Development of a 3D bioprinting and standalone bioreactor unit for the production and maintenance of bioscaffolds in vitro
- Authors: Hundling, Jethro Daniel
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Bioreactors , Tissue scaffolds , Cell culture , Polyethylene glycol Biotechnology , 3D bioprinting , Poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA)
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192063 , vital:45192
- Description: The most common method for in vitro cell culture currently is to grow a specific cell type in isolation, in monolayer format, adhered to a 2D culture surface. This brings about many limitations in comparison to in vivo models due to altered cell phenotypes, as caused by the culturing technique itself, and the lack of naturally occurring cell-to-cell interactions. Three dimensional mammalian cell culture technologies have the potential to overcome these limitations, and provide models more representative of natural systems. Unfortunately, the cost and difficulty associated with achieving sustainable and useful 3D mammalian cell culture is still very high, preventing its widespread adoption across scientific platforms. In this research, we investigate the feasibility of developing and producing a visible light-based 3D stereolithographic bioprinter to produce 3D scaffolds for cell culture. Furthermore, we investigate the possibility of developing and implementing a forced perfusion bioreactor system, which would support the produced scaffold and improve longer-term culture conditions. The developed 3D bioprinter, and bioreactor designs were developed and tested alongside Poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA), a versatile synthetic scaffold material. PEGDA itself was also evaluated for its printability, robustness in culture conditions over time, and its ability to maintain 3D mammalian cell culture. This research showed that both the developed 3D bioprinter, and bioreactor unit were capable of producing and maintaining an easily modifiable PEGDA scaffold, in culture conditions. In addition, the PEGDA formulation developed was shown to allow for the effective and reproducible 3D cell culture conditions over the medium term, with automated media feeding. The research presented here aimed to illustrate a proof of concept that the low-cost development and production of 3D culture scaffold production and maintenance systems was feasible to the scientific research environment. This technology can then be built upon, into a system that would then allow for the broader adoption and investigation of 3D cell culture as a tool within the scientific community. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biotechnology Innovation Centre, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Hundling, Jethro Daniel
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Bioreactors , Tissue scaffolds , Cell culture , Polyethylene glycol Biotechnology , 3D bioprinting , Poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA)
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192063 , vital:45192
- Description: The most common method for in vitro cell culture currently is to grow a specific cell type in isolation, in monolayer format, adhered to a 2D culture surface. This brings about many limitations in comparison to in vivo models due to altered cell phenotypes, as caused by the culturing technique itself, and the lack of naturally occurring cell-to-cell interactions. Three dimensional mammalian cell culture technologies have the potential to overcome these limitations, and provide models more representative of natural systems. Unfortunately, the cost and difficulty associated with achieving sustainable and useful 3D mammalian cell culture is still very high, preventing its widespread adoption across scientific platforms. In this research, we investigate the feasibility of developing and producing a visible light-based 3D stereolithographic bioprinter to produce 3D scaffolds for cell culture. Furthermore, we investigate the possibility of developing and implementing a forced perfusion bioreactor system, which would support the produced scaffold and improve longer-term culture conditions. The developed 3D bioprinter, and bioreactor designs were developed and tested alongside Poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA), a versatile synthetic scaffold material. PEGDA itself was also evaluated for its printability, robustness in culture conditions over time, and its ability to maintain 3D mammalian cell culture. This research showed that both the developed 3D bioprinter, and bioreactor unit were capable of producing and maintaining an easily modifiable PEGDA scaffold, in culture conditions. In addition, the PEGDA formulation developed was shown to allow for the effective and reproducible 3D cell culture conditions over the medium term, with automated media feeding. The research presented here aimed to illustrate a proof of concept that the low-cost development and production of 3D culture scaffold production and maintenance systems was feasible to the scientific research environment. This technology can then be built upon, into a system that would then allow for the broader adoption and investigation of 3D cell culture as a tool within the scientific community. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biotechnology Innovation Centre, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Employee views on organisational effectiveness of Chinese organisations operating in Kenya
- Mlotshwa, Minenhle Petronella
- Authors: Mlotshwa, Minenhle Petronella
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Organizational effectiveness Kenya , Corporate culture Kenya Cross-cultural studies , China Foreign economic relations Kenya , International business enterprises Kenya , International business enterprises Personnel management , Bilingual communication in organizations Kenya , Religion in the workplace Kenya Cross-cultural studies , Work ethic Kenya Cross-cultural studies
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191898 , vital:45177
- Description: Over the years there has been a growing interest in the relations between Africa and Asia. This is attributed to what is perceived as increasing Chinese influence and presence in Africa. During the past decades, China has experienced rapid economic growth and expansion which has contributed to its need for additional resources and expanding its geographic footprint into Africa and especially Kenya. The growing presence of Chinese organisations in Africa has also faced challenges. Chinese organisations operating in Kenya have been cited as facing cultural challenges, human resource management issues and external pressures which affect Chinese organisations thus impacting organisational effectiveness and performance. While there has been an abundance of research conducted at a macro level, mainly anecdotal knowledge on Chinese organisational values and management, little information exists at the organisation and community level. This study aimed to contribute an in-depth understanding of Chinese and Kenyan employee relationships in organisations at a micro level. Furthermore, this study assesses employees’ views on organisational effectiveness in a cross-cultural research setting of selected Chinese organisations operating in Kenya using the Burke-Litwin model (1992) of organisational effectiveness. This study is qualitative in nature within the interpretivistic research paradigm and used a case study approach to generate detailed comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. Two Chinese organisations specialising in importing and exporting of diverse products, which had expanded its operations to Kenya in order to reach Africa’s growing consumer markets were selected for this study. The selected organisations were chosen under the premises that they had been operating in Kenya for more than 20 years, they are reputable organisations in their industries and were international role players. Non-probability convenience sampling was used to select the two organisations who were willing to participate. Purposive sampling was used to identify employees from different job levels and types of work in the selected organisations who were willing to participate in this study. Data was collected by means of face-to-face open-ended semi-structured interviews, with five Chinese and 12 Kenyan employees. The findings of this study were guided by the dimensions of the Burke-Litwin model, comprising the external environment, transformational dimensions (including mission and strategy, leadership and organisational culture) and transactional dimensions (including management practices, organisational structure, systems [policies and procedures], motivation, work climate, task requirements and individual skills and abilities). Based on the findings, organisational culture was the dominant theme that had a large influence on the organisational performance. Within the context of organisational culture, the main challenges faced by employees were religious, work ethic and communication barriers. Leadership and the organisational structure set by senior managers was also impacted by culture. It is evident that the Chinese organisations are dominated by Chinese employees at senior managerial levels – except for one Indian Kenyan manager – and non-managerial levels are dominated by Kenyan employees. Between these two managerial levels there is lack of trust as well as trade union interference favouring Kenyan employees. Leadership of the selected organisations aimed at recruiting candidates who have the necessary skills to contribute toward organisational effectiveness and performance. However, recruited Kenyan employees indicated that they require strategy visibility, effective communication, and structured processes in order to be effective. Despite challenges faced, Chinese and Kenyan employees both strongly agree with and support the efforts of management for providing training and development and creating an environment that accommodates personal growth. The external environment has exerted pressure on the said Chinese organisations. The Kenyan trade unions favour Kenyan employees and place huge pressure on Chinese management. In addition the trade unions bribe locals while making it difficult for Chinese organisations operating in Kenya to conduct business. Through the empirical development of organisational-level research on the case of Chinese organisations operating in Kenya, insightful management knowledge was gathered and shared to assist Chinese and Kenyan employees in their individual and organisational performance. , Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Commerce, Management, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Mlotshwa, Minenhle Petronella
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Organizational effectiveness Kenya , Corporate culture Kenya Cross-cultural studies , China Foreign economic relations Kenya , International business enterprises Kenya , International business enterprises Personnel management , Bilingual communication in organizations Kenya , Religion in the workplace Kenya Cross-cultural studies , Work ethic Kenya Cross-cultural studies
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191898 , vital:45177
- Description: Over the years there has been a growing interest in the relations between Africa and Asia. This is attributed to what is perceived as increasing Chinese influence and presence in Africa. During the past decades, China has experienced rapid economic growth and expansion which has contributed to its need for additional resources and expanding its geographic footprint into Africa and especially Kenya. The growing presence of Chinese organisations in Africa has also faced challenges. Chinese organisations operating in Kenya have been cited as facing cultural challenges, human resource management issues and external pressures which affect Chinese organisations thus impacting organisational effectiveness and performance. While there has been an abundance of research conducted at a macro level, mainly anecdotal knowledge on Chinese organisational values and management, little information exists at the organisation and community level. This study aimed to contribute an in-depth understanding of Chinese and Kenyan employee relationships in organisations at a micro level. Furthermore, this study assesses employees’ views on organisational effectiveness in a cross-cultural research setting of selected Chinese organisations operating in Kenya using the Burke-Litwin model (1992) of organisational effectiveness. This study is qualitative in nature within the interpretivistic research paradigm and used a case study approach to generate detailed comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. Two Chinese organisations specialising in importing and exporting of diverse products, which had expanded its operations to Kenya in order to reach Africa’s growing consumer markets were selected for this study. The selected organisations were chosen under the premises that they had been operating in Kenya for more than 20 years, they are reputable organisations in their industries and were international role players. Non-probability convenience sampling was used to select the two organisations who were willing to participate. Purposive sampling was used to identify employees from different job levels and types of work in the selected organisations who were willing to participate in this study. Data was collected by means of face-to-face open-ended semi-structured interviews, with five Chinese and 12 Kenyan employees. The findings of this study were guided by the dimensions of the Burke-Litwin model, comprising the external environment, transformational dimensions (including mission and strategy, leadership and organisational culture) and transactional dimensions (including management practices, organisational structure, systems [policies and procedures], motivation, work climate, task requirements and individual skills and abilities). Based on the findings, organisational culture was the dominant theme that had a large influence on the organisational performance. Within the context of organisational culture, the main challenges faced by employees were religious, work ethic and communication barriers. Leadership and the organisational structure set by senior managers was also impacted by culture. It is evident that the Chinese organisations are dominated by Chinese employees at senior managerial levels – except for one Indian Kenyan manager – and non-managerial levels are dominated by Kenyan employees. Between these two managerial levels there is lack of trust as well as trade union interference favouring Kenyan employees. Leadership of the selected organisations aimed at recruiting candidates who have the necessary skills to contribute toward organisational effectiveness and performance. However, recruited Kenyan employees indicated that they require strategy visibility, effective communication, and structured processes in order to be effective. Despite challenges faced, Chinese and Kenyan employees both strongly agree with and support the efforts of management for providing training and development and creating an environment that accommodates personal growth. The external environment has exerted pressure on the said Chinese organisations. The Kenyan trade unions favour Kenyan employees and place huge pressure on Chinese management. In addition the trade unions bribe locals while making it difficult for Chinese organisations operating in Kenya to conduct business. Through the empirical development of organisational-level research on the case of Chinese organisations operating in Kenya, insightful management knowledge was gathered and shared to assist Chinese and Kenyan employees in their individual and organisational performance. , Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Commerce, Management, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Ethics of climate change: a normative account
