Resilient or resigned? Criminal victimisation and quality of life in South Africa
- Authors: Moller, Valerie
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:7113 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010746
- Description: A victimisation study conducted among 3300 householders in South Africa’s Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (NMMM) in the Eastern Cape Province aimed to inform a crime prevention strategy for the metropolitan area. The study found that the variables ‘fear of crime’ – measured in terms of perceived likelihood of victimisation – and concern about ‘personal safety’ had greater negative influence on life satisfaction than actual victimisation. Individual crimes against the person had greater negative influence on subjective wellbeing and feelings of personal safety than property and other household crimes. Individuals who perceived themselves to be at risk of becoming a victim of crime also perceived greater risk of other misfortunes. However, materially better-off victims reported higher levels of life satisfaction than non-victims in spite of their crime experience. South Africa has high crime rates by international standards and fighting crime presents the country with one of its major challenges in the second decade of democracy. Nevertheless, findings suggest that the negative impact of crime issues on achieving the good life are overshadowed by issues of racial inequalities and poverty. The conclusion is drawn that residents of Nelson Mandela Metropole are hardy when it comes to living with crime but nonetheless suffer stress in doing so. From a methodological perspective, the discussion considers whether subjective crime issues such as fear of crime and personal safety should be regarded as personal or neighbourhood quality-of-life issues. Based on survey findings, the conclusion is drawn that concern for personal safety is both. However, a crime-as neighbourhood-issue is more likely to attract remedial action on the part of local authorities to better protect citizens and allay their fears of crime.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Moller, Valerie
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:7113 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010746
- Description: A victimisation study conducted among 3300 householders in South Africa’s Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (NMMM) in the Eastern Cape Province aimed to inform a crime prevention strategy for the metropolitan area. The study found that the variables ‘fear of crime’ – measured in terms of perceived likelihood of victimisation – and concern about ‘personal safety’ had greater negative influence on life satisfaction than actual victimisation. Individual crimes against the person had greater negative influence on subjective wellbeing and feelings of personal safety than property and other household crimes. Individuals who perceived themselves to be at risk of becoming a victim of crime also perceived greater risk of other misfortunes. However, materially better-off victims reported higher levels of life satisfaction than non-victims in spite of their crime experience. South Africa has high crime rates by international standards and fighting crime presents the country with one of its major challenges in the second decade of democracy. Nevertheless, findings suggest that the negative impact of crime issues on achieving the good life are overshadowed by issues of racial inequalities and poverty. The conclusion is drawn that residents of Nelson Mandela Metropole are hardy when it comes to living with crime but nonetheless suffer stress in doing so. From a methodological perspective, the discussion considers whether subjective crime issues such as fear of crime and personal safety should be regarded as personal or neighbourhood quality-of-life issues. Based on survey findings, the conclusion is drawn that concern for personal safety is both. However, a crime-as neighbourhood-issue is more likely to attract remedial action on the part of local authorities to better protect citizens and allay their fears of crime.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Selecting medicinal plants for cultivation at Nqabara on the Eastern Cape Wild Coast, South Africa
- Keirungi, J, Fabricius, Christo
- Authors: Keirungi, J , Fabricius, Christo
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6637 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006862
- Description: [From introduction:] The intensive harvesting of medicinal plants for commercial trade in South Africa poses a threat to many species. Cultivation has therefore been considered as an alternative to collection in the wild. This paper aims to assess the feasibility of cultivating medicinal plants in the Nqabara Administrative Area on South Africa's Wild Coast. A combination of participatory and formal research methods was used to collect data on the importance of medicinal plants, collection localities, market prices, the time spent collecting plants and their ease of cultivation. The values attached to medicinal plants were mainly dependent on their market prices. Four of the five Nqabara traditional healers interviewed cultivated these plants in their home gardens, but many medicinal products were obtained in indigenous forests from the bark of large trees, which were unsuitable for cultivation. Collectors said that the proximity of forests to their homesteads and the richness of forests in medicinal plants influenced their selection of harvesting localities. There was no correlation between time spent collecting species and their market prices. These prices were, however, positively correlated with the species' perceived healing properties. Users acknowledged that harvesting had an adverse effect on large trees, are eager to cultivate them and are taking action to conserve indigenous forests. Community-based enterprises should focus on species that are easy to cultivate and have a high demand, such as Stangeria eriopus, Acalypha glabrata and Behnia reticulata but not Araujia sericifera, which is exotic and abundant. The main barriers to commercial cultivation are availability of suitable land, water, lack of start-up capital, and access to markets and to seeds. Cultivation of medicinal plants could contribute to the economic empowerment of women in rural areas.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Keirungi, J , Fabricius, Christo
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6637 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006862
