List of Titles

Blending problem-based learning and peer-led team learning, in an open ended ‘home-grown’pharmaceutical chemistry case study

- Sewry, Joyce D, Veale, Clinton G L, Krause, Rui W M

Authors: Sewry, Joyce D , Veale, Clinton G L , Krause, Rui W M
Date: 2018
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/125691 , vital:35809 , https://doi.org/10.1039/C7RP00180K
Description: Pharmaceutical chemistry, medicinal chemistry and the drug discovery process require experienced practitioners to employ reasoned speculation in generating creative ideas, which can be used to evolve promising molecules into drugs. The ever-evolving world of pharmaceutical chemistry requires university curricula that prepare graduates for their role as designers with the capability of applying complex concepts in pharmaceutical chemistry, thereby improving the decision-making process. Common methods of teaching drug discovery, including the linear nature of the traditional case study model, do not provide a realistic picture of the underlying complexity of the process, nor do they equip students with the appropriate tools for personal sense making and abstraction. In this work, we discuss the creation of an open-ended, nonlinear case study for 3rd year pharmaceutical chemistry students, developed from drug discovery research conducted at Rhodes University. Furthermore, we discuss blending problem based learning (PBL) with peer-led team learning (PLTL) in the context of curriculum transformation, underpinned by the theory of semantic waves, to assist students in the early attainment of abstract concepts and answer questions of contextualisation, personal sense making, relatability, relevance and ultimately the skills for lifelong learning.
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Date Issued: 2018

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Blue ring of fire

- O’Flaherty, Craig

Authors: O’Flaherty, Craig
Date: 2018
Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) -- South Africa , South African poetry (English) -- 21st century
Language: English
Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63615 , vital:28448
Description: My poems are reflections of shape, colour and emotions expressed through imagery. Their unsentimental landscape-realism echo my own feelings as well as broader human dimensions of contradiction and uncertainty, without trying to resolve them. In the same way that photography is the art of 'painting with light', my poems seek a language that evokes light and darkness. They aspire to what Keats said when writing about ‘negative capability’: “Poetical character has no self, it is anything and nothing, it has no character and enjoys light and shade”. My poems explore what I have learned about form – how line-length, syntax and musicality can add grace and energy to language. Poets that have influenced me include the classical Chinese poets such as Du Fu and Li Po, and the Generation of 27 Spanish poets, such as Antonio Machado and Leon Felipe.
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Date Issued: 2018

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Bodies, buildings, and borders: navigating the divided nation through contemporary South African and Palestinian art practice

- Baasch, Rachel M

Authors: Baasch, Rachel M
Date: 2018
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145897 , vital:38476 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1162/afar_a_00401
Description: This paper navigates the phenomenon of the divided nation through the work of contemporary South African artists Th¬ando Mama, Sikhumbuzo Makandula, and Ndikhumbule Ngqinambi. I position the work of these artists practicing in a post-apartheid nation-state alongside the work of contemporary Palestinian artists Larissa Sansour and Khaled Jarrar, who respond to the ongoing struggle of the stateless Palestinian nation divided by colonialism and Israeli apartheid. Each of these artists critiques the construction of the modern nation-state using symbols such as the national flag, the national anthem, the passport and postage stamp, and physical walls and buildings.
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Date Issued: 2018

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BODIPY dyes for singlet oxygen and optical limiting applications

