Understanding the food crises in southern Africa and the ways of transitioning the food systems to combat hunger
- Chakona, Gamuchirai, Mushangai, Dandira
- Authors: Chakona, Gamuchirai , Mushangai, Dandira
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , working paper
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/433956 , vital:73014 , ISBN working paper
- Description: Globally, almost one billion people are estimated to face hunger on a regular basis (Poppy et al., 2014) and more than two billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies (Barrett, 2010; FAO et al. 2020). The number of food-insecure people has been on the rise with subSaharan Africa having the greatest number of individuals who are both hungry (about 237 million people) and malnourished (almost 23% of the population) (FAO, 2018). Beyond hunger, FAO et al. (2020) noted that a growing number of people have had to reduce the quantity and quality of the food they consume. This makes it almost impossible to have a world with zero hunger by 2030 and achieve SDG 2 target 2.1 of ensuring access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food for all people and target 2.2 of eradicating all forms of malnutrition (UN 2015). Most governments globally have pledged to eradicate hunger in their nations by 2030, and one of their solutions is to increase agricultural productivity to meet the needs of all their people. However, Poppy et al. (2014) argued that increased yields and food supplies do not assure food security for all as some poorer societies and communities may not have access to sufficient quantity or quality food (Iram and Butt, 2004), which is a challenge in many African communities, especially in South Africa. This highlights the complexity of the food system within many countries.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
- Authors: Chakona, Gamuchirai , Mushangai, Dandira
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , working paper
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/433956 , vital:73014 , ISBN working paper
- Description: Globally, almost one billion people are estimated to face hunger on a regular basis (Poppy et al., 2014) and more than two billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies (Barrett, 2010; FAO et al. 2020). The number of food-insecure people has been on the rise with subSaharan Africa having the greatest number of individuals who are both hungry (about 237 million people) and malnourished (almost 23% of the population) (FAO, 2018). Beyond hunger, FAO et al. (2020) noted that a growing number of people have had to reduce the quantity and quality of the food they consume. This makes it almost impossible to have a world with zero hunger by 2030 and achieve SDG 2 target 2.1 of ensuring access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food for all people and target 2.2 of eradicating all forms of malnutrition (UN 2015). Most governments globally have pledged to eradicate hunger in their nations by 2030, and one of their solutions is to increase agricultural productivity to meet the needs of all their people. However, Poppy et al. (2014) argued that increased yields and food supplies do not assure food security for all as some poorer societies and communities may not have access to sufficient quantity or quality food (Iram and Butt, 2004), which is a challenge in many African communities, especially in South Africa. This highlights the complexity of the food system within many countries.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
Unlocking the Diversity of Pyrroloiminoquinones Produced by Latrunculid Sponge Species
- Kalinski, Jarmo-Charles J, Krause, Rui W M, Parker-Nance, Shirley, Waterworth, Samantha C, Dorrington, Rosemary A
- Authors: Kalinski, Jarmo-Charles J , Krause, Rui W M , Parker-Nance, Shirley , Waterworth, Samantha C , Dorrington, Rosemary A
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191802 , vital:45165 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3390/md19020068"
- Description: Sponges of the Latrunculiidae family produce bioactive pyrroloiminoquinone alkaloids including makaluvamines, discorhabdins, and tsitsikammamines. The aim of this study was to use LC-ESI-MS/MS-driven molecular networking to characterize the pyrroloiminoquinone secondary metabolites produced by six latrunculid species. These are Tsitsikamma favus, Tsitsikamma pedunculata, Cyclacanthia bellae, and Latrunculia apicalis as well as the recently discovered species, Tsitsikamma nguni and Tsitsikamma michaeli. Organic extracts of 43 sponges were analyzed, revealing distinct species-specific chemical profiles. More than 200 known and unknown putative pyrroloiminoquinones and related compounds were detected, including unprecedented makaluvamine-discorhabdin adducts and hydroxylated discorhabdin I derivatives. The chemical profiles of the new species T. nguni closely resembled those of the known T. favus (chemotype I), but with a higher abundance of tsitsikammamines vs. discorhabdins. T. michaeli sponges displayed two distinct chemical profiles, either producing mostly the same discorhabdins as T. favus (chemotype I) or non- or monobrominated, hydroxylated discorhabdins. C. bellae and L. apicalis produced similar pyrroloiminoquinone chemistry to one another, characterized by sulfur-containing discorhabdins and related adducts and oligomers. This study highlights the variability of pyrroloiminoquinone production by latrunculid species, identifies novel isolation targets, and offers fundamental insights into the collision-induced dissociation of pyrroloiminoquinones.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
- Authors: Kalinski, Jarmo-Charles J , Krause, Rui W M , Parker-Nance, Shirley , Waterworth, Samantha C , Dorrington, Rosemary A
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191802 , vital:45165 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3390/md19020068"
- Description: Sponges of the Latrunculiidae family produce bioactive pyrroloiminoquinone alkaloids including makaluvamines, discorhabdins, and tsitsikammamines. The aim of this study was to use LC-ESI-MS/MS-driven molecular networking to characterize the pyrroloiminoquinone secondary metabolites produced by six latrunculid species. These are Tsitsikamma favus, Tsitsikamma pedunculata, Cyclacanthia bellae, and Latrunculia apicalis as well as the recently discovered species, Tsitsikamma nguni and Tsitsikamma michaeli. Organic extracts of 43 sponges were analyzed, revealing distinct species-specific chemical profiles. More than 200 known and unknown putative pyrroloiminoquinones and related compounds were detected, including unprecedented makaluvamine-discorhabdin adducts and hydroxylated discorhabdin I derivatives. The chemical profiles of the new species T. nguni closely resembled those of the known T. favus (chemotype I), but with a higher abundance of tsitsikammamines vs. discorhabdins. T. michaeli sponges displayed two distinct chemical profiles, either producing mostly the same discorhabdins as T. favus (chemotype I) or non- or monobrominated, hydroxylated discorhabdins. C. bellae and L. apicalis produced similar pyrroloiminoquinone chemistry to one another, characterized by sulfur-containing discorhabdins and related adducts and oligomers. This study highlights the variability of pyrroloiminoquinone production by latrunculid species, identifies novel isolation targets, and offers fundamental insights into the collision-induced dissociation of pyrroloiminoquinones.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
Urban birds in the Eastern Cape: local observations from Makhanda (Grahamstown) and future questions
- Craig, Adrian J F K, Hulley, Patrick E, Mullins, R Lorraine G
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K , Hulley, Patrick E , Mullins, R Lorraine G
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/449580 , vital:74831 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2020.1816585
- Description: In Makhanda (Grahamstown), a non-industrial town with approximately 85 000 inhabitants, we have recorded 174 bird species within the urban area, of which 104 species are likely to breed regularly. The source habitats of these birds include all the surrounding habitat types, and the bird community is evidently determined by both local conditions within the town (e.g. tree density) and regional changes affecting the eastern coast of South Africa (range shifts). Topics meriting future research on urban bird communities in South Africa are highlighted.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
