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Taxonomic and trait-based responses of the orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Odonata, And Trichoptera (EPOT) to sediment stress in the Tsitsa River and its tributaries, Eastern Cape, South Africa

  • Authors: Akamagwuna, Frank Chukwuzuoke
  • Date: 2019
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68082 , vital:29196
  • Description: Increased urbanization and industrialisation due to human population growth and associated high demand for food have led to widespread disturbances of freshwater ecosystems and associated resources. A widely recognised consequence of these disturbances is the excessive delivery of sediments into the freshwater ecosystems, which severely affects the functioning and integrity of these systems.. The major water quality impairment in the Tsitsa River and its tributaries, situated in the Mzimvubu catchment in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, is known to be excessive sediment input. In this study, the application of macroinvertebrates taxonomic-based and trait-based approaches was used to assess the responses and vulnerability of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Odonata and Trichoptera (EPOT) species to settled and suspended sediments stress in eight selected sampling sites in the Tsitsa River and its tributaries. The eight selected sites were Site 1 (Tsitsa upstream), Site 2 (Tsitsa downstream), Site 3 (Qurana tributary), Site 4 (Pot River upstream), Site 5 (Pot River downstream), Site 6 (Little Pot River), Site 7 (Millstream upstream) and Site 8 (Millstream downstream). The methods used in this study involved the analysis of water physico-chemical variables as well as sediment characteristics, derivation of five EPOT metrics, EPOT species-level taxonomic analysis, individual EPOT trait analysis and the development of a novel trait-based approach using a combination of traits. The sampling of EPOT taxa was done using the SASS5 protocols. Identification of EPOT was done to genus/species level and all data were subjected to relevant statistical analysis. The results of ecological categories derived for the physico-chemical variables generally indicated the ecological categories A and B, which was indicative of good water quality conditions. The result of sediment particle analysis revealed four distinct site groups: site group 1 (Tsitsa River upstream and Qurana tributary), site group 2 (Tsitsa River downstream and Millstream upstream), site group 3 (Pot River, both upstream and downstream, and Millstream downstream) and site group 4 (Little Pot River). The species-level taxonomic analysis of EPOT revealed that site group 1 was the most sediment-influenced sites whereas site group 4 was the least sediment-influenced. Species such as Paragopmhus sp., Aeshna sp. and Baetis sp. were considered sediment-tolerant with strong positive association with site group 1. The novel trait-based approach developed in this study proved useful in predicting the responses of EPOT species to sediment stress, and further discriminated between the study sites. The approach was used to group EPOT species into four vulnerability classes. The result showed that filter feeding EPOT species that have filamentous gills, preferring stone biotopes and feeding on detritus (FPOM) were mostly classified as highly vulnerable to sediment stress and indicated no significant association with the highly sediment-influenced site group 1. The TBA largely corresponded well to the predictions made with the relative abundance of the vulnerable class decreasing in the sediment-influenced sites compared to the tolerant and highly tolerant classes. Overall, the study revealed the importance of the complementary use of taxonomic and trait-based approaches to biomonitoring.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Language policy and practice in Eastern Cape courtrooms with reference to interpretation in selected cases

  • Authors: Mpahlwa, Matthew Xola
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Translating and interpreting , Translating and interpreting -- Errors , Court interpreting and translating -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Translators -- Training of -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:3656 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018658
  • Description: This study seeks to find what problems and process of interpreting are experienced by professional interpreters in the criminal justice system in South Africa. This study commences with an outlook of the origins and development of types of interpretation and then proceeds with critical review of scholarly literature dealing with interpretation in multilingual courtroom. This study explores the flawed language policy and its impracticality for the Eastern Cape courtrooms. This study undertakes a critical analysis of the current legislation (Bills & Acts).This study explores the extent to which the court automatic review proceedings act as a gatekeeper in ensuring against prejudice that can result in the non-use and use of indigenous languages in the trial courtroom within the Eastern Cape jurisdiction. Furthermore this study focuses on cases taken for review based on mis-understanding, mis-communication and wrongful interpretation that result in irregularities that appear on court records. This study also investigates the primary barriers for the use of African languages as languages of record in the courtroom. An eclectic sociolinguistic approach which encompasses the ethnography of speaking, and discourse analysis (observation in the courtroom) is used as a methodology in this study. Furthermore, the analysis of case-law forms part of the methodology alongside court observation.This study saw court actors from different spheres of the legal profession give their personal views and encounters with regards the art and the state of court interpreting in the province of the Eastern Cape.This state of affairs may have disastrous and far-reaching effects in that incorrect and/or imperfect translation may relate to the very facts that are crucial for the determination of the case. At the end recommendations are given on how to remedy the current state of affairs.
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  • Date Issued: 2015

