Role of councillors in the roll-out of the national development plan: the case of Chris Hani District Municipality
- Authors: Fololo, Ncumisa Kanyisa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Political leadership -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal officials and employees -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/42129 , vital:36628
- Description: The study wants to establish the level of awareness of councillors of their role and responsibility in the National Development Plan as public representatives who are required to provide sustainable ways to meet the socio-economic needs of communities and improve the quality of life. The interest was triggered by the fact that even though the National Development Plan is a national document but its implementation and success will be gauged through the improved lives of community that are led by councillors. All the envisaged programmes and activities that are reflected in the NDP will be implemented in the municipal areas hence councillors as community leaders should be the champions of such. Their contribution as public representatives in the implementation of the NDP is vital and key. The study adopted a case study design that assisted in establishing what is required from councillors in the implementation of the NDP as they plan for communities and municipal officials as a supporting and implementing arm of the council. Qualitative and quantitative data collection instruments were used to collect data. Data collection tools used to obtain information from the councillors and municipal officials were written self-administered questionnaires for councillors and face to face interviews for municipal officials. For councillors the study reflected on their lack in carrying their fiduciary duties in providing leadership and guidance through proper planning and oversight. They have to a certain degree viewed the NDP as political document rather than a government planning framework tool. For municipal officials, the study highlighted their lack of ownership of the NDP which they view it as a separate document rather than considering that the national developed the National Spatial Development Perspective, Provinces, the Provincial Development and Growth Strategies and local government had to develop their Integrated Development Plans and all those were the strategic planning documents to drive development forward, however without having a long term vision which is called by many countries, National Development Plan to provide framework for all these documents. Subsequently, the study made a set of recommendations in this regard.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Fololo, Ncumisa Kanyisa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Political leadership -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal officials and employees -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/42129 , vital:36628
- Description: The study wants to establish the level of awareness of councillors of their role and responsibility in the National Development Plan as public representatives who are required to provide sustainable ways to meet the socio-economic needs of communities and improve the quality of life. The interest was triggered by the fact that even though the National Development Plan is a national document but its implementation and success will be gauged through the improved lives of community that are led by councillors. All the envisaged programmes and activities that are reflected in the NDP will be implemented in the municipal areas hence councillors as community leaders should be the champions of such. Their contribution as public representatives in the implementation of the NDP is vital and key. The study adopted a case study design that assisted in establishing what is required from councillors in the implementation of the NDP as they plan for communities and municipal officials as a supporting and implementing arm of the council. Qualitative and quantitative data collection instruments were used to collect data. Data collection tools used to obtain information from the councillors and municipal officials were written self-administered questionnaires for councillors and face to face interviews for municipal officials. For councillors the study reflected on their lack in carrying their fiduciary duties in providing leadership and guidance through proper planning and oversight. They have to a certain degree viewed the NDP as political document rather than a government planning framework tool. For municipal officials, the study highlighted their lack of ownership of the NDP which they view it as a separate document rather than considering that the national developed the National Spatial Development Perspective, Provinces, the Provincial Development and Growth Strategies and local government had to develop their Integrated Development Plans and all those were the strategic planning documents to drive development forward, however without having a long term vision which is called by many countries, National Development Plan to provide framework for all these documents. Subsequently, the study made a set of recommendations in this regard.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Role of Nurse Managers in Ensuring Client Satisfaction within the Primary Health Care Clinics in Buffalo City Health District
- Authors: Yiba,Theodora Nomboniso
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Primary health care Nurse administrators
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M. CUR
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16825 , vital:40777
