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Revised parameter estimation methods for the Pitman monthly rainfall-runoff model

  • Authors: Kapangaziwiri, Evison
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: Rain and rainfall -- Mathematical models , Runoff -- Mathematical models , Hydrology -- Mathematical models , Water supply -- South Africa , Water resources development -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:6033 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006172 , Rain and rainfall -- Mathematical models , Runoff -- Mathematical models , Hydrology -- Mathematical models , Water supply -- South Africa , Water resources development -- South Africa
  • Description: In recent years, increased demands have been placed on hydrologists to find the most effective methods of making predictions of hydrologic variables in ungauged basins. A huge part of the southern African region is ungauged and, in gauged basins, the extent to which observed flows represent natural flows is unknown, given unquantified upstream activities. The need to exploit water resources for social and economic development, considered in the light of water scarcity forecasts for the region, makes the reliable quantification of water resources a priority. Contemporary approaches to the problem of hydrological prediction in ungauged basins in the region have relied heavily on calibration against a limited gauged streamflow database and somewhat subjective parameter regionalizations using areas of assumed hydrological similarity. The reliance of these approaches on limited historical records, often of dubious quality, introduces uncertainty in water resources decisions. Thus, it is necessary to develop methods of estimating model parameters that are less reliant on calibration. This thesis addresses the question of whether physical basin properties and the role they play in runoff generation processes can be used directly in the estimation of parameter values of the Pitman monthly rainfall-runoff model. A physically-based approach to estimating the soil moisture accounting and runoff parameters of a conceptual, monthly time-step rainfall-runoff model is proposed. The study investigates the physical meaning of the model parameters, establishes linkages between parameter values and basin physical properties and develops relationships and equations for estimating the parameters taking into account the spatial and temporal scales used in typical model applications. The estimationmethods are then tested in selected gauged basins in southern Africa and the results of model simulations evaluated against historical observed flows. The results of 71 basins chosen from the southern African region suggest that it is possible to directly estimate hydrologically relevant parameters for the Pitman model from physical basin attributes. For South Africa, the statistical and visual fit of the simulations using the revised parameters were at least as good as the current regional sets, albeit the parameter sets being different. In the other countries where no regionalized parameter sets currently exist, simulations were equally good. The availability, within the southern African region, of the appropriate physical basin data and the disparities in the spatial scales and the levels of detail of the data currently available were identified as potential sources of uncertainty. GIS and remote sensing technologies and a widespread use of this revised approach are expected to facilitate access to these data.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Rhodes professor among best women scientists

  • Authors: Ndabeni, Khanyi
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: Nyokong, Tebello
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article , text
  • Identifier: vital:7186 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006278 , Nyokong, Tebello
  • Description: A RHODES University scientist's ground breaking work in harnessing light for cancer therapy has won her a United Nations award worth almost R1- million. Named on Monday by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) as one of the world's top five "Exceptional Women Scientists", Professor Tebello Nyokong said winning the award was "just like getting a Nobel Prize". She was also recognised for her work regarding environmental cleanups. Nyokong, 57, grew up herding sheep in Lesotho and was unable to afford shoes. She now works in Rhodes University's chemistry department. She won the award for the Africa and Arab states category on World Science Day, which took place on Monday.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Rhodes University during the segregation and apartheid eras, 1933 to 1990

Rhodes University Graduation Ceremony 2008

  • Authors: Rhodes University
  • Date: 2008
  • Language: English
  • Type: text
  • Identifier: vital:8139 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007251
  • Description: Rhodes University Graduation Ceremony [at the] 1820 Settlers National Monument Thursday, 27 March at 18:00 [and] Friday, 28 March at 10:30; 14:30 & 18:00 [and] Saturday, 29 March at 10:30
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Rhodes University Research Report 2008