Legislating business rescue in South Africa: a critical evaluation

  • Authors: Darko-Mamphey, Dorothy
  • Date: 2014
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
  • Identifier: vital:11121 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1015244
  • Description: Social, political and economic changes in post-apartheid South Africa have generated the need for a major reform of the legislative regime governing companies in order to ensure that that regime is capable of addressing the challenges faced in domestic and international circles, and to also meet the demands of globalisation. 1 These developments include the change in culture from company liquidations to commercial renewal which caused the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to embark on drastic reforms of South Africa’s business rescue mechanism as part of the broader company law reform project. 2 The domestic and global environments have indeed changed drastically with corporate structures showing significant evolution.
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  • Date Issued: 2014

Livelihood and coping strategy changes along rural-urban continua with an emphasis on natural resources

  • Authors: Evans, Michelle Leigh
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Natural resources -- South Africa -- Queenstown Natural resources -- South Africa -- Phalaborwa Rural-urban divide -- South Africa -- Queenstown Rural-urban divide -- South Africa -- Phalaborwa Income -- South Africa -- Queenstown Income -- South Africa -- Phalaborwa Women heads of households -- South Africa -- Queenstown Women heads of households -- South Africa -- Phalaborwa Adjustment (Psychology)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:4731 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001958
  • Description: Rapid urbanisation is one of the greatest challenges facing both developed and developing countries. Sub-Saharan Africa has historically been one of the least developed and least urbanised areas of the world. However, urbanisation is now occurring much more rapidly in countries that have lower levels of per capita income. Therefore, in the coming decades, urban population growth is expected to be more widespread in the developing countries of the world. Most research on the role of natural resources focuses on rural communities and little is known about the contribution these resources make along the rural-urban continuum in small and medium sized towns as well as the contribution to total livelihoods. This is because researchers and policy makers have often treated rural and urban areas and their residents as distinct entities that should be studied in isolation. This, however, is not a true reflection of household livelihoods which often include both rural and urban elements. This study therefore analysed the impact of urbanisation on livelihoods along a rural-urban continuum with an emphasis on natural resources in South Africa. The main characteristics as well as the livelihood portfolios of respondent households were investigated. Secondly, the coping strategies used by households along the rural-urban continuum were explored, and disaggregated according to the gender of the household head. Data were collected along the rural-urban continuum of two small towns, namely Queenstown, located in the Eastern Cape province and Phalaborwa, located in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Sampling covered the town, peri-urban areas, townships and adjacent rural households. A standardised survey instrument was used to capture household details and livelihood activities and a total of 272 interviews were conducted. The rural areas near both towns were poorer than the township and urban areas with regards to assets, access to employment and annual household income across all cash and non-cash income streams. The engagement in land-based activities increased towards the rural areas. The use of natural resources, as well as the number of resources collected, increased along the continuum towards the rural areas, with 12.0% to 49.0% of urban households, 30.0% to 88.0% of township households and between 80.0% and 100.0% of rural households engaging in the use and collection of natural resources. While natural resource use and collection was lowest in the urban areas, a significant amount of resources were still collected by urban households. Income portfolios for all households were calculated to determine the direct-use value of wild natural capital to livelihoods as well as the contribution made from land (arable and livestock farming), welfare grants and employment. Employment, barring one exception in the rural areas of Phalaborwa, was the largest contributor in terms of mean annual income along the continuum in both towns, followed by grants and pensions in the township and rural areas. In Phalaborwa, however, wild natural capital was found to be the largest contributor to local livelihoods, contributing 48.0% of the mean annual income. Household portfolios become more diversified in the poorer, rural areas as well as in households headed by females. The main shocks reported along the continuum in both Queenstown and Phalaborwa were death in the family, followed by a loss of employment, which was concentrated in male-headed households. Coping strategies resulting in the attainment of cash income fast, such as borrowing money from friends/relatives and cashing in retirements savings were favoured over longer term strategies such as finding local wage employment. Female-headed households were found to rely significantly on social groups or clubs as a coping strategy, highlighting the importance of social capital and social relations in female-headed households
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  • Date Issued: 2013

