"Something rotten in this age of hope": Wesley Deintje directs The HamletMachine (Rhodes University Theatre, 28 September 2007)
- Authors: Wright, Laurence
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:7048 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007390
- Description: Heiner Müller’s most famous play (Die Hamletmaschine, 1977) has evolved into something of a familiar war-horse for student theatre. The United States in particular has taken to the work; indeed, it was meant in part for them: “Heil Coca-cola!” says the script. For today’s South African ears this has become, very aptly, “Hail the Rainbow Nation!” What young director can resist it? Only eight pages in extent, the sparse yet densely referential text offers unfettered scope for interpretation and contextualization. Sure, the original offered Muller’s despairing take on the collapse of western civilisation, typified in the East German predicament where intellectuals felt trapped between the total failure of ‘actually existing socialism’ – that ideological mirage – in the German Democratic Republic, and the horrors of emergent bandit capitalism presaging an uncomfortable future. But the spaces in the text are so capacious that almost any claim to climactic despair can be entertained: idiot consumerism, gender oppression and aggression, political treachery and malfeasance, fascism, existential angst, intellectual cowardice, the postmodern condition, the rejection of hope.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Wright, Laurence
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:7048 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007390
- Description: Heiner Müller’s most famous play (Die Hamletmaschine, 1977) has evolved into something of a familiar war-horse for student theatre. The United States in particular has taken to the work; indeed, it was meant in part for them: “Heil Coca-cola!” says the script. For today’s South African ears this has become, very aptly, “Hail the Rainbow Nation!” What young director can resist it? Only eight pages in extent, the sparse yet densely referential text offers unfettered scope for interpretation and contextualization. Sure, the original offered Muller’s despairing take on the collapse of western civilisation, typified in the East German predicament where intellectuals felt trapped between the total failure of ‘actually existing socialism’ – that ideological mirage – in the German Democratic Republic, and the horrors of emergent bandit capitalism presaging an uncomfortable future. But the spaces in the text are so capacious that almost any claim to climactic despair can be entertained: idiot consumerism, gender oppression and aggression, political treachery and malfeasance, fascism, existential angst, intellectual cowardice, the postmodern condition, the rejection of hope.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
40 000 years of climatic change in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Lewis, Colin A
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6711 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006748
- Description: This article outlines the major climatic conditions that have occurred in the Eastern Cape over the last 40 000 years. They have been dated using radiocarbon analyses. Changes that are older than 40 000 years are beyond the range of radiocarbon dating and are not discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Lewis, Colin A
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6711 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006748
- Description: This article outlines the major climatic conditions that have occurred in the Eastern Cape over the last 40 000 years. They have been dated using radiocarbon analyses. Changes that are older than 40 000 years are beyond the range of radiocarbon dating and are not discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
A broad host range reporter plasmid for the analysis of divergent promoter regions
- Jiwaji, Meesbah, Matcher, Gwynneth F, Dorrington, Rosemary A
- Authors: Jiwaji, Meesbah , Matcher, Gwynneth F , Dorrington, Rosemary A
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6476 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006164 , http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S0038-23532008000400013&script=sci_arttext
- Description: Although many vectors exist for Escherichia coli and closely related species, there are few broad host range vectors that can be conjugated into a large variety of Gram-negative bacteria. We have constructed a broad host range vector, pMJ445, that facilitates the analysis of divergent promoters in Gram-negative bacteria. The vector was validated using two intergenic regions derived from gene clusters involved in hydantoin hydrolysis, from the environmental isolates Pseudomonas putida and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The DNA sequences analysed were capable of activating expression of the reporter enzymes, β-glucuronidase and β-galactosidase, present on pMJ445, indicating the presence of divergent promoters in the sequences selected. In addition, we demonstrated that pMJ445 can be applied to gene regulation studies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Jiwaji, Meesbah , Matcher, Gwynneth F , Dorrington, Rosemary A
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6476 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006164 , http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S0038-23532008000400013&script=sci_arttext
- Description: Although many vectors exist for Escherichia coli and closely related species, there are few broad host range vectors that can be conjugated into a large variety of Gram-negative bacteria. We have constructed a broad host range vector, pMJ445, that facilitates the analysis of divergent promoters in Gram-negative bacteria. The vector was validated using two intergenic regions derived from gene clusters involved in hydantoin hydrolysis, from the environmental isolates Pseudomonas putida and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The DNA sequences analysed were capable of activating expression of the reporter enzymes, β-glucuronidase and β-galactosidase, present on pMJ445, indicating the presence of divergent promoters in the sequences selected. In addition, we demonstrated that pMJ445 can be applied to gene regulation studies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
A global study of forensically significant calliphorids: implications for identification
- Harvey, M L, Gaudieri, S, Villet, Martin H, Dadour, I R
- Authors: Harvey, M L , Gaudieri, S , Villet, Martin H , Dadour, I R
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:6863 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011156
