experiential learning
- Language: English
- Type: Master's/Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/51523 , vital:43295
- Description: The purpose of this treatise is to determine if learning agility is an important component for business success. With the arrival of new technology, change and information explosion the rate of uncertainty is increasing. Leaders are challenged to present continuous change and need to be able to adapt and develop their competencies to remain relevant. The VUCA world increased the complexity of the environment and provide volatility, uncertainty, complexity and are ambiguous. A significant amount of research has been done to define learning agility. The three drivers of learning agility are change, information explosion and rapid response during a crisis. The concept of learning agility can be defined as the readiness and ability to learn from experience and to utilise the learning competency to perform successfully under new environments. The seven-model framework was developed to assess how leaders cope under change. The three leadership competencies are intellectual intelligence, managerial intelligence, and emotional intelligence. Studies shows that emotional intelligence will be an important competency a leader can have and together with learning agility, will provide success to any organisation. The researcher believes that an individual who is not learning agile will not succeed in the new fast-changing environment. The term learning agile is rather a new concept and the influence it has on the organisation is complex. For leaders to succeed, their mindset needs to be adaptable and willing to change. Training and learning from experience will assist the leader to move forward and be an agile leader. A key success factor for organisations is to identify and recruit learning agile individuals to drive competitiveness and enhance relevance in the market. , Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, Business Administration, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-04
- Authors: Hennig, Mark Robert
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Success in business -- South Africa , Management -- South Africa , Experiential learning
- Language: English
- Type: Master's/Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/51523 , vital:43295
- Description: The purpose of this treatise is to determine if learning agility is an important component for business success. With the arrival of new technology, change and information explosion the rate of uncertainty is increasing. Leaders are challenged to present continuous change and need to be able to adapt and develop their competencies to remain relevant. The VUCA world increased the complexity of the environment and provide volatility, uncertainty, complexity and are ambiguous. A significant amount of research has been done to define learning agility. The three drivers of learning agility are change, information explosion and rapid response during a crisis. The concept of learning agility can be defined as the readiness and ability to learn from experience and to utilise the learning competency to perform successfully under new environments. The seven-model framework was developed to assess how leaders cope under change. The three leadership competencies are intellectual intelligence, managerial intelligence, and emotional intelligence. Studies shows that emotional intelligence will be an important competency a leader can have and together with learning agility, will provide success to any organisation. The researcher believes that an individual who is not learning agile will not succeed in the new fast-changing environment. The term learning agile is rather a new concept and the influence it has on the organisation is complex. For leaders to succeed, their mindset needs to be adaptable and willing to change. Training and learning from experience will assist the leader to move forward and be an agile leader. A key success factor for organisations is to identify and recruit learning agile individuals to drive competitiveness and enhance relevance in the market. , Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, Business Administration, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-04
Cultural and social factors affecting crop production at Gqumahashe and Melani, Alice District
- Komanisi, Mzwandile Paul 0000-0003-0866-666X
- Authors: Komanisi, Mzwandile Paul 0000-0003-0866-666X
- Date: 2016-06
- Subjects: Sharecropping , Food crops
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23023 , vital:55001
- Description: Over the years, sharecropping and work-parties have been seen as variables that maintain social cohesion among people and maximize agricultural production. This study seeks to validate the authenticity of this assertion in the context of two neighbouring villages. Although there are other variables that affect crop production in the study areas, Lower Gqumahashe and Melani, in the light of time constraints and the insignificant impact of these variables, the study focused only on sharecropping and work-parties. The study adopted empirical research design. The researcher realised that empirical research design would offer him an opportunity for intense or prolonged contact with informants in order to have a holistic picture of their behaviour. The researcher did not choose theoretical research design because it would not allow him to have an extensive interaction with informants since it relies on secondary data. The findings of the study suggest that sharecropping and work parties are the main variables that hinder the rate of crop production in the study areas. However, there are other secondary variables hindering crop production but they have insignificant impact. These are clan and kinship relations, political structure, religion and social identity. This study concludes that although local informants were in favour of sharecropping and work-parties in the past, they have discontinued them due to exploitation and hoodwinking. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, 2016
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016-06