- Description: [From introduction:] The intensive harvesting of medicinal plants for commercial trade in South Africa poses a threat to many species. Cultivation has therefore been considered as an alternative to collection in the wild. This paper aims to assess the feasibility of cultivating medicinal plants in the Nqabara Administrative Area on South Africa's Wild Coast. A combination of participatory and formal research methods was used to collect data on the importance of medicinal plants, collection localities, market prices, the time spent collecting plants and their ease of cultivation. The values attached to medicinal plants were mainly dependent on their market prices. Four of the five Nqabara traditional healers interviewed cultivated these plants in their home gardens, but many medicinal products were obtained in indigenous forests from the bark of large trees, which were unsuitable for cultivation. Collectors said that the proximity of forests to their homesteads and the richness of forests in medicinal plants influenced their selection of harvesting localities. There was no correlation between time spent collecting species and their market prices. These prices were, however, positively correlated with the species' perceived healing properties. Users acknowledged that harvesting had an adverse effect on large trees, are eager to cultivate them and are taking action to conserve indigenous forests. Community-based enterprises should focus on species that are easy to cultivate and have a high demand, such as Stangeria eriopus, Acalypha glabrata and Behnia reticulata but not Araujia sericifera, which is exotic and abundant. The main barriers to commercial cultivation are availability of suitable land, water, lack of start-up capital, and access to markets and to seeds. Cultivation of medicinal plants could contribute to the economic empowerment of women in rural areas.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Situated culture, ethics and new learning theory: emerging perspectives in environmental education research
- Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6095 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008617
- Description: Celebrating the 8th International Invitational Research and Development Seminar. This edition of the EEASA Journal celebrates the hosting of the 8th International Invitational Research and Development Seminar on Environmental and Health Education in South Africa in March 2005. The International Invitational Research and Development Seminars are ‘special events’ in the field of environmental and health education research. They are characterised by their democratic, deliberative nature, and by their intent to scope innovation and methodological issues. First established some years ago in Copenhagen, Denmark, these seminars have provided an evolving international forum for researchers interested in research methodology to meet and frame new themes, trends and issues arising in the field of environmental education and health education research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6095 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008617
- Description: Celebrating the 8th International Invitational Research and Development Seminar. This edition of the EEASA Journal celebrates the hosting of the 8th International Invitational Research and Development Seminar on Environmental and Health Education in South Africa in March 2005. The International Invitational Research and Development Seminars are ‘special events’ in the field of environmental and health education research. They are characterised by their democratic, deliberative nature, and by their intent to scope innovation and methodological issues. First established some years ago in Copenhagen, Denmark, these seminars have provided an evolving international forum for researchers interested in research methodology to meet and frame new themes, trends and issues arising in the field of environmental education and health education research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Sperm morphology in four species of African platypleurine cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadomorpha: Cicadidae)
- Chawanji, A S, Hodgson, Alan N, Villet, Martin H
- Authors: Chawanji, A S , Hodgson, Alan N , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6917 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011880
- Description: Mature spermatozoa from four species of platypleurine cicadas (Albanycada albigera, Azanicada zuluensis, Platypleura capensis and P. hirtipennis) were examined by light and electron microscopy. The filiform sperm have a similar ultrastructure in all species but notable variations were found in sperm dimensions. All species produce more than one discrete length of nucleated, motile sperm, a form of polymorphism termed polymegaly. Polymegaly is expressed in two ways: sperm have bi- or trimodal head and tail lengths. The anterior parts of sperm heads are embedded in an elongate homogenous matrix forming a spermatodesm. The conical acrosome is deeply invaginated posteriorly, and sits on top of the nucleus. The acrosomal contents are differentiated internally with an electron-lucent central medulla and a denser cortex. The homogenously electron-dense nucleus is pointed anteriorly and is generally cylindrical, although posteriorly there is a lateral invagination that extends part-way along the nucleus. This invagination houses fine granular material of the centriolar adjunct. Vesicle-like elements that are associated with both the posterior nucleus and the centriolar adjunct are also found within the invagination. Immediately posterior of and adjoining the centriolar adjunct is a pair of mitochondrial derivatives that are elongated and extend for almost the entire length of the tail. The absence of accessory bodies in cicada sperm suggests that within the Cicadomorpha, the families Cicadidae and Cercopidae are closely affiliated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Chawanji, A S , Hodgson, Alan N , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6917 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011880
- Description: Mature spermatozoa from four species of platypleurine cicadas (Albanycada albigera, Azanicada zuluensis, Platypleura capensis and P. hirtipennis) were examined by light and electron microscopy. The filiform sperm have a similar ultrastructure in all species but notable variations were found in sperm dimensions. All species produce more than one discrete length of nucleated, motile sperm, a form of polymorphism termed polymegaly. Polymegaly is expressed in two ways: sperm have bi- or trimodal head and tail lengths. The anterior parts of sperm heads are embedded in an elongate homogenous matrix forming a spermatodesm. The conical acrosome is deeply invaginated posteriorly, and sits on top of the nucleus. The acrosomal contents are differentiated internally with an electron-lucent central medulla and a denser cortex. The homogenously electron-dense nucleus is pointed anteriorly and is generally cylindrical, although posteriorly there is a lateral invagination that extends part-way along the nucleus. This invagination houses fine granular material of the centriolar adjunct. Vesicle-like elements that are associated with both the posterior nucleus and the centriolar adjunct are also found within the invagination. Immediately posterior of and adjoining the centriolar adjunct is a pair of mitochondrial derivatives that are elongated and extend for almost the entire length of the tail. The absence of accessory bodies in cicada sperm suggests that within the Cicadomorpha, the families Cicadidae and Cercopidae are closely affiliated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Students’ engagement with learning theory
- Authors: Schudel, Ingrid J
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6093 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008615
