Policy and practice : an activity systems' analysis of a further diploma in education (technology)
- Authors: Thomen, Eva Christine Salzmann
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Action theory Teachers -- Training of -- South Africa Technology -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1854 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004525
- Description: This research examines, within the interpretive paradigm, how emerging educational policy in an in-service educator education programme, namely, a Further Diploma in Education (Technology), is implemented and practiced by educators in the classroom. Technology is a new learning area in the South African curriculum that aims to develop learners' technological skills and promote the practical application of Science and Mathematics. Technology is seen as a way of developing a productive workforce that can design, realise and evaluate technological problems in a global economy. Engestrom's version of Activity Theory was used as the conceptual framework. Activity Theory focuses on 'activity' as a unit of analysis that captures the individual in context. This research focuses on the lecturers' and the students' actions in the programme, and the educators' and the learners' actions in the classroom. The research design was an eclectic case study consisting of two embedded cases within a single larger case namely, in-service educator education. Multiple single cases were selected within the two embedded cases. Trustworthiness and authenticity were addressed through the triangulation of data using mUltiple sources and methods of data collection. Data were analysed and interpreted in a hermeneutic-like process that emerged through gradual induction over time. The findings of the research suggest that the in-service educator education programme did not promote the effective implementation of educational policy. Major challenges to the effective implementation of educational policy include: the formulation and implementation of an INSET programme during rapid educational policy change, the under-preparedness and language difficulties of the participating educators that constrained policy implementation in the INSET programme and the classroom, the role of organisational rules in shaping the activities in the INSET programme and the classroom, and the broader community'S contribution to resource constraints in the classroom. This research suggests that the participating educators are not likely to be major change agents in the transformation of education in South Africa. This concurs with other research findings that suggest that educator education is a weak intervention incapable of overcoming the shortcomings of the educators' own personal schooling or the impact of work experience.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Process for the preparation of vanillin from a mixed m-cresol/p-cresol stream
- Authors: Buddoo, Subash
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Vanillin
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech (Chemistry)
- Identifier: vital:10968 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/138 , Vanillin
- Description: The Vanillin project was undertaken by AECI as it was believed that with the raw materials available from SASOL i.e. cresols, it would be possible to develop a process that would be globally competitive. A process for preparing both vanillin and ethyl vanillin was developed by AECI’s Research and Development Department using a mixed m- and p-cresol stream as feed. The displacement of bromide by methoxide is very successful when using a dimethyl formamide (DMF)/alcohol solvent system and excellent conversions (>95%) and selectivities (>95%) may be obtained. However, the use of DMF, which poses a serious chronic health risk, is unacceptable in this process since the products are intended for use as food and flavouring chemicals. In view of the above the main objectives of this study were: · To find a suitable alternative solvent system, which could produce comparable results while still being economically viable; · To develop an appropriate experimental protocol in the laboratory based on the alternative solvent system; · To determine the important reaction variables by conducting statistically designed experiments; · To optimise the reaction to produce a reproducible and robust experimental protocol; and · To test the reaction thoroughly at bench-scale level and to obtain experimental data for scale-up to pilot plant The most promising alternative solvent system was a methanol/methyl acetate mixture, which produced satisfactory results in the preliminary assessment (conversion of 98.3% and selectivity of 92.0%). DMA and acetonitrile also produced promising results but were not considered for further investigation because of toxicity and cost issues. A set of statistically designed experiments was carried out on the methanol/methyl acetate solvent system where four variables were tested i.e., substrate concentration, temperature, catalyst loading, and methanol to methyl acetate volume ratio. The experimentally determined response surface model showed that the most important variable was catalyst loading (63.2%) for conversion. With respect to selectivity, the most important variables were catalyst loading (31.9%) and methanol to methyl acetate ratio (33.1%). The optimum reaction conditions were as follows: · Temperature: 120°C · Methanol:methyl acetate: 15:1 vol/vol · Catalyst loading: 8 mol % to substrate · Substrate concentration: 22 %m/m on solvent · Catalyst: Copper(I) bromide · Sodium Equivalents: 2.7 wrt substrate · Time: 3 hours The optimum conditions were tested for reproducibility in a 1 Labmax pressure reactor. Replicated reactions, two at a 10% and two at a 20% substrate concentration gave conversions and selectivities all greater than 90%. Although the reaction mixture was a slurry at these concentrations, the reactions were very fast and virtually complete within the first hour (~95% conversion). Initial scale-up studies were conducted in an 8 Parr reactor where five reactions were carried out using the optimum conditions described above. The conversion of substrate and vanillin selectivity was consistently high and compared favourably to the Labmax reactions. The average conversion was 97.3% (96.3 to 98.5%) at an average selectivity of 98.2% (97.4 to 99.1%). A study of the reaction kinetics confirmed that the reaction was first order with respect to the substrate as a plot of substrate concentration versus reaction rate gave a straight line. The rate constant was calculated as 1.1096 k(h-1). The reaction mechanism proposed for the copper assisted nucleophilic aromatic substitution involves the formation of an adduct between sodium methoxide, methyl acetate and copper(I) bromide. The formation of a transient intermediate with the substrate allows intramolecular delivery of the methoxide ion to the aryl moiety through a CuI – CuIII type cycle.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Processes of transformation in a group psychotherapy intervention for single mothers
- Authors: Spiro, Monica
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Single mothers -- Psychological aspects Group psychotherapy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3100 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004375