- Description: A proliferation of molecular studies of the forensically significant Calliphoridae in the last decade has seen molecule-based identification of immature and damaged specimens become a routine complement to traditional morphological identification as a preliminary to the accurate estimation of post-mortem intervals (PMI), which depends on the use of species-specific developmental data. Published molecular studies have tended to focus on generating data for geographically localised communities of species of importance, which has limited the consideration of intraspecific variation in species of global distribution. This study used phylogenetic analysis to assess the species status of 27 forensically important calliphorid species based on 1167 base pairs of the COI gene of 119 specimens from 22 countries, and confirmed the utility of the COI gene in identifying most species. The species Lucilia cuprina, Chrysomya megacephala, Ch. saffranea, Ch. albifrontalis and Calliphora stygia were unable to be monophyletically resolved based on these data. Identification of phylogenetically young species will require a faster-evolving molecular marker, but most species could be unambiguously characterised by sampling relatively few conspecific individuals if they were from distant localities. Intraspecific geographical variation was observed within Ch. rufifacies and L. cuprina, and is discussed with reference to unrecognised species.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Harvey, M L , Gaudieri, S , Villet, Martin H , Dadour, I R
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:6863 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011156
- Description: A proliferation of molecular studies of the forensically significant Calliphoridae in the last decade has seen molecule-based identification of immature and damaged specimens become a routine complement to traditional morphological identification as a preliminary to the accurate estimation of post-mortem intervals (PMI), which depends on the use of species-specific developmental data. Published molecular studies have tended to focus on generating data for geographically localised communities of species of importance, which has limited the consideration of intraspecific variation in species of global distribution. This study used phylogenetic analysis to assess the species status of 27 forensically important calliphorid species based on 1167 base pairs of the COI gene of 119 specimens from 22 countries, and confirmed the utility of the COI gene in identifying most species. The species Lucilia cuprina, Chrysomya megacephala, Ch. saffranea, Ch. albifrontalis and Calliphora stygia were unable to be monophyletically resolved based on these data. Identification of phylogenetically young species will require a faster-evolving molecular marker, but most species could be unambiguously characterised by sampling relatively few conspecific individuals if they were from distant localities. Intraspecific geographical variation was observed within Ch. rufifacies and L. cuprina, and is discussed with reference to unrecognised species.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
A phenomenological case study of a lecturer's understanding of himself as an assessor
- Authors: Grant, Rosemary
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6087 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008582
- Description: Based on the findings of research conducted as part of a doctoral study aimed at obtaining an understanding of what it means to be an assessor in higher education, this paper outlines the experience of an individual lecturer at a South African university and describes the meaning he makes of his practice as an assessor within the context of a changing understanding of the nature and purpose of higher education. Making a case for personal agency and innovation as critical qualities in the assessment endeavour, the researcher suggests that, in contrast to a view of education increasingly focused on standardization, accountability and outcomes, student assessment is essentially a human encounter in which the humanity and emotions of both lecturer and student need to be acknowledged.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Grant, Rosemary
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6087 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008582
- Description: Based on the findings of research conducted as part of a doctoral study aimed at obtaining an understanding of what it means to be an assessor in higher education, this paper outlines the experience of an individual lecturer at a South African university and describes the meaning he makes of his practice as an assessor within the context of a changing understanding of the nature and purpose of higher education. Making a case for personal agency and innovation as critical qualities in the assessment endeavour, the researcher suggests that, in contrast to a view of education increasingly focused on standardization, accountability and outcomes, student assessment is essentially a human encounter in which the humanity and emotions of both lecturer and student need to be acknowledged.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
A preliminary investigation of spinal kinematics during sugar cane harvesting
- Authors: Todd, Andrew I
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6759 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009462
- Description: The sugar cane industry forms a significant portion of the South African economy, and unlike many other countries the harvesting of sugar cane in South Africa remains manual in nature. The focus of the present study was therefore on the assessment of spinal kinematics (range of motion, velocities and accelerations in all three cardinal planes) during the harvesting process. Eight workers were recruited from the Illovo Esperanza farm in Kwa-zulu Natal as subjects for the study. The experimental protocol was conducted in situ and required subjects to cut the sugar cane using specially modified knives as they would under normal harvesting conditions. The motion performance was quantified using the lumbar motion monitor (LMM), a triaxial electrogoniometer. Results indicate that the harvesting of sugar cane places excessive demands on the spine. During cutting, subjects were required to maintain the spine in a high degree of flexion throughout the task which also demonstrated significant twisting and lateral bending. Of particular concern were the high lateral velocities (ranging between 50 and 90 m.s-1), as this is a key risk factor in the development of lower back pain. It is evident from these results that new techniques of harvesting sugar cane are essential to reduce the rate of injury within this industry.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Todd, Andrew I
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6759 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009462
- Description: The sugar cane industry forms a significant portion of the South African economy, and unlike many other countries the harvesting of sugar cane in South Africa remains manual in nature. The focus of the present study was therefore on the assessment of spinal kinematics (range of motion, velocities and accelerations in all three cardinal planes) during the harvesting process. Eight workers were recruited from the Illovo Esperanza farm in Kwa-zulu Natal as subjects for the study. The experimental protocol was conducted in situ and required subjects to cut the sugar cane using specially modified knives as they would under normal harvesting conditions. The motion performance was quantified using the lumbar motion monitor (LMM), a triaxial electrogoniometer. Results indicate that the harvesting of sugar cane places excessive demands on the spine. During cutting, subjects were required to maintain the spine in a high degree of flexion throughout the task which also demonstrated significant twisting and lateral bending. Of particular concern were the high lateral velocities (ranging between 50 and 90 m.s-1), as this is a key risk factor in the development of lower back pain. It is evident from these results that new techniques of harvesting sugar cane are essential to reduce the rate of injury within this industry.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