- Harris, Jessica

Authors: Harris, Jessica
Date: 2018
Subjects: Photosensitizing compounds , Active oxygen -- Physiological effect , Photochemotherapy , Cancer -- Treatment , Nonlinear optics , BODIPY (Boron-dipyrromethene)
Language: English
Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/58002 , vital:27014
Description: A series of structurally related BODIPY dyes were synthesised and characterised. Their photophysical properties were studied in order to determine whether they would be suitable candidates for use as photosensitisers in the photodynamic therapy (PDT) treatment of cancer. The synthesis of two highly fluorescent BODIPY cores was achieved via the acid-catalysed condensation of a pyrrole and a functionalised aldehyde. In order to promote intersystem crossing, and hence improve the singlet oxygen generation of these dyes, bromine atoms were added at the 2,6-positions of the BODIPY core. These dibrominated analogues showed good singlet oxygen quantum yields, and excellent photostability in ethanol. In order to red-shift the main spectral bands of the BODIPY dyes towards the therapeutic window, vinyl/ styryl groups were introduced at the 3-, 5-, and 7-positions via a modified Knoevengal condensation reaction. The addition of vinyl/ styryl groups to the BODIPY core caused an increase in fluorescence quantum yield as well as a decrease in singlet oxygen quantum yield with respect to the dibrominated analogues. However, two of the red-shifted BODIPY dyes still showed moderate singlet oxygen quantum yields. The use of BODIPY dyes in nonlinear optics (NLO) was explored. The nonlinear optical characterisations and optical limiting properties of a series of 3,5-dithienylenevinylene BODIPY dyes were studied, both in dimethylformamide (DMF) solution and when embedded in poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (PBC) as thin films. The 3,5-dithienylenevinylene BODIPY dyes showed typical nonlinear absorption behaviour, with reverse saturable absorption (RSA) profiles, indicating that they have potential as optical limiters. The second-order hyperpolarizability (Y), and third-order nonlinear susceptibility (/m[/(3)]) values are also reported for these dyes. The optical limiting values of one of the BODIPY dyes in solution, and two of the BODIPY-embedded PBC films, were below the maximum threshold of 0.95 J-cm-2. The effect of addition of substituents on the electronic structure of the BODIPY dyes was investigated using TD-DFT calculations. The calculated trends closely followed those determined experimentally.
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Date Issued: 2018

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Bollywood Nights: Indian youth and the creation of diasporic identity in South Africa

- Boshoff, Priscilla A

Authors: Boshoff, Priscilla A
Date: 2018
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143494 , vital:38251 , DOI: 10.3138/topia.26.29
Description: Bollywood’s popularity as a global cultural form has occurred at the same time as the valorization of difference in the South African political landscape. As the youngest members of the 19th-century labour diaspora, South African Indian youths are the inheritors of a conservative—yet adaptable—home culture amidst the marginalized identities of (post-)apartheid South Africa. Their desire to create an identity for themselves that encompasses their self-perception both as modern South African subjects and as guardians of their traditional home cultures is achieved through Bollywood, which speaks to its diasporic audiences through images of an idealized traditional yet modern India. While India is not a place of return for these youth, their reactivation of a diasporic identity through Bollywood’s representations of a successful Indian diasporic culture and their participation in South African Bollywood concerts and award ceremonies has provided an opportunity for young South African Indians to reimagine their diasporic Indian identity in ways that (re-)connect them to India and to an imagined global diaspora.
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Date Issued: 2018

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Bone mineral density of female long distance runners in Nelson Mandela Bay

