The influence of indigenous languages on Ugandan English as used in the media
- Authors: Tukwasibwe, Constance
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Mass media and language -- Uganda , Languages in contact -- Uganda , English language -- Uganda , Language transfer (Language learning) -- Uganda , Communication and culture -- Uganda , Bilingualism -- Uganda , Linguistic demography -- Uganda , Uganda -- Languages
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3646 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015637
- Description: When two or more languages come in contact, they influence each other in various ways, for example through word borrowing, transfer of sounds, morphology and syntax taken from one language system and imported to another. In this study, the primary concern is on the indigenous communities of Uganda learning the English language, plus the influence that this interaction brings into the linguistic space. Bringing the Ugandan multilingual situation into perspective, the study looks at how the English language has interacted with the local languages and the local speech habits, customs and traditions of the indigenous people, to the extent that it has been indigenized. Some word usage results in miscommunication due to the socio-cultural uniqueness of Ugandan cultural expressions. As an example, because of the practice of polygamy in most Ugandan cultures, words like co-wife are coined to mean 'a woman who shares a husband, or a husband's other wife', a word that is absent in both the language and culture of native English speakers. Furthermore some words are formed by calquing some indigenous language expressions, e.g. 'to eat money' or 'to eat cash', an expression that is calqued from the Luganda phrase, kulya sente. Such word coinages are meant to fill the 'shortfall' where the English language fails to provide adequate equivalents. Understanding the context of this kind of English usage and the influence from the indigenous languages is helpful in handling inter-cultural discourses, as the same expression may convey different senses to different people in different contexts. So then, this study deals with some peculiarities of Ugandan English, namely; the features of Ugandan English grammar which are influenced by the indigenous languages. Evidence from the Corpus of Ugandan English is explored to establish that indigenous languages in Uganda have a significant influence on the English language variety spoken in the country, and that a large part of English bilingual speakers cannot speak English without transferring the features from their mother tongue or indeed, switching and mixing codes. A British corpus was used for the purposes of comparison with Ugandan English. The research was conducted in Uganda, drawing data from English newspapers, radio and television talk -shows that were recorded to provide a structural analysis of the contact situations. The result of the study points to the fact that, indeed, the phonological, morpho-syntactic and semantic characteristics of Ugandan English have a considerable amount of influence from indigenous local languages. This study is hinged on the assumption that when indigenous languages and the target language come together in a linguistic contact situation, the resulting variety would exhibit distinct phonological, lexical, grammatical and semantic/pragmatic features ( cf. Sankoff, 2001; Thomason, 1995; Thomason & Kaufman, 1988; Winford, 2005). However, some of these innovations have attracted criticism from 'prescriptivists' such as Quirk (1985, 1988, 1990); Gaudio (2011); and Abbot (1991) who perceive them as 'nonstandard', 'incorrect English language usage' and a 'direct translation from the language user's mother tongue into English'. Yet, indigenous languages continue to play important roles in shaping the kind of English language usage in Uganda.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Tukwasibwe, Constance
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Mass media and language -- Uganda , Languages in contact -- Uganda , English language -- Uganda , Language transfer (Language learning) -- Uganda , Communication and culture -- Uganda , Bilingualism -- Uganda , Linguistic demography -- Uganda , Uganda -- Languages
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3646 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015637
- Description: When two or more languages come in contact, they influence each other in various ways, for example through word borrowing, transfer of sounds, morphology and syntax taken from one language system and imported to another. In this study, the primary concern is on the indigenous communities of Uganda learning the English language, plus the influence that this interaction brings into the linguistic space. Bringing the Ugandan multilingual situation into perspective, the study looks at how the English language has interacted with the local languages and the local speech habits, customs and traditions of the indigenous people, to the extent that it has been indigenized. Some word usage results in miscommunication due to the socio-cultural uniqueness of Ugandan cultural expressions. As an example, because of the practice of polygamy in most Ugandan cultures, words like co-wife are coined to mean 'a woman who shares a husband, or a husband's other wife', a word that is absent in both the language and culture of native English speakers. Furthermore some words are formed by calquing some indigenous language expressions, e.g. 'to eat money' or 'to eat cash', an expression that is calqued from the Luganda phrase, kulya sente. Such word coinages are meant to fill the 'shortfall' where the English language fails to provide adequate equivalents. Understanding the context of this kind of English usage and the influence from the indigenous languages is helpful in handling inter-cultural discourses, as the same expression may convey different senses to different people in different contexts. So then, this study deals with some peculiarities of Ugandan English, namely; the features of Ugandan English grammar which are influenced by the indigenous languages. Evidence from the Corpus of Ugandan English is explored to establish that indigenous languages in Uganda have a significant influence on the English language variety spoken in the country, and that a large part of English bilingual speakers cannot speak English without transferring the features from their mother tongue or indeed, switching and mixing codes. A British corpus was used for the purposes of comparison with Ugandan English. The research was conducted in Uganda, drawing data from English newspapers, radio and television talk -shows that were recorded to provide a structural analysis of the contact situations. The result of the study points to the fact that, indeed, the phonological, morpho-syntactic and semantic characteristics of Ugandan English have a considerable amount of influence from indigenous local languages. This study is hinged on the assumption that when indigenous languages and the target language come together in a linguistic contact situation, the resulting variety would exhibit distinct phonological, lexical, grammatical and semantic/pragmatic features ( cf. Sankoff, 2001; Thomason, 1995; Thomason & Kaufman, 1988; Winford, 2005). However, some of these innovations have attracted criticism from 'prescriptivists' such as Quirk (1985, 1988, 1990); Gaudio (2011); and Abbot (1991) who perceive them as 'nonstandard', 'incorrect English language usage' and a 'direct translation from the language user's mother tongue into English'. Yet, indigenous languages continue to play important roles in shaping the kind of English language usage in Uganda.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Problems experienced by project managers on housing projects
- Mtshekexe, Ntombesibini Octavia
- Authors: Mtshekexe, Ntombesibini Octavia
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Project management , Housing rehabilitation , Public housing -- South Africa , Building -- Superintendence
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:9675 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020930
- Description: Housing projects are amongst the South African (SA) Government’s major focus points with reference to budgeting for its financial years. The delivery of these housing projects is taking place at a slower rate than anticipated due to the problems experienced in the processes involved in their management. The project management shortcomings are a major setback with reference to the delivery of houses to the communities. It is, however, stated by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (RSA) that every South African citizen has a right to housing and that the Local Government, as the closest entity to communities, must do whatever it possibly can to ensure timeous service delivery to its communities. The objective of this research is to ascertain the nature and extent of project management problems experienced by municipal project managers, the impact thereof and potential solutions to the identified problems. The study is intended to advise on possible ways to address project management problems arising during the implementation of housing projects in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) through investigation and analysis of information gathered in both theory and practice. Project management is a process of controlling the achievement of project objectives through the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques. For a housing project the main objective is to deliver safe, quality houses on time and within budget. Problems which hinder the delivery of housing projects relate to cost, time and the quality of housing projects delivered. The fact that these key project objectives are not met needs to be addressed urgently in order to improve the housing delivery. The literature reviewed and the feedback from the surveys; indicate that these problems have a vast impact on housing projects. The survey also reveals that it is not only housing Project Managers (PMs) that are unable to perform well, but also other parties involved in the project management of housing projects and which play a great role in project management failures of housing projects. Some of these parties are consultants and contractors. The lack of performance by project managers affects the delivery of houses negatively in the NMBM.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Mtshekexe, Ntombesibini Octavia
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Project management , Housing rehabilitation , Public housing -- South Africa , Building -- Superintendence
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:9675 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020930
- Description: Housing projects are amongst the South African (SA) Government’s major focus points with reference to budgeting for its financial years. The delivery of these housing projects is taking place at a slower rate than anticipated due to the problems experienced in the processes involved in their management. The project management shortcomings are a major setback with reference to the delivery of houses to the communities. It is, however, stated by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (RSA) that every South African citizen has a right to housing and that the Local Government, as the closest entity to communities, must do whatever it possibly can to ensure timeous service delivery to its communities. The objective of this research is to ascertain the nature and extent of project management problems experienced by municipal project managers, the impact thereof and potential solutions to the identified problems. The study is intended to advise on possible ways to address project management problems arising during the implementation of housing projects in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) through investigation and analysis of information gathered in both theory and practice. Project management is a process of controlling the achievement of project objectives through the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques. For a housing project the main objective is to deliver safe, quality houses on time and within budget. Problems which hinder the delivery of housing projects relate to cost, time and the quality of housing projects delivered. The fact that these key project objectives are not met needs to be addressed urgently in order to improve the housing delivery. The literature reviewed and the feedback from the surveys; indicate that these problems have a vast impact on housing projects. The survey also reveals that it is not only housing Project Managers (PMs) that are unable to perform well, but also other parties involved in the project management of housing projects and which play a great role in project management failures of housing projects. Some of these parties are consultants and contractors. The lack of performance by project managers affects the delivery of houses negatively in the NMBM.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Core self-evaluations, stress and work aspirations of Department of Education officers in selected districts in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Gabelana, Nomzamo