Urban birds in the Eastern Cape: local observations from Makhanda (Grahamstown) and future questions
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K , Hulley, Patrick E , Mullins, R Lorraine G
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/449580 , vital:74831 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2020.1816585
- Description: In Makhanda (Grahamstown), a non-industrial town with approximately 85 000 inhabitants, we have recorded 174 bird species within the urban area, of which 104 species are likely to breed regularly. The source habitats of these birds include all the surrounding habitat types, and the bird community is evidently determined by both local conditions within the town (e.g. tree density) and regional changes affecting the eastern coast of South Africa (range shifts). Topics meriting future research on urban bird communities in South Africa are highlighted.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
Urban ecology of the Global South
- du Toit, Marie J, Shackleton, Charlie M, Cilliers, Sarel S, Davoren, Elandre
- Authors: du Toit, Marie J , Shackleton, Charlie M , Cilliers, Sarel S , Davoren, Elandre
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/433728 , vital:72997 , ISBN 978-3-030-67650-6 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67650-6
- Description: Against the background of unprecedented rates of urbanisation in the Global South, leading to massive social, economic and environmental transformations, this book engages with the dire need to understand the ecology of such settings as the foundation for fostering sustainable and resilient human settlements in contexts that are very different to the Global North. It does so by bringing together scholars from around the world, drawing together research and case studies from across the Global South to illustrate, in an interdisciplinary and comprehensive fashion, the ecology of towns and cities in the Global South. Framed using a social-ecological systems lens, it provides the reader with an in-depth analysis and understanding of the ecological dynamics and ecosystem services and disservices within the complex and rapidly changing towns and cities of the Global South, a region with currently scarce representation in most of the urban ecology literature. As such the book makes a call for greater geographical balance in urban ecology research leading towards a more global understanding and frameworks. The book embraces the complexity of these rapid transformations for ecological and environmental management and how the ecosystems and the benefits they provide shape local ecologies, livelihood opportunities and human wellbeing, and how such knowledge can be mobilised towards improved urban design and management and thus urban sustainability.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
- Authors: du Toit, Marie J , Shackleton, Charlie M , Cilliers, Sarel S , Davoren, Elandre
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/433728 , vital:72997 , ISBN 978-3-030-67650-6 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67650-6
- Description: Against the background of unprecedented rates of urbanisation in the Global South, leading to massive social, economic and environmental transformations, this book engages with the dire need to understand the ecology of such settings as the foundation for fostering sustainable and resilient human settlements in contexts that are very different to the Global North. It does so by bringing together scholars from around the world, drawing together research and case studies from across the Global South to illustrate, in an interdisciplinary and comprehensive fashion, the ecology of towns and cities in the Global South. Framed using a social-ecological systems lens, it provides the reader with an in-depth analysis and understanding of the ecological dynamics and ecosystem services and disservices within the complex and rapidly changing towns and cities of the Global South, a region with currently scarce representation in most of the urban ecology literature. As such the book makes a call for greater geographical balance in urban ecology research leading towards a more global understanding and frameworks. The book embraces the complexity of these rapid transformations for ecological and environmental management and how the ecosystems and the benefits they provide shape local ecologies, livelihood opportunities and human wellbeing, and how such knowledge can be mobilised towards improved urban design and management and thus urban sustainability.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
Urban ecosystem disservices in the Global South
- Davoren, Elandre, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: Davoren, Elandre , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/433780 , vital:73000 , ISBN 978-3-030-67650-6 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67650-6_11
- Description: As much as people benefit from the ecosystem services provided by nature, ecosystem disservices also impact daily lives. This is especially true for many urban communities in the Global South due to (1) the often greater diversity of ecosystem disservices and (2) higher vulnerabilities, which together can lead to greater impacts of ecosystem disservices in many Global South settings. This chapter provides an overview of the current understandings of urban ecosystem disservices and their assessment and management with an emphasis on the Global South, albeit with reference to the Global North where useful. This overview reveals a lack of detailed and systematic empirical research on urban ecosystem disservices generally, but even more so in the Global South, despite the greater diversity and vulnerability in Global South settings. This needs to be acknowledged in urban ecology framings of urban dynamics in the Global South and translated into better integration of both ecosystem services and disservices within common research, policy or management frameworks. It is only through such integration that appropriate context-relevant policy directions and management options can be identified, thereby promoting the wellbeing of urban citizens in the Global South.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
- Authors: Davoren, Elandre , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/433780 , vital:73000 , ISBN 978-3-030-67650-6 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67650-6_11
- Description: As much as people benefit from the ecosystem services provided by nature, ecosystem disservices also impact daily lives. This is especially true for many urban communities in the Global South due to (1) the often greater diversity of ecosystem disservices and (2) higher vulnerabilities, which together can lead to greater impacts of ecosystem disservices in many Global South settings. This chapter provides an overview of the current understandings of urban ecosystem disservices and their assessment and management with an emphasis on the Global South, albeit with reference to the Global North where useful. This overview reveals a lack of detailed and systematic empirical research on urban ecosystem disservices generally, but even more so in the Global South, despite the greater diversity and vulnerability in Global South settings. This needs to be acknowledged in urban ecology framings of urban dynamics in the Global South and translated into better integration of both ecosystem services and disservices within common research, policy or management frameworks. It is only through such integration that appropriate context-relevant policy directions and management options can be identified, thereby promoting the wellbeing of urban citizens in the Global South.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
Urban green infrastructure for poverty alleviation: evidence synthesis and conceptual considerations
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/401383 , vital:69730 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2021.710549"