- Description: This paper reflects on a module on ‘Teaching and Learning Interactions’, presented as part of the Rhodes University Advanced Certificate in Education (Environmental Education).The module is designed to help students use theoretical logic to enhance (not replace) their practical logic of how teaching and learning takes place. Data was analysed from three teaching and learning activities in the module. After the first participatory activity on water and sanitation, students narrated what teaching and learning had taken place using language available from their prior experiences. In a second activity students were introduced to explanations of learning, provided by learning theorists. In the third activity students analysed a case study, using a variety of questions relating to teaching and learning. They then had to consider these same questions in the light of a participatory on-course teaching and learning activity. The paper reflects on how students have used understandings of the nature of reality, the construction of knowledge, the use of language, situated learning, action competence and social change, in order to narrate their teaching and learning experiences on the ACE(EE) course. Through this, the paper trials a reflexive approach to the teaching of learning theory in environmental education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Schudel, Ingrid J
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6093 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008615
- Description: This paper reflects on a module on ‘Teaching and Learning Interactions’, presented as part of the Rhodes University Advanced Certificate in Education (Environmental Education).The module is designed to help students use theoretical logic to enhance (not replace) their practical logic of how teaching and learning takes place. Data was analysed from three teaching and learning activities in the module. After the first participatory activity on water and sanitation, students narrated what teaching and learning had taken place using language available from their prior experiences. In a second activity students were introduced to explanations of learning, provided by learning theorists. In the third activity students analysed a case study, using a variety of questions relating to teaching and learning. They then had to consider these same questions in the light of a participatory on-course teaching and learning activity. The paper reflects on how students have used understandings of the nature of reality, the construction of knowledge, the use of language, situated learning, action competence and social change, in order to narrate their teaching and learning experiences on the ACE(EE) course. Through this, the paper trials a reflexive approach to the teaching of learning theory in environmental education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Supply-side ecology of the brown mussel, Perna perna: an investigation of spatial and temporal variation in, and coupling between, gamete release and larval supply
- McQuaid, Christopher D, Lawrie, S M
- Authors: McQuaid, Christopher D , Lawrie, S M
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6954 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011987
- Description: Sampling of recruitment-associated variables of Perna perna was done approximately monthly for 14 months at intertidal locations 500 m apart, nested within sites 25 km apart. Paired with intertidal locations were nearshore locations, 600 m to sea. Sampling assessed spawning, densities of larvae in the water column and densities of late plantigrades and juveniles on the shore. Major events in each variable were synchronous over larger scales (10s of kilometres) while subsidiary events were synchronised at smaller scales, varying within sites (100s of metres) or even within locations (metres). This suggests that the processes driving major events operated over large scales while processes operating at much more local scales drove less intense, more localised events. A major spawning event occurred at all locations in May–June 1998. Weaker spawning events occurred at different times in different locations. Larvae were found on 80% of sampling occasions, densities peaking in January–March 1998 and 1999 at all locations. Plantigrades and juveniles showed less clear patterns, with considerable residual variation. There was no sign of strong coupling among variables with few significant direct or cross correlations. The major sources of variability shifted from time to space as one progressed from spawning, to plantigrade density to juvenile density. For spawning, time was the most important source (58%) of heterogeneity and space accounted for little (8%) of the total variance. For larvae and late plantigrades, time was still the most important source of variability (41% and 33%, respectively), but space was a much more substantial component. For juveniles, small-scale (residual) spatial variability dominated total variability (75%). This strongly suggests the importance of hydrography and its effects on variation in delivery of larvae to the intertidal from offshore. These findings also indicate greater spatial heterogeneity as recruits age, reflecting small-scale variations in larval delivery and the increasing importance of post-settlement mortality.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: McQuaid, Christopher D , Lawrie, S M
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6954 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011987
- Description: Sampling of recruitment-associated variables of Perna perna was done approximately monthly for 14 months at intertidal locations 500 m apart, nested within sites 25 km apart. Paired with intertidal locations were nearshore locations, 600 m to sea. Sampling assessed spawning, densities of larvae in the water column and densities of late plantigrades and juveniles on the shore. Major events in each variable were synchronous over larger scales (10s of kilometres) while subsidiary events were synchronised at smaller scales, varying within sites (100s of metres) or even within locations (metres). This suggests that the processes driving major events operated over large scales while processes operating at much more local scales drove less intense, more localised events. A major spawning event occurred at all locations in May–June 1998. Weaker spawning events occurred at different times in different locations. Larvae were found on 80% of sampling occasions, densities peaking in January–March 1998 and 1999 at all locations. Plantigrades and juveniles showed less clear patterns, with considerable residual variation. There was no sign of strong coupling among variables with few significant direct or cross correlations. The major sources of variability shifted from time to space as one progressed from spawning, to plantigrade density to juvenile density. For spawning, time was the most important source (58%) of heterogeneity and space accounted for little (8%) of the total variance. For larvae and late plantigrades, time was still the most important source of variability (41% and 33%, respectively), but space was a much more substantial component. For juveniles, small-scale (residual) spatial variability dominated total variability (75%). This strongly suggests the importance of hydrography and its effects on variation in delivery of larvae to the intertidal from offshore. These findings also indicate greater spatial heterogeneity as recruits age, reflecting small-scale variations in larval delivery and the increasing importance of post-settlement mortality.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Synthesis, spectral and electrochemical characterization of mercaptopyrimidine-substituted cobalt, manganese and Zn (II) phthalocyanine complexes
- Authors: Obirai, J , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6973 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018958