A preliminary survey of the estuaries on the south coast of South Africa, Cape St Blaize, Mossel Bay - Robberg Peninsula, Plettenberg Bay, with particular reference to the fish fauna
- James, Nicola C, Harrison, T D
- Authors: James, Nicola C , Harrison, T D
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:7141 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011834
- Description: The coastal river systems on the south coast of South Africa from Cape St Blaize to Robberg Peninsula were surveyed during October and November 1994. The ichthyofaunal and physico-chemical characteristics of each system are presented and their suitability as estuarine nursery areas is discussed. Five systems (Rooi, Meul, Grooteiland, Kranshoek and Crooks) are outlets of small coastal streams and probably provide little or no habitat for either resident estuarine or migrant marine fishes owing to their small size. Four systems (Maalgate, Gwaing, Skaapkop and Kaaimans) are located within deeply incised valleys and have a permanent connection with the sea. The amount of marginal and intertidal habitat available to fishes, however, is limited due to their morphology. Six systems (Hartenbos, Groot Brak, Touw, Swartvlei, Goukamma and Noetsie) are intermittently open to the sea. Although the Touw and Swartvlei are connected to coastal lake systems, flow within these estuaries is not sufficient to prevent the build up of a sand barrier at the mouth. The Hartenbos, Groot Brak, Goukamma, and Noetsie are also periodically closed by a sand bar. The construction of a dam in the lower catchment of the Groot Brak has affected the hydrology of the system. The two remaining estuaries (Klein Brak and Knysna) are permanently open. In addition to strong tidal currents, the fixing of the mouth of the Knysna Estuary between rocky headlands also serves to maintain a permanent connection with the sea. Mugilidae and Sparidae were represented by the greatest number of species, and also dominated catches numerically and by mass. The fish fauna of all the estuaries surveyed were dominated by the juveniles of estuarine-dependent marine species and estuarine-resident species were also well represented in catches. The estuaries surveyed provide a vital habitat for both marine migrant species and resident species, most of which are endemic to the region.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: James, Nicola C , Harrison, T D
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:7141 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011834
- Description: The coastal river systems on the south coast of South Africa from Cape St Blaize to Robberg Peninsula were surveyed during October and November 1994. The ichthyofaunal and physico-chemical characteristics of each system are presented and their suitability as estuarine nursery areas is discussed. Five systems (Rooi, Meul, Grooteiland, Kranshoek and Crooks) are outlets of small coastal streams and probably provide little or no habitat for either resident estuarine or migrant marine fishes owing to their small size. Four systems (Maalgate, Gwaing, Skaapkop and Kaaimans) are located within deeply incised valleys and have a permanent connection with the sea. The amount of marginal and intertidal habitat available to fishes, however, is limited due to their morphology. Six systems (Hartenbos, Groot Brak, Touw, Swartvlei, Goukamma and Noetsie) are intermittently open to the sea. Although the Touw and Swartvlei are connected to coastal lake systems, flow within these estuaries is not sufficient to prevent the build up of a sand barrier at the mouth. The Hartenbos, Groot Brak, Goukamma, and Noetsie are also periodically closed by a sand bar. The construction of a dam in the lower catchment of the Groot Brak has affected the hydrology of the system. The two remaining estuaries (Klein Brak and Knysna) are permanently open. In addition to strong tidal currents, the fixing of the mouth of the Knysna Estuary between rocky headlands also serves to maintain a permanent connection with the sea. Mugilidae and Sparidae were represented by the greatest number of species, and also dominated catches numerically and by mass. The fish fauna of all the estuaries surveyed were dominated by the juveniles of estuarine-dependent marine species and estuarine-resident species were also well represented in catches. The estuaries surveyed provide a vital habitat for both marine migrant species and resident species, most of which are endemic to the region.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
A synopsis of the Afrotropical Tricorythidae
- Authors: Barber-James, Helen M
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:7003 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008362
- Description: The Tricorythidae of the Afrotropical Region is currently composed of five described genera, three of which are thought to be restricted to Madagascar (Madecassorythus Elouard and Oliarioniny, Ranorythus Oliarinony and Elouard, and Spinirythus Oliarinony and Elouard), one which is restricted to Africa (Dicercomyzon Demoulin), and one which is thought to be distributed on both landmasses (Tricorythus Eaton). Based on sexual dimorphism, manifest in the relative eye size of mature male and female nymphs and adults and on the structure of the genitalia of adult males, it is proposed that there are two additional genera in Africa, as yet undescribed. One of these genera is represented by a species currently placed in Tricorythus (T. discolor [Burmeister]). Several other undescribed species within South Africa have been identified as belonging to the group. A second lineage is represented by Tricorythus tinctus Kimmins, from Uganda, the only currently described species. There are also several more undescribed species of this group widespread in Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Barber-James, Helen M
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:7003 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008362
- Description: The Tricorythidae of the Afrotropical Region is currently composed of five described genera, three of which are thought to be restricted to Madagascar (Madecassorythus Elouard and Oliarioniny, Ranorythus Oliarinony and Elouard, and Spinirythus Oliarinony and Elouard), one which is restricted to Africa (Dicercomyzon Demoulin), and one which is thought to be distributed on both landmasses (Tricorythus Eaton). Based on sexual dimorphism, manifest in the relative eye size of mature male and female nymphs and adults and on the structure of the genitalia of adult males, it is proposed that there are two additional genera in Africa, as yet undescribed. One of these genera is represented by a species currently placed in Tricorythus (T. discolor [Burmeister]). Several other undescribed species within South Africa have been identified as belonging to the group. A second lineage is represented by Tricorythus tinctus Kimmins, from Uganda, the only currently described species. There are also several more undescribed species of this group widespread in Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
A xylem retrieval pathway in rice leaf blades – evidence of a role for endocytosis?