- Description: The multiple benefits of urban green infrastructure (UGI) that support sustainable cities are increasingly acknowledged, and yet the bulk of research over the past decade or so has focused on only a small subset of the numerous benefits, notably recreation, physical and mental health, and regulating services. In contrast, there is very little information on the contribution of UGI to several of the other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular SDG 1 of reducing poverty, despite the pervasiveness of poverty globally. This paper considers the diverse direct and indirect ways in which UGI can contribute to poverty alleviation, drawing on the limited evidence from various regions of the world. The direct links between UGI and poverty alleviation is via three means, namely provision of (1) consumptive or provisioning goods such as wild foods and firewood, (2) employment in UGI development, maintenance, and restoration, and (3) land for urban agriculture, income generation and dwelling. There are also a number of indirect links such as cash savings, improved physical and mental health, improved social networks, improved educational outcomes, and regulation of potential natural disasters. However, the commonly unequal distribution of UGI within and between cities means that the poverty alleviation potential and benefits are inequitably distributed, often against those who are most in need of them, i.e., the urban poor. This demands greater attention to promoting the equitable distribution and quality of UGI and mainstreaming of UGI into poverty reduction strategies and programmes and vice versa, as well as greater examination of the links between UGI and poverty alleviation in a greater range of contexts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
Urban green infrastructure for poverty alleviation: evidence synthesis and conceptual considerations
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/401383 , vital:69730 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2021.710549"
- Description: The multiple benefits of urban green infrastructure (UGI) that support sustainable cities are increasingly acknowledged, and yet the bulk of research over the past decade or so has focused on only a small subset of the numerous benefits, notably recreation, physical and mental health, and regulating services. In contrast, there is very little information on the contribution of UGI to several of the other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular SDG 1 of reducing poverty, despite the pervasiveness of poverty globally. This paper considers the diverse direct and indirect ways in which UGI can contribute to poverty alleviation, drawing on the limited evidence from various regions of the world. The direct links between UGI and poverty alleviation is via three means, namely provision of (1) consumptive or provisioning goods such as wild foods and firewood, (2) employment in UGI development, maintenance, and restoration, and (3) land for urban agriculture, income generation and dwelling. There are also a number of indirect links such as cash savings, improved physical and mental health, improved social networks, improved educational outcomes, and regulation of potential natural disasters. However, the commonly unequal distribution of UGI within and between cities means that the poverty alleviation potential and benefits are inequitably distributed, often against those who are most in need of them, i.e., the urban poor. This demands greater attention to promoting the equitable distribution and quality of UGI and mainstreaming of UGI into poverty reduction strategies and programmes and vice versa, as well as greater examination of the links between UGI and poverty alleviation in a greater range of contexts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
Visible light responsive TiO2-graphene oxide nanosheets-Zn phthalocyanine ternary heterojunction assisted photoelectrocatalytic degradation of Orange G
- Nwahara, Nnamdi, Adeniyi, Omotayo, Mashazi, Philani N, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Nwahara, Nnamdi , Adeniyi, Omotayo , Mashazi, Philani N , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/185446 , vital:44387 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2021.113291"
- Description: Herein, we report on the successful fabrication of a visible light-responsive TiO2 - graphene oxide nanosheets – Zn phthalocyanine (TiO2@GONS@ZnPc) ternary structure for the photoelectrochemical degradation of Orange G azo dye. The characterization of TiO2@GONS@ZnPc composite was achieved using various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Our results show that the TiO2@GONS@ZnPc surface hybrid heterojunction promotes charge separation and electron migration, significantly improving the degradation efficiency with an applied potential. For the first time, we show the existence of a non-radical activation route for persulfate (PS) using such π electron-rich ZnPc-GONS catalysts. The degradation kinetics were found to follow pseudo first order kinetics. Electron spin resonance analyses suggested that neither hydroxyl radicals nor sulfate radicals were produced therein, and therefore were not responsible for the persulfate-driven oxidation of the OG dye. These findings suggest that both which GONS and ZnPc play a critical role in mediating the eventual charge transfer mediated PS activation. The results illustrate the remarkable capacity of the TiO2@GONS@ZnPc composite to rapidly degrade Orange G by a coupled TiO2@GONS@ZnPc-persulfate system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
- Authors: Nwahara, Nnamdi , Adeniyi, Omotayo , Mashazi, Philani N , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/185446 , vital:44387 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2021.113291"
- Description: Herein, we report on the successful fabrication of a visible light-responsive TiO2 - graphene oxide nanosheets – Zn phthalocyanine (TiO2@GONS@ZnPc) ternary structure for the photoelectrochemical degradation of Orange G azo dye. The characterization of TiO2@GONS@ZnPc composite was achieved using various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Our results show that the TiO2@GONS@ZnPc surface hybrid heterojunction promotes charge separation and electron migration, significantly improving the degradation efficiency with an applied potential. For the first time, we show the existence of a non-radical activation route for persulfate (PS) using such π electron-rich ZnPc-GONS catalysts. The degradation kinetics were found to follow pseudo first order kinetics. Electron spin resonance analyses suggested that neither hydroxyl radicals nor sulfate radicals were produced therein, and therefore were not responsible for the persulfate-driven oxidation of the OG dye. These findings suggest that both which GONS and ZnPc play a critical role in mediating the eventual charge transfer mediated PS activation. The results illustrate the remarkable capacity of the TiO2@GONS@ZnPc composite to rapidly degrade Orange G by a coupled TiO2@GONS@ZnPc-persulfate system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
What are social-ecological systems and social-ecological systems research
- Biggs, Reinette, Clements, Hayley, de Vos, Alta, Folke, Carl, Manyani, Amanda, Maciejewski, Kristine, Martin-Lopez, Berta, Preiser, Rika, Selomane, Odirilwe, Schluter, Maja
- Authors: Biggs, Reinette , Clements, Hayley , de Vos, Alta , Folke, Carl , Manyani, Amanda , Maciejewski, Kristine , Martin-Lopez, Berta , Preiser, Rika , Selomane, Odirilwe , Schluter, Maja
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/433900 , vital:73008 , ISBN 9781000401516 , https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/49560
- Description: The period since the Second World War has been marked by rapid and accelerating changes to many aspects of human society and the environment (Clark, Crutzen, and Schellnhuber 2004; Steffen et al. 2011; Steffen et al. 2015a). There is accumulating evidence and rising concern about the potential consequences these changes hold for key Earth system processes at a global scale, and human well-being and prosperity into the future (Krausmann et al. 2013; Steffen et al. 2015b). The Anthropocene, as this new era of extensive human impact on the Earth has come to be known (Crutzen 2006), manifests in a closely intertwined set of social and ecological changes. Technological advances, increasing human population, rising levels of wealth and consumption, and the institutional arrangements we have developed to govern our economies and societies interplay with one another, and drastically affect the Earth’s climate, biological diversity, fresh-water and biogeochemical flows, and levels of novel pollutants in the environment (Steffen et al. 2015a). These environmental changes, in turn, contribute to increasingly frequent and severe droughts (Dai 2013; Trenberth et al. 2014), floods (Milly et al. 2002; Nicholls 2004), heatwaves (Guo et al. 2018; Oliver et al. 2018) and the emergence of novel pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 (Everard et al. 2020; O ’Callaghan-Gordo and Antò 2020; Schmeller, Courchamp, and Killeen 2020) that can lead to massive societal disruption and hardship, especially among the poor (Wheeler and Von Braun 2013; Barbier and Hochard 2018).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