Adolescents' knowledge about abortion and emergency contraception a survey study

  • Authors: Seutlwadi, Lebogang
  • Date: 2012
  • Subjects: Birth control -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Buffalo City Emergency contraceptives -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Buffalo City Reproductive rights -- South Africa Teenage pregnancy -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Buffalo City Teenage pregnancy -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa -- Buffalo City Abortion -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Buffalo City Abortion -- Health aspects -- South Africa -- Buffalo City Abortion -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa -- Buffalo City Teenagers -- Sexual behavior -- South Africa -- Buffalo City Sex instruction for teenagers -- South Africa -- Buffalo City Health education -- South Africa -- Buffalo City
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:3052 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002561
  • Description: Adolescents have become focal points of discussions and debates regarding sexuality and reproductive health matters. However, little research has been done particularly in South Africa to examine their knowledge concerning abortion and emergency contraception. Research indicates that a substantial proportion of adolescent pregnancies are unintended or unwanted. Abortion and emergency contraception are both time-sensitive services. Thus having accurate and comprehensive knowledge about both abortion and emergency contraception is pivotal, in the case of unintended or unwanted pregnancy or when engaging in unprotected sex or experiencing contraceptive failure that could lead to pregnancy. The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) defined reproductive health rights for both men and women as the right to "decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so" (p. 60). That is, men and women should "have the right to make decisions concerning their reproduction free of discrimination, violence and coercion" (ICPD, 1994, p.60). Based on these definitions, it is rather evident that comprehensive and accurate knowledge are at the core of one's ability to make an informed consent. This is confirmed by Adler's (1992, p. 289) definition of informed consent or choice "a) access to sufficient information b) understanding the information c) competence to evaluate potential consequences d) freedom to make a choice and e) the ability to make and express that choice". It is from this framework that this study emerged. The aim of this study was to examine adolescents' knowledge concerning abortion and emergency contraception. The participants were Grade 11 learners between the ages of 15-24 years from five different schools in the Buffalo City Municipality. A sample of 514 was achieved. Data were analysed using descriptive cross-tabulation, chi-square and qualitative methods where appropriate. The results revealed that most of the participants did not have sufficient accurate knowledge concerning the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, consequences of legal abortion and emergency contraceptive pills to make informed decisions. Furthermore, data also revealed that the participants' schools playa role in their sexual activity, their knowledge about the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act and about emergency contraceptive pills. Although this method made it feasible for the researcher to make general assumptions, non-responses were one of the limitations of the study. Similar research in various municipalities/cities in and outside the Eastern Cape is recommended so as to increase further awareness concerning the level of knowledge that adolescents have about contraceptive pills particularly emergency contraceptive pills, the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act and abortion in general.
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  • Date Issued: 2012

An investigation into the replication biology of Helicoverpa armigera stunt virus

  • Authors: Short, James Roswell
  • Date: 2011
  • Subjects: Helicoverpa armigera RNA viruses Viruses -- Reproduction Lepidoptera -- Viruses
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:3967 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004026
  • Description: Tetraviruses are a family of small non-enveloped positive sense RNA viruses that exclusively infect members of the order Lepidoptera. Their replication biology is poorly studied because, with the exception of Providence virus (PrV), tetraviruses are unable to replicate in tissue culture cells. The overall aim of the research described in this thesis was to develop a fundamental understanding of the replication of tetraviruses, focussing on the site of replication within host cells and in particular, the subcellular localisation of the viral replicase. Helicoverpa armigera stunt virus (HaSV, Genus: Omegatetravirus) was chosen for this study because it is the only tetravirus for which the cDNAs have been shown to be infectious. In the absence of tissue culture cell lines susceptible to HaSV infection, the approach was to use confocal fluorescence microscopy to examine the subcellular localisation of the HaSV replicase fused to enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) in mammalian and insect tissue culture cells. The replicase (with EGFP fused at its C-terminus) localised to punctate structures throughout the cytoplasm of transfected HeLa and Sf9 cells. These structures were then shown – using live cell imaging and time lapse photography – to behave similarly to cellular endocytic organelles and fluorescence partially overlapped with membranes containing the late endosomal marker protein CD63. Biochemical fractionation of Sf9 cells expressing the replicase via a recombinant baculovirus (as well as transfected HeLa and Sf9 cells expressing EGFP-replicase fusion proteins) demonstrated that the replicase was strongly associated with detergentresistant membranes (DRMs) in these cells. Deletion analysis of the replicase coding sequence revealed two regions involved in the generation of the punctuate structures. Firstly, the C-terminal half of the replicase RNAdependant RNA polymerase domain was found to be essential for targeting and the tight association with DRMs while the second region, within the Nterminal 44 amino acids, enhanced localisation through a combination of secondary structural elements and sequence-specific functions. A comparative immunofluorescence study on PrV, which replicates as a persistent infection in an insect midgut cell line, showed that the PrV replicase also localised to punctate structures in the cytoplasm. Biochemical fractionation showed that the replicase was also strongly associated with DRMs. This thesis describes the development of new experimental systems for the study of tetravirus replication biology and the data lead to the conclusion that the HaSV replicase associates with DRMs derived from alternate endocytic pathway organelles.
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  • Date Issued: 2011