- Meier, Catherine Anne

Authors: Meier, Catherine Anne
Date: 2018
Subjects: Running -- Physiological aspects , Marathon running -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Bones -- Metabolism Mineral metabolism Running -- South Africa
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/22946 , vital:30153
Description: Long distance running may present positive and negative effects on the bone mineral density (BMD) of such participants. The advantage of high impact loads placed on the body of these runners may be neutralised or reversed, as too high a load may cause a decreased BMD. Furthermore, competitive female runners are generally considered to be leaner than their peers due to the nature of the sport. Therefore, it is expected that the majority of these runners would have a low body fat percentage (BF%) and body mass index (BMI) which may negatively affect the BMD, resulting in impaired bone quality. Due to the general inaccessibility of BMD assessments because of the cost involved, the incidence of risk for lowered BMD among long distance runners and particularly female runners are not readily known. The primary aim of the present study was therefore to determine the BMD rating and its association with body composition (BF% and BMI) and other selected factors among female long distance runners in Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB). The study utilized a quantitative approach and was exploratory, descriptive and non-experimental in nature. Non-probability, convenience sampling was implemented. A total of 40 female long distance runners between the age of 25 and 68 years (with a mean age of 43.6 ± 9.67 years) who have completed at least two marathon events were included in the study. The study utilized a questionnaire to collect demographic and other relevant information from the participants; a stadiometer and an electronic scale to measure height and weight and ultimately calculate BMI; and a bone densitometer with Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) (Hologic Discovery W) to determine the various BMD variables required as well as the BF%. Three densitometry scans were performed by a qualified radiographer which presented four analyses namely that of the relevant BMD variables for the hip, lumbar spine and total body, respectively, as well as of the BF% for the total body. The results of the study in respect of the overall BMD profile of the female long distance runners was considered to be normal except for the lumbar spine, found to be osteopenic when considering the mean T-score for this region of those 50 years and older. Overall the participants had an ‘average’ BF% (26.71 ± 6.33%) classification according to the ACSM classification rating system and were classified as ‘normal’ (22.80 ± 2.58 kg/m²) in respect of the BMI category rating. Significant correlations (r ≥ 0.312) were found between BMI and BMD related Z-scores for the hip, lumbar spine and total body, respectively. When considering the effect of selected variables on the various BMD variables, BF% and BMI, respectively, the following significant (p < .05; d > 0.2) results were found: (1) BMD (one or more rating and or Z-score) was positively influenced (had higher ratings) in runners who were overweight, consumed alcoholic beverages of five or less per week and who ran less than 51 km/week, respectively; (2) BMD (one or more rating and or Z-score) was negatively influenced (had lower ratings) in runners who had more full-term pregnancies and among those who were menopausal, respectively; (3) BF% and BMI were both found to be lower in runners who: were not menopausal, competed in six or more ultra-marathon events, completed marathons in less than or equal to three hours and 50 minutes, had an incidence of breaking a bone due to a traumatic event, and engaged in an average weekly running distance of more than 50 km/week, respectively.
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Date Issued: 2018

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Breaking the poverty cycle: exploring farmers’ strategies to empower employees in the agricultural sector

- Venter, Morné

Authors: Venter, Morné
Date: 2018
Subjects: Agricultural productivity -- South Africa , Agriculture -- Research -- Economic aspects -- Mathematical models , Industrial productivity , Employee motivation
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/36772 , vital:34052
Description: The primary aim of this research project was to explore the various strategies of specific farmers who have chosen to improve productivity through innovative labour management strategies. In particular, to describe strategies that have empowered employees and will enable them to break the poverty cycle. The potential to highlight a business case for quality jobs in the agricultural sector could add to the understanding of labour-intensive agricultural production systems. Participants in this study empower their employees through various means, which includes intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The agricultural sector was specifically targeted in this study as farmworkers are some of the most vulnerable employee-populations in South Africa, because they have a relatively small chance of empowering themselves, or their children, as they are often stuck in the poverty cycle. The research method employed in this study was qualitative in order to gain an in depth understanding of labour management systems (LMS). Information was gathered through semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with a number of purposively selected farmers. The participants in this study were selected for a select number of reasons. The main reason being that they employ strategies that empower their employees in various ways to ensure the future employability of these employees. All the participants are committed to ensuring the success of their employees, because this ensures the success of the farms. Farmworkers are one of the cornerstones on which a farming enterprise is built, another cornerstone is the farmer. When these two components understand and respect one another and work with each other, rather than against each other, both will prosper. The approaches that the participants in this study utilise to empower their workers ensure that the poverty cycle for these workers in this semi- and unskilled sector is broken and that they become, not only employable, but invaluable to the farms on which they work. The approaches were categorised from the one end as the point where labour is commodified and treated as a cost factor, the “low road” -this approach aligns with McGregor’s theory X and may be termed “exploitative”. While, at the other end of the continuum of approaches is the view that an employee has potential and investment in the employee will yield commitment and discretionary effort - this approach aligns with McGregor’s theory Y, the “high road”. This includes strategies to improve productivity and empower employees beyond the workplace, and to a certain extent, the community.
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Date Issued: 2018