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom (Industrial Psychology)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/944 , vital:26511
- Description: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of core self-evaluations and stress on the aspiration levels of the Department of Education (DoE) officers. An additional interest was on checking if general relationships amongst the three variables exist and the magnitude of such relationships. A literature study was conducted on three aspects, which are core self-evaluations, stress and work aspirations. This was followed by a survey involving 250 education specialists from four selected districts in the Eastern Cape, which are, Dutywa, Butterworth, Fort Beaufort and Mthatha. Results of the current research indicated that there is a positive relationship between core self-evaluation and DoE stress levels (r=0.32409; p=0.0014). These findings indicate that some individuals have low core self-evaluations due to their exposure to stressful situations hence they negatively appraise themselves and are less confident of themselves. DoE Senior Management Team (SMT) has to strategise and adopt measures that reduce stress levels and encourage positive CSE so as to deal effectively with under-performance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Gabelana, Nomzamo
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom (Industrial Psychology)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/944 , vital:26511
- Description: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of core self-evaluations and stress on the aspiration levels of the Department of Education (DoE) officers. An additional interest was on checking if general relationships amongst the three variables exist and the magnitude of such relationships. A literature study was conducted on three aspects, which are core self-evaluations, stress and work aspirations. This was followed by a survey involving 250 education specialists from four selected districts in the Eastern Cape, which are, Dutywa, Butterworth, Fort Beaufort and Mthatha. Results of the current research indicated that there is a positive relationship between core self-evaluation and DoE stress levels (r=0.32409; p=0.0014). These findings indicate that some individuals have low core self-evaluations due to their exposure to stressful situations hence they negatively appraise themselves and are less confident of themselves. DoE Senior Management Team (SMT) has to strategise and adopt measures that reduce stress levels and encourage positive CSE so as to deal effectively with under-performance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Assessing the implementation of performance management policies in the public service: a case study of the Department of Human Settlements in the Eastern Cape Province
- Authors: Sandiso, Mahlala
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/1183 , vital:26534
- Description: This dissertation set out to assess the implementation of performance management policies in the public service using the case study of the Eastern Cape Department of Housing known currently as Human Settlements. It examines how monitoring and evaluation policies are important in governance deliverables, such as transparency, accountability and learning, influences public administration practice. The exchange between democracy and monitoring and evaluation was demonstrated by assessing how the country managed democratic transition, the influence of globalization on country practice, and specifically how the developmental state advances governance. It also focused on other focal points of how performance management policies in the public service are being utilized to assist Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements. The study looked at the „new‟ role of performance management systems in meeting „performance information needs‟ of public sector managers as a potential area for further research. This type of research is qualitative in nature as it used documents to elaborate on matters. This study uses documents of the department as a case study to gain more insight about the department as well as the theory of change to guide the study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Sandiso, Mahlala
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/1183 , vital:26534
- Description: This dissertation set out to assess the implementation of performance management policies in the public service using the case study of the Eastern Cape Department of Housing known currently as Human Settlements. It examines how monitoring and evaluation policies are important in governance deliverables, such as transparency, accountability and learning, influences public administration practice. The exchange between democracy and monitoring and evaluation was demonstrated by assessing how the country managed democratic transition, the influence of globalization on country practice, and specifically how the developmental state advances governance. It also focused on other focal points of how performance management policies in the public service are being utilized to assist Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements. The study looked at the „new‟ role of performance management systems in meeting „performance information needs‟ of public sector managers as a potential area for further research. This type of research is qualitative in nature as it used documents to elaborate on matters. This study uses documents of the department as a case study to gain more insight about the department as well as the theory of change to guide the study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Wild vegetables of the Eastern Cape of South Africa: the nutritional value and domestication of solanum nigrum l
- Authors: Bvenura, Callistus
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Ethnobotany)
- Identifier: vital:11885 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1015514
- Description: An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in Alice and Willowvale in the Nkonkobe and Mbashe municipalities of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa to identify and document wild vegetables growing in the areas. The survey documented 22 vegetable species belonging to 12 different families. The Amaryllidaceae, Amaranthaceae, Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Convolvulaceae, Cruciferae, Cucurbitaceaea, Euphorbiaceae, Tiliaceae, Solanaceae, Polygonaceae and Urticaceae were the families that were recorded. The species were Tulbaghia violacea Harv., Amaranthus blitoides S., Amaranthus blitum L., Amaranthus hybridus L., Centella coriacea Nannfd., Bidens pilosa L, Cotula heterocarpa DC., Sonchus oleraceus L., Galinsoga parviflora Cav., Taraxacum officinale Weber, Hypochaeris radicata L., Stellaria media L., Chenopodium album L., Chenopodium murale L., Ipomoea batatas L., Sisymbrium thellungii O. Schulz, Cucurbita pepo L., Rumex crispus L., Acalypha virginica L., Nicandra physalodes L., Physalis peruviana L., Solanum nigrum L., Urtica urens L. and Corchorus olitorius L. About 27 % of the wild vegetables were native to South Africa and about 45 % were also used as medicinal plants in the areas. Sun drying was the most common method of preserving the wild vegetables for the off season months. This study also revealed that, men and the younger generation knew less about wild vegetables than the women. The study also revealed a loss of knowledge of wild vegetables and their use by the rural dwellers who are more in favour of the exotic types such as spinach and cabbage.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Bvenura, Callistus
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Ethnobotany)
- Identifier: vital:11885 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1015514
- Description: An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in Alice and Willowvale in the Nkonkobe and Mbashe municipalities of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa to identify and document wild vegetables growing in the areas. The survey documented 22 vegetable species belonging to 12 different families. The Amaryllidaceae, Amaranthaceae, Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Convolvulaceae, Cruciferae, Cucurbitaceaea, Euphorbiaceae, Tiliaceae, Solanaceae, Polygonaceae and Urticaceae were the families that were recorded. The species were Tulbaghia violacea Harv., Amaranthus blitoides S., Amaranthus blitum L., Amaranthus hybridus L., Centella coriacea Nannfd., Bidens pilosa L, Cotula heterocarpa DC., Sonchus oleraceus L., Galinsoga parviflora Cav., Taraxacum officinale Weber, Hypochaeris radicata L., Stellaria media L., Chenopodium album L., Chenopodium murale L., Ipomoea batatas L., Sisymbrium thellungii O. Schulz, Cucurbita pepo L., Rumex crispus L., Acalypha virginica L., Nicandra physalodes L., Physalis peruviana L., Solanum nigrum L., Urtica urens L. and Corchorus olitorius L. About 27 % of the wild vegetables were native to South Africa and about 45 % were also used as medicinal plants in the areas. Sun drying was the most common method of preserving the wild vegetables for the off season months. This study also revealed that, men and the younger generation knew less about wild vegetables than the women. The study also revealed a loss of knowledge of wild vegetables and their use by the rural dwellers who are more in favour of the exotic types such as spinach and cabbage.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Effects of redox mediators on the catalytic activity of iron porphyrins towards oxygen reduction in acidic media
- He, Qinggang, Wu, Gang, Liu, Ke, Khene, Samson M, Li, Qing, Mugadza, Tawanda, Deunf, Elise, Nyokong, Tebello, Chen, Shaowei W
- Authors: He, Qinggang , Wu, Gang , Liu, Ke , Khene, Samson M , Li, Qing , Mugadza, Tawanda , Deunf, Elise , Nyokong, Tebello , Chen, Shaowei W
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/241472 , vital:50942 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1002/celc.201402054"
- Description: The effects of different redox mediators on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyzed by an iron porphyrin complex, iron(III) meso-tetra(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphine chloride [FeIIITMPyP], in 0.1 M triflic acid were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and spectroelectrochemistry in conjunction with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The formal potentials of the FeIIITMPyP catalyst and the redox mediators, as well as the half-wave potentials for the ORR, were determined by CV in the absence and presence of oxygen in acidic solutions. UV/Vis spectroscopic and spectroelectrochemical studies confirmed that only the 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazioline-6-sulfonic acid)diammonium salt (C18H24N6O6S4) showed effective interactions with FeIIITMPyP during the ORR. DFT calculations suggested strong interaction between FeIIITMPyP and the C18H24N6O6S4 redox mediator. The redox mediator caused lengthening of the dioxygen iron bond, which thus suggested easier dioxygen reduction. Consistent results were observed in electrochemical impedance spectroscopic measurements for which the electron-transfer kinetics were also evaluated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: He, Qinggang , Wu, Gang , Liu, Ke , Khene, Samson M , Li, Qing , Mugadza, Tawanda , Deunf, Elise , Nyokong, Tebello , Chen, Shaowei W
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/241472 , vital:50942 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1002/celc.201402054"
