Intellectual challenge is as necessary as breathing: an interview with Laurence Wright
- Authors: Wright, Laurence , Pearce, B
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:7059 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007422
- Description: Professor Laurence Wright is Director of the Institute for the Study of English in Africa at Rhodes University. In 2009, he will have completed 25 years of research, teaching and scholarship at Rhodes University and this interview marks the occasion. A Rhodes Scholar and a Commonwealth Scholar, he studied at the universities of Rhodes, Warwick and Oxford. He is also Honorary Life President of the Shakespeare Society of Southern Africa. He has published widely in literary studies and is the Managing Editor of two academic journals as well as of the poetry magazine New Coin. He currently serves on the Council of the English Academy and is a co-opted member of the English National Language Body. He has taken a broad interest in the role of English in this country, ranging from language policy and teacher education matters, to archival research and the role of the humanities in public life. I thought that it would be worthwhile to interview him as his knowledge of literature is substantial, while his incisive and engaging thoughts on a range of topics are worth hearing. The interview was conducted intermittently by email between July and October, 2008.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Wright, Laurence , Pearce, B
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:7059 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007422
- Description: Professor Laurence Wright is Director of the Institute for the Study of English in Africa at Rhodes University. In 2009, he will have completed 25 years of research, teaching and scholarship at Rhodes University and this interview marks the occasion. A Rhodes Scholar and a Commonwealth Scholar, he studied at the universities of Rhodes, Warwick and Oxford. He is also Honorary Life President of the Shakespeare Society of Southern Africa. He has published widely in literary studies and is the Managing Editor of two academic journals as well as of the poetry magazine New Coin. He currently serves on the Council of the English Academy and is a co-opted member of the English National Language Body. He has taken a broad interest in the role of English in this country, ranging from language policy and teacher education matters, to archival research and the role of the humanities in public life. I thought that it would be worthwhile to interview him as his knowledge of literature is substantial, while his incisive and engaging thoughts on a range of topics are worth hearing. The interview was conducted intermittently by email between July and October, 2008.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Municipal commonage policy and livestock owners : findings from the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Davenport, Nicholas A, Gambiza, James
- Authors: Davenport, Nicholas A , Gambiza, James
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6628 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006820
- Description: The new African National Congress government announced after 1994 that municipal commonage would be a pillar of their land reform programme. The Department of Land Affairs spearheaded this by acquiring new land to complement the existing ‘old’ commonages. The aim of old commonage was to supplement the income of poor urban residents through the subsistence user system whereas new commonage was intended as a ‘stepping stone’ for emergent farmers. We investigated the differences between old and new commonage farmers as well as how they perceived the Makana local municipality's capacity to manage the commonage. The results showed that local institutions were weak. Only 46% of the old commonage farmers were members of a local livestock association whereas 74% of the new commonage farmers were members. Most old commonage farmers (59%) were dissatisfied with local government's management of the commonage. In contrast, only 37% of the new commonage farmers were dissatisfied with the management of the commonage. There were no differences between old and new commonage farmers in terms of livestock owners’ characteristics and mean annual net direct-use value of livestock. There were also no differences in the age of the two types of commonage farmers. Furthermore, there was no association between the type of commonage and level of education. The mean annual net direct-use value of livestock on old commonage was R6308 compared with R9707 on new commonage. Although the income from livestock for new commonage farmers varied slightly from that of old commonage farmers, the annual productive output per farmer on old commonage was R473 ha−1, three times higher than that of new commonage farmers which was R134 ha−1. We suggest that new land policy legislation is needed in which poverty as well as the legal arrangements between all stakeholders is clearly defined. Furthermore, national departments need to be more involved with local municipalities to increase local management capacity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Davenport, Nicholas A , Gambiza, James
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6628 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006820
- Description: The new African National Congress government announced after 1994 that municipal commonage would be a pillar of their land reform programme. The Department of Land Affairs spearheaded this by acquiring new land to complement the existing ‘old’ commonages. The aim of old commonage was to supplement the income of poor urban residents through the subsistence user system whereas new commonage was intended as a ‘stepping stone’ for emergent farmers. We investigated the differences between old and new commonage farmers as well as how they perceived the Makana local municipality's capacity to manage the commonage. The results showed that local institutions were weak. Only 46% of the old commonage farmers were members of a local livestock association whereas 74% of the new commonage farmers were members. Most old commonage farmers (59%) were dissatisfied with local government's management of the commonage. In contrast, only 37% of the new commonage farmers were dissatisfied with the management of the commonage. There were no differences between old and new commonage farmers in terms of livestock owners’ characteristics and mean annual net direct-use value of livestock. There were also no differences in the age of the two types of commonage farmers. Furthermore, there was no association between the type of commonage and level of education. The mean annual net direct-use value of livestock on old commonage was R6308 compared with R9707 on new commonage. Although the income from livestock for new commonage farmers varied slightly from that of old commonage farmers, the annual productive output per farmer on old commonage was R473 ha−1, three times higher than that of new commonage farmers which was R134 ha−1. We suggest that new land policy legislation is needed in which poverty as well as the legal arrangements between all stakeholders is clearly defined. Furthermore, national departments need to be more involved with local municipalities to increase local management capacity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Cretaceous volcanic rocks of the Namibe Basin, southern Angola: report on a reconnaissance field and geochemical investigation
- Authors: Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67301 , vital:29070
- Description: publisher version , Mafic alkaline lavas and intrusions occur in the onshore Namibe Basin in southern Angola. The distribution and field relationships of these igneous rocks have been mapped and described by Carvalho (1961). During a reconnaissance field visit in June 2009 a suite of samples was collected for further investigation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67301 , vital:29070
- Description: publisher version , Mafic alkaline lavas and intrusions occur in the onshore Namibe Basin in southern Angola. The distribution and field relationships of these igneous rocks have been mapped and described by Carvalho (1961). During a reconnaissance field visit in June 2009 a suite of samples was collected for further investigation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Sedimentary facies and geomorphic evolution of a blocked‐valley lake: Lake Futululu, northern Kwazulu‐Natal, South Africa
