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An anti-racist feminist analysis of power: a case study of a group of African women in an Eastern Cape township

  • Authors: Jackson, Carey-Ann
  • Date: 1995
  • Subjects: Power (Social sciences) -- South Africa , Feminism -- South Africa , Feminist theory -- South Africa , Women, Black -- Employment -- South Africa , Women, Black -- South Africa -- Social conditions
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2996 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002505 , Power (Social sciences) -- South Africa , Feminism -- South Africa , Feminist theory -- South Africa , Women, Black -- Employment -- South Africa , Women, Black -- South Africa -- Social conditions
  • Description: It is argued that South African feminism in the 1990's risks sabotaging itself as a movement and as a form of social critique because it has (1) not completely eradicated key positivist elements from its ontology and epistemology; (2) inadequately examined a crucial issue in an emancipatory social science, namely power; (3) increasingly opted for relativist and pragmatist perspectives in theorising women's oppression and social transformation. It is further argued that the over-reliance on relativism, standpoint theory and pragmatism is problematic for contemporary feminism. As an alternative, Bhaskar's transformational analysis of power in combination with an anti-racist feminism and social psychology is used to provide a robust framework within which complex social issues may be addressed. In this study, 16 female participants were interviewed about their experiences of living in an impoverished township. Themes identified in the data suggested that the theoretical perspectives used in the study provided insights into the subtleties and complexities of the operation of power in society. These insights enabled productive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of development initiatives and political decision-making processes in the community, and the survival strategies of its women. It is hoped that research work of this sort could make a real contribution to the ongoing women's emancipation struggle in Port Alfred and similar communities.
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  • Date Issued: 1995

An approach to analyzing gold supply from the South African gold mines

  • Authors: Mather, Diarmid John
  • Date: 1995
  • Subjects: Gold mines and mining -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:1015 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002750 , Gold mines and mining -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
  • Description: The gold mining fIrm in South Africa is viewed as a normal fIrm producing gold bearing ore but faced with a quality constraint (grade). Grade, however, is never uniformly distributed in a metalliferous deposit and because high grades are mined fIrst, the quality constraint becomes increasingly severe with cumulated production. The fIrm will continue to mine gold bearing ore until it reaches its mining limit where the marginal cost of recovering the gold is equal to the marginal revenue received from that gold and at that point the economic deposit becomes exhausted. Because the mining limit is determined by cost/technology and price, it is not fIxed and thus the point of economic exhaustion may change. When high grades are mined fIrst the relationship between the tonnage of gold ore and the grade describes the rate at which the grade is expected to fall with cumulated production. In this thesis, the grade for South African Witwatersrand gold producers is modelled to fall exponentially. The mining limit, determined by costs/technology and price, can be expressed in terms of grade. By predicting the decay in grade relative to the tonnage of gold ore and applying a mining limit, a life-time size of the economic deposit can be estimated. The remaining life of a producing gold mine can then be determined and the flow of gold predicted. An empirical treatment using the disk model of a gold deposit is undertaken for a gold mine, a goldfIeld and the total Witwatersrand gold deposit. A dynamic econometric analysis of expected mining costs and gold prices is not attempted; however certain examples are used to illustrate the applicability of the model and the influence of the South African gold mining tax formula on the life of the mine.
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  • Date Issued: 1995

An examination of the factors influencing the spatial distribution of the Indian communities in Grahamstown, King William's town, Queenstown and Uitenhage from 1880 to 1991

  • Authors: Dullabh, Neela
  • Date: 1995
  • Subjects: East Indians -- South Africa -- Social conditions East Indians -- South Africa -- Economic conditions Apartheid -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:4831 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005506
  • Description: This study examines the factors influencing the spatial distribution of the Indian communities of Grahamstown, King William's Town, Queenstown and Uitenhage from 1880 to 1991. Primary sources of information were used to determine both the spatial distribution of the four communities and the factors influencing the distribution found. These primary sources included the use of directories, municipal and archival sources of information, interviews as well the work of various authors. The study found that the spatial distribution of Indians in the four study areas were similar with the Indians occupying residential and commercial premises in the central areas of the urban centres. After 1980 there was a substantial movement to other areas. Prior to 1950 the municipalities played an important role in influencing spatial distribution. However, after the introduction of the Group Areas Act, the govennment controlled Indian spatial distribution. Thus the Group Areas Act was the most important factor affecting Indian spatial distribution. Indians in small urban centres in the Cape Province were segregated and their spatial distribution was controlled both prior to and after 1950. Anti-Indian legislation and restrictions were the main factors influencing Indian spatial distribution.
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  • Date Issued: 1995