- Authors: Biggs, Reinette , Clements, Hayley , de Vos, Alta , Folke, Carl , Manyani, Amanda , Maciejewski, Kristine , Martin-Lopez, Berta , Preiser, Rika , Selomane, Odirilwe , Schluter, Maja
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/433900 , vital:73008 , ISBN 9781000401516 , https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/49560
- Description: The period since the Second World War has been marked by rapid and accelerating changes to many aspects of human society and the environment (Clark, Crutzen, and Schellnhuber 2004; Steffen et al. 2011; Steffen et al. 2015a). There is accumulating evidence and rising concern about the potential consequences these changes hold for key Earth system processes at a global scale, and human well-being and prosperity into the future (Krausmann et al. 2013; Steffen et al. 2015b). The Anthropocene, as this new era of extensive human impact on the Earth has come to be known (Crutzen 2006), manifests in a closely intertwined set of social and ecological changes. Technological advances, increasing human population, rising levels of wealth and consumption, and the institutional arrangements we have developed to govern our economies and societies interplay with one another, and drastically affect the Earth’s climate, biological diversity, fresh-water and biogeochemical flows, and levels of novel pollutants in the environment (Steffen et al. 2015a). These environmental changes, in turn, contribute to increasingly frequent and severe droughts (Dai 2013; Trenberth et al. 2014), floods (Milly et al. 2002; Nicholls 2004), heatwaves (Guo et al. 2018; Oliver et al. 2018) and the emergence of novel pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 (Everard et al. 2020; O ’Callaghan-Gordo and Antò 2020; Schmeller, Courchamp, and Killeen 2020) that can lead to massive societal disruption and hardship, especially among the poor (Wheeler and Von Braun 2013; Barbier and Hochard 2018).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
Why decolonialising feminist psychology may fail, and why it mustn't: The politics of signification and the case of' teenage pregnancy'
- Macleod, Catriona I, Masuko, Diemo, Feltham-King, Tracey
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Masuko, Diemo , Feltham-King, Tracey
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446327 , vital:74490
- Description: The calls to decolonise psychology and feminisms are a demand for action in overcoming past and current (neo) colonial injustices. Decolonisation has, however, been complex owing to the plurality, mutation, and masking of (neo)colonial systems. Within this context, decolonialising feminist psychology may fail. Homing in on the politics of signification, we argue that the colonial roots of many signifiers that serve to perpetuate gendered power relations are masked through their taken-for-granted status within psychology. We illustrate the latter through discussion of "adolescence", a signifier premised on colonialist thinking regarding individual and societal development. While gross forms of colonialist thinking regarding adolescence have disappeared, the "threat of degeneration" implicit in the concept remains. Drawing on critical work on "teenage pregnancy" in South Africa, we show how young womxn's reproductive health is impacted by the entrenchment of the threat of degeneration in educational and health responses. This discussion illustrates why decolonising feminist psychology must not fail. Alternative signifiers that serve the purpose of social justice and care should be foregrounded. These joint tasks (critique of (neo)colonialist signifiers and the enactment of transformation through foregrounding alternative signifiers) should underpin decolonising feminist psychology praxis.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Masuko, Diemo , Feltham-King, Tracey
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446327 , vital:74490
- Description: The calls to decolonise psychology and feminisms are a demand for action in overcoming past and current (neo) colonial injustices. Decolonisation has, however, been complex owing to the plurality, mutation, and masking of (neo)colonial systems. Within this context, decolonialising feminist psychology may fail. Homing in on the politics of signification, we argue that the colonial roots of many signifiers that serve to perpetuate gendered power relations are masked through their taken-for-granted status within psychology. We illustrate the latter through discussion of "adolescence", a signifier premised on colonialist thinking regarding individual and societal development. While gross forms of colonialist thinking regarding adolescence have disappeared, the "threat of degeneration" implicit in the concept remains. Drawing on critical work on "teenage pregnancy" in South Africa, we show how young womxn's reproductive health is impacted by the entrenchment of the threat of degeneration in educational and health responses. This discussion illustrates why decolonising feminist psychology must not fail. Alternative signifiers that serve the purpose of social justice and care should be foregrounded. These joint tasks (critique of (neo)colonialist signifiers and the enactment of transformation through foregrounding alternative signifiers) should underpin decolonising feminist psychology praxis.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
Women’s experiences on the use of Implanon as a contraceptive method in a selected primary healthcare facility in KwaZulu-Natal
- Mgobhozi, Lucky N., Mbeje, Pretty N., Mchunu, Gugu G.
- Authors: Mgobhozi, Lucky N. , Mbeje, Pretty N. , Mchunu, Gugu G.
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: Contraception Article
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/7159 , vital:53073 , xlink:href=" https://doi.org/10.4102/curationis.v44i1.2187"
- Description: Background: The South African department of health recently introduced subdermal Implanon contraceptive implant with the aim to reduce teenage pregnancy and maternal mortality. First used in all public healthcare facilities across the country since early 2014, this method of contraception has been described as highly effective. However, some women have reported unbearable side effects, forcing them to remove the contraceptive implant early before its expiry date. Negligible emphasis has been placed on staff training and development to equip the nurses with new protocol and policies on Implanon. Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore experiences of women using Implanon as method of contraception at a selected primary healthcare facility in KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Methods: A qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study design was used. A purposive sampling technique was used and a sample of seven women aged between 15 and 50 years was selected for this study. Semi-structured interviews were used in the data collection process. The Tesch’s method for data coding and data analysis was utilised. Necessary ethical measures were taken to ensure that the study is trustworthy. The study was conducted at Community Health Centre, KwaZulu-Natal between June 2017 and December 2018. Results: The findings showed that some participants were still willing to continue using this method of contraception regardless of the unwanted side effects. Major side effects reported were heavy menstrual bleeding, pain and discomfort, weight loss, insomnia and decreased sexual interest, which resulted in most participants stopping the use of Implanon. Conclusion: Most of the participants’ experience unwanted side effects because of poor screening, counselling and support. There is a clear demand to develop a screening tool and facilitate training of healthcare workers when initiating the use of Implanon. Keywords: Implanon; Implanon users; experiences; perceptions; primary healthcare
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
- Authors: Mgobhozi, Lucky N. , Mbeje, Pretty N. , Mchunu, Gugu G.
