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Reflecting on the 2007 World Environmental Education Congress

- Lotz-Sisitka, Heila

Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
Date: 2007
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/183047 , vital:43907 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/097340820700100207"
Description: What motivates more than 800 people from 101 countries around the world to meet at a World Environmental Education Congress? And how does one make the most of such an incredible gathering of people, cultures, thoughts and minds? What did people learn and was it worthwhile? These are just some of the questions that have been chasing through my mind in the weeks following the fourth World Environmental Education Congress held in Durban, South Africa, in July 2007. This short paper shares some preliminary reflections on the 2007 WEEC event, noting that in-depth analyses will only become possible as time passes.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Reflective (a)musings on 16 kinds of emptiness…: re-framing research for practice

- Finestone-Praeg, Juanita

Authors: Finestone-Praeg, Juanita
Date: 2007
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/468584 , vital:77092 , https://doi.org/10.1080/10137548.2007.9687863
Description: This paper would like to offer a personal account of my experiences as a practitioner coming to question notions of research through my involvement with the practice as research initiative in South Africa. This PaR project was a national initiative set up by university drama departments in consultation with the NRF (National Research Foundation in South Africa) to conduct a pilot project of peer review for live performance. The first of its kind in South Africa, this call for case studies seemed to present a unique opportunity to engage actively, and with some agency, towards shifting the status and perception of research in the performing arts within the academy and the profession. It also presented a space within which to experiment and extend my own understandings of practice as research. 16 kinds of emptiness… became one of the 6 pilot projects selected for this peer review process.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Regulation of hyu gene expression in Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains RU-AE01 and RU-OR

- Jiwaji, Meesbah

Authors: Jiwaji, Meesbah
Date: 2007
Subjects: Agrobacterium tumefaciens Amino acids Gene expression Hydrolysis Hydantoin Enzymes
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
Identifier: vital:3983 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004042
Description: Several Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains have been isolated for their ability to produce D-amino acids from D, L-substituted hydantoins. The optically pure D-amino acids are used in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, as food additives and as insecticides. This hydrolysis of D, L-substituted hydantoins is catalysed by two hydantoin-hydrolyzing enzymes, an hydantoinase and an N-carbamyl amino acid amidohydrolase. While the hydantoin-hydrolyzing enzymes have been studied in detail, the mechanisms that control expression of the hyu genes have not. The research reported in this work elucidates some of the mechanisms involved in the regulation of the hyu genes in A. tumefaciens strains. The hydantoin-hydrolyzing enzyme activity from the environmental isolate A. tumefaciens RU-AE01 was characterized. A broad host range vector for the simultaneous analysis of divergent promoters was constructed. The promoter regions responsible for the activation of transcription of hyuH and hyuC were identified by deletion analysis. It was proposed that transcription of hyuH was activated by a putative σ[superscript 54]-dependent promoter or a putative σ[superscript 70]-dependent promoter identified upstream of the hyuH gene. The hyuC gene was activated by a putative σ[superscript 70]-dependent promoter identified upstream of the hyuC gene. The regulation of hydantoinase and N-carbamyl amino acid amidohydrolase enzyme activity was compared to the regulation of transcription from the RU-AE01 hyuH-hyuC region. Expression of the hydantoin-hydrolyzing enzymes was regulated by induction which correlated with reporter enzyme expression from the hyuH and hyuC promoter regions. However, the expression of the hydantoin-hydrolyzing enzymes was also regulated by nitrogen catabolite repression (NCR). This did not correlate to the reporter gene expression of the hyuH promoter region but did compare to the reporter gene expression of the hyuC promoter region. This suggested that NCR of hyuH was at the post-translational level whereas NCR of the hyuC promoter was at the transcriptional level. Pathways involved in the regulation of the hyu genes were characterized. The production of the hydantoin-hydrolyzing enzymes in both A. tumefaciens strains RU-AE01 and RU-OR were regulated by proteins involved in the global ntr pathway. The levels of the hydantoin-hydrolyzing enzymes in strain RU-AE01 were elevated in the presence of increased levels of NtrB and NtrC illustrating the importance of the ntr pathway in the regulation of the levels of the hydantoin-hydrolyzing enzymes. Similarly, in RU-OR the presence of exogenous NtrB and NtrC elevated levels of N-carbamyl amino acid amidohydrolase activity. However, the levels of hydantoinase enzyme activity in strain RU-OR were elevated in the presence of NtrC alone. In addition, the presence of a His6-tagged NtrC molecule abolished the elevation in the levels of the hydantoinase but not the N-carbamyl amino acid amidohydrolase enzyme activity in strain RU-OR. This suggests that NtrC has a direct role in the regulation of the expression of hyuH in RU-OR. In addition, it indicates that the hyu genes in the two A. tumefaciens strains RU-AE01 and RU-OR are different. The presence of the RU-AE01 hyuH-hyuC fragment caused a dramatic increase in the hydantoin-hydrolyzing enzyme activity in strain RU-OR but not strain RU-AE01. This implied the incidence of a possible repressor protein in RU-OR, which is titrated out by the presence of the RU-AE01 hyuH-hyuC fragment. Protein-DNA binding assays suggest that this putative repressor may be 38 kDa in RU-OR cells.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Rehabilitation of the Orange River Mouth Salt Marsh : seed, wind and sediment characteristics