- Authors: Afolabi, Abiodun Paul
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Climatic changes Senegal Saint-Louis , Climatic changes Moral and ethical aspects , Cultural property Senegal Saint-Louis , Ethics Senegal Saint-Louis , Applied ethics , Environmental justice Senegal Saint-Louis , Philosophy, African , Normativity (Ethics)
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192864 , vital:45272 , 10.21504/10962/192864
- Description: Consider, for instance, you and your family have lived around a place where you enjoyed the flora and fauna of the land as well as the natural environment. Fishing and farming were pleasant activities for your family, and anyone in the community not only to survive but thrive. Your neighbours and the people in the community pride themselves so much in their farming abilities and fishing techniques. Suddenly things start taking a different turn because of rising sea level and changing weather pattern. First, your land began to give way because of sweeping erosion, and later the riverbank serving the community starts drying up. Your neighbour could not hold their own in this grim condition as they started relocating. You even witnessed some of your family and friends leaving the community and you later heard that they have become climate refugees. To put it all together, you were told that what you are experiencing is one of climate change effects. You were told that the loss of the place that you once cherished is not an act of God but the result of the reckless flaring of greenhouse gasses harmful to the environment by some powerful but polluting nations. What will you do? This might sound like a fairy tale. In reality, this is the story of the people of Saint Louis Atlantic Coasts in Senegal, captured by the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus Initiative.1 Their situation has been described as ‘living on the edge’ because for centuries, Saint Louis Atlantic Coasts, home to around 230,000 inhabitants, also known as the ‘Venice of Africa’ has been protected from the pounding Atlantic waves by the ‘Langue de Barbarie,’ a narrow, 30 km peninsula at the mouth of the Senegal river. However, the low-lying sandy spit of land along this World Heritage site is itself rapidly disappearing in the present. This is the consequence of a changing climate and other man-made problems such as illegal sand-mining and over-development. Today, the southern part of the Langue de Barbarie is an island, and the village of Doune Baba Dieye is under more than a metre of water. The villagers have become climate refugees, forced to live in temporary camps on the mainland. Not only have they lost their homes, but they have also lost significant cultural heritage like the farming and fishing culture tied to this place. The ethical considerations that emerge from climate change impacts on the world’s cultural heritage are varied. However, it seems not as self-evident in the way that research on climate change ethics has been framed around economic interest and direct threats to human life and other species. Even when they mention climate impacts on heritage sites around the world, those of Africans have been side-lined. For instance, the impact of climate change on small island nations like Tuvalu, Kiribati2 have gained much traction in climate change discourse, but we do not get to see stories of Africans whose cherished cultural heritage are affected by climate despoliation. How do we respond to this intractable challenge? This is a question of justice and, to be more precise, climate justice. Many principles and proposals for climate justice have been put forward, but the insufficient attention to the vulnerabilities or loss of cultural heritage values of Africans, which is a critical aspect of their social realities, make these theories less persuasive on a global level. This thesis, then, fills this gap in the literature by suggesting that the failure to take cognizance of the injustice in neglecting cultural heritage values when dealing with the burden of climate change is the effect of three problems. One, the value of culture is less understood in this environmental age. Hence, cultural values are excluded or made to be secondary in consideration of principles of climate justice. Second, the idea of Personhood has been neglected in climate ethics and climate justice discourse. Yet, this idea of Personhood can be an enabler of climate justice in that a realization of the significance of cultural heritage to the wellness of the human persons in Africa, makes it loss morally reprehensible. Third, those whose cultural heritage is significantly affected do not get represented in the debate about sharing the burden of climate change. This dissertation thereby builds upon the general findings of the past about anthropogenic climate change, its causes and consequences. Adopting a discursive normative framework, I also address the significance of cultural heritage in this contemporary environmental age and discuss the global justice implications of cultural heritage loss to climate change. This dissertation further provides a critique of mainstream climate justice theories, especially their marginalization of the cultural dimension of climate change. In this regard, the metaphor - ‘cultural storm’ was deployed to argue that climate justice discourses have neither factored the deep socio-cultural impact of climate change nor do they draw on the cultural understanding of justice in putting forward their theories. Given the nature of the indirect, cumulative, and interconnected invisible losses to cultural heritage from climate change, it seems unlikely that they can be addressed by simple tweaks of the climate justice status quo. This dissertation proposes that the idea of personhood in African philosophy, can be conceived to ensure climate justice live up to its expectations in a world of diverse persons dealing with a complex phenomenon like climate change. It argues that a cultural dimension of climate ethics has implications for how mitigation, adaptation and compensation plans should be furthered for global climate justice. At the foundation of my argument, I suggest that what is needed in climate justice discourse is a commitment to explore new and innovative alternatives that will produce an inclusive global climate treaty that is sensitive to the cultural heritage assets that is destroyed by climate change in Africa. This will require a multi-dimensional framework that allows fundamentally different kinds of values and benefits to be given equal visibility and standing in global climate negotiations. The dissertation proceeds in six chapters. In the first chapter, I discuss how climate change denies, damage and destroys cultural heritage values in Africa and argue that it is unjust to ignore this dimension of climate change impact, particularly on the African continent. In the second chapter, I critically discuss the normative value of cultural heritage in an environmentally sustainable and morally appropriate way for this global age. I argue that what is lost when climate change affects cultural heritage is a significant cultural asset that ought to be seriously considered in climate ethics. The third chapter addresses the global justice implications of the destruction of Africa's cultural heritage by climate change that must be paid attention to. In chapter four, I evaluate the plausibility of some of the mainstream climate justice proposals. I offered a different possible critique of current approaches to climate justice to show how they have furthered cultural injustice. The critique of current climate justice theories that I offer, stems from an uninspiring approach that belies logic permitting the sacrificing of that which is connected to others wellbeing as well as the implicit assumptions and the limitation of the idea of justice that undergird these climate justice theories. I offer, in chapter five, a plausible climate ethics theory that recognizes culturally embedded ideas of justice and empower all stakeholders to build by themselves, lives that are, in the light of these ideas, deemed to be adversely impacted by climate change. This theory advances a socio-cultural perspective to climate change which could provide a nuanced basis for understanding and addressing global climate duties that will be sensitive to the loss of cultural heritage. Specifically, I apply the African conception of personhood, to provide a normative basis for a different but intuitive understanding of the cultural dimension of climate ethics. In the final chapter, I discuss how this theory can be applied to rethink current global responses in the form of mitigation, adaptation and compensation in such a way that it takes seriously the impacts of climate change on Africa’s cultural heritage and values. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Philosophy, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Afolabi, Abiodun Paul
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Climatic changes Senegal Saint-Louis , Climatic changes Moral and ethical aspects , Cultural property Senegal Saint-Louis , Ethics Senegal Saint-Louis , Applied ethics , Environmental justice Senegal Saint-Louis , Philosophy, African , Normativity (Ethics)
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192864 , vital:45272 , 10.21504/10962/192864
- Description: Consider, for instance, you and your family have lived around a place where you enjoyed the flora and fauna of the land as well as the natural environment. Fishing and farming were pleasant activities for your family, and anyone in the community not only to survive but thrive. Your neighbours and the people in the community pride themselves so much in their farming abilities and fishing techniques. Suddenly things start taking a different turn because of rising sea level and changing weather pattern. First, your land began to give way because of sweeping erosion, and later the riverbank serving the community starts drying up. Your neighbour could not hold their own in this grim condition as they started relocating. You even witnessed some of your family and friends leaving the community and you later heard that they have become climate refugees. To put it all together, you were told that what you are experiencing is one of climate change effects. You were told that the loss of the place that you once cherished is not an act of God but the result of the reckless flaring of greenhouse gasses harmful to the environment by some powerful but polluting nations. What will you do? This might sound like a fairy tale. In reality, this is the story of the people of Saint Louis Atlantic Coasts in Senegal, captured by the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus Initiative.1 Their situation has been described as ‘living on the edge’ because for centuries, Saint Louis Atlantic Coasts, home to around 230,000 inhabitants, also known as the ‘Venice of Africa’ has been protected from the pounding Atlantic waves by the ‘Langue de Barbarie,’ a narrow, 30 km peninsula at the mouth of the Senegal river. However, the low-lying sandy spit of land along this World Heritage site is itself rapidly disappearing in the present. This is the consequence of a changing climate and other man-made problems such as illegal sand-mining and over-development. Today, the southern part of the Langue de Barbarie is an island, and the village of Doune Baba Dieye is under more than a metre of water. The villagers have become climate refugees, forced to live in temporary camps on the mainland. Not only have they lost their homes, but they have also lost significant cultural heritage like the farming and fishing culture tied to this place. The ethical considerations that emerge from climate change impacts on the world’s cultural heritage are varied. However, it seems not as self-evident in the way that research on climate change ethics has been framed around economic interest and direct threats to human life and other species. Even when they mention climate impacts on heritage sites around the world, those of Africans have been side-lined. For instance, the impact of climate change on small island nations like Tuvalu, Kiribati2 have gained much traction in climate change discourse, but we do not get to see stories of Africans whose cherished cultural heritage are affected by climate despoliation. How do we respond to this intractable challenge? This is a question of justice and, to be more precise, climate justice. Many principles and proposals for climate justice have been put forward, but the insufficient attention to the vulnerabilities or loss of cultural heritage values of Africans, which