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: Contraception Article
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/7159 , vital:53073 , xlink:href=" https://doi.org/10.4102/curationis.v44i1.2187"
- Description: Background: The South African department of health recently introduced subdermal Implanon contraceptive implant with the aim to reduce teenage pregnancy and maternal mortality. First used in all public healthcare facilities across the country since early 2014, this method of contraception has been described as highly effective. However, some women have reported unbearable side effects, forcing them to remove the contraceptive implant early before its expiry date. Negligible emphasis has been placed on staff training and development to equip the nurses with new protocol and policies on Implanon. Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore experiences of women using Implanon as method of contraception at a selected primary healthcare facility in KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Methods: A qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study design was used. A purposive sampling technique was used and a sample of seven women aged between 15 and 50 years was selected for this study. Semi-structured interviews were used in the data collection process. The Tesch’s method for data coding and data analysis was utilised. Necessary ethical measures were taken to ensure that the study is trustworthy. The study was conducted at Community Health Centre, KwaZulu-Natal between June 2017 and December 2018. Results: The findings showed that some participants were still willing to continue using this method of contraception regardless of the unwanted side effects. Major side effects reported were heavy menstrual bleeding, pain and discomfort, weight loss, insomnia and decreased sexual interest, which resulted in most participants stopping the use of Implanon. Conclusion: Most of the participants’ experience unwanted side effects because of poor screening, counselling and support. There is a clear demand to develop a screening tool and facilitate training of healthcare workers when initiating the use of Implanon. Keywords: Implanon; Implanon users; experiences; perceptions; primary healthcare
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
Youth Attitudes and Participation in Climate Protest
- Prendergast, Kate, Hayward, Bronwyn, Aoyagi, Midori, Burningham, Kate, Hasan, Mehedi, Jackson, Tim, Jha, Vimlendu, Kuroki, Larissa, Lukianov, Anastasia, Mattar, Helio, Schudel, Ingrid J, Venn, Sue, Yoshida, Aya
- Authors: Prendergast, Kate , Hayward, Bronwyn , Aoyagi, Midori , Burningham, Kate , Hasan, Mehedi , Jackson, Tim , Jha, Vimlendu , Kuroki, Larissa , Lukianov, Anastasia , Mattar, Helio , Schudel, Ingrid J , Venn, Sue , Yoshida, Aya
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/294471 , vital:57224 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2021.696105"
- Description: This article examines youth participation the school climate strikes of 2018 and 2019 (also known as #Fridays4Future), through an exploratory study conducted in seven diverse cities. Despite the international nature of the climate strikes, we know little about the factors that influenced youth participation in these protests beyond the global North. This matters because youth of the global South are disproportionately impacted by climate change and there is growing concern that the climate movement is dominated by narratives that marginalize the voices and priorities of Indigenous communities and people of color. In this context, the exploratory research reported here aimed to compare the attitudes of climate protesters (n = 314) and their non-protester peers (n = 1,217), in diverse city samples drawn from a wider study of children and youth aged 12–24 years, living in Christchurch (New Zealand); Dhaka (Bangladesh); Lambeth, London (United Kingdom); Makhanda (South Africa); New Delhi (India); São Paulo (Brazil); and Yokohama (Japan). Using cross-sectional data (N = 1,531) and binary logistic regression models, researchers examined three common explanations for youth participation in protest: availability (biographical and structural), political engagement (reported individual and collective efficacy of strikers and non-strikers), and self-reported biospheric values amongst participants. Results indicate that even in diverse city samples, structural availability (civic skills and organizational membership) predicted strike participation across city samples, but not political engagement (self-efficacy and collective efficacy). Youth who reported that ‘living in harmony with nature and animals’ was important for their wellbeing, were also more likely to strike than their peers. Descriptive statistics indicated that the majority (85 percent) of all protestors in this study agreed climate change was a serious issue and a startling 65 percent said that they think about climate change “all the time”. Reported rates of youth climate protest participation varied across city samples as did the extent to which participants reported having friends take part or expecting climate change to have a personal impact. While the study is exploratory, it points to the need for more extensive research to understand the diversity of youth participation in ‘global climate strikes’.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
- Authors: Prendergast, Kate , Hayward, Bronwyn , Aoyagi, Midori , Burningham, Kate , Hasan, Mehedi , Jackson, Tim , Jha, Vimlendu , Kuroki, Larissa , Lukianov, Anastasia , Mattar, Helio , Schudel, Ingrid J , Venn, Sue , Yoshida, Aya
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/294471 , vital:57224 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2021.696105"
- Description: This article examines youth participation the school climate strikes of 2018 and 2019 (also known as #Fridays4Future), through an exploratory study conducted in seven diverse cities. Despite the international nature of the climate strikes, we know little about the factors that influenced youth participation in these protests beyond the global North. This matters because youth of the global South are disproportionately impacted by climate change and there is growing concern that the climate movement is dominated by narratives that marginalize the voices and priorities of Indigenous communities and people of color. In this context, the exploratory research reported here aimed to compare the attitudes of climate protesters (n = 314) and their non-protester peers (n = 1,217), in diverse city samples drawn from a wider study of children and youth aged 12–24 years, living in Christchurch (New Zealand); Dhaka (Bangladesh); Lambeth, London (United Kingdom); Makhanda (South Africa); New Delhi (India); São Paulo (Brazil); and Yokohama (Japan). Using cross-sectional data (N = 1,531) and binary logistic regression models, researchers examined three common explanations for youth participation in protest: availability (biographical and structural), political engagement (reported individual and collective efficacy of strikers and non-strikers), and self-reported biospheric values amongst participants. Results indicate that even in diverse city samples, structural availability (civic skills and organizational membership) predicted strike participation across city samples, but not political engagement (self-efficacy and collective efficacy). Youth who reported that ‘living in harmony with nature and animals’ was important for their wellbeing, were also more likely to strike than their peers. Descriptive statistics indicated that the majority (85 percent) of all protestors in this study agreed climate change was a serious issue and a startling 65 percent said that they think about climate change “all the time”. Reported rates of youth climate protest participation varied across city samples as did the extent to which participants reported having friends take part or expecting climate change to have a personal impact. While the study is exploratory, it points to the need for more extensive research to understand the diversity of youth participation in ‘global climate strikes’.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
‘Bad choices’: Unintended pregnancy and abortion in nurses’ and counsellors’ accounts of providing pre-abortion counselling
- Mavuso, Jabulile M-J J, Macleod, Catriona I
- Authors: Mavuso, Jabulile M-J J , Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/444139 , vital:74195 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1363459320988873"
- Description: Little research tackles healthcare providers’ experiences in conducting pre-abortion counselling sessions in circumstances where pregnant persons may request an abortion. We report on a study conducted in South Africa, in which two nurses and two counsellors were asked about how they conduct these counselling sessions. Using a synthetic narrative approach, we present these health workers’ micro-narratives about their motivations for providing abortion services, the purpose of the counselling, their information-giving practices, and whether and how third parties are included in the counselling. We highlight how these micro-narratives are premised on discursive resources that problematise unintended pregnancy and abortion. These resources enable and justify directive counselling that undermines pregnant peoples’ reproductive autonomy. We locate such directiveness within dominant anti-abortion discourse and call for training to reframe normative understandings of abortion.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