- Description: A new family of thiol-derivatized metallophthalocyanine has been synthesized. The electrochemical behaviors of the complexes have been investigated. The modified glassy carbon electrode using the electropolymerized manganese complex (poly-MnTMPyrPc) was characterized in aqueous solution. The result indicates that the complexes are easier to electropolymerize in dichloromethane (DCM) than in dimethylformamide (DMF). The poly-MnTPyrPc-modified electrode showed pH dependence within the pH range studied (2–8). The cathodic wave of the electrode showed more pH dependence than the anodic wave. Poly-MnTPyrPc could catalyse the reduction of oxygen. , Original publication is available at http://doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2004.12.003
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Obirai, J , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6973 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018958
- Description: A new family of thiol-derivatized metallophthalocyanine has been synthesized. The electrochemical behaviors of the complexes have been investigated. The modified glassy carbon electrode using the electropolymerized manganese complex (poly-MnTMPyrPc) was characterized in aqueous solution. The result indicates that the complexes are easier to electropolymerize in dichloromethane (DCM) than in dimethylformamide (DMF). The poly-MnTPyrPc-modified electrode showed pH dependence within the pH range studied (2–8). The cathodic wave of the electrode showed more pH dependence than the anodic wave. Poly-MnTPyrPc could catalyse the reduction of oxygen. , Original publication is available at http://doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2004.12.003
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2005
Tanzaniops, replacement name for certain African Baetidae (Ephemeroptera)
- McCafferty, W P, Barber-James, Helen M
- Authors: McCafferty, W P , Barber-James, Helen M
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:7009 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008387
- Description: The name Tanzaniella, proposed for an African baetid mayfly by Gillies (1991) was preoccupied. The name Tanzaniops is provided as a replacement for this homonym.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: McCafferty, W P , Barber-James, Helen M
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:7009 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008387
- Description: The name Tanzaniella, proposed for an African baetid mayfly by Gillies (1991) was preoccupied. The name Tanzaniops is provided as a replacement for this homonym.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2005
The dassie and the hunter: a South African meeting, by Jeff Opland: book review
- Authors: Wylie, Dan
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6125 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004709
- Description: [From the intoduction]: In this fascinating if not quite fine book Professor Opland, doyen scholar of oral poetries, treads that razor-edged line, devil of all memoirists, between humility and hubris, between open honesty and wallowing in one’s own unavoidability. David Yali-Manisi, the other half of this “South African meeting,” helps Opland out with his almost indefatigably calming, selfcontained, wise and energised presence. The relationship between these two men is an extraordinary, strangely evolving, not always smooth dance through several decades of South African history, politics, and academia. It really is ‘South African’ in the way in which it serves as lightning-rod to so many racial, personal, party-political, and literary currents in our recent past.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Wylie, Dan
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6125 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004709
- Description: [From the intoduction]: In this fascinating if not quite fine book Professor Opland, doyen scholar of oral poetries, treads that razor-edged line, devil of all memoirists, between humility and hubris, between open honesty and wallowing in one’s own unavoidability. David Yali-Manisi, the other half of this “South African meeting,” helps Opland out with his almost indefatigably calming, selfcontained, wise and energised presence. The relationship between these two men is an extraordinary, strangely evolving, not always smooth dance through several decades of South African history, politics, and academia. It really is ‘South African’ in the way in which it serves as lightning-rod to so many racial, personal, party-political, and literary currents in our recent past.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
The development phase of a case study of outcomes-based education assessment policy in the Human and Social Sciences learning area of C2005
- Authors: Wilmot, P Dianne
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6106 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009735
- Description: The second phase, the 'development phase' (January to December 2003), of an ongoing research project on policy implementation with specific reference to Grade 9 of the Human and Social Sciences (HSS) learning area of C2005 is described. More specifically, a journey, in which nine History and Geography teachers at two independent schools and one university lecturer, working collaboratively as an HSS research team, navigated their way through the national curriculum and assessment policy arena, pushed the boundaries of their own practice as reflexive practitioners, and implemented the first national application of the new General Education and Training Certificate (GETC), is outlined. The article consists of three sections. The first outlines and offers critical commentary on the national policy context in which the research was located, and in which all South African educators currently work. Drawing on national and international literature, it illuminates a number of issues pertinent to national policy enactment. The second section describes the Development Phase. It outlines two areas of curriculum innovation at the two schools, namely enquiry-based learning and the development of a learning process 'map', before honing in on Grade 9 CASS. Section three describes the implementation at the two schools of the HSS Common Tasks for Assessment (CTA) in October/November 2003. The conclusion synthesises the narrative.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Wilmot, P Dianne
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6106 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009735
- Description: The second phase, the 'development phase' (January to December 2003), of an ongoing research project on policy implementation with specific reference to Grade 9 of the Human and Social Sciences (HSS) learning area of C2005 is described. More specifically, a journey, in which nine History and Geography teachers at two independent schools and one university lecturer, working collaboratively as an HSS research team, navigated their way through the national curriculum and assessment policy arena, pushed the boundaries of their own practice as reflexive practitioners, and implemented the first national application of the new General Education and Training Certificate (GETC), is outlined. The article consists of three sections. The first outlines and offers critical commentary on the national policy context in which the research was located, and in which all South African educators currently work. Drawing on national and international literature, it illuminates a number of issues pertinent to national policy enactment. The second section describes the Development Phase. It outlines two areas of curriculum innovation at the two schools, namely enquiry-based learning and the development of a learning process 'map', before honing in on Grade 9 CASS. Section three describes the implementation at the two schools of the HSS Common Tasks for Assessment (CTA) in October/November 2003. The conclusion synthesises the narrative.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