- Shaw, Gregory Alan

Authors: Shaw, Gregory Alan
Date: 2007
Subjects: Salt marshes -- Orange River , Rivers -- South Africa -- Environmental aspects , Orange River -- Ecology
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
Identifier: vital:10626 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/603 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012010 , Salt marshes -- Orange River , Rivers -- South Africa -- Environmental aspects , Orange River -- Ecology
Description: The Orange River is an important source of freshwater and like many other wetlands in semi-arid regions, supports various social (Spurgeon, 1998), economic (Spurgeon, 1998; Bornman et al., 2005) and ecological functions. The saltmarsh at the Orange River Mouth has become degraded over time following numerous anthropogenic impacts. As a result the Transboundary RAMSAR site was placed on the Montreux record emphasising the importance for rehabilitation. The potential of the marsh for natural rehabilitation was assessed through three physical factors which were considered to have the most influence on the saltmarsh i.e. 1) sediment 2) water 3) wind. Three sampling areas were chosen to investigate the sediment characteristics of the ORM saltmarsh and the suitability for seed germination and adult survival. Site A was representative of the general marsh area, Site B was thought to have favourable sediment conditions for saltmarsh growth because of the large numbers of seedlings and Site C was prone to inundation by wind blown sediment. The sites were sampled in 2005 (dry conditions) and in 2006 after high rainfall and river flooding. Electrical conductivity (EC) of the sediment throughout the marsh was hypersaline in many instances above the tolerance range for S. pillansii (> 80 mS.cm-1) The freshwater event in 2006 lowered salinity significantly in two of the three sites. Differences in sediment characteristics were also compared for three habitats i.e. driftlines, open sites and under vegetation. Driftlines (C. coronopifolia = 872 seedlings m-2; S. pillansii = 1296 seedlings m-2) and the microhabitat associated with adult plants (C. coronopifolia = 803 seedlings m-2; S. pillansii = 721 seedlings m-2) created favourable conditions for seedling growth, however open unvegetated (C. coronopifolia = 56 seedlings m-2; S. pillansii = 49 seedlings m-2) areas had significantly lower seedling density. Due to the marsh currently being in a desertified state this study aimed to establish whether the remaining vegetation could produce enough seed to revegetate the marsh. Laboratory studies indicated that seeds of both species germinated best in freshwater (0 psu). The germination of S. pillansii seeds was 40 percent at 0 psu compared to 5 percent at 35 psu. After storage under hypersaline conditions (35 psu) C. coronopifolia showed 100 percent seed germination when returned to freshwater whereas storage at 70 psu decreased the viability of S. pillansii seeds. The plants are producing adequate seed that will allow for regrowth and rehabilitation if sediment and groundwater characteristics are suitable for seed germination, seedling growth and adult survival. However the increase in bare areas at the Orange River mouth as a result of salt marsh dieback has increased the available sediment source. The wind blown sediment has covered large areas of the remaining adult salt marsh vegetation, particularly in the northern corner at Site C, causing further die-back.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Relating indigenous knowledge practices and science concepts : an exploratory case study in a secondary school teacher-training programme