- Authors: Mavuso, Jabulile M-J J , Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/444139 , vital:74195 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1363459320988873"
- Description: Little research tackles healthcare providers’ experiences in conducting pre-abortion counselling sessions in circumstances where pregnant persons may request an abortion. We report on a study conducted in South Africa, in which two nurses and two counsellors were asked about how they conduct these counselling sessions. Using a synthetic narrative approach, we present these health workers’ micro-narratives about their motivations for providing abortion services, the purpose of the counselling, their information-giving practices, and whether and how third parties are included in the counselling. We highlight how these micro-narratives are premised on discursive resources that problematise unintended pregnancy and abortion. These resources enable and justify directive counselling that undermines pregnant peoples’ reproductive autonomy. We locate such directiveness within dominant anti-abortion discourse and call for training to reframe normative understandings of abortion.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
‘Don't educate them out of educating themselves’
- Krueger, Anton, Wunder, Albert
- Authors: Krueger, Anton , Wunder, Albert
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/225481 , vital:49226 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.5920/pam.1005"
- Description: Al Wunder's biography, in his own words: I had four lucky breaks that precipitated my becoming a teacher of improvised movement theatre. Between the ages of eight and fourteen I broke my right leg four different times. In 1962, I began modern dance classes with Alwin Nikolais as a physical therapy. His choreography and improvisation sections of class inspired me to teach and perform professionally. I spent eight years studying, teaching, choreographing, and performing with Nikolais. 1970 saw me move to the San Francisco Bay area where I opened a dance studio teaching Nikolais dance technique and improvisation. In 1971, I joined forces with Terry Sendgraff and Ruth Zaporah creating The Berkeley Dance Theater and Gymnasium. My focus was to create a way to teach dance technique through improvisation. I met my Australian wife, Lynden Nicholls, in 1981 when she came to study Motivity at Terry’s studio in Berkeley. In 1982, I moved to Melbourne, Australia where Lynden and I set up a dance studio. My focus changed from teaching dance technique improvisationally to teaching improvised movement theatre performance
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
- Authors: Krueger, Anton , Wunder, Albert
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/225481 , vital:49226 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.5920/pam.1005"
- Description: Al Wunder's biography, in his own words: I had four lucky breaks that precipitated my becoming a teacher of improvised movement theatre. Between the ages of eight and fourteen I broke my right leg four different times. In 1962, I began modern dance classes with Alwin Nikolais as a physical therapy. His choreography and improvisation sections of class inspired me to teach and perform professionally. I spent eight years studying, teaching, choreographing, and performing with Nikolais. 1970 saw me move to the San Francisco Bay area where I opened a dance studio teaching Nikolais dance technique and improvisation. In 1971, I joined forces with Terry Sendgraff and Ruth Zaporah creating The Berkeley Dance Theater and Gymnasium. My focus was to create a way to teach dance technique through improvisation. I met my Australian wife, Lynden Nicholls, in 1981 when she came to study Motivity at Terry’s studio in Berkeley. In 1982, I moved to Melbourne, Australia where Lynden and I set up a dance studio. My focus changed from teaching dance technique improvisationally to teaching improvised movement theatre performance
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
“Munhu wese ihama yako (everyone is your relative)”: Ubuntu and the social inclusion of students with disabilities at South African universities
- Authors: Chiwandire, Desire
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: College students with disabilities -- Education -- South Africa , Inclusive education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/170578 , vital:41938 , 10.21504/10962/170578
- Description: Background: During apartheid, South African students with disabilities (SWDs) were educated in special schools and taught an inferior curriculum. Black learners with disabilities were discriminated against on grounds of both race and disability. Following South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) government put in place arrange of new laws to address the educational and other needs of those disadvantaged under apartheid, including persons with disabilities (PWDs). The South African government is a signatory of the 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) which has resulted in the country assuming obligations to promote inclusive education for ASWDs. However, research (see, for instance, Chiwandire & Vincent 2019; Chiwandire 2019; Mutanga 2019; Majoko & Phasha 2018; Mutanga et al. 2018; Mutanga 2017a; Chiwandire 2017; Israel 2017) has shown that SWDs continue to fare differently in comparison to their non-disabled peers in terms of participation in education with the likelihood of success. Higher education institutions (HEIs) have thus been urged to create conducive environments for the academic inclusion of SWDs with particular attention being paid to lecturers employing inclusive instructional strategies as well as flexible curricula, if they are to ensure the equal opportunity for academic success of SWDs in the regular classroom setting. The focus, to date, on academic inclusion, while important, has meant that issues relating to the social inclusion of SWDs have received minimal attention. Purpose: To date, there is a dearth of South African studies which have investigated the social inclusion needs of SWDs on South African campuses. Although a number of studies have given voice to the perspectives of SWDs and lecturers, with respect to their experiences in relation to matters of academic inclusion in South African higher education (HE), few have focused on Disability Unit Staff Members(DUSMs) who are pivotal to ensuring fair and equitable policies and practices for SWDs in HEIs. Disability Studies (DS) as a field has been criticised for being dominated by voices from the Global North, which fail to consider or effectively theorise Global South disability experiences in a contextually relevant way. The thesis argues that the failure to recognise the value of diversity and to treat SWDs as valued and welcomed participants in South African HEIs partly stems from policy, practice and relationships being informed by the Western individualist paradigm that prizes individual achievement and success rather than cooperation and mutuality. The African philosophy of Ubuntu, which stresses values of communalism, hospitality and respect for human dignity is offered here as an alternative starting point for achieving genuinely inclusive campuses. Methods: In-depth face-to-face qualitative interviews were conducted with 40 participants, most of whom were, at the time of being interviewed, Heads of Disability Units and DUSMs based at 10 different universities in four of South Africa’s nine provinces. Data were coded and analysed using Braun & Clarke’s (2006) method of inductive and deductive thematic analysis. Results: The findings of this study indicate that South African campuses are ableist spaces in which the social needs of SWDs are not prioritised. The thesis argues that in order for campuses to become genuinely inclusive, South African campuses ought to seek to inculcate in their members the values of the African worldview Ubuntu, in contrast to the dominant Western individualist orthodoxy. SWDs are being excluded and denied a sense of belonging and equal participation despite universities giving lip service to embracing such inclusive education-oriented values as co-operative learning. Non-disabled students steeped in Western individualism, which affirms the solitary pursuit of individual success rather than the value of interdependence and diversity, end up marginalising SWDs who are seen as less capable. DUSMs addressing the needs of SWDs through an ableist/Western individualist lens are not challenging unfair practices which are impairing the dignity of SWDs, particularly students with physical disabilities who are being forced to “fit into” oppressive inaccessible built environments on campuses. These DUSMs may unwittingly re-inscribe ableist assumptions that normalise discrimination against SWDs. Conclusions and Recommendations: Ubuntu values offer a starting point for building mutual respect and interdependence between SWDs and their non-disabled peers. The thesis finds however that as was the case in traditional African communities, which embraced the values of Ubuntu, acts of leadership are required if Ubuntu’s values of human dignity, mutual respect and acceptance are to be fostered on campuses. In a range of important ways, the dignity of SWDs is not respected at HEIs in South Africa. This includes, for example, such practical matters as the inaccessibility of toilets to wheelchair users and the lack of appropriate signage for blind students. Disrespectful attitudes and assumptions about SWDs on the part of non-disabled university members also result in SWDs’ human dignity being impaired. Ubuntu’s value of hospitality stresses the importance of promoting relations of group solidarity and interdependence between SWDs and their non-disabled peers. Both academic inclusion-oriented programmes and the promotion of a wide range of social activities, involving both SWDs and non-disabled students, can play an important role in cultivating the formation of long-term fruitful and respectful friendships between SWDs and non-disabled students. An enabling classroom environment alone is not enough to holistically address the social inclusion needs of SWDs. South African HEIs that embrace the Ubuntu values of communalism, human dignity and hospitality will be in a position to respect the needs of SWDs as “whole persons”. Amongst other things, this requires DUSMs to be fully empowered to make important decisions regarding vital matters such as disability inclusion, and it necessitates university management to relinquish their power, so that they may work collaboratively with DUSMs and SWDs, all on equal footing, to ensure that HE funding allocation, policy and planning also prioritises the social needs of SWDs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