- Description: South African and international statistics indicate that single mother families account for a large and growing proportion of the population. The economic, practical, and emotional stresses of single mothering have been documented and the experience of isolation that often accompanies their circumstances is noted in the literature. Group therapy has been utilised as a treatment plan with single mothers to provide social support and to help the women cope with stress. This thesis examines the experience of single mothers who attended a slow, open group therapy intervention for single mothers at the Child Guidance Clinic, University of Cape Town. The study is located in a feminist social constructionist tradition that recognises the multiplicity of social realities. It places the women's experiences at the foreground of the investigation so as to allow for insight into the socially constructed and first-order reality of the respondents. The research investigates the women's subjective experiences of single parenting; their experiences in the group and its impact on them; and their perceptions of group processes that may have facilitated transformation in their lives. Ten members of the single mother groups were selected for in-depth interviews. Five of the most recent graduates were interviewed and five more participants were selected as the five longest standing members currently participating in the groups. The participants' length of stay in the group at the time of interview varied between eight months and five years. The women were drawn from a range of race, class, cultural and educational backgrounds. The data was collected using individual semi-structured in -depth interviews. A constructivist grounded theory approach was employed to analyse the data. Results revealed the value of the group therapy intervention as a transformative experience for these women who face the challenges of being single parents. The participants highlighted the interpersonal factor of the group intervention as central to their experience and identified this relational aspect as the unique site of their emotional growth. The five interpersonal factors that were identified are: non-judgemental acceptance; support; commonality of experience; reciprocity; and challenge and confrontation between group members. Their accounts of personal changes brought about by participation in the group reflect internal intrapsychic transformations, which are understood in terms of increased se lf-acceptance, enhanced self-esteem, and improved self-confidence. Furthermore, their accounts of personal transformations include a reorganisation of their relational patterns from their immediate to their larger social context. The centrality of relational processes in this research reinforces contemporary theory of women's psychology, particularly theory emerging from the Stone Center, which offers a view of women's psychological growth as occurring in and through participation and engagement with others to achieve more mature and satisfying forms of relating. The accounts of personal and collective transformation provide further insight in to the concept of relational empowerment as it occurs in these groups and offer an understanding of the potentially restorative value of group therapy for single mothers. Future therapeutic interventions are considered and the need for further research in the field is discussed.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Product development as part of a positioning strategy for the hunting industry in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Van Niekerk, Pieter du Preez
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: New products -- Marketing , Hunting -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Game farms -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Venison -- Marketing , Meat industry and trade -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DTech
- Identifier: vital:10894 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/111 , New products -- Marketing , Hunting -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Game farms -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Venison -- Marketing , Meat industry and trade -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: In this study on product development and positioning in the hunting industry in the Eastern Cape, two conceptual frameworks were developed, based on a literature study. These positioning and product development concepts were tested against primary and secondary information gathered about the hunting industry. The game and hunting industries were in a strong growth phase at the time of this study. These industries are playing an increasingly important role in the economy of the Eastern Cape, and more and more agricultural land is utilised for game ranching. From the perspective of obtaining a competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive environment, it is therefore important for hunting providers to develop suitable products, and to position these products correctly. It is also important to investigate the characteristics of the game and hunting industries in the Eastern Cape and to get information about the characteristics of the market in which product development and positioning take place. Hunting is the most important form of game utilisation in the Eastern Cape, followed by cropping of game and live game sales. At the time of this study, the total value of the game utilised annually in the Eastern Cape was in excess of R168 million. Game utilisation seemed to be taking place on a sustainable basis, as the number of animals utilised annually was less than the annual production. Kudu and springbok provide the biggest total income, and, together with mountain reedbuck, are the most abundant species in the Eastern Cape. The main game-producing areas in the Eastern Cape coincide with the areas where extensive beef, sheep and goat farming are practised. The hunting products on offer from hunting providers, differ in certain ways. Aspects like price, type of hunting provided, game species available for hunting, terrain where hunting takes place, and various other aspects in connection with the hunt, differ from hunting provider to hunting provider. Characteristics of the hunting experience that hunters desire may be divided into core and variable elements. The core elements include: · the conditions pertaining to the hunt being spelt out clearly; · the maintenance of safety standards; · reasonable day fees; · the presence of game in sufficient numbers; and · other aspects generally desired by hunters. In the study it was found that the needs of hunters also differ regarding certain aspects of the hunting experience. These variable elements include price levels, type and availability of accommodation, and the role of the hunting provider. The core aspects that hunters desire are as a rule part of the product offering. From a product development perspective, the variable elements provide an opportunity to customise products to hunter needs. The inclusion or exclusion of variable elements from the product offering give rise to certain unique product features, and therefore provide the opportunity for product differentiation. After development, products are positioned firstly by selecting a market segment to focus on. Secondly, the needs of hunters in the target segment should be clearly identified, followed by the development of suitable products based on hunter needs, and taking into account the features of competitive offerings. Decisions should also be taken about the features to be included in the product offering to achieve product differentiation. After development of a suitable product, an image or brand should be chosen for the product, and this image should be effectively communicated to the market. A number of possible positioning options were identified for hunting providers. It was found that factors like the physical features of the ranch, available infrastructure, the market segment chosen, desires of the hunting providers, and the perception of the needs of hunters, eventually influence decisions about product development and positioning. The final decisions on positioning should take the core competencies of the hunting provider into account and should ensure that the hunting provider has the ability to fill the chosen position in the market.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Promotion of liberal values in South African foreign policy : beyond the structural imperatives of the international system?