An exploratory survey of the needs and adjustment to retirement of persons residing in Port Alfred

  • Authors: Stephens, Brent William
  • Date: 1995
  • Subjects: Retirement, Places of -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Port Alfred , Older people -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Port Alfred -- Social conditions , Older people -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Port Alfred , Older people -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Port Alfred -- Economic conditions , Retirees -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Port Alfred
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
  • Identifier: vital:3283 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006514 , Retirement, Places of -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Port Alfred , Older people -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Port Alfred -- Social conditions , Older people -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Port Alfred , Older people -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Port Alfred -- Economic conditions , Retirees -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Port Alfred
  • Description: The problem that was chosen to be investigated, was that, within the white middle class South African white-collar worker there appears to be a tendency to live for the "pie in the sky" - which for most seems to be retirement to the idyllic cottage by the sea. Within the South African scenario, there seems to be a definite lack of career planning or at least planning for retirement, other than the financial emphasis. Upon reaching the "ultimate" retirement, retirees take their pension money and move to the coast, expecting pure bliss. The result of their lack of forethought is that they settle in a totally different climate, away from the support of family and friends, possibly finding their income inadequate, with the result that many fall seriously ill, and then discover a lack of geriatric care or a hospital at the time in their lives when they need it the most. The aim of the research was to investigate these issues using a specific location - Port Alfred, researching the fact that Port Alfred continues to be a retirement haven, despite appearing to lack the necessary facilities required by the elderly. The method of the research was to initially administer a pilot questionnaire to a few elderly residents at random, which was then followed up by the formal personally administered questionnaire to a sample. The sample of retired elderly residents in Port Alfred was chosen at random primarily from the various old age homes in Port Alfred. This questionnaire was administered in 1983 but due to financial and personal reasons, the results were not written up. In 1990, the research was continued with a further questionnaire being administered in 1991. The research direction was altered slightly to identify not only what resources were felt to be lacking, but also to identify how well the retired persons of Port Alfred had managed their transition to retirement. The results showed some similarity between the 1983 and the 1991 research. On the surface the retirees appeared well-adjusted and content, but when it was delved deeper, they appeared to have opted out of making any great effort to change their situation, but rather had taken the view that they had earned their rest, would make the best of what they had, and leave it to someone else to champion their cause. This meant that they relied heavily upon those in their community to meet their obvious needs. The promised hospital that they had arduously raised funds for had not materialised, and that seemed to have been the last effort that they had been prepared to make, they were now at rest. The conclusion was that, although the retirees had made the best of their situation, this definitely did not mean that their resources were adequate. Various charities and social services were at work in the community to redress the imbalance, but it was felt that these would in turn benefit by the addition of a social worker. This social worker would coordinate these services and take responsibility for the community at large, particularly addressing the need to unify the services with those to the large non-White community, in the (on-going) development of the New South Africa
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  • Date Issued: 1995

An integrated approach to aspects of coastal dune planning and management along a portion of the Eastern Cape coastal zone