  • Authors: Rhodes University
  • Date: 2008
  • Language: English
  • Type: Text
  • Identifier: vital:563 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011963
  • Description: [From Preface] This report outlines the extent and quality of our research outputs for 2008. Rhodes possesses an admirable research milieu and culture that provides the space for intellectual development, debate, and the flourishing of ideas. As the smallest university in South Africa, we take special pride in Rhodes University having amongst the highest per capita research outputs. One of the core goals of a university is to produce knowledge, a public responsibility that Rhodes takes very seriously, and we continuously seek new opportunities to do so. Many of Rhodes University’s academics, departments, institutes, centres, and units are at the leading edge of research and are actively advancing knowledge in a range of disciplines and fields. During 2008, Rhodes launched three new centres. The DST/Mintek Nanotechnology Innovation Centre (Sensors) was founded under the directorship of Professor Tebello Nyokong; the Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching & Learning, was formed out of a much expanded Academic Development Centre, under the leadership of the Dean of Teaching and Learning, Professor Chrissie Boughey; and the Centre for the Study of Democracy was launched under the leadership of Professor Stephen Friedman as a joint venture of Rhodes and the University of Johannesburg. A second DST/NRF South African Research Chair was launched in the field of Marine Biology, with Professor Christopher McQuaid as its incumbent. Rhodes’s first DST/NRF Chair, Professor Tebello Nyokong, in the area of Medicinal Chemistry and Nanotechnology, had an outstanding year, with accolades coming from a range of sources. She was officially recognized by the National Research Foundation as one of the most productive researchers in the country with 35 ISI indexed journal papers published during the year, an extraordinary achievement by anyone’s standard, and with a large number of additional accredited outputs by her and her group during the year. In the area of the creative arts, Mrs Janet Buckland of our Drama Department won special recognition as the recipient of the national Woman of the Year award promoted by Shopright-Checkers and SABC 2, in both the Arts and culture section and as the overall recipient. Professor Fackson Banda of our Journalism Department won the 2008 MISA (Media Institute of Southern Africa) Press Freedom Award. In the Geology Department, Professor Goonie Marsh was awarded the Geological Society of South Africa’s highest scientific award, the Draper Memorial Medal, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to geological sciences in general, and particularly for his research work in the petrology of volcanic rocks and igneous provinces in South Africa. The Vice-Chancellor's Distinguished Senior Research Award for 2008 went to Professor Peter Vale of the Department of Political and International Studies, for the national and international impact of his scholarly activities over a sustained period. The Vice-Chancellor's Book Award for 2008 went to Professor Dan Wylie of the Department of English, for Myth of Iron - Shaka in History (UKZN Press, 2008). Rhodes postgraduates continue to excel in winning prestigious international and local scholarships, including the Rhodes (Oxford), Mandela Rhodes, Flanagan, Commonwealth, and Fulbright. A major challenge facing South African Universities is the development of a new generation of teacher-scholars, one that Rhodes University has been engaging with for a number of years. We acknowledge the strong support of the Mellon Foundation, which has assisted us in creating a focused programme aimed at cultivating a new generation of black and women researchers, and in making a contribution towards transforming our academic body in the process. I am pleased to be able to announce that the Kresge Foundation has agreed to fund this initiative for a further four years. I extend my congratulations and thanks to all of our researchers, collaborators, funders, donors, and partners who contributed to making 2008 a year in which research at Rhodes University flourished. Your expertise, dedication, rigour and generosity make Rhodes University the rich and distinctive intellectual space that it is.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Risk assessment and the effects of overhead work - an automotive industry example