- Authors: Mkalipi, Zanethemba
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: South Africa -- Foreign relations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:2865 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007662 , South Africa -- Foreign relations
- Description: The end of the Cold War in the early 1990s led to a multilateral international system no longer divided by contending forces of capitalism and communism. In the context of South Africa, the end of the Cold War occurred at a juncture where the apartheid government was being challenged by pro-democracy forces that have fought against it for decades. The developments in the international system and in the country led to South Africa adopting universal liberal values not only in its constitution, but also in its international relations. Foreign policy documents and statements by the ministry of Foreign Affairs also reflected the country's aspiration of becoming a mediator, a facilitator for democracy and a peacemaker especially in the context of Africa. International expectation mounted as South Africa was perceived as possessing the capacity to act in a manner that advances democratic values and which gives voice to the weak nations of the world. However, the aura of a post-apartheid South Africa that would act not only in its interest, but also in the interest of the world community never fully materialised. South Africa failed to act in a manner consistent with its stated commitment to democratic values when it recognised Peoples Republic of China, an undemocratic and repressive government. It also marched into Lesotho in 1998, resulting in the destabilisation of this tiny Southern African country. These events led to an increasing criticism of the South African government. Some argued that South Africa was still inexperienced given its recent emergence as a world player. Others blamed the inconsistency on a too broad and ambitious foreign policy that set itself for failure. This study seeks to contribute to the conceptual understanding of the debate regarding the ambiguous nature of South Africa's foreign policy behaviour. It situates the conceptualisation of South Africa's foreign policy within the predominant debates in international relations between realism, political structuralism and pluralism. Firstly, it holds that the end of the Cold War and ascendancy of globalist conceptions of international relations did not lead to the inadequacy of political structuralism as an organising framework. Secondly, it attempts to clarify the gap between South Africa's foreign policy and foreign policy behaviour by employing the assumptions advanced by political structuralism, Thirdly, a case study of South Africa's foreign policy towards China, Lesotho, the Great Lakes and Swaziland is carried out. Here it is demonstrated that the ambiguities of South Africa's foreign policy are a function of the constraints imposed by the political and economic structure of the international system, It draws its conclusion by providing methodological recommendations to South Africa's foreign policy makers and future researchers in the field of foreign policy analysis.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Psychological resilience: the role of unconscious and conscious coping strategies in the mediation of stress in high risk occupational contexts
- Authors: Alexander, Debra Geraldine
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Hazardous occupations , Teachers -- South Africa -- Job stress , Police -- South Africa -- Job stress , Emergency medical personnel -- South Africa -- Job stress , Stress (Psychology)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3092 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003059 , Hazardous occupations , Teachers -- South Africa -- Job stress , Police -- South Africa -- Job stress , Emergency medical personnel -- South Africa -- Job stress , Stress (Psychology)
- Description: This study investigates the role of unconscious and conscious coping strategies in the mediation of stress in high risk occupational contexts. The Social Readjustment Rating Scale, the Multidimensional Coping Inventory and the Defense Style Questionnaires were completed by 194 police, ambulance and teaching personnel. A sample of 37 teachers served as a non high risk occupation control group. Descriptive statistics, regression analysis, analysis of variance, analysis of difference and principal component analysis were performed on the data. Results indicated minimal significant between group differences. Within group variances were yielded. A minor relationship between levels of stress and usage of positive and negative mechanisms was observed. The significance of these findings is discussed and recommendations made for further study.
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- Date Issued: 2002
RADGIS - an improved architecture for runtime-extensible, distributed GIS applications
- Authors: Preston, Richard Michael
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Geographic information systems
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4626 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006497
- Description: A number of GIS architectures and technologies have emerged recently to facilitate the visualisation and processing of geospatial data over the Web. The work presented in this dissertation builds on these efforts and undertakes to overcome some of the major problems with traditional GIS client architectures, including application bloat, lack of customisability, and lack of interoperability between GIS products. In this dissertation we describe how a new client-side GIS architecture was developed and implemented as a proof-of-concept application called RADGIS, which is based on open standards and emerging distributed component-based software paradigms. RADGIS reflects the current trend in development focus from Web browser-based applications to customised clients, based on open standards, that make use of distributed Web services. While much attention has been paid to exposing data on the Web, there is growing momentum towards providing “value-added” services. A good example of this is the tremendous industry interest in the provision of location-based services, which has been discussed as a special use-case of our RADGIS architecture. Thus, in the near future client applications will not simply be used to access data transparently, but will also become facilitators for the location-transparent invocation of local and remote services. This flexible architecture will ensure that data can be stored and processed independently of the location of the client that wishes to view or interact with it. Our RADGIS application enables content developers and end-users to create and/or customise GIS applications dynamically at runtime through the incorporation of GIS services. This ensures that the client application has the flexibility to withstand changing levels of expertise or user requirements. These GIS services are implemented as components that execute locally on the client machine, or as remote CORBA Objects or EJBs. Assembly and deployment of these components is achieved using a specialised XML descriptor. This XML descriptor is written using a markup language that we developed specifically for this purpose, called DGCML, which contains deployment information, as well as a GUI specification and links to an XML-based help system that can be merged with the RADGIS client application’s existing help system. Thus, no additional requirements are imposed on object developers by the RADGIS architecture, i.e. there is no need to rewrite existing objects since DGCML acts as a runtime-customisable wrapper, allowing existing objects to be utilised by RADGIS. While the focus of this thesis has been on overcoming the above-mentioned problems with traditional GIS applications, the work described here can also be applied in a much broader context, especially in the development of highly customisable client applications that are able to integrate Web services at runtime.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Reading William Blake and T.S. Eliot: contrary poets, progressive vision