- Description: The effects of different redox mediators on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyzed by an iron porphyrin complex, iron(III) meso-tetra(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphine chloride [FeIIITMPyP], in 0.1 M triflic acid were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and spectroelectrochemistry in conjunction with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The formal potentials of the FeIIITMPyP catalyst and the redox mediators, as well as the half-wave potentials for the ORR, were determined by CV in the absence and presence of oxygen in acidic solutions. UV/Vis spectroscopic and spectroelectrochemical studies confirmed that only the 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazioline-6-sulfonic acid)diammonium salt (C18H24N6O6S4) showed effective interactions with FeIIITMPyP during the ORR. DFT calculations suggested strong interaction between FeIIITMPyP and the C18H24N6O6S4 redox mediator. The redox mediator caused lengthening of the dioxygen iron bond, which thus suggested easier dioxygen reduction. Consistent results were observed in electrochemical impedance spectroscopic measurements for which the electron-transfer kinetics were also evaluated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Portfolio of compositions
- Authors: Simpson, Wayne Charles
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Composition (Music) , Music
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7385 , vital:21343
- Description: This essay will address the evolving nature of, and diversity, in method types of musical analysis. It will explore the connection between methods and approach types to musical analysis and related conceptions of what constitutes meaning in music. These methods will be largely understood as operating inside given parameters of musical meaning. Following a short history of some of the developments concerning structure in music from the 17th to late 19th century, I will discuss some of the dominant analytical methods and aim to highlight common features between them. I will discuss the different approaches these methods employ and highlight areas where a given method might be seen as using more than one approach. I will then investigate some approaches to composition that fall outside the conventional view of musical meaning and ultimately suggest the application of an eclectic model to musical analysis.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Simpson, Wayne Charles
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Composition (Music) , Music
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7385 , vital:21343
- Description: This essay will address the evolving nature of, and diversity, in method types of musical analysis. It will explore the connection between methods and approach types to musical analysis and related conceptions of what constitutes meaning in music. These methods will be largely understood as operating inside given parameters of musical meaning. Following a short history of some of the developments concerning structure in music from the 17th to late 19th century, I will discuss some of the dominant analytical methods and aim to highlight common features between them. I will discuss the different approaches these methods employ and highlight areas where a given method might be seen as using more than one approach. I will then investigate some approaches to composition that fall outside the conventional view of musical meaning and ultimately suggest the application of an eclectic model to musical analysis.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Antibiogram profiling of Escherichia coli pathotypes isolated from Kat River and Fort Beaufort abstraction water
- Authors: Nontongana, Nolonwabo
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Escherichia coli infections -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Water -- Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Microbiology)
- Identifier: vital:11289 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1019820 , Escherichia coli infections -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Water -- Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a widespread species that includes a broad variety of strains, ranging from highly pathogenic strains causing worldwide outbreaks of severe disease to virulent isolates which are part of the normal intestinal flora or which are well characterized and safe laboratory strains. The pathogenicity of a given E. coli strain is mainly determined by specific virulence factors which include adhesins, invasins, toxins and capsule. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and antibiogram profiles of E. coli pathotypes previously isolated from Kat River and Fort Beaufort abstraction water. A total of 171 E. coli isolates showed at least one pathogenic determinant among the isolated 278 E. coli. The other 107 isolates were negative for the tested virulence genes. All 278 presumptive isolates tested positive for the UidA gene, and were therefore classified as non-categorized pathogenic E. coli. The 171 pathogenic isolates had at least one characteristic gene of pathogenic E. coli and were identified and classified as enteropathogenic E. coli (6%), enterotoxigenicE. coli (131), uropathogenic E. coli (6), neonatal meningitis E. coli (14), diffusely adherent E. coli (1) and enterohaemrrhagic E. coli (1). Interestingly, no virulence genes were detected for the enteroinvasive E. coli and the enteroaggregative E. coli. The antibiotic resistance profiles for all isolates that were identified as E. coli showed 100% resistance to penicillin G, 98% resistance to ampicillin, 38% resistance to trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole and 8% resistance to streptomycin. Multiple antibacterial resistance (MAR) was also observed, where 44% of the isolates were resistant to three antibiotics and 8% resistant to four antibiotics. The results of this study showed the Kat River and Fort Beaufort abstraction water are reservoirs of pathogenic strains of E. coli which harbour antibiotic resistance determinants that can cause serious health risks to the people in the surrounding communities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Nontongana, Nolonwabo
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Escherichia coli infections -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Water -- Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Microbiology)
- Identifier: vital:11289 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1019820 , Escherichia coli infections -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Water -- Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a widespread species that includes a broad variety of strains, ranging from highly pathogenic strains causing worldwide outbreaks of severe disease to virulent isolates which are part of the normal intestinal flora or which are well characterized and safe laboratory strains. The pathogenicity of a given E. coli strain is mainly determined by specific virulence factors which include adhesins, invasins, toxins and capsule. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and antibiogram profiles of E. coli pathotypes previously isolated from Kat River and Fort Beaufort abstraction water. A total of 171 E. coli isolates showed at least one pathogenic determinant among the isolated 278 E. coli. The other 107 isolates were negative for the tested virulence genes. All 278 presumptive isolates tested positive for the UidA gene, and were therefore classified as non-categorized pathogenic E. coli. The 171 pathogenic isolates had at least one characteristic gene of pathogenic E. coli and were identified and classified as enteropathogenic E. coli (6%), enterotoxigenicE. coli (131), uropathogenic E. coli (6), neonatal meningitis E. coli (14), diffusely adherent E. coli (1) and enterohaemrrhagic E. coli (1). Interestingly, no virulence genes were detected for the enteroinvasive E. coli and the enteroaggregative E. coli. The antibiotic resistance profiles for all isolates that were identified as E. coli showed 100% resistance to penicillin G, 98% resistance to ampicillin, 38% resistance to trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole and 8% resistance to streptomycin. Multiple antibacterial resistance (MAR) was also observed, where 44% of the isolates were resistant to three antibiotics and 8% resistant to four antibiotics. The results of this study showed the Kat River and Fort Beaufort abstraction water are reservoirs of pathogenic strains of E. coli which harbour antibiotic resistance determinants that can cause serious health risks to the people in the surrounding communities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Dangerous people and places : a community newspaper's constructions of crime
- Authors: Raymond, Leigh Alice
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Grocott's Mail (Grahamstown, South Africa) , Community newspapers -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Crime and the press -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Newspapers -- Objectivity , Mass media policy -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Social responsibility of business -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police and the press -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3527 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013091
- Description: This thesis argues that there is a clear imbalance in the representation of crime in the newspaper, Grocott’s Mail, in Grahamstown, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The thesis concludes that the system of marginalisation and segregation which was established during the apartheid era is the foundation for the continued segregation and marginalisation of certain groups of people in Grahamstown as depicted in crime journalism. Previous research shows that not only people, but spaces are marginalised through media representations of crime. As people are represented as dangerous, so too the spaces they occupy become dangerous spaces. Importantly, the research shows that discourses of marginalisation are present in newspaper reports reproducing the discourses prominent in society, and in turn, the newspaper itself perpetuates these marginalising discourses. This extends into the coverage that different crimes receive in newspapers. For instance, the reports show that a middle-class audience will be more concerned with property crime in middle-class neighbourhoods, than other crimes in lower-class neighbourhoods. I argue that not only the type of crime, but the severity, the effect, and the necessity for justice represented by the newspaper, are all largely determined by the region of the crime. Further, I show that the criminal is not only demonised and represented as individually deviant in the reports in the newspaper, but that these representations are made by this newspaper because they are deeply imbedded as a discourse in society. This is partly because this newspaper has taken on a monitorial role, requiring neutral reporting from journalists, and a dedication to surveying the processes of state institutions, like the police and courts. As a result, the ways in which crime is reported on in the newspaper is fairly well fixed, making it difficult for journalists to conceive of different ways of reporting crime. The representations of the criminal justice system that the monitorial media, this newspaper included present, are a careful balance between the interest of the public, and the need to preserve relationships with sources. The monitorial media in general, and this newspaper in particular, represent the criminal justice system. The relationship between the police and the newspaper, and the courts and the media, therefore strongly influences the way in which crime news is reported. In particular, crime news is represented from the perspective of the criminal justice system. This research was carried out using Critical Discourse Analysis, qualitative interviews, and focus group interviews.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Raymond, Leigh Alice
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Grocott's Mail (Grahamstown, South Africa) , Community newspapers -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Crime and the press -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Newspapers -- Objectivity , Mass media policy -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Social responsibility of business -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police and the press -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3527 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013091