  • Authors: Hellström, Gavin B
  • Date: 1995
  • Subjects: Coastal zone management -- South Africa , Sand dune ecology -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:4197 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003766 , Coastal zone management -- South Africa , Sand dune ecology -- South Africa
  • Description: Ecological evaluation techniques have been used to classify or evaluate the relative conservation worthiness of a portion of the Eastern Cape coastal zone from Cannon Rocks to Port Alfred. A system-based approach, using a basic GIS, was used to compare three aspects of the coastal zone. Two existing planning documents (EMATEK/s Coastal Vegetation Importance Rating plan and CPA's Cape Coastal Conservation plan) were statistically compared - based primarily on the size and number of the landscape fragments (environmental criteria polygons). The resultant plan, an Intermediate Sensitivity Class map, was further integrated with the biophysical aspect of the coastal zone - coastal dunes. The final map is the product of these overlays to be used as a-working overlay for coastal zone decision-making. This is an Environmental Sensitivity map, which has no particular direct reference to any particular biophysical criteria, which categorizes the coastal zone according to the environmental sensitivity or conservation worthiness of the site. The categories are listed according to a sliding-scale of sensitivity or worthiness. There is, however, it strong association between the final map and the vegetation status of the coastline, as a direct result of the vegetation rating map and indirectly from the perception based coastal conservation plan. The formation of most assessment or evaluation plans are based on the vegetation status of the area. This map can be overlayed over the particular stretch of the coastline which it covers and the particular conservation status noted. There are numerous techniques available for assessment and evaluation each having their own specific merits and advantages. This plan, however, is a first attempt at integrating other specific plans into a single working document for the coastal zone manager.
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  • Date Issued: 1995

An investigation into the influence of an inset programme on teacher cognitions

  • Authors: Bell, David Ian
  • Date: 1995
  • Subjects: Teachers -- In-service training -- South Africa Teachers -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1608 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003490
  • Description: This study was based upon a concern about the quality of education in South Africa and a concern about the quality of NGO and other INSET interventions. Many organisations purport to address the issues of education, most of them doing so from the very comfortable position of the moral high ground (the position adopted where the political - correctness of the intervention outweighs the quality and impact) rather than from the position of having the capacity to deliver a quality service (a position from which they can effect genuine educational transformation toward quality education for all). With the rapid social, political and educational changes taking place at present, it is necessary for most organisations to assess their positions in respect of their ability to effect quality changes within the broad educational terrain. This study is an attempt to investigate the influence of one particular programme, that of the Centre for Cognitive Development, as it effects changes in teacher cognitions. It is argued that teachers are the catalysts for and agents of educational and social change and that these changes require the thinking and beliefs of individual teachers which inform their practices and behaviours, both personally and as professionals, to be addressed. These beliefs need to be critically reflected upon by the teachers themselves and through this process of reflection, teachers need to be empowered to take responsibility for the quality of teaching and learning. This concern was addressed by selecting a sample of teachers from within one such INSET intervention and through the use of a questionnaire, investigating whether teachers cognitions had changed, as a result of the INSET programme. It was hypothesised that changes in teacher cognitions would occur as a result of the INSET programme and that these cognitive or gestalt shifts could be categorised as Attributional shifts, Efficacy shifts, shifts in teachers perceived Locus of Control (Control Beliefs) and changes in general Pedagogic Beliefs. The statistical analysis of the data indicated varying degrees and trends of significant change. However, the complexity of the social context of teaching and the impact of this on teacher beliefs and cognitions, especially those of teachers who have been most affected (disempowered) by social and personal oppression, cannot be under-estimated and even minor shifts reflected in this investigation should be seen as positive changes none-the-less.
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  • Date Issued: 1995

An investigation of environmental knowledge among two rural black communities in Natal

An investigation of reactions directed towards the synthesis of 2-methyl-2-(methylthio)propanal oxime

  • Authors: Whittaker, Ruth Eleanor
  • Date: 1995
  • Subjects: Pesticides -- Synthesis , Insecticides , Aldicarb -- Synthesis
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:4322 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004980 , Pesticides -- Synthesis , Insecticides , Aldicarb -- Synthesis
  • Description: The processes leading to the formation of 2-methyl-2-(methylthio)propanal oxime, known industrially as aldicarb oxime, have been studied. The three stages of the synthesis, viz., chlorination, thiomethylation and oximation have been thoroughly investigated, with the aim of optimising the yield and purity of aldicarb oxime. Attention has been focused on the chlorination step, and the effects of altering various conditions have been determined; the reaction has been carried out in the absence and presence of heat, solvent and buffer, and the extent of chlorine addition has also been varied. These studies have led to some improvement in the yield for this step. Several simple and inexpensive methods for purifying contaminated batches of aldicarb oxime have also been examined. Possible aldicarb oxime contaminants, identified by GLC and GC-MS analysis, have been synthesised for use as chromatographic and spectroscopic standards, and confirmation of the presence of a number of these contaminants has been achieved. Aldehyde trimers have been found to be the primary contaminants present in aldicarb oxime and the thermal stability of these trimers, their corresponding monomers and aldicarb oxime itself has been studied using variable temperature ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Novel pyridine derivatives, with potential as aldicarb analogues, have been synthesised and characterised using spectroscopic methods.
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  • Date Issued: 1995