- Authors: Rayneard, Max James Anthony
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Blake, William, 1757-1827 -- Criticism and interpretation , Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965 -- Criticism and interpretation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2279 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007545 , Blake, William, 1757-1827 -- Criticism and interpretation , Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965 -- Criticism and interpretation
- Description: Many critics resort to explaining readers' experiences of poems like William Blake's Jerusalem and T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets in terms of "spirituality" or "religion". These experiences are broadly defined in this thesis as jouissance (after Roland Barthes' essay The Pleasure of the Text) or "experience qua experience". Critical attempts at the reduction of jouissance into abstract constructs serve merely as stopgap measures by which critics might avoid having to account for the limits of their own rational discourse. These poems, in particular, are deliberately structured to preserve the reader's experience of the poem from reduction to any particular meta-discursive construct, including "the spiritual". Through a broad application of Rezeption-Asthetik principles, this thesis demonstrates how the poems are structured to direct readers' faculties to engage with the hypothetical realm within which jouissance occurs, beyond the rationally abstractable. T.S. Eliot's poetic oeuvre appears to chart his growing confidence in non-rational, pre-critical faculties. Through "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", The Waste Land, and Four Quartets, Eliot's poetry becomes gradually less prescriptive of the terms to which the experience of his poetry might be reduced. In Four Quartets he finally entrusts readers with a great deal of responsibility for "co-creating" the poem's significance. Like T.S . Eliot, although more consistently throughout his oeuvre, William Blake is similarly concerned with the validation of the reader's subjective interpretative/creative faculties. Blake's Jerusalem is carefully structured on various intertwined levels to rouse and exercise in the reader what the poet calls the "All Glorious Imagination" (Keynes 1972: 679). The jouissance of Jerusalem or Four Quartets is located in the reader's efforts to co-create the significance of the poems. It is only during a direct engagement with this process, rather than in subsequent attempts to abstract it, that the "experience qua experience" may be understood.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Reconciling Western and African philosophy : rationality, culture and communitarianism
- Authors: Vitsha, Xolisa
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Philosophy, African , Africa -- Intellectual life , Philosophy, Comparative , Philosophy , Communitarianism , Self
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2838 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003807 , Philosophy, African , Africa -- Intellectual life , Philosophy, Comparative , Philosophy , Communitarianism , Self
- Description: This thesis attempts to reconcile Western and African philosophy with specific reference to the issues of rationality, culture and communitarianism. It also discusses the post-Enlightenment, Western philosophical concept of liberal "atomism" and the primacy of the individual and the emergence of a communitarian critique in response. This thesis intends exploring how Western notions of individuality and the communitarian response can be reconciled with contemporary African philosophy and African communitarian thought in particular. To do this, it is necessary to explore the problem of liberal individualism and how African communitarianism might reinforce the Western communitarian critique. African communitarianism has a processual understanding of personhood that underpins its conception of the Self. In contrast to this view, Western communitarianism has a relational conception of the individual Self. Thus, this thesis argues that African communitarianism has a more profound understanding of the constitution of the Self. To demonstrate these claims, this study discusses notions of rationality which inform each of the philosophical traditions. This will enable a comparative analysis of the above-mentioned philosophical traditions with the intention of uncovering the concepts that provide the platform for their reconciliation.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Reengineering the business processes in small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME'S) in order to improve profitability
- Authors: Figg, Malcolm John
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Reengineering (Management)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:10850 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/112 , Reengineering (Management)
- Description: The research problem addressed in this study was to identify guidelines to improve business processes that will enhance the ability of Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMME’s) to be able to operate competitively in local and global markets. Reengineering of business processes (BPR) is necessary because of internal factors such as increasing global competition, increasing domestic competition, new technologies, industry overcapacity, shrinking markets and increasing pressure from suppliers. There are also various external factors that influence the necessity to reengineer business processes. These factors include increasing cost structure, declining profitability, declining sales, low productivity, inadequate employee skills and less efficiency in operations. In order to identify guidelines that will enhance SMME’s performance, questionnaires with relevant questions were used . The findings of the literature survey clearly highlights the specific areas where attention is required for improvements.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Relationship between temparament and linear body parameters of beef cattle under communal grazing system
- Authors: Nekhofhe, Avhasei Justice
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Cattle , Grazing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech (Agricultural Management)
- Identifier: vital:10965 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/113 , Cattle , Grazing