The diet and ecological role of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) introduced to the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Parker, Daniel M, Bernard, Ric T F
- Authors: Parker, Daniel M , Bernard, Ric T F
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis Herbivore
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6942 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011967
- Description: With an increase in the popularity of wildlife ranching in southern Africa has come the introduction of non-native (extralimital) mammalian herbivores. Financial gain has arguably been at the forefront of these introductions, with little or no assessment of the ecological consequences. The diet of three populations of introduced giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis was assessed by direct observation in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa between January 2002 and October 2003, as the first step towards understanding the ecological role played by giraffe in the region. Similar to the diet of giraffe within their native range, a deciduous species from the genus Acacia (Acacia karroo) was the most important species in the diet. Giraffe in the Eastern Cape Province, however, consumed more evergreen species than those within their native range. The relative lack of deciduous species in the Eastern Cape Province provides a probable explanation for such a result. Seasonal variation in the consumption of the most important species in the diet was evident with members of the genus Rhus being more important in the winter months. This was attributed to the deciduous nature of A. karroo. The potential for giraffe to have a detrimental effect on the indigenous vegetation is discussed. We conclude that the study provides a much-needed list of plant species threatened by giraffe browsing in a region where the vegetation is thought to have evolved in the absence of such a browser.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Parker, Daniel M , Bernard, Ric T F
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis Herbivore
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6942 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011967
- Description: With an increase in the popularity of wildlife ranching in southern Africa has come the introduction of non-native (extralimital) mammalian herbivores. Financial gain has arguably been at the forefront of these introductions, with little or no assessment of the ecological consequences. The diet of three populations of introduced giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis was assessed by direct observation in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa between January 2002 and October 2003, as the first step towards understanding the ecological role played by giraffe in the region. Similar to the diet of giraffe within their native range, a deciduous species from the genus Acacia (Acacia karroo) was the most important species in the diet. Giraffe in the Eastern Cape Province, however, consumed more evergreen species than those within their native range. The relative lack of deciduous species in the Eastern Cape Province provides a probable explanation for such a result. Seasonal variation in the consumption of the most important species in the diet was evident with members of the genus Rhus being more important in the winter months. This was attributed to the deciduous nature of A. karroo. The potential for giraffe to have a detrimental effect on the indigenous vegetation is discussed. We conclude that the study provides a much-needed list of plant species threatened by giraffe browsing in a region where the vegetation is thought to have evolved in the absence of such a browser.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
The diet of Cape clawless otters at two sites along the Bloukrans River, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
- Parker, Daniel M, Burchell, R K, Bernard, Ric T F
- Authors: Parker, Daniel M , Burchell, R K , Bernard, Ric T F
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6959 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012004
- Description: The diet of Cape clawless otters was assessed at two sites along the Bloukrans River using faecal analysis. Spraints (n = 78) were collected during 2000 and 2001 and analysed using the relative frequency of occurrence and the reconstituted wet weight methods. Both methods found crab (Potamonautes perlatus) to be the most important component (>50%) of the diet. Frog, Xenopus and Rana spp., (11–42%) was the second most important component while fish (Micropteris salmoides) was relatively unimportant (<14%). Although the diet of Cape clawless otters in the Eastern Cape Province was similar to that reported elsewhere, the fact that they were preying on an alien invasive fish and not the indigenous endemic Sandelia bainsii is significant. The validity of faecal analysis methods is also discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Parker, Daniel M , Burchell, R K , Bernard, Ric T F
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6959 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012004
- Description: The diet of Cape clawless otters was assessed at two sites along the Bloukrans River using faecal analysis. Spraints (n = 78) were collected during 2000 and 2001 and analysed using the relative frequency of occurrence and the reconstituted wet weight methods. Both methods found crab (Potamonautes perlatus) to be the most important component (>50%) of the diet. Frog, Xenopus and Rana spp., (11–42%) was the second most important component while fish (Micropteris salmoides) was relatively unimportant (<14%). Although the diet of Cape clawless otters in the Eastern Cape Province was similar to that reported elsewhere, the fact that they were preying on an alien invasive fish and not the indigenous endemic Sandelia bainsii is significant. The validity of faecal analysis methods is also discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
The effect of prolonged cold storage of eland (Taurotragus oryx) cauda epididymides on the spermatozoa: possible implications for the conservation of biodiversity
- Bissett, Charlene, Bernard, Ric T F
- Authors: Bissett, Charlene , Bernard, Ric T F
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6947 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011976
- Description: The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of prolonged storage of cauda epididymides at 4 °C on spermatozoa, and to determine the practicality of utilising epididymal sperm, harvested from testes collected during routine culling of game animals, in assisted reproductive technologies. Testes from eland (Taurotragus oryx) were collected and epididymides removed and maintained at 4 °C. Sperm motility, viability, morphology and membrane integrity were examined at 12 h intervals for 108 h. Sperm motility and viability were significantly lower at the end of the experiment than at the start (P < 0.05) and there was individual variation in the rate at which motility and viability declined. The total number of normal sperm decreased significantly with prolonged storage at 4 °C. Midpiece defects were the most common and head and tail abnormalities were rare. A significant decrease in acrosomal and nuclear membrane integrity was observed with prolonged cold storage but there was no significant change in cell membrane integrity. However, about 30% of epididymal sperm survived for 3 days at 4 °C and more than 10% survived for 4 days, and it should be possible to use sperm from culled animals in some assisted reproductive technologies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Bissett, Charlene , Bernard, Ric T F