- Description: This thesis argues that there is a clear imbalance in the representation of crime in the newspaper, Grocott’s Mail, in Grahamstown, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The thesis concludes that the system of marginalisation and segregation which was established during the apartheid era is the foundation for the continued segregation and marginalisation of certain groups of people in Grahamstown as depicted in crime journalism. Previous research shows that not only people, but spaces are marginalised through media representations of crime. As people are represented as dangerous, so too the spaces they occupy become dangerous spaces. Importantly, the research shows that discourses of marginalisation are present in newspaper reports reproducing the discourses prominent in society, and in turn, the newspaper itself perpetuates these marginalising discourses. This extends into the coverage that different crimes receive in newspapers. For instance, the reports show that a middle-class audience will be more concerned with property crime in middle-class neighbourhoods, than other crimes in lower-class neighbourhoods. I argue that not only the type of crime, but the severity, the effect, and the necessity for justice represented by the newspaper, are all largely determined by the region of the crime. Further, I show that the criminal is not only demonised and represented as individually deviant in the reports in the newspaper, but that these representations are made by this newspaper because they are deeply imbedded as a discourse in society. This is partly because this newspaper has taken on a monitorial role, requiring neutral reporting from journalists, and a dedication to surveying the processes of state institutions, like the police and courts. As a result, the ways in which crime is reported on in the newspaper is fairly well fixed, making it difficult for journalists to conceive of different ways of reporting crime. The representations of the criminal justice system that the monitorial media, this newspaper included present, are a careful balance between the interest of the public, and the need to preserve relationships with sources. The monitorial media in general, and this newspaper in particular, represent the criminal justice system. The relationship between the police and the newspaper, and the courts and the media, therefore strongly influences the way in which crime news is reported. In particular, crime news is represented from the perspective of the criminal justice system. This research was carried out using Critical Discourse Analysis, qualitative interviews, and focus group interviews.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
A critical assessment of the public service commission in fighting corruption in South Africa
- Authors: Gola, Ndumiso Helton
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/1078 , vital:26524
- Description: Using a qualitative research design, this study examined the role of the Public Service Commission (PSC) in curbing corruption in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The Public Service Commission is an independent and impartial body create. Using a qualitative research design, this study examined the role of the Public Service Commission (PSC) in curbing corruption in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The Public Service Commission is an independent and impartial body created by the Constitution, in 1996, to enhance excellence in governance within the Public Service by promoting a professional and ethical environment and adding value to a public administration that is accountable, equitable, efficient, effective, corruption-free and responsive to the needs of the people of South Africa. The study used a desktop approach whereby data was collected from books, journals, articles, media reports and surveys done by other scholars. The findings of the study highlighted that corruption is rampant in South Africa in different sectors and departments. Corruption in South Africa has reached epidemic levels and threatens the lives of all South African citizens. The role of the PSC has been found to be weaker and not meeting its role of fighting corruption as there are more failures than successes since its inception. This has been attributed to challenges such as human resources and financial constraints. The study however suggests recommendations which include extension and possible employment of dedicated permanent staff with relevant experience to address their capacity needs.d by the Constitution, in 1996, to enhance excellence in governance within the Public Service by promoting a professional and ethical environment and adding value to a public administration that is accountable, equitable, efficient, effective, corruption-free and responsive to the needs of the people of South Africa. The study used a desktop approach whereby data was collected from books, journals, articles, media reports and surveys done by other scholars. The findings of the study highlighted that corruption is rampant in South Africa in different sectors and departments. Corruption in South Africa has reached epidemic levels and threatens the lives of all South African citizens. The role of the PSC has been found to be weaker and not meeting its role of fighting corruption as there are more failures than successes since its inception. This has been attributed to challenges such as human resources and financial constraints. The study however suggests recommendations which include extension and possible employment of dedicated permanent staff with relevant experience to address their capacity needs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Gola, Ndumiso Helton
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/1078 , vital:26524
- Description: Using a qualitative research design, this study examined the role of the Public Service Commission (PSC) in curbing corruption in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The Public Service Commission is an independent and impartial body create. Using a qualitative research design, this study examined the role of the Public Service Commission (PSC) in curbing corruption in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The Public Service Commission is an independent and impartial body created by the Constitution, in 1996, to enhance excellence in governance within the Public Service by promoting a professional and ethical environment and adding value to a public administration that is accountable, equitable, efficient, effective, corruption-free and responsive to the needs of the people of South Africa. The study used a desktop approach whereby data was collected from books, journals, articles, media reports and surveys done by other scholars. The findings of the study highlighted that corruption is rampant in South Africa in different sectors and departments. Corruption in South Africa has reached epidemic levels and threatens the lives of all South African citizens. The role of the PSC has been found to be weaker and not meeting its role of fighting corruption as there are more failures than successes since its inception. This has been attributed to challenges such as human resources and financial constraints. The study however suggests recommendations which include extension and possible employment of dedicated permanent staff with relevant experience to address their capacity needs.d by the Constitution, in 1996, to enhance excellence in governance within the Public Service by promoting a professional and ethical environment and adding value to a public administration that is accountable, equitable, efficient, effective, corruption-free and responsive to the needs of the people of South Africa. The study used a desktop approach whereby data was collected from books, journals, articles, media reports and surveys done by other scholars. The findings of the study highlighted that corruption is rampant in South Africa in different sectors and departments. Corruption in South Africa has reached epidemic levels and threatens the lives of all South African citizens. The role of the PSC has been found to be weaker and not meeting its role of fighting corruption as there are more failures than successes since its inception. This has been attributed to challenges such as human resources and financial constraints. The study however suggests recommendations which include extension and possible employment of dedicated permanent staff with relevant experience to address their capacity needs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Synthesis of silver nanoparticles and their role against a thiazolekinase enzyme from Plasmodium falciparum
- Yao, Jia
- Authors: Yao, Jia
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Silver , Nanoparticles , Thiazoles , Plasmodium falciparum , Antimalarials , Malaria -- Chemotherapy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4168 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020894
- Description: Malaria, a mosquito-borne infectious disease, caused by the protozoan Plasmodium genus, is the greatest health challenges worldwide. The plasmodial vitamin B1 biosynthetic enzyme PfThzK diverges significantly, both structurally and functionally from its counterpart in higher eukaryotes, thereby making it particularly attractive as a biomedical target. In the present study, PfThzK was recombinantly produced as 6×His fusion protein in E. coli BL21, purified using nickel affinity chromatography and size exclusion chromatography resulting in 1.03% yield and specific activity 0.28 U/mg. The enzyme was found to be a monomer with a molecular mass of 34 kDa. Characterization of the PfThzK showed an optimum temperature and pH of 37°C and 7.5 respectively, and it is relatively stable (t₁/₂=2.66 h). Ag nanoparticles were synthesized by NaBH₄/tannic acid, and characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The morphologies of these Ag nanoparticles (in terms of size) synthesized by tannic acid appeared to be more controlled with the size of 7.06±2.41 nm, compared with those synthesized by NaBH₄, with the sized of 12.9±4.21 nm. The purified PfThzK was challenged with Ag NPs synthesized by tannic acid, and the results suggested that they competitively inhibited PfThzK (89 %) at low concentrations (5-10 μM) with a Ki = 6.45 μM.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Yao, Jia
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Silver , Nanoparticles , Thiazoles , Plasmodium falciparum , Antimalarials , Malaria -- Chemotherapy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4168 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020894
- Description: Malaria, a mosquito-borne infectious disease, caused by the protozoan Plasmodium genus, is the greatest health challenges worldwide. The plasmodial vitamin B1 biosynthetic enzyme PfThzK diverges significantly, both structurally and functionally from its counterpart in higher eukaryotes, thereby making it particularly attractive as a biomedical target. In the present study, PfThzK was recombinantly produced as 6×His fusion protein in E. coli BL21, purified using nickel affinity chromatography and size exclusion chromatography resulting in 1.03% yield and specific activity 0.28 U/mg. The enzyme was found to be a monomer with a molecular mass of 34 kDa. Characterization of the PfThzK showed an optimum temperature and pH of 37°C and 7.5 respectively, and it is relatively stable (t₁/₂=2.66 h). Ag nanoparticles were synthesized by NaBH₄/tannic acid, and characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The morphologies of these Ag nanoparticles (in terms of size) synthesized by tannic acid appeared to be more controlled with the size of 7.06±2.41 nm, compared with those synthesized by NaBH₄, with the sized of 12.9±4.21 nm. The purified PfThzK was challenged with Ag NPs synthesized by tannic acid, and the results suggested that they competitively inhibited PfThzK (89 %) at low concentrations (5-10 μM) with a Ki = 6.45 μM.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Factors leading to the high failure rate of grade 12 learners in the Ngqeleni area: A case study of two schools in the Ngqeleni area of the Libode mega district, Eastern Cape.
