Aspects of the biology and fisheries of an economically important sparid Dentex macrophthalmus (Bloch 1791) in the Namibe province, Angola
- Potts, Warren M, Inácio, L A, Santos, Carmen V D, Richardson, Timothy J, Sauer, Warwick H H
- Authors: Potts, Warren M , Inácio, L A , Santos, Carmen V D , Richardson, Timothy J , Sauer, Warwick H H
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123096 , vital:35405 , https://doi.org/10.2989/1814232X.2010.538160
- Description: Dentex macrophthalmus is a small, commercially important sparid fish that is abundant in the deeper waters (range 50–500 m) of the Mediterranean Sea (Trunov 1970), the North-West African shelf (Goode and Bean 1896, Fowler 1936), including the Cape Verde and Canary Islands, and the south-eastern Atlantic from the Equator to just south of Lüderitz (27°40′ S) (Trunov 1970). Because of its high abundance, it is of considerable economic importance and is captured in large numbers in both artisanal and commercial fisheries in many countries. Although it is the most important artisanal species along the entire Angolan coast, it is most abundant in the southern region (Kilongo et al. 2007). Despite its economic importance in Angola and elsewhere, relatively little is known on its abundance, fisheries and biology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Potts, Warren M , Inácio, L A , Santos, Carmen V D , Richardson, Timothy J , Sauer, Warwick H H
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123096 , vital:35405 , https://doi.org/10.2989/1814232X.2010.538160
- Description: Dentex macrophthalmus is a small, commercially important sparid fish that is abundant in the deeper waters (range 50–500 m) of the Mediterranean Sea (Trunov 1970), the North-West African shelf (Goode and Bean 1896, Fowler 1936), including the Cape Verde and Canary Islands, and the south-eastern Atlantic from the Equator to just south of Lüderitz (27°40′ S) (Trunov 1970). Because of its high abundance, it is of considerable economic importance and is captured in large numbers in both artisanal and commercial fisheries in many countries. Although it is the most important artisanal species along the entire Angolan coast, it is most abundant in the southern region (Kilongo et al. 2007). Despite its economic importance in Angola and elsewhere, relatively little is known on its abundance, fisheries and biology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
An Analysis and Implementation of Methods for High Speed Lexical Classification of Malicious URLs
- Egan, Shaun P, Irwin, Barry V W
- Authors: Egan, Shaun P , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429757 , vital:72637 , https://digifors.cs.up.ac.za/issa/2012/Proceedings/Research/58_ResearchInProgress.pdf
- Description: Several authors have put forward methods of using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) to classify URLs as malicious or benign by using lexical features of those URLs. These methods have been compared to other methods of classification, such as blacklisting and spam filtering, and have been found to be as accurate. Early attempts proved to be as highly accurate. Fully featured classifications use lexical features as well as lookups to classify URLs and include (but are not limited to) blacklists, spam filters and reputation services. These classifiers are based on the Online Perceptron Model, using a single neuron as a linear combiner and used lexical features that rely on the presence (or lack thereof) of words belonging to a bag-of-words. Several obfuscation resistant features are also used to increase the positive classification rate of these perceptrons. Examples of these include URL length, number of directory traversals and length of arguments passed to the file within the URL. In this paper we describe how we implement the online perceptron model and methods that we used to try to increase the accuracy of this model through the use of hidden layers and training cost validation. We discuss our results in relation to those of other papers, as well as other analysis performed on the training data and the neural networks themselves to best understand why they are so effective. Also described will be the proposed model for developing these Neural Networks, how to implement them in the real world through the use of browser extensions, proxy plugins and spam filters for mail servers, and our current implementation. Finally, work that is still in progress will be described. This work includes other methods of increasing accuracy through the use of modern training techniques and testing in a real world environment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Egan, Shaun P , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429757 , vital:72637 , https://digifors.cs.up.ac.za/issa/2012/Proceedings/Research/58_ResearchInProgress.pdf
- Description: Several authors have put forward methods of using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) to classify URLs as malicious or benign by using lexical features of those URLs. These methods have been compared to other methods of classification, such as blacklisting and spam filtering, and have been found to be as accurate. Early attempts proved to be as highly accurate. Fully featured classifications use lexical features as well as lookups to classify URLs and include (but are not limited to) blacklists, spam filters and reputation services. These classifiers are based on the Online Perceptron Model, using a single neuron as a linear combiner and used lexical features that rely on the presence (or lack thereof) of words belonging to a bag-of-words. Several obfuscation resistant features are also used to increase the positive classification rate of these perceptrons. Examples of these include URL length, number of directory traversals and length of arguments passed to the file within the URL. In this paper we describe how we implement the online perceptron model and methods that we used to try to increase the accuracy of this model through the use of hidden layers and training cost validation. We discuss our results in relation to those of other papers, as well as other analysis performed on the training data and the neural networks themselves to best understand why they are so effective. Also described will be the proposed model for developing these Neural Networks, how to implement them in the real world through the use of browser extensions, proxy plugins and spam filters for mail servers, and our current implementation. Finally, work that is still in progress will be described. This work includes other methods of increasing accuracy through the use of modern training techniques and testing in a real world environment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Building a Graphical Fuzzing Framework
- Zeisberger, Sascha, Irwin, Barry V W
- Authors: Zeisberger, Sascha , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429772 , vital:72638 , https://digifors.cs.up.ac.za/issa/2012/Proceedings/Research/59_ResearchInProgress.pdf
- Description: Fuzz testing is a robustness testing technique that sends malformed data to an application’s input. This is to test an application’s behaviour when presented with input beyond its specification. The main difference between traditional testing techniques and fuzz testing is that in most traditional techniques an application is tested according to a specification and rated on how well the application conforms to that specification. Fuzz testing tests beyond the scope of a specification by intelligently generating values that may be interpreted by an application in an unintended manner. The use of fuzz testing has been more prevalent in academic and security communities despite showing success in production environments. To measure the effectiveness of fuzz testing, an experiment was conducted where several publicly available applications were fuzzed. In some instances, fuzz testing was able to force an application into an invalid state and it was concluded that fuzz testing is a relevant testing technique that could assist in developing more robust applications. This success prompted a further investigation into fuzz testing in order to compile a list of requirements that makes an effective fuzzer. The aforementioned investigation assisted in the design of a fuzz testing framework, the goal of which is to make the process more accessible to users outside of an academic and security environment. Design methodologies and justifications of said framework are discussed, focusing on the graphical user interface components as this aspect of the framework is used to increase the usability of the framework.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Zeisberger, Sascha , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429772 , vital:72638 , https://digifors.cs.up.ac.za/issa/2012/Proceedings/Research/59_ResearchInProgress.pdf