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6947 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011976
- Description: The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of prolonged storage of cauda epididymides at 4 °C on spermatozoa, and to determine the practicality of utilising epididymal sperm, harvested from testes collected during routine culling of game animals, in assisted reproductive technologies. Testes from eland (Taurotragus oryx) were collected and epididymides removed and maintained at 4 °C. Sperm motility, viability, morphology and membrane integrity were examined at 12 h intervals for 108 h. Sperm motility and viability were significantly lower at the end of the experiment than at the start (P < 0.05) and there was individual variation in the rate at which motility and viability declined. The total number of normal sperm decreased significantly with prolonged storage at 4 °C. Midpiece defects were the most common and head and tail abnormalities were rare. A significant decrease in acrosomal and nuclear membrane integrity was observed with prolonged cold storage but there was no significant change in cell membrane integrity. However, about 30% of epididymal sperm survived for 3 days at 4 °C and more than 10% survived for 4 days, and it should be possible to use sperm from culled animals in some assisted reproductive technologies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
The experiences and needs of HIV/AIDS counsellors at a South African hospital
- Nulty, Maria, Edwards, David J A
- Authors: Nulty, Maria , Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6269 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008268
- Description: To increase the availability of HIV/AIDS counselling in South Africa, nurses have been trained to serve as counsellors within hospital services. The aim of the study was to document the experiences and needs of nurse HIV/AIDS counsellors at a small South African hospital (with 279 beds and 10 medical doctors on the staff). The design was a qualitative, multiple-case study. The sample consisted of four nurse counsellors and the co-ordinator of HIV/AIDS services at the hospital. Three semi-structured interviews with the counsellors were used as the basis for case narratives of their experiences. These narratives were in turn subjected to content analysis to determine the range and nature of the concerns identified by the counsellors. The counsellors found their HIV/AIDS counselling work to be emotionally demanding and identified several significant problems. These were related to confidentiality, stigmatisation, motional responses to informing clients of their HIV-positive status, cultural and contextual factors and situational stressors related to the organisation of the work environment. They did not feel sufficiently supported by their work infrastructure. It is recommended that in setting up counselling services of this sort, managers need to be aware of the need for ongoing support in the form of facilitated groups, professional supervision, managerial attention to problems in the working environment, and regular in-service training.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Nulty, Maria , Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6269 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008268
- Description: To increase the availability of HIV/AIDS counselling in South Africa, nurses have been trained to serve as counsellors within hospital services. The aim of the study was to document the experiences and needs of nurse HIV/AIDS counsellors at a small South African hospital (with 279 beds and 10 medical doctors on the staff). The design was a qualitative, multiple-case study. The sample consisted of four nurse counsellors and the co-ordinator of HIV/AIDS services at the hospital. Three semi-structured interviews with the counsellors were used as the basis for case narratives of their experiences. These narratives were in turn subjected to content analysis to determine the range and nature of the concerns identified by the counsellors. The counsellors found their HIV/AIDS counselling work to be emotionally demanding and identified several significant problems. These were related to confidentiality, stigmatisation, motional responses to informing clients of their HIV-positive status, cultural and contextual factors and situational stressors related to the organisation of the work environment. They did not feel sufficiently supported by their work infrastructure. It is recommended that in setting up counselling services of this sort, managers need to be aware of the need for ongoing support in the form of facilitated groups, professional supervision, managerial attention to problems in the working environment, and regular in-service training.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
The great arch of unimagined bridges: integrative play therapy with an abused child
- Authors: McDermott, R
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:6272 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008272
- Description: This case study describes the early phases of integrative, long-term psychotherapy undertaken with a child subjected to chronic domestic trauma including violence, alcohol abuse, neglect, abandonment, and bereavement resulting from HIV/AIDS. Recent statistics on the prevalence of violent trauma, domestic abuse and HIV/AIDS in South Africa are reviewed, as are principles of trauma intervention that have been established across a range of psychotherapeutic modalities. Following from integrative trauma work undertaken locally, this therapeutic process acknowledges both indigenous and western frameworks of meaning, the latter most heavily informed by principles of analytical psychology. Selected aspects of the therapy are discussed in light of both perspectives, with reference to the child’s process of recovery. This paper seeks to add support to practised and published local work in which a range of possible healing practices, meanings, and experience are taken into account. It is proposed that such integrative efforts contribute towards an evolving African psychotherapy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: McDermott, R
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:6272 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008272
- Description: This case study describes the early phases of integrative, long-term psychotherapy undertaken with a child subjected to chronic domestic trauma including violence, alcohol abuse, neglect, abandonment, and bereavement resulting from HIV/AIDS. Recent statistics on the prevalence of violent trauma, domestic abuse and HIV/AIDS in South Africa are reviewed, as are principles of trauma intervention that have been established across a range of psychotherapeutic modalities. Following from integrative trauma work undertaken locally, this therapeutic process acknowledges both indigenous and western frameworks of meaning, the latter most heavily informed by principles of analytical psychology. Selected aspects of the therapy are discussed in light of both perspectives, with reference to the child’s process of recovery. This paper seeks to add support to practised and published local work in which a range of possible healing practices, meanings, and experience are taken into account. It is proposed that such integrative efforts contribute towards an evolving African psychotherapy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