- Mandikonza, Caleb

Authors: Mandikonza, Caleb
Date: 2007
Subjects: Ethnoscience -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Zimbabwe Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Zimbabwe Teachers -- Training of -- Zimbabwe
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
Identifier: vital:1918 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007321
Description: This study reports research on how student teachers in Science at Mutare Teachers' College in Zimbabwe worked with indigenous knowledge practices in relation to science concepts in the secondary school syllabus. The study was conducted among first-year science students and involved them in developing science learning activities for a peer-teaching process that was part of their course. The research was undertaken during a review ofthe college syllabus and as a study to inform the Secondary Teacher Training Environmental Education Programme (ST²EEP). The research design involved the researcher in participant observations and interviews with rural people to document indigenous knowledge practices and to develop materials for the students to work with in the lessons design part of the study. The student teachers used the documented practices to generate learning activities and lesson plans to teach the science concepts they had identified. A peer review session and focus group interviews followed the lesson presentations. Findings from the research point to the rural community being a repository of diverse indigenous knowledge practices. Student teachers showed that they had prior knowledge of both indigenous knowledge practices and science concepts when they come to class. Student teachers were able to relate indigenous knowledge practices and science concepts in ways that have the potential to enhance the learning of science in rural school contexts that lack laboratories and science equipment. The scope of the study does not allow for anything beyond tentative conclusions that point to the need for further work to be undertaken with student teachers and for the research to be extended to teaching and learning interactions in schools. Recommendations are also made for further resource-based work to be undertaken within the forthcoming St²eep implementation phase in 2007.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Report of the multidisciplinary investigation of differentiation and potential hybridisation between two Yellowfish species Labeobarbus Kimberleyensis and L. Aeneus from the Orange-Vaal system

- Bloomer, Paulette, Villet, Martin H, Bills, Ian R, Van der Bank, F Herman, Jones, Nick, Walsh, Gina

Authors: Bloomer, Paulette , Villet, Martin H , Bills, Ian R , Van der Bank, F Herman , Jones, Nick , Walsh, Gina
Date: 2007
Language: English
Type: Report
Identifier: vital:7162 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011937
Description: From the executive summary]: The relationships within and between two yellowfish species, Labeobarbus aeneus (smallmouth yellowfish) and L. kimberleyensis (largemouth yellowfish) from the Orange-Vaal system were investigated through three independently conducted studies of the same material collected from the Sak River (the type locality of L. aeneus), the upper Orange River at Aliwal North and the lower Orange River at Pella and Onseepkans.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Reproductive co-existence among five sympatric single-stemmed aloes in the Gamtoos River Valley, Eastern Cape