- Description: Fuzz testing is a robustness testing technique that sends malformed data to an application’s input. This is to test an application’s behaviour when presented with input beyond its specification. The main difference between traditional testing techniques and fuzz testing is that in most traditional techniques an application is tested according to a specification and rated on how well the application conforms to that specification. Fuzz testing tests beyond the scope of a specification by intelligently generating values that may be interpreted by an application in an unintended manner. The use of fuzz testing has been more prevalent in academic and security communities despite showing success in production environments. To measure the effectiveness of fuzz testing, an experiment was conducted where several publicly available applications were fuzzed. In some instances, fuzz testing was able to force an application into an invalid state and it was concluded that fuzz testing is a relevant testing technique that could assist in developing more robust applications. This success prompted a further investigation into fuzz testing in order to compile a list of requirements that makes an effective fuzzer. The aforementioned investigation assisted in the design of a fuzz testing framework, the goal of which is to make the process more accessible to users outside of an academic and security environment. Design methodologies and justifications of said framework are discussed, focusing on the graphical user interface components as this aspect of the framework is used to increase the usability of the framework.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Design of realistic hybrid marine resource management programs in Oceania
- Aswani, Shankar, Ruddle, Kenneth
- Authors: Aswani, Shankar , Ruddle, Kenneth
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/70615 , vital:29681 , https://doi.org/10.2984/67.3.11
- Description: This review article synthesizes the authors' several decades of multidisciplinary natural and social science and applied marine resource management experience in the Asia-Pacific region to examine the strengthening of coastal and marine resource management and conservation using alliances between local communities and external institutions. The objective is to assist the design of resource management and conservation programs that enhance the capacity of coastal communities in Oceania to confront both diminishing marine resources and the effects of climate change by providing guidelines for protecting marine biodiversity and vulnerable ecosystem functions. This article describes a management framework that hybridizes local beliefs and institutions expressed in customary management (CM) with such modern management concepts as marine protected areas (MPAs) and ecosystem-based management (EBM). Hybrid management accommodates the social, political, economic, and cultural contexts of Oceanic communities and, compared with recent or conventional management approaches, can therefore better address fundamental local concerns such as coastal degradation, climate change, sea level rise, weak governance, corruption, limited resources and staff to manage and monitor marine resources, and increasing poverty. Research on the hybridization of management systems demonstrates opportunities to establish context-appropriate EBM and/or other managerial arrangements that include terrestrial and adjacent coastal-marine ecosystems. Formal and informal CM systems are widespread in Oceania and in some parts of Southeast Asia, and if appropriate strategies are employed rapid progress toward hybrid CM-EBM could be enabled.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Aswani, Shankar , Ruddle, Kenneth
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/70615 , vital:29681 , https://doi.org/10.2984/67.3.11
- Description: This review article synthesizes the authors' several decades of multidisciplinary natural and social science and applied marine resource management experience in the Asia-Pacific region to examine the strengthening of coastal and marine resource management and conservation using alliances between local communities and external institutions. The objective is to assist the design of resource management and conservation programs that enhance the capacity of coastal communities in Oceania to confront both diminishing marine resources and the effects of climate change by providing guidelines for protecting marine biodiversity and vulnerable ecosystem functions. This article describes a management framework that hybridizes local beliefs and institutions expressed in customary management (CM) with such modern management concepts as marine protected areas (MPAs) and ecosystem-based management (EBM). Hybrid management accommodates the social, political, economic, and cultural contexts of Oceanic communities and, compared with recent or conventional management approaches, can therefore better address fundamental local concerns such as coastal degradation, climate change, sea level rise, weak governance, corruption, limited resources and staff to manage and monitor marine resources, and increasing poverty. Research on the hybridization of management systems demonstrates opportunities to establish context-appropriate EBM and/or other managerial arrangements that include terrestrial and adjacent coastal-marine ecosystems. Formal and informal CM systems are widespread in Oceania and in some parts of Southeast Asia, and if appropriate strategies are employed rapid progress toward hybrid CM-EBM could be enabled.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Life-history characteristics of an age-validated established invasive African sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus, population in a warm–temperate African impoundment
- Wartenberg, Reece, Weyl, Olaf L F, Booth, Anthony J, Winker, A Henning
- Authors: Wartenberg, Reece , Weyl, Olaf L F , Booth, Anthony J , Winker, A Henning
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124921 , vital:35710 , https://doi.10.3377/004.048.0225
- Description: African sharptooth catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) is a widely distributed fish that has now invaded water bodies in South America, Eastern Europe, Asia and South Africa (Cambray 2003). In South Africa it is native as far south as the Orange-Vaal river system, but inter-basin water transfer schemes (IBWTs), illegal stocking by anglers and from aquaculture has resulted in the establishment of extralimital populations in almost all river systems (van Rensburg et al. 2011). Within the Eastern Cape Province, C. gariepinus has invaded the Great Fish and Sundays rivers through IBWTs, that connect the Orange River to the Great Fish River and then to the Sundays River system which flows directly into Darlington Dam (Kadye & Booth 2013a) (Fig. 1). Soon after the completion of the IBWTs sharptooth catfish were recorded in Grassridge Dam in 1976 (Laurenson & Hocutt 1985), and later from Darlington Dam in 1981 (Scott et al. 2006). Although Cambray & Jubb (1977) are of the opinion that the species was translocated prior to the IBWT connection, there is now a permanent corridor between the Orange River and its receiving river systems that can facilitate the continued introduction of non-native Orange River fishes and other aquatic biota.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Wartenberg, Reece , Weyl, Olaf L F , Booth, Anthony J , Winker, A Henning
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124921 , vital:35710 , https://doi.10.3377/004.048.0225
- Description: African sharptooth catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) is a widely distributed fish that has now invaded water bodies in South America, Eastern Europe, Asia and South Africa (Cambray 2003). In South Africa it is native as far south as the Orange-Vaal river system, but inter-basin water transfer schemes (IBWTs), illegal stocking by anglers and from aquaculture has resulted in the establishment of extralimital populations in almost all river systems (van Rensburg et al. 2011). Within the Eastern Cape Province, C. gariepinus has invaded the Great Fish and Sundays rivers through IBWTs, that connect the Orange River to the Great Fish River and then to the Sundays River system which flows directly into Darlington Dam (Kadye & Booth 2013a) (Fig. 1). Soon after the completion of the IBWTs sharptooth catfish were recorded in Grassridge Dam in 1976 (Laurenson & Hocutt 1985), and later from Darlington Dam in 1981 (Scott et al. 2006). Although Cambray & Jubb (1977) are of the opinion that the species was translocated prior to the IBWT connection, there is now a permanent corridor between the Orange River and its receiving river systems that can facilitate the continued introduction of non-native Orange River fishes and other aquatic biota.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Where angels fear to tread: online peer-assessment in a large first-year class
- Mostert, Markus, Snowball, Jeanette D
- Authors: Mostert, Markus , Snowball, Jeanette D
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/69289 , vital:29480 , https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2012.683770
- Description: In the context of widening participation, large classes and increased diversity, assessment of student learning is becoming increasingly problematic in that providing formative feedback aimed at developing student writing proves to be particularly laborious. Although the potential value of peer assessment has been well documented in the literature, the associated administrative burden, also in relation to managing anonymity and intellectual ownership, makes this option less attractive, particularly in large classes. A potential solution involves the use of information and communication technologies to automate the logistics associated with peer assessment in a time-efficient way. However, uptake of such systems in the higher education community is limited, and research in this area is only beginning. This case study reports on the use of the Moodle Workshop module for formative peer assessment of students’ individual work in a first-year introductory macro-economics class of over 800 students. Data were collected through an end-of-course evaluation survey of students. The study found that using the feature-rich Workshop module not only addressed many of the practical challenges associated with paper-based peer assessments, but also provided a range of additional options for enhancing validity and reliability of peer assessments that would not be possible with paper-based systems.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Mostert, Markus , Snowball, Jeanette D