- Authors: Komanisi, Mzwandile Paul 0000-0003-0866-666X
- Date: 2016-06
- Subjects: Sharecropping , Food crops
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23023 , vital:55001
- Description: Over the years, sharecropping and work-parties have been seen as variables that maintain social cohesion among people and maximize agricultural production. This study seeks to validate the authenticity of this assertion in the context of two neighbouring villages. Although there are other variables that affect crop production in the study areas, Lower Gqumahashe and Melani, in the light of time constraints and the insignificant impact of these variables, the study focused only on sharecropping and work-parties. The study adopted empirical research design. The researcher realised that empirical research design would offer him an opportunity for intense or prolonged contact with informants in order to have a holistic picture of their behaviour. The researcher did not choose theoretical research design because it would not allow him to have an extensive interaction with informants since it relies on secondary data. The findings of the study suggest that sharecropping and work parties are the main variables that hinder the rate of crop production in the study areas. However, there are other secondary variables hindering crop production but they have insignificant impact. These are clan and kinship relations, political structure, religion and social identity. This study concludes that although local informants were in favour of sharecropping and work-parties in the past, they have discontinued them due to exploitation and hoodwinking. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, 2016
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016-06
Parents and personnel’s partnership in early childhood education provisioning in the East London Education District
- Mudziwapasi, Lilymore https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7978-8499
- Authors: Mudziwapasi, Lilymore https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7978-8499
- Date: 2022-02
- Subjects: Education, Preschool -- Parent participation , Education, Preschool
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21700 , vital:51743
- Description: Early childhood development is fundamental to human development and success in later life. Several stakeholders influence that development. Developmental policies are advocating for formal education provision at that early childhood age. Therefore, relationships and interactions of these stakeholders are of paramount importance in ensuring effective early childhood education provisioning – especially between parents and practitioners. Yet it has been reported that sharing of information concerning children’s educational development is not happening between parents and ECD practitioners. ECD centres are said to face many problems such as poor teaching and learning which may result in weak childhood educational development. Some of these challenges can be addressed through enhancing the partnership between parents and the ECD practitioners. The purpose of this study was therefore to explore the parents and practitioners’ partnership in early childhood education provisioning in ECD centres in the East London district. This study used the mixed method approach in the sampling, data collection and data analysis processes. The study focused on the partnership between parents and ECD practitioners, on how they work together, their views, how they communicate, on decision making and the strategies to enhance the partnership of parents and practitioners. Research questions in this study required both qualitative and quantitative data and analysis techniques. Quantitative data was collected from the ECD practitioners and principals by using questionnaires and qualitative data was collected through interviews with the parents. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS and qualitative data was analysed using the thematic approach. The findings indicated that both parents and practitioners are working together in supporting learning and development. Parents are said to provide resources for use at the centre. Parents and practitioners are using different modes of communication for the learning and development of the children, including technology-based WhatsApp and emails. Practitioners are said to include parents in some decision making. The results indicated that even though some parents are working together with practitioners, while other parents are still showing ignorance and lack of knowledge on how they can partner for the educational development of the children. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-02
- Authors: Mudziwapasi, Lilymore https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7978-8499
- Date: 2022-02
- Subjects: Education, Preschool -- Parent participation , Education, Preschool
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21700 , vital:51743
- Description: Early childhood development is fundamental to human development and success in later life. Several stakeholders influence that development. Developmental policies are advocating for formal education provision at that early childhood age. Therefore, relationships and interactions of these stakeholders are of paramount importance in ensuring effective early childhood education provisioning – especially between parents and practitioners. Yet it has been reported that sharing of information concerning children’s educational development is not happening between parents and ECD practitioners. ECD centres are said to face many problems such as poor teaching and learning which may result in weak childhood educational development. Some of these challenges can be addressed through enhancing the partnership between parents and the ECD practitioners. The purpose of this study was therefore to explore the parents and practitioners’ partnership in early childhood education provisioning in ECD centres in the East London district. This study used the mixed method approach in the sampling, data collection and data analysis processes. The study focused on the partnership between parents and ECD practitioners, on how they work together, their views, how they communicate, on decision making and the strategies to enhance the partnership of parents and practitioners. Research questions in this study required both qualitative and quantitative data and analysis techniques. Quantitative data was collected from the ECD practitioners and principals by using questionnaires and qualitative data was collected through interviews with the parents. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS and qualitative data was analysed using the thematic approach. The findings indicated that both parents and practitioners are working together in supporting learning and development. Parents are said to provide resources for use at the centre. Parents and practitioners are using different modes of communication for the learning and development of the children, including technology-based WhatsApp and emails. Practitioners are said to include parents in some decision making. The results indicated that even though some parents are working together with practitioners, while other parents are still showing ignorance and lack of knowledge on how they can partner for the educational development of the children. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-02
Improving governance and service delivery in Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality: a quest for a clean audit opinion
- Ntsundwana, Kanyisa Zime Dadewabobonke
- Authors: Ntsundwana, Kanyisa Zime Dadewabobonke
- Date: 2022-12
- Subjects: Service delivery -- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality -- Port Elizabeth , Municipal finance--Auditing--Law and legislation
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59644 , vital:62297
- Description: The purpose of the study was to investigate how Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (NMBMM) can improve its governance and service delivery to obtain a clean audit outcome. In addition, the study explored the role of auditing in the functioning and performance of municipalities. NMBMM public officials and political office-bearers are expected in terms of Chapter 7 of the Constitution of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 to promote the general welfare of the community by meeting its needs, expectations and demands. The qualitative (non-empirical) research methodology followed in the study was based on a desktop approach. The annual documents reviewed to answer the research objectives were the Consolidated General Reports on the Local Government Audit Outcome and the Reports of the Auditor-General to the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature and the council on the NMBMM and its municipal entity for the financial period 2015/2016 to 2019/2020. The problem was that the NMBMM did not obtain a clean audit opinion during this period. The study findings indicated that the main contributing factors that prevented the NMBMM from improving governance, service delivery and obtaining a clean audit outcome were as follows: poor management of accounting practices (financial management); inadequate financial statements and performance reports; a lack of adherence to predetermined objectives and legislation; and unauthorised, fruitless, wasteful and irregular expenditure. To attain a clean audit outcome, NMBMM municipal officials and political officebearers need to perform their mandated duties diligently and overcome the challenges that have barred them from obtaining an unqualified audit opinion. Such an endeavour would be consistent with the Operation Clean Audit (OPCA) campaign, which was introduced by the former Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sicelo Shiceka, in 2009. In other words, the NMBMM must improve its governance and service delivery because a municipality without good governance lacks accountability, which has a direct negative impact on the delivery of services to its communities. Hence, it is recommended inter alia that the NMBMM seeks advice from iii the Auditor-General on strategies to improve its audit outcomes, maintains infrastructure, addresses criminal activities and improves its internal controls. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Governmental and Social sciences, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-12
- Authors: Ntsundwana, Kanyisa Zime Dadewabobonke
- Date: 2022-12
- Subjects: Service delivery -- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality -- Port Elizabeth , Municipal finance--Auditing--Law and legislation
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59644 , vital:62297
- Description: The purpose of the study was to investigate how Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (NMBMM) can improve its governance and service delivery to obtain a clean audit outcome. In addition, the study explored the role of auditing in the functioning and performance of municipalities. NMBMM public officials and political office-bearers are expected in terms of Chapter 7 of the Constitution of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 to promote the general welfare of the community by meeting its needs, expectations and demands. The qualitative (non-empirical) research methodology followed in the study was based on a desktop approach. The annual documents reviewed to answer the research objectives were the Consolidated General Reports on the Local Government Audit Outcome and the Reports of the Auditor-General to the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature and the council on the NMBMM and its municipal entity for the financial period 2015/2016 to 2019/2020. The problem was that the NMBMM did not obtain a clean audit opinion during this period. The study findings indicated that the main contributing factors that prevented the NMBMM from improving governance, service delivery and obtaining a clean audit outcome were as follows: poor management of accounting practices (financial management); inadequate financial statements and performance reports; a lack of adherence to predetermined objectives and legislation; and