- Botes, Christo

Authors: Botes, Christo
Date: 2007
Subjects: Aloe -- South Africa -- Gamtoos River Valley , Aloe -- South Africa -- Identification
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
Identifier: vital:10628 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/481 , Aloe -- South Africa -- Gamtoos River Valley , Aloe -- South Africa -- Identification
Description: In this study I documented the convergence of five congeneric bird-pollinated plants (Aloe pluridens, A. lineata var. muirii, A. speciosa, A. africana, and A. ferox) into three functional groups based on size, shape, and the arrangements of flowers on the inflorescence, but also nectar rewards, pollen deposition sites on the bird-pollinators, and the degree to which bees play a role in their pollination. Individuals of similar functional groups were divergent in their peak flowering times and limited their degree of flowering overlap further by spatial aggregation and niche separation, within the Thicket of the Gamtoos River Valley. The nectar properties were especially useful in structuring the bird pollinator community, which resulted in greater ethological isolation and hence, greater reproductive assurance in the mixed co-flowering plant communities. Choice array experiments revealed that it was the fine scale aggregation of flowering individuals that ensured that bird-pollinators feed selectively, since when equal choice was available, interspecific visitation increased significantly compared to natural scenarios. Bird behaviour and the ecological intermediateness of one to the species explained its prominence in hybrid combinations. The spatial occurrence of hybrid individuals can be traced back to the energetics of foraging and its influence on bird floral constancy. The pollination ecology of similar South African Aloe species were extrapolated from these and recent findings by various authors, but emphasises the need for a robust natural phylogeny of the Aloaceae in order to draw comprehensive conclusions on the evolutionary radiation of this highly charismatic group.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Resilience in families living with a Type I diabetic child

- Coetzee, Mariska

Authors: Coetzee, Mariska
Date: 2007
Subjects: Diabetes in children -- South Africa , Diabetes -- Prevention , Stress (Psychology) , Adjustment (Psychology)
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
Identifier: vital:9922 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/665 , Diabetes in children -- South Africa , Diabetes -- Prevention , Stress (Psychology) , Adjustment (Psychology)
Description: Type I diabetes has the ability to promote change in the family. In truth, although the child with diabetes is the diagnosed patient, the whole family has diabetes. While the challenges that families have to face are many, families seem to have the ability to “bounce back” (i.e., they have resilience). Research on the construct of resilience, and more specifically, family resilience has surged in recent times. However, South African research on family resilience is limited. This study aimed to explore and describe the factors that facilitate adjustment and adaptation in families that include a child living with Type I diabetes. The Resiliency Model of Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation, developed by McCubbin and McCubbin (2001) served as a framework to conceptualise the families’ adjustment and adaptation process. Non-probability purposive and snowball sampling techniques were employed. Sixteen families participated in this study, providing a total of 31 participants. Participants consisted of the caregivers of a family living with a child between the ages of four and 12 with Type I diabetes. The study was triangular in nature, with an exploratory, descriptive approach. A biographical questionnaire with an open-ended question was used in conjunction with seven other questionnaires to gather data. These questionnaires were: The Family Hardiness Index (FHI), the Family Time and Routine Index (FTRI), the Social Support Index (SSI), the Family Problem-Solving Communication (FPSC) Index, the Family Crises-Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales (F-COPES), the Relative and Friend Support Index, and the Family Attachment and Changeability Index 8 (FACI8). Descriptive statistics were used to describe the biographical information. Quantitative data were analysed by means of correlation and regression analysis, and a content analysis was conducted to analyse the qualitative data. The results of the quantitative analysis indicated three significant positive correlations with the FACI8. These variables were family hardiness (measured by the FHI), family problem-solving communication (measured by the FPSC), and family time and routines (measured by the FTRI). The results of the qualitative analysis revealed that social support, the caregivers’ acceptance of the condition, and spirituality and religion were the most important strength factors that contributed to the families’ adjustment and adaptation. Although the study had a small sample and many limitations, the study could be used as a stepping-stone for future research on resilience in families living with chronic medical conditions and will contribute to family resilience research in the South African context.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Resilience in families where a member is living with schizophrenia