An investigation of the potential role of students in decision making in the management and administration of secondary schools : a case study

  • Authors: Chinsamy, Dhanasagren
  • Date: 1995
  • Subjects: Student participation in administration -- South Africa Student-administrator relationships -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1655 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003538
  • Description: As South Africa prepares to reconstruct its education system for a post-apartheid, democratic society, many facets of educational life will of necessity come under re-examination. One such area is that of school governance which traditionally was the domain of principals, teachers and more recently parents, with little, if any, input by students. After 1985, however, with the formation of the Congress of South African Students (CaSAS), backed by the National Education Co-ordinating Committee (NECC), the demand for student participation in the management of schools began to gain momentum. Parent-Teacher -Student Associations (PTSA's), although not recognised by the education authorities, were established in many black schools throughout the country. They afforded students the opportunity to become involved, as equal partners with teachers and parents, in decision-making in the management of secondary schools. During the past decade, however, the question of student participation in decision-making in the management of schools has become a point of controversy. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of students in decision-making in the administration and management of secondary schools. For this purpose case studies were conducted in two schools with active student participation in joint decision-making. The schools were selected after a preliminary investigation of the state of PTSA's in schools in the greater Durban area. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with teacher, parent and student representatives and principals and non-participant observation of PTSA meetings, workshops and social functions were used to survey attitudes and opinions pertinent to this study. The results of the study indicate that student participation in the management of schools is crucial for the creation of a climate of learning and teaching and that it is seen in itself as an integral part of the process of students' development. The study also points to the dilemma that students face in participating jointly with parents and teachers in decision-making while maintaining their autonomy. The recommendations that emerge from the study include the involvement of students as equal partners in decision-making in secondary schools, the establishment of Internal Disciplinary Committees in which students participate, the appointment of a member of staff as a liaison officer for student affairs with the task of establishing a Students' Representative Council (SRC) and the implementation of training programmes that would assist students in joint decision-making. The study acknowledges the existence of conflict between the participants but proposes that such conflict can be constructively addressed tbrough "creative consensus" that would benefit both the participants and the school. The researcher recommends that for the present, students should not be involved in any discussions of teacher misconduct and that students should not be entrusted with handling the finances of the school without teacher or parent supervision. However, in keeping with the developmental approach adopted in the study, it is envisaged that when the element of trust is developed between students and teachers, students would be allowed to participate in these sensitive areas of decision-making.
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  • Date Issued: 1995

Archaeopteris (Progymnospermopsida) from the Devonian of southern Africa

  • Authors: Anderson, Heidi M , Hiller, Norton , Gess, Robert W
  • Date: 1995
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/72712 , vital:30102 , https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.1995.tb02593.x
  • Description: Archaeopteris notosaria sp. nov. based on one fertile and numerous sterile leafy branches is described from the Grahamstown By-Pass locality, Witpoort Formation (Witteberg Group) Upper Devonian, and represents the first unequivocal record of the genus in southern Africa. This occurrence is used, in its palaeogeographical context, to support the suggestion that climatic gradients in Late Devonian times were less steep than they are at present.
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  • Date Issued: 1995

Art and investment a study on how investment in art affects the contemporary artist in South Africa