Pressurized hot water extraction of nutraceuticals and organic pollutants from medicinal plants

  • Authors: Mokgadi, Janes
  • Date: 2011
  • Subjects: Functional foods Medicinal plants -- Biotechnology Extraction (Chemistry) Goldenseal Botanical pesticides Sorbents Organic solvents
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:4338 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004999
  • Description: This thesis explores the robustness and the versatility of pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE) for a variety of analytes and matrices. Applications discussed include: selective extraction of alkaloids in goldenseal followed by their degradation studies; in-cell clean-up of pesticides in medicinal plants employing custom made molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) sorbents; in-cell pre-concentration followed by desorption of aflatoxins in plants with MIPs; desorption of pesticides from electrospun nanofiber sorbents; and removal of templates from MIPs sorbents. It was demonstrated that selective extractions could be achieved by just changing the temperature of water while adjusting the pressure. For instance, the alkaloids in goldenseal (hydrastine and berberine), were extracted at 140 °C, 50 bars, 1 mL min⁻¹ in 15 min; organochlorine pesticides from medicinal plants were extracted at 260 °C, 80 bars, 1 mL min-1 in 10 min; while aflatoxins AFG2, AFG1, AFB2 and AFB1 were extracted at 180 °C, 60 bars and a flow rate of 0.5 mL min⁻¹ in 10 min. The selectivity of PHWE was further enhanced by combining it with selective MIPs sorbents at higher temperatutes. In-cell clean-up of interfering chlorophyll was successfully removed from the medicinal plants during pesticides analysis while clean-up of aflatoxins AFG2, AFG1, AFB2 and AFB1 was achieved in two extraction cells connected in series. Ultrasound was also combined with PHWE for extraction of hydrastine and berberine at 80 °C and 40 bars in 30 min. PHWE was further evaluated for removal of templates from quercetin, phthalocynine and chlorophyll MIPs. The templates were thoroughly washed off their MIPs within 70 min with PHWE compared to over 8 h for Soxhlet and ultrasound assisted extraction. Pesticides were also desorbed from electrospun nanofibers at 260 °C, 80 bars in 10 min employing only water at 0.5 mL min⁻¹. In the light of green chemistry, the decrease in the usage of organic solvents was 100%, resulting in no organic solvent waste.
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  • Date Issued: 2011

The characteristics and role of informal leaders in work groups : a South African perspective

  • Authors: Wienekus, Barend Willem
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Supervisors, industrial -- South Africa Leadership -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: vital:1166 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002782
  • Description: It has been twenty years since F W De Klerk unbanned the African National Congress. This momentous occasion changed overnight the business landscape in South Africa and the way business were done for many decades. Before and after this crucial moment in South African history, leaders played a significant role in bringing change about as well as managing it. Whether hierarchical or non-hierarchical, leadership manifests itself through all spheres of civilisation. Within any collective, formal as well as informal leadership are always at work and within the environment there always seems to be an individual that appears to hold equal or more influence and sway over the collective. This research investigates the characteristics and role of this individual, the informal leader. In addition, against the melting pot of the diversity of culture, social structures, economics, and demographics in South Africa, the influence of culture on how leadership is being perceived and experienced is also researched. The research is grounded in a post-positivists approach and conducted within a constructivist-interpretative paradigm. A qualitative approach is followed with personal interviews as the method to collect the data from respondents. The interview protocol consists of a combination of questions containing questions of both a quantitative and qualitative nature. Questions of a qualitative nature were open-ended and of an in-depth nature. The research is two pronged. The focus of the research is an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in the South African Motor Industry and for the primary goal of the research data was collected from employees within work groups of the OEM. The primary research goal investigates the role and characteristics of informal leaders in work groups as seen and experienced by their fellow employees and if there is any congruence with that of the role and characteristics of formal leaders. The study found no fundamental differences between the characteristics and role of formal and informal leaders. The characteristics and role of leaders between different cultures also appear to be the same. For the secondary research goal – determining whether the role and characteristics of informal leaders in work groups could be underpinned in the principles of Ubuntu and if consideration should be given to any cultural differences between leaders and followers by organisational hierarchies – the literature was reviewed in order to reach a conclusion with regards this goal. The literature indicates that culture does affect leadership, especially on how the leadership is executed and experienced in a multicultural society and if ignored, will have a detrimental effect on effective leadership. In order to strive towards achieving maximum productivity, it is imperative that management in South African organisations be aware of the changed dynamic within their organisations as well as on the global stage. The research therefore ends with the practical implications of informal leaders for organisations in South Africa. It is recommended that the importance and contribution of informal leaders within work groups in a multi-culture organisation needs not only to be considered as an element of group leadership, but should be accommodated by the organisation. It is also recommended that organisations recognise the cultural differences between leaders and followers in organisations and the possible consequences if ignored. If the competitive pressures and requirements of globalisation are ignored against the background of Afrocentric expectations and motivational imperatives of the South African workforce, it will result in an ineffective workforce, which will in due course render these organisations uncompetitive and non-sustainable locally and globally.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