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Bringing us back

- Dhliwayo, Mercy

Authors: Dhliwayo, Mercy
Date: 2018
Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century , Short stories, South African (English) -- 21st century
Language: English
Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63077 , vital:28361
Description: My thesis takes the form of a collection of short stories set mostly in Zimbabwe and South Africa under the current political, social and economic climate. The themes I explore include forced migrations, identity, family disintegration and destitution. I use non-linear narration inspired by my reading of Dambudzo Marechera and Lidia Yuknavitch’s use of photographic imagery, in Black Sunlight and The Small Backs of Children respectively, to heighten my thematic concerns. The poetry in their language also serves as a source of inspiration, as does the graphic imagery used by Ayi Kwei Armah. In addition, I draw on the fragmented form used by Deepak Unnikrishnan to explore migration in his collection, Temporary People and Miljenko Jergovic’s investigation of violence and displacement in Sarajevo Marlboro.
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Date Issued: 2018

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Building IKhwezi, a digital platform to capture everyday Indigenous Knowledge for improving educational outcomes in marginalised communities

- Ntšekhe, Mathe V K

Authors: Ntšekhe, Mathe V K
Date: 2018
Subjects: Information technology , Knowledge management , Traditional ecological knowledge , Pedagogical content knowledge , Traditional ecological knowledge -- Technological innovations , IKhwezi , ICT4D , Indigenous Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (I-TPACK) , Siyakhula Living Lab
Language: English
Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62505 , vital:28200
Description: Aptly captured in the name, the broad mandate of Information and Communications Technologies for Development (ICT4D) is to facilitate the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in society to support development. Education, as often stated, is the cornerstone for development, imparting knowledge for conceiving and realising development. In this thesis, we explore how everyday Indigenous Knowledge (IK) can be collected digitally, to enhance the educational outcomes of learners from marginalised backgrounds, by stimulating the production of teaching and learning materials that include the local imagery to have resonance with the learners. As part of the exploration, we reviewed a framework known as Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), which spells out the different kinds of knowledge needed by teachers to teach effectively with ICTs. In this framework, IK is not present explicitly, but through the concept of context(s). Using Afrocentric and Pan-African scholarship, we argue that this logic is linked to colonialism and a critical decolonising pedagogy necessarily demands explication of IK: to make visible the cultures of the learners in the margins (e.g. Black rural learners). On the strength of this argument, we have proposed that TPACK be augumented to become Indigenous Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (I-TPACK). Through this augumentation, I-TPACK becomes an Afrocentric framework for a multicultural education in the digital era. The design of the digital platform for capturing IK relevant for formal education, was done in the Siyakhula Living Lab (SLL). The core idea of a Living Lab (LL) is that users must be understood in the context of their lived everyday reality. Further, they must be involved as co-creators in the design and innovation processes. On a methodological level, the LL environment allowed for the fusing together of multiple methods that can help to create a fitting solution. In this thesis, we followed an iterative user-centred methodology rooted in ethnography and phenomenology. Specifically, through long term conversations and interaction with teachers and ethnographic observations, we conceptualized a platform, IKhwezi, that facilitates the collection of context-sensitive content, collaboratively, and with cost and convenience in mind. We implemented this platform using MediaWiki, based on a number of considerations. From the ICT4D disciplinary point of view, a major consideration was being open to the possibility that other forms of innovation—and, not just ‘technovelty’ (i.e. technological/- technical innovation)—can provide a breakthrough or ingenious solution to the problem at hand. In a sense, we were reinforcing the growing sentiment within the discipline that technology is not the goal, but the means to foregrounding the commonality of the human experience in working towards development. Testing confirmed that there is some value in the platform. This is despite the challenges to onboard users, in pursuit of more content that could bolster the value of everyday IK in improving the educational outcomes of all learners.
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Date Issued: 2018

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Bybelse verwysings in die poësie van Petra Müller

- Jacobus, Jason Clarence Jeremy

Authors: Jacobus, Jason Clarence Jeremy
Date: 2018
Subjects: Afrikaans poetry -- 20th century , Bible -- New Testament -- Criticism, interpretation, etc , Bible -- Old Testament -- Criticism, interpretation, etc , Allusions in literature
Language: Afrikaans
Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30419 , vital:30941
Description: In this dissertation, the Biblical allusions in Petra Müller’s poetry will be analysed. Biblical figures as well as specific scenes from the Bible often form the basis of her poems. At first, her poetry will be contextualised within the tradition of Afrikaans religious poetry and subsequently the theory of transtextuality or textual transcendence coined by Genette (1992) will be discussed – particularly those concepts that will be relevant to the analysis of the relationship between Müller’s poetry and the original Biblical text or textual fragment. How does Petra Müller utilise the Bible as a source and inspiration for her poetry? How does she engage with the original Biblical text alluded to in her work?
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Date Issued: 2018