  • Authors: Elliott, Andrew Brent
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: Human engineering -- South Africa , Industrial safety -- South Africa , Automobile industry workers -- South Africa -- Health risk assessment , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa -- Safety measures , Musculoskeletal system -- Wounds and injuries -- Prevention , Lifting and carrying -- Safety measures , Work measurement , Posture
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:5132 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005211 , Human engineering -- South Africa , Industrial safety -- South Africa , Automobile industry workers -- South Africa -- Health risk assessment , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa -- Safety measures , Musculoskeletal system -- Wounds and injuries -- Prevention , Lifting and carrying -- Safety measures , Work measurement , Posture
  • Description: The focus of this investigation was an analysis of the work demands being placed on South African automotive industry workers as there is a recognised problem with regard to the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Preliminary work was conducted to highlight the dominant risks and areas which elicited higher numbers of MSDs within the chosen automotive plant. An area of concern was highlighted through medical record analysis and the use of risk assessment tools, thereby prioritising the need for ergonomic intervention. In particular, the effects of varying restricted and overhead work heights on the biomechanical, physiological and psychophysical responses of an individual were investigated. Twenty-eight subjects were required to complete sixteen conditions. The conditions consisted of the adoption of restricted and upright overhead static postures, with half requiring the holding of four kilograms of weight in the hands and the remaining eight conditions having no weight. Testing was carried out using an electromyography unit, ergospirometer and a perceptual Body Discomfort Map and Scale. This involved a habituation and testing session. The results of the testing revealed the biomechanical and physiological responses were dependant on the change in height. Body discomfort was also shown to be variable over the changing height conditions. This indicates that there is a significant effect of height on an individual’s responses during overhead work. The extreme restricted (-200mm and -100mm) and upright (+300mm and +400mm) overhead conditions within this study were limiting, as they elicited the highest muscle activation, physiological responses and body discomfort ratings. Positions that are preferable to adopt, which were identified from the results in this study, indicate conditions closer to head height (0mm and +100mm) were favourable. The results therefore illustrate how awkward working postures during work are likely to elicit higher demands from an individual, which could lead to an increased risk for the development of a musculoskeletal disorder. The added factor of weight elicited significant results over all variables, excluding a respiratory The focus of this investigation was an analysis of the work demands being placed on South African automotive industry workers as there is a recognised problem with regard to the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Preliminary work was conducted to highlight the dominant risks and areas which elicited higher numbers of MSDs within the chosen automotive plant. An area of concern was highlighted through medical record analysis and the use of risk assessment tools, thereby prioritising the need for ergonomic intervention. In particular, the effects of varying restricted and overhead work heights on the biomechanical, physiological and psychophysical responses of an individual were investigated. Twenty-eight subjects were required to complete sixteen conditions. The conditions consisted of the adoption of restricted and upright overhead static postures, with half requiring the holding of four kilograms of weight in the hands and the remaining eight conditions having no weight. Testing was carried out using an electromyography unit, ergospirometer and a perceptual Body Discomfort Map and Scale. This involved a habituation and testing session. The results of the testing revealed the biomechanical and physiological responses were dependant on the change in height. Body discomfort was also shown to be variable over the changing height conditions. This indicates that there is a significant effect of height on an individual’s responses during overhead work. The extreme restricted (-200mm and -100mm) and upright (+300mm and +400mm) overhead conditions within this study were limiting, as they elicited the highest muscle activation, physiological responses and body discomfort ratings. Positions that are preferable to adopt, which were identified from the results in this study, indicate conditions closer to head height (0mm and +100mm) were favourable. The results therefore illustrate how awkward working postures during work are likely to elicit higher demands from an individual, which could lead to an increased risk for the development of a musculoskeletal disorder. The added factor of weight elicited significant results over all variables, excluding a respiratory individual.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Rock magnetic stratigraphy of a mafic layered sill: a key to the Karoo volcanics plumbing system

  • Authors: Maes, S M , Ferré, E E , Tikoff, B , Brown, P E , Marsh, Julian S
  • Date: 2008
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144901 , vital:38389 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2005.07.038
  • Description: The Insizwa sill is an 1 km-thick subhorizontal layered mafic intrusion and part of the Karoo Large Igneous Province in South Africa. This well-exposed intrusion consists of several superimposed petrologically and geochemically distinct units. Magnetic methods were used to study the intrusion in order to constrain the physical processes active in these types of bodies during crystallization. Rock magnetism studies indicate that within different petrologic units bulk susceptibility is controlled by primary magnetite (with minor pyrrhotite) and/or paramagnetic minerals (olivine, pyroxene). New magnetic data based on 659 specimens obtained from 3 vertical borehole cores, each spaced 5 km apart, confirm the prominent vertical zonation in low field magnetic susceptibility (Klf), degree of anisotropy (Pj) and orientation of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) axes.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

SA scientist one of the top five female physical scientists

  • Authors: Limson, Janice L
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: Nyokong, Tebello
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article , text
  • Identifier: vital:7189 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006283 , http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2008/october/nyokong.htm
  • Description: South African scientist Professor Tebello Nyokong scoops 2009 L’ORÉAL-UNESCO For Women in Science Award. Announced on November 10, South African scientist Professor Tebello Nyokong has become the first South African scientist to win the L’ORÉALUNESCO award for women in science for research in physical sciences.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

School principals' perceptions and responses to the HIV and AIDS pandemic in schools in the Eastern Cape