- Botha, Christiaan E J, Aoki, N, Scofield, G N, Liu, Lin, Furbank, R T, White, R G
- Authors: Botha, Christiaan E J , Aoki, N , Scofield, G N , Liu, Lin , Furbank, R T , White, R G
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6505 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005930 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jxb/ern150
- Description: The structure and transport properties of pit membranes at the interface between the metaxylem and xylem parenchyma cells and the possible role of these pit membranes in solute transfer to the phloem was investigated. Electron microscopy revealed a fibrillar, almost tubular matrix within the pit membrane structure between the xylem vessels and xylem parenchyma of leaf blade bundles in rice (Oryza sativa). These pits are involved primarily with regulating water flux to the surrounding xylem parenchyma cells. Vascular parenchyma cells contain large mitochondrial populations, numerous dictyosomes, endomembrane complexes and vesicles in close proximity to the pit membrane. Taken collectively this suggests that endocytosis may occur at this interface. A weak solution of 5,6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate (5,6-CFDA) was applied to cut ends of leaves and after a minimum of 45 minutes, the distribution of the fluorescent cleavage product, 5,6-carboxyfluorescein (5,6-CF) was observed using confocal microscopy. Cleavage of 5,6-CFDA occurred within the xylem parenchyma cells and the non-polar 5,6-CF was then symplasmically transported to other parenchyma elements and ultimately, via numerous pore plasmodesmata, to adjacent thick-walled sieve tubes. Application of Lucifer Yellow, and, separately, Texas Red labelled dextran (10 kDa) to the transpiration stream, confirmed that these membrane-impermeant probes could only have been offloaded from the xylem via the xylem vessel-xylem parenchyma pit membranes, suggesting endocytotic transmembrane transfer of these membrane-impermeant fluorophores. Accumulation within the thick-walled sieve tubes, but not in thin-walled sieve tubes, confirms the presence of a symplasmic phloem loading pathway, via pore plasmodesmata between xylem parenchyma and thick-walled sieve tubes, but not thin-walled sieve tubes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Botha, Christiaan E J , Aoki, N , Scofield, G N , Liu, Lin , Furbank, R T , White, R G
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6505 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005930 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jxb/ern150
- Description: The structure and transport properties of pit membranes at the interface between the metaxylem and xylem parenchyma cells and the possible role of these pit membranes in solute transfer to the phloem was investigated. Electron microscopy revealed a fibrillar, almost tubular matrix within the pit membrane structure between the xylem vessels and xylem parenchyma of leaf blade bundles in rice (Oryza sativa). These pits are involved primarily with regulating water flux to the surrounding xylem parenchyma cells. Vascular parenchyma cells contain large mitochondrial populations, numerous dictyosomes, endomembrane complexes and vesicles in close proximity to the pit membrane. Taken collectively this suggests that endocytosis may occur at this interface. A weak solution of 5,6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate (5,6-CFDA) was applied to cut ends of leaves and after a minimum of 45 minutes, the distribution of the fluorescent cleavage product, 5,6-carboxyfluorescein (5,6-CF) was observed using confocal microscopy. Cleavage of 5,6-CFDA occurred within the xylem parenchyma cells and the non-polar 5,6-CF was then symplasmically transported to other parenchyma elements and ultimately, via numerous pore plasmodesmata, to adjacent thick-walled sieve tubes. Application of Lucifer Yellow, and, separately, Texas Red labelled dextran (10 kDa) to the transpiration stream, confirmed that these membrane-impermeant probes could only have been offloaded from the xylem via the xylem vessel-xylem parenchyma pit membranes, suggesting endocytotic transmembrane transfer of these membrane-impermeant fluorophores. Accumulation within the thick-walled sieve tubes, but not in thin-walled sieve tubes, confirms the presence of a symplasmic phloem loading pathway, via pore plasmodesmata between xylem parenchyma and thick-walled sieve tubes, but not thin-walled sieve tubes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
An ambassador of science in Africa
- Authors: Peter, Kerry
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:7191 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006355
- Description: Rhodes University's Professor Tebello Nyokong, has won the Africa-Arab State 2009 L'Oreal-Unesco Award for Women in Science for her pioneering research into photodynamic therapy which looks at harnessing light for cancer therapy and environmental cleanup. Prof Nyokong is the third South African Scientist to receive this award, and reaffirms Rhodes' place as one of the top research institutions in the country.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Peter, Kerry
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:7191 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006355
- Description: Rhodes University's Professor Tebello Nyokong, has won the Africa-Arab State 2009 L'Oreal-Unesco Award for Women in Science for her pioneering research into photodynamic therapy which looks at harnessing light for cancer therapy and environmental cleanup. Prof Nyokong is the third South African Scientist to receive this award, and reaffirms Rhodes' place as one of the top research institutions in the country.