Substantive equality and proof of employment discrimination

  • Authors: Loyson, Madeleine
  • Date: 2009
  • Subjects: Discrimination in employment -- South Africa , Labor laws and legislation -- South Africa , Affirmative action programs -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
  • Identifier: vital:10208 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1059 , Discrimination in employment -- South Africa , Labor laws and legislation -- South Africa , Affirmative action programs -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
  • Description: This dissertation is a journey through the legislative changes and case law in order to analyse and evaluate the changing nature of South African jurisprudence in respect of the notions of equality, discrimination and affirmative action and the manner in which these issues are proved and dealt with in our courts. It focuses firstly on the emergence of the post-Wiehahn labour laws and the developing jurisprudence concerning discrimination in South Africa towards the end of a long period of isolation from the international world. It witnesses the growing cognizance which was taken of international guidelines and their slow and gradual incorporation into our jurisprudence before the institution of the new democratic government, in the days when the country was still firmly in the grip of a regime which prided itself on its discriminatory laws. It also deals in some depth with the new laws enacted after the first democratic government was installed, especially in so far as the Constitution was concerned. The first clutch of cases dealing with discrimination which were delivered by the Constitutional Court and their effects on decisions of the labour courts thereafter, are dealt with in great detail, indicating how important those judgments were and still are ten years later. A special chapter is devoted to the Harksen case, still a leading authority on how to deal with allegations of unfair discrimination. Having traversed several of the judgments of the labour courts after Harksen, several observations are made in the conclusion of the study which, it is hoped, summarize the major areas of concern in respect of the task of testing claims of unfair discrimination arising in our Courts.
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  • Date Issued: 2009

Synthesis, photophysics and electrochemical study of tin macrocycles

  • Authors: Khene, Mielie Samson
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: Electrochemistry , Photochemistry , Phthalocyanines , Macrocyclic compounds , Spectrum analysis
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: vital:4376 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005041 , Electrochemistry , Photochemistry , Phthalocyanines , Macrocyclic compounds , Spectrum analysis
  • Description: Three non-peripherally substituted tin(IV) macrocylic compounds, octahexylphthalocyaninato dichlorotin(IV) (35a), octahexyltetrabenzo-5,10,15-triazaporphyrinato dichlorotin(IV) (35b) and octadecylphthalocyaninato dichlorotin(IV) (35c) were synthesized and their photophysical and electrochemical behaviour studied. Complex (35b), containing a CH group in place of one of the aza nitrogen atom of the phthalocyanine core, shows a split Q band due to its lower symmetry. The triplet state quantum yields were found to be lower than would be expected on the basis of the heavy atom effect of tin as the central metal for phthalocyanine derivatives (35a and 35c). In contrast, (35b) shows a triplet quantum yield ΦT = 0.78. The triplet state lifetimes were solvent dependent, and were higher in THF than in toluene. Cyclic voltammetry and spectroelectrochemistry of the complexes revealed only ring based redox processes. This thesis also reports on the microwave syntheses of tetrasulphonated tin phthalocyanine and tetrasulphonated tin α,β,γ-tetrabenzcorrole. The latter was only formed at low ratios (< 1:8) of 4-sulfophthalic acid to urea. Both complexes are aggregated in aqueous media, but can be partly or fully disaggregated by the addition of Triton X-100. The SnTSTBC complex has lower triplet life times and yields, while binding constant and quenching (of bovine serum albumin) constant are lower for SnTSTBC, compared to SnTSPc. Finally Non-peripherally (α) tetra- (40) and octa-(38a) substituted dodecyl-mercapto tin(IV) phthalocyanines where synthesized and the electrochemical behavior studied. Cyclic voltammetry and spectroelectrochemistry show ring-based reductions for (38a) and (40); the former shows two ring oxidations, while the latter shows only one ring based oxidation. The adsorption kinetics of (38a) and (40) on a gold electrode have been investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The equilibrium constant (K) for the adsorption and the Gibbs free energy ΔG(ads) of the self-assembled monolayer (SAMs) were evaluated based on the Frumkin isotherm. The interaction factor between adsorbate –adsorbate molecules is also discussed.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Using aspects of game theory for enhanced stakeholder participation perspectives in integrated water resource management: a Kat River Valley case study