- Grenfell, Suzanne E, Ellery, William F N, Grenfell, Michael C, Ramsay, Lisa F, Flügel, Tyrel J
- Authors: Grenfell, Suzanne E , Ellery, William F N , Grenfell, Michael C , Ramsay, Lisa F , Flügel, Tyrel J
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/126826 , vital:35928 , https://doi.10.1111/j.1365-3091.2009.01141.x
- Description: Blocked-valley lakes are formed when tributaries are impounded by the relatively rapid aggradation of a large river and its floodplain. These features are common in the landscape, and have been identified in the floodplains of the Solimo˜es-Amazon (Brazil) and Fly-Strickland Rivers (Papua New Guinea), for example, but their inaccessibility has resulted in studies being limited to remotely sensed image analysis. This paper documents the sedimentology and geomorphic evolution of a blocked-valley lake, Lake Futululu on the Mfolozi River floodplain margin, in South Africa, while also offering a context for the formation of lakes and wetlands at tributary junctions. The study combines aerial photography, elevation data from orthophotographs and field survey, and longitudinal sedimentology determined from a series of cores, which were sub-sampled for organic content and particle size analysis. Radiocarbon dating was used to gauge the rate and timing of peat accumulation. Results indicate that following the last glacial maximum, rising sea-levels caused aggradation of the Mfolozi River floodplain. By 3980 years bp, aggradation on the floodplain had impounded the Futululu drainage line, creating conditions suitable for peat formation, which has since occurred at a constant average rate of 0Æ13 cm year)1. Continued aggradation on the Mfolozi River floodplain has raised the base level of the Futululu drainage line, resulting in a series of backstepping sedimentary facies with fluvially derived sand and silt episodically prograding over lacustrine peat deposits. Blocked-valley lakes form where the trunk river has a much larger sediment load and catchment than the tributary stream. Similarly, when the relative difference in sediment loads is less, palustrine wetlands, rather than lakes, may be the result. In contrast, where tributaries drain a steep, well-connected catchment, they may impound much larger trunk rivers, creating lakes or wetlands upstream.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Grenfell, Suzanne E , Ellery, William F N , Grenfell, Michael C , Ramsay, Lisa F , Flügel, Tyrel J
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/126826 , vital:35928 , https://doi.10.1111/j.1365-3091.2009.01141.x
- Description: Blocked-valley lakes are formed when tributaries are impounded by the relatively rapid aggradation of a large river and its floodplain. These features are common in the landscape, and have been identified in the floodplains of the Solimo˜es-Amazon (Brazil) and Fly-Strickland Rivers (Papua New Guinea), for example, but their inaccessibility has resulted in studies being limited to remotely sensed image analysis. This paper documents the sedimentology and geomorphic evolution of a blocked-valley lake, Lake Futululu on the Mfolozi River floodplain margin, in South Africa, while also offering a context for the formation of lakes and wetlands at tributary junctions. The study combines aerial photography, elevation data from orthophotographs and field survey, and longitudinal sedimentology determined from a series of cores, which were sub-sampled for organic content and particle size analysis. Radiocarbon dating was used to gauge the rate and timing of peat accumulation. Results indicate that following the last glacial maximum, rising sea-levels caused aggradation of the Mfolozi River floodplain. By 3980 years bp, aggradation on the floodplain had impounded the Futululu drainage line, creating conditions suitable for peat formation, which has since occurred at a constant average rate of 0Æ13 cm year)1. Continued aggradation on the Mfolozi River floodplain has raised the base level of the Futululu drainage line, resulting in a series of backstepping sedimentary facies with fluvially derived sand and silt episodically prograding over lacustrine peat deposits. Blocked-valley lakes form where the trunk river has a much larger sediment load and catchment than the tributary stream. Similarly, when the relative difference in sediment loads is less, palustrine wetlands, rather than lakes, may be the result. In contrast, where tributaries drain a steep, well-connected catchment, they may impound much larger trunk rivers, creating lakes or wetlands upstream.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Site of struggle: the Freedom Park fracas and the divisive legacy of South Africa’s Border War/Liberation Struggle
- Authors: Baines, Gary F
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/126954 , vital:35938 , https://doi.10.1080/02533950903076428
- Description: In South Africa, Carcharias taurus is commonly known as the ragged-tooth shark or raggie. The species is also referred to as the sand-tiger shark in North America and as the grey-nurse shark in Australia. It is a long-lived species with an estimated longevity of up to 40 years (Goldman 2002). Female sharks reach sexual maturity at approximately 10 years (Goldman 2002), and they exhibit a biennial reproductive cycle (Branstetter and Musick 1994, Lucifora et al. 2002, G Cliff, Natal Sharks Board, unpublished data). Intra-uterine cannibalisation results in a maximum fecundity of two pups per litter after a gestation period of approximately 9–12 months (Bass et al. 1975, Gilmore et al. 1983). These life-history characteristics make this species particularly susceptible to overexploitation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Baines, Gary F
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/126954 , vital:35938 , https://doi.10.1080/02533950903076428
- Description: In South Africa, Carcharias taurus is commonly known as the ragged-tooth shark or raggie. The species is also referred to as the sand-tiger shark in North America and as the grey-nurse shark in Australia. It is a long-lived species with an estimated longevity of up to 40 years (Goldman 2002). Female sharks reach sexual maturity at approximately 10 years (Goldman 2002), and they exhibit a biennial reproductive cycle (Branstetter and Musick 1994, Lucifora et al. 2002, G Cliff, Natal Sharks Board, unpublished data). Intra-uterine cannibalisation results in a maximum fecundity of two pups per litter after a gestation period of approximately 9–12 months (Bass et al. 1975, Gilmore et al. 1983). These life-history characteristics make this species particularly susceptible to overexploitation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
'Amanuensis' and 'Steatopygia': the complexity of 'Telling the Tale 'in Zoë Wicomb's David's Story
- Authors: Dass, Minesh
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142599 , vital:38094 , http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/eia.v38i2.3
- Description: Two words, 'amanuensis' and 'steatopygia,' each burdened with its own history, appear in Zoë Wicomb's David's Story with a frequency that commands further consideration. This study shows that these two words are in fact narratives which reveal the tension, inherent in all historical narratives, between that which is denotative or factual and that which is connotative or fictional. Similarly, the words also form the shifting horizon from which we may see history as a narrative of the past that is always also a narrative of the present. The link between these words will ultimately show the complex, compromised role of the narrator and, perhaps, of all historians.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Dass, Minesh
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142599 , vital:38094 , http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/eia.v38i2.3