  • Authors: Mahabeer, Pryah
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: AIDS (Disease) -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , HIV (Viruses) -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , School principals -- South Africa -- Attitudes
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:9532 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/738 , AIDS (Disease) -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , HIV (Viruses) -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , School principals -- South Africa -- Attitudes
  • Description: HIV and AIDS are casting a dark shadow over the future of many developing countries in the world. Since the first diagnosis of AIDS cases, South Africa has become one of the countries most infected with the HIV and AIDS pandemic, with about five million people living with HIV and AIDS. HIV prevalence is high in the age group 15 to 49 years, attacking people in the most productive years of their lives, Africans are the most significant racial group, affected and the Eastern Cape rates sixth in terms of HIV prevalence in the country. Demographically, HIV and AIDS affects the structure of the population, including learner and educator populations, as HIV and AIDS impact on the demand and supply of education. Schools are negatively and diversely impacted by the new challenges of the pandemic, preventing schools from achieving their goals. South Africa is struggling with a shortage of educators in the school system, especially the key areas of science and mathematics. The number of potential learners is expected to decline as AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children drop out of school, relocate, do not enrol, or are forced to withdraw from the school system. These factors lead to a poor morale and unproductivity among educators and learners, causing management problems in education for school principals and a decline in the quality and efficiency of education. While there is still no known cure for HIV and AIDS, the only solution in curbing the spread of the pandemic is through education and changing the social behaviours and mindset of people. However, HIV and AIDS prevention interventions have clearly been ineffective, as infection rates are soaring. As HIV and AIDS infection rates escalates, a more urgent response by school principals is needed to address the unique demands of the pandemic and establish where HIV and AIDS interventions will be most successful. The current study had three major aims. The aims were to explore how school principals in the Eastern Cape perceive the HIV and AIDS pandemic; describe in detail how school principals in the Eastern Cape respond to the HIV and AIDS pandemic; and to formulate recommendations based on the findings of the research that will assist school principals in effectively managing the pandemic at school level. The sample consisted of twelve school principals from different schools in the urban areas of Nelson Mandela Bay and the rural Keiskammahoek area. A qualitative method was selected to capture the unique experiences of school principals. In-depth, unstructured interviews were conducted to gather information. Thereafter, the interviews were transcribed verbatim, analysed and interpreted to gain a deeper understanding of the research phenomenon. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of school principals had limited knowledge only of the HIV and AIDS pandemic, and perceived the pandemic in a non-constructive manner, as an imminent future problem. In fact, many school principals were ambiguous, contradictory and discriminatory in their discussion in their responses to the pandemic, first denying the presence of AIDS cases in their schools, then shifting the blame for the spread of HIV and AIDS in their schools to others. These school principals were clearly unaware that they were being discriminatory and secretive about the pandemic through denial and blaming others and that their attitudes were fuelling stigmatization and discrimination. The school principals acknowledged that much more still needed to be done in terms of management and leadership to effectively mitigate the effects of the pandemic in their schools. While school principals did their best in dealing with HIV and AIDS related problems at their schools, they clearly lacked the necessary skills, training and knowledge to devise long-term strategies to deal effectively and pro-actively with the problems related to the pandemic. Therefore a more transformational leadership and management approach is required by school principals in dealing with the pandemic in their schools, in order to render them effective leaders.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

School principals' perceptions of team management : a multiple case-study of secondary schools

  • Authors: Van der Mescht, Hennie , Tyala, Zakunzima
  • Date: 2008
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6105 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009732
  • Description: The notion of school management through teams (team management), though not a new phenomenon in South Africa, was formalized after the advent of democracy in 1994 and the subsequent reorganization of the education system. The concept was subsequently fleshed out in official documentation where the composition and roles of school management teams (SMTs) were elaborated upon. The notion of team management is rooted in theories that stress participation, notably site-based (school-based) management, teamwork, and distributed leadership. We report on a study in which the perceptions of secondary school principals, in Grahamstown, South Africa, of team management were explored. The study was interpretive in orientation, and utilized qualitative data gathering techniques in all (ten) of the state-aided secondary schools in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape province. We found that, while team management was generally welcomed and even celebrated by principals, there were fundamental tensions surrounding principals' understanding of their leadership roles in a team context. We consider the implications of these findings for leadership development in the context of team management.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Selective para-funtionalization of phenol