- Description: Introduction : Indigenous cattle are mostly reared where the traditional farming is practiced including Northern Region of South Africa. The majority of farmers own Nguni type of cattle although other breeds are found in the region. They perform well under harsh conditions and they seem to produce better under intensive management. However, communal farmers are becoming aware and interested in indigenous breeds especially Nguni cattle type because of their adaptability. Beef cattle production and research require constant movement and handling of livestock (Erf et al., 1992 & Grandin, 1993). Dipping, castration, branding, ear-tagging and counting is commonly practiced as beef cattle management norms hence dehorning are partly practiced as some of the animals had horns which were disturbing them to pass through crushpens and as a result they increased bruising to other animals. At Matatani and Muledzhi areas animals including calves are packed in the crushpens, counted, weighed and temperament traits were also measured on the scale and this is done in order to document the information for this research and future use. Temperament is a behavioural response of animals as handled by man. It is important to be measured in beef cattle farmers under communal grazing conditions as it reduces farmer’s profit and it makes the stock man’s work unpleasant. Therefore, it is also needs to be improved for the improvement of beef cattle schemes. Management system of communal farmers was not conducive to better quality meat due to horns in some animals which ultimately cause bruising in other animals. However, exotic bulls were bought at random for the improvement of other breed types found in these two areas. The focus of this study is almost in Nguni cattle type managed under communal grazing system. Lastly, the purpose of this study is to determine behavioral response of beef cattle under communal management system at their dipping tanks.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Removal and recovery of gold and platinum from aqueous solutions utilising the non-viable biomass Asolla filiculoides
- Authors: Antunes, Ana Paula Martins
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Azolla filiculoides Metal wastes -- Recycling Gold -- Recycling Platinum -- Recycling
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3894 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003726
- Description: Waste water from the mining industry is generally extremely complex and contains numerous species which influence the adsorption of the metals to any biomass. A variety of factors need to be addressed before treatment is considered viable. It is also beneficial to establish the binding characteristics of the metal of interest to maximise its interaction with the biomass to be utilised. Azalia filiculaides was investigated in the adsorption of gold(III), lead(II), iron(ID), copper(II) and platinum (IV). In batch studies, the optimum biomass and initial gold(III) concentrations were found to be 5 gIL and 8 mgIL respectively. The adsorption of gold(ID) is principally pH-dependent with optimal removal at pH 2. Lead(II), iron(III) and copper(II) did not compete with gold(III) adsorption under equimolar and simulated effluent conditions. Halides, with increasing affinity for gold (chloride < bromide < iodide), can affect gold uptake with the soft base, iodide, exhibiting the most inhibition (25%) and the hard base, chloride, O%. Mercaptoethanol (soft base) showed no interference in gold(III) adsorption while the presence of sulphate (hard base) and sulphite (borderline base) showed that concentrations in excess of 1 0 mM may adversely affect gold(ill) uptake, most likely due to competition for cationic sites on the biomass. Column studies, better suited to high volume treatment, indicated that a flow-rate of 5 mL/min and an initial gold(ill) concentration of 5 mgIL was optimal. Competitive effects between lead, iron, copper and gold again showed little or no interference. The halides, chloride, bromide and iodide, affect gold(ill) uptake similarly to the batch studies, while the bases mercaptoethanol and sulphate minimally affect gold(III) binding with sulphite severely hampering adsorption (70% inhibition). To optimise gold desorption, preliminary batch studies indicated that a ratio of 1:1 of adsorbentdesorbent was optimal, whilst gas purging of thiourea with oxygen, air and nitrogen decreased gold elution in proportion to decreased amounts of oxygen. A series of desorbents were utilised, in column studies, to optimise and determine the speciation of bound gold. The presence of an oxidant with thiourea enhanced desorption greater than 3 fold when compared with thiourea alone. Thiourea desorption studies, aided by the oxidant, suggest that gold is present in the + I and 0 oxidation states. Ultimately thiourea, perchloric acid and hydrochloric acid was found to be the most optimal elutant for gold (J 00% recovery). For selective metal recovery oflead and copper, pre-washing the plant material with water, utilising an acid (0.3 M nitric acid), pumping in an up-flow mode, and recycling the desorbent six times was found to be optimal elutant for gold (J 00% recovery). Cost analysis of utilising elutant versus incinerating the biomass for gold recovery indicated the latter as the most economical. Over a 5 cycle adsorption and desorption series, acid desorption before each adsorption cycle was found to result in greater than 92% desorption for lead and 96% for copper. Gold recovery was 97% with incineration. A preliminary study with gold effluent (Mine C) indicated that nickel and sulphate was removed in batch and column studies. Gold removal was found to be 100% and 4% in batch and column studies respectively. Adsorption of gold in the effluent study was accompanied by the release ofHt. Modifying the plant material with various reagents failed to identify the primary binding sites and the role of polysaccharides, proteins and lipids in gold(ill) uptake. The mode of gold binding is suggested as being initially ionic, this is very rapid, with the interaction of the anionic complex, [AuCI₄]". with the cationic biomass (PH 2). This eventually leads to the displacement of the chloride ligand(s) initiating covalent binding. Spectral studies of the chemical interaction between gold and the representative tannins indicated the protonated hydroxy groups to be responsible. All evidence suggests that the binding mechanisms of gold are not simple. Preliminary adsorption studies of platinum by Azalia filiculaides were conducted. Batch studies indicated that J gIL biomass concentration, initial platinum concentration of 20 mgIL and pH 2 are optimal, while the column studies indicated a flow-rate of! 0 rnL/min and initial platinum concentration of 20 mgIL as optimal. In the platinum effluent study, platinum showed a removal of 23 % and 2 J % for the batch and column studies respectively. Again adsorption was accompanied by //' release. Azalia filiculaides demonstrated its feasibility in the removal of gold and platinum from simulated as well as waste water solutions. Its potential viability as a biosorbent was demonstrated by the high recovery from synthetic solutions of greater than 99% for gold (2-10 mgIL), and greater than 89% for platinum (20 mgIL).