- Authors: Maqokolo, Gideon Zitobile
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Masters theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/3444 , vital:43390
- Description: The study investigated the factors that lead to the high failure rate of grade 12 learners of the two high schools in the Ngqeleni area of Libode Mega District of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study was qualitative in nature; therefore interviews were used as the method of collecting data. Seven SMT members, four parents and four learners were, randomly selected from the two schools in the Ngqeleni area of Libode Mega District. The researcher randomly selected the participants then interviewed them. The researcher used a video recoder as an instrument to record the responses from the participants. To analyse data, the researcher transcribed the interview responses and interpreted them. The main findings of the study showed that the high failure rate was caused by the following factors: over-croweded classes, shortage of teaching and learnin~ materials, lack of parental involvement, teachers' low morale, poor learner discipline, teachers experiencing problems in implementing government policies, work-load and as such teaching becoming stressful. The researcher in his study therefore recommends that the Department of Education plans more workshops for schools to capacitate them. There should be provision for more classrooms and incentives for teachers. , Thesis (MMED) -- Faculty of Educational Sciences, 2019
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Maqokolo, Gideon Zitobile
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Masters theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/3444 , vital:43390
- Description: The study investigated the factors that lead to the high failure rate of grade 12 learners of the two high schools in the Ngqeleni area of Libode Mega District of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study was qualitative in nature; therefore interviews were used as the method of collecting data. Seven SMT members, four parents and four learners were, randomly selected from the two schools in the Ngqeleni area of Libode Mega District. The researcher randomly selected the participants then interviewed them. The researcher used a video recoder as an instrument to record the responses from the participants. To analyse data, the researcher transcribed the interview responses and interpreted them. The main findings of the study showed that the high failure rate was caused by the following factors: over-croweded classes, shortage of teaching and learnin~ materials, lack of parental involvement, teachers' low morale, poor learner discipline, teachers experiencing problems in implementing government policies, work-load and as such teaching becoming stressful. The researcher in his study therefore recommends that the Department of Education plans more workshops for schools to capacitate them. There should be provision for more classrooms and incentives for teachers. , Thesis (MMED) -- Faculty of Educational Sciences, 2019
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Aggregate stability, crust formation, steady state infiltration and mode of seedling emergence in soils with various texture and mineralogy
- Authors: Nciizah, Adornis Dakarai
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Crop Science)
- Identifier: vital:11871 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1015539
- Description: The general objective of this study was to quantify the interactive effects of soil texture and mineralogy on soil crusting, infiltration and erosion and the subsequent effects on maize seedling emergence and early development using soils collected from 14 ecotopes in the Eastern Cape Province. The specific objectives were to determine; i) particulate organic matter, soil texture and mineralogy relations, ii) aggregate stability and breakdown mechanisms as affected by soil texture and organic matter, iii) crust formation and steady state infiltration, iv) rainfall pattern effects on crusting, infiltration and erodibility and v) rainfall intensity effects on crusting and mode of seedling emergence. Particulate organic matter (POM) was fractionated into litter POM, coarse POM and fine POM. Both total soil organic matter (SOM) and the POM in each fraction were determined using the weight loss on ignition procedure. Most ecotopes were either sandy loam or sandy clay loam and primary minerals especially quartz dominated the soil mineralogy. The clay content was significantly related to the total SOM (r = 0.78), hematite (r = 0.83) and quartz (r = -0.74). Aggregate stability was determined following methods described by Le Bissonnais (1996) i.e. fast wetting (FW), slow wetting (SW) and wet stirring (WSt). Aggregate breakdown followed the order; slaking < mechanical breakdown < micro-cracking for most ecotopes except Lujiko Leeufontein and Amatola Jozini where SW and WSt resulted in the least MWD respectively. Aggregate stability was significantly correlated to POM only for FW and SW and only positive but not significant for WSt. To study crust formation, aggregate sizes <2, 2 to 3, 3 to 5 mm were exposed to 60 mm hr-1 simulated rainfall. Sieving structural crusts, ~0.2 to ~0.8 mm thick with a surface layer of loose grains overlying a thin plasmic layer, formed in all ecotopes. Crusts with strengths between 0.25 and 3.42 10-4 kg m-2 developed on the <2 mm compared to <2.23 10-4 kg m-2 in the >2 mm aggregates. The reverse occurred in Alice Jozini, which had relatively low clay content of 120 g kg-1. Two significantly different groups of the SSIR were observed. The SSIR was between 1.24 and 3.60 mm hr-1 in the group of ecotopes dominated by primary minerals and relatively lower clay content. In the second group, consisting one ecotope dominated by kaolinite and relatively higher clay content, the SSIR was 15.23 mm hr-1. Rainfall pattern i.e. rainfall applied either as an eight minute single rainstorm (SR) or four-two minute intermittent rainstorms (IR) separated by a 48 h drying period significantly (p < 0.05) affected crust strength, SSIR and erosion. The IR resulted in higher crust strength and SSIR than SR. The effect of rainfall pattern on SSIR was mostly influenced by the primary minerals namely, quartz. Three maize seeds of equal size were planted in plastic pots, pre-wetted by capillary action and then subjected to simulated rainfall at three intensities for 5 min. Rainfall intensity (30, 45 and 60 mm h-1) significantly (P < 0.05) affected crust strength and mean emergence day (MED) but not emergence percentage (EMP) and shoot length (P > 0.05). The 60 mm h-1 rainfall intensity resulted in the highest crust strength and MED.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Nciizah, Adornis Dakarai
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Crop Science)
- Identifier: vital:11871 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1015539
- Description: The general objective of this study was to quantify the interactive effects of soil texture and mineralogy on soil crusting, infiltration and erosion and the subsequent effects on maize seedling emergence and early development using soils collected from 14 ecotopes in the Eastern Cape Province. The specific objectives were to determine; i) particulate organic matter, soil texture and mineralogy relations, ii) aggregate stability and breakdown mechanisms as affected by soil texture and organic matter, iii) crust formation and steady state infiltration, iv) rainfall pattern effects on crusting, infiltration and erodibility and v) rainfall intensity effects on crusting and mode of seedling emergence. Particulate organic matter (POM) was fractionated into litter POM, coarse POM and fine POM. Both total soil organic matter (SOM) and the POM in each fraction were determined using the weight loss on ignition procedure. Most ecotopes were either sandy loam or sandy clay loam and primary minerals especially quartz dominated the soil mineralogy. The clay content was significantly related to the total SOM (r = 0.78), hematite (r = 0.83) and quartz (r = -0.74). Aggregate stability was determined following methods described by Le Bissonnais (1996) i.e. fast wetting (FW), slow wetting (SW) and wet stirring (WSt). Aggregate breakdown followed the order; slaking < mechanical breakdown < micro-cracking for most ecotopes except Lujiko Leeufontein and Amatola Jozini where SW and WSt resulted in the least MWD respectively. Aggregate stability was significantly correlated to POM only for FW and SW and only positive but not significant for WSt. To study crust formation, aggregate sizes <2, 2 to 3, 3 to 5 mm were exposed to 60 mm hr-1 simulated rainfall. Sieving structural crusts, ~0.2 to ~0.8 mm thick with a surface layer of loose grains overlying a thin plasmic layer, formed in all ecotopes. Crusts with strengths between 0.25 and 3.42 10-4 kg m-2 developed on the <2 mm compared to <2.23 10-4 kg m-2 in the >2 mm aggregates. The reverse occurred in Alice Jozini, which had relatively low clay content of 120 g kg-1. Two significantly different groups of the SSIR were observed. The SSIR was between 1.24 and 3.60 mm hr-1 in the group of ecotopes dominated by primary minerals and relatively lower clay content. In the second group, consisting one ecotope dominated by kaolinite and relatively higher clay content, the SSIR was 15.23 mm hr-1. Rainfall pattern i.e. rainfall applied either as an eight minute single rainstorm (SR) or four-two minute intermittent rainstorms (IR) separated by a 48 h drying period significantly (p < 0.05) affected crust strength, SSIR and erosion. The IR resulted in higher crust strength and SSIR than SR. The effect of rainfall pattern on SSIR was mostly influenced by the primary minerals namely, quartz. Three maize seeds of equal size were planted in plastic pots, pre-wetted by capillary action and then subjected to simulated rainfall at three intensities for 5 min. Rainfall intensity (30, 45 and 60 mm h-1) significantly (P < 0.05) affected crust strength and mean emergence day (MED) but not emergence percentage (EMP) and shoot length (P > 0.05). The 60 mm h-1 rainfall intensity resulted in the highest crust strength and MED.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
An investigation into the nature of grade 4 learners’ evolving mathematics learning dispositions: a case study of 3 learners participating in an after school mathematics club
- Authors: Hewana, Diliza Ronald
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Case studies , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Psychological aspects , After-school programs -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Students -- Attitudes -- Case studies , Education, Elementary -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1983 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013140
- Description: Through a qualitative case study approach this research investigated the nature of three Grade 4 learners’ mathematical learning dispositions. It further explored how these dispositions evolve within the context of their participation in a weekly after school mathematics club over time. Of particular significance the research drew on the dispositional frameworks of Kilpatrick, Swafford and Findell’s (2001) and Carr & Claxton (2002) and pointed to ways in which these framework can be usefully brought together to provide a richer picture of learning dispositions. Kilpatrick, Swafford and Findell’s (2001) framework of mathematical proficiency involves five interrelated strands of which productive disposition is the fifth strand and largely underresearched (Graven, 2012). This strand is defined as ‘the tendency to see sense in mathematics, to perceive it as both useful and worthwhile, to believe that steady effort in learning mathematics pays off, and to see oneself as an effective learner and doer of mathematics’ (Kilpatrick, Swafford and Findell, 2001, p. 131). Carr & Claxton (2002) similarly argue for the importance of learning dispositions and point to the importance of resilience, playfulness and resourcefulness as three key indicators. The research outlines findings of the three case study learners in terms of data obtained from a questionnaire and interview about students’ learning dispositions. The interview asked learners various questions including for example, complete the sentence ‘Maths is…’, describe an effective learner of mathematics and say what you do if you don’t know an answer. The instrument was first administered orally and learners were asked to write their answers (in May 2012) and a year later it was administered as an interview by the club facilitator (in May 2013). While there is the limitation of comparison due to the different ways in which learners responded in 2012 (written) and 2013 (oral) the shifting nature of responses in certain respects provides some indication of shifts towards increasingly productive dispositions. Additionally the research analysed detailed transcripts of video recordings of several club sessions over a five-month period. Findings suggest ways of extending dispositional frameworks and that learners have restricted dispositions particularly in terms of sense making and resourcefulness across time. The findings also suggest shifts in dispositions over time especially in terms of seeing steady effort as paying off.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Hewana, Diliza Ronald