- Description: Two words, 'amanuensis' and 'steatopygia,' each burdened with its own history, appear in Zoë Wicomb's David's Story with a frequency that commands further consideration. This study shows that these two words are in fact narratives which reveal the tension, inherent in all historical narratives, between that which is denotative or factual and that which is connotative or fictional. Similarly, the words also form the shifting horizon from which we may see history as a narrative of the past that is always also a narrative of the present. The link between these words will ultimately show the complex, compromised role of the narrator and, perhaps, of all historians.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Has deregulation of non-timber forest product controls and marketing in Orissa state (India) affected local patterns of use and marketing
- Mahapatra, A K, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: Mahapatra, A K , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6643 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006872
- Description: State control of marketing agricultural or forestry products may lead to a trade monopoly and restricted competition, resulting in inequitable returns to producers. Consequently, market deregulation for agriculture and other natural products has been advocated to improve market efficiencies, participation and returns for the producers and local traders. The study examines the impact of deregulation of state marketing controls on collection, sale and returns to extractors and traders from non-timber forest products. It assessed whether deregulation policy resulted in greater benefits to primary extractors and a win–win situation for both producers and traders? Mixed effects were found, with no significant changes in terms of trade, demand, or quantum of consumption; but there was an overall increase in the procurement price for several products following deregulation. The collection and farm gate price of tree based oilseeds and honey increased due to lower transaction costs, and ease of trading with a continued demand for these products. The impact on less valuable products was insignificant. Abolition of monopolistic trading increased competition and had a pull effect on the local market prices of several NTFPs. Although traders paid a higher price to procure products, overall they also benefited being able to sell the purchased products to merchants and manufacturers at a better margin than previously.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Mahapatra, A K , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6643 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006872
- Description: State control of marketing agricultural or forestry products may lead to a trade monopoly and restricted competition, resulting in inequitable returns to producers. Consequently, market deregulation for agriculture and other natural products has been advocated to improve market efficiencies, participation and returns for the producers and local traders. The study examines the impact of deregulation of state marketing controls on collection, sale and returns to extractors and traders from non-timber forest products. It assessed whether deregulation policy resulted in greater benefits to primary extractors and a win–win situation for both producers and traders? Mixed effects were found, with no significant changes in terms of trade, demand, or quantum of consumption; but there was an overall increase in the procurement price for several products following deregulation. The collection and farm gate price of tree based oilseeds and honey increased due to lower transaction costs, and ease of trading with a continued demand for these products. The impact on less valuable products was insignificant. Abolition of monopolistic trading increased competition and had a pull effect on the local market prices of several NTFPs. Although traders paid a higher price to procure products, overall they also benefited being able to sell the purchased products to merchants and manufacturers at a better margin than previously.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Life history strategy and population characteristics of an unexploited riverine cyprinid, Labeo capensis, in the largest impoundment in the Orange River Basin
- Winker, A Henning, Weyl, Olaf L F, Booth, Anthony J, Ellender, Bruce R
- Authors: Winker, A Henning , Weyl, Olaf L F , Booth, Anthony J , Ellender, Bruce R
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124910 , vital:35709 , https://doi.10.3377/004.047.0124
- Description: Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is one of the world’s most widely introduced and established freshwater fishes (Casal 2006). The species is considered to be one of the eight most invasive freshwater fishes (Lowe et al. 2000) and worldwide, it accounts for most of the records of successful establishments and adverse ecological effects (Casal 2006; Kulhanek et al. 2011). This invasive success suggests that feral C. carpio is equipped with a set of adaptable life history attributes that allow it to successfully colonise a wide range of habitats (Koehn 2004; Zambrano et al. 2006; Britton et al. 2007). Where feral C. carpio occurs in high densities, it is often perceived as an invasive pest species (Sivakumaran et al. 2003; Brown and Walker 2004; Koehn 2004) because it can have severe impacts on habitat heterogeneity and biodiversity by increasing water turbidity through its bottom feeding behaviour, increasing nutrient availability, decreasing benthic and macrophyte density and diversity, altering zooplankton assemblages and decreasing endemic fish abundance (Zambrano et al. 2001; Khan 2003; Kulhanek et al. 2011). Within south-east Australia, for example, C. carpio comprises the largest proportion of the ichthyobiomass in the continent’s largest river system – the Murray–Darling Basin (Gehrke et al. 1995). As a consequence, serious concerns about its threat to endemic freshwater species (Koehn 2004) have prompted several of the most recent investigations into its life history (e.g. Sivakumaran et al. 2003; Smith and Walker 2004; Brown et al. 2005). Other potential threats posed also include competition with indigenous species and the spread of diseases and parasites (Dudgeon et al. 2006). In South Africa, for example, Asian tapeworm Bothriocephalus acheilognathi is now widely distributed in seven river systems and has infected eight novel cyprinid hosts due to the translocation of infected by C. carpio from a centralized aquaculture facility (Stadtlander et al. 2011).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Winker, A Henning , Weyl, Olaf L F , Booth, Anthony J , Ellender, Bruce R
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124910 , vital:35709 , https://doi.10.3377/004.047.0124
- Description: Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is one of the world’s most widely introduced and established freshwater fishes (Casal 2006). The species is considered to be one of the eight most invasive freshwater fishes (Lowe et al. 2000) and worldwide, it accounts for most of the records of successful establishments and adverse ecological effects (Casal 2006; Kulhanek et al. 2011). This invasive success suggests that feral C. carpio is equipped with a set of adaptable life history attributes that allow it to successfully colonise a wide range of habitats (Koehn 2004; Zambrano et al. 2006; Britton et al. 2007). Where feral C. carpio occurs in high densities, it is often perceived as an invasive pest species (Sivakumaran et al. 2003; Brown and Walker 2004; Koehn 2004) because it can have severe impacts on habitat heterogeneity and biodiversity by increasing water turbidity through its bottom feeding behaviour, increasing nutrient availability, decreasing benthic and macrophyte density and diversity, altering zooplankton assemblages and decreasing endemic fish abundance (Zambrano et al. 2001; Khan 2003; Kulhanek et al. 2011). Within south-east Australia, for example, C. carpio comprises the largest proportion of the ichthyobiomass in the continent’s largest river system – the Murray–Darling Basin (Gehrke et al. 1995). As a consequence, serious concerns about its threat to endemic freshwater species (Koehn 2004) have prompted several of the most recent investigations into its life history (e.g. Sivakumaran et al. 2003; Smith and Walker 2004; Brown et al. 2005). Other potential threats posed also include competition with indigenous species and the spread of diseases and parasites (Dudgeon et al. 2006). In South Africa, for example, Asian tapeworm Bothriocephalus acheilognathi is now widely distributed in seven river systems and has infected eight novel cyprinid hosts due to the translocation of infected by C. carpio from a centralized aquaculture facility (Stadtlander et al. 2011).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