is a critical aspect of their social realities, make these theories less persuasive on a global level. This thesis, then, fills this gap in the literature by suggesting that the failure to take cognizance of the injustice in neglecting cultural heritage values when dealing with the burden of climate change is the effect of three problems. One, the value of culture is less understood in this environmental age. Hence, cultural values are excluded or made to be secondary in consideration of principles of climate justice. Second, the idea of Personhood has been neglected in climate ethics and climate justice discourse. Yet, this idea of Personhood can be an enabler of climate justice in that a realization of the significance of cultural heritage to the wellness of the human persons in Africa, makes it loss morally reprehensible. Third, those whose cultural heritage is significantly affected do not get represented in the debate about sharing the burden of climate change. This dissertation thereby builds upon the general findings of the past about anthropogenic climate change, its causes and consequences. Adopting a discursive normative framework, I also address the significance of cultural heritage in this contemporary environmental age and discuss the global justice implications of cultural heritage loss to climate change. This dissertation further provides a critique of mainstream climate justice theories, especially their marginalization of the cultural dimension of climate change. In this regard, the metaphor - ‘cultural storm’ was deployed to argue that climate justice discourses have neither factored the deep socio-cultural impact of climate change nor do they draw on the cultural understanding of justice in putting forward their theories. Given the nature of the indirect, cumulative, and interconnected invisible losses to cultural heritage from climate change, it seems unlikely that they can be addressed by simple tweaks of the climate justice status quo. This dissertation proposes that the idea of personhood in African philosophy, can be conceived to ensure climate justice live up to its expectations in a world of diverse persons dealing with a complex phenomenon like climate change. It argues that a cultural dimension of climate ethics has implications for how mitigation, adaptation and compensation plans should be furthered for global climate justice. At the foundation of my argument, I suggest that what is needed in climate justice discourse is a commitment to explore new and innovative alternatives that will produce an inclusive global climate treaty that is sensitive to the cultural heritage assets that is destroyed by climate change in Africa. This will require a multi-dimensional framework that allows fundamentally different kinds of values and benefits to be given equal visibility and standing in global climate negotiations. The dissertation proceeds in six chapters. In the first chapter, I discuss how climate change denies, damage and destroys cultural heritage values in Africa and argue that it is unjust to ignore this dimension of climate change impact, particularly on the African continent. In the second chapter, I critically discuss the normative value of cultural heritage in an environmentally sustainable and morally appropriate way for this global age. I argue that what is lost when climate change affects cultural heritage is a significant cultural asset that ought to be seriously considered in climate ethics. The third chapter addresses the global justice implications of the destruction of Africa's cultural heritage by climate change that must be paid attention to. In chapter four, I evaluate the plausibility of some of the mainstream climate justice proposals. I offered a different possible critique of current approaches to climate justice to show how they have furthered cultural injustice. The critique of current climate justice theories that I offer, stems from an uninspiring approach that belies logic permitting the sacrificing of that which is connected to others wellbeing as well as the implicit assumptions and the limitation of the idea of justice that undergird these climate justice theories. I offer, in chapter five, a plausible climate ethics theory that recognizes culturally embedded ideas of justice and empower all stakeholders to build by themselves, lives that are, in the light of these ideas, deemed to be adversely impacted by climate change. This theory advances a socio-cultural perspective to climate change which could provide a nuanced basis for understanding and addressing global climate duties that will be sensitive to the loss of cultural heritage. Specifically, I apply the African conception of personhood, to provide a normative basis for a different but intuitive understanding of the cultural dimension of climate ethics. In the final chapter, I discuss how this theory can be applied to rethink current global responses in the form of mitigation, adaptation and compensation in such a way that it takes seriously the impacts of climate change on Africa’s cultural heritage and values. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Philosophy, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Evaluating and predicting impacts of Australian redclaw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus and Louisiana red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii invasions
- Madzivanzira, Takudzwa Comfort
- Authors: Madzivanzira, Takudzwa Comfort
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Cherax Africa , Procambarus clarkii Africa , Freshwater crabs Africa , Crayfish Zambezi River , Crayfish Food Zambezi River , Aquatic biodiversity Africa , Conservation biology Zambezi River , Fishing Catch effort Africa , Introduced freshwater organisms Africa , Fish populations Africa , Functional response (FR)
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191137 , vital:45064 , 10.21504/10962/191137
- Description: Freshwater crayfish have become one of the most widely introduced freshwater taxa globally. Crayfish introductions have not spared the African continent, which, apart from Madagascar, is naturally devoid of native freshwater crayfish. These introductions are of concern because invasive crayfish have generally been shown to cause strong impacts on recipient ecosystems outside Africa. This study therefore set out to compile up-to-date information regarding crayfish introductions in Africa, their pathways and distributions and to improve our understanding of the nature and magnitude of their environmental impacts. A systematic review revealed that nine crayfish species have been introduced into the continent with five of those, Astacus astacus, Cherax quadricarinatus, Faxonius limosus, Procambarus clarkii and Procambarus virginalis, having established naturalised populations in fourteen African countries (Chapter 2). The main driver of these crayfish introductions was to provide socio-economic benefits but there is limited evidence of success. The thesis further documents attempts made to address crayfish knowledge gaps in Africa, including standardisation of C. quadricarinatus sampling gear (Chapter 3), determination of the distribution of C. quadricarinatus in the recently invaded Upper Zambezi Basin (Chapter 4), and predicting ecological and socioeconomic impacts of two crayfish species that are spreading rapidly in Southern Africa, namely, C. quadricarinatus and P. clarkii (Chapters 5 – 8). To standardise C. quadricarinatus sampling methods in Africa, two methods used in Southern Africa were compared and the Promar® collapsible trap baited with dry pellets was recommended as the best approach for C. quadricarinatus abundance studies due to the high catch per unit effort (CPUE), probability of capture and the suitability of dry dog food as a standard bait. This standard approach was used for crayfish surveys in the Zambezi Basin to comprehensively determine the spread and establishment of C. quadricarinatus across the basin. The establishment of C. quadricarinatus in the Barotse Floodplain, Upper Zambezi Floodplains freshwater ecoregion was confirmed. Although the probability of capture and catch per unit effort (CPUE) of C. quadricarinatus in the Barotse floodplain were similar to that of older invasions in the basin (Lake Kariba and Kafue River), morphometric differences among C. quadricarinatus populations sampled from these invaded regions were detected. Although crayfish were not detected in other regions, for example, the Okavango Floodplains ecoregions, C. quadricarinatus have the potential to spread at a downstream and upstream rate of 49 and 12 km·year-1, impacting native biota therein. To evaluate the potential for ecological impacts, the consumer-resource dynamics of C. quadricarinatus and P. clarkii were described in comparison to a native trophic analogue, the freshwater crab of the Potamonautes genus, preying on various native taxa ubiquitous to African aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The use of functional response (FR) and consumption experiments in this study showed the potential impacts of the two crayfish species on native resources and on resources that support livelihoods in invaded ecosystems. This in most cases was a result of their high attack parameter, which also resulted in high functional responses ratios (FRRs) compared to native crabs. The crayfish FR, FRRs and consumption rates were mostly enhanced under the high temperature treatments. The FRs and consumption results were then combined with the field biomasses of crayfish and crabs to calculate the relative impact potential (RIP) to successfully predict the degree of impact caused by crayfish species relative to crabs. Crayfish species consistently displayed RIP scores > 1 relative to the native crab irrespective of region, which were higher for the summer than the winter season, suggesting greater impact of the invaders compared to the native species. This study further estimated the socioeconomic losses due to catch spoilage by C. quadricarinatus which are up to 1500 t per year in the invaded Kafue River Basin, which translates to an annual income loss of US$ 2 million. Information provided in this study is vital for conservation management and to compel policymakers to develop appropriate conservation management tools within regulatory frameworks, which could stop or minimise the spread of crayfish species and protect Africa from further losing aquatic biodiversity. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Madzivanzira, Takudzwa Comfort
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Cherax Africa , Procambarus clarkii Africa , Freshwater crabs Africa , Crayfish Zambezi River , Crayfish Food Zambezi River , Aquatic biodiversity Africa , Conservation biology Zambezi River , Fishing Catch effort Africa , Introduced freshwater organisms Africa , Fish populations Africa , Functional response (FR)
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191137 , vital:45064 , 10.21504/10962/191137
- Description: Freshwater crayfish have become one of the most widely introduced freshwater taxa globally. Crayfish introductions have not spared the African continent, which, apart from Madagascar, is naturally devoid of native freshwater crayfish. These introductions are of concern because invasive crayfish have generally been shown to cause strong impacts on recipient ecosystems outside Africa. This study therefore set out to compile up-to-date information regarding crayfish introductions in Africa, their pathways and distributions and to improve our understanding of the nature and magnitude of their environmental impacts. A systematic review revealed that nine crayfish species have been introduced into the continent with five of those, Astacus astacus, Cherax quadricarinatus, Faxonius limosus, Procambarus clarkii and Procambarus virginalis, having established naturalised populations in fourteen African countries (Chapter 2). The main driver of these crayfish introductions was to provide socio-economic benefits but there is limited evidence of success. The thesis further documents attempts made to address crayfish knowledge gaps in Africa, including standardisation of C. quadricarinatus sampling gear (Chapter 3), determination of the distribution of C. quadricarinatus in the recently invaded Upper Zambezi Basin (Chapter 4), and predicting ecological and socioeconomic impacts of two crayfish species that are spreading rapidly in Southern Africa, namely, C. quadricarinatus and P. clarkii (Chapters 5 – 8). To standardise C. quadricarinatus sampling methods in Africa, two methods used in Southern Africa were compared and the Promar® collapsible trap baited with dry pellets was recommended as the best approach for C. quadricarinatus abundance studies due to the high catch per unit effort (CPUE), probability of capture and the suitability of dry dog food as a standard bait. This standard approach was used for crayfish surveys in the Zambezi Basin to comprehensively determine the spread and establishment of C. quadricarinatus across the basin. The establishment of C. quadricarinatus in the Barotse Floodplain, Upper Zambezi Floodplains freshwater ecoregion was confirmed. Although the probability of capture and catch per unit effort (CPUE) of C. quadricarinatus in the Barotse floodplain were similar to that of older invasions in the basin (Lake Kariba and Kafue River), morphometric differences among C. quadricarinatus populations sampled from these invaded regions were detected. Although crayfish were not detected in other regions, for example, the Okavango Floodplains ecoregions, C. quadricarinatus have the potential to spread at a downstream and upstream rate of 49 and 12 km·year-1, impacting native biota therein. To evaluate the potential for ecological impacts, the consumer-resource dynamics of C. quadricarinatus and P. clarkii were described in comparison to a native trophic analogue, the freshwater crab of the Potamonautes genus, preying on various native taxa ubiquitous to African aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The use of functional response (FR) and consumption experiments in this study showed the potential impacts of the two crayfish species on native resources and on resources that support livelihoods in invaded ecosystems. This in most cases was a result of their high attack parameter, which also resulted in high functional responses ratios (FRRs) compared to native crabs. The crayfish FR, FRRs and consumption rates were mostly enhanced under the high temperature treatments. The FRs and consumption results were then combined with the field biomasses of crayfish and crabs to calculate the relative impact potential (RIP) to successfully predict the degree of impact caused by crayfish species relative to crabs. Crayfish species consistently displayed RIP scores > 1 relative to the native crab irrespective of region, which were higher for the summer than the winter season, suggesting greater impact of the invaders compared to the native species. This study further estimated the socioeconomic losses due to catch spoilage by C. quadricarinatus which are up to 1500 t per year in the invaded Kafue River Basin, which translates to an annual income loss of US$ 2 million. Information provided in this study is vital for conservation management and to compel policymakers to develop appropriate conservation management tools within regulatory frameworks, which could stop or minimise the spread of crayfish species and protect Africa from further losing aquatic biodiversity. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Exploring targeted metagenomics and untargeted metabolomics for characterising aquaponics bacterial ecology and phytochemistry