- Authors: Chiwandire, Desire
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: College students with disabilities -- Education -- South Africa , Inclusive education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/170578 , vital:41938 , 10.21504/10962/170578
- Description: Background: During apartheid, South African students with disabilities (SWDs) were educated in special schools and taught an inferior curriculum. Black learners with disabilities were discriminated against on grounds of both race and disability. Following South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) government put in place arrange of new laws to address the educational and other needs of those disadvantaged under apartheid, including persons with disabilities (PWDs). The South African government is a signatory of the 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) which has resulted in the country assuming obligations to promote inclusive education for ASWDs. However, research (see, for instance, Chiwandire & Vincent 2019; Chiwandire 2019; Mutanga 2019; Majoko & Phasha 2018; Mutanga et al. 2018; Mutanga 2017a; Chiwandire 2017; Israel 2017) has shown that SWDs continue to fare differently in comparison to their non-disabled peers in terms of participation in education with the likelihood of success. Higher education institutions (HEIs) have thus been urged to create conducive environments for the academic inclusion of SWDs with particular attention being paid to lecturers employing inclusive instructional strategies as well as flexible curricula, if they are to ensure the equal opportunity for academic success of SWDs in the regular classroom setting. The focus, to date, on academic inclusion, while important, has meant that issues relating to the social inclusion of SWDs have received minimal attention. Purpose: To date, there is a dearth of South African studies which have investigated the social inclusion needs of SWDs on South African campuses. Although a number of studies have given voice to the perspectives of SWDs and lecturers, with respect to their experiences in relation to matters of academic inclusion in South African higher education (HE), few have focused on Disability Unit Staff Members(DUSMs) who are pivotal to ensuring fair and equitable policies and practices for SWDs in HEIs. Disability Studies (DS) as a field has been criticised for being dominated by voices from the Global North, which fail to consider or effectively theorise Global South disability experiences in a contextually relevant way. The thesis argues that the failure to recognise the value of diversity and to treat SWDs as valued and welcomed participants in South African HEIs partly stems from policy, practice and relationships being informed by the Western individualist paradigm that prizes individual achievement and success rather than cooperation and mutuality. The African philosophy of Ubuntu, which stresses values of communalism, hospitality and respect for human dignity is offered here as an alternative starting point for achieving genuinely inclusive campuses. Methods: In-depth face-to-face qualitative interviews were conducted with 40 participants, most of whom were, at the time of being interviewed, Heads of Disability Units and DUSMs based at 10 different universities in four of South Africa’s nine provinces. Data were coded and analysed using Braun & Clarke’s (2006) method of inductive and deductive thematic analysis. Results: The findings of this study indicate that South African campuses are ableist spaces in which the social needs of SWDs are not prioritised. The thesis argues that in order for campuses to become genuinely inclusive, South African campuses ought to seek to inculcate in their members the values of the African worldview Ubuntu, in contrast to the dominant Western individualist orthodoxy. SWDs are being excluded and denied a sense of belonging and equal participation despite universities giving lip service to embracing such inclusive education-oriented values as co-operative learning. Non-disabled students steeped in Western individualism, which affirms the solitary pursuit of individual success rather than the value of interdependence and diversity, end up marginalising SWDs who are seen as less capable. DUSMs addressing the needs of SWDs through an ableist/Western individualist lens are not challenging unfair practices which are impairing the dignity of SWDs, particularly students with physical disabilities who are being forced to “fit into” oppressive inaccessible built environments on campuses. These DUSMs may unwittingly re-inscribe ableist assumptions that normalise discrimination against SWDs. Conclusions and Recommendations: Ubuntu values offer a starting point for building mutual respect and interdependence between SWDs and their non-disabled peers. The thesis finds however that as was the case in traditional African communities, which embraced the values of Ubuntu, acts of leadership are required if Ubuntu’s values of human dignity, mutual respect and acceptance are to be fostered on campuses. In a range of important ways, the dignity of SWDs is not respected at HEIs in South Africa. This includes, for example, such practical matters as the inaccessibility of toilets to wheelchair users and the lack of appropriate signage for blind students. Disrespectful attitudes and assumptions about SWDs on the part of non-disabled university members also result in SWDs’ human dignity being impaired. Ubuntu’s value of hospitality stresses the importance of promoting relations of group solidarity and interdependence between SWDs and their non-disabled peers. Both academic inclusion-oriented programmes and the promotion of a wide range of social activities, involving both SWDs and non-disabled students, can play an important role in cultivating the formation of long-term fruitful and respectful friendships between SWDs and non-disabled students. An enabling classroom environment alone is not enough to holistically address the social inclusion needs of SWDs. South African HEIs that embrace the Ubuntu values of communalism, human dignity and hospitality will be in a position to respect the needs of SWDs as “whole persons”. Amongst other things, this requires DUSMs to be fully empowered to make important decisions regarding vital matters such as disability inclusion, and it necessitates university management to relinquish their power, so that they may work collaboratively with DUSMs and SWDs, all on equal footing, to ensure that HE funding allocation, policy and planning also prioritises the social needs of SWDs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
The modulation of the photophysical and photodynamic therapy activities of a phthalocyanine by detonation nanodiamonds: Comparison with graphene quantum dots and carbon nanodots
- Matshitse, Refilwe, Managa, Muthumuni, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Matshitse, Refilwe , Managa, Muthumuni , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/186690 , vital:44525 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diamond.2019.107617"
- Description: A positively charged phthalocyanine (2,9,16,23-tetrakis[4-(N-methylpyridyloxy)]-phthalocyanine (ZnTPPcQ)) was non-covalently linked to carbon based nanoparticles: detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs), carbon dots (CDs) and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) to form nanosembles of DNDs-ZnTPPcQ, GQDs-ZnTPPcQ and CDs-ZnTPPcQ, respectively. Irrespective of its small size and the least number of Pcs (41.67 μg loading per milligram of DNDs), DNDs-ZnTPPcQ gave the highest singlet oxygen quantum yield (0.62) in dimethyl sulfoxide compared to the rest of the conjugates. This resulted in superior PDT activity against MCF7 breast cancer lines, with the lowest cell viability of 28% compared to ZnTPPcQ-CDs and ZnTPPcQ-GQDs at 30.1 ± 0.02% and 31.4 ± 0.23%, respectively.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Matshitse, Refilwe , Managa, Muthumuni , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/186690 , vital:44525 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diamond.2019.107617"