An invader within an altered landscape: one catfish, two rivers and an inter-basin water transfer scheme
- Kadye, Wilbert T, Booth, Anthony J
- Authors: Kadye, Wilbert T , Booth, Anthony J
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123776 , vital:35494 , https://doi.10.1002/rra.2599
- Description: African sharptooth catfish Clarias gariepinus has become established as a non-native invasive species in Eastern Cape, South Africa, where it was translocated primarily through an inter-basin water transfer scheme into the Great Fish and Sundays rivers. This study examined the patterns in catfish distribution and abundance, and compared trophic niches in relation to the ichthyofauna of the two rivers. Correspondence analysis revealed upstream to downstream gradients associated with the spatial distribution in species richness for most species within the mainstream and mainstream to tributary gradients that were associated mostly with the spatial distribution of native minnows in both rivers. Catfish was predicted to occur widely within the mainstream habitats and to decrease progressively from mainstreams to tributaries. Based on classification and regression trees, the physico-chemical environment was found to be a good proxy for predicting the occurrence and abundance of catfish. Although non-significant relationships were observed between catfish and other native fish species abundances, the study suggests potential impact due to predation and interference in habitats where the invader co-occurs with other fishes. Comparisons of trophic niches indicated higher trophic diversity for the mainstream ichthyofauna than the tributary communities in both rivers, suggesting an upstream to downstream continuum in community structure and resource availability. Catfish within the invaded mainstream had comparable trophic niches and similar dispersion patterns among individuals for both rivers, but indicated differences in shapes of scatter. This suggests that the catfish exhibited a differential response, probably in relation to resource availability, that may be indicative of its dietary plasticity. The study suggests the proliferation of catfish and its probable impact within the mainstream flow-altered habitats where invasion resistance was possibly reduced. Comparisons of trophic niches provided information on its probable impact at different scales and the potential risk of invasion of tributaries inhabited by native minnow species.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Kadye, Wilbert T , Booth, Anthony J
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123776 , vital:35494 , https://doi.10.1002/rra.2599
- Description: African sharptooth catfish Clarias gariepinus has become established as a non-native invasive species in Eastern Cape, South Africa, where it was translocated primarily through an inter-basin water transfer scheme into the Great Fish and Sundays rivers. This study examined the patterns in catfish distribution and abundance, and compared trophic niches in relation to the ichthyofauna of the two rivers. Correspondence analysis revealed upstream to downstream gradients associated with the spatial distribution in species richness for most species within the mainstream and mainstream to tributary gradients that were associated mostly with the spatial distribution of native minnows in both rivers. Catfish was predicted to occur widely within the mainstream habitats and to decrease progressively from mainstreams to tributaries. Based on classification and regression trees, the physico-chemical environment was found to be a good proxy for predicting the occurrence and abundance of catfish. Although non-significant relationships were observed between catfish and other native fish species abundances, the study suggests potential impact due to predation and interference in habitats where the invader co-occurs with other fishes. Comparisons of trophic niches indicated higher trophic diversity for the mainstream ichthyofauna than the tributary communities in both rivers, suggesting an upstream to downstream continuum in community structure and resource availability. Catfish within the invaded mainstream had comparable trophic niches and similar dispersion patterns among individuals for both rivers, but indicated differences in shapes of scatter. This suggests that the catfish exhibited a differential response, probably in relation to resource availability, that may be indicative of its dietary plasticity. The study suggests the proliferation of catfish and its probable impact within the mainstream flow-altered habitats where invasion resistance was possibly reduced. Comparisons of trophic niches provided information on its probable impact at different scales and the potential risk of invasion of tributaries inhabited by native minnow species.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Biogeographical boundaries, functional group structure and diversity of rocky shore communities along the Argentinean coast
- Wieters, Evie A, McQuaid, Christopher D, Palomo, Gabriela, Pappalardo, Paula
- Authors: Wieters, Evie A , McQuaid, Christopher D , Palomo, Gabriela , Pappalardo, Paula
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6835 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010956
- Description: We investigate the extent to which functional structure and spatial variability of intertidal communities coincide with major biogeographical boundaries, areas where extensive compositional changes in the biota are observed over a limited geographic extension. We then investigate whether spatial variation in the biomass of functional groups, over geographic (10′s km) and local (10′s m) scales, could be associated to species diversity within and among these groups. Functional community structure expressed as abundance (density, cover and biomass) and composition of major functional groups was quantified through field surveys at 20 rocky intertidal shores spanning six degrees of latitude along the southwest Atlantic coast of Argentina and extending across the boundaries between the Argentinean and Magellanic Provinces. Patterns of abundance of individual functional groups were not uniformly matched with biogeographical regions. Only ephemeral algae showed an abrupt geographical discontinuity coincident with changes in biogeographic boundaries, and this was limited to the mid intertidal zone. We identified 3–4 main ‘groups’ of sites in terms of the total and relative abundance of the major functional groups, but these did not coincide with biogeographical boundaries, nor did they follow latitudinal arrangement. Thus, processes that determine the functional structure of these intertidal communities are insensitive to biogeographical boundaries. Over both geographical and local spatial scales, and for most functional groups and tidal levels, increases in species richness within the functional group was significantly associated to increased total biomass and reduced spatial variability of the group. These results suggest that species belonging to the same functional group are sufficiently uncorrelated over space (i.e. metres and site-to-site ) to stabilize patterns of biomass variability and, in this manner, provide a buffer, or “insurance”, against spatial variability in environmental conditions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Wieters, Evie A , McQuaid, Christopher D , Palomo, Gabriela , Pappalardo, Paula
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6835 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010956