unauthorised, fruitless, wasteful and irregular expenditure. To attain a clean audit outcome, NMBMM municipal officials and political officebearers need to perform their mandated duties diligently and overcome the challenges that have barred them from obtaining an unqualified audit opinion. Such an endeavour would be consistent with the Operation Clean Audit (OPCA) campaign, which was introduced by the former Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sicelo Shiceka, in 2009. In other words, the NMBMM must improve its governance and service delivery because a municipality without good governance lacks accountability, which has a direct negative impact on the delivery of services to its communities. Hence, it is recommended inter alia that the NMBMM seeks advice from iii the Auditor-General on strategies to improve its audit outcomes, maintains infrastructure, addresses criminal activities and improves its internal controls. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Governmental and Social sciences, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-12
Consumerism, authenticity and African communalism
- Smook, E https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4226-6029
- Authors: Smook, E https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4226-6029
- Date: 2022-09
- Subjects: Consumption (Economics) , Authenticity (Philosophy) , Philosophy, African
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23958 , vital:62022
- Description: Let me state, from the outset, that the issues raised below may be considered from various vantage points – Capitalism, Marxism, etc. However, this thesis is an endeavour to account for the loss of authenticity due to the most salient features of the consumer paradigm, which is the manufactured object, the production line and the proliferation of said objects. True relationships, or shall we say authentic dialogue, is based upon a difference of viewpoints – or epistemic distance – between the interlocutors. This difference of opinion, it may be argued, allows for a cognitive jostling between the subjects involved and represents, as it were, the reciprocal back and forth movement of ideas that betokens actively engaged dialogue. Crucial, then, to true, and by extension authentic, relationships is an epistemic distance steeped in variegated, heterogeneous points of view. For it is in sharing the differences in our points of view or interpretations of the world that we may start a dialogue far removed from each other and then sustain said dialogue in an attempt to reconcile our differences. The continuation of the dialogue, then, depends upon difference. Without the latter difference, the conditions of true dialogue, which is also a marker of authentic relationships, the need for sustained debate is forfeited and the dialogue ceases to serve a purpose – for the subjects involved in the intellectual jostling and exchange of ideas may already anticipate the thoughts of the other. In so anticipating the thoughts of the other, what is brought to the fore is not the ideas of the other, and by extension the other’s existence distinct from mine, but rather my own existence and thoughts. Were I and the other to share a constellation of beliefs, I am left with only that which I already believe in and so only with my own thoughts. The other’s differing opinion is crucial to their appearing to me as an element discreet and distinct from me. For if the other’s being is in essence of the same ilk as mine – and with that I mean if the other’s points of view and adopted systems of praxis mirror mine – we are like trees in a forest. The existence of collective nouns attests to this latter remark; we are prone to see the forest, not the similar trees that constitute it. Now the question arises as to the constitution of the self; what is it that makes up the character and nature of a person and how, if at all, may subjects be said to differ epistemically? According to Sartre, the ego is a transcendent object for consciousness, meaning that it exists out there in the world just like other objects. This is the case because consciousness is essentially empty. Recall Sartre’s famous claim that existence precedes essence, which in turn means that consciousness, or the ego, is filled up inchmeal with contents outside itself. In other words, that with which we are engaged constitutes the contents of consciousness. Repeated exposure to certain objects, or phenomena, brings about the cultivation of states and qualities – these, as it were, constituting the ego in the end. Moreover, these states and qualities, as arisen from repeated exposure to like phenomena, will instil in the subject a certain proclivity for a certain manner of action under specific conditions. As such, having been presented with something disagreeable many times over, a state of repulsion might gain a foothold in my ego regarding the phenomenon in question. This in turn will dictate how I act in the presence of said phenomenon or any other phenomena that include, adumbrationally, some of the qualities of the original phenomenon. As such, then, my actions are reflections of the states that I experience in the presence of certain objects or phenomena and, it may be argued, reflexively represent the world around me as that which constitutes my ego. The facticity of the world, then, has a great bearing upon the manner in which I perceive and engage the world. However, claims Sartre, facticity is but one side of the coin. The world and its meaning are constituted by what Sartre calls brute meaning. This refers to the fact that meaning is a matter of public opinion and does not precede the phenomenon or object itself – the latter being, in essence, but a bare, pliable, monstrous mass of being-in-itself. Due to this occurrence of meaning being man made, we are in a unique position of freedom. We are, he further claims, capable of transcending these brute meanings, enabling us to avail ourselves of the objects or phenomena in question in a bespoke manner. Freedom to choose how we interact with and interpret the world is thus the ontological ground of choice. We have, on