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Case studies , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Psychological aspects , After-school programs -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Students -- Attitudes -- Case studies , Education, Elementary -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1983 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013140
- Description: Through a qualitative case study approach this research investigated the nature of three Grade 4 learners’ mathematical learning dispositions. It further explored how these dispositions evolve within the context of their participation in a weekly after school mathematics club over time. Of particular significance the research drew on the dispositional frameworks of Kilpatrick, Swafford and Findell’s (2001) and Carr & Claxton (2002) and pointed to ways in which these framework can be usefully brought together to provide a richer picture of learning dispositions. Kilpatrick, Swafford and Findell’s (2001) framework of mathematical proficiency involves five interrelated strands of which productive disposition is the fifth strand and largely underresearched (Graven, 2012). This strand is defined as ‘the tendency to see sense in mathematics, to perceive it as both useful and worthwhile, to believe that steady effort in learning mathematics pays off, and to see oneself as an effective learner and doer of mathematics’ (Kilpatrick, Swafford and Findell, 2001, p. 131). Carr & Claxton (2002) similarly argue for the importance of learning dispositions and point to the importance of resilience, playfulness and resourcefulness as three key indicators. The research outlines findings of the three case study learners in terms of data obtained from a questionnaire and interview about students’ learning dispositions. The interview asked learners various questions including for example, complete the sentence ‘Maths is…’, describe an effective learner of mathematics and say what you do if you don’t know an answer. The instrument was first administered orally and learners were asked to write their answers (in May 2012) and a year later it was administered as an interview by the club facilitator (in May 2013). While there is the limitation of comparison due to the different ways in which learners responded in 2012 (written) and 2013 (oral) the shifting nature of responses in certain respects provides some indication of shifts towards increasingly productive dispositions. Additionally the research analysed detailed transcripts of video recordings of several club sessions over a five-month period. Findings suggest ways of extending dispositional frameworks and that learners have restricted dispositions particularly in terms of sense making and resourcefulness across time. The findings also suggest shifts in dispositions over time especially in terms of seeing steady effort as paying off.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Southern African Journal of Gerontology
- Ferreira, Monica (editor), Møller, Valerie (editor), HSRC/UCT Centre for Gerontology
- Authors: Ferreira, Monica (editor) , Møller, Valerie (editor) , HSRC/UCT Centre for Gerontology
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Gerontology
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:8063 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012653
- Description: Professor Monica Ferreira, Retired Director of the Institute of Ageing in Africa, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, was the founding editor of the journal (SAJG) and Emeritus Professor Valerie Møller was the associate editor for all nine volumes. The journal was SAPSE accredited. Publication of the journal ceased in 2000. With this letter permission is granted for making SAJG available online on the Rhodes Digital Commons.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Ferreira, Monica (editor) , Møller, Valerie (editor) , HSRC/UCT Centre for Gerontology
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Gerontology
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:8063 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012653
- Description: Professor Monica Ferreira, Retired Director of the Institute of Ageing in Africa, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, was the founding editor of the journal (SAJG) and Emeritus Professor Valerie Møller was the associate editor for all nine volumes. The journal was SAPSE accredited. Publication of the journal ceased in 2000. With this letter permission is granted for making SAJG available online on the Rhodes Digital Commons.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Distribution of iron-titanium oxides in the vanadiferous main magnetite seam of the upper zone : Northern limb, Bushveld complex
- Authors: Gwatinetsa, Demand
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Igneous rocks -- South Africa -- Bushveld Complex , Sulfide minerals -- South Africa -- Bushveld Complex , Vanadium -- South Africa -- Bushveld Complex , Titanium dioxide -- South Africa -- Bushveld Complex , Ferric oxide -- South Africa -- Bushveld Complex , Geology -- South Africa -- Bushveld Complex , Mineralogy -- South Africa -- Bushveld Complex , Mines and mineral resources -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5063 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013281
- Description: The main magnetite seam of the Upper Zone of the Rustenburg Layered Suite (SACS, 1980) on the Bushveld Complex is known to host the world‘s largest vanadium bearing titaniferous iron ores. The vanadiferous titanomagnetites, contain vanadium in sufficient concentrations (1.2 - 2.2 per cent V₂O₅) to be considered as resources and vanadium has been mined historically by a number of companies among them Anglo-American, Highveld Steel and Vanadium and VanMag Resources as well as currently by Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium Limited of South Africa. The titanomagnetites contain iron ore in the form of magnetite and titanium with concentrations averaging 50-75 per cent FeO and 12-21 per cent TiO₂. The titaniferous iron ores have been historically dismissed as a source of iron and titanium, due to the known difficulties of using iron ore with high titania content in blast furnaces. The economic potential for the extractability of the titaniferous magnetites lies in the capacity of the ores to be separated into iron rich and titanium rich concentrates usually through, crushing, grinding and magnetic separation. The separatability of iron oxides and titanium oxides, is dependent on the nature in which the titanium oxide occurs, with granular ilmenite being the most favourable since it can be separated from magnetite via magnetic separation. Titanium that occurs as finely exsolved lamellae or as iron-titanium oxides with low titania content such as ulvospinel render the potential recoverability of titanium poor. The Upper Zone vanadiferous titanomagnetites contain titanium in various forms varying from discrete granular ilmenite to finely exsolved lamellae as well as occurring as part of the minerals ulvospinel (Fe₂TiO₄) and titanomagnetite (a solid solution series between ulvospinel and magnetite) . Discrete ilmenite constitutes between 3-5 per cent by volume of the massive titanomagnetite ores, and between 5-10 per cent by volume of the magnetite-plagioclase cumulates with more than 50 per cent opaque oxide minerals. The purpose of this research was to investigate the mineralogical setting and distribution of the iron and titanium oxides within the magnetitite layers from top to bottom as well as spatially along a strike length of 2 000m to determine the potential for the titanium to be extracted from the titanomagnetite ores. The titanomagnetites of the Upper Zone of the Bushveld Complex with particular reference to the Northern Limb where this research was conducted contains titanium oxides as discrete ilmenite grains but in low concentrations whose potential for separate economic extraction will be challenging. The highest concentration of titanium in the magnetite ores is not contained in the granular ilmenite, but rather in ulvospinel and titanomagnetite as illustrated by the marked higher concentration of TiO₂ in the massive ores which contain less granular ilmenite in comparison to the disseminated ores which contain 3 to 8 percentage points higher granular ilmenite than the massive ores. On the scale of the main magnetite seam, the TiO₂ content increases with increasing stratigraphic height from being completely absent in the footwall anorthosite. The V₂2O₅ content also increases with stratigraphic height except for in one of the 3 boreholes where it drops with increasing height. The decrease or increase patterns are repeated in every seam. The titanomagnetites of the main magnetite seam display a variety of textures from coarse granular magnetite and ilmenite, to trellis ilmenite lamellae, intergranular ilmenite and magnesian spinels and fine exsolution lamellae of ulvospinel and ferro-magnesian spinels parallel to the magnetite cleavage. The bottom contact of the main magnetite seam is very sharp and there is no titanium or vanadium in the footwall barely 10cm below the contact. Chromium is present in the bottom of the 4 layers that constitute the main magnetite seam and it upwards decreases rapidly. In boreholes P21 and P55, there are slight reversals in the TiO₂ and V₂O₅ content towards the top of the magnetite seams.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Gwatinetsa, Demand
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Igneous rocks -- South Africa -- Bushveld Complex , Sulfide minerals -- South Africa -- Bushveld Complex , Vanadium -- South Africa -- Bushveld Complex , Titanium dioxide -- South Africa -- Bushveld Complex , Ferric oxide -- South Africa -- Bushveld Complex , Geology -- South Africa -- Bushveld Complex , Mineralogy -- South Africa -- Bushveld Complex , Mines and mineral resources -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5063 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013281
- Description: The main magnetite seam of the Upper Zone of the Rustenburg Layered Suite (SACS, 1980) on the Bushveld Complex is known to host the world‘s largest vanadium bearing titaniferous iron ores. The vanadiferous titanomagnetites, contain vanadium in sufficient concentrations (1.2 - 2.2 per cent V₂O₅) to be considered as resources and vanadium has been mined historically by a number of companies among them Anglo-American, Highveld Steel and Vanadium and VanMag Resources as well as currently by Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium Limited of South Africa. The titanomagnetites contain iron ore in the form of magnetite and titanium with concentrations averaging 50-75 per cent FeO and 12-21 per cent TiO₂. The titaniferous iron ores have been historically dismissed as a source of iron and titanium, due to the known difficulties of using iron ore with high titania content in blast furnaces. The economic potential for the extractability of the titaniferous magnetites lies in the capacity of the ores to be separated into iron rich and titanium rich concentrates usually through, crushing, grinding and magnetic separation. The separatability of iron oxides and titanium oxides, is dependent on the nature in which the titanium oxide occurs, with granular ilmenite being the most favourable since it can be separated from magnetite via magnetic separation. Titanium that occurs as finely exsolved lamellae or as iron-titanium oxides with low titania content such as ulvospinel render the potential recoverability of titanium poor. The Upper Zone vanadiferous titanomagnetites contain titanium in various forms varying from discrete granular ilmenite to finely exsolved lamellae as well as occurring as part of the minerals ulvospinel (Fe₂TiO₄) and titanomagnetite (a solid solution series between ulvospinel and magnetite) . Discrete ilmenite constitutes between 3-5 per cent by volume of the massive titanomagnetite ores, and between 5-10 per cent by volume of the magnetite-plagioclase cumulates with more than 50 per cent opaque oxide minerals. The purpose of this research was to investigate the mineralogical setting and distribution of the iron and titanium oxides within the magnetitite layers from top to bottom as well as spatially along a strike length of 2 000m to determine the potential for the titanium to be extracted from the titanomagnetite ores. The titanomagnetites of the Upper Zone of the Bushveld Complex with particular reference to the Northern Limb where this research was conducted contains titanium oxides as discrete ilmenite grains but in low concentrations whose potential for separate economic extraction will be challenging. The highest concentration of titanium in the magnetite ores is not contained in the granular ilmenite, but rather in ulvospinel and titanomagnetite as illustrated by the marked higher concentration of TiO₂ in the massive ores which contain less granular ilmenite in comparison to the disseminated ores which contain 3 to 8 percentage points higher granular ilmenite than the massive ores. On the scale of the main magnetite seam, the TiO₂ content increases with increasing stratigraphic height from being completely absent in the footwall anorthosite. The V₂2O₅ content also increases with stratigraphic height except for in one of the 3 boreholes where it drops with increasing height. The decrease or increase patterns are repeated in every seam. The titanomagnetites of the main magnetite seam display a variety of textures from coarse granular magnetite and ilmenite, to trellis ilmenite lamellae, intergranular ilmenite and magnesian spinels and fine exsolution lamellae of ulvospinel and ferro-magnesian spinels parallel to the magnetite cleavage. The bottom contact of the main magnetite seam is very sharp and there is no titanium or vanadium in the footwall barely 10cm below the contact. Chromium is present in the bottom of the 4 layers that constitute the main magnetite seam and it upwards decreases rapidly. In boreholes P21 and P55, there are slight reversals in the TiO₂ and V₂O₅ content towards the top of the magnetite seams.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Enterpreneurial orientation at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