- Full Text:
Application of satellite-derived rainfall estimates to extend water resource simulation modelling in South Africa
- Sawunyama, Tendai, Hughes, Denis A
- Authors: Sawunyama, Tendai , Hughes, Denis A
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:7089 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012419
- Description: Spatially interpolated rainfall estimates from rain-gauges are widely used as input to hydrological models, but deriving accurate estimates at appropriate space and time scales remain a major problem. In South Africa there has been a gradual decrease in the number of active rain-gauges over time. Satellite-based estimates of spatial rainfall are becoming more readily available and offer a viable substitute. The paper presents the potential of using Climate Prediction Center African daily precipitation climatology (CPCAPC) satellite-based datasets (2001-2006) to drive a Pitman hydrological model which has been calibrated using gauge-based rainfall data (1920-1990). However, if two sources of rainfall data are to be used together, it is necessary to ensure that they are compatible in terms of their statistical properties. A non-linear frequency of exceedance transformation technique was used to correct the satellite data to be more consistent with historical spatial rainfall estimates. The technique generated simulation results for the 2001 to 2006 period that were greatly improved compared to the direct use of the untransformed satellite data. While there remain some further questions about the use of satellite-derived rainfall data in different parts of the country, they do seem to have the potential to contribute to extending water resource modelling into the future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Sawunyama, Tendai , Hughes, Denis A
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:7089 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012419
- Description: Spatially interpolated rainfall estimates from rain-gauges are widely used as input to hydrological models, but deriving accurate estimates at appropriate space and time scales remain a major problem. In South Africa there has been a gradual decrease in the number of active rain-gauges over time. Satellite-based estimates of spatial rainfall are becoming more readily available and offer a viable substitute. The paper presents the potential of using Climate Prediction Center African daily precipitation climatology (CPCAPC) satellite-based datasets (2001-2006) to drive a Pitman hydrological model which has been calibrated using gauge-based rainfall data (1920-1990). However, if two sources of rainfall data are to be used together, it is necessary to ensure that they are compatible in terms of their statistical properties. A non-linear frequency of exceedance transformation technique was used to correct the satellite data to be more consistent with historical spatial rainfall estimates. The technique generated simulation results for the 2001 to 2006 period that were greatly improved compared to the direct use of the untransformed satellite data. While there remain some further questions about the use of satellite-derived rainfall data in different parts of the country, they do seem to have the potential to contribute to extending water resource modelling into the future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Archdeacon Merriman, ‘Caliban’, and the Cattle-Killing of 1856–57
- Authors: Wright, Laurence
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:7026 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007212 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00020180802242574
- Description: [From the introduction]: Did Archdeacon Merriman accept that Mhlakaza was Wilhelm Goliath? The short answer is that we don’t know. However, historical problems sometimes yield, or at least buckle slightly, when approached from unusual, tangential perspectives.I believe it can be shown that in the terrible aftermath of the Cattle-Killing, Nathaniel Merriman was brooding on his former servant, Wilhelm Goliath, and that evidence of this preoccupation emerges indirectly in a very open and unexpected forum: a public lecture on Shakespeare.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Wright, Laurence
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:7026 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007212 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00020180802242574
- Description: [From the introduction]: Did Archdeacon Merriman accept that Mhlakaza was Wilhelm Goliath? The short answer is that we don’t know. However, historical problems sometimes yield, or at least buckle slightly, when approached from unusual, tangential perspectives.I believe it can be shown that in the terrible aftermath of the Cattle-Killing, Nathaniel Merriman was brooding on his former servant, Wilhelm Goliath, and that evidence of this preoccupation emerges indirectly in a very open and unexpected forum: a public lecture on Shakespeare.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Baited traps may be an alternative to conventional pesticides in the integrated crop management of chicory (Compositae) in South Africa
- Midgley, John M, Hill, Martin P, Villet, Martin H
- Authors: Midgley, John M , Hill, Martin P , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6858 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011141 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/0022-0493(2008)101[99:BTMBAA]2.0.CO;2 , https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0579-5298
- Description: Chicory, Chicorium intybus L. (Compositae), is a major field crop in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Several pests feed on the leaves of the plant, resulting in reduced yield. The most important of these are the noctuid moths Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), Chrysodeixis acuta (Walker), and Trichoplusia orichalcea (F.). The use of attract-and-kill traps offers an alternative to broad-based insecticides in the control of these species. Three fields were treated with normal insecticides and three fields with yellow-baited traps. Eight additional traps were placed in each field, with half of the traps containing the insecticide 2,2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate (dichlorvos) and half without dichlorvos; and half yellow and half green. Total moth numbers and nonphytophage diversity were measured from these eight traps. Although no differences in H. armigera or T. orichalcea catches were observed between insecticide- and trap-treated fields, numbers of C. acuta and the total number of moths were significantly higher in insecticide-treated fields. Yellow traps containing dichlorvos contained more moths than yellow traps without dichlorvos, or green traps with dichlorvos, or green traps without dichlorvos; but they also contained more nonphytophagous insects. Yellow traps also enhanced the catches of thrips on card traps associated with them. These results offer an opportunity for the South African chicory industry to reduce pesticide applications and thus mitigate environmental impacts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Midgley, John M , Hill, Martin P , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6858 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011141 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/0022-0493(2008)101[99:BTMBAA]2.0.CO;2 , https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0579-5298