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/69289 , vital:29480 , https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2012.683770
- Description: In the context of widening participation, large classes and increased diversity, assessment of student learning is becoming increasingly problematic in that providing formative feedback aimed at developing student writing proves to be particularly laborious. Although the potential value of peer assessment has been well documented in the literature, the associated administrative burden, also in relation to managing anonymity and intellectual ownership, makes this option less attractive, particularly in large classes. A potential solution involves the use of information and communication technologies to automate the logistics associated with peer assessment in a time-efficient way. However, uptake of such systems in the higher education community is limited, and research in this area is only beginning. This case study reports on the use of the Moodle Workshop module for formative peer assessment of students’ individual work in a first-year introductory macro-economics class of over 800 students. Data were collected through an end-of-course evaluation survey of students. The study found that using the feature-rich Workshop module not only addressed many of the practical challenges associated with paper-based peer assessments, but also provided a range of additional options for enhancing validity and reliability of peer assessments that would not be possible with paper-based systems.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2012
"Abject dictatorship of the flesh" : corporeality in the fiction of Patrick White
- Authors: Grogan, Bridget Meredith
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: White, Patrick, 1912-1990 -- Criticism and interpretation Human body in literature Dualism in literature Human body -- Social aspects Body image -- Social aspects Australian fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2166 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001554
- Description: Thesis embargoed for an indefinite period - full text not available
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Grogan, Bridget Meredith
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: White, Patrick, 1912-1990 -- Criticism and interpretation Human body in literature Dualism in literature Human body -- Social aspects Body image -- Social aspects Australian fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2166 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001554
- Description: Thesis embargoed for an indefinite period - full text not available
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2013
"Giving voice" to the bereaved : family grief and resilience after a child has died
- Authors: Scheepers, Lucas Johannes
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Bereavement -- Psychological aspects , Death -- Psychological aspects , Loss (Psychology) , Grief
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9977 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021096
- Description: This study investigated family grief and resilience following a child’s death. Representing 23 families, 35 bereaved parents completed biographical questionnaires, the Family Hardiness Index, and the Family Attachment and Changeability Index 8. Significant positive correlations were found between family hardiness and family adaptation, and between parents’ age and family hardiness. Using grounded theory, interviews allowed for the formulation of categories including grief, continuing bonds, external support, religion, and family hardiness. The study reveals the need for exploring unique experiences of families bereaved by children’s deaths and identifies family hardiness as a potential resilience factor for this population
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Scheepers, Lucas Johannes
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Bereavement -- Psychological aspects , Death -- Psychological aspects , Loss (Psychology) , Grief
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9977 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021096
- Description: This study investigated family grief and resilience following a child’s death. Representing 23 families, 35 bereaved parents completed biographical questionnaires, the Family Hardiness Index, and the Family Attachment and Changeability Index 8. Significant positive correlations were found between family hardiness and family adaptation, and between parents’ age and family hardiness. Using grounded theory, interviews allowed for the formulation of categories including grief, continuing bonds, external support, religion, and family hardiness. The study reveals the need for exploring unique experiences of families bereaved by children’s deaths and identifies family hardiness as a potential resilience factor for this population
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
"The wings of whipped butterflies" : trauma, silence and representation of the suffering child in selected contemporary African short fiction
- Authors: Njovane, Thandokazi
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Children in literature Psychic trauma in literature Short stories, African (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2253 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004214
- Description: This dissertation, which examines the literary representation of childhood trauma, is held together by three threads of inquiry. Firstly, I examine the stylistic devices through which three contemporary African writers – NoViolet Bulawayo, Uwem Akpan, and Mia Couto – engage with the subject of childhood trauma in five of their short stories: “Hitting Budapest”; “My Parents’ Bedroom” and “Fattening for Gabon”; and “The Day Mabata-bata Exploded” and “The Bird-Dreaming Baobab,” respectively. In each of these narratives, the use of ingén(u)s in the form of child narrators and/or focalisers instantiates a degree of structural irony, premised on the cognitive discrepancy between the protagonists’ perceptions and those of the implied reader. This structural irony then serves to underscore the reality that, though in a general sense the precise nature of traumatic experience cannot be directly communicated in language, this is exacerbated in the case of children, because children’s physical and psychological frameworks are underdeveloped. Consequently, children’s exposure to trauma and atrocity results in disruptions of both personal and communal notions of safety and security which are even more severe than those experienced by adults. Secondly, I analyse the political, cultural and economic factors which give rise to the traumatic incidents depicted in the stories, and the child characters’ interpretations and responses to these exigencies. Notions of subjectivity and intersubjectivity, identity and community, victimhood and survival, agency and disempowerment are discussed here in relation to the context of postcolonial Africa and the contemporary realities of chronic poverty, genocide, child-trafficking, the aftermath of civil war, and the legacies of colonialism and racism. Thirdly, this dissertation inspects the areas of congruence and divergence between trauma theory, literary scholarship on trauma narratives, and literary attempts to represent atrocity and trauma despite what is widely held to be the inadequacy of language – and therefore representation – to this task. There are certain differences between the three authors’ depictions of children’s experiences of trauma, despite the fact that the texts all grapple with the aporetic nature of trauma and the paradox of representing the unrepresentable. To this end, they utilise various strategies – temporal disjunctions and fragmentations, silences and lacunae, elements of the fantastical and surreal, magical realism, and instances of abjection and dissociation – to gesture towards the inexpressible, or that which is incommensurable with language. I argue that, ultimately, it is the endings of these stories which suggest the unrepresentable nature of trauma. Traumatic experience poses a challenge to representational conventions and, in its resistance, encourages a realisation that new ways of writing and speaking about trauma in the African continent, particularly with regards to children, are needed. , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Njovane, Thandokazi
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Children in literature Psychic trauma in literature Short stories, African (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2253 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004214