- Description: In Primary Health Care system there are different categories of nurses that have different roles to play within their facilities, such as registered nurses, enrolled nurses and enrolled nursing assistants, operational managers at functional level within the Primary Health Care Clinics and also overall supervisors. The study focus was on operational managers as they are the key role players in quality client care within Primary health Care clinics, King William’s Town in Buffalo City Health District in Eastern Cape Province. The aim of the study was to describe the role of nurse managers in ensuring client satisfaction within the Primary Health Care Clinics at Buffalo City Health District in order to ensure effectiveness of Health Core Standards. The research questions were: The research questions that was addressed in this study Main question: “What is the role of nurse managers in ensuring client satisfaction within Primary Health Care Clinics at Buffalo City Health District?” Sub questions: How do you ensure client safety in your facility? How do you monitor client waiting time in your facility? What strategies can assist in the improvement of client satisfaction in Primary Health care clinics? The objectives were to explore and describe role of nurse managers in ensuring client satisfaction regarding safety within the Primary health Care clinics in Buffalo City Heath District, explore and describe role of nurse managers in client satisfaction about waiting time within Primary Health Care Clinics and to recommend strategies to improve client satisfaction within the Primary Health Care clinics in order to improve client satisfaction. A descriptive, explorative, qualitative, contextual design was used to describe and explore the role of operational manager in ensuring client satisfaction regarding client safety and waiting time within Primary Health Care Clinics. Purposive sampling method was used to select seven operational managers. Six operational managers participated in the study as one of them was bereaved during the interview period. One on one interviews with operational managers was used to collect the data. Data was collected until it reached saturation. Data collected was analyzed using Tesch’s steps of data analysis for qualitative research. vi The results were that the operational managers are performing their roles, but find it difficult to fully satisfy clients as they experience some roles’ related challenges in ensuring client satisfactory services. Related roles’ challenges were unavailability of enough nursing staff to cover all the programmes due to shortage of staff, poor infrastructure in some of the clinics, lack of support and appreciation from some of their supervisors, absenteeism of staff that negatively affect operational manager’s planning and organisation role, failure to deliver medication in time. They recommended some strategies regarding improvement of client satisfaction within the Primary Health Care clinics. The recommendations were, the department of health to fill in nurses and staff vacant posts, facilitation of prompt delivery of medication to Primary Health Care Clinics, the department to attend to poor infrastructure, District office to consider staff satisfactory survey, commitment of clinic supervisors in their monthly visits and the study findings be used when conducting further studies related to ensuring client satisfaction regarding safety and waiting time
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Yiba,Theodora Nomboniso
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Primary health care Nurse administrators
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M. CUR
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16825 , vital:40777
- Description: In Primary Health Care system there are different categories of nurses that have different roles to play within their facilities, such as registered nurses, enrolled nurses and enrolled nursing assistants, operational managers at functional level within the Primary Health Care Clinics and also overall supervisors. The study focus was on operational managers as they are the key role players in quality client care within Primary health Care clinics, King William’s Town in Buffalo City Health District in Eastern Cape Province. The aim of the study was to describe the role of nurse managers in ensuring client satisfaction within the Primary Health Care Clinics at Buffalo City Health District in order to ensure effectiveness of Health Core Standards. The research questions were: The research questions that was addressed in this study Main question: “What is the role of nurse managers in ensuring client satisfaction within Primary Health Care Clinics at Buffalo City Health District?” Sub questions: How do you ensure client safety in your facility? How do you monitor client waiting time in your facility? What strategies can assist in the improvement of client satisfaction in Primary Health care clinics? The objectives were to explore and describe role of nurse managers in ensuring client satisfaction regarding safety within the Primary health Care clinics in Buffalo City Heath District, explore and describe role of nurse managers in client satisfaction about waiting time within Primary Health Care Clinics and to recommend strategies to improve client satisfaction within the Primary Health Care clinics in order to improve client satisfaction. A descriptive, explorative, qualitative, contextual design was used to describe and explore the role of operational manager in ensuring client satisfaction regarding client safety and waiting time within Primary Health Care Clinics. Purposive sampling method was used to select seven operational managers. Six operational managers participated in the study as one of them was bereaved during the interview period. One on one interviews with operational managers was used to collect the data. Data was collected until it reached saturation. Data collected was analyzed using Tesch’s steps of data analysis for qualitative research. vi The results were that the operational managers are performing their roles, but find it difficult to fully satisfy clients as they experience some roles’ related challenges in ensuring client satisfactory services. Related roles’ challenges were unavailability of enough nursing staff to cover all the programmes due to shortage of staff, poor infrastructure in some of the clinics, lack of support and appreciation from some of their supervisors, absenteeism of staff that negatively affect operational manager’s planning and organisation role, failure to deliver medication in time. They recommended some strategies regarding improvement of client satisfaction within the Primary Health Care clinics. The recommendations were, the department of health to fill in nurses and staff vacant posts, facilitation of prompt delivery of medication to Primary Health Care Clinics, the department to attend to poor infrastructure, District office to consider staff satisfactory survey, commitment of clinic supervisors in their monthly visits and the study findings be used when conducting further studies related to ensuring client satisfaction regarding safety and waiting time