- Description: We investigate the extent to which functional structure and spatial variability of intertidal communities coincide with major biogeographical boundaries, areas where extensive compositional changes in the biota are observed over a limited geographic extension. We then investigate whether spatial variation in the biomass of functional groups, over geographic (10′s km) and local (10′s m) scales, could be associated to species diversity within and among these groups. Functional community structure expressed as abundance (density, cover and biomass) and composition of major functional groups was quantified through field surveys at 20 rocky intertidal shores spanning six degrees of latitude along the southwest Atlantic coast of Argentina and extending across the boundaries between the Argentinean and Magellanic Provinces. Patterns of abundance of individual functional groups were not uniformly matched with biogeographical regions. Only ephemeral algae showed an abrupt geographical discontinuity coincident with changes in biogeographic boundaries, and this was limited to the mid intertidal zone. We identified 3–4 main ‘groups’ of sites in terms of the total and relative abundance of the major functional groups, but these did not coincide with biogeographical boundaries, nor did they follow latitudinal arrangement. Thus, processes that determine the functional structure of these intertidal communities are insensitive to biogeographical boundaries. Over both geographical and local spatial scales, and for most functional groups and tidal levels, increases in species richness within the functional group was significantly associated to increased total biomass and reduced spatial variability of the group. These results suggest that species belonging to the same functional group are sufficiently uncorrelated over space (i.e. metres and site-to-site ) to stabilize patterns of biomass variability and, in this manner, provide a buffer, or “insurance”, against spatial variability in environmental conditions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Place of Knowledge
- Rhodes University Development & Alumni Relations Division
- Authors: Rhodes University Development & Alumni Relations Division
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: vital:7950 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013054
- Description: [From Introduction] How it all began. The dream of the new library began with the late Margaret Kenyon. Initially joining the library staff in 1982 as a cataloguer. she was appointed to the position of University Librarian in April 2001. It was through her initiative as Head of Cataloguing that Rhodes became the first library in South Africa to create hyperlinks on OPAC records to material also available in electronic format. She was an initiator of the Rhodes eResearch Repository (ReRR) which was among the first open access institutional repositories in South Africa. She also started the LibQUAL survey and while the old library scored well on service and information, it failed dismally on place. The pattern of student use had changed and there was no space for discussion areas to accommodate peer learning and group work. With student numbers having grown to 6200 and academic staff to 300, the library could only seat 10 percent of its users. It was Mrs Kenyon who contacted Geoff de Wet, Architect and Director of the Physical Planning Unit at UCT, and arranged for him to visit the Rhodes Library. It was a great tragedy that she did not see the seed that she had planted come to fruition. The ever changing demands for versatile workspaces that are responsive to evolving patterns of teaching, learning and research require a completely new approach to university libraries. We are thrilled to have seen the Rhodes University Library evolve from humble beginnings in a single room in the old Drostdy building into its grand position as a highly technological facility today. , Indawo Yolwazi (place of knowledge) in pursuit of excellence in teaching, research and community engagement.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Rhodes University Development & Alumni Relations Division
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: vital:7950 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013054
- Description: [From Introduction] How it all began. The dream of the new library began with the late Margaret Kenyon. Initially joining the library staff in 1982 as a cataloguer. she was appointed to the position of University Librarian in April 2001. It was through her initiative as Head of Cataloguing that Rhodes became the first library in South Africa to create hyperlinks on OPAC records to material also available in electronic format. She was an initiator of the Rhodes eResearch Repository (ReRR) which was among the first open access institutional repositories in South Africa. She also started the LibQUAL survey and while the old library scored well on service and information, it failed dismally on place. The pattern of student use had changed and there was no space for discussion areas to accommodate peer learning and group work. With student numbers having grown to 6200 and academic staff to 300, the library could only seat 10 percent of its users. It was Mrs Kenyon who contacted Geoff de Wet, Architect and Director of the Physical Planning Unit at UCT, and arranged for him to visit the Rhodes Library. It was a great tragedy that she did not see the seed that she had planted come to fruition. The ever changing demands for versatile workspaces that are responsive to evolving patterns of teaching, learning and research require a completely new approach to university libraries. We are thrilled to have seen the Rhodes University Library evolve from humble beginnings in a single room in the old Drostdy building into its grand position as a highly technological facility today. , Indawo Yolwazi (place of knowledge) in pursuit of excellence in teaching, research and community engagement.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Career success for women academics in higher education: choices and challenges
- Authors: Obers, Nöelle Marie Thérèse
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61346 , vital:28017 , http://0-journals.co.za.wam.seals.ac.za/content/high/28/3/EJC159132
- Description: The aim of the research reported on in this article was to contribute to an understanding of how women academics experience career success; how their choices and challenges impact on their career advancement; and how the playing fields in academia can be levelled. Understanding the constraints and identifying enabling aspects may help women academics to overcome obstacles in their career development and be more represented in academia and ultimately in society. This research was a case study undertaken at one higher education institution (HEI), Rhodes University (RU). The data was collected from institutional documents; questionnaire data from women academics at the HEI; and in-depth interviews with six women academics. The data indicate that mentoring is a strategy to enhance levels of self-esteem and research productivity and ultimately improve the representation of women in leadership and senior positions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Obers, Nöelle Marie Thérèse
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61346 , vital:28017 , http://0-journals.co.za.wam.seals.ac.za/content/high/28/3/EJC159132
- Description: The aim of the research reported on in this article was to contribute to an understanding of how women academics experience career success; how their choices and challenges impact on their career advancement; and how the playing fields in academia can be levelled. Understanding the constraints and identifying enabling aspects may help women academics to overcome obstacles in their career development and be more represented in academia and ultimately in society. This research was a case study undertaken at one higher education institution (HEI), Rhodes University (RU). The data was collected from institutional documents; questionnaire data from women academics at the HEI; and in-depth interviews with six women academics. The data indicate that mentoring is a strategy to enhance levels of self-esteem and research productivity and ultimately improve the representation of women in leadership and senior positions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Embracing racial reasoning: the DASO poster controversy and ‘Race’politics in contemporary South Africa
- Vincent, Louise, Howell, Simon
- Authors: Vincent, Louise , Howell, Simon
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141933 , vital:38017 , DOI: 10.1080/03057070.2014.877651