- Authors: Abraham, Benjamin Melakail
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192453 , vital:45227
- Description: Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Abraham, Benjamin Melakail
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192453 , vital:45227
- Description: Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Exploring the political economy of the broadcast and distribution of the Mzansi Super League in South Africa
- Authors: Pettitt, Stephen John
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Cricket Political aspects South Africa , Discrimination in sports South Africa , South Africa Social conditions , South Africa Economic conditions , Broadcasting South Africa , Cricket South Africa (Organization) , Television broadcasting of sports , Free-to-air broadcasting (FTA) South Africa , Mzansi Super League
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192308 , vital:45215
- Description: This thesis is a critical political economy analysis of the role played by the broadcast and distribution of the Mzansi Super League (MSL), a T20 cricket tournament in South Africa, in the transformation project of Cricket South Africa (CSA). The case study methodology is based on the four-leaf clover framework developed by Ruth Teer-Tomaselli. Cricket in South Africa is often viewed as a white and middle-class dominated sport, and CSA has been mandated to redress the historical racially segregated sport through a transformation agenda that focuses on changing the demographics of cricket. This paper investigates how the broadcast of a cricket tournament like the MSL on a Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) can have a positive effect on transformation due to the increased access and wider distribution. The broadcast regulations acknowledge this, as is seen in the introduction of ICASA draft regulations seeking to make more sport available on PSBs. The South African sports broadcast landscape is dominated by MultiChoice’s SuperSport, which has acquired a monopoly on sports broadcasting. The South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC) cannot compete, given its financial difficulties. A fall-out between CSA and SuperSport meant the SABC broadcast the MSL tournament, which lost CSA revenue but gained it a bigger audience. This thesis uses lived experiences and examples to illustrate that despite a financial loss, the wider media distribution of cricket will have positive effects on transformation that could counter the financial loss, especially if CSA creates new streams of income so that it relies less on broadcast revenue. In the current climate, however, compounded by internal financial and management issues, CSA cannot afford to forego the revenue from a private broadcaster and thus has no choice but to pursue a deal with a private broadcaster and lose out on the potential benefits of a wider audience. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Pettitt, Stephen John
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Cricket Political aspects South Africa , Discrimination in sports South Africa , South Africa Social conditions , South Africa Economic conditions , Broadcasting South Africa , Cricket South Africa (Organization) , Television broadcasting of sports , Free-to-air broadcasting (FTA) South Africa , Mzansi Super League
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192308 , vital:45215
- Description: This thesis is a critical political economy analysis of the role played by the broadcast and distribution of the Mzansi Super League (MSL), a T20 cricket tournament in South Africa, in the transformation project of Cricket South Africa (CSA). The case study methodology is based on the four-leaf clover framework developed by Ruth Teer-Tomaselli. Cricket in South Africa is often viewed as a white and middle-class dominated sport, and CSA has been mandated to redress the historical racially segregated sport through a transformation agenda that focuses on changing the demographics of cricket. This paper investigates how the broadcast of a cricket tournament like the MSL on a Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) can have a positive effect on transformation due to the increased access and wider distribution. The broadcast regulations acknowledge this, as is seen in the introduction of ICASA draft regulations seeking to make more sport available on PSBs. The South African sports broadcast landscape is dominated by MultiChoice’s SuperSport, which has acquired a monopoly on sports broadcasting. The South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC) cannot compete, given its financial difficulties. A fall-out between CSA and SuperSport meant the SABC broadcast the MSL tournament, which lost CSA revenue but gained it a bigger audience. This thesis uses lived experiences and examples to illustrate that despite a financial loss, the wider media distribution of cricket will have positive effects on transformation that could counter the financial loss, especially if CSA creates new streams of income so that it relies less on broadcast revenue. In the current climate, however, compounded by internal financial and management issues, CSA cannot afford to forego the revenue from a private broadcaster and thus has no choice but to pursue a deal with a private broadcaster and lose out on the potential benefits of a wider audience. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Fabrication of gold-nanoparticle/conductive polymer composite materials: application to aptamer-based impedimetric biosensors for detection of histamine
- Authors: Ojo, Dupe Ruth
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192550 , vital:45236
- Description: Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biotechnology Innovation Centre, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Ojo, Dupe Ruth
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192550 , vital:45236
- Description: Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biotechnology Innovation Centre, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Formulation and optimization of lamotrigine liquid loaded self-microemulsifying emulsion
- Authors: Mano, Tanaka
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192430 , vital:45225
- Description: Thesis (MSc (Pharm)) -- Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmacy, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Mano, Tanaka
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192430 , vital:45225
- Description: Thesis (MSc (Pharm)) -- Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmacy, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Generation news: Consuming, sharing, and producing news across generations in five Johannesburg households
- Authors: Silber, Gerson Russel
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Baby boom generation South Africa , Generation Y South Africa , Conflict of generations South Africa Johannesburg , Generations South Africa Johannesburg , Digital media South Africa , Social media and journalism South Africa , Digital media Social aspects South Africa , News audiences South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192342 , vital:45217
- Description: This study sets out to explore the meaning, extent, and impact of the generational divide, between so-called Baby Boomers and their Millennial offspring, on the way news is accessed, consumed, shared, and produced in five purposively selected households in the Johannesburg area. Aside from these widely-used generational identifiers, Baby Boomers and Millennials are also commonly referred to as Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives, respectively. However, in a world where smartphones have become commonplace, and internet connectivity via fixed broadband and mobile data is ubiquitous, it can be argued that digital technologies now serve as a link, or perhaps even a bridge, between younger and older generations living in the same household. The study aims to put this proposition to the test, by interrogating the role of news as a conduit for storytelling and information-sharing in environments where each occupant will typically be using their own devices, with a wide variety of personally-curated news sources and platforms at their fingertips. This fragmentation or individualisation of access to news stands in sharp contrast to the communal traditions of the pre-Internet era, during which families would gather around the TV set to watch the evening newscast, or share sections of the Sunday newspaper according to their age and interest. This research, which seeks to address a gap in the literature of research into intra-generational news consumption in family households in the digital era, identifies points of intersection as well as diversion in media usage habits. An example of the former is the prevalence of WhatsApp as a centralised "meeting-point" for the sharing of useful, hyper-localised information within the family group, and beyond that, as a cross-generational news and discussion platform in its own right. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the study explores strict and seemingly counterintuitive divides between the generations, with some Millennial respondents rejecting social media platforms as "pointless and invasive, and some Baby Boomer parents embracing the platforms as forums for free expression and networking. In line with the key research question, which seeks to identify and analyse news usage and consumption across the generations in a selection of family households, the study considers the ways in which families in the digital era are creating a culture of shared interests and the active sharing of news, breaching the boundaries of their private spaces in a microcosm of the Habermasian public sphere of discourse and opinion. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Silber, Gerson Russel
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Baby boom generation South Africa , Generation Y South Africa , Conflict of generations South Africa Johannesburg , Generations South Africa Johannesburg , Digital media South Africa , Social media and journalism South Africa , Digital media Social aspects South Africa , News audiences South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192342 , vital:45217
- Description: This study sets out to explore the meaning, extent, and impact of the generational divide, between so-called Baby Boomers and their Millennial offspring, on the way news is accessed, consumed, shared, and produced in five purposively selected households in the Johannesburg area. Aside from these widely-used generational identifiers, Baby Boomers and Millennials are also commonly referred to as Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives, respectively. However, in a world where smartphones have become commonplace, and internet connectivity via fixed broadband and mobile data is ubiquitous, it can be argued that digital technologies now serve as a link, or perhaps even a bridge, between younger and older generations living in the same household. The study aims to put this proposition to the test, by interrogating the role of news as a conduit for storytelling and information-sharing in environments where each occupant will typically be using their own devices, with a wide variety of personally-curated news sources and platforms at their fingertips. This fragmentation or individualisation of access to news stands in sharp contrast to the communal traditions of the pre-Internet era, during which families would gather around the TV set to watch the evening newscast, or share sections of the Sunday newspaper according to their age and interest. This research, which seeks to address a gap in the literature of research into intra-generational news consumption in family households in the digital era, identifies points of intersection as well as diversion in media usage habits. An example of the former is the prevalence of WhatsApp as a centralised "meeting-point" for the sharing of useful, hyper-localised information within the family group, and beyond that, as a cross-generational news and discussion platform in its own right. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the study explores strict and seemingly counterintuitive divides between the generations, with some Millennial respondents rejecting social media platforms as "pointless and invasive, and some Baby Boomer parents embracing the platforms as forums for free expression and networking. In line with the key research question, which seeks to identify and analyse news usage and consumption across the generations in a selection of family households, the study considers the ways in which families in the digital era are creating a culture of shared interests and the active sharing of news, breaching the boundaries of their private spaces in a microcosm of the Habermasian public sphere of discourse and opinion. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Genetic connectivity of the roundjaw bonefish (Albula glossodonta) in the Southwest Indian Ocean