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Calibration and validation of satellite data (images) over inland water bodies and the effect caused by the adjacency towards them

- Faniso, Zimbini

Authors: Faniso, Zimbini
Date: 2018
Subjects: Hydrology Remote sensing
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10350 , vital:35400
Description: Remote sensing of inland water quality is a particularly challenging satellite Earth observation (EO) application. This arises because inland water bodies are small and optically complex targets that are generally dark compared to surrounding land. Inland water bodies are source supplies of water for both living and non-living organisms, that include human beings hence they need an observation. The spatial distribution of water changes over time and that leads to issues in different sectors like agricultural sector, environmental services and ecological issues. Signal reaching the satellite is usually dominated by light scattered in the atmosphere. Aerosols are strongly variable atmospheric constituents and play a major role in generating this unwanted signal which must be quantified and removed before any conclusions about water state and condition. In order to see how the aerosols affected the water state the light scattered in the atmosphere will be observed through electromagnetic spectrum bands in the atmosphere. This study will analyse the visible and near infrared wavebands of the electromagnetic spectrum as well as where it will be easy to distinguish the atmospheric noise types. A field campaign has been executed at Roodeplaat dam near Pretoria relating to Calibration and Validation (CalVal) of the recently launched Sentinel 2 and Sentinel 3 satellites. In situ measurements were taken at Roodeplaat dam simultaneously with the satellite overpass. Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Modelling (RTM) is required to analyse the satellite surface measurement data that is in the form of radiant quantities. Aerosol models for radiative transfer have been evaluated and refined to improve retrieval accuracy of water-leaving radiance at Roodeplaat dam. A retrieval algorithm for water-leaving radiance (Lw) and remote-sensing reflectance has been developed to analyse the sensitivity of the retrieval to aerosol optical properties, sensitivities, as well as proposals for enhanced retrieval methods, are presented.
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Date Issued: 2018

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Capacitance spectroscopy of GaAs p-i-n solar cells embedded with GaNAs quantum wells

- Venter, Danielle Ahlers

Authors: Venter, Danielle Ahlers
Date: 2018
Subjects: Solar cells , Photocatalysis Nanotechnology Fuel cells
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21593 , vital:29713
Description: The search for higher efficiencies in solar cell technology has brought forth competitive ideas, among them tandem solar cells (TSC) and intermediate-band solar cells (IBSC). These cells deliver higher efficiencies by absorbing a wider range of the electro-magnetic spectrum compared to conventional cells, but do come with unique challenges. This includes, amongst others, the need to find suitable material systems, which can fully realise the requirements behind the concept. In this study, the notion of using dilute nitrides in III-V systems as a candidate for the IBSC is considered. Incorporation of GaNAs QW structures into GaAs p-i-n solar cells are structurally, optically and electrically characterised. At a first estimate the photovoltaic properties of the material is obtained through current-voltage (I-V) measurements under illumination. It is observed that the open circuit voltage (𝑉𝑂𝐶), short circuit current (𝐼𝑆𝐶) and conversion efficiency decrease upon the incorporation of the QWs. Electrically active defect levels are notorious for reducing the life time of electron-hole pairs, directly impacting cell efficiency. In an effort to gain a clearer understanding of this behavior, the study of electrically active deep level center present in such devices were investigated. A comprehensive understanding of defects in semiconductors remains of fundamental importance and thus reinforces this approach. This was done using two of the most commonly used semiconductor defect spectroscopy techniques viz. admittance spectroscopy (AS) and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). Since in principle, these two techniques are similar, deep level related results were compared in order to verify the validity of the results. The devices under study, GaNAs/GaAs embedded QW p-i-n solar cells, were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). In particular, the doping of the quantum wells was varied and this effect on the electrical properties investigated. Four samples were studied and their electrical, optical and structural properties compared. The sample series consisted of a reference GaAs p-i-n diode that contained no embedded QWs and three GaAs p-i-n diodes each containing ten equally spaced and equally thick GaNAs QW layers. These layers were either Beryllium (Be) doped (p-type), un-doped or Silicon (Si) doped (n-type) respectively. Both AS and DLTS revealed deep level centers present in the devices. Each technique presented its own list of advantages and disadvantages and the collaborative use of both of them was found to be complementary in their determination of deep level defect centers. The correlation of these defects with the QWs is not clear as the structures were not optimized for capacitance spectroscopic measurements. NextNano++ simulation software was also used to theoretically model the electronic structure of the sample. The addition of the applied bias and its effect on the cross-over point of the Fermi level and the deep level energy, as well as the depletion width was investigated. This was a useful and essential tool for the interpretation of the results obtained and for the design of optimal structures for future studies.
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Date Issued: 2018