- Description: We examine the response to a poster published by South Africa's official opposition's youth wing, the Democratic Alliance's Student Organisation (DASO) as part of a political campaign in 2012. From commentary that the poster's publication generated, we excavate some of the key discursive strategies used by commentators to negotiate the gulf between the constitutional value of non-racialism and the lived contemporary reality of race in South Africa. Many commentators situated themselves either as ‘colour-blind’, or reformulated ‘race’ as ‘class’ or ‘culture’. In making visible some of these strategies, and the attendant (re-)racialised narratives upon which they rely, we highlight the paradoxes that inhere in the idea of ‘non-racialism’ – a notion that implies that race must simultaneously be thought and ‘un-thought’. Racial categories contrived by apartheid have been somewhat rearranged and rearticulated, but nevertheless continue to operate today as organising principles.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Vincent, Louise , Howell, Simon
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141933 , vital:38017 , DOI: 10.1080/03057070.2014.877651
- Description: We examine the response to a poster published by South Africa's official opposition's youth wing, the Democratic Alliance's Student Organisation (DASO) as part of a political campaign in 2012. From commentary that the poster's publication generated, we excavate some of the key discursive strategies used by commentators to negotiate the gulf between the constitutional value of non-racialism and the lived contemporary reality of race in South Africa. Many commentators situated themselves either as ‘colour-blind’, or reformulated ‘race’ as ‘class’ or ‘culture’. In making visible some of these strategies, and the attendant (re-)racialised narratives upon which they rely, we highlight the paradoxes that inhere in the idea of ‘non-racialism’ – a notion that implies that race must simultaneously be thought and ‘un-thought’. Racial categories contrived by apartheid have been somewhat rearranged and rearticulated, but nevertheless continue to operate today as organising principles.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Necrophiliac Narration and the Business of Friends: Damon Galgut’s The Good Doctor
- Authors: Marais, Mike
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144159 , vital:38316 , DOI: 10.1080/17533171.2014.918406
- Description: Set in the period following South Africa’s first democratic elections, Damon Galgut’s The Good Doctor traces the friendship that develops between two doctors working at a rural hospital. While it does not deal overtly with the politics of the “new” South Africa, the novel’s treatment of friendship, which cuts across the distinction between the private and the public, reflects obliquely on the nature of the emerging democratic dispensation. In this paper, I explore the link that Galgut constructs between friendship and community, and argue that his portrayal of the former points to the possibility of a form of community that is premised on a “common strangeness.”
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Marais, Mike
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144159 , vital:38316 , DOI: 10.1080/17533171.2014.918406
- Description: Set in the period following South Africa’s first democratic elections, Damon Galgut’s The Good Doctor traces the friendship that develops between two doctors working at a rural hospital. While it does not deal overtly with the politics of the “new” South Africa, the novel’s treatment of friendship, which cuts across the distinction between the private and the public, reflects obliquely on the nature of the emerging democratic dispensation. In this paper, I explore the link that Galgut constructs between friendship and community, and argue that his portrayal of the former points to the possibility of a form of community that is premised on a “common strangeness.”
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
The meanings of citizenship: media use and democracy in South Africa
- Wasserman, Herman, Garman, Anthea
- Authors: Wasserman, Herman , Garman, Anthea
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/159901 , vital:40354 , https://doi.org/10.1080/02533952.2014.929304
- Description: In 1994, South Africans embarked on a project to create new meanings of citizenship in order to transcend the disenfranchisement and divisions created by apartheid. This article examines the context in which new forms of citizenship are evolving in South Africa and how South African citizens use the media to give meaning to concepts such as “an active public sphere,” “civic agency” and “participatory politics.” The objective of the research is to provide information about the way in which the media contribute to the quality of democracy in South Africa through mediating citizenship in a way that improves prospects for citizens to exert influence over public decisions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Wasserman, Herman , Garman, Anthea
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/159901 , vital:40354 , https://doi.org/10.1080/02533952.2014.929304
- Description: In 1994, South Africans embarked on a project to create new meanings of citizenship in order to transcend the disenfranchisement and divisions created by apartheid. This article examines the context in which new forms of citizenship are evolving in South Africa and how South African citizens use the media to give meaning to concepts such as “an active public sphere,” “civic agency” and “participatory politics.” The objective of the research is to provide information about the way in which the media contribute to the quality of democracy in South Africa through mediating citizenship in a way that improves prospects for citizens to exert influence over public decisions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Making room for the unexpected: the university and the ethical imperative of unconditional hospitality
- Authors: Dass, Minesh
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142108 , vital:38050 , ISBN 9781869142902 , https://books.google.co.za/books?id=49o8rgEACAAJanddq=Being+at+home:+Race,+institutional+culture+and+transformation+at+South+African+higher+education+institutionandhl=enandsa=Xandved=0ahUKEwiPgsa6mpjjAhXNN8AKHbNwAtoQ6AEIKDAA
- Description: This edited work has gathered together contributions on how to transform universities in South Africa; as many are struggling to shift their institutional culture. In a South African context, transformation means to attempt to change higher education institutions such that they no longer reflect the values promoted by apartheid but rather reflect the values embodied in South Africa's 1996 Constitution. Institutional culture is the main subject for discussion in this book. In order to transform South Africa's universities, the contributors begin by analyzing the idea of what a university is, and relatedly, what its ideal aims are. A second theme is to understand what institutional culture is and how it functions. Moreover, transformation cannot occur without transforming the broader cultures of which they are a part. Related to this theme is a general concern about how contemporary moves towards the instrumentalization of higher education affect the ability to transform institutions. These institutions are being pushed to conform to goals that are outside the traditional idea of a university, such as concerns that universities are being 'bureaucratized' and becoming corporations, instead of a place of learning open to all. In conclusion it can be said that the contemporary South African academic community has an opportunity to recreate itself as the end of apartheid created space for engaging in transformative epistemic projects. The transformation of the tertiary sector entails a transformation of institutional cultures.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Dass, Minesh
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142108 , vital:38050 , ISBN 9781869142902 , https://books.google.co.za/books?id=49o8rgEACAAJanddq=Being+at+home:+Race,+institutional+culture+and+transformation+at+South+African+higher+education+institutionandhl=enandsa=Xandved=0ahUKEwiPgsa6mpjjAhXNN8AKHbNwAtoQ6AEIKDAA