- Description: This dissertation, which examines the literary representation of childhood trauma, is held together by three threads of inquiry. Firstly, I examine the stylistic devices through which three contemporary African writers – NoViolet Bulawayo, Uwem Akpan, and Mia Couto – engage with the subject of childhood trauma in five of their short stories: “Hitting Budapest”; “My Parents’ Bedroom” and “Fattening for Gabon”; and “The Day Mabata-bata Exploded” and “The Bird-Dreaming Baobab,” respectively. In each of these narratives, the use of ingén(u)s in the form of child narrators and/or focalisers instantiates a degree of structural irony, premised on the cognitive discrepancy between the protagonists’ perceptions and those of the implied reader. This structural irony then serves to underscore the reality that, though in a general sense the precise nature of traumatic experience cannot be directly communicated in language, this is exacerbated in the case of children, because children’s physical and psychological frameworks are underdeveloped. Consequently, children’s exposure to trauma and atrocity results in disruptions of both personal and communal notions of safety and security which are even more severe than those experienced by adults. Secondly, I analyse the political, cultural and economic factors which give rise to the traumatic incidents depicted in the stories, and the child characters’ interpretations and responses to these exigencies. Notions of subjectivity and intersubjectivity, identity and community, victimhood and survival, agency and disempowerment are discussed here in relation to the context of postcolonial Africa and the contemporary realities of chronic poverty, genocide, child-trafficking, the aftermath of civil war, and the legacies of colonialism and racism. Thirdly, this dissertation inspects the areas of congruence and divergence between trauma theory, literary scholarship on trauma narratives, and literary attempts to represent atrocity and trauma despite what is widely held to be the inadequacy of language – and therefore representation – to this task. There are certain differences between the three authors’ depictions of children’s experiences of trauma, despite the fact that the texts all grapple with the aporetic nature of trauma and the paradox of representing the unrepresentable. To this end, they utilise various strategies – temporal disjunctions and fragmentations, silences and lacunae, elements of the fantastical and surreal, magical realism, and instances of abjection and dissociation – to gesture towards the inexpressible, or that which is incommensurable with language. I argue that, ultimately, it is the endings of these stories which suggest the unrepresentable nature of trauma. Traumatic experience poses a challenge to representational conventions and, in its resistance, encourages a realisation that new ways of writing and speaking about trauma in the African continent, particularly with regards to children, are needed. , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
"This horrid war" - the newly discovered diary of Captain James Primrose, 1851-53
- Authors: Jackson, Caroline
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Primrose, James Maurice, 1819-1892 -- Diaries
- Type: Text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/24703 , vital:23262 , MS 20 063 , This image is held at the Cory Library for Humanities Research at Rhodes University. For further information contact cory@ru.ac.za. The digitisation of this image was made possible through a generous grant received from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 2014-2017.
- Description: "This horrid war" - the newly discoverd diary of Captain James Primrose, 1851-53" - In: Quarterly bulletin of the National Library of South Africa, vol. 67, no. 2, April to June 2013.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Jackson, Caroline
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Primrose, James Maurice, 1819-1892 -- Diaries
- Type: Text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/24703 , vital:23262 , MS 20 063 , This image is held at the Cory Library for Humanities Research at Rhodes University. For further information contact cory@ru.ac.za. The digitisation of this image was made possible through a generous grant received from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 2014-2017.
- Description: "This horrid war" - the newly discoverd diary of Captain James Primrose, 1851-53" - In: Quarterly bulletin of the National Library of South Africa, vol. 67, no. 2, April to June 2013.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2013
'Leaders like children playing with a grenade?' : an analysis of how the Arab Spring was received in South Africa
- Authors: Gevers, Tristan Ronald
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Arab Spring, 2010- Revolutions -- Theory Arab countries -- Social conditions -- 21st century South Africa -- Social condtions -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2846 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006031
- Description: When the Arab Spring took place, it took the world by surprise and sparked renewed interest in the idea of revolution. With differing opinions on what caused such a revolutionary wave throughout the North African and Middle Eastern region, many began looking at their own countries, and South Africa was no different. A debate was sparked in South Africa, as to whether there would be a revolution or not. What I originally set out to accomplish is to find out which side of the debate would be correct through the philosophical context of revolutionary theory. Initially, we attempted to define and consider the history of revolutionary theory. We found that revolutionary theory has gone through four generation and that even finding a theoretically informed definition is difficult. Following this, we considered some social-psychological theories of revolution as well as theories of moral indignation. We found that these theories were incredibly informative and that they provide some insight into the reasoning for revolutionary fear in the South African debate. Through the use of opinion pieces, we then considered the South African debate, and – using socialpsychological theories and the theories of moral indignation - found that both sides of the argument had valuable points, however, they often lacked some foresight. With tentative agreement, we found that the side arguing that there would a revolution in South Africa had a more valuable argument, despite its limitations. However, far more research is required before one can – with more accuracy – predict a revolutionary occurrence in such a way as was done in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Gevers, Tristan Ronald
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Arab Spring, 2010- Revolutions -- Theory Arab countries -- Social conditions -- 21st century South Africa -- Social condtions -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2846 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006031
- Description: When the Arab Spring took place, it took the world by surprise and sparked renewed interest in the idea of revolution. With differing opinions on what caused such a revolutionary wave throughout the North African and Middle Eastern region, many began looking at their own countries, and South Africa was no different. A debate was sparked in South Africa, as to whether there would be a revolution or not. What I originally set out to accomplish is to find out which side of the debate would be correct through the philosophical context of revolutionary theory. Initially, we attempted to define and consider the history of revolutionary theory. We found that revolutionary theory has gone through four generation and that even finding a theoretically informed definition is difficult. Following this, we considered some social-psychological theories of revolution as well as theories of moral indignation. We found that these theories were incredibly informative and that they provide some insight into the reasoning for revolutionary fear in the South African debate. Through the use of opinion pieces, we then considered the South African debate, and – using socialpsychological theories and the theories of moral indignation - found that both sides of the argument had valuable points, however, they often lacked some foresight. With tentative agreement, we found that the side arguing that there would a revolution in South Africa had a more valuable argument, despite its limitations. However, far more research is required before one can – with more accuracy – predict a revolutionary occurrence in such a way as was done in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
'The Area of a Triangle is 1800C’: an analysis of Learners' Idiosyncratic Geometry Responses through the Lenses of Vygotsky's Theory of Concept Formation
- Mhlolo, Michael K, Schäfer, Marc
- Authors: Mhlolo, Michael K , Schäfer, Marc
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141127 , vital:37946 , DOI: 10.1080/10288457.2013.826973
- Description: In this paper, we focus specifically on Vygotsky's theory of concept formation to gain initial insights into seemingly garbled and incoherent connections we observed in learners' responses to a geometry task. While acknowledging research that is supportive of the van Hiele model as being useful when analysing concept formation in geometry, in this paper we use empirical evidence to argue that today's geometry requires learners to reason with many tools which the van Hiele model does not seem to accommodate. Working with 470 written responses of 12–14-year-old learners to a geometry task, we then explored the potential of Vygotsky's theory of concept formation as an alternative framework. We conclude by discussing the paper's contribution both to theory and to classroom practice.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Mhlolo, Michael K , Schäfer, Marc