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- Date Issued: 2002
Representations of women in women's magazines
- Authors: Ndzamela, Viwe
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Women in mass media , Women's periodicals, South African
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3475 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002930 , Women in mass media , Women's periodicals, South African
- Description: Women’s magazines as a popular form of entertainment are among the media products that have been criticised for misrepresenting women. These popular magazines are often condemned for their failure to represent women in a positive light although they claim to target women as their market. The objective of this research is to assess and analyse representations of women in selected women’s magazines. Because women’s magazines are part of popular culture, which is not only concerned with the production process but also takes into consideration the needs of the readers, the research seeks to find out whether these magazines meet the expectations of its readers. The study is a combination of qualitative analysis, which looks at the frequency and the manner in which women are represented, with a qualitative interpretation of women’s roles within those representations. The issue of representations of women in women’s magazines is a very complex one as magazines, like other cultural texts are open to multiple interpretations. Consequently, multiple conclusions have been reached and the outcome of the study is therefore a series of three conclusions based on feature articles, advertisements and at a theoretical level.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Reproductive conflicts in honeybee colonies
- Authors: Pirk, Christian Walter Werner
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Honeybee -- Reproduction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5755 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005443
- Description: In advanced eusocial hymenopteran societies workers have ovaries and can lay eggs, but are unable to mate. Workers are more related to their own offspring than to every other member of the colony. So worker reproduction contains both worker-worker and worker-queen conflict. The queen- worker conflict is discussed elsewhere, but if the queen mates with more than two males, worker policing should be selected to lower potential conflicts. However in the Cape honeybee it was predicted that worker policing is absent or less expressed than in other honeybee subspecies, because workers produce female offspring thelytokously. So laying workers and their offspring are nearly genetically identical, which results in the fact that other workers are as related to workers derived from eggs laid by the queen as laid by a worker. However, worker reproduction may be costly and therefore worker policing could be an evolutionary adaptation in the Cape honeybee to lower the costs derived from laying worker activity. Indeed, Cape honeybee colonies show efficient egg removal behaviour, suggesting that other factors like colony efficiency could favour egg removal behaviour. Since egg removal behaviour is a colony phenomenon, factors that affect colony performance could also affect egg removal behaviour. Egg removal behaviour was considerably affected by environmental changes, indicating that other tasks have a higher priority than egg removal behaviour. Thousands of queenright colonies of the neighbouring subspecies (A. m. scutellata) were taken over by laying A. m. capensis workers, showing that A. m. capensis workers are facultative social parasites. These observations strongly indicate that laying workers of A. m. capensis are able to evade worker policing and the inhibitory effects of the queen pheromones, but what potential strategies could these laying workers use to increase the survival of their eggs and evade the queen? On the one hand, egg removal behaviour is variable. One behavioural strategy of laying workers to achieve successful reproduction could be that they lay during periods with low egg removal behaviour. On the other hand, the inhibitory effect of the queen’s pheromones diminishes with distance. Maybe the level of egg removal also depends, like the inhibitory effect of the queen pheromones, on the distance from the queen. Indeed, further away from the queen the effect of the queen pheromone and the level of egg removal is reduced, making successful worker reproduction possible. In both subspecies, A. m. capensis and A. m. scutellata, egg removal behaviour is reduced further away from the queen. In the case of A. m. scutellata egg removal is lacking further away from the queen. This explains why colonies of scutellata are so prone to takeovers by laying Cape honeybee workers. One question in the context of parasitic Cape honeybees is how they manage to get into the host colony. One way could be that they get into the colonies during a natural colony merger which is common in African bees. Two unrelated colonies merged and it took them only 24 hours to show effective integration. Because both colonies are unrelated, the potential reproductive conflict among workers should be more strongly expressed than in a normal colony, which is not the result of a merger. Therefore, the effect of nestmate recognition for eggs on the egg removal behaviour was investigated. The results suggest that workers recognise the origin of an egg and that the standard policing experiments overestimate the level of egg removal and only represent relative values. Moreover, the results show that colony specific components on the eggs are more important than a postulated queen egg marking pheromone. Finally, for the first time empirical evidence from a population of the parasitic laying Cape honeybee workers, invading thousands of colonies of A. m. scutellata in northern South Africa, for a short-sighted selection theory is presented.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Research projects
- Authors: Thomas, Chacko
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Competency-based education -- South Africa Mathematics teachers -- Training of -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1856 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004531
- Description: The South African education is undergoing transformation. The introduction of Curriculum 2005 and Outcome Based Education (OBE) are important aspects of this transformation process. The implementation of the new curriculum however, has not been smooth. A lack of adequately qualified and trained teachers and effective learning support materials have been identified as some of the major problems facing the implementation of OBE at school level. Even though the colleges of education in the country were not brought on board in the planning and implementation levels of the new curriculum, they could have played an important role in training of educators and developing learning materials for the successful take off of the new curriculum. In the first research project I look into the preparedness of the Mathematics Department of a college of education in the Eastern Cape towards the implementation of Outcome Based Education. The first part of the research project consists of a literature review on Curriculum 2005, Outcome Based Education and the expectations of teachers in the new curriculum and the research methodologies used. The findings revealed that the department, as a whole, was not adequately prepared for the implementation of outcome-based education even though there were some indications that the department effected some modifications in its curriculum and practice teaching. As an OBE facilitator and a college lecturer, I developed some learning materials in Linear Programming. These activity-oriented materials were based on constructivist principles and were used by my first year Secondary Teachers Diploma students. In the second research project, I reflect on the results of using these learning materials by my students. In the first chapter of the project, the context and