- Talma, Sheena Claudia Aisa Lydie
- Authors: Talma, Sheena Claudia Aisa Lydie
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Bonefish Mauritius , Bonefish Seychelles , Bonefish Genetics , Bonefish Habitat , Bonefish Geographical distribution , Bonefish Larvae Dispersal , Genetic markers , Cytochrome b , Fish populations Mauritius , Fish populations Seychelles , Marine ecotourism , Saltwater fly fishing , Bonefish fisheries Catch effort
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192174 , vital:45202
- Description: The Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO) islands of Mauritius and Seychelles are both highly dependent on tourism and fisheries for their economies. One of the growing ecotourism sectors is saltwater fly fishing, an industry based on catch-and-release fishing for a host of species, including bonefishes. Bonefishes (Albula spp.) have received significant research attention in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, with only sporadic research conducted in the Indian Ocean. My project aimed to investigate the genetic connectivity of the roundjaw bonefish (Albula glossodonta) in two island states (Seychelles and Mauritius) within the SWIO using a mitochondrial genetic marker (cyt-b) and next generation sequencing (ddRADseq). Samples collected were grouped based on their spatial distribution. The Seychelles consisted of four island groups (Inner Island Group, Aldabra Group, Amirantes and Alphonse Group, and Farquhar Group) whereas Mauritius was represented by one island group (Saint Brandon). Genetic analyses were undertaken between and within each of these groups. Mitochondrial cytochrome-b identified two species of bonefish: Albula glossodonta and Albula oligolepis; the latter was only genetically identified from the Inner Island Group. I hypothesise that this is due to habitat partitioning, with A. oligolepis being a deeper dwelling bonefish species compared to A. glossodonta, which occupies shallow water habitats such as sand flats, atoll lagoons and reef flats. Neutral SNP loci revealed a panmictic pattern of distribution for A. glossodonta throughout the Seychelles Island groups but showed a pattern of weak structure between Seychelles and Mauritius. Genetic diversity indices such as allelic richness, showed low diversity across the sampling sites (AR range: 1.761-1.889). Population structure tests such as pairwise FST showed low but significant population structure. The highest FST indices were recorded between the Aldabra and Farquhar Groups, as well as the Aldabra and Saint Brandon Groups (0.044 ± 0.000 and 0.040 ± 0.000, respectively). Descriptive tests such as PCA and DAPC showed similar trends, whereby Saint Brandon clustered separately from the other samples from the Seychelles Island groups. However, these trends were Abstract seen at very low variations (PCA axes 1 and 2 accounted for only 2.0 and 1.9 % of the total variation, respectively). A population assignment test grouped the individuals as one ancestral population. A spatial principal component analysis showed that Saint Brandon was dissimilar to the Seychelles Island groups. Like other Elopomorph species, bonefishes have leptocephalus larvae capable of long-distance dispersal which may explain the well-mixed genetic population observed within the Seychelles islands. Although currents within the Indian Ocean, especially on a mesoscale, are not well understood, the South Equatorial Current likely facilitates connectivity between the Seychelles islands while also limiting gene flow between Seychelles and Mauritius. Understanding population structure is important for informing the appropriate management and conservation strategies, especially in oceanic nations where data informing important industries like tourism and fisheries are often limited. The bonefish fly fishing industry is well-known to be a lucrative sector, generating, for example US$ 1.4 million a year in the Bahamas. This study recognised that there are numerous knowledge gaps relevant to the bonefish industry that need to be addressed, including: 1) understanding the socio-economic importance of fly fishing to island states like Seychelles, 2) estimating the abundance and species distribution of bonefishes within Seychelles, 3) understanding effectiveness of MPAs for recreational fishery species like bonefish and, lastly, 4) generating more fishery-relevant biological information on the heavily targeted fly fishing species within Seychelles. These needs must be met to inform management plans and to better manage the fly fishing ventures that target species like bonefish. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Talma, Sheena Claudia Aisa Lydie
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Bonefish Mauritius , Bonefish Seychelles , Bonefish Genetics , Bonefish Habitat , Bonefish Geographical distribution , Bonefish Larvae Dispersal , Genetic markers , Cytochrome b , Fish populations Mauritius , Fish populations Seychelles , Marine ecotourism , Saltwater fly fishing , Bonefish fisheries Catch effort
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192174 , vital:45202
- Description: The Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO) islands of Mauritius and Seychelles are both highly dependent on tourism and fisheries for their economies. One of the growing ecotourism sectors is saltwater fly fishing, an industry based on catch-and-release fishing for a host of species, including bonefishes. Bonefishes (Albula spp.) have received significant research attention in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, with only sporadic research conducted in the Indian Ocean. My project aimed to investigate the genetic connectivity of the roundjaw bonefish (Albula glossodonta) in two island states (Seychelles and Mauritius) within the SWIO using a mitochondrial genetic marker (cyt-b) and next generation sequencing (ddRADseq). Samples collected were grouped based on their spatial distribution. The Seychelles consisted of four island groups (Inner Island Group, Aldabra Group, Amirantes and Alphonse Group, and Farquhar Group) whereas Mauritius was represented by one island group (Saint Brandon). Genetic analyses were undertaken between and within each of these groups. Mitochondrial cytochrome-b identified two species of bonefish: Albula glossodonta and Albula oligolepis; the latter was only genetically identified from the Inner Island Group. I hypothesise that this is due to habitat partitioning, with A. oligolepis being a deeper dwelling bonefish species compared to A. glossodonta, which occupies shallow water habitats such as sand flats, atoll lagoons and reef flats. Neutral SNP loci revealed a panmictic pattern of distribution for A. glossodonta throughout the Seychelles Island groups but showed a pattern of weak structure between Seychelles and Mauritius. Genetic diversity indices such as allelic richness, showed low diversity across the sampling sites (AR range: 1.761-1.889). Population structure tests such as pairwise FST showed low but significant population structure. The highest FST indices were recorded between the Aldabra and Farquhar Groups, as well as the Aldabra and Saint Brandon Groups (0.044 ± 0.000 and 0.040 ± 0.000, respectively). Descriptive tests such as PCA and DAPC showed similar trends, whereby Saint Brandon clustered separately from the other samples from the Seychelles Island groups. However, these trends were Abstract seen at very low variations (PCA axes 1 and 2 accounted for only 2.0 and 1.9 % of the total variation, respectively). A population assignment test grouped the individuals as one ancestral population. A spatial principal component analysis showed that Saint Brandon was dissimilar to the Seychelles Island groups. Like other Elopomorph species, bonefishes have leptocephalus larvae capable of long-distance dispersal which may explain the well-mixed genetic population observed within the Seychelles islands. Although currents within the Indian Ocean, especially on a mesoscale, are not well understood, the South Equatorial Current likely facilitates connectivity between the Seychelles islands while also limiting gene flow between Seychelles and Mauritius. Understanding population structure is important for informing the appropriate management and conservation strategies, especially in oceanic nations where data informing important industries like tourism and fisheries are often limited. The bonefish fly fishing industry is well-known to be a lucrative sector, generating, for example US$ 1.4 million a year in the Bahamas. This study recognised that there are numerous knowledge gaps relevant to the bonefish industry that need to be addressed, including: 1) understanding the socio-economic importance of fly fishing to island states like Seychelles, 2) estimating the abundance and species distribution of bonefishes within Seychelles, 3) understanding effectiveness of MPAs for recreational fishery species like bonefish and, lastly, 4) generating more fishery-relevant biological information on the heavily targeted fly fishing species within Seychelles. These needs must be met to inform management plans and to better manage the fly fishing ventures that target species like bonefish. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Hermēs Dolios: Performances of Hermes as trickster in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes
- Authors: Nel, Aiden Pieter
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Hermes (Greek deity) , Hymn to Hermes , Tricksters in literature , Loki (Norse deity) , Hynes, William J , Doty, William G, 1939-J , Wakdjunkaga (Winnebago Trickster) , Ture (Zande Trickster)
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190978 , vital:45046
- Description: This thesis explores the Greek god Hermes' representation in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes to establish the extent to which he partakes in Hynes' defined set of characteristics associated with mythological 'trickster' figures. Hermes is an unorthodox figure as although he embodies many aspects of the trickster, he willingly relinquishes some of these aspects within his hymn. I first outline and explore the trickster phenomenon and the complex methodological issue concerning global comparison. Hynes’ criteria are first applied to three other tricksters the Amerindian (Winnebago) trickster Wakdjunkaga, the central African (Azande) trickster Ture and the northern European (Norse) trickster Loki, which establishes a baseline that will help determine how Hermes conforms to this typology. All three figures’ cultural contexts are first addressed, as the cultural context is key in understanding a figure’s potential inclusion in the trickster category. I then explore Hermes’ performances within his hymn and other genres to formulate how his patron powers and actions relate to his designation as a trickster. I argue, in conclusion, that Hynes’ typology is a useful tool in determining any figure’s degree of ‘tricksterness’ and show that Hermes and the other three figures do embody Hynes’ characteristics. Each, however, embodies them differently and in a specific manner. I argue that the manner in which they relate to the criteria is dictated by their respective cultural contexts, and what their narrators intended to illustrate through the stories wherein tricksters reside. I further argue that narrative intent, genre and cultural context appear to be the main factors that mould each respective figure. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Nel, Aiden Pieter
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Hermes (Greek deity) , Hymn to Hermes , Tricksters in literature , Loki (Norse deity) , Hynes, William J , Doty, William G, 1939-J , Wakdjunkaga (Winnebago Trickster) , Ture (Zande Trickster)
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190978 , vital:45046
- Description: This thesis explores the Greek god Hermes' representation in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes to establish the extent to which he partakes in Hynes' defined set of characteristics associated with mythological 'trickster' figures. Hermes is an unorthodox figure as although he embodies many aspects of the trickster, he willingly relinquishes some of these aspects within his hymn. I first outline and explore the trickster phenomenon and the complex methodological issue concerning global comparison. Hynes’ criteria are first applied to three other tricksters the Amerindian (Winnebago) trickster Wakdjunkaga, the central African (Azande) trickster Ture and the northern European (Norse) trickster Loki, which establishes a baseline that will help determine how Hermes conforms to this typology. All three figures’ cultural contexts are first addressed, as the cultural context is key in understanding a figure’s potential inclusion in the trickster category. I then explore Hermes’ performances within his hymn and other genres to formulate how his patron powers and actions relate to his designation as a trickster. I argue, in conclusion, that Hynes’ typology is a useful tool in determining any figure’s degree of ‘tricksterness’ and show that Hermes and the other three figures do embody Hynes’ characteristics. Each, however, embodies them differently and in a specific manner. I argue that the manner in which they relate to the criteria is dictated by their respective cultural contexts, and what their narrators intended to illustrate through the stories wherein tricksters reside. I further argue that narrative intent, genre and cultural context appear to be the main factors that mould each respective figure. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Hop-mediated alteration of cellular metabolism in KSHV infection
- Authors: Kirigin, Elisa
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192477 , vital:45229
- Description: Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Kirigin, Elisa
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192477 , vital:45229
- Description: Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
In silico identification of natural inhibitory compounds against the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Enzyme Pyrazinamidase using high-throughput virtual screening techniques
- Authors: Kenyon, Thomas