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141127 , vital:37946 , DOI: 10.1080/10288457.2013.826973
- Description: In this paper, we focus specifically on Vygotsky's theory of concept formation to gain initial insights into seemingly garbled and incoherent connections we observed in learners' responses to a geometry task. While acknowledging research that is supportive of the van Hiele model as being useful when analysing concept formation in geometry, in this paper we use empirical evidence to argue that today's geometry requires learners to reason with many tools which the van Hiele model does not seem to accommodate. Working with 470 written responses of 12–14-year-old learners to a geometry task, we then explored the potential of Vygotsky's theory of concept formation as an alternative framework. We conclude by discussing the paper's contribution both to theory and to classroom practice.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
13C pulse-chase labeling comparative assessment of the active methanogenic archaeal community composition in the transgenic and nontransgenic parental rice rhizospheres
- Zhu, Weijing, Lu, Haohao, Hill, Jaclyn M, Wang, Hailong, Wu, Weixiang
- Authors: Zhu, Weijing , Lu, Haohao , Hill, Jaclyn M , Wang, Hailong , Wu, Weixiang
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/122993 , vital:35389 , https://doi.org/10.1111/1574-6941.12261
- Description: Rhabdosargus holubi (Steindachner, 1881) is a small (maximum size = 450 mm total length; Heemstra and Heemstra 2004) sparid that is distributed along the south-east coast of Africa from St Helena Bay, South Africa, to Maputo, Mozambique (Götz and Cowley 2013). Spawning occurs in the nearshore marine environment primarily during winter, specifically May–August in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) (Wallace 1975) and July–February in the South-Eastern Cape (Whitfield 1998). Individuals reach 50% sexual maturity at approximately 150 mm standard length (SL) in the Eastern Cape (Whitfield 1998). The early life stages are transported by the south-westward-flowing Agulhas Current, and recruit as post-flexion larvae and early juveniles into estuaries during late winter and early summer (Blaber 1974). The warm temperatures and high nutrient levels in estuaries favour fast growth (Blaber 1973a), and fish spend their first year of life in these environments, migrating back out to sea after reaching approximately 120 mm SL. Some individuals remain trapped in closed estuaries, where they may reach sizes greater than 200 mm SL (James et al. 2007a). Rhabdosargus holubi is the dominant estuarine-dependent marine teleost species recorded in permanently open and temporarily open/closed estuaries in the warm-temperate region, which spans the south, south-east and east coast of South Africa (Harrison 2005). The species is also an important component of the linefishery in many SouthAfrican estuaries (10–15.6% by number) (Pradervand and Baird 2002), particularly in Eastern Cape estuaries (Cowley et al. 2003). These figures underestimate the presence of R. holubi, as most individuals making use of estuaries are young, feeding predominately on filamentous macroalgae and diatom flora, and are generally too small to be caught with hook and line (De Wet and Marais 1990). James et al. (2007b) showed that R. holubi made up 34–92% of the annual seine-net catch in the East Kleinemonde Estuary. Rhabdosargus holubi is also important in the KZN shorebased linefishery, representing 4.6% of the total landed catch (Dunlop and Mann 2012)More and more investigations indicate that genetic modification has no significant or persistent effects on microbial community composition in the rice rhizosphere. Very few studies, however, have focused on its impact on functional microorganisms. This study completed a 13C-CO2 pulse-chase labeling experiment comparing the potential effects of cry1Ab gene transformation on 13C tissue distribution and rhizosphere methanogenic archaeal community composition with its parental rice variety (Ck) and a distant parental rice variety (Dp). Results showed that 13C partitioning in aboveground biomass (mainly in stems) and roots of Dp was significantly lower than that of Ck. However, there were no significant differences in 13C partitioning between the Bt transgenic rice line (Bt) and Ck. RNA-stable isotope probing combined with clone library analyses inferred that the group Methanosaetaceae was the predominant methanogenic Archaea in all three rice rhizospheres. The active methanogenic archaeal community in the Bt rhizosphere was dominated by Methanosarcinaceae, Methanosaetaceae, and Methanomicrobiaceae, while there were only two main methanogenic clusters (Methanosaetaceae and Methanomicrobiaceae) in the Ck and Dp rhizospheres. These results indicate that the insertion of cry1Ab gene into the rice genome has the potential to result in the modification of methanogenic community composition in its rhizosphere.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Zhu, Weijing , Lu, Haohao , Hill, Jaclyn M , Wang, Hailong , Wu, Weixiang
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/122993 , vital:35389 , https://doi.org/10.1111/1574-6941.12261
- Description: Rhabdosargus holubi (Steindachner, 1881) is a small (maximum size = 450 mm total length; Heemstra and Heemstra 2004) sparid that is distributed along the south-east coast of Africa from St Helena Bay, South Africa, to Maputo, Mozambique (Götz and Cowley 2013). Spawning occurs in the nearshore marine environment primarily during winter, specifically May–August in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) (Wallace 1975) and July–February in the South-Eastern Cape (Whitfield 1998). Individuals reach 50% sexual maturity at approximately 150 mm standard length (SL) in the Eastern Cape (Whitfield 1998). The early life stages are transported by the south-westward-flowing Agulhas Current, and recruit as post-flexion larvae and early juveniles into estuaries during late winter and early summer (Blaber 1974). The warm temperatures and high nutrient levels in estuaries favour fast growth (Blaber 1973a), and fish spend their first year of life in these environments, migrating back out to sea after reaching approximately 120 mm SL. Some individuals remain trapped in closed estuaries, where they may reach sizes greater than 200 mm SL (James et al. 2007a). Rhabdosargus holubi is the dominant estuarine-dependent marine teleost species recorded in permanently open and temporarily open/closed estuaries in the warm-temperate region, which spans the south, south-east and east coast of South Africa (Harrison 2005). The species is also an important component of the linefishery in many SouthAfrican estuaries (10–15.6% by number) (Pradervand and Baird 2002), particularly in Eastern Cape estuaries (Cowley et al. 2003). These figures underestimate the presence of R. holubi, as most individuals making use of estuaries are young, feeding predominately on filamentous macroalgae and diatom flora, and are generally too small to be caught with hook and line (De Wet and Marais 1990). James et al. (2007b) showed that R. holubi made up 34–92% of the annual seine-net catch in the East Kleinemonde Estuary. Rhabdosargus holubi is also important in the KZN shorebased linefishery, representing 4.6% of the total landed catch (Dunlop and Mann 2012)More and more investigations indicate that genetic modification has no significant or persistent effects on microbial community composition in the rice rhizosphere. Very few studies, however, have focused on its impact on functional microorganisms. This study completed a 13C-CO2 pulse-chase labeling experiment comparing the potential effects of cry1Ab gene transformation on 13C tissue distribution and rhizosphere methanogenic archaeal community composition with its parental rice variety (Ck) and a distant parental rice variety (Dp). Results showed that 13C partitioning in aboveground biomass (mainly in stems) and roots of Dp was significantly lower than that of Ck. However, there were no significant differences in 13C partitioning between the Bt transgenic rice line (Bt) and Ck. RNA-stable isotope probing combined with clone library analyses inferred that the group Methanosaetaceae was the predominant methanogenic Archaea in all three rice rhizospheres. The active methanogenic archaeal community in the Bt rhizosphere was dominated by Methanosarcinaceae, Methanosaetaceae, and Methanomicrobiaceae, while there were only two main methanogenic clusters (Methanosaetaceae and Methanomicrobiaceae) in the Ck and Dp rhizospheres. These results indicate that the insertion of cry1Ab gene into the rice genome has the potential to result in the modification of methanogenic community composition in its rhizosphere.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
53 stitches : sustainability, ecology and social engagement in contemporary art
- Authors: Salton, Bronwen Lauren
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Crocheting Community development -- South Africa Ecology in art
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2390 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001580