the one side, the world in its undifferentiated state – being-in-itself – and on the other the possibility to give this world a specific meaning in accordance with our intentions – being-for-itself. Freedom to choose, so construed, thus ontologically underlies the very fabric of our existence, hence the claim that we are condemned to be free. Choosing whether to continue along the path set out by our original factual condition or to transcend it and make of it something different altogether is thus not a choice at all, but the obligatory condition of the human condition. Once again, this is the case because consciousness, as per Sartre, is empty to start with and can only be filled with the contents of phenomena or objects in accordance with our intentional engagement of them. However, Sartre continues, this freedom of meaning and the fact that brute existents represent nothing more than the convergence of publicly ascribed meaning awaken in the subject a certain nausea – a nausea born of the fact that we, the people, are at every junction in a position where we have to choose the meaning of life. Determinism, thusly, does not exist and we are not only free to choose the meanings of our own lives, but are responsible for what our lives become. This realisation proves to be too much for most to stomach and leads them along a specific path of choice: over-identification with either their factual realities or with the possibility to transcend the latter. Either way, what they aim to achieve with this overidentification is the suppression of the nauseating reality that reality is nought but what we make it to be and we are thus responsible for what it becomes. Sartre calls this bad faith. Pandering to this proclivity towards bad faith, or alternatively, the propensity for overidentification with either side on the facticity/transcendence dichotomy, we find consumerism. The consumer paradigm delineates happiness as an objective ideal, attainable through the acquisition of specific markers of demonstrable happiness. At the same time, it also provides an answer to the nauseating reality that we, humans, are never fully determined beings, but find ourselves vacillating between our factual constraints and our transcendences thereof. It offers us the crystalised means of becoming this or that individual by way of populating our immediate and personal surroundings with signifiers of happiness. Considering, moreover, that a liberalist conception of human being clearly indicates that individuation of each subject is an important aspect of existence, authenticity in terms of rights emerge as a corollary of said individuation. Each individual, so construed, is given the opportunity, the right, to acquire said markers of happiness and individuation. Obtaining these, it may be argued, allows the individual two things: firstly, to quell the nausea that haunts our dualistic lives by concretising it altogether and so doing highlighting the factual side of things; and secondly, to become discreet and individuated subjects, authentic in their beings. However, the authenticity so begotten provides nought but a thin veneer of idiosyncrasy, as the markers of said authenticity are publicly available and so the same for everyone. The problem, thus, of self-individuation is resolved by providing the subject the means of over-identification with their factual realities whilst convincing them, the consumers, that the objects on offer will afford them a degree of happiness and set them apart from their fellow subjects. The unfortunate upshot of this is that subjects all avail themselves of the same set of objects in an attempt to quell the nausea that besets the individual plunged into an undifferentiated existence. We are here at the heart of the matter. Due to the proliferation of like objects throughout the life-world, a specific system of praxis is implied. So as to navigate the life-world and utilise the similar objects that populate it, consumers are driven towards shared ideologies and courses of action. Moreover, their intentions also converge, as they all seek to establish a web of objects around them that would bespeak their individuation and happiness. Where the life-world has become such a homogeneous landscape, it may be argued, in line with Sartrean thought, that the contents of consciousness would also be similar for all. And where the contents of consciousness is similar for all, we may argue that reasoning would be similar for all. It is at this point that dialogue breaks down, for there is nothing epistemically to separate interlocutors and therefore no differences of opinion to sustain true dialogue. If, as it was reasoned some pages prior, it is the case that sustained dialogue provides the predicate upon which authentic relationships are to be based, the collapse of this epistemic distance between consumers must then also lead to a collapse of authentic relationships. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-09
- Authors: Smook, E https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4226-6029
- Date: 2022-09
- Subjects: Consumption (Economics) , Authenticity (Philosophy) , Philosophy, African
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23958 , vital:62022