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Mycobacterium tuberculosis , Pyrazinamide , Molecular dynamics , High throughput screening (Drug development) , Mutagenesis , South African Natural Compounds database (SANCDB)
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192074 , vital:45193
- Description: Tuberculosis (TB) is most commonly a pulmonary infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. With the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic, TB was the most common cause of death due to an infectious disease for a number of years up until 2020. In 2019, 10 million people fell ill with TB worldwide and 1.4 million people died (WHO, 2020a). Additionally, multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. A global total of 206 030 people with multidrug- or rifampicin-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB) were reported in 2019, a 10% increase from 186 883 in 2018. South Africa is ranked among the 48 high TB burden countries, with an estimated 360 000 people falling ill in 2019, resulting in 58 000 deaths, the majority of which being among people living with HIV. Unlike HIV, however, TB is a curable disease when managed correctly with long durations of antitubercular chemotherapy. Pyrazinamide (PZA) is an important first-line tuberculosis drug unique for its activity against latent TB. PZA is a prodrug, being converted into its active form, pyrazinoic acid (POA) by the Mtb gene pncA, coding for the pyrazinamidase enzyme (PZase). TB resistance to first-line drugs such as PZA is commonly associated with mutations in the pncA/PZase enzyme. This study aimed to identify potential novel inhibitors that bind to the active site of PZase. By making use of molecular docking studies and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, high throughput virtual screening was performed on 623 compounds from the South African Natural Compounds database (SANCDB; https://sancdb.rubi.ru.ac.za). Ligands that selectively bound to the PZase active site were identified using docking studies, followed by MD simulations to assess ligand-PZase complex stability, Finally, hit compounds identified from the first round of MD simulations were screened again against PZase structures with high confidence point mutations known to infer PZA resistance in order to identify any novel compounds which had inhibitory potential against both WT and mutant forms of the PZase enzyme. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Kenyon, Thomas
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Mycobacterium tuberculosis , Pyrazinamide , Molecular dynamics , High throughput screening (Drug development) , Mutagenesis , South African Natural Compounds database (SANCDB)
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192074 , vital:45193
- Description: Tuberculosis (TB) is most commonly a pulmonary infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. With the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic, TB was the most common cause of death due to an infectious disease for a number of years up until 2020. In 2019, 10 million people fell ill with TB worldwide and 1.4 million people died (WHO, 2020a). Additionally, multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. A global total of 206 030 people with multidrug- or rifampicin-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB) were reported in 2019, a 10% increase from 186 883 in 2018. South Africa is ranked among the 48 high TB burden countries, with an estimated 360 000 people falling ill in 2019, resulting in 58 000 deaths, the majority of which being among people living with HIV. Unlike HIV, however, TB is a curable disease when managed correctly with long durations of antitubercular chemotherapy. Pyrazinamide (PZA) is an important first-line tuberculosis drug unique for its activity against latent TB. PZA is a prodrug, being converted into its active form, pyrazinoic acid (POA) by the Mtb gene pncA, coding for the pyrazinamidase enzyme (PZase). TB resistance to first-line drugs such as PZA is commonly associated with mutations in the pncA/PZase enzyme. This study aimed to identify potential novel inhibitors that bind to the active site of PZase. By making use of molecular docking studies and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, high throughput virtual screening was performed on 623 compounds from the South African Natural Compounds database (SANCDB; https://sancdb.rubi.ru.ac.za). Ligands that selectively bound to the PZase active site were identified using docking studies, followed by MD simulations to assess ligand-PZase complex stability, Finally, hit compounds identified from the first round of MD simulations were screened again against PZase structures with high confidence point mutations known to infer PZA resistance in order to identify any novel compounds which had inhibitory potential against both WT and mutant forms of the PZase enzyme. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Inkcitha nzila nobomi obutsha (The release of the widow and life after mourning): Xhosa widows and citizenship
- Jimlongo, Gcotyelwa Nomxolisi
- Authors: Jimlongo, Gcotyelwa Nomxolisi
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Widows South Africa Eastern Cape , Women, Black South Africa Eastern Cape , Xhosa (African people) South Africa Eastern Cape , Widows Social conditions , Widowhood Psychological aspects South Africa Eastern Cape , Widowhood Economic aspects South Africa Eastern Cape , Widowhood Social aspects South Africa Eastern Cape , Mourning customs South Africa Eastern Cape , Feminist economics South Africa Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192220 , vital:45206
- Description: This study examines the everyday conceptions and navigations of citizenship by Xhosa widows. It examines widows’ own understandings and experiences of citizenship once the official mourning period, known amongst amaXhosa as ukuzila, has ended. The study draws from 14 interviews with Xhosa widows from the Amalinda, Tsholomnqa, Mdantsane, Magcumeni, KwaNonkcampa, and Dimbaza areas in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. This thesis contextualises claims to widowhood in the context of democratic South Africa, and the various ways in which widowed women conceptualise their lives after ukuzila. While ukuzila itself is written about in the literature, the contentious claims to widowhood and the ways in which women come to make sense of their lives in the post-mourning period remains largely unexplored. Interviews were conducted with women who had undertaken customary and/or civil marriages, had divorced or separated from their partners, or had cohabited. They reveal that widowhood is tenuous and as such, remains contested and contestable. The study demonstrates that much of the claims to widowhood are made because of the undeniable labour that women perform during the partnerships, where they are the primary economic providers. The study shows that whether in the formal and informal sector, women have been central in building the economic livelihoods of their families. In the post-mourning period, the theme of ukuhlala (to stay) that is articulated by widows, shows that they choose to remain in their marital homes to protect what they have laboured for. The findings demonstrate that the key to ‘good’ widowhood is intricately linked to ‘good’ motherhood. For Xhosa widows, much of their decision-making, and livelihood strategies, rests on how they craft good livelihoods for their families. These include a negotiation of feminist economies with woman-centred networks, a reliance on spirituality, as well as negotiations for dignity and respect within the homestead through the protection and maintenance of what they have built over the years. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Political and International Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Jimlongo, Gcotyelwa Nomxolisi
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Widows South Africa Eastern Cape , Women, Black South Africa Eastern Cape , Xhosa (African people) South Africa Eastern Cape , Widows Social conditions , Widowhood Psychological aspects South Africa Eastern Cape , Widowhood Economic aspects South Africa Eastern Cape , Widowhood Social aspects South Africa Eastern Cape , Mourning customs South Africa Eastern Cape , Feminist economics South Africa Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192220 , vital:45206
- Description: This study examines the everyday conceptions and navigations of citizenship by Xhosa widows. It examines widows’ own understandings and experiences of citizenship once the official mourning period, known amongst amaXhosa as ukuzila, has ended. The study draws from 14 interviews with Xhosa widows from the Amalinda, Tsholomnqa, Mdantsane, Magcumeni, KwaNonkcampa, and Dimbaza areas in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. This thesis contextualises claims to widowhood in the context of democratic South Africa, and the various ways in which widowed women conceptualise their lives after ukuzila. While ukuzila itself is written about in the literature, the contentious claims to widowhood and the ways in which women come to make sense of their lives in the post-mourning period remains largely unexplored. Interviews were conducted with women who had undertaken customary and/or civil marriages, had divorced or separated from their partners, or had cohabited. They reveal that widowhood is tenuous and as such, remains contested and contestable. The study demonstrates that much of the claims to widowhood are made because of the undeniable labour that women perform during the partnerships, where they are the primary economic providers. The study shows that whether in the formal and informal sector, women have been central in building the economic livelihoods of their families. In the post-mourning period, the theme of ukuhlala (to stay) that is articulated by widows, shows that they choose to remain in their marital homes to protect what they have laboured for. The findings demonstrate that the key to ‘good’ widowhood is intricately linked to ‘good’ motherhood. For Xhosa widows, much of their decision-making, and livelihood strategies, rests on how they craft good livelihoods for their families. These include a negotiation of feminist economies with woman-centred networks, a reliance on spirituality, as well as negotiations for dignity and respect within the homestead through the protection and maintenance of what they have built over the years. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Political and International Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Integration of dual metallophthalocyanine catalysis and green energy for sustainable oxidative removal of endocrine disrupting compounds
- Authors: Kruid, Jan
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192820 , vital:45267
- Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Biotechnology Innovation Centre, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Kruid, Jan
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192820 , vital:45267
- Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Biotechnology Innovation Centre, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Investigation of microbial fuel cell technologies for flexible, small-scale domestic and educational use
- Authors: Mpofu, Trisha Lerato
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192539 , vital:45235
- Description: Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biotechnology Innovation Centre, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Mpofu, Trisha Lerato
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192539 , vital:45235
- Description: Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biotechnology Innovation Centre, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Language and the Thing in Itself in the fiction of John Banville
- Authors: Payne, Jessica Raechel
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Banville, John Criticism and interpretation , English literature 20th century History and criticism , Language and languages in literature , Narrative inquiry (Research method) , Hermeneutics , Excess (Philosophy) , Literary criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190019 , vital:44956
- Description: This thesis consists of an exploration of the interaction between language and the thing in itself in the fiction of John Banville. The thing in itself is that which exceeds the text and to which it cannot refer, even as it is compelled to do so. In exploring this tension, the thesis focuses on how Banville’s writing, in foregrounding the inadequacy of the literary text, makes the reader aware of the existence of what exceeds it. Each of the chapters in the study examines the various strategies through which Banville gestures beyond the text in spite of the limitations placed upon him by form and genre. The first chapter studies the tendency in this writer’s texts to view death as an apotheosis of the soul in which the individual finally has access to the thing in itself, which they had previously encountered as infants before entering language. The second chapter examines how elements of Romantic thought, such as nostalgia, the seniority of the child over the adult and a particular impression of the natural world, contribute to Banville’s attempt to gesture towards the thing in itself. In the third chapter, the role of language in distorting one’s understanding of the other is examined. The final chapter of the thesis examines the narrative strategies (including mise en abyme, ekphrasis, metaphor and catachresis) Banville uses in order to present the reader with excess. Ultimately, this study suggests that Banville uses various narrative strategies to make his reader aware of that which exists outside of the text. By gesturing beyond the novel to the sublime, and by self-reflexively exposing the inner workings of the writing process to the reader, Banville’s texts confront the reader with an intimation of ineluctable excess. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Literary Studies in English, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Payne, Jessica Raechel
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Banville, John Criticism and interpretation , English literature 20th century History and criticism , Language and languages in literature , Narrative inquiry (Research method) , Hermeneutics , Excess (Philosophy) , Literary criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190019 , vital:44956