- Haddad, Jason

Authors: Haddad, Jason
Date: 2007
Subjects: Schizophrenia , Schizophrenia -- South Africa -- Family relationships , Resilience (Personality trait)
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
Identifier: vital:9928 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/654 , Schizophrenia , Schizophrenia -- South Africa -- Family relationships , Resilience (Personality trait)
Description: Schizophrenia cuts across all racial, gender, and socioeconomic lines. Schizophrenia affects 1 percent of the population in Ireland: 35000 people (Schultz & Andreason, 1999); and affects 1.4 - 4.6 percent per 1000 people in the USA: 2.8 million - 9.8 million people (Jabelensky, 2004). In South Africa the figure is approximately 1 percent of the population or 500 000 people (Nicholas, Malcolm, Krosigk & Pillay, 2003). The median age of onset is 21.4 years for men and 26.8 years for women (Daubenton & van Rensburg, 2001), with only 10-20 percent recovering fully after the first psychotic episode (Saddock & Saddock, 2003). The schizophrenic patient is often unable to continue life as before diagnosis, and may progressively need more care as the years pass. Deinstitutionalization over the course of a number of decades has resulted in responsibility for care of mentally-ill individuals shifting to the individual’s family. The struggles faced by such a family can be overwhelming as they struggle with this responsibilty due to lack of training, lack of knowledge and insufficient professional support (Winefield & Harvey, 1994). The stress on the caregivers is often magnified as their support structures around them may ‘shut down’ out of fear of the schizophrenic illness (Williams & Mfoafo-M’Carthy, 2006). The characteristic symptoms used to define schizophrenia include various forms of delusions, hallucinations, thought disorders and abnormalities in emotional expression, social interaction, attention, volition and drives. The functional decline of the schizophrenic individual leads not only to social difficulties, but also economic difficulties that may cripple a family (Fadden, Bebbington & Kuipers, 1987). When first diagnosed, some families may be so overwhelmed by the ‘label’ given to their family member, that they see little hope or way to move forward. One explanation is offered by an American psychiatrist whose own son was diagnosed with schizophrenia, “We experience this terrible feeling of loss and grief for the son we knew. There is also this terrible loss of expectations. We feel cheated out of watching him mature…it is a mourning without end because, of course, Gary is not dead at all. He is very much still with us, seeming eternally twelve years old, needing constant care and attention” (Willick, 1994, p.14). Providing such care is associated with high levels of distress. Accordingly, much attention has been given to understanding the pressures faced by family members, with the hope of understanding how coping resources may be strengthened to sustain these care-giving relationships (Harvey, Burns, Fahy, Manley & Tattan, 2001). However, despite gains in understanding the needs of a schizophrenic family member once out of the hospital environment, care-giving relationships can still break down. The individual with the illness is often left more vulnerable to relapse, recurrent hospitalizations, homelessness and other negative outcomes (Jewel & Stein, 2002). The stress of not only interacting with the afflicted family member, but also with the grief associated with the illness, places an incredible strain on the day-to-day functioning of that family (Pollio, North, Reid, Miletic & McClendon, 2006). From the brief review provided, it is evident that research has been conducted regarding the stressors, strains and difficulties of caregivers of schizophrenic family members. However, the strengths of these families are under-investigated, and the current study will attempt to start filling this void.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Resistance or tolerance: an examination of aphid (Sitobion yakini) phloem feeding on Betta and Betta-Dn wheat (Triticum aestivum)