- Fadairo, Feyisara Olufunmilayo
- Authors: Fadairo, Feyisara Olufunmilayo
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Entrepreneurship -- South Africa , University-based new business enterprises -- South Africa , Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9348 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020293
- Description: In the knowledge world into which mankind has progressed, universities are engines of economic growth. Their role has changed from producers of labour force to equal contributors - along with government and industry- in regional and national economic and social growth and development. Universities that will survive and succeed in this new climate must embrace entrepreneurship - become entrepreneurially oriented. As in any other organisation corporate entrepreneurship processes explain how entrepreneurship is implemented and diffused throughout a university, and its members must perceive the internal organisational culture as innovation supporting for entrepreneurship to flourish. Hence, the importance of studying internal environmental conditions that influence / enable corporate entrepreneurship. This study investigated NMMU’s entrepreneurial orientation by first determining what an entrepreneurial university is and its key attributes. Next it identified the key structural factors influencing university entrepreneurship and enquired how these structural factors can be influenced to enhance entrepreneurship at NMMU. To this end, survey method was used to sample perception of the university middle managers. The study first determined the level of entrepreneurship in NMMU by measuring its entrepreneurial intensity and then attempted to locate its position on the entrepreneurial grid. Next the level of the university’s internal environmental support for entrepreneurship was determined. The university’s culture was found to be the key factor influencing entrepreneurship with time availability and work discretion as key internal factors through which NMMU’s entrepreneurial culture could be improved. Proactivity and frequency dimensions of entrepreneurship were found to lead to significant improvement in the university’s entrepreneurial output and based on the outcome of the study; suggestions were made on ways of incorporating findings to better improve entrepreneurial orientation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Fadairo, Feyisara Olufunmilayo
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Entrepreneurship -- South Africa , University-based new business enterprises -- South Africa , Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9348 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020293
- Description: In the knowledge world into which mankind has progressed, universities are engines of economic growth. Their role has changed from producers of labour force to equal contributors - along with government and industry- in regional and national economic and social growth and development. Universities that will survive and succeed in this new climate must embrace entrepreneurship - become entrepreneurially oriented. As in any other organisation corporate entrepreneurship processes explain how entrepreneurship is implemented and diffused throughout a university, and its members must perceive the internal organisational culture as innovation supporting for entrepreneurship to flourish. Hence, the importance of studying internal environmental conditions that influence / enable corporate entrepreneurship. This study investigated NMMU’s entrepreneurial orientation by first determining what an entrepreneurial university is and its key attributes. Next it identified the key structural factors influencing university entrepreneurship and enquired how these structural factors can be influenced to enhance entrepreneurship at NMMU. To this end, survey method was used to sample perception of the university middle managers. The study first determined the level of entrepreneurship in NMMU by measuring its entrepreneurial intensity and then attempted to locate its position on the entrepreneurial grid. Next the level of the university’s internal environmental support for entrepreneurship was determined. The university’s culture was found to be the key factor influencing entrepreneurship with time availability and work discretion as key internal factors through which NMMU’s entrepreneurial culture could be improved. Proactivity and frequency dimensions of entrepreneurship were found to lead to significant improvement in the university’s entrepreneurial output and based on the outcome of the study; suggestions were made on ways of incorporating findings to better improve entrepreneurial orientation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Regional intergration: the impact of a one stop border post between South Africa and Mozabique in enhancing trade facilitation
- Authors: Mamkeli, Xolani
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: International economic integration , Border stations -- South Africa , Border stations -- Mozambique , Trade blocs
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8279 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1016263
- Description: The Ressano Garcia Border Post on the Mozambique side and the Lebombo Border post on the South African side represent the link between two of the three Maputo Corridor countries that receives the largest amount of freight traffic along the Corridor. The link has been identified as a major obstacle to the free movement of goods. As a result the process of the establishment of a One Stop Border Post was mooted by the former president Thabo Mbeki and his counter-part in Mozambique Mr. Joaquim Chissano in a bilateral agreement between these two countries. The reasons for these developments are prompted by the protracted problems that have beset intra-regional trade. For example, transport infrastructure in the region imposes significant costs on intra-regional and regional trade transactions. Long delays at border posts add to the intra-regional trade costs. The requirements by the 1996 SADC trade protocol, the basis of the FTA — that member states eliminate non-tariff barriers — poses special problems as it represents different things to different SADC member states. Addressing the SADC summit on 16 August 2006, the then South African President Thabo Mbeki said “the launch of the FTA was much more than a simple acknowledgement that the majority of traded goods in the region are duty-free. Rather we should view the achievement of this milestone as a major step towards addressing the fundamental challenges of poverty and underdevelopment through deeper integration and economic development” (Mbeki, 2006:16). Now that there will be one centre that clears all the documents for the transporters this will effectively culminate in the speedy processing of the documents. There will be no need for the transporters to stop at the other country’s customs offices to do the same job. Once the documents are complete the process is complete, because the barriers are removed between the two countries.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Mamkeli, Xolani
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: International economic integration , Border stations -- South Africa , Border stations -- Mozambique , Trade blocs
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8279 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1016263
- Description: The Ressano Garcia Border Post on the Mozambique side and the Lebombo Border post on the South African side represent the link between two of the three Maputo Corridor countries that receives the largest amount of freight traffic along the Corridor. The link has been identified as a major obstacle to the free movement of goods. As a result the process of the establishment of a One Stop Border Post was mooted by the former president Thabo Mbeki and his counter-part in Mozambique Mr. Joaquim Chissano in a bilateral agreement between these two countries. The reasons for these developments are prompted by the protracted problems that have beset intra-regional trade. For example, transport infrastructure in the region imposes significant costs on intra-regional and regional trade transactions. Long delays at border posts add to the intra-regional trade costs. The requirements by the 1996 SADC trade protocol, the basis of the FTA — that member states eliminate non-tariff barriers — poses special problems as it represents different things to different SADC member states. Addressing the SADC summit on 16 August 2006, the then South African President Thabo Mbeki said “the launch of the FTA was much more than a simple acknowledgement that the majority of traded goods in the region are duty-free. Rather we should view the achievement of this milestone as a major step towards addressing the fundamental challenges of poverty and underdevelopment through deeper integration and economic development” (Mbeki, 2006:16). Now that there will be one centre that clears all the documents for the transporters this will effectively culminate in the speedy processing of the documents. There will be no need for the transporters to stop at the other country’s customs offices to do the same job. Once the documents are complete the process is complete, because the barriers are removed between the two countries.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Regional connectivity, differentiation and biogeography of three species of the genus Lutjanus in the western Indian Ocean
- Authors: Morallana, Jonas Moqebelo
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Lutjanus -- Indian Ocean , Biogeography -- Indian Ocean , Phylogeography -- Indian Ocean , Lutjanus -- Geographical distribution , Lutjanus -- Variation , Mitochondrial DNA , Animal genetics , Variation (Biology)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5369 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013293
- Description: Snappers of the genus Lutjanus are small to large predatory fishes occurring in inshore circumtropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. These fishes support fisheries across their distribution range. Within the Western Indian Ocean (WIO), previous studies on Lutjanus kasmira revealed limited spatial genetic differentiation, whereas Lutjanus fulviflamma showed high genetic connectivity. The phylogenetic relationships among WIO snappers are unknown. Previous studies in the Indo-Pacific (IP) did not include any WIO representatives. This study examined (1) the phylogeographic patterns in Lutjanus bohar, L. fulviflamma and L. lutjanus to understand the origins and factors influencing the distribution of diversity in the region, (2) how the physical environment, biological, and ecological factors influence genetic diversity, (3) the placement of WIO snappers in context to those from the IP, as well as the placement of taxa not included previously, (4) extent of differentiation among conspecifics from the two regions, and (5) the relationship of the Caesionidae to the Lutjanidae. Samples were sourced from across the WIO and from peripheral localities, where possible. DNA sequence data were generated from two mitochondrial gene regions (cyt-b and NADH-2) and a nuclear gene region (S7 intron 1). Data were analysed under a phylogeographic framework to examine genetic structure, diversity and differentiation among identified regions for each of the three species. Other sequence data were generated from two mitochondrial gene regions (COII and 16S rDNA) to examine the phylogenetic placement of WIO snappers in context of the IP snappers and the relationship of the Caesionidae to the Lutjanidae. Lutjanus bohar and L. fulviflamma displayed high genetic diversity, but lower diversities were observed for L. lutjanus. Genetic differentiation was observed between Mozambique and Maldives in L. bohar. Lutjanus fulviflamma was differentiated in South Africa, Mozambique, Mauritius and Thailand, while differentiation was observed between Kenya and Tanzania in Lutjanus lutjanus. Overall, low genetic differentiation and high connectivity were observed for each of the three species. This differentiation may result from intrinsic features of the species and extrinsic features of the environment, whereas the connectivity is mainly influenced by the pelagic larval duration. These patterns of differentiation are in accordance with a proposed vicariant biogeographic hypothesis for the origins of regional faunas of the IP. Phylogenies were similar to those published, with additional taxa not altering the previous groupings found. Conspecifics from the two regions clustered together, with varying degrees of differentiation among the WIO and IP, depending on the species. Members of the Caesionidae were nested within Lutjanidae, suggesting that morphological characters separating the two families are taxonomically insignificant. This affirms previous notions that the Caesionidae should be a subfamily within the Lutjanidae. This is the first multi-gene study, examining differentiation in multiple species of snapper over a wide geographic area in the WIO, and the results of this study could have potential implications for fisheries management and conservation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Morallana, Jonas Moqebelo