- Description: Let me state, from the outset, that the issues raised below may be considered from various vantage points – Capitalism, Marxism, etc. However, this thesis is an endeavour to account for the loss of authenticity due to the most salient features of the consumer paradigm, which is the manufactured object, the production line and the proliferation of said objects. True relationships, or shall we say authentic dialogue, is based upon a difference of viewpoints – or epistemic distance – between the interlocutors. This difference of opinion, it may be argued, allows for a cognitive jostling between the subjects involved and represents, as it were, the reciprocal back and forth movement of ideas that betokens actively engaged dialogue. Crucial, then, to true, and by extension authentic, relationships is an epistemic distance steeped in variegated, heterogeneous points of view. For it is in sharing the differences in our points of view or interpretations of the world that we may start a dialogue far removed from each other and then sustain said dialogue in an attempt to reconcile our differences. The continuation of the dialogue, then, depends upon difference. Without the latter difference, the conditions of true dialogue, which is also a marker of authentic relationships, the need for sustained debate is forfeited and the dialogue ceases to serve a purpose – for the subjects involved in the intellectual jostling and exchange of ideas may already anticipate the thoughts of the other. In so anticipating the thoughts of the other, what is brought to the fore is not the ideas of the other, and by extension the other’s existence distinct from mine, but rather my own existence and thoughts. Were I and the other to share a constellation of beliefs, I am left with only that which I already believe in and so only with my own thoughts. The other’s differing opinion is crucial to their appearing to me as an element discreet and distinct from me. For if the other’s being is in essence of the same ilk as mine – and with that I mean if the other’s points of view and adopted systems of praxis mirror mine – we are like trees in a forest. The existence of collective nouns attests to this latter remark; we are prone to see the forest, not the similar trees that constitute it. Now the question arises as to the constitution of the self; what is it that makes up the character and nature of a person and how, if at all, may subjects be said to differ epistemically? According to Sartre, the ego is a transcendent object for consciousness, meaning that it exists out there in the world just like other objects. This is the case because consciousness is essentially empty. Recall Sartre’s famous claim that existence precedes essence, which in turn means that consciousness, or the ego, is filled up inchmeal with contents outside itself. In other words, that with which we are engaged constitutes the contents of consciousness. Repeated exposure to certain objects, or phenomena, brings about the cultivation of states and qualities – these, as it were, constituting the ego in the end. Moreover, these states and qualities, as arisen from repeated exposure to like phenomena, will instil in the subject a certain proclivity for a certain manner of action under specific conditions. As such, having been presented with something disagreeable many times over, a state of repulsion might gain a foothold in my ego regarding the phenomenon in question. This in turn will dictate how I act in the presence of said phenomenon or any other phenomena that include, adumbrationally, some of the qualities of the original phenomenon. As such, then, my actions are reflections of the states that I experience in the presence of certain objects or phenomena and, it may be argued, reflexively represent the world around me as that which constitutes my ego. The facticity of the world, then, has a great bearing upon the manner in which I perceive and engage the world. However, claims Sartre, facticity is but one side of the coin. The world and its meaning are constituted by what Sartre calls brute meaning. This refers to the fact that meaning is a matter of public opinion and does not precede the phenomenon or object itself – the latter being, in essence, but a bare, pliable, monstrous mass of being-in-itself. Due to this occurrence of meaning being man made, we are in a unique position of freedom. We are, he further claims, capable of transcending these brute meanings, enabling us to avail ourselves of the objects or phenomena in question in a bespoke manner. Freedom to choose how we interact with and interpret the world is thus the ontological ground of choice. We have, on the one side, the world in its undifferentiated state – being-in-itself – and on the other the possibility to give this world a specific meaning in accordance with our intentions – being-for-itself. Freedom to choose, so construed, thus ontologically underlies the very fabric of our existence, hence the claim that we are condemned to be free. Choosing whether to continue along the path set out by our original factual condition or to transcend it and make of it something different altogether is thus not a choice at all, but the obligatory condition of the human condition. Once again, this is the case because consciousness, as per Sartre, is empty to start with and can only be filled with the contents of phenomena or objects in accordance with our intentional engagement of them. However, Sartre continues, this freedom of meaning and the fact that brute existents represent nothing more than the convergence of publicly ascribed meaning awaken in the subject a certain nausea – a nausea born of the fact that we, the people, are at every junction in a position where we have to choose the meaning of life. Determinism, thusly, does not exist and we are not only free to choose the meanings of our own lives, but are responsible for what our lives become. This realisation proves to be too much for most to stomach and leads them along a specific path of choice: over-identification with either their factual realities or with the possibility to transcend the latter. Either way, what they aim to achieve with this overidentification is the suppression of the nauseating reality that reality is nought but what we make it to be and we are thus responsible for what it becomes. Sartre calls this bad faith. Pandering to this proclivity towards bad faith, or alternatively, the propensity for overidentification with either side on the facticity/transcendence dichotomy, we find consumerism. The consumer paradigm delineates happiness as an objective ideal, attainable through the acquisition of specific markers of demonstrable happiness. At the same time, it also provides an answer to the nauseating reality that we, humans, are never fully determined beings, but find ourselves vacillating between our factual constraints and our transcendences thereof. It offers us the crystalised means of becoming this or that individual by way of populating our immediate and personal