- De Wet, L R, Botha, Christiaan E J

Authors: De Wet, L R , Botha, Christiaan E J
Date: 2007
Language: English
Type: Article
Identifier: vital:6517 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005945
Description: Engineering pest resistance into crops is important. However, the mechanisms of resistance are not clearly understood. In this study, we examined the effects of aphid feeding on Russian wheat aphid-resistant and -susceptible cultivars of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.); Betta-Dn and Betta, respectively, by the grass aphid, Sitobion yakini (Eastop). These cultivars were grown with or without aphid colonies. In each case, we examined the plants specifically for the formation of wound callose associated with the phloem, using aniline blue and fluorescence microscopy. We observed that aphid feeding stimulated the formation of wound callose in the susceptible cultivar, but that callose was comparatively reduced in the resistant cultivar of wheat. In a separate series of experiments, the xenobiotic, 5, 6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate was applied to attached sink leaves, distal to feeding aphids. When leaf segments were examined four hours after application, little evidence of phloem transport of the fluorescent cleavage product, 5, 6-carboxyfluorescein (5, 6-CF), was evident below known aphid-probed sieve tubes. Low levels or absence of 5, 6-CF indicates that either the aphids have successfully redirected sap to themselves, or that the phloem is no longer functional. In contrast, 5, 6-CF transport was evident below sites of aphid probing in Betta-Dn, suggesting that the phloem was still capable of long-distance transport. In addition, callose deposition was reduced in Betta-Dn leaf phloem and it is surmised that transport was not as affected by aphid feeding in the resistant cultivar. This indicates that the ‘resistant’ wheat cultivar may in fact be tolerant to aphid feeding by successfully overcoming the nutrient drain that feeding aphids imposed on the phloem transport system.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Restraint of trade in the employment context

- Luckman, Peter Craig

Authors: Luckman, Peter Craig
Date: 2007
Subjects: Restraint of trade -- South Africa , Labor contract -- South Africa
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
Identifier: vital:10203 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/842 , Restraint of trade -- South Africa , Labor contract -- South Africa
Description: Clauses in restraint of trade agreements concluded between an employer and an employee often present difficult legal issues to deal with. This complexity is due to the fact that a court, in deciding whether to enforce a restraint provision, has to strike a balance between two equal but competing policy considerations, namely, the sanctity of the contract and the freedom of movement of people in a market economy. In striving to balance the sanctity of contract with the right of freedom to trade, it is necessary to decide which of these two policy considerations should take precedence by having regard to the public interest served by them in the particular circumstances. In the watershed case of Magna Alloys and Research(SA)(Pty) Ltd v Ellis, the Appellate Division decided the sanctity of contract had greater precedent in South African law and that undertakings in restraint of trade were prima facie valid and enforceable, unless the party seeking to avoid its obligations could show that the restraint of trade was contrary to public interest. The second consideration, namely that a person should be free to engage in useful economic activity and to contribute to the welfare of society, tempers the sanctity of contract considerations. Accordingly, the courts have struck down any unreasonable restriction on the freedom to trade where it was regarded as contrary to public interest. In considering the reasonableness and therefore the acceptability of restraint of trade provisions from a public policy perspective, the following five questions need consideration: Is there a legitimate interest of the employer that deserves protection at the termination of the employment agreement? If so, is that legitimate interest being prejudiced by the employee? If the legitimate interest is being prejudiced, does the interest of the employer weigh up, both qualitatively and quantitatively against the interest of the employee not to be economically inactive and unproductive? Is there another facet of public policy having nothing to do with the relationship between the parties but requires that the restraint should either be enforced or rejected? Is the ambit of the restraint of trade in respect of nature, area and duration justifiably necessary to protect the interests of the employer? In enforcing a restraint, the court will consider all the facts of the matter as at the time that the party is seeking to enforce the restraint. If a court finds that the right of the party to be economically active and productive surpasses the interest of the party attempting to enforce the restraint, the court will hold that such restraint is unreasonable and unenforceable. Consideration of the enforceability of restraints is often found to be challenging in view of the answers to the above stated five questions often remaining of a factual nature and subjective, i.e. the view and perceptions of the presiding officer play an important role. A further complexity is the limited early effect which the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa had on dispute resolution pertaining to restraints of trade in the employment context and the prospects of imminent changes to the pre-Constitutional era locus classicus of Magna Alloys and Research (SA)(Pty) Ltd v Ellis.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Restructuring implicational meaning through memory-based imagery: some historical notes

