Work-life balance among self-initiated academic expatriates: An explanatory study of academics at the University of Fort Hare
- Authors: Harry, Tinashe Timothy https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6174-6883
- Date: 2015-05
- Subjects: Work-life balance
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/25404 , vital:64236
- Description: This research investigated how self-initiated academic expatriates managed their work-life balance while in a foreign country. As many people are now self-initiating their career movement from one country to another, there is a need to understand how the self-initiated academic expatriates are managing the balance between work lives and personal lives. The research discussed and made use of a narrative and story-telling method in understanding the experiences of self-initiated academic expatriates. In order to generate knowledge specific to the local African context as most studies were conducted outside of Africa, narrative and story-telling method was seen as most suitable. A total of 25 participants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The use of narrative inquiry in understanding the experiences of self-initiated academic expatriates who are based in South Africa will be illustrated in this research, with the implications of this being explored. The narratives of participants revealed four main themes. First, the participants narrated on the motivations to expatriate, why they chose South Africa as a destination will be discussed. Second, pathway into academia, how the participants ended up joining the academics profession will be presented in this thesis. Third, work and non-work related challenges being faced by the self-initiated academic expatriates are presented. Fourth, the way in which the participants worked around the challenges referred to as individual resourcing capability is presented. Solutions to the challenges highlights how individuals take action in response to their circumstances in aiding their self-development. Based on the findings from this study Self-initiated Expatriates-Individual Resourcing Capability Framework (SIE-IRC) is proposed. , Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 2015
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- Date Issued: 2015-05
Assessment of antibacterial potentials of Garcinia Kola seed extracts and their interactions with antibiotics
- Authors: Sibanda, Thulani
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Drug resistance in microorganisms , Garcinia , Antibiotics
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/19236 , vital:43038
- Description: The antibacterial potency of the extracts of the seed of Garcinia kola (bitter kola) was investigated in this study against a panel of referenced, environmental and clinical bacterial strains. The killing rates of the active extract as well as their potential for combination antibacterial therapy with standard antibiotics were also elucidated using standard procedures. The aqueous and acetone extracts of the seed were screened for activity against 27 bacterial isolates. The aqueous extract exhibited activity mainly against Gram positive organisms with Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 5 mgml-1 – 20 mgml-1, while the acetone extract showed activity against both Gram negative and Gram positive organisms with MIC values ranging from 10 mgml-1 - 0.156 mgml-1. The acetone extract also showed rapid bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 with a 3.097 Log10 reduction in counts within 4 hours at 0.3125 mgml-1 and a 1.582 Log10 reduction against Proteus vulgaris CSIR 0030 at 5 mgml-1 after 1 hour. In addition, the aqueous, methanol and acetone extracts of the seeds also exhibited activity against four clinical strains of Staphylococcus isolated from wound sepsis specimens. The MIC values for the aqueous extract were 10 mgml-1 for all the isolates while the acetone and methanol extracts had lower values ranging from 0.3125 - 0.625 mgml-1. The acetone extract was strongly bactericidal against Staphylococcus aureus OKOH3 resulting in a 2.70 Log10 reduction in counts at 1.25 mgml-1 within 4 hours of exposure and a complete elimination of the organism after 8 hours. The bactericidal activity of the same extract against Staphylococcus aureus OKOH1 was weak, achieving only a 2.92 Log10 reduction in counts at 1.25 mgml-1 (4× MIC) in 24 hours. In the test for interactions between the acetone extract of the seeds and antibiotics, synergistic interactions were observed largely against Gram positive organisms using the FIC indices, (indices of 0.52 - 0.875) with combinations against Gram negatives yielding largely antagonistic interactions (indices of 2.0 to 5.0). Synergy (≥ 1000 times or ≥ 3 Log10 potentiation of the bactericidal activity) against both Gram negative and Gram positive organisms was detected by time kill assays mainly involving the antibiotics tetracycline, chloramphenicol, amoxycillin and penicillin G. Combinations involving erythromycin and ciprofloxacin consistently gave antagonistic or indifferent interactions. We conclude that the acetone extract of Garcinia kola seeds possess strong bactericidal activities against both Gram positive and Gram negative organisms and can be therapeutically useful in the treatment of bacterial infections including the problematic staphylococcal wound infections. In addition, the acetone extract can be a potential source of broad spectrum resistance modifying compounds that can potentially improve the performance of antibiotics in the treatment of drug resistant infections. , Thesis (MSc)-- Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, 2007
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- Date Issued: 2007