- Description: A positively charged phthalocyanine (2,9,16,23-tetrakis[4-(N-methylpyridyloxy)]-phthalocyanine (ZnTPPcQ)) was non-covalently linked to carbon based nanoparticles: detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs), carbon dots (CDs) and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) to form nanosembles of DNDs-ZnTPPcQ, GQDs-ZnTPPcQ and CDs-ZnTPPcQ, respectively. Irrespective of its small size and the least number of Pcs (41.67 μg loading per milligram of DNDs), DNDs-ZnTPPcQ gave the highest singlet oxygen quantum yield (0.62) in dimethyl sulfoxide compared to the rest of the conjugates. This resulted in superior PDT activity against MCF7 breast cancer lines, with the lowest cell viability of 28% compared to ZnTPPcQ-CDs and ZnTPPcQ-GQDs at 30.1 ± 0.02% and 31.4 ± 0.23%, respectively.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Tracing the Voice of Protest in Selected Oral Literature:
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/174452 , vital:42479 , ISBN 9783030555177
- Description: This chapter aims to present the notion of “protest” as a contested arena in the production of oral literature, against the backdrop of continued and contested sociopolitical change in Africa. This contestation can be politically based, gender based and sometimes even based in religion. The chapter looks specifically at poetry, songs and the folktale to establish how the “voice of protest” has been presented over time in relation to specific African countries such as Senegal, South Africa, Somali, Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. Poetic protest as part of political protest is also discussed. Furthermore, the chapter seeks to explore how this “voice of protest” has been received, both from an audience point of view and from the point of view of those who control power.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/174452 , vital:42479 , ISBN 9783030555177
- Description: This chapter aims to present the notion of “protest” as a contested arena in the production of oral literature, against the backdrop of continued and contested sociopolitical change in Africa. This contestation can be politically based, gender based and sometimes even based in religion. The chapter looks specifically at poetry, songs and the folktale to establish how the “voice of protest” has been presented over time in relation to specific African countries such as Senegal, South Africa, Somali, Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. Poetic protest as part of political protest is also discussed. Furthermore, the chapter seeks to explore how this “voice of protest” has been received, both from an audience point of view and from the point of view of those who control power.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
But is it publishable? Mastering the MMed message
- Authors: A G Parrish , E S Grossman,
- Date: 202
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/3353 , vital:43318 , http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/13033
- Description: The research requirement for South African specialist registration offers opportunities and challenges. For some clinicians it may spark a lifelong interest in clinical investigation, while for many others it may provide a potential publication opportunity. Integrating the specific requirements of an MMed mini-dissertation with those of standard medical publications can be difficult for first-time authors and their supervisors; published guidance caters to full-length laboratory Master’s or doctoral research. We suggest that research is more likely to be publishable if it is locally relevant, has a clear clinical message and is coherently presented.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 202
- Authors: A G Parrish , E S Grossman,
- Date: 202
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/3353 , vital:43318 , http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/13033
- Description: The research requirement for South African specialist registration offers opportunities and challenges. For some clinicians it may spark a lifelong interest in clinical investigation, while for many others it may provide a potential publication opportunity. Integrating the specific requirements of an MMed mini-dissertation with those of standard medical publications can be difficult for first-time authors and their supervisors; published guidance caters to full-length laboratory Master’s or doctoral research. We suggest that research is more likely to be publishable if it is locally relevant, has a clear clinical message and is coherently presented.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 202
Electrocatalytic activity of a push pull Co (II) phthalocyanine in the presence of graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots
- Nxele, Siphesihle R, Oluwole, David O, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Nxele, Siphesihle R , Oluwole, David O , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/186746 , vital:44530 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2019.134978"
- Description: This work reports for the first time on the use of a conjugate of graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots (gCNQDs) with a push-pull asymmetrical cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) for electrochemical sensing. The nanocomposite is immobilized on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface for the use in l-cysteine electrocatalysis. The nanocomposites were characterized using techniques such as X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, Raman spectroscopy and electrochemical methods. The nanocomposites were immobilized by the drop-dry method, sequentially or when premixed in solution. Good electrocatalytic oxidation of l-cysteine was observed, especially by the sequentially modified electrode surface, with the CoPc on top of gCNQDs. The sensitivity was determined as 3.5 μA.mM-1 and the limit of detection (LoD) as 101.3 μM for GCE-gCNQDs, 0.65 μA.mM-1 and 0.96 μM for GCE-CoPc, 23.41 μA.mM-1 and 0.41 μM for gCNQDs-CoPc (premixed) and 100.5 μA.mM-1 and 0.02 μM for gCNQDs-CoPc (sequential). The electrode surfaces also showed high stability by continuous cyclization.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Nxele, Siphesihle R , Oluwole, David O , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/186746 , vital:44530 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2019.134978"
- Description: This work reports for the first time on the use of a conjugate of graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots (gCNQDs) with a push-pull asymmetrical cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) for electrochemical sensing. The nanocomposite is immobilized on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface for the use in l-cysteine electrocatalysis. The nanocomposites were characterized using techniques such as X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, Raman spectroscopy and electrochemical methods. The nanocomposites were immobilized by the drop-dry method, sequentially or when premixed in solution. Good electrocatalytic oxidation of l-cysteine was observed, especially by the sequentially modified electrode surface, with the CoPc on top of gCNQDs. The sensitivity was determined as 3.5 μA.mM-1 and the limit of detection (LoD) as 101.3 μM for GCE-gCNQDs, 0.65 μA.mM-1 and 0.96 μM for GCE-CoPc, 23.41 μA.mM-1 and 0.41 μM for gCNQDs-CoPc (premixed) and 100.5 μA.mM-1 and 0.02 μM for gCNQDs-CoPc (sequential). The electrode surfaces also showed high stability by continuous cyclization.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Photophysicochemical properties of nanoconjugates of zinc (II) 2 (3)-mono-2-(4-oxy) phenoxy) acetic acid phthalocyanine with cysteamine capped silver and silver–gold nanoparticles
- Oluwole, David O, Prinsloo, Earl, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Oluwole, David O , Prinsloo, Earl , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/188552 , vital:44764 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poly.2016.09.034"
- Description: A novel asymmetrical zinc(II) 2(3)-mono-2-(4-oxy)phenoxy)acetic acid phthalocyanine (complex 1) was synthesized and subsequently linked to cysteamine capped silver (AgNPs) and silver–gold (AgAuNPs) nanoparticles (NPs) via amide bonds. The photophysicochemical properties and in vitro photodynamic therapy activity of complex 1 and its nanoconjugates were investigated. The nanoconjugates showed improved photophysical properties compared to complex 1 alone. The fluorescence, triplet and singlet quantum yields of complex 1 were found to be 20%, 48%, and 43% respectively. Complex 1 showed in vitro dark cytotoxicity, but the dark toxicity was reduced for the combination of complex 1 with AgAuNPs, this combination also gave the best photodynamic therapy activity when compared to complex 1 and its conjugate with AgNPs without AuNPs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Oluwole, David O , Prinsloo, Earl , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/188552 , vital:44764 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poly.2016.09.034"
- Description: A novel asymmetrical zinc(II) 2(3)-mono-2-(4-oxy)phenoxy)acetic acid phthalocyanine (complex 1) was synthesized and subsequently linked to cysteamine capped silver (AgNPs) and silver–gold (AgAuNPs) nanoparticles (NPs) via amide bonds. The photophysicochemical properties and in vitro photodynamic therapy activity of complex 1 and its nanoconjugates were investigated. The nanoconjugates showed improved photophysical properties compared to complex 1 alone. The fluorescence, triplet and singlet quantum yields of complex 1 were found to be 20%, 48%, and 43% respectively. Complex 1 showed in vitro dark cytotoxicity, but the dark toxicity was reduced for the combination of complex 1 with AgAuNPs, this combination also gave the best photodynamic therapy activity when compared to complex 1 and its conjugate with AgNPs without AuNPs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016