- Edwards, David J A

Authors: Edwards, David J A
Date: 2007
Language: English
Type: Article
Identifier: vital:6239 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007851
Description: This paper provides a historical perspective on the recent increase in the clinical application of imagery techniques to restructure systems of implicational meaning that drive emotional distress or self-defeating behaviors. Janet's early application of such techniques was largely ignored except by a few hypnotherapists. Current applications in cognitive therapy were adapted and extended in the early 1980s from Perls’ Gestalt therapy methods. Some precursors to Perls are examined, as well as the work of some of those who developed and formulated the integration of his techniques into Beck's cognitive therapy. It is argued that this process amounted to a significant paradigm shift.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Reviewing the use of environmental audits for environmental learning in school contexts: a case study of environmental auditing processes within a professional development course

- Hoffmann, Patricia Anne

Authors: Hoffmann, Patricia Anne
Date: 2007
Subjects: Environmental auditing -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Case studies Environmental education -- South Africa -- Case studies Sustainable development -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Case studies Professional education -- South Africa -- Case studies Teachers -- Training of -- South Africa -- Case studies Educational change -- South Africa -- Case studies
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
Identifier: vital:1746 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003630
Description: This case study focuses on the use of environmental audits for learning, by teachers participating in the Schools and Sustainability professional development course in Durban, South Africa. It reviews ways in which audits were choreographed and used for lessons within school contexts. It explores ways in which audits shaped meaning-making interactions and environmental learning processes. This is an interpretive case study, characterized by a moderate realist perspective. Data were generated through interviews with teachers, field observations, photographs, document analysis, and group interviews with learners. Data were analyzed using the general comparative method. The research takes place in the context of educational transformation in South Africa. Some of the challenges accompanying the shift to Outcomes Based Education seem to be associated with naïve interpretations of constructivism and a view of reality as socially constructed and relative. This seems to have influenced ways in which audits are being undertaken in school contexts. This study argues that a realist orientation to auditing may be a more useful process for engaging with the world and enhancing the way learners perceive and respond to environmental risk. Ideas about reality-congruence and the interacting processes of involvement and detachment are of central importance in understanding processes of knowledge construction and meaning making in this study. The study draws on the work of Elias (1987) and Latour (1999) to shed light on the significance of auditing processes in which a close engagement with reality, coupled with a measure of detachment, can lead to the construction of a more reality-congruent account and a more realistic assessment of the environmental issue in focus. Key findings of the study suggest that the effectiveness of environmental auditing as a pedagogical process was influenced by the teachers’ intentions, knowledge and skills, choreography of the audit, nature of the teaching and learning interactions, and ways in which teachers and learners engaged with the findings. The study recommends that auditing activities should be carefully structured and mediated by teachers to be meaningful and to enable learners to identify environmental issues, gather data, engage in critical reflection and deliberate appropriate responses for social and environmental transformation.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Rhenium(V)-Imido complexes with potentially multidentate ligands containing the amino group