  • Authors: Mbatha, Cyril
  • Date: 2005
  • Subjects: Water resources development -- Case studies , Water-supply -- South Africa -- Kat River Valley -- Management , Economic development -- Case studies , Water-supply -- Government policy -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa -- Kat River Valley , Game theory
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:971 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002705 , Water resources development -- Case studies , Water-supply -- South Africa -- Kat River Valley -- Management , Economic development -- Case studies , Water-supply -- Government policy -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa -- Kat River Valley , Game theory
  • Description: South Africa is a water poor region and yet, like in many other developing countries, water resources are a valuable production input in socially important industries such as agriculture and mining (Nieuwoudt et al., 2004:162-182). With a mean annual rainfall and runoff of 502mm and 42mm (420m³ per hectare per annum) respectively, Briers and Powell (1993:1) speculate that water shortages will limit South Africa’s economic development in the twenty-first century. In response to the challenges of water resource scarcity and socio-economic inequalities, in 1997 the South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), following international trends, formulated a National Water Policy (NWP) based on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) principles (Palmer et al., 2003). The main objectives of the NWP (1997) are to protect national water resources from degradation, provide economically disadvantaged communities with access to water resources and promote economic development, through the devolution of water management responsibilities to locally established water institutions (NWP, 1997). The pursuit of these objectives requires a thorough investigation of biophysical, sociopolitical and economic characteristics of the demarcated water areas. For such an investigation to provide accurate and locally relevant results, broad stakeholder participation is of paramount importance. The thesis discusses economic measures required in pursuing enhanced stakeholder participation levels at local levels. A socio-economic survey investigation describing major participation trends against reported property rights and Willingness to Pay values was conducted in the Kat River Valley, Eastern Cape province. From the investigation, observed participation trends driven by economic interests were identified and used in recommendations proposed for the policy implementation process. Using game theoretic arguments as guidelines in soliciting cooperative behaviour in the use and consumption of common resources (Ostrom, 1990), the thesis proposes the introduction of water related public works projects as employment creating vehicles for individuals and communities targeted for economic empowerment and participation in the water policy. However, for sustainable stakeholder participation levels, it is argued that the employment positions created through the projects need to be designed in a manner that would encourage an evolution of long-term relationships between stakeholders and the water management institutions.
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  • Date Issued: 2005

Narratiewe strategieë by die ondersoek van die verlede in twee romans, naamlik Lijken op liefde (1997) deur Astrid H. Roemer en Duiwelskloof (1998) deur André P. Brink