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Role of performance management system in ensuring good governance in Nelson Mandela Bay
- Authors: Nompucuko, Skweyiya
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Performance -- Management -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality , Strategic planning -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Municipal government Local government Civil service
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/43357 , vital:36861
- Description: There is a lack of clarity and legislative direction in terms of performance management for non-section 56 employees that is employees other than the municipal manager or officials directly accountable to the municipal manager (Government of Republic of South Africa, 2000:72). This culminated in performance management challenges such as non-cascading of performance management to lower level employees in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM, 2018). The non-cascading of performance management is consequently also as a result of the effects of poor governance, as certain groups of employees are not allowed to participate fully in performance management processes (Nielsen 2013:25). The study’s main argument is that effective performance management, which includes all employees, will result in good governance. The study investigates this argument through a case study investigation of the NMBM performance management system, using both primary and secondary data. The NMBM budget and treasury directorate was chosen to understand the NMBM performance management system. The case study analysis reveals that the NMBM performance management system promotes accountability, transparency and participation in the municipal service delivery process. However, an element of unfairness was found in that, only the executive officials can receive financial performance bonuses. The study subsequently makes recommendation to improve the NMBM’s performance management system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Nompucuko, Skweyiya
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Performance -- Management -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality , Strategic planning -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Municipal government Local government Civil service
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/43357 , vital:36861
- Description: There is a lack of clarity and legislative direction in terms of performance management for non-section 56 employees that is employees other than the municipal manager or officials directly accountable to the municipal manager (Government of Republic of South Africa, 2000:72). This culminated in performance management challenges such as non-cascading of performance management to lower level employees in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM, 2018). The non-cascading of performance management is consequently also as a result of the effects of poor governance, as certain groups of employees are not allowed to participate fully in performance management processes (Nielsen 2013:25). The study’s main argument is that effective performance management, which includes all employees, will result in good governance. The study investigates this argument through a case study investigation of the NMBM performance management system, using both primary and secondary data. The NMBM budget and treasury directorate was chosen to understand the NMBM performance management system. The case study analysis reveals that the NMBM performance management system promotes accountability, transparency and participation in the municipal service delivery process. However, an element of unfairness was found in that, only the executive officials can receive financial performance bonuses. The study subsequently makes recommendation to improve the NMBM’s performance management system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Rural food security in Mutare District, Zimbabwe, 1947-2010
- Authors: Kusena, Bernard
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Mutare (Zimbabwe) -- History , Zimbabwe -- History , Food security -- Zimbabwe , Poverty -- Zimbabwe , Rural pooer -- Zimbabwe , Crop losses -- Zimbabwe , Food relief -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92865 , vital:30757