- Description: Chicory, Chicorium intybus L. (Compositae), is a major field crop in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Several pests feed on the leaves of the plant, resulting in reduced yield. The most important of these are the noctuid moths Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), Chrysodeixis acuta (Walker), and Trichoplusia orichalcea (F.). The use of attract-and-kill traps offers an alternative to broad-based insecticides in the control of these species. Three fields were treated with normal insecticides and three fields with yellow-baited traps. Eight additional traps were placed in each field, with half of the traps containing the insecticide 2,2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate (dichlorvos) and half without dichlorvos; and half yellow and half green. Total moth numbers and nonphytophage diversity were measured from these eight traps. Although no differences in H. armigera or T. orichalcea catches were observed between insecticide- and trap-treated fields, numbers of C. acuta and the total number of moths were significantly higher in insecticide-treated fields. Yellow traps containing dichlorvos contained more moths than yellow traps without dichlorvos, or green traps with dichlorvos, or green traps without dichlorvos; but they also contained more nonphytophagous insects. Yellow traps also enhanced the catches of thrips on card traps associated with them. These results offer an opportunity for the South African chicory industry to reduce pesticide applications and thus mitigate environmental impacts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Biological responses to a resumption in river flow in a freshwater-deprived, permanently open Southern African estuary
- Vorwerk, Paul D, Froneman, P William, Paterson, Angus W, Strydom, Nadine A, Whitfield, Alan K
- Authors: Vorwerk, Paul D , Froneman, P William , Paterson, Angus W , Strydom, Nadine A , Whitfield, Alan K
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:6886 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011645
- Description: The Kariega Estuary is a freshwater-deprived system due to numerous impoundments in the catchment. This system has had little or no horizontal salinity gradient over the last 15 years, with hypersaline conditions sometimes predominating in the upper reaches. Following high rainfall events in the catchment during the spring of 2006, including a flood event (approximate 1:10 year) in August 2006, a series of riverine pulses entered the estuary and a horizontal salinity gradient was established. This study examined the influence of this freshwater pulse on four components of the biota within the estuary, namely the zooplankton, and larval, littoral and demersal fishes. The study demonstrated that in three of these components elevated densities were recorded following the riverine input, with only the littoral fishes retaining an almost constant density. In addition, changes in the relative contributions of the estuarine utilisation classes for all three fish groups examined indicated that freshwater input into these systems positively influences the abundances. This has significant implications for water managers as it demonstrates the importance of an Ecological Reserve (defined as ‘the water required to protect the aquatic ecosystems of the water resource’) for this system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Vorwerk, Paul D , Froneman, P William , Paterson, Angus W , Strydom, Nadine A , Whitfield, Alan K
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:6886 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011645
- Description: The Kariega Estuary is a freshwater-deprived system due to numerous impoundments in the catchment. This system has had little or no horizontal salinity gradient over the last 15 years, with hypersaline conditions sometimes predominating in the upper reaches. Following high rainfall events in the catchment during the spring of 2006, including a flood event (approximate 1:10 year) in August 2006, a series of riverine pulses entered the estuary and a horizontal salinity gradient was established. This study examined the influence of this freshwater pulse on four components of the biota within the estuary, namely the zooplankton, and larval, littoral and demersal fishes. The study demonstrated that in three of these components elevated densities were recorded following the riverine input, with only the littoral fishes retaining an almost constant density. In addition, changes in the relative contributions of the estuarine utilisation classes for all three fish groups examined indicated that freshwater input into these systems positively influences the abundances. This has significant implications for water managers as it demonstrates the importance of an Ecological Reserve (defined as ‘the water required to protect the aquatic ecosystems of the water resource’) for this system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Characterization of a succession of small insect viruses in a wild South African population of Nudaurelia cytherea capensis (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)
- Walter, Cheryl T, Tomasicchio, Michelle, Hodgson, V, Hendry, Donald A, Hill, Martin P, Dorrington, Rosemary A
- Authors: Walter, Cheryl T , Tomasicchio, Michelle , Hodgson, V , Hendry, Donald A , Hill, Martin P , Dorrington, Rosemary A
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6474 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006161 , http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S0038-23532008000200015&script=sci_arttext
- Description: The Tetraviridae are a family of small insect RNA viruses first discovered in South Africa some 40 years ago. They consist of one or two single-stranded (+) RNAs encapsidated in an icosahedral capsid of approximately 40 nm in diameter, with T = 4 symmetry. The type members of the two genera within this family, Nudaurelia β virus (NβV) and Nudaurelia ω virus (NωV), infect Nudaurelia cytherea capensis (pine emperor moth) larvae. The absence of N. capensis laboratory colonies and tissue culture cell lines susceptible to virus infection have limited research on the biology of NβV and NωV because the availability of infectious virus is dependent upon sporadic outbreaks in the wild N. capensis populations. In September 2002, dead and dying N. capensis larvae exhibiting symptoms similar to those reported previously in other tetravirus infections were observed in a wild population in a pine forest in the Western Cape province of South Africa. We report here the isolation of three small insect viruses from this population over a period of three years. Transmission electron microscopy and serological characterization indicate that all three are tetra-like virus isolates. One isolate was shown by cDNA sequence analysis to be NβV, which was thought to have been extinct since 1985. The two other isolates are likely new tetraviruses, designated Nudaurelia ψ virus (NψV) and Nudaurelia ζ virus (NζV), which are morphologically and serologically related to NωV and NβV, respectively.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Walter, Cheryl T , Tomasicchio, Michelle , Hodgson, V , Hendry, Donald A , Hill, Martin P , Dorrington, Rosemary A
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6474 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006161 , http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S0038-23532008000200015&script=sci_arttext
- Description: The Tetraviridae are a family of small insect RNA viruses first discovered in South Africa some 40 years ago. They consist of one or two single-stranded (+) RNAs encapsidated in an icosahedral capsid of approximately 40 nm in diameter, with T = 4 symmetry. The type members of the two genera within this family, Nudaurelia β virus (NβV) and Nudaurelia ω virus (NωV), infect Nudaurelia cytherea capensis (pine emperor moth) larvae. The absence of N. capensis laboratory colonies and tissue culture cell lines susceptible to virus infection have limited research on the biology of NβV and NωV because the availability of infectious virus is dependent upon sporadic outbreaks in the wild N. capensis populations. In September 2002, dead and dying N. capensis larvae exhibiting symptoms similar to those reported previously in other tetravirus infections were observed in a wild population in a pine forest in the Western Cape province of South Africa. We report here the isolation of three small insect viruses from this population over a period of three years. Transmission electron microscopy and serological characterization indicate that all three are tetra-like virus isolates. One isolate was shown by cDNA sequence analysis to be NβV, which was thought to have been extinct since 1985. The two other isolates are likely new tetraviruses, designated Nudaurelia ψ virus (NψV) and Nudaurelia ζ virus (NζV), which are morphologically and serologically related to NωV and NβV, respectively.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Contextualising learning in Advanced Certificate in Education (Environmental Education) courses : synthesising contexts and experiences