- Description: Through an exploration of both the sculptural and socially-engaged art practices undertaken in creating my Master of Fine Art exhibition, 53 Stitches, I unpack some of the possibilities pertaining to the practice of sustainability, ecology and social engagement in contemporary art. This thesis explores the history and concepts of sustainable development and what the implications are of the far-reaching global consideration of sustainability for contemporary art production. Looking at the writings of Felix Guattari’s (2000 [1989]) and Suzi Gablik’s (1992) on the effects of the economic model of capitalism on our environmental, social and mental ecologies, I discuss the necessary paradigm shift of the artists’ identity from the ‘individual self’ towards the ‘relational self’, affirming our interdependence upon our social and natural environments. With reference to the writings of Maja and Reuben Fowkes (2008), I explore the principles of sustainability in contemporary art and discuss the notion of ‘sustainability of form’ through insight into dematerialisation, recycling and the prospect of artists now becoming knowledge producers/facilitators. This is supportive of my personal exploration and experimentation with recyclable materials as a creative medium, used as a means of knowledge and skills facilitation in socially-engaged arts practice and the process of art-making as research. I refer to the sculptural and ‘painterly’ constructions of Sofi Zezmer and Mbongeni Buthelezi, respectively, as a means to elucidate a practical contextualisation of my practical work, particularly with regard to the use of plastic as a constructive medium. Looking at the works of Linda Weintraub (2006), Marnie Badham (2010) and Miwon Kwon (2002), I expand on the theoretical discourse pertaining to sociallyengaged art practices, and elucidate the reconfiguration of the role of the artist towards now becoming a cultural service administrator, organiser and knowledge facilitator. With reference to Arjen Wals and Johnson et al., I further discuss the role of education in sustainability and explore the necessary reconciliation between university institutions and the social and environmental context in which they are located, in the form of place-based capacity building and service learning. I explore within this thesis the concepts and processbased research of my own sculptures
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Salton, Bronwen Lauren
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Crocheting Community development -- South Africa Ecology in art
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2390 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001580
- Description: Through an exploration of both the sculptural and socially-engaged art practices undertaken in creating my Master of Fine Art exhibition, 53 Stitches, I unpack some of the possibilities pertaining to the practice of sustainability, ecology and social engagement in contemporary art. This thesis explores the history and concepts of sustainable development and what the implications are of the far-reaching global consideration of sustainability for contemporary art production. Looking at the writings of Felix Guattari’s (2000 [1989]) and Suzi Gablik’s (1992) on the effects of the economic model of capitalism on our environmental, social and mental ecologies, I discuss the necessary paradigm shift of the artists’ identity from the ‘individual self’ towards the ‘relational self’, affirming our interdependence upon our social and natural environments. With reference to the writings of Maja and Reuben Fowkes (2008), I explore the principles of sustainability in contemporary art and discuss the notion of ‘sustainability of form’ through insight into dematerialisation, recycling and the prospect of artists now becoming knowledge producers/facilitators. This is supportive of my personal exploration and experimentation with recyclable materials as a creative medium, used as a means of knowledge and skills facilitation in socially-engaged arts practice and the process of art-making as research. I refer to the sculptural and ‘painterly’ constructions of Sofi Zezmer and Mbongeni Buthelezi, respectively, as a means to elucidate a practical contextualisation of my practical work, particularly with regard to the use of plastic as a constructive medium. Looking at the works of Linda Weintraub (2006), Marnie Badham (2010) and Miwon Kwon (2002), I expand on the theoretical discourse pertaining to sociallyengaged art practices, and elucidate the reconfiguration of the role of the artist towards now becoming a cultural service administrator, organiser and knowledge facilitator. With reference to Arjen Wals and Johnson et al., I further discuss the role of education in sustainability and explore the necessary reconciliation between university institutions and the social and environmental context in which they are located, in the form of place-based capacity building and service learning. I explore within this thesis the concepts and processbased research of my own sculptures
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
A baseline study of potentially malicious activity across five network telescopes
- Authors: Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429714 , vital:72634 , https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6568378
- Description: +This paper explores the Internet Background Radiation (IBR) observed across five distinct network telescopes over a 15 month period. These network telescopes consisting of a /24 netblock each and are deployed in IP space administered by TENET, the tertiary education network in South Africa covering three numerically distant /8 network blocks. The differences and similarities in the observed network traffic are explored. Two anecdotal case studies are presented relating to the MS08-067 and MS12-020 vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Windows platforms. The first of these is related to the Conficker worm outbreak in 2008, and traffic targeting 445/tcp remains one of the top constituents of IBR as observed on the telescopes. The case of MS12-020 is of interest, as a long period of scanning activity targeting 3389/tcp, used by the Microsoft RDP service, was observed, with a significant drop on activity relating to the release of the security advisory and patch. Other areas of interest are highlighted, particularly where correlation in scanning activity was observed across the sensors. The paper concludes with some discussion on the application of network telescopes as part of a cyber-defence solution.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429714 , vital:72634 , https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6568378
- Description: +This paper explores the Internet Background Radiation (IBR) observed across five distinct network telescopes over a 15 month period. These network telescopes consisting of a /24 netblock each and are deployed in IP space administered by TENET, the tertiary education network in South Africa covering three numerically distant /8 network blocks. The differences and similarities in the observed network traffic are explored. Two anecdotal case studies are presented relating to the MS08-067 and MS12-020 vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Windows platforms. The first of these is related to the Conficker worm outbreak in 2008, and traffic targeting 445/tcp remains one of the top constituents of IBR as observed on the telescopes. The case of MS12-020 is of interest, as a long period of scanning activity targeting 3389/tcp, used by the Microsoft RDP service, was observed, with a significant drop on activity relating to the release of the security advisory and patch. Other areas of interest are highlighted, particularly where correlation in scanning activity was observed across the sensors. The paper concludes with some discussion on the application of network telescopes as part of a cyber-defence solution.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
A baseline study of youth identity, the media and the public sphere in South Africa:
- Malila, Vanessa, Duncan, Jane, Costera Meijer, Irene, Drok, Nico, Garman, Anthea, Strelitz, Larry N, Steenveld, Lynette N, Bosch, Tanja, Ndlovu, Musa
- Authors: Malila, Vanessa , Duncan, Jane , Costera Meijer, Irene , Drok, Nico , Garman, Anthea , Strelitz, Larry N , Steenveld, Lynette N , Bosch, Tanja , Ndlovu, Musa
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/159780 , vital:40343 , https://research.vu.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/3635364/Baseline+study+single+column+(1).pdf
- Description: The project on youth identity, the media and the public sphere in South Africa was led by Prof Jane Duncan, Highway Africa Chair of Media and Information Society, at Rhodes University in South Africa. The research project was funded by the South Africa Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD), and partnered in the Netherlands with Prof Irene Costera Meijer (of VU University of Amsterdam) and Prof Nico Drok (of Windesheim University).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Malila, Vanessa , Duncan, Jane , Costera Meijer, Irene , Drok, Nico , Garman, Anthea , Strelitz, Larry N , Steenveld, Lynette N , Bosch, Tanja , Ndlovu, Musa
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/159780 , vital:40343 , https://research.vu.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/3635364/Baseline+study+single+column+(1).pdf