- Booysen, Irvin Noel

Authors: Booysen, Irvin Noel
Date: 2007
Subjects: Rhenium , Ligands
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
Identifier: vital:10385 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/479 , Rhenium , Ligands
Description: The complex trans-[Re(dab)Cl3(PPh3)2] (H2dab=1,2-diaminobenzene) was prepared from the reaction of trans-[ReOCl3(PPh3)2] with H2dab in ethanol. The ligand dab is coordinated to the rhenium(V) centre through a dianionic imido nitrogen only, in a distorted octahedral coordination geometry around the metal ion. The complex trans-[Re(ada)Cl3(PPh3)2] (H2ada=2-aminodiphenylamine) was prepared from the reaction of trans-[ReOCl3(PPh3)2] with H2ada in acetonitrile. The ligand ada is coordinated to the rhenium(V) centre through a dianionic imido nitrogen only, in a distorted octahedral coordination geometry around the metal ion. Surprisingly, the Re-Cl bond length trans to the Re=N bond is shorter than the two equatorial Re-Cl bond lengths. The reaction of equimolar quantities of cis-[ReO2I(PPh3)2] with 5,6-diamino-1,3- dimethyluracil (H2ddd) in acetonitrile led to the formation of [Re(ddd)(Hddd)I(PPh3)2](ReO4). The X-ray crystal structure shows that the ligand ddd is coordinated monodentately through the doubly deprotonated amino nitrogen and is therefore present as an imide. The chelate Hddd is coordinated bidentately via the neutral amino nitrogen, which is coordinated trans to the imido nitrogen, and the singly deprotonated amido nitrogen, trans to the iodide. The reaction of equimolar quantities of [NH4(ReO4)] with H2ddd in methanol under reflux conditions led to the isolation of [C12H12N6O4] as only product. The [ReO4]- ion is therefore instrumental in the formation of [C12H12N6O4], and since the product contains no rhenium in any oxidation state, the conclusion is that [ReO4]- catalyses the oxidative deamination of H2ddd. The X-ray crystal structure consists of two centrosymmetric, tricyclic rings, comprising a central pyrazine ring and two terminal pyrimidine rings. The reaction of a twofold molar excess of H2apb (H2apb=2-(2-aminophenyl)-1Hbenzimidazole) with trans-[ReO2(py)4]Cl in ethanol gave the green product of the formulation [ReO(Hapb)(apb)] in good yield. The rhenium atom lies in a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal environment. The two imidazole N(2) atoms lie in the apical positions trans to each other, with the oxo-oxygen and two amido N(1) atoms in the trigonal plane. The complex has C2-symmetry. The two amino groups are singly deprotonated and provide a negative charge each, so that they are coordinated as amides. The oxo group provides two negative charges. In order to obtain electroneutrality for the rhenium(V) complex, the two coordinated imidazole nitrogens provide one negative charge. The complex salt trans-[Re(mps)Cl(PPh3)2](ReO4) (H3mps=N-(2-amino-3- methylphenyl)salicylideneimine) was prepared by the reaction of trans- [ReOCl3(PPh3)2] with a twofold molar excess of H3mps. The X-ray crystal structure shows that the trianionic ligand mps acts as a tridentate chelate via the doubly deprotonated amino nitrogen (which is present in trans- [Re(mps)Cl(PPh3)2](ReO4) as an imide), the neutral imino nitrogen and the deprotonated phenolic oxygen. The [ReO4]- anion has approximately regular tetrahedral geometry. Two significant hydrogen bonds are formed between two of the perrhenyl oxygens and the water of crystallization. The six-coordinated complex cis-[Re(mps)Cl2(PPh3)2] was prepared by the reaction of trans-[ReOCl3(PPh3)2] with a twofold molar excess of H3mps in benzene. The Xray crystal structure shows that the mps ligand coordinates as a tridentate chelate via the doubly deprotonated 2-amino nitrogen, the neutral imino nitrogen and the phenolate oxygen. The imide and phenolate oxygen coordinate trans to each other in a distorted octahedral geometry around the rhenium(V) centre, with the two chlorides in cis positions.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Rhodes University EE and Sustainability Unit

- Lotz-Sisitka, Heila, Schudel, Ingrid J

Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila , Schudel, Ingrid J
Date: 2007
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/294423 , vital:57220 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/097340820700100127"
Description: In the early 1990s, in response to the emphasis laid on environment and development issues by the new South African Constitution, Rhodes University undertook several initiatives such as establishing the first Chair of Environmental Education (EE) in Africa. Another important initiative was the introduction of an open-entry participatory course for environmental educators. Owing to its flexible format and practice-based methodology, the course gained rapid popularity, necessitating the setting up of a Service Centre to help meet the increased demand. The Chair and the Service Centre have been providing a range of short courses in environment and sustainability education to professionals, and are today widely known as the Rhodes University Environmental Education and Sustainability Unit (RUEESU). The Unit offers PhD and Masters level programmes in EE, encourages meaningful research in key thematic areas, and is actively involved in publishing, and policy transformation. It also endeavours to define the role of Universities in enabling sustainability education.
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Date Issued: 2007

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