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Lutjanus -- Indian Ocean , Biogeography -- Indian Ocean , Phylogeography -- Indian Ocean , Lutjanus -- Geographical distribution , Lutjanus -- Variation , Mitochondrial DNA , Animal genetics , Variation (Biology)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5369 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013293
- Description: Snappers of the genus Lutjanus are small to large predatory fishes occurring in inshore circumtropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. These fishes support fisheries across their distribution range. Within the Western Indian Ocean (WIO), previous studies on Lutjanus kasmira revealed limited spatial genetic differentiation, whereas Lutjanus fulviflamma showed high genetic connectivity. The phylogenetic relationships among WIO snappers are unknown. Previous studies in the Indo-Pacific (IP) did not include any WIO representatives. This study examined (1) the phylogeographic patterns in Lutjanus bohar, L. fulviflamma and L. lutjanus to understand the origins and factors influencing the distribution of diversity in the region, (2) how the physical environment, biological, and ecological factors influence genetic diversity, (3) the placement of WIO snappers in context to those from the IP, as well as the placement of taxa not included previously, (4) extent of differentiation among conspecifics from the two regions, and (5) the relationship of the Caesionidae to the Lutjanidae. Samples were sourced from across the WIO and from peripheral localities, where possible. DNA sequence data were generated from two mitochondrial gene regions (cyt-b and NADH-2) and a nuclear gene region (S7 intron 1). Data were analysed under a phylogeographic framework to examine genetic structure, diversity and differentiation among identified regions for each of the three species. Other sequence data were generated from two mitochondrial gene regions (COII and 16S rDNA) to examine the phylogenetic placement of WIO snappers in context of the IP snappers and the relationship of the Caesionidae to the Lutjanidae. Lutjanus bohar and L. fulviflamma displayed high genetic diversity, but lower diversities were observed for L. lutjanus. Genetic differentiation was observed between Mozambique and Maldives in L. bohar. Lutjanus fulviflamma was differentiated in South Africa, Mozambique, Mauritius and Thailand, while differentiation was observed between Kenya and Tanzania in Lutjanus lutjanus. Overall, low genetic differentiation and high connectivity were observed for each of the three species. This differentiation may result from intrinsic features of the species and extrinsic features of the environment, whereas the connectivity is mainly influenced by the pelagic larval duration. These patterns of differentiation are in accordance with a proposed vicariant biogeographic hypothesis for the origins of regional faunas of the IP. Phylogenies were similar to those published, with additional taxa not altering the previous groupings found. Conspecifics from the two regions clustered together, with varying degrees of differentiation among the WIO and IP, depending on the species. Members of the Caesionidae were nested within Lutjanidae, suggesting that morphological characters separating the two families are taxonomically insignificant. This affirms previous notions that the Caesionidae should be a subfamily within the Lutjanidae. This is the first multi-gene study, examining differentiation in multiple species of snapper over a wide geographic area in the WIO, and the results of this study could have potential implications for fisheries management and conservation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
An evaluation of the quality of customer service provided to large power users by Eskom in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Caza, Akhona Nobusi
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Eskom (Firm) -- Evaluation , Customer services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Evaluation , Customer services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Quality control , SERVQUAL (Service quality framework) , Gap analysis (Planning)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:862 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020610
- Description: The aim of this research is to evaluate the level of service quality provided by Eskom to its Large Power User (LPU) customer segment in the Eastern Cape. The research uses the SERVQUAL model in order to assess the customers’ expectations and perceptions of the service provided by Eskom. This evaluation report comprises three sections. Section one consists of (a) a review of service quality literature that exists and is applied to Eskom where relevant, (b) a summary of the method used to conduct the research, (c) the research findings, and (d) a discussion of the research findings and recommendations. Section two consists of a review of the key concepts identified for this study as follows: (a) defining customer service quality by looking at the concepts of the customer, service, quality and the dimensions of quality, (b) the importance of service quality, (c) the components of service quality in Eskom, (d) models of service quality, and (e) the SERVQUAL model used in this study. Section three consists of the detail of the research methodology used to conduct this study. The Gap Model of Service Quality (Parasuraman et al., 1985:44) is evaluated in order to understand the gaps between expected and perceived service. The provider gap (Zeithaml et al., 2006: 34) is also reviewed in order to identify the gaps that occur within the organisation. An extensive review of customer service quality models is undertaken before a discussion of the SERVQUAL model, which was used in this evaluation study, is provided. The researcher adopted the critical realism research paradigm and quantitative data was collected from a sample of 120 Eskom customers within the LPU customer segment in the Eastern Cape. These customers were randomly selected from the Eskom Customer Care and Billing database and comprised customers from Port Elizabeth, Aliwal North, Mthatha and East London Areas within the Eastern Cape. The data was collected online through a questionnaire which was based on SERVQUAL and modified for electricity services. The quantitative data obtained from the study is presented in the form of tables and graphs created from the data obtained from the 45 customers who responded to the questionnaire. The gaps between LPU customer perceptions and expectations were calculated for the five SERVQUAL dimensions. The research identifies the existing gaps in the service delivered by Eskom; this is based on the perceptions and expectations of the LPU customers in the Eastern Cape, who participated in the study. The results reveal that gaps exist between LPU customer perceptions and their expectations of the service provided by Eskom in the Eastern Cape. The key findings reveal that the largest gaps are within the reliability and empathy dimensions and the smallest gap is in the tangibles dimension. The recommendations were made on the basis of the gaps which were identified and these focus on the training of the front line staff responsible for servicing customers. It is recommended that this training should include an overview of the organisation’s policies and procedures to enable employees to respond adequately to customer queries. Recommendation is also made on training staff to interact with customers effectively in order to resolve customer queries satisfactorily. Finally, it is recommended that regular assessments of the existing customer service quality levels are conducted in order for the organisation to remain aware of the current customer perceptions and expectations
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Caza, Akhona Nobusi
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Eskom (Firm) -- Evaluation , Customer services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Evaluation , Customer services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Quality control , SERVQUAL (Service quality framework) , Gap analysis (Planning)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:862 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020610
- Description: The aim of this research is to evaluate the level of service quality provided by Eskom to its Large Power User (LPU) customer segment in the Eastern Cape. The research uses the SERVQUAL model in order to assess the customers’ expectations and perceptions of the service provided by Eskom. This evaluation report comprises three sections. Section one consists of (a) a review of service quality literature that exists and is applied to Eskom where relevant, (b) a summary of the method used to conduct the research, (c) the research findings, and (d) a discussion of the research findings and recommendations. Section two consists of a review of the key concepts identified for this study as follows: (a) defining customer service quality by looking at the concepts of the customer, service, quality and the dimensions of quality, (b) the importance of service quality, (c) the components of service quality in Eskom, (d) models of service quality, and (e) the SERVQUAL model used in this study. Section three consists of the detail of the research methodology used to conduct this study. The Gap Model of Service Quality (Parasuraman et al., 1985:44) is evaluated in order to understand the gaps between expected and perceived service. The provider gap (Zeithaml et al., 2006: 34) is also reviewed in order to identify the gaps that occur within the organisation. An extensive review of customer service quality models is undertaken before a discussion of the SERVQUAL model, which was used in this evaluation study, is provided. The researcher adopted the critical realism research paradigm and quantitative data was collected from a sample of 120 Eskom customers within the LPU customer segment in the Eastern Cape. These customers were randomly selected from the Eskom Customer Care and Billing database and comprised customers from Port Elizabeth, Aliwal North, Mthatha and East London Areas within the Eastern Cape. The data was collected online through a questionnaire which was based on SERVQUAL and modified for electricity services. The quantitative data obtained from the study is presented in the form of tables and graphs created from the data obtained from the 45 customers who responded to the questionnaire. The gaps between LPU customer perceptions and expectations were calculated for the five SERVQUAL dimensions. The research identifies the existing gaps in the service delivered by Eskom; this is based on the perceptions and expectations of the LPU customers in the Eastern Cape, who participated in the study. The results reveal that gaps exist between LPU customer perceptions and their expectations of the service provided by Eskom in the Eastern Cape. The key findings reveal that the largest gaps are within the reliability and empathy dimensions and the smallest gap is in the tangibles dimension. The recommendations were made on the basis of the gaps which were identified and these focus on the training of the front line staff responsible for servicing customers. It is recommended that this training should include an overview of the organisation’s policies and procedures to enable employees to respond adequately to customer queries. Recommendation is also made on training staff to interact with customers effectively in order to resolve customer queries satisfactorily. Finally, it is recommended that regular assessments of the existing customer service quality levels are conducted in order for the organisation to remain aware of the current customer perceptions and expectations
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014