  • Authors: Indurkar, Jayant R
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: Phenol
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DTech
  • Identifier: vital:10402 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/710 , Phenol
  • Description: In previous work done in our laboratories, a method was discovered to produce phenolic mono-ethers from 4-hydroxyacetophenone and other 4-hydroxyketones by treating with ammonium peroxy-disulfate in an alcohol as a reaction solvent and in the presence of concentrated sulphuric acid or other strong protonic acids. Since this method of producing 4-alkoxyphenol ethers provides a very convenient way to modify hydroquinone and substituted hydroquinones to produce a variety of phenol mono-ethers, it was of interest to study the general scope of this reaction, including a more detailed investigation of the reaction mechanism. In previous studies, it was suggested that interaction between the aromatic pi-system of hydroquinone and the cyclohexa-2,5-diene structure of benzoquinone plays a significant role during the reaction. It was therefore of interest to investigate whether other compounds that are also capable of forming the cyclohexa-2,5-diene structure, will interact in a manner analogous to the hydroquinone/benzoquinone couple. Two specific compounds were selected for this purpose, namely 4-nitrosophenol and 4- (diphenylmethylene)cyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-one . The scope of etherification reactions of hydroquinone-benzoquinone or hydroquinone/benzoquinone like substrates such as 4-nitrosophenol and 4- (diphenylmethylene)cyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-one in the presence of acid catalyst and alcohols was investigated. These studies showed that hydroquinone, 4- nitrosophenol and 4-(diphenylmethylene)cyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-one successfully affords the phenolic ethers in good to excellent yield. For example, quantitative yield of 4-methoxyphenol could be obtained from a 1:1 mixture of hydroquinone and benzoquinone at the reflux temperature of methanol. In order to study the reaction mechanism, the cross-over reaction between tertbutylhydroquinone and benzoquinone (or hydroquinone and tertbutylbenzoquinone) was studied in detail. The results of these cross-over reactions were used to propose a mechanistic pathway that could explain the requirement for pi-interaction between the hydroquinone and benzoquinone molecules, the role of the acid catalyst, as well as the relative rates of hydroquinone and benzoquinone consumption during these reactions. The mechanism was also capable of explaining all the reaction products observed during these reactions. The work was then extended to reactions of 4-nitrosophenol and 4- (diphenylmethylene)cyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-one with methanol in the presence of either hydroquinone or benzoquinone. The results of these investigations strongly suggest the presence of similar interactions between these molecules that also influence the outcome of the reactions. The exploitation of pi-interactions between two molecules of these types investigated during this work opens an interesting field of chemistry. Clearly, the level of understanding developed during this work is only beginning to address this interesting field of chemistry and much work will need to be done to gain a fuller understanding of the chemistry involved as well as the potential synthetic value of these interactions.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Shoppers Drug Mart or poachers Drug Mart?

  • Authors: Attaran, Amir , Walker, Roderick B
  • Date: 2008
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6346 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006018
  • Description: [From the text]: Shoppers Drug Mart (Pharmaprix in Quebec) is a familiar Canadian institution. Its 1000 stores dot the landscape; no pharmacy chain is larger. In many Canadian communities, the corporation's well-staffed local franchises give patients quality care. However, in South Africa, the same corporation is potentially contributing to a public health disaster. In 2005, 2006 and twice in 2007, it has dispatched recruiters to that country, with the mission of plucking pharmacists from a continent that has far too few for its needs. Shoppers Drug Mart promises 6-figure salaries and help to establish a brilliant career in Canada. The carrot, and the helping hand holding it, are huge.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Should active recruitment of health workers from sub-Saharan Africa be viewed as a crime?

  • Authors: Mills, E J , Schabas, W A , Volmink, J , Walker, Roderick B , Ford, N , Katabira, E , Anema, A , Joffres, M , Cahn, P , Montaner, J
  • Date: 2008
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6392 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006314
  • Description: (Conclusion) When the international community permits for-profit companies to actively entice overworked and often underpaid workers away from the most vulnerable populations, it is contributing to the deterioration of essential health-care delivery. Improvement of the health of the world’s poor is a challenge that the international community is failing to adequately address. Current international treaties and commitments are severely compromised if we are unwilling to adhere to their principles and prevent obvious harms to poor people. Clear, enforced regulation is needed to prevent recruitment companies from enticing health workers away from their local work, and developed countries should adequately compensate less-developed countries for the human resources they have lost and continue to lose.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Sing a swansong for the SABC as we know it : keep public broadcasting, redistribute the broadcaster

  • Authors: Berger, Guy
  • Date: 2008
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/159326 , vital:40288 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC140098
  • Description: Behind the dragged-out confrontations around the SABC are a politics of paralysis. That's not necessarily a bad thing if the alternative is the broadcaster being a tool of a single particular force. But it's also not exactly first prize for South Africans. Power is divided across so many centres that no single force has been able to easily prevail on SABC during the year.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Social and ecological trade offs in combating land degradation: The case of invasion by a woody shrub (Euryops floribundus) at Macubeni, South Africa

  • Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Gambiza, James
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181235 , vital:43711 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.849"
  • Description: Woody plant invasions, either of alien or indigenous species, are deemed to result in loss of ecosystem goods and services in many areas throughout the world, resulting in significant degradation and economic costs. Invasion of Euryops floribundus, a species indigenous to South Africa, is perceived to have reduced the grazing available for domestic livestock. Consequently, a programme of manual eradication has been implemented to improve the grazing resource and provide jobs for poverty alleviation. However, there is potential for a conflict of interest as our study shows that almost all households rely on Euryops for fuel and at times fencing material, whereas only a minority of households own livestock. Moreover, comparison of invaded and non-invaded sites indicated that the invaded sites harbour greater plant species richness and higher grass culm density per unit area of grass cover, as well as higher forb and litter cover. While invaded sites had lower grass cover, overall plant cover was no different between invaded and non-invaded sites. Multivariate analysis indicated no obvious differentiation in community composition between invaded and non-invaded areas, suggesting stronger drivers of community composition other than Euryops invasion presumed to be facilitated by the effects of high livestock densities. Overall, our study suggests that the clearing operation may well benefit from a better understanding of the social needs, perceptions of degradation by the various stakeholders and ecological dynamics of the area, especially local reliance on the resources, and the dynamics of the invasion, particularly its extent, rate of spread and susceptibility for re-invasion in the cleared areas.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Social Services and Benefits

  • Authors: Kruuse, Helen
  • Date: 2008
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54211 , vital:26405 , https://store.lexisnexis.co.za/products/family-law-service-skuZASKUPG642
  • Description: Family Law Service is a subscription based product including both the printed loose-leaf and LexisMobile publications. Updates for 12 months (print and mobile) are included in the price. Family Law Service covers aspects of law pertaining to the family, including domestic violence, the Law of Islam, same- sex life partnerships, the effects of the Children's Act, 2008 and anti-trafficking law in South Africa. Family Law Service is maintained in three volumes with commentary and legislation, and with two service issues published a year.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Socio-economic impact of the participatory and conventionally implemented irrigation and livestock development projects: a case of Beitbridge and Mberengwa Districts of Zimbabwe

  • Authors: Ndou, Portia
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: Irrigation -- Zimbabwe , Water resources development -- Zimbabwe , Range management -- Zimbabwe , Livestock projects -- Zimbabwe
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc Agric (Agricultural Economics)
  • Identifier: vital:11191 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/82 , Irrigation -- Zimbabwe , Water resources development -- Zimbabwe , Range management -- Zimbabwe , Livestock projects -- Zimbabwe
  • Description: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of participatory and conventional approaches to livestock and irrigation project implementation in Zimbabwe’s Beitbridge and Mberengwa districts. The conventional livestock projects performed better than the participatory. Despite the breed for the participatory livestock projects being unsuitable for the environment, the farmers failed to utilize the drugs and surplus funding set aside for replacement of dead cattle. Farmer training was found to be of paramount importance in the establishment of the livestock projects in spite of the participatory approach used for the implementation of the projects. Also the technical backup and support for the livestock project beneficiaries is important to ensure early rectification of problems that may affect the smooth running of the projects as well as an opportunity to introduce new technical advice to boost production. Livestock projects take long period of time to establish, i.e. for the financial turn over to be realized. It takes long time for farmers in these projects to make investments from the proceeds of the livestock projects. For this reason, there is need for the number of beneficiaries for each pass-on livestock project to take into account the number of beasts at project establishment and also the number per each beneficiary group. However, the projects should still be encouraged as they will take full operation at a later stage and be of benefit to the rural disadvantaged who cannot access other means to own cattle, which in turn play a pivotal role in crop production (through draft power, manure provision) and cash earnings that indirectly ensures food security. Regardless of approach used, livestock projects should be strongly supported because the districts under study are prone to poor crop production and hence the cattle can be a source of income and food. Participatory irrigation projects performed better than the conventionally implemented, despite their small hectarages. This proved that farmer participation can greatly improve the efficiency of development work and eliminate many of the problems regarding proprietorship and enhance development activities at community level. Conventional irrigation projects were plagued by problems of mismanagement and theft as was reflected by poor performance and malfunction of the conventional Chingechuru and Chimwe-Chegato irrigation schemes. Fencing theft atChingechuru irrigation scheme had brought it to a stand still. However, the larger incomes associated with the conventionally implemented irrigation projects were the result of the larger areas under cropping for these projects. Production levels in participatory irrigation schemes were good. Adoption of most technical innovations in livestock projects was found to be associated with the conventional approach. Asset procurement was a function of the farmer’s accessibility to non-project income, like formal employment, and procurement of specific assets applied more to project type than the approach to project implementation. This study found that the approach used in implementation had a greater influence on the performance of irrigation projects than livestock projects.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Solar cycle effects on GNSS-derived ionospheric total electron content observed over Southern Africa