- Lotz-Sisitka, Heila, Le Roux, Cheryl, Loubser, Callie, Schudel, Ingrid J, O'Donoghue, Rob B, Shallcross, Tony
- Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila , Le Roux, Cheryl , Loubser, Callie , Schudel, Ingrid J , O'Donoghue, Rob B , Shallcross, Tony
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:21224 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7167 , http://0-hdl.handle.net.wam.seals.ac.za/10520/EJC32180
- Description: We report on experiences in the Advanced Certificate in Education (Environmental Education) courses of two South African universities, namely, Rhodes University and the University of South Africa. We focus specifically on the whole school approaches which were influenced by a project between these two universities and Manchester Metropolitan University. We illustrate how contextual profiling influenced the perspective or entry point from which the whole school message was approached in the ACE (EE) courses. Through illustrative examples from these two courses, we report on two different approaches to contextual profiling, starting by problematising an approach that relies solely on a priori contextual profiling. We then illustrate how this approach can be complemented by contextual profiling within courses and within context through situated learning processes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila , Le Roux, Cheryl , Loubser, Callie , Schudel, Ingrid J , O'Donoghue, Rob B , Shallcross, Tony
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:21224 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7167 , http://0-hdl.handle.net.wam.seals.ac.za/10520/EJC32180
- Description: We report on experiences in the Advanced Certificate in Education (Environmental Education) courses of two South African universities, namely, Rhodes University and the University of South Africa. We focus specifically on the whole school approaches which were influenced by a project between these two universities and Manchester Metropolitan University. We illustrate how contextual profiling influenced the perspective or entry point from which the whole school message was approached in the ACE (EE) courses. Through illustrative examples from these two courses, we report on two different approaches to contextual profiling, starting by problematising an approach that relies solely on a priori contextual profiling. We then illustrate how this approach can be complemented by contextual profiling within courses and within context through situated learning processes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Cultivating Grahamstown: Nathaniel Merriman, Shakespeare and Books
- Authors: Wright, Laurence
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:7033 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007367
- Description: In 1857, Archdeacon Nathaniel Merriman delivered two public lectures on Shakespeare under the auspices of the “General Institute” of Grahamstown. The first, “On the Study of Shakspeare”, was given on 2 September and “Shakspeare, As Bearing on English History” two months later, on Friday 6 November. This article sets out to place the lectures in their local context, by providing a brief sketch of literary and cultural life in the town, in which the appreciation of Shakespeare played no small part.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Wright, Laurence
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:7033 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007367
- Description: In 1857, Archdeacon Nathaniel Merriman delivered two public lectures on Shakespeare under the auspices of the “General Institute” of Grahamstown. The first, “On the Study of Shakspeare”, was given on 2 September and “Shakspeare, As Bearing on English History” two months later, on Friday 6 November. This article sets out to place the lectures in their local context, by providing a brief sketch of literary and cultural life in the town, in which the appreciation of Shakespeare played no small part.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Deriving narrow syntax through constraints on information structure : a parallel between linguistic models of displacement and database theory
- Authors: de Vos, Mark
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6142 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011594
- Description: This paper presents a research program for normalization-driven syntax. It takes the Minimalist research agenda as a starting point (Chomsky 1995. The Minimalist Program. MIT Press, Cambridge MA.) and explores the question of how the CI interface determines syntactic operations. The proposal provides specific content to the notion of bare output conditions and the nature of the CI interface. It does so by drawing on the tools provided by Relational Theory, a branch of set-theoretic mathematics, and Database Theory, a branch of computer science. It is demonstrated that core components of Narrow Syntax (phrase structure, selection and AGREE) are all definable in terms of Relational Theory. Then, it is shown that the process of relation optimization, or normalization, can derive chain formation. The article concludes with two speculations on the implementation of phases within a normalization-driven grammar and the implications of such a system for the learnability of the lexicon.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: de Vos, Mark
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6142 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011594
- Description: This paper presents a research program for normalization-driven syntax. It takes the Minimalist research agenda as a starting point (Chomsky 1995. The Minimalist Program. MIT Press, Cambridge MA.) and explores the question of how the CI interface determines syntactic operations. The proposal provides specific content to the notion of bare output conditions and the nature of the CI interface. It does so by drawing on the tools provided by Relational Theory, a branch of set-theoretic mathematics, and Database Theory, a branch of computer science. It is demonstrated that core components of Narrow Syntax (phrase structure, selection and AGREE) are all definable in terms of Relational Theory. Then, it is shown that the process of relation optimization, or normalization, can derive chain formation. The article concludes with two speculations on the implementation of phases within a normalization-driven grammar and the implications of such a system for the learnability of the lexicon.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Developing principles for research about young women and abortion: a feminist analysis of difficulties in current South African studies
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6292 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1014716