- Description: The project on youth identity, the media and the public sphere in South Africa was led by Prof Jane Duncan, Highway Africa Chair of Media and Information Society, at Rhodes University in South Africa. The research project was funded by the South Africa Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD), and partnered in the Netherlands with Prof Irene Costera Meijer (of VU University of Amsterdam) and Prof Nico Drok (of Windesheim University).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
A capability approach: Its potential for transformative education research focusing on education for sustainable development and gender issues in science teacher education
- Authors: Chikunda, Charles
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/387120 , vital:68208 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/122266"
- Description: In this article, I use the capability approach to explore the role that the science, mathematics and technical subjects (SMTs) teacher education curriculum can play as a ‘gender conversion factor’. This comes amidst evidence that a major hindrance to the participation of girls in these disciplines is a lack of gender responsiveness in the pedagogy applied in schools. Seven teacher educators, who were purposively sampled at a Technical Teachers’ College in Zimbabwe, were the research participants. I adopted a case study design in which I used in-depth interviews, focus-group discussions and document analysis to generate data. Data was analysed deductively using predetermined themes based on an analytical tool anchored on Sen’s two, but quite distinct, aspects of freedom, that is, the opportunity aspect and the process aspect of freedom. The findings reveal that there is a limited awareness of gender issues among teacher educators, and that these issues are not being transformed into curriculum practice. All in all, it is evident that curriculum practices of SMTs teacher educators are riddled with gender blindness and so trainee teachers graduate from college without the necessary agency to deal with personal, social and environmental conversion factors that can play a role in girls converting the curriculum into functionings (beings and doings) and wider freedoms and valued beings and doings (capabilities).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Chikunda, Charles
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/387120 , vital:68208 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/122266"
- Description: In this article, I use the capability approach to explore the role that the science, mathematics and technical subjects (SMTs) teacher education curriculum can play as a ‘gender conversion factor’. This comes amidst evidence that a major hindrance to the participation of girls in these disciplines is a lack of gender responsiveness in the pedagogy applied in schools. Seven teacher educators, who were purposively sampled at a Technical Teachers’ College in Zimbabwe, were the research participants. I adopted a case study design in which I used in-depth interviews, focus-group discussions and document analysis to generate data. Data was analysed deductively using predetermined themes based on an analytical tool anchored on Sen’s two, but quite distinct, aspects of freedom, that is, the opportunity aspect and the process aspect of freedom. The findings reveal that there is a limited awareness of gender issues among teacher educators, and that these issues are not being transformed into curriculum practice. All in all, it is evident that curriculum practices of SMTs teacher educators are riddled with gender blindness and so trainee teachers graduate from college without the necessary agency to deal with personal, social and environmental conversion factors that can play a role in girls converting the curriculum into functionings (beings and doings) and wider freedoms and valued beings and doings (capabilities).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
A case study of the readability of two grade 4 natural sciences textbooks currently used in South African schools
- Authors: Sibanda, Lucy
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching (Primary) -- Textbooks Reading comprehension -- Study and teaching (Primary) -- South Africa English language -- Textbooks for foreign speakers English language -- Study and teaching (Primary) -- Foreign speakers Education, Primary -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1892 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006083
- Description: This thesis examines the readability of two grade 4 Natural Sciences textbooks currently used in South African schools. Being important sources of classroom input, particularly in grade 4 where learners are reading to learn, textbooks should be readable. That the Natural Sciences subject is only introduced in grade 4 makes the assessment of Natural Sciences textbooks at this level significant. The goal of this research therefore, is to assess the readability of two grade 4 Natural Sciences textbooks and their understandability by learners who speak English as an additional language. The goal of assessing the Natural Sciences textbooks is achieved by the use of cloze and traditional comprehension tests, classic readability formulae, textual analysis and teacher interviews. Cloze and traditional comprehension tests are used to test learners’ understanding of the textbooks and classic readability formulae are meant to assess the grade levels of the textbooks. The tests gauge learner understandability while readability formulae establish text readability. Textual analysis allows the assessment of text readability on the basis of more factors than those accommodated by readability formulae. The textual analysis also helps to identify the readability factors supporting or impeding readability. Teacher interviews are conducted to better understand the teachers’ perceptions on the readability of the Natural Sciences textbooks. The major findings of the study are that the two Natural Sciences textbooks used in the study are generally above the reading level of the intended readers, grade 4 learners and that the participating learners do not understand these textbooks. The challenges with the readability of the textbooks stem mainly from the vocabulary and concepts used in the textbooks which are not well explained.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Sibanda, Lucy
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching (Primary) -- Textbooks Reading comprehension -- Study and teaching (Primary) -- South Africa English language -- Textbooks for foreign speakers English language -- Study and teaching (Primary) -- Foreign speakers Education, Primary -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1892 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006083
- Description: This thesis examines the readability of two grade 4 Natural Sciences textbooks currently used in South African schools. Being important sources of classroom input, particularly in grade 4 where learners are reading to learn, textbooks should be readable. That the Natural Sciences subject is only introduced in grade 4 makes the assessment of Natural Sciences textbooks at this level significant. The goal of this research therefore, is to assess the readability of two grade 4 Natural Sciences textbooks and their understandability by learners who speak English as an additional language. The goal of assessing the Natural Sciences textbooks is achieved by the use of cloze and traditional comprehension tests, classic readability formulae, textual analysis and teacher interviews. Cloze and traditional comprehension tests are used to test learners’ understanding of the textbooks and classic readability formulae are meant to assess the grade levels of the textbooks. The tests gauge learner understandability while readability formulae establish text readability. Textual analysis allows the assessment of text readability on the basis of more factors than those accommodated by readability formulae. The textual analysis also helps to identify the readability factors supporting or impeding readability. Teacher interviews are conducted to better understand the teachers’ perceptions on the readability of the Natural Sciences textbooks. The major findings of the study are that the two Natural Sciences textbooks used in the study are generally above the reading level of the intended readers, grade 4 learners and that the participating learners do not understand these textbooks. The challenges with the readability of the textbooks stem mainly from the vocabulary and concepts used in the textbooks which are not well explained.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
A case study of the research careers of women academics: constraints and enablements
- Authors: Obers, Nöelle Marie Thérèse
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Career success , Research , Women college teachers , Women in higher education , Sex discrimination in higher education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1313 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001575