background of the research and the reasons for selecting Linear Programming as the topic for preparing the learning material are described. This is followed by a brief overview of constructivism together with a brief explanation of the reasons for considering the material to be constructivist. The research paradigm followed in the project, the research techniques employed in evaluating the learning material and the strengths and weaknesses of the evaluation techniques are given in the next chapter. In the following chapter, the findings from the various data gathering methods and the results of the implementation of the material are described. The concluding chapter presents a critical reflection on the whole process involved in the material development. The post 1994 government in South Africa seems to attach much importance to mathematics, science and technology education. The majority of the population who were previously denied access to these subjects is given more opportunities to learn them. The international Mathematics Union declared 2000 as the World Mathematical Year. One of the aims of the activities organized as part of the celebrations was improving the public image of mathematics to realize the vision of "Mathematics For All". The South African government shows keen interest to improve mathematics education in the country in an attempt to realize the vision of Mathematics For All. Even though the accessibility rate to mathematics has increased, the success rate has not yet increased as anticipated. In this context I, as a post-graduate student in Mathematics Education, thought of /reviewing the concept of Mathematics For All in the South African context. In the third research project, which is a literature review, initially an attempt is made to unpack the concept of Mathematics for ALL. In analyzing the concept, answers are sought for questions like: What is mathematics and why should it be taught? It is followed by a brief review of some goals of mathematics education. Then the current situation of mathematics education in South Africa and the efforts to improve it are also looked at. This is followed by an analysis pf the reasons for the general unpopularity of mathematics. In the concluding part some suggestions for improving mathematics education in the country are given.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Restoring democratic governance in Zimbabwe: a critical investigation of the internet as a possible means of creating new sites of struggle for positive democratic change by Zimbabwean media and activists in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Vennard, Francisca Caroline
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Zimbabwe -- Politics and government -- 1980- , Internet in publicity , Press and politics -- Zimbabwe , Freedom of the press -- Zimbabwe , Digital media
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2837 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003047 , Zimbabwe -- Politics and government -- 1980- , Internet in publicity , Press and politics -- Zimbabwe , Freedom of the press -- Zimbabwe , Digital media
- Description: This thesis is a reaction to the state of utter lawlessness and the abuse of human rights by those in power in Zimbabwe over the past two years and it investigates the possibility of restoring democratic governance in that country by increasing the freedom of expression and media freedom, which is considered to be one of the most valuable elements in advancing democratization. Its aim is to establish the Internet as the best means possible to increasing media freedom and creating new ‘sites of struggle’ for activists in a context where the substantive freedom of expression does not exist. This in turn is shown to advance levels of democracy. To this end, the value of the freedom of expression to media freedom and the value of the latter to increasing levels of democracy is developed and the lack of democracy in Zimbabwe at all levels of society is considered. The Internet is seen to increase the freedoms of speech and association in new and interesting ways and it is discussed in various examples in which it has already been instrumental in evading the censorship of the media and increasing the ability of activists to express themselves freely and to organize more efficiently. Finally, the resources that Internet technology makes available to African journalists and activists are considered along with lessons gleaned from international examples of successful Internet use and it is shown to already be of use to Zimbabwean journalists and activists as they create to new cyberspaces in which they can struggle for positive democratic change in Zimbabwe. The Internet is also shown to have tremendous potential for future use in that country.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Rumours of war : de-constructing media discourses of HIV/AIDS in South Africa
- Authors: Connelly, Mark
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: AIDS (Disease) -- South Africa AIDS (Disease) in mass media
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3177 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007844
- Description: This paper explores discourses of HIV/AIDS evident in a South African daily newspaper from 1985 to 2000, and discusses the implications of these in terms of the way in which HIV/AIDS is constructed in society. In this paper I utilize a Foucauldian analysis of the relationship between power and knowledge. The discursive framework of the war against HIV/AIDS is used to show how different groups of subjects are positioned in relations of power. Within this the power of western science and medicine is influential and supports and informs other discourses of HIV/AIDS. I argue that the discursive framework constructing HIV/AIDS as a war does far more than provide a useful vehicle within which HIV/AIDS can be understood as it supports certain institutions and groups of people above others. The paper concludes by identifying the silenced voices of women and dissidents, and calling for greater reflection concerning the critical analysis of current issues surrounding HIV/AIDS.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Science for all - myth or reality?: a research project
- Authors: Valiathazhel, James Daniel
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Motion -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Physics -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Competency-based education -- South Africa Educational change -- South Africa Technical institutes -- South Africa Technical education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1847 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004391
- Description: Abstract: Transformation at a historically disadvantaged technikon in South Africa : a research project: South Africa is in the seventh year of democracy. During the first term of office, the ANC government proposed radical shift from the system(s) of education that was/were in existence in this country. A change in the education system in South Africa was inevitable. The ANC government have realised the need and proposed plans for a change in the education system in this country. We might be able to overcome the inequalities of the past and have an education system relevant for all South Africans that promote an equal opportunity for success as envisaged by Outcomes Based Education (OBE). This research project, using a qualitative case study methodology, reports on the readiness of Border Technikon in implementing Outcomes Based Education (OBE) as a teaching/lecturing strategy. Since 1998 Border Technikon organised a series of staff training workshops to empower the academic staff in Outcomes Based Education. A preliminary study on the topic was conducted during 1999, in which questionnaires (to 16 academic staff) and semi-structured interviews (with three academic staff) were used to collect data. During 2000, when the second and final round of this study was conducted semistructured interviews were employed with 4 staff members to gather