- Description: Soon after the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy (CTOP) Act of 1996, which legalised abortion for the first time, was passed. Since the introduction of the CTOP, a number of studies have been conducted on abortion in South Africa. Many have taken a health-related focus, but some research on young women and abortion has also been conducted, and it is to this (published) research that this article speaks. Two facts highlight the importance of this kind of research in the context of the abortion debate. Firstly, data from the Department of Health indicate that from 1997 to mid-2006, 12% of women undergoing terminations in the provinces in which age-related data are available were under the age of 18 (Department of Health: 2006). Secondly, the subsection of the Act allowing minors to request abortions without parental consent has caused some controversy. For example, the Christian Lawyers Association filed a suit in the Pretoria High Court in 2003, arguing that the above-mentioned subsection was unconstitutional. Their application was not successful. The research conducted on young women and abortion is etched against a background of change and contradiction in young people’s lives in South Africa. In addition to enabling legislation on termination of pregnancy, which is premised on the rights-based approach of the first democratically elected government of South Africa, various opportunities and challenges define the lives of young women. Specifically in relation to sexual and reproductive health, the Department of Health’s National Adolescent Friendly Clinic Initiative aims to make family planning and other services more accessible and acceptable to young women (Dickson-Tetteh et al., 2001). However,HIV/AIDS and “safe sex” programmes define sex as dangerous and individual young women as responsible for close monitoring of heterosexual spaces. The Child Support Grant, shown to enable functional mothering (Case et al., 2005), has sparked controversy in terms of providing perverse incentives for poor young women to conceive (a claim refuted by the research – Makiwane & Udjo, 2005). Young, black and poor women who conceive are, in particular, stigmatised and teenage pregnancy is in many respects racialised (Macleod & Durrheim, 2002). In this paper I highlight some of the problems in the research conducted on young women and abortion in South Africa since the legalisation of abortion. The specific aim of the paper is, through this analysis, to draw out feminist principles that should be considered in this kind of research. My argument draws on postcolonial feminisms that theorise the multiplicity of oppression along gender and, inter alia, race, class, age and location lines (Macleod, 2006). The paper is premised on the assumption that, in a field as fraught with gendered, race and class politics as abortion, regardless of the method used, researchers need to inspect the ideological implications of their work, and to be vigilant about their scholastic practices, and any claims legitimately made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6292 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1014716
- Description: Soon after the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy (CTOP) Act of 1996, which legalised abortion for the first time, was passed. Since the introduction of the CTOP, a number of studies have been conducted on abortion in South Africa. Many have taken a health-related focus, but some research on young women and abortion has also been conducted, and it is to this (published) research that this article speaks. Two facts highlight the importance of this kind of research in the context of the abortion debate. Firstly, data from the Department of Health indicate that from 1997 to mid-2006, 12% of women undergoing terminations in the provinces in which age-related data are available were under the age of 18 (Department of Health: 2006). Secondly, the subsection of the Act allowing minors to request abortions without parental consent has caused some controversy. For example, the Christian Lawyers Association filed a suit in the Pretoria High Court in 2003, arguing that the above-mentioned subsection was unconstitutional. Their application was not successful. The research conducted on young women and abortion is etched against a background of change and contradiction in young people’s lives in South Africa. In addition to enabling legislation on termination of pregnancy, which is premised on the rights-based approach of the first democratically elected government of South Africa, various opportunities and challenges define the lives of young women. Specifically in relation to sexual and reproductive health, the Department of Health’s National Adolescent Friendly Clinic Initiative aims to make family planning and other services more accessible and acceptable to young women (Dickson-Tetteh et al., 2001). However,HIV/AIDS and “safe sex” programmes define sex as dangerous and individual young women as responsible for close monitoring of heterosexual spaces. The Child Support Grant, shown to enable functional mothering (Case et al., 2005), has sparked controversy in terms of providing perverse incentives for poor young women to conceive (a claim refuted by the research – Makiwane & Udjo, 2005). Young, black and poor women who conceive are, in particular, stigmatised and teenage pregnancy is in many respects racialised (Macleod & Durrheim, 2002). In this paper I highlight some of the problems in the research conducted on young women and abortion in South Africa since the legalisation of abortion. The specific aim of the paper is, through this analysis, to draw out feminist principles that should be considered in this kind of research. My argument draws on postcolonial feminisms that theorise the multiplicity of oppression along gender and, inter alia, race, class, age and location lines (Macleod, 2006). The paper is premised on the assumption that, in a field as fraught with gendered, race and class politics as abortion, regardless of the method used, researchers need to inspect the ideological implications of their work, and to be vigilant about their scholastic practices, and any claims legitimately made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Development and validation of the Xhosa translations of the Beck Inventories: 1. Challenges of the translation process
- Steele, Gary I, Edwards, David J A
- Authors: Steele, Gary I , Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6248 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007866
- Description: This article describes the translation of the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Beck Hopeless Scale, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory, into Xhosa the language spoken in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The processes of translation, back-translation and committee discussion failed to yield trustworthy translations because of practical difficulties in working with translators. Critical words and phrases were identified which gave rise to lack of agreement. For each, a range of options was generated and the advantages and disadvantages evaluated in terms of criteria such as conceptual and idiomatic equivalence, and extensiveness of usage. Examples are given of the problems encountered and the way in which final decisions were made. A pilot clinical trial demonstrated the acceptability of the translated Instruments. Two further articles report the psychometric evaluation of the translated scales.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Steele, Gary I , Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6248 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007866
- Description: This article describes the translation of the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Beck Hopeless Scale, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory, into Xhosa the language spoken in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The processes of translation, back-translation and committee discussion failed to yield trustworthy translations because of practical difficulties in working with translators. Critical words and phrases were identified which gave rise to lack of agreement. For each, a range of options was generated and the advantages and disadvantages evaluated in terms of criteria such as conceptual and idiomatic equivalence, and extensiveness of usage. Examples are given of the problems encountered and the way in which final decisions were made. A pilot clinical trial demonstrated the acceptability of the translated Instruments. Two further articles report the psychometric evaluation of the translated scales.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008