  • Authors: Moeketsi, Daniel Mojalefa
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: Ionosphere -- Africa, Southern Electrons Ionospheric electron density -- Africa, Southern Ionosondes -- Africa, Southern Electromagnetic waves
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:5489 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005275
  • Description: The South African Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) network of dual frequency receivers provide an opportunity to investigate solar cycle effects on ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) over the South Africa region by taking advantage of the dispersive nature of the ionospheric medium. For this task, the global University of New Brunswick Ionospheric Modelling Technique (UNB-IMT) was adopted, modified and applied to compute TEC using data from the southern African GNSS Network. TEC values were compared with CODE International GNSS services TEC predictions and Ionosonde-derived TEC (ITEC) measurements to test and validate the UNB-IMT results over South Africa. It was found that the variation trends of GTEC and ITEC over all stations are in good agreement and show pronounced seasonal variations with high TEC values around equinoxes for a year near solar maximum and less pronounced around solar minimum. Signature TEC depletions and enhanced spikes were prevalently evident around equinoxes, particularly for a year near solar maximum. These observations were investigated and further discussed with an analysis of the midday Disturbance Storm Time (DST) index of geomagnetic activity. The residual GTEC – ITEC corresponding to plasmaspheric electron content and equivalent ionospheric foF2 and total slab thickness parameters were computed and comprehensively discussed. The results verified the use of UNB-IMT as one of the tools for ionospheric research over South Africa. The UNB-IMT algorithm was applied to investigate TEC variability during different epochs of solar cycle 23. The results were investigated and further discussed by analyzing the GOES 8 and 10 satellites X-ray flux (0.1 – 0.8 nm) and SOHO Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Monitor higher resolution data. Comparison of UNB-IMT TEC derived from collocated HRAO and HARB GNSS receivers was undertaken for the solar X17 and X9 flare events, which occurred on day 301, 2003 and day 339, 2006. It was found that there exist considerable TEC differences between the two collocated receivers with some evidence of solar cycle dependence. Furthermore, the daytime UNB TEC compared with the International Reference Ionosphere 2001 predicted TEC found both models to show a good agreement. The UNB-IMT TEC was further applied to investigate the capabilities of geodetic Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) derived TEC using the Vienna TEC Model for space weather monitoring over HartRAO during the CONT02 and CONT05 campaigns conducted during the years 2002 (near solar maximum) and 005 (near solar minimum). The results verified the use of geodetic VLBI as one of the possible instruments for monitoring space weather impacts on the ionosphere over South Africa.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2008

South Africa and Malaysia: identity and history in South-South relations

South African police service deploys its first peacekeepers to Darfur, Sudan : a descriptive study on the deployment preparations and the role of the South African police peacekeepers in African union mission in Sudan (AMIS)

  • Authors: Mokhine, Ntime Samson
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: Peacekeeping forces , Conflict management
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
  • Identifier: vital:8214 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1027 , Peacekeeping forces , Conflict management
  • Description: The focus of this research will be on the question as to whether the South African Police Service adequately prepares its police officials for the functions they will be performing in Sudan: Darfur. This broad question leads to further questions that include the following: What are the peacekeeping recruitment and selection criteria for the South African Police Service members who need to be deployed in Sudan: Darfur? Is the South African Police Service peacekeeping training curriculum adequate enough to prepare its members for their deployment in Sudan: Darfur?  Does the South African Police Service have any measures to evaluate the role played by its members in Sudan: Dafur? What measures have been introduced to utilise the new skills brought by members that have been deployed? Are there any properly posted members with mission experience, who are capable of presenting and further developing peacekeeping training in the South African Police Service? Does the South African Police Service senior management have knowledge of generic peacekeeping concepts?.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2008
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