The life history responses of the abalone pest, Terebrasabella heterouncinata, under natural and aquaculture conditions
- Simon, Carol A, Kaiser, Horst, Britz, Peter J
- Authors: Simon, Carol A , Kaiser, Horst , Britz, Peter J
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6773 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008074
- Description: The sabellid, Terebrasabella heterouncinata, is a small (<5 mm) intratubular brooder that lives in burrows within the host s shell matrix. It is a semi-continuous breeder and despite producing small numbers of large eggs, infestation by this animal has reached epidemic proportions on local abalone farms. The present study compared the morphometrics and reproductive characteristics of worms from farmed and wild abalone, in the Walker Bay area of the south Western Cape Province of South Africa, to gain insights into why this animal has become so successful under aquaculture conditions. The farms designated farm A and farm B each had one on-farm site, and two wild sites, while farm C had two on-farm sites and two wild sites. The wild sites were natural abalone habitats located within 2.5 km of the farms. Our results conclusively showed that environmental conditions prevalent on the farms enhanced the reproductive success of these worms relative to that observed in its natural environment. At farms B and C, worms occurred in significantly higher densities at the on-farm sites than in the corresponding wild samples, but at farm A, density was equally low at the three sites. At all three farms, a greater proportion of the population was reproductively active in the on-farm samples than in the wild samples. Worms on farmed abalone had a higher instantaneous fecundity, brooded more clutches simultaneously and were larger than their conspecifics from the wild. There was a positive correlation between adult size and brood size and the number of clutches brooded simultaneously. Within the three on-farm sites there was a negative correlation between egg volume and brood size, indicating a trade-off between these traits. However, such a trade-off was not apparent between sites, with brood size being higher at the on-farm sites than at the wild sites, irrespective of egg size. This suggests that the stable nutrient-enriched environment on the farm led to an increase in fecundity without compromising the size (and implicitly the quality) of the eggs. Worm density did not have a significant effect on body size or any other reproductive traits at most sites, and the density of T. heterouncinata was unaffected by the density of other shell-infesting polychaetes. The results suggest that the farm environment has selected for larger, more fecund worms that breed rapidly with high recruitment success as a consequence of abundant nutrients, high host density, habitat stability and a possible lack of predation and interspecific competition.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Simon, Carol A , Kaiser, Horst , Britz, Peter J
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6773 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008074
- Description: The sabellid, Terebrasabella heterouncinata, is a small (<5 mm) intratubular brooder that lives in burrows within the host s shell matrix. It is a semi-continuous breeder and despite producing small numbers of large eggs, infestation by this animal has reached epidemic proportions on local abalone farms. The present study compared the morphometrics and reproductive characteristics of worms from farmed and wild abalone, in the Walker Bay area of the south Western Cape Province of South Africa, to gain insights into why this animal has become so successful under aquaculture conditions. The farms designated farm A and farm B each had one on-farm site, and two wild sites, while farm C had two on-farm sites and two wild sites. The wild sites were natural abalone habitats located within 2.5 km of the farms. Our results conclusively showed that environmental conditions prevalent on the farms enhanced the reproductive success of these worms relative to that observed in its natural environment. At farms B and C, worms occurred in significantly higher densities at the on-farm sites than in the corresponding wild samples, but at farm A, density was equally low at the three sites. At all three farms, a greater proportion of the population was reproductively active in the on-farm samples than in the wild samples. Worms on farmed abalone had a higher instantaneous fecundity, brooded more clutches simultaneously and were larger than their conspecifics from the wild. There was a positive correlation between adult size and brood size and the number of clutches brooded simultaneously. Within the three on-farm sites there was a negative correlation between egg volume and brood size, indicating a trade-off between these traits. However, such a trade-off was not apparent between sites, with brood size being higher at the on-farm sites than at the wild sites, irrespective of egg size. This suggests that the stable nutrient-enriched environment on the farm led to an increase in fecundity without compromising the size (and implicitly the quality) of the eggs. Worm density did not have a significant effect on body size or any other reproductive traits at most sites, and the density of T. heterouncinata was unaffected by the density of other shell-infesting polychaetes. The results suggest that the farm environment has selected for larger, more fecund worms that breed rapidly with high recruitment success as a consequence of abundant nutrients, high host density, habitat stability and a possible lack of predation and interspecific competition.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
The poetry of Guy Butler
- Authors: Maclennan, D A C
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6119 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004673
- Description: [From the introduction]: Guy Butler, born in Cradock on 21 January 1918, was a serious poet. Nearly a third of his poems are about death or loss, and many of the rest about parting failure, or difficult self-denial. His poetry is generally thoughtful and responsible to a deep religious vision. Of the ninety poems published between 1939 and 1979 the finest are those written between 1943 and 1963, from “Syrian Spring” to “Sweetwater.” The best poems cluster like moons round “On First Seeing Florence,” which is a major poem seldom given its rightful attention.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Maclennan, D A C
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6119 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004673
- Description: [From the introduction]: Guy Butler, born in Cradock on 21 January 1918, was a serious poet. Nearly a third of his poems are about death or loss, and many of the rest about parting failure, or difficult self-denial. His poetry is generally thoughtful and responsible to a deep religious vision. Of the ninety poems published between 1939 and 1979 the finest are those written between 1943 and 1963, from “Syrian Spring” to “Sweetwater.” The best poems cluster like moons round “On First Seeing Florence,” which is a major poem seldom given its rightful attention.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