- Description: This edited work has gathered together contributions on how to transform universities in South Africa; as many are struggling to shift their institutional culture. In a South African context, transformation means to attempt to change higher education institutions such that they no longer reflect the values promoted by apartheid but rather reflect the values embodied in South Africa's 1996 Constitution. Institutional culture is the main subject for discussion in this book. In order to transform South Africa's universities, the contributors begin by analyzing the idea of what a university is, and relatedly, what its ideal aims are. A second theme is to understand what institutional culture is and how it functions. Moreover, transformation cannot occur without transforming the broader cultures of which they are a part. Related to this theme is a general concern about how contemporary moves towards the instrumentalization of higher education affect the ability to transform institutions. These institutions are being pushed to conform to goals that are outside the traditional idea of a university, such as concerns that universities are being 'bureaucratized' and becoming corporations, instead of a place of learning open to all. In conclusion it can be said that the contemporary South African academic community has an opportunity to recreate itself as the end of apartheid created space for engaging in transformative epistemic projects. The transformation of the tertiary sector entails a transformation of institutional cultures.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
From global to regional and back again: common climate stressors of marine ecosystems relevant for adaptation across five ocean warming hotspots
- Popova, Ekaterina, Yool, Andrew, Byfield, Valborg, Cochrane, Kevern, Coward, Andrew C, Salim, Shyam S, Gasalla, Maria A, Henson, S.A, Hobday, Alistair J, Pecl, Gretta T, Sauer, Warwick H H, Roberts, Michael J
- Authors: Popova, Ekaterina , Yool, Andrew , Byfield, Valborg , Cochrane, Kevern , Coward, Andrew C , Salim, Shyam S , Gasalla, Maria A , Henson, S.A , Hobday, Alistair J , Pecl, Gretta T , Sauer, Warwick H H , Roberts, Michael J
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124514 , vital:35623 , https://doi.10.1111/gcb.13247
- Description: Ocean warming ‘hotspots’ are regions characterized by above-average temperature increases over recent years, for which there are significant consequences for both living marine resources and the societies that depend on them. As such, they represent early warning systems for understanding the impacts of marine climate change, and test-beds for developing adaptation options for coping with those impacts. Here, we examine five hotspots off the coasts of eastern Australia, South Africa, Madagascar, India and Brazil. These particular hotspots have underpinned a large international partnership that is working towards improving community adaptation by characterizing, assessing and projecting the likely future of coastal-marine food resources through the provision and sharing of knowledge. To inform this effort, we employ a high-resolution global ocean model forced by Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 and simulated to year 2099. In addition to the sea surface temperature, we analyse projected stratification, nutrient supply, primary production, anthropogenic CO2-driven ocean acidification, deoxygenation and ocean circulation. Our simulation finds that the temperature-defined hotspots studied here will continue to experience warming but, with the exception of eastern Australia, may not remain the fastest warming ocean areas over the next century as the strongest warming is projected to occur in the subpolar and polar areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Additionally, we find that recent rapid change in SST is not necessarily an indicator that these areas are also hotspots of the other climatic stressors examined. However, a consistent facet of the hotspots studied here is that they are all strongly influenced by ocean circulation, which has already shown changes in the recent past and is projected to undergo further strong change into the future. In addition to the fast warming, change in local ocean circulation represents a distinct feature of present and future climate change impacting marine ecosystems in these areas.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Popova, Ekaterina , Yool, Andrew , Byfield, Valborg , Cochrane, Kevern , Coward, Andrew C , Salim, Shyam S , Gasalla, Maria A , Henson, S.A , Hobday, Alistair J , Pecl, Gretta T , Sauer, Warwick H H , Roberts, Michael J
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124514 , vital:35623 , https://doi.10.1111/gcb.13247
- Description: Ocean warming ‘hotspots’ are regions characterized by above-average temperature increases over recent years, for which there are significant consequences for both living marine resources and the societies that depend on them. As such, they represent early warning systems for understanding the impacts of marine climate change, and test-beds for developing adaptation options for coping with those impacts. Here, we examine five hotspots off the coasts of eastern Australia, South Africa, Madagascar, India and Brazil. These particular hotspots have underpinned a large international partnership that is working towards improving community adaptation by characterizing, assessing and projecting the likely future of coastal-marine food resources through the provision and sharing of knowledge. To inform this effort, we employ a high-resolution global ocean model forced by Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 and simulated to year 2099. In addition to the sea surface temperature, we analyse projected stratification, nutrient supply, primary production, anthropogenic CO2-driven ocean acidification, deoxygenation and ocean circulation. Our simulation finds that the temperature-defined hotspots studied here will continue to experience warming but, with the exception of eastern Australia, may not remain the fastest warming ocean areas over the next century as the strongest warming is projected to occur in the subpolar and polar areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Additionally, we find that recent rapid change in SST is not necessarily an indicator that these areas are also hotspots of the other climatic stressors examined. However, a consistent facet of the hotspots studied here is that they are all strongly influenced by ocean circulation, which has already shown changes in the recent past and is projected to undergo further strong change into the future. In addition to the fast warming, change in local ocean circulation represents a distinct feature of present and future climate change impacting marine ecosystems in these areas.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
In search of the African voice in higher education: the language question
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: African languages -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Educational change -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- South Africa , Multiligualism , Language and languages -- Study and teaching
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59274 , vital:27539 , http://dx.doi.org/10.5842/49-0-658
- Description: This article seeks to understand what South African universities are doing by making use of language as a tool or as an enabling voice towards Africanisation and transformation with particular reference to Rhodes University, which serves as a case study. Although many universities now have language policies in place and are part of an enabling policy environment, when it comes to using language as part of transformation and asserting an African voice, there are still policy implementation challenges. It is argued in this article that implementation of policy, including university language policies, is now a key indicator for two levels of transformation; namely the more superficially visible or visual representation transformation, as well as deeper curriculum transformation through appropriate language usage. It is the latter form of transformation that largely eludes the contemporary South African university, whether these are historically black universities (HBUs) or historically white universities (HWUs). With the exception of a few best practices that are highlighted in this article, it is argued that transformation of the curriculum remains a long-term process, in the same way that language policy implementation is an ongoing process and requires commitment at all levels of university managerial and academic culture. The African voice in higher education remains an elusive one; though it is gaining ground, as evidenced by the recent removal of the Cecil John Rhodes Statue at the University of Cape Town. Furthermore, there is evidence of selected ongoing curriculum and pedagogic transformation, as presented in this article.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: African languages -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Educational change -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- South Africa , Multiligualism , Language and languages -- Study and teaching