data. Literature review and document analysis was also part of the research. The analysis of data indicated that the very nature of most of the Technikon Programmes demands an OBE approach in teaching/lecturing and hence OBE based teaching/lecturing is largely practised at Border Technikon. However a few areas of concerns were identified. Some of these concerns were: (i) Technikon employed academic staff (from industry, etc...) with no professional qualification in teaching and it was difficult to provide OBE training to such people and (ii) lack of sufficient support from the Technikon Management might be a cause for the poor attendance of academic staff during the training programme. Another aspect emerged from the data analysis was that all academic staff participated in this study expressed the need for further training in OBE and related topics. Abstract: Science for all - myth or reality?: Different educational projects around the world have made Scientific Literacy a world-wide concern. This study through a literature review shows that Scientific Literacy is a term that has many definitions and interpretations. This literature review reveals that, in the present system Science for All is a myth for various reasons. Governments around the world in general, and South Africa in particular, are in the process of introducing different projects such as the Year of Science and Technology (YEAST), science week and science exhibitions for the purpose of popularising science and technology. The Department of Education in Thailand has modified its education system to accommodate Science for All. In this literature review among other issues the status quo in South African science education and the Thailand model were examined. A few recommendations to achieve Science for All are also included in this project. Abstract: Developing and evaluating the use of learning material in science - a constructivist approach towards learning Newton's laws : a research project: The Government of National Unity in 1994 introduced a new educational policy for South Africa. This represented a shift in paradigm from a transmission mode of teaching and learning to a learner-centred education. The shift marks a transformation from a content-based curriculum to an Outcomes Based Education (OBE). Various authors found that different sections in the Physical Science syllabus in South Africa are often misunderstood by students for different reasons. One of the reasons was that students had their own ideas about laws of nature and these (mis)conceptions were resistant to change. From the literature and from the author's personal experience it was found that Bodies in Motion is a topic that is difficult to conceptualise by students of different age groups. The challenge facing educators is how to tackle this issue. In this research project a diagnostic test is developed and used to identify the topics where students have conceptual problems. To address these problem areas further, concept sheets/work sheets where developed and implemented. The different challenges and tasks given in the work sheets/learning material are organised in such a way as to make the students aware of their own ideas about Bodies in Motion in general and the key-concepts in particular and also to make them aware of the ideas of their peers (group members). It was also aimed at offering the learners the scientific alternative to their own beliefs. At the end, it was discovered that, even though the general understanding of the learners has improved in this topic (namely, Bodies in Motion), their original beliefs were largely unaffected. It is the hope of the researcher that the project would be the basis for further research on the development of learning material in science.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Selecting an appropriate process for the formulating of an operations strategy for Bridgestone/Firestone, Port Elizabeth plant, in a changed market environment
- Authors: Jeena, Umesh
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Tire industry -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Management , Bridgestone/Firestone (Firm)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10945 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011325 , Tire industry -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Management , Bridgestone/Firestone (Firm)
- Description: The research problem addressed in this study was aimed in assisting the management of Bridgestone/Firestone, Port Elizabeth plant, in selecting an appropriate process for the formulation of an operations strategy. The author embarked on a literature survey to gain understanding of the challenges that are occurring in the market environment. The theories and techniques around operational strategies were extensively researched in an effort to effectively and efficiently assist the management of Firestone in achieving a competitive advantage over rival competitors. Other areas of focus include the content, development, principles and concepts in developing an operations strategy. The author details the process of the formulation of an operations strategy as well as the discussion of four models/procedures deployed in organisations that would enhance strategy formulation. It is evident from the findings of the empirical study that a high percentage of the respondents “agree” that the strategy deployed within Bridgestone/Firestone, Port Elizabeth plant is appropriate, yet an alarmingly high percentage believe it to be “ineffective.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Self-respecting practical reason: an analysis of self-respect and its implications for practical reason
- Authors: Roberts, Deborah Joan
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Williams, Bernard Arthur Owen -- Ethics , Ethics, Modern -- 20th century , Self-esteem
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2719 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002849 , Williams, Bernard Arthur Owen -- Ethics , Ethics, Modern -- 20th century , Self-esteem
- Description: What should I do? As long as I am aware of the relevant facts of the situation and deliberating soundly, Bernard Williams argues that I should do what I want to do. It makes no sense to say that there are reasons that are fixed objects of concern, or values, that exist for an agent regardless of what she is in fact motivated to do. Reasons, for Williams, are hypothetical. I argue that he takes this view of practical reason because of a prior answer to the question “How should I live?”. A universal account of the good life would mean an account of values, or interests, that all human beings should have. Williams thinks it is not possible to give a universal account of the good life for human beings; any such account must be constructed out of the particular reasons of a community. But, he takes a constructivist view of the good life because he thinks that to be universal an account of the good life would have to be objective. Since objectivity cannot be achieved, he argues, neither can universality. Williams is only half right. That objectivity is not possible is inconsequential. A foundation for ethics has to be internal, but this does not preclude it being universal. I develop such a foundation based on the Aristotelian conception of human nature. A life cannot be wholly good if it is not self-respecting. Moreover, self-respect fits the framework for the specification of the good life that this foundation provides: I argue that self-respect can be shown to have a structure which provides an account of real interests - reasons that are objects of fixed concern. As such, reasons recognise rather than construct the good, making categorical reasons possible. A person can have a reason to change or act, even if reason itself cannot effect that change or action. Thus, I can be wrong about what I should do not only by being wrong about what would count as a satisfaction of my interests, but also by being wrong about what my interests are.
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- Date Issued: 2002