surroundings with signifiers of happiness. Considering, moreover, that a liberalist conception of human being clearly indicates that individuation of each subject is an important aspect of existence, authenticity in terms of rights emerge as a corollary of said individuation. Each individual, so construed, is given the opportunity, the right, to acquire said markers of happiness and individuation. Obtaining these, it may be argued, allows the individual two things: firstly, to quell the nausea that haunts our dualistic lives by concretising it altogether and so doing highlighting the factual side of things; and secondly, to become discreet and individuated subjects, authentic in their beings. However, the authenticity so begotten provides nought but a thin veneer of idiosyncrasy, as the markers of said authenticity are publicly available and so the same for everyone. The problem, thus, of self-individuation is resolved by providing the subject the means of over-identification with their factual realities whilst convincing them, the consumers, that the objects on offer will afford them a degree of happiness and set them apart from their fellow subjects. The unfortunate upshot of this is that subjects all avail themselves of the same set of objects in an attempt to quell the nausea that besets the individual plunged into an undifferentiated existence. We are here at the heart of the matter. Due to the proliferation of like objects throughout the life-world, a specific system of praxis is implied. So as to navigate the life-world and utilise the similar objects that populate it, consumers are driven towards shared ideologies and courses of action. Moreover, their intentions also converge, as they all seek to establish a web of objects around them that would bespeak their individuation and happiness. Where the life-world has become such a homogeneous landscape, it may be argued, in line with Sartrean thought, that the contents of consciousness would also be similar for all. And where the contents of consciousness is similar for all, we may argue that reasoning would be similar for all. It is at this point that dialogue breaks down, for there is nothing epistemically to separate interlocutors and therefore no differences of opinion to sustain true dialogue. If, as it was reasoned some pages prior, it is the case that sustained dialogue provides the predicate upon which authentic relationships are to be based, the collapse of this epistemic distance between consumers must then also lead to a collapse of authentic relationships. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-09
The experiences of clinical psychologists in treating traumatic stress at a tertiary psychiatric hospital in the Eastern Cape: A qualitative research study
- Authors: Munishvaran, Kuriesha
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Post-traumatic stress disorder Treatment South Africa Eastern Cape , Secondary traumatic stress Treatment South Africa Eastern Cape , Phenomenological psychology , Clinical psychologists Mental health South Africa Eastern Cape , Psychiatric hospitals South Africa Eastern Cape , Psychiatric hospital patients South Africa Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190271 , vital:44979
- Description: Traumatic encounters are highly prevalent within the South African population. Clinical psychologists working with these trauma narratives, within a psychiatric context, are therefore at risk of experiencing vicarious trauma, Post Traumatic Stress-Disorder (PTSD), and secondary traumatic stress. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of clinical psychologists who treat patients that are either trauma survivors or perpetrators in a psychiatric hospital. Individual semi-structured interviews and follow-up interviews were conducted with three clinical psychologists based at a psychiatric hospital in the Eastern Cape. Data was analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. All participants reported experiencing symptoms of vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress while treating both victims and perpetrators. The findings also discovered an element of danger, as well as socio-political factors that clinical psychologists experience. Participants also reported experiencing vicarious post-traumatic growth, enhanced by their coping strategies, while providing psychological services to traumatised patients. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Munishvaran, Kuriesha
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Post-traumatic stress disorder Treatment South Africa Eastern Cape , Secondary traumatic stress Treatment South Africa Eastern Cape , Phenomenological psychology , Clinical psychologists Mental health South Africa Eastern Cape , Psychiatric hospitals South Africa Eastern Cape , Psychiatric hospital patients South Africa Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190271 , vital:44979
- Description: Traumatic encounters are highly prevalent within the South African population. Clinical psychologists working with these trauma narratives, within a psychiatric context, are therefore at risk of experiencing vicarious trauma, Post Traumatic Stress-Disorder (PTSD), and secondary traumatic stress. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of clinical psychologists who treat patients that are either trauma survivors or perpetrators in a psychiatric hospital. Individual semi-structured interviews and follow-up interviews were conducted with three clinical psychologists based at a psychiatric hospital in the Eastern Cape. Data was analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. All participants reported experiencing symptoms of vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress while treating both victims and perpetrators. The findings also discovered an element of danger, as well as socio-political factors that clinical psychologists experience. Participants also reported experiencing vicarious post-traumatic growth, enhanced by their coping strategies, while providing psychological services to traumatised patients. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29