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59274 , vital:27539 , http://dx.doi.org/10.5842/49-0-658
- Description: This article seeks to understand what South African universities are doing by making use of language as a tool or as an enabling voice towards Africanisation and transformation with particular reference to Rhodes University, which serves as a case study. Although many universities now have language policies in place and are part of an enabling policy environment, when it comes to using language as part of transformation and asserting an African voice, there are still policy implementation challenges. It is argued in this article that implementation of policy, including university language policies, is now a key indicator for two levels of transformation; namely the more superficially visible or visual representation transformation, as well as deeper curriculum transformation through appropriate language usage. It is the latter form of transformation that largely eludes the contemporary South African university, whether these are historically black universities (HBUs) or historically white universities (HWUs). With the exception of a few best practices that are highlighted in this article, it is argued that transformation of the curriculum remains a long-term process, in the same way that language policy implementation is an ongoing process and requires commitment at all levels of university managerial and academic culture. The African voice in higher education remains an elusive one; though it is gaining ground, as evidenced by the recent removal of the Cecil John Rhodes Statue at the University of Cape Town. Furthermore, there is evidence of selected ongoing curriculum and pedagogic transformation, as presented in this article.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Louder than the frame:
- Podesva, K L, Beasley, M, Kataoka, M, Ntombela, N
- Authors: Podesva, K L , Beasley, M , Kataoka, M , Ntombela, N
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146211 , vital:38505 , ISBN 9783863359140
- Description: Book abstract. Almost 30 years after the founding of the first curatorial studies program (at the École du Magasin, Grenoble), with the curator remaining a figure of curiosity and fascination in the contemporary art world, a new question has emerged: how do we educate curators? Great Expectations: Prospects for the Future of Curatorial Education explores this question, focusing in particular on the challenges, opportunities and subjects that motivate educators and students. How has curatorial education changed in the past 25 years, and what will the next 25 years bring?.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Podesva, K L , Beasley, M , Kataoka, M , Ntombela, N
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146211 , vital:38505 , ISBN 9783863359140
- Description: Book abstract. Almost 30 years after the founding of the first curatorial studies program (at the École du Magasin, Grenoble), with the curator remaining a figure of curiosity and fascination in the contemporary art world, a new question has emerged: how do we educate curators? Great Expectations: Prospects for the Future of Curatorial Education explores this question, focusing in particular on the challenges, opportunities and subjects that motivate educators and students. How has curatorial education changed in the past 25 years, and what will the next 25 years bring?.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Mapping epistemic cultures and learning potential of participants in citizen science projects
- Vallabh, Priya, Lotz-Sisitka, Heila, O'Donoghue, Rob, Schudel, Ingrid J
- Authors: Vallabh, Priya , Lotz-Sisitka, Heila , O'Donoghue, Rob , Schudel, Ingrid J
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/128939 , vital:36192 , https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12701
- Description: The ever-widening scope and range of global change and interconnected systemic risks arising from people–environment relationships (social‐ecological risks) appears to be increasing concern among, and involvement of, citizens in an increasingly diversified number of citizen science projects responding to these risks. We examined the relationship between epistemic cultures in citizen science projects and learning potential related to matters of concern. We then developed a typology of purposes and a citizen science epistemic‐cultures heuristic and mapped 56 projects in southern Africa using this framework. The purpose typology represents the range of knowledge‐production purposes, ranging from laboratory science to social learning, whereas the epistemic‐cultures typology is a relational representation of scientist and citizen participation and their approach to knowledge production. Results showed an iterative relationship between matters of fact and matters of concern across the projects; the nexus of citizens’ engagement in knowledge‐production activities varied. The knowledge‐production purposes informed and shaped the epistemic cultures of all the sampled citizen science projects, which in turn influenced the potential for learning within each project. Through a historical review of 3 phases in a long‐term river health‐monitoring project, we found that it is possible to evolve the learning curve of citizen science projects. This evolution involved the development of scientific water monitoring tools, the parallel development of pedagogic practices supporting monitoring activities, and situated engagement around matters of concern within social activism leading to learning‐led change. We conclude that such evolutionary processes serve to increase potential for learning and are necessary if citizen science is to contribute to wider restructuring of the epistemic culture of science under conditions of expanding social-ecological risk.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Vallabh, Priya , Lotz-Sisitka, Heila , O'Donoghue, Rob , Schudel, Ingrid J
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/128939 , vital:36192 , https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12701
- Description: The ever-widening scope and range of global change and interconnected systemic risks arising from people–environment relationships (social‐ecological risks) appears to be increasing concern among, and involvement of, citizens in an increasingly diversified number of citizen science projects responding to these risks. We examined the relationship between epistemic cultures in citizen science projects and learning potential related to matters of concern. We then developed a typology of purposes and a citizen science epistemic‐cultures heuristic and mapped 56 projects in southern Africa using this framework. The purpose typology represents the range of knowledge‐production purposes, ranging from laboratory science to social learning, whereas the epistemic‐cultures typology is a relational representation of scientist and citizen participation and their approach to knowledge production. Results showed an iterative relationship between matters of fact and matters of concern across the projects; the nexus of citizens’ engagement in knowledge‐production activities varied. The knowledge‐production purposes informed and shaped the epistemic cultures of all the sampled citizen science projects, which in turn influenced the potential for learning within each project. Through a historical review of 3 phases in a long‐term river health‐monitoring project, we found that it is possible to evolve the learning curve of citizen science projects. This evolution involved the development of scientific water monitoring tools, the parallel development of pedagogic practices supporting monitoring activities, and situated engagement around matters of concern within social activism leading to learning‐led change. We conclude that such evolutionary processes serve to increase potential for learning and are necessary if citizen science is to contribute to wider restructuring of the epistemic culture of science under conditions of expanding social-ecological risk.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016