  • Authors: Potgieter, Maretha
  • Date: 2002
  • Subjects: Roemer, Astrid. Lijken op liefde , Brink, André Philippus, 1935- Duiwelskloof
  • Language: Afrikaans
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:3578 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002151 , Roemer, Astrid. Lijken op liefde , Brink, André Philippus, 1935- Duiwelskloof
  • Description: This study investigates some of the narrative strategies used by two novels, namely Lijken op Liefde (1997) by the Surinam born author Astrid H. Roemer and Duiwelskloof (1998) by the South African André P. Brink, in their exploration of and dialogue with traumatic pasts. Both texts are written within so-called postcolonial time frames, delve into the personal and collective past and attempt to provide a corrective on knowledges that used to be deemed not useful, unimportant or have been forgotten by official historiography. The theoretical base of the study is an eclectic mixture of both postcolonial and postmodern theories, throwing light on the strategies employed by these novels in order to understand, problematise and creatively exploit the past. , Hierdie studie kyk na sommige van die narratiewe strategieë binne twee romans, naamlik Lijken op Liefde (1997) deur die Surinaams-gebore outeur Astrid H. Roemer en Duiwelskloof (1998) deur die Suid-Afrikaner André P. Brink, in hulle ondersoek na en dialoog met die traumatiese verlede. Beide tekste is geskryf binne sogenaamde postkoloniale tydvakke, delf in die persoonlike en kollektiewe verlede, en verskaf ’n korrektief op die dinge wat as onbruikbaar of onbelangrik beskou is, of vergete geraak het binne die offisiële historiografie. Die teoretiese basis van die studie is ’n eklektiese mengsel van beide postkoloniale en postmoderne teorieë wat lig werp op die strategieë wat hierdie tekste gebruik om die verlede te verstaan, te problematiseer en kreatief te ontgin.
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  • Date Issued: 2002

An investigation into the use of electrode mass measurement to optimise an electrostatic precipitator unit

  • Authors: Pershad, Sathish Kumar
  • Date: 2001
  • Subjects: Electrostatic precipitation
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
  • Identifier: vital:10815 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/66 , Electrostatic precipitation
  • Description: Electrostatic precipitators (ESP’s) can be simply described as particle collection devices and service a wide variety of industries. This particle collection can either be classed as a cleansing or product recovery (or both) process. They can be found in fossil fueled power generation plant (municipal incinerators, iron and steel industries (sinter plants, coke ovens), non ferrous industries, rock products (cement, lime), chemical and petrochemical (detarrers, de-oilers) They have been around for approximately 70 years and their fundamental principle of operation has not changed much during this time. What has changed is the demand on their operating efficiency. Environmental pressure as well as the loss of product has forced ESP’s to perform even better than before. This performance enhancement is two-fold : an increase in collection efficiency and a reduction in maintenance and wear costs. This project researches the use of mass measurement techniques to optimise the operation of ESP’s from both the above mentioned perspectives.
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  • Date Issued: 2001

The role of interpreters in medical communication in the Eastern Cape

  • Authors: Hobson, Carol Bonnin
  • Date: 1997
  • Subjects: Translating and interpreting -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communication in medicine -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2349 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002631 , Translating and interpreting -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communication in medicine -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Description: This study aimed to investigate the role of the interpreter in medical communication in the Eastern Cape. This role was found to be a complex and varied one. Interpreters do not only change the words of one language into equivalent words in the other language, but act as advisers, explainers, cultural mediators, supervisors and advocates of the patient. In order to fulfil these functions, they communicate independently within the medical consultation and do not merely interpret what has been said by each participant. Rather, they tailor the message to the participants and the situation by adding to the message, omitting parts of it and changing it where necessary. This does not happen in an arbitrary fashion, but is subject to influence from a number of non-linguistic and linguistic contextual factors. These factors are discussed in this study and included in a suggested model of the interpreted medical consultation, which differs from other models of interpreting which were found to be more adequate for the-situation of conference interpreting than for community interpreting, of which medical interpreting is an example. Data was collected from interviews with interpreters and patients apd from interviews and questionnaires given to medical professionals. The results suggest that using trained medical interpreters in the interpreted medical consultation may solve some of the problems that arise and medical professienals should be encouraged to, learn the languages of their patients to alleviate some of the misunderstanding which occurs. The study also raises questions about the way in which we view interpreting and shows that community interpreting does not always observe the ideals envisaged by theories of interpreting.
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  • Date Issued: 1997

Tidal exchanges of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus between a Sarcocornia salt-marsh and the Kariega estuary, and the role of salt-marsh brachyura in this transfer