Art marketing and management

  • Authors: Anderson, Larna
  • Date: 1995
  • Subjects: Art -- Marketing Art portfolios Art -- Finance Art -- Economic aspects Community arts projects
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
  • Identifier: vital:2392 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002188
  • Description: Formal art education equips students with skills to produce artworks. A formal art education may increase the opportunity for employment, however, art-related employment is very limited. Art graduates would be better equipped to market and manage art establishments or their own careers if art education were to be supplemented with basic business skills. Artists who wish to earn unsupplemented incomes from their art should undertake to acquire business acumen. This includes being presentable to the market place in attitude and appearance. It also includes aptitude in art, marketing and management. Role models and non-models of success and failure in business should also be observed. Art graduates should adopt applicable tried and tested business methods. Good marketing is a mix of business activities which identifies and creates consumer needs and wants. Marketing activities involve research, planning, packaging, pricing, promoting and distributing products and services to the public to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organisational objectives. Art products include artworks, frames, art books and art materials. Art-related services include the undertaking of commissions, consulting, teaching, free parking, convenient shopping hours, acceptance of mail or telephone orders, exhibitions, ease of contact, approval facilities, wrapping, delivery, installations (picture hanging), quotations, discounts, credit facilities, guarantees, trade-ins, adjustments and restorations. Good management is a mix of business activities which enables a venture to meet the challenges of supply and demand. There is a blueprint for management competence. The three dimensions of organisational competence are collaboration, commitment and creativity. Self-marketing and management is an expression of an artist's most creative being. It is that which can ensure and sustain recognition and income. Artists, like other competent organisations and entrepreneurs from the private sector, should operate with efficient manufacturing, marketing, management and finance departments. They are also equally important and therefore demand equal attention. Artistic skill together with business acumen should equip the artist to successfully compete in the market place. There are no short-cuts to becoming an artist but there are short-cuts to becoming a known and financially stable artist. Understanding marketing and management could mean the difference between waiting in poverty and frustration for a "lucky break" (which may only happen after an artists's death) and taking control. Success should be perpetuated through continuous effort.
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  • Date Issued: 1995

Assessing penetration enhances for topical corticosteroids

  • Authors: Smith, Eric W , Haigh, John M
  • Date: 1995
  • Language: English
  • Type: Book chapter
  • Identifier: vital:6442 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006629
  • Description: From introduction: Topical corticosteroids have been used for a wide range of dermatological conditions for the last 4 decades. For many years the topical delivery system was a relatively simple cream or ointment base, with little thought given to improving the formulation as far as drug delivery was concerned. The main emphasis in the initial stages of development was on the alteration of the corticosteroid molecule, in an attempt to produce moieties with a higher intrinsic topical effect with lower mineralocorticoid side effects. Once this avenue of research was exhausted, attention was placed on the lipophilicity of the molecule with the production of various types of esters in an attempt to produce molecules which would pass through the stratum corneum (SC) with reasonable ease. In recent years the nature of the semisolid drug delivery base has received considerable attention.2-5The nature of the vehicle has a profound effect on the rate of release of the topical corticosteroid from the formulation and its passage through the SC. One of the most important aspects of the formulation of the base is the inclusion of substances which aid this trads-SC diffusion, the so-called penetration enhancers.6The modes of action of the various different types of penetration enhancers are reviewed elsewhere in this book. The best method for the assessment of the release of corticosteroids from topical formulations is obviously the clinical tri~. Clinical trials, however, are laborious, costly, and difficult to mount. Patients suffering from dermatological complaints are not ideal subjects for the testing of topical corticosteroid formulations as it is difficult to obtain standardized lesions which are necessary for the comparison of results between formulations. Alternatively, a number of in vitro models exist for this type of assessment, but it is often problematic to obtain correlation with the in vivo situation.
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  • Date Issued: 1995

Ba Denou

Babe Bo Nadero

Background Information for Wage Bargaining

  • Authors: NALEDI
  • Date: 1995
  • Subjects: NALEDI
  • Language: English
  • Type: text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/151343 , vital:39057
  • Description: This booklet’contains information to assist unions in the coming wage round. It was prepared as an information package for a wage bargaining workshop. It begins with a section that reviews economic trends, including growth, unemployment and inflation. At the end of the booklet is a more detailed article on inflation taken from the South African Labour Bulletin, showing why the official inflation rate underestimates the level of inflation for the poor. The next section covers employer comments regarding the coming wage negotiations. It includes information on wage levels, the apartheid wage gap and estimates on labour as a proportion of costs. Lastly there is a calendar showing when Cosatu members, and their unions implement wage increases.
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  • Date Issued: 1995

Bacterial interaction in hide biodeterioration with special reference to selected Clostridium species