- Description: This thesis consists of an exploration of the interaction between language and the thing in itself in the fiction of John Banville. The thing in itself is that which exceeds the text and to which it cannot refer, even as it is compelled to do so. In exploring this tension, the thesis focuses on how Banville’s writing, in foregrounding the inadequacy of the literary text, makes the reader aware of the existence of what exceeds it. Each of the chapters in the study examines the various strategies through which Banville gestures beyond the text in spite of the limitations placed upon him by form and genre. The first chapter studies the tendency in this writer’s texts to view death as an apotheosis of the soul in which the individual finally has access to the thing in itself, which they had previously encountered as infants before entering language. The second chapter examines how elements of Romantic thought, such as nostalgia, the seniority of the child over the adult and a particular impression of the natural world, contribute to Banville’s attempt to gesture towards the thing in itself. In the third chapter, the role of language in distorting one’s understanding of the other is examined. The final chapter of the thesis examines the narrative strategies (including mise en abyme, ekphrasis, metaphor and catachresis) Banville uses in order to present the reader with excess. Ultimately, this study suggests that Banville uses various narrative strategies to make his reader aware of that which exists outside of the text. By gesturing beyond the novel to the sublime, and by self-reflexively exposing the inner workings of the writing process to the reader, Banville’s texts confront the reader with an intimation of ineluctable excess. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Literary Studies in English, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Media consumption and identity formation: the consumption of Latin American telenovelas in two neighbourhoods of Maputo in Mozambique
- Authors: Ofumane, Alvo Naftal
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Television soap operas Mozambique Maputo , Identity (Psychology) and mass media Mozambique Maputo , Television soap operas History and criticism , Visual reception theory Mozambique Maputo , Mozambique Politics and government , Mozambique Social conditions , Mozambique Social life and customs
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192287 , vital:45212
- Description: This study explores how the residents of two neighbourhoods in Maputo, KaMaxakeni and KaMpfumo interact with and make meanings of (Latin American) telenovelas, as part of their identity formation process. It is guided by questions on how the residents of these two neighbourhoods interact with telenovelas in their daily lives; how this shapes their own values and understanding of themselves and the world in which they live; what aspects of telenovelas they value, and what meanings they make from them; and, finally, what determines their choices of media consumption. The study adopted reception theory, rooted in qualitative methodology. This approach explores the ‘insider’s’ perspective of the research subjects, taking the actors’ perspective as the empirical point of departure. Using a purposive theoretical sampling procedure, targeting those families who are avid viewers of telenovelas, the data were generated through participant observation, focus groups discussions, and individual interviews. To understand and interpret the interface between the telenovela (medium) and its viewers (audience) in Maputo, the study used qualitative thematic content analysis of the telenovelas viewing process by the residents of KaMpfumo and KaMaxakeni. The data show that the residents of KaMpfumo and KaMaxakeni in Maputo interact and make sense of the telenovelas in various ways. Telenovelas are used as an educational tool; they are used to reinforce daily life world practices; they s shape people’s personal character; they become another family presence; they are used to build or strengthen physical and virtual viewing networks, and, “Pure” telenovela viewing is a relatively rare occurrence. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Ofumane, Alvo Naftal
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Television soap operas Mozambique Maputo , Identity (Psychology) and mass media Mozambique Maputo , Television soap operas History and criticism , Visual reception theory Mozambique Maputo , Mozambique Politics and government , Mozambique Social conditions , Mozambique Social life and customs
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192287 , vital:45212
- Description: This study explores how the residents of two neighbourhoods in Maputo, KaMaxakeni and KaMpfumo interact with and make meanings of (Latin American) telenovelas, as part of their identity formation process. It is guided by questions on how the residents of these two neighbourhoods interact with telenovelas in their daily lives; how this shapes their own values and understanding of themselves and the world in which they live; what aspects of telenovelas they value, and what meanings they make from them; and, finally, what determines their choices of media consumption. The study adopted reception theory, rooted in qualitative methodology. This approach explores the ‘insider’s’ perspective of the research subjects, taking the actors’ perspective as the empirical point of departure. Using a purposive theoretical sampling procedure, targeting those families who are avid viewers of telenovelas, the data were generated through participant observation, focus groups discussions, and individual interviews. To understand and interpret the interface between the telenovela (medium) and its viewers (audience) in Maputo, the study used qualitative thematic content analysis of the telenovelas viewing process by the residents of KaMpfumo and KaMaxakeni. The data show that the residents of KaMpfumo and KaMaxakeni in Maputo interact and make sense of the telenovelas in various ways. Telenovelas are used as an educational tool; they are used to reinforce daily life world practices; they s shape people’s personal character; they become another family presence; they are used to build or strengthen physical and virtual viewing networks, and, “Pure” telenovela viewing is a relatively rare occurrence. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Mediating and examining expansive learning in the context of multidimensional complexities affecting household food security activity systems in Nyanyadzi Irrigation Scheme in the Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe
- Authors: Mukwambo, Robson
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Active learning Zimbabwe Chimanimani District , Food security Zimbabwe Chimanimani District , Sustainable agriculture Zimbabwe Chimanimani District , Irrigation farming Zimbabwe Chimanimani District , Qualitative research , Cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) , Nyanyadzi Irrigation Scheme
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192712 , vital:45253 , 10.21504/10962/192712
- Description: The study sought to mediate and examine expansive learning in the context of multidimensional complexities affecting household food security activity systems in Nyanyadzi Irrigation Scheme in Ward 8 of Chimanimani District in the Manicaland province of Zimbabwe. Therefore, the main foci of the study were to investigate how multidimensional complexities have come to be the way they are (historicizing) and how they enable or constrain learning of household food production. The study utilized Cultural Historical Activity Theory and the Expansive Learning Cycle (Engeström & Sannino, 2010) to examine and mediate collective learning in response to the multidimensional complexities and also to contribute to transforming the farmers’ activity systems towards more sustainable practices to ensure household food security. The study used a qualitative research approach, utilizing an insider formative intervention approach in a case study design in which Nyanyadzi irrigation scheme was the case study. I have adopted the insider formative interventionist role as a 3rd generation farmer, born and bred in Nyanyadzi area, and my family has been involved in the Nyanyadzi irrigation scheme for three generations. I see this as synergistic with the need for deep cultural understanding in CHAT research. However, this role also provided challenges for me to maintain a rigorous approach to the research in which I also reflexively review my own role and influence in the research process. Following CHAT expansive learning methodological guidance, data was generated through fifteen (15) face to face interviews with three generations of farmers in the scheme (historical ethnographic data); four focus group discussions (contemporary ethnographic data) and eight (8) sessions in a three (3) day change laboratory workshop (expansive learning data). Double stimulation and ‘mirror’ data was used to surface and prioritise responses to contradictions in the Change Laboratory Workshops (CLW), which is a methodology developed in and for CHAT research (ibid). The data was analysed using both inductive and abductive approaches and were conducted in a three-phased process focusing firstly on the history of the object, followed by current perspectives on the object of activity and lastly on transformations emerging in the object of activity via the expansive learning process. Cultural Historical Activity Theoretical tools informed activity system analysis and analysis of the history of the object and emerging contradictions; and the expansive learning cycle (ELP) process framework associated with and emergent from CHAT was used to analyse the emergence of transformative agency and expansion of the object. Four levels of contradictions were used to describe and explain the emergent contradictions namely, primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary contradictions and are presented in this sequence as catalytic opportunities for expansive learning as proposed in CHAT. In addition, the four types of discursive manifestations of contradictions namely, dilemma, conflict, critical conflict and double bind were used to describe and explain the manifestations of contradictions in this study and their role in catalysing transformative agency. The concept of linguistic cues for discursive manifestations of contradictions was adopted and employed in the preliminary data analysis phase. In addition, the transformative agency expressions and zone of proximal development (ZPD) concept was applied in and to the CLW data to examine the learning pathways and to co-develop and expand farmers’ and other stakeholders’ transformative agency and ZPD respectively. I found myself as formative insider researcher having to take on a strong role as co-engaged researcher / participant in the irrigation scheme expansive learning process. The study concluded that the farmers’ activity system is the central activity system and it interacts with other activity systems on a partially shared object “improved crop production and marketing under irrigation scheme”. Through interactions with other neighbouring activity systems, the farmers have faced multidimensional complexities that constrain their ability to fully realise their object. These multidimensional complexities manifest in three critical contradictions as a critical conflict in leadership and management crisis; a dilemma and double bind in a lack of farmer education and training; and lastly, a dilemma and double bind in poor crop marketing. These multidimensional complexities have a historical account and they have evolved in complexity over time and I argue in the thesis that, a careful cultural-historicity of the object of activity and mediation of the situated learning can help to collectively come up with solutions to these multidimensional complexities. The study further concluded that despite these multidimensional complexities in the scheme, learning has been taking place and such learning was sometimes mediated through demonstrations as “learning by doing,” “seeing is believing” and the “winners and losers” concept. Furthermore, through the CLW process the farmers and other stakeholders’ cognitive horizons were expanded by the mirror data and double stimulation processes, and the expansive learning process developed their individual and collective transformative agency pathways and expanded their collective zone of proximal development. In this study I argue that there has been little said about collective learning in irrigation schemes and given the dearth of detail on such learning, it seems that this learning is either going unnoticed or is ignored. Hence, I further argued that the multidimensional complexities in irrigation schemes are both a stimulant for learning and provide a space (object) for collective learning, as was also shown by Baloi (2016). The study also shows that the collective learning potential in these irrigation schemes can be pro-actively mediated via expansive learning formative interventions in support of improved crop production and marketing for produce developed under irrigation in irrigation schemes such as the Nyanyadzi Irrigation scheme. Lastly, being an insider formative interventionist researcher in this study, with intergenerational engagement and perspective on the history of the object and integrational engagement with the transforming object, I became part of the intergenerational transformation of the irrigation scheme’s object. The intergenerational co-construction of the history of the object, coupled with the insider formative interventionist researcher approach opened up and allowed me as a current generation agent or actor to develop an in-depth understanding of the multidimensional nature and historicity of the object. This was crucial for opening up the transformative agency pathways. It also produced a responsibility for me as an insider formative interventionist researcher to carry the summative findings of the study back into the social context to widen the engagement and mediation of the transformation needed in the community. Overall not only does the study offer an intergenerational perspective on multidimensional complexities of the object and how this can generatively be mobilised via expansive learning into emerging transformative learning agency pathways, but it also offers a new vantage point on the role of the insider formative interventionist researcher. Through this, the study offers insight into how we as third generation members of the community can be brought closer to our communities through the application of our skills, thereby also offering a new type of engaged and rigorously framed and executed research with roots in our communities. As shown in this study, not only does this expand the knowledge and experience of those we engage with, but it also expands our own knowledge and expertise in order to be more able to contribute to both the challenges of our own communities but also that of other communities and situations similar to ours, and beyond these bounded contexts. The study’s contribution is both practical, but also methodological from this vantage point, especially in an African context where there is much critique of ‘outsider research’, yet little pro-active articulation of what insider (in this case, formative intervention) research may look like. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, Education, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Mukwambo, Robson