- Description: The purpose of this research is to investigate constraints that women academics experience in their research careers and how enablements, particularly in the form of mentoring relationships and support structures, can impact on their research career development in the context of the new knowledge economy of Higher Education. The research was a case study of one South African Institution and used a mixed method approach. Social realism underpinned the research. Data was collected and analysed within the spheres of structure, culture and agency, using critical discourse analysis, interpretation and abstraction strategies. I investigated how women researchers understand and experience career success and what they perceive and experience as enablements and constraints to their research careers. Institutional support structures and cultures were examined with a focus on the role of the Head of Department. I explored mentoring and questioned whether the agency of women academics is empowered by mentoring and supportive structures to overcome constraints to their research productivity and the development of their careers. Gender-based issues of inequity, low self-esteem and accrual of social capital appear to be the underlying factors affecting how women perform in the research arena and advance within the institution. It was found that mentoring is a generative mechanism that has a favourable impact on women academics as it enables them to overcome obstacles to research productivity and career advancement.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Obers, Nöelle Marie Thérèse
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Career success , Research , Women college teachers , Women in higher education , Sex discrimination in higher education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1313 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001575
- Description: The purpose of this research is to investigate constraints that women academics experience in their research careers and how enablements, particularly in the form of mentoring relationships and support structures, can impact on their research career development in the context of the new knowledge economy of Higher Education. The research was a case study of one South African Institution and used a mixed method approach. Social realism underpinned the research. Data was collected and analysed within the spheres of structure, culture and agency, using critical discourse analysis, interpretation and abstraction strategies. I investigated how women researchers understand and experience career success and what they perceive and experience as enablements and constraints to their research careers. Institutional support structures and cultures were examined with a focus on the role of the Head of Department. I explored mentoring and questioned whether the agency of women academics is empowered by mentoring and supportive structures to overcome constraints to their research productivity and the development of their careers. Gender-based issues of inequity, low self-esteem and accrual of social capital appear to be the underlying factors affecting how women perform in the research arena and advance within the institution. It was found that mentoring is a generative mechanism that has a favourable impact on women academics as it enables them to overcome obstacles to research productivity and career advancement.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
A central enrichment-based comparison of two alternative methods of generating transcription factor binding motifs from protein binding microarray data
- Authors: Mahaye, Ntombikayise
- Date: 2013 , 2013-03-13
- Subjects: Transcription factors , Bioinformatics , Protein binding , Protein microarrays , Cell lines
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3890 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003049 , Transcription factors , Bioinformatics , Protein binding , Protein microarrays , Cell lines
- Description: Characterising transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) is an important problem in bioinformatics, since predicting binding sites has many applications such as predicting gene regulation. ChIP-seq is a powerful in vivo method for generating genome-wide putative binding regions for transcription factors (TFs). CentriMo is an algorithm that measures central enrichment of a motif and has previously been used as motif enrichment analysis (MEA) tool. CentriMo uses the fact that ChIP-seq peak calling methods are likely to be biased towards the centre of the putative binding region, at least in cases where there is direct binding. CentriMo calculates a binomial p-value representing central enrichment, based on the central bias of the binding site with the highest likelihood ratio. In cases where binding is indirect or involves cofactors, a more complex distribution of preferred binding sites may occur but, in many cases, a low CentriMo p-value and low width of maximum enrichment (about 100bp) are strong evidence that the motif in question is the true binding motif. Several other MEA tools have been developed, but they do not consider motif central enrichment. The study investigates the claim made by Zhao and Stormo (2011) that they have identified a simpler method than that used to derive the UniPROBE motif database for creating motifs from protein binding microarray (PBM) data, which they call BEEML-PBM (Binding Energy Estimation by Maximum Likelihood-PBM). To accomplish this, CentriMo is employed on 13 motifs from both motif databases. The results indicate that there is no conclusive difference in the quality of motifs from the original PBM and BEEML-PBM approaches. CentriMo provides an understanding of the mechanisms by which TFs bind to DNA. Out of 13 TFs for which ChIP-seq data is used, BEEML-PBM reports five better motifs and twice it has not had any central enrichment when the best PBM motif does. PBM approach finds seven motifs with better central enrichment. On the other hand, across all variations, the number of examples where PBM is better is not high enough to conclude that it is overall the better approach. Some TFs bind directly to DNA, some indirect or in combination with other TFs. Some of the predicted mechanisms are supported by literature evidence. This study further revealed that the binding specificity of a TF is different in different cell types and development stages. A TF is up-regulated in a cell line where it performs its biological function. The discovery of cell line differences, which has not been done before in any CentriMo study, is interesting and provides reasons to study this further.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Mahaye, Ntombikayise
- Date: 2013 , 2013-03-13
- Subjects: Transcription factors , Bioinformatics , Protein binding , Protein microarrays , Cell lines
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3890 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003049 , Transcription factors , Bioinformatics , Protein binding , Protein microarrays , Cell lines
- Description: Characterising transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) is an important problem in bioinformatics, since predicting binding sites has many applications such as predicting gene regulation. ChIP-seq is a powerful in vivo method for generating genome-wide putative binding regions for transcription factors (TFs). CentriMo is an algorithm that measures central enrichment of a motif and has previously been used as motif enrichment analysis (MEA) tool. CentriMo uses the fact that ChIP-seq peak calling methods are likely to be biased towards the centre of the putative binding region, at least in cases where there is direct binding. CentriMo calculates a binomial p-value representing central enrichment, based on the central bias of the binding site with the highest likelihood ratio. In cases where binding is indirect or involves cofactors, a more complex distribution of preferred binding sites may occur but, in many cases, a low CentriMo p-value and low width of maximum enrichment (about 100bp) are strong evidence that the motif in question is the true binding motif. Several other MEA tools have been developed, but they do not consider motif central enrichment. The study investigates the claim made by Zhao and Stormo (2011) that they have identified a simpler method than that used to derive the UniPROBE motif database for creating motifs from protein binding microarray (PBM) data, which they call BEEML-PBM (Binding Energy Estimation by Maximum Likelihood-PBM). To accomplish this, CentriMo is employed on 13 motifs from both motif databases. The results indicate that there is no conclusive difference in the quality of motifs from the original PBM and BEEML-PBM approaches. CentriMo provides an understanding of the mechanisms by which TFs bind to DNA. Out of 13 TFs for which ChIP-seq data is used, BEEML-PBM reports five better motifs and twice it has not had any central enrichment when the best PBM motif does. PBM approach finds seven motifs with better central enrichment. On the other hand, across all variations, the number of examples where PBM is better is not high enough to conclude that it is overall the better approach. Some TFs bind directly to DNA, some indirect or in combination with other TFs. Some of the predicted mechanisms are supported by literature evidence. This study further revealed that the binding specificity of a TF is different in different cell types and development stages. A TF is up-regulated in a cell line where it performs its biological function. The discovery of cell line differences, which has not been done before in any CentriMo study, is interesting and provides reasons to study this further.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013