  • Authors: Thompson, Gillian Ann
  • Date: 1995
  • Subjects: Hides and skins -- Preservation Aerobic bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa Clostridium Halobacterium
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:4041 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004102
  • Description: Animal hides are the basic raw material of the leather industry and they undergo rapid putrefaction unless "cured". This study investigated the role and interactive effects of three selected bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Clostridium histoly ticum and Clostridium sporogenes in in-situ cattle hide degradation using a model system set up for the purpose. The system consisted of 3cm diameter hide pieces contained in sealed jars and sterilised by ethylene oxide to remove resident microbes and inactivate autolytic tissue enzymes. The inocula were prepared either as individual cultures or as combinations of two inocula or all three inocula. Degradative changes during storage at 30°C were measured for up to 8 days using ten different parameters. Initial trials confirmed that the selected inocula were readily isolated from raw hides and could outcompete resident populations to produce putrefactive decomposition. Growth rates and enzyme profiles of the organisms and the effects of nutrients and reductants on their relative denaturative effects were used to standardise the system. Trials on the effects of ethylene oxide indicated the suitability of the method for hide and collagen sterilisation. The findings of in-situ trials with the selected inocula confirmed previous studies of protein putrefaction in that a bacterial succession was evident involving aerobic proteolytic bacteria, micro-aerophilic proteolytic bacteria and strictly anaerobic amino acid degrading bacteria. However, this study showed that the micro-aerophilic collagenase producing C. histolyticum degraded hides at a far greater rate when inoculated on its own than when in the presence of either or both of the other two inocula. It also demonstrated a bacterial antagonism between the two clostridia in which C. sporogenes prevented degradative changes occurring for up to 4-6 days possibly due to cysteine production by C. sporogenes. These findings have implications for hide preservation since maintenance of aerobic conditions and suppression of spore outgrowth could be used to delay growth of collagenase producing clostridia. The use of C. sporogenes as a biocontrol agent is also postulated. The model system was also used to examine salted hides during storage and these studies indicated that Halobacteriaceae do not produce collagenase but that inadequately salted hides could possibly be subject to degradation by delsulfovibrios.
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  • Date Issued: 1995

Bottom of Howison's Poort, 6 km SW of Grahamstown, Albany

Building a firm base for policy consensus statement

  • Authors: NEDLAC
  • Date: 1995
  • Subjects: NEDLAC
  • Language: English
  • Type: text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/151641 , vital:39156
  • Description: We have arrived at a very important stage in the development of our country - one that will be most testing and challenging for all of us. Our second revolution, so to speak, is only beginning. The Government of National Unity, has come a long way in addressing the key political questions. Advancement from here lies in our economic prerogative. We are all concerned with the major economic challenge that lies ahead. Sustainable economic growth, the creation of wealth and equity, the provision of jobs and basic needs underpin the need to provide mechanisms which will facilitate growth, development and delivery. But our concern is not limited to our domestic economy.
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  • Date Issued: 1995

Challenging geography: a South African perspective

  • Authors: Irwin, Patrick R , van Harmelen, Ursula
  • Date: 1995
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/450132 , vital:74885 , https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/ielapa.960403836
  • Description: Few teachers and learners have any 'sense of ownership' of 'the place' in which school geography is located. Notwithstand-ing the apparent neutrality of a subject that is concerned with information about climate, settlement, or the economy, these 'geographies' have until now been located, in a political and physical landscape of a South Africa that did not 'belong' to the people at large. This has effectively meant that geography has been taught from a perspective that is perceived to be alien and even hostile, and is therefore often considered to be irrel-evant. Teaching resources and strategies have served to strengthen this sense of alienation. Textbooks are, in style and content, almost exclusively situated in a white South Africa of which many pupils have little or no experience. Furthermore, because geography has been taught 'from a book' with field-work the exception rather than the rule, few children have any concept of geography as' that which is all around us' (Mapha-phuli 1992; King 1994). It is part of the missed opportunities of South African geography that indigenous cultural concepts re-lating to the notion of place have not been widely recognised. The combination of a lack of a sense of political ownership and perceived 'eurocentricity' has had a further impact on the atti-tudes of pupils and learners.
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  • Date Issued: 1995
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