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Active learning Zimbabwe Chimanimani District , Food security Zimbabwe Chimanimani District , Sustainable agriculture Zimbabwe Chimanimani District , Irrigation farming Zimbabwe Chimanimani District , Qualitative research , Cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) , Nyanyadzi Irrigation Scheme
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192712 , vital:45253 , 10.21504/10962/192712
- Description: The study sought to mediate and examine expansive learning in the context of multidimensional complexities affecting household food security activity systems in Nyanyadzi Irrigation Scheme in Ward 8 of Chimanimani District in the Manicaland province of Zimbabwe. Therefore, the main foci of the study were to investigate how multidimensional complexities have come to be the way they are (historicizing) and how they enable or constrain learning of household food production. The study utilized Cultural Historical Activity Theory and the Expansive Learning Cycle (Engeström & Sannino, 2010) to examine and mediate collective learning in response to the multidimensional complexities and also to contribute to transforming the farmers’ activity systems towards more sustainable practices to ensure household food security. The study used a qualitative research approach, utilizing an insider formative intervention approach in a case study design in which Nyanyadzi irrigation scheme was the case study. I have adopted the insider formative interventionist role as a 3rd generation farmer, born and bred in Nyanyadzi area, and my family has been involved in the Nyanyadzi irrigation scheme for three generations. I see this as synergistic with the need for deep cultural understanding in CHAT research. However, this role also provided challenges for me to maintain a rigorous approach to the research in which I also reflexively review my own role and influence in the research process. Following CHAT expansive learning methodological guidance, data was generated through fifteen (15) face to face interviews with three generations of farmers in the scheme (historical ethnographic data); four focus group discussions (contemporary ethnographic data) and eight (8) sessions in a three (3) day change laboratory workshop (expansive learning data). Double stimulation and ‘mirror’ data was used to surface and prioritise responses to contradictions in the Change Laboratory Workshops (CLW), which is a methodology developed in and for CHAT research (ibid). The data was analysed using both inductive and abductive approaches and were conducted in a three-phased process focusing firstly on the history of the object, followed by current perspectives on the object of activity and lastly on transformations emerging in the object of activity via the expansive learning process. Cultural Historical Activity Theoretical tools informed activity system analysis and analysis of the history of the object and emerging contradictions; and the expansive learning cycle (ELP) process framework associated with and emergent from CHAT was used to analyse the emergence of transformative agency and expansion of the object. Four levels of contradictions were used to describe and explain the emergent contradictions namely, primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary contradictions and are presented in this sequence as catalytic opportunities for expansive learning as proposed in CHAT. In addition, the four types of discursive manifestations of contradictions namely, dilemma, conflict, critical conflict and double bind were used to describe and explain the manifestations of contradictions in this study and their role in catalysing transformative agency. The concept of linguistic cues for discursive manifestations of contradictions was adopted and employed in the preliminary data analysis phase. In addition, the transformative agency expressions and zone of proximal development (ZPD) concept was applied in and to the CLW data to examine the learning pathways and to co-develop and expand farmers’ and other stakeholders’ transformative agency and ZPD respectively. I found myself as formative insider researcher having to take on a strong role as co-engaged researcher / participant in the irrigation scheme expansive learning process. The study concluded that the farmers’ activity system is the central activity system and it interacts with other activity systems on a partially shared object “improved crop production and marketing under irrigation scheme”. Through interactions with other neighbouring activity systems, the farmers have faced multidimensional complexities that constrain their ability to fully realise their object. These multidimensional complexities manifest in three critical contradictions as a critical conflict in leadership and management crisis; a dilemma and double bind in a lack of farmer education and training; and lastly, a dilemma and double bind in poor crop marketing. These multidimensional complexities have a historical account and they have evolved in complexity over time and I argue in the thesis that, a careful cultural-historicity of the object of activity and mediation of the situated learning can help to collectively come up with solutions to these multidimensional complexities. The study further concluded that despite these multidimensional complexities in the scheme, learning has been taking place and such learning was sometimes mediated through demonstrations as “learning by doing,” “seeing is believing” and the “winners and losers” concept. Furthermore, through the CLW process the farmers and other stakeholders’ cognitive horizons were expanded by the mirror data and double stimulation processes, and the expansive learning process developed their individual and collective transformative agency pathways and expanded their collective zone of proximal development. In this study I argue that there has been little said about collective learning in irrigation schemes and given the dearth of detail on such learning, it seems that this learning is either going unnoticed or is ignored. Hence, I further argued that the multidimensional complexities in irrigation schemes are both a stimulant for learning and provide a space (object) for collective learning, as was also shown by Baloi (2016). The study also shows that the collective learning potential in these irrigation schemes can be pro-actively mediated via expansive learning formative interventions in support of improved crop production and marketing for produce developed under irrigation in irrigation schemes such as the Nyanyadzi Irrigation scheme. Lastly, being an insider formative interventionist researcher in this study, with intergenerational engagement and perspective on the history of the object and integrational engagement with the transforming object, I became part of the intergenerational transformation of the irrigation scheme’s object. The intergenerational co-construction of the history of the object, coupled with the insider formative interventionist researcher approach opened up and allowed me as a current generation agent or actor to develop an in-depth understanding of the multidimensional nature and historicity of the object. This was crucial for opening up the transformative agency pathways. It also produced a responsibility for me as an insider formative interventionist researcher to carry the summative findings of the study back into the social context to widen the engagement and mediation of the transformation needed in the community. Overall not only does the study offer an intergenerational perspective on multidimensional complexities of the object and how this can generatively be mobilised via expansive learning into emerging transformative learning agency pathways, but it also offers a new vantage point on the role of the insider formative interventionist researcher. Through this, the study offers insight into how we as third generation members of the community can be brought closer to our communities through the application of our skills, thereby also offering a new type of engaged and rigorously framed and executed research with roots in our communities. As shown in this study, not only does this expand the knowledge and experience of those we engage with, but it also expands our own knowledge and expertise in order to be more able to contribute to both the challenges of our own communities but also that of other communities and situations similar to ours, and beyond these bounded contexts. The study’s contribution is both practical, but also methodological from this vantage point, especially in an African context where there is much critique of ‘outsider research’, yet little pro-active articulation of what insider (in this case, formative intervention) research may look like. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, Education, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Mental Health Professionals’ Gender-Sensitivity and Responsiveness to the Genderqueer population in Substance Use Disorder Treatment: A Systematic Review
- Authors: Maseko, Moosa Lorenzo
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Gender nonconformity , Substance abuse , Mental health personnel , Gender-nonconforming people Counseling of , Discrimination in mental health services , Joanna Briggs Institute’s systematic review method
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190133 , vital:44966
- Description: Background: The prevalence of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) amongst the genderqueer population is a huge concern in the public mental health system. The genderqueer population’s help-seeking barriers have been attributed to SUD treatment centre’s questionable ability to be responsive to the unique mental health needs of genderqueer individuals. Aim: The aim of this study is to conduct a systematic review on mental healthcare workers‟ responsiveness and gender-sensitivity towards the genderqueer population in SUD treatment centres. Methods: Employing the Joanna Briggs Institute’s (JBIs) systematic review method, 25 qualitative articles were included in this study. A thematic analysis was used to examine the data. Results: The analysis revealed that SUD treatment centres are experienced as discriminatory and unreceptive by the genderqueer population due to several barriers. The barriers identified were structural, financial, personal, cultural and the use of a heterosexual framework to treat SUD which led to abuse, isolation, and stigma. Mental healthcare providers lack skills in working with genderqueer individuals as well as a lack of knowledge on genderqueer related needs. Lack of gender sensitivity affects genderqueer individuals in accessing SUD treatment centres and the progress they make. This magnified the need and importance of specialised gender-responsive and gender-sensitive training in working with genderqueer individuals. Twelve interventions to address the areas of difficulty were identified. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Maseko, Moosa Lorenzo
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Gender nonconformity , Substance abuse , Mental health personnel , Gender-nonconforming people Counseling of , Discrimination in mental health services , Joanna Briggs Institute’s systematic review method
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190133 , vital:44966
- Description: Background: The prevalence of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) amongst the genderqueer population is a huge concern in the public mental health system. The genderqueer population’s help-seeking barriers have been attributed to SUD treatment centre’s questionable ability to be responsive to the unique mental health needs of genderqueer individuals. Aim: The aim of this study is to conduct a systematic review on mental healthcare workers‟ responsiveness and gender-sensitivity towards the genderqueer population in SUD treatment centres. Methods: Employing the Joanna Briggs Institute’s (JBIs) systematic review method, 25 qualitative articles were included in this study. A thematic analysis was used to examine the data. Results: The analysis revealed that SUD treatment centres are experienced as discriminatory and unreceptive by the genderqueer population due to several barriers. The barriers identified were structural, financial, personal, cultural and the use of a heterosexual framework to treat SUD which led to abuse, isolation, and stigma. Mental healthcare providers lack skills in working with genderqueer individuals as well as a lack of knowledge on genderqueer related needs. Lack of gender sensitivity affects genderqueer individuals in accessing SUD treatment centres and the progress they make. This magnified the need and importance of specialised gender-responsive and gender-sensitive training in working with genderqueer individuals. Twelve interventions to address the areas of difficulty were identified. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29