  • Authors: Taylor, David Ian
  • Date: 1988
  • Subjects: Salt marsh ecology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Salt marsh animals -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Kariega River
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:5623 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004524
  • Description: Tidal exchanges of organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus between a south temperate Sarcocornia marsh and its associated estuary are examined. Subterranean water flow was small, and the hydraulic exchange between the two systems largely surficial. The dominant tidal signal was semi-diurnal, and the extent of inundation of the marsh varied considerably as a consequence of interactions of semi-lunar tidal cycles with changes in daily mean sea level. Annual net fluxes of organic carbon were directed from the marsh to the estuary, but amounted to less than 2% of marsh aerial net primary productivity. This indicates the incompatibility of E.P. Odum's outwelling hypothesis to this marsh-estuarine system. The direction of net flux of organic carbon switched on a time-scale of days. These directions were largely correlated with mesoscale oceanic events, which materially altered the extent of marsh inundation, and which provided evidence of the mutual exclusivity of outwelling of DOC from the marsh and oceanic upwelling. Laboratory mesocosm experiments using intact marsh blocks of sediment from the marsh were conducted to identify the proximate processes and interactions at the marsh-water interface responsible for the variability of marsh-estuarine exchanges. Patterns of fluxes of organic carbon, total nitrogen and phosphorus were markedly different in the structurally contrasted tidal creek and Sarcocornia Zone regions of the marsh. Both regions exported these components, but the fluxes of organic carbon and total phosphorus were significantly larger from the tidal creek than from the Sarcocornia zone, and the opposite applied to nitrogen. The presence of brachyuran crabs . the most numerous macrofauna on the marsh enhanced the flux of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus from the marsh biocoenosis, largely as a result of the effect of their bioturbation. Evidence is examined which suggests that differential mobilization of nutrients in the two zones by crabs is responsible for biogeochemical coupling of these two regions , which may account for the elevated productivity of salt- marsh systems
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  • Date Issued: 1988

The image of agriculture in two Ciskeian communities

  • Authors: Webb, Nigel L
  • Date: 1980
  • Subjects: Urban agriculture -- Eastern Cape , Land use, Urban -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Urban agriculture
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:4791 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001891
  • Description: Agriculture is a complex cultural institution. This is particularly the case when studying subsistence conditions in a tribal system, because aspects requiring investigation include social, religious, political and economic factors (Dalton, 1967). These factors represent an extremely broad sphere of inquiry and the large number of relevant aspects has been the cause of problems plaguing attempts to develop subsistence agriculture (Grigg, 1973). The purpose of this study is to outline an environmental perception approach to agriculture and explore the contribution that the approach could make to agricultural improvement. As such it represents a pilot study which attempts to introduce behavioural science research into agricultural development. Foster (et all (1965) outline three research foci in this respect; the socio-cultural-psychological system of the recipient people (farmers), the system of the innovating organization, and the interaction of the two. This study deals with the first focus outlined by Foster, and aims to make a statement about the image that two semi-subsistence communities have of their agricultural system. In other words, how their agricultural system appears to them.
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  • Date Issued: 1980

The nature and function of setting in Jane Austen's novels

  • Authors: Kelly, Patricia Marguerite Wyndham
  • Date: 1979
  • Subjects: Austen, Jane, 1775-1817 , English fiction , Eighteenth century , Novel , Setting , Northanger Abbey , Pride and Prejudice , Mansfield Park , Emma
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2172 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001823
  • Description: This study examines the settings in Jane Austen's six novels. Chapter I introduces the topic generally, and refers briefly to Jane Austen's aims and methods of creating her settings. Short accounts are given of the emphasis put on setting in the criticism of Jane Austen's work; of the chronology of the novels; and of the use made of this aspect of the novel in eighteenth-century predecessors. Chapter II deals with the treatment of place in Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma. The consideration of five novels together makes it possible to generalize about aspects of place common to all , and to discuss particulars peculiar to individual novels without, I hope, excessive repetition. The chapter may be thought disproportionately long, but this aspect of setting is most prominent and important in the delineation of character. Chapter III discusses the handling of spatial detail and time in these five novels. Chapter IV offers a fuller analysis of what is the chief concern of this thesis, the nature and function of setting, in respect of the single novel Persuasion, and attempts to draw together into a coherent whole some of the points made in Chapters II and III. Persuasion separates conveniently from the other works, not only because it was written after them, but more importantly because in it there is a new development in Jane Austen's use of setting. Some critics, notably E.M. Forster and B.C. Southam, have found startlingly new qualities in the setting of Sanditon, and, certainly, the most striking feature of the fragment is the treatment of place. But Jane Austen left off writing Sanditon in March 1817 because of illness, and the twelve chapters make up too small and unfinished a piece to be considered in the same way as the other novels. The Watsons, too, except for some references to it in Chapter I, does not come within the scope of this dissertation. Another introductory point needs to be made briefly. Where it is necessary, the distinction between Jane Austen and the omniscient narrator is observed, but generally, partly because it is clear that Jane Austen's values are close to those of the narrator, and partly because it is convenient, traditional and sensible to do so, the name "Jane Austen" is used to refer both to the actual person and to the narrator of the novels.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1979
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