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Capital v Revenue: the income tax test of intention

- Haworth, Christi-Anne

Authors: Haworth, Christi-Anne
Date: 2018
Subjects: Income tax -- Law and legislation -- New Zealand , Income tax -- Law and legislation -- South Africa Taxation -- Law and legislation -- South Africa Taxation -- Law and legislation -- New Zealand Tax planning
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30028 , vital:30811
Description: The purpose of this research was to identify and comment on various interpretive problems posed by using ‘intention’ as a legal test to classify a taxpayer’s taxable gross income. Using an integrative literature review method, the research provides a detailed discussion of the historical interpretation of this test, and identifies various interpretive problems arising from the inconsistent and differing interpretation of this test by the courts. Having identified that certain jurists and authors take guidance from criminal law in their interpretation of intention, an analysis of the approach in this area of law, as well as in the law of delict is made. The difference between motive and intention forms part of this discussion. The conclusion is drawn that intention as it is used in the criminal law is not an appropriate test to be applied in income tax. Having drawn this conclusion, and expanding on an identified jurisdiction a comparison is drawn between the approach by courts in New Zealand and courts in South Africa regarding the purpose with which a taxpayer acquires an asset or undertakes a transaction. The difference between purpose and intention is expanded upon and explained as it is seen by the courts in this jurisdiction. Throughout the body of the treatise certain recommendations are made, and parallels are drawn between the South African approach and the approach in New Zealand.
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Date Issued: 2018

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Care and handling of surgical instruments by professional nurses in the operating rooms in the Nelson Mandela Bay

- Bloemetje, Virginia Victoria

Authors: Bloemetje, Virginia Victoria
Date: 2018
Subjects: Surgical nursing -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality , Operating room nursing -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Surgical instruments and apparatus
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MCur
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21779 , vital:29776
Description: Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), caused by viral, bacterial and fungal pathogens, can have a devastating effect on patients, families and health-care organisations. Furthermore, dealing with HAIs can be costly and add to an increase in hospital stays, medical costs, as well as the rates of morbidity and mortality. Operating rooms (OR) are dynamic units that pose a high risk for surgical infections in health-care organisations. In order to minimise surgical-site infections (SSI) and other related infections in ORs, it is important to care for and handle surgical instruments correctly and in accordance with what is considered to be best practice. This research study was conducted to explore and describe the knowledge of professional nurses related to the care and handling of surgical instruments in the ORs in the medical facilities both in the private and public sectors in Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB). The research design was quantitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual in nature. The research sample comprised of professional nurses in the ORs in the public and private hospitals, who made themselves available and who were willing to participate in the study. The data was collected by means of a structured self-administered questionnaire that was based on a narrative literature review. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the responses from the professional nurses in the OR, collected using the questionnaire. Ethical considerations have been applied throughout the research study and all the relevant findings have been disseminated accordingly. Recommendations, based on best-practice guidelines, were developed to optimise the care and handling of surgical instruments by professional nurses in the ORs. Professional nurses in the ORs who are involved in cleaning surgical instruments should know how to manage certain cleaning procedures. Disinfection and the sterilisation of surgical instruments can only be achieved by following efficient cleaning procedures. When performed properly, cleaning can effectively reduce the growth of microorganisms on surgical instruments, in order to prepare the instruments for disinfection and sterilisation. The importance of this step cannot be overemphasised since organic material, soil and debris can block the disinfectant or sterilising agent from making complete contact with the surface of the instruments. Additionally, cleaning allows for the safe handling of the instruments by professional nurses.
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Date Issued: 2018