The use of actually in spoken Xhosa English : a corpus study
- Authors: De Klerk, Vivian A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6136 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011588
- Description: The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the semantic and syntactic characteristics of the discourse marker actually, and then to describe and explain how it is used by mothertongue (MT) Xhosa speakers who have learned English as an additional language. Such a description may provide a useful benchmark for comparison with MT norms. The source of data for the study is a corpus of approximately half a million words of transcribed spontaneous dialogue between Xhosa English speakers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: De Klerk, Vivian A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6136 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011588
- Description: The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the semantic and syntactic characteristics of the discourse marker actually, and then to describe and explain how it is used by mothertongue (MT) Xhosa speakers who have learned English as an additional language. Such a description may provide a useful benchmark for comparison with MT norms. The source of data for the study is a corpus of approximately half a million words of transcribed spontaneous dialogue between Xhosa English speakers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Trans-oceanic and endemic origins of the small minnow mayflies (Ephemeroptera, Baetidae) of Madagascar
- Monaghan, M T, Gattolliat, J L, Sartori, Michel, Elouard, J M, Barber-James, Helen M, Derleth, P, Glaizot, Olivier, de Moor, Ferdy C, Vogler, Alfred P
- Authors: Monaghan, M T , Gattolliat, J L , Sartori, Michel , Elouard, J M , Barber-James, Helen M , Derleth, P , Glaizot, Olivier , de Moor, Ferdy C , Vogler, Alfred P
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6957 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011998
- Description: We investigated the relative importance of dispersal and vicariance in forming the Madagascar insect fauna, sequencing approximately 2300bp from three rRNA gene regions to investigate the phylogeny of Afrotropical small minnow mayflies (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae). Six lineages contained trans-oceanic sister taxa, and variation in genetic divergence between sister taxa revealed relationships that range from very recent dispersal to ancient vicariance. Dispersal was most recent and frequent in species that spend the larval stage in standing water, adding to evidence that these evolutionarily unstable habitats may select for ecological traits that increase dispersal in insects. Ancestral state likelihood analysis suggested at least one Afrotropical lineage had its origin in Madagascar, demonstrating that unidirectional dispersal from a continental source may be too simplistic. We conclude that the Malagasy mayfly fauna should be considered in a biogeographical context that extends beyond Madagascar itself, encompassing trans-oceanic dispersal within multiple lineages.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Monaghan, M T , Gattolliat, J L , Sartori, Michel , Elouard, J M , Barber-James, Helen M , Derleth, P , Glaizot, Olivier , de Moor, Ferdy C , Vogler, Alfred P
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6957 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011998
- Description: We investigated the relative importance of dispersal and vicariance in forming the Madagascar insect fauna, sequencing approximately 2300bp from three rRNA gene regions to investigate the phylogeny of Afrotropical small minnow mayflies (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae). Six lineages contained trans-oceanic sister taxa, and variation in genetic divergence between sister taxa revealed relationships that range from very recent dispersal to ancient vicariance. Dispersal was most recent and frequent in species that spend the larval stage in standing water, adding to evidence that these evolutionarily unstable habitats may select for ecological traits that increase dispersal in insects. Ancestral state likelihood analysis suggested at least one Afrotropical lineage had its origin in Madagascar, demonstrating that unidirectional dispersal from a continental source may be too simplistic. We conclude that the Malagasy mayfly fauna should be considered in a biogeographical context that extends beyond Madagascar itself, encompassing trans-oceanic dispersal within multiple lineages.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Trauma, imagery and the therapeutic relationship : Langu's story
- Karpelowsky, Belinda J, Edwards, David J A
- Authors: Karpelowsky, Belinda J , Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6268 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008267
- Description: This paper, a phenomenological case study, describes the psychotherapy of Langu (pseudonym), a 21-year-old student, who presented with Acute Stress Disorder following a series of motor accidents that affected him and his family. Langu's most distressing experience was having to identify his brother's mutilated and severely burned body. Because of the intensity of the intrusive re-experiencing of traumatic imagery and the degree of dissociative numbing, Langu participated in four intensive guided imagery sessions, which involved reliving the incident, and imaginal dialogues with his dead brother. Session records and supervision notes from the therapy process that unfolded over 22 sessions served as the basis for a thematically selective case narrative. Additional material was obtained from several research interviews with Langu over the following months. The narrative highlights the impact of the imagery work as well as relational aspects of the therapy. The case narrative provides a source for examining many aspects of the psychological impact of trauma and the path to healing, as well as the dilemmas and challenges faced by therapists working with traumatised individuals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Karpelowsky, Belinda J , Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6268 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008267
- Description: This paper, a phenomenological case study, describes the psychotherapy of Langu (pseudonym), a 21-year-old student, who presented with Acute Stress Disorder following a series of motor accidents that affected him and his family. Langu's most distressing experience was having to identify his brother's mutilated and severely burned body. Because of the intensity of the intrusive re-experiencing of traumatic imagery and the degree of dissociative numbing, Langu participated in four intensive guided imagery sessions, which involved reliving the incident, and imaginal dialogues with his dead brother. Session records and supervision notes from the therapy process that unfolded over 22 sessions served as the basis for a thematically selective case narrative. Additional material was obtained from several research interviews with Langu over the following months. The narrative highlights the impact of the imagery work as well as relational aspects of the therapy. The case narrative provides a source for examining many aspects of the psychological impact of trauma and the path to healing, as well as the dilemmas and challenges faced by therapists working with traumatised individuals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005