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Causes and impacts of delays in low-income housing projects in the greater Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffolo City Municipality

- Xongo, Nwabisa

Authors: Xongo, Nwabisa
Date: 2018
Subjects: Project management -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality , Project management -- South Africa -- Buffalo City Municipality Low-income housing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Public housing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Housing development -- South Africa Construction industry -- Management
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/36259 , vital:33916
Description: A construction project depends upon having correct people with the correct skills and usable equipment, therefore to deliver the project on time, on budget and specified quality. Project success can be attained if the construction works moves professionally within the time schedule. Delays to projects mean the go slow of process and all other related fields. The main aim of this study is to assess the numerous causes of delays and reasons for those delays that are currently affecting the project in low income housing projects in Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality.
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Date Issued: 2018

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Challenges and curriculum transformation in the higher education sector in South Africa: a case study in WASH to improve the training of pharmacists

- Tandlich, Roman, Ngqwala, Nosiphiwe P, Boshoff, Aileen, Madikizela, Phindile, Srinivas, Sunitha C, Pyle, Desmond M, Oosthuizen, Rene

Authors: Tandlich, Roman , Ngqwala, Nosiphiwe P , Boshoff, Aileen , Madikizela, Phindile , Srinivas, Sunitha C , Pyle, Desmond M , Oosthuizen, Rene
Date: 2018
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76858 , vital:30631 , https://doi.org/10.2478/atd-2018-0001
Description: South Africa is a member state of the “BRICS” bloc (BRICS2017.org, 2017) and the G20 group of the 20 nations/economic blocs, which between them account for the majority of the world’s trade and economic activity. It faces many developmental challenges which are mirrored in its higher education sector. In this article, the authors seek to provide an overview of the challenges that South African higher education faces in the achievement of the developmental goals of the country. The focus of this paper is a case study in WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) to improve context-specific responses that trains pharmacists on knowledge and skills.
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Date Issued: 2018

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Challenges emanating from non-payment for municipal services in Bitou Municipality

- Noholoza, Malungisa

Authors: Noholoza, Malungisa
Date: 2018
Subjects: Local government -- South Africa -- Evaluation , Debts, Public -- South Africa -- Western Cape Collecting of accounts -- South Africa -- Western Cape
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/33453 , vital:32875
Description: Local Government has an obligation to provide access to basic services in an economical, effective and efficient manner within their limited financial resources and capacity. However, municipalities are struggling to provide these services because of non-payment by the communities. The non-payment for municipal services dates back to the apartheid regime, where non-payment of services was a means of protesting the apartheid government but that protest is becoming a thorny issue in the current democratic government of South Africa. Municipalities are currently facing increasing challenges with regard to service delivery due to insufficient revenue collection. The South African legislative framework provides for municipalities to collect revenue but it has been shown in this study that municipalities have not been effective in dealing with the revenue collection and as a result, municipalities’ constitutional mandate is in dire straits. Revenue collection needs to be addressed for municipalities to be successful. With the use of qualitative methodology, this study found that the Bitou Municipality is struggling to decrease the current rate of outstanding debt and the attempts undertaken by the municipality to address revenue collection have not yielded the intended results. The study was aimed at identifying the challenges behind non-payment for basic services, identifying the debt and credit control strategies employed by the municipality in revenue collection and their effectiveness or non-effectiveness and assessing the municipality’s methods of credit and debt control. The theoretical data in the study was analysed in order to answer the objectives of the study and the challenges emanating from the non-payment for municipal services in the Bitou Municipality. The study found that non-payment for municipal services is an on-going problem.
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Date Issued: 2018

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