- Description: By taking Mutare District as its lens to explore the dynamics of rural food security in Zimbabwe, this thesis assesses the role of the state in tackling hunger among its rural populations. It examines the impact of colonial and post-colonial food policy on efforts to combat food insecurity. The thesis explores the uneasy options pursued by rural communities in response to droughts and other threats of hunger. It identifies and ranks crop failure as the chief culprit to the district’s efforts towards food security. The thesis illustrates the contestations between the state and its rural people over which sustainable approaches to adopt in order to end hunger and how such debates continually shaped policy. It grapples with questions about the various understandings of food security advanced by scholars within the rural African context. It demonstrates, for instance, that the post-colonial state inherited an erstwhile crop production structure which shunned food crops in favour of cash crops. There was obvious bias against local preferences for a robust, home-grown food regime which did not put rural livelihoods at risk of starvation. The thesis also argues that food can be used as an instrument of war as evidenced during the liberation struggle when the vast majority of people residing in rural areas, particularly women and children, were pushed to the edges of survival. In addition, the thesis demonstrates that the infamous Marange diamonds turned out to be a curse rather than a blessing due to the state’s lack of transparency in the beneficiation chain. It concludes by a detailed examination of the political economy of food aid, demonstrating why donors have not succeeded for long to combat hunger in the district. In light of this background, the thesis provides a more nuanced analysis of the whole question of rural food security using archival material, newspapers, government and civil society reports, interviews and field observation. The thesis benefits from the use of a multi-pronged theoretical framework to capture the disparate themes that form the bedrock of this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Kusena, Bernard
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Mutare (Zimbabwe) -- History , Zimbabwe -- History , Food security -- Zimbabwe , Poverty -- Zimbabwe , Rural pooer -- Zimbabwe , Crop losses -- Zimbabwe , Food relief -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92865 , vital:30757
- Description: By taking Mutare District as its lens to explore the dynamics of rural food security in Zimbabwe, this thesis assesses the role of the state in tackling hunger among its rural populations. It examines the impact of colonial and post-colonial food policy on efforts to combat food insecurity. The thesis explores the uneasy options pursued by rural communities in response to droughts and other threats of hunger. It identifies and ranks crop failure as the chief culprit to the district’s efforts towards food security. The thesis illustrates the contestations between the state and its rural people over which sustainable approaches to adopt in order to end hunger and how such debates continually shaped policy. It grapples with questions about the various understandings of food security advanced by scholars within the rural African context. It demonstrates, for instance, that the post-colonial state inherited an erstwhile crop production structure which shunned food crops in favour of cash crops. There was obvious bias against local preferences for a robust, home-grown food regime which did not put rural livelihoods at risk of starvation. The thesis also argues that food can be used as an instrument of war as evidenced during the liberation struggle when the vast majority of people residing in rural areas, particularly women and children, were pushed to the edges of survival. In addition, the thesis demonstrates that the infamous Marange diamonds turned out to be a curse rather than a blessing due to the state’s lack of transparency in the beneficiation chain. It concludes by a detailed examination of the political economy of food aid, demonstrating why donors have not succeeded for long to combat hunger in the district. In light of this background, the thesis provides a more nuanced analysis of the whole question of rural food security using archival material, newspapers, government and civil society reports, interviews and field observation. The thesis benefits from the use of a multi-pronged theoretical framework to capture the disparate themes that form the bedrock of this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Rural household dietary diversity and food security in Raymond Mhlaba local municipality
- Authors: Mnukwa, Minentle Lwando
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Food security
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17282 , vital:40872
- Description: In order to formulate or implement relevant food security programmes in rural areas, it is important to have a deep understanding of the food security status of rural households. Accordingly, this study was conducted to assess the food security status of rural households in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality. The study also sought to identify the socio-economic characteristics that influence household food security status. The research relied on primary data. Primary data were collected by using a structured questionnaire, which covered both demographic features of respondent households, and their recent food consumption patterns. The household survey was conducted among 272 participants of Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality. Statistical tools employed in this study included both descriptive and inferential statistics. The main descriptive statistics used were frequency tables, means and percentages in relation to a number of demographic characteristics and food security indicators. The main indicator of food security/insecurity used in the study was the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS). After calculating the HDDS for each household, households were defined as either food secure or insecure depending on whether their HDDS was above or below the average HDDS. A logistic regression model (binary or dichotomous) was then used to identify socio-economic factors that influence some households to have above-average rather than below-average food security levels. The Binary logistic regression model revealed that four out of eight variables included in the model were significant in explaining the variation in the food security situation of households in the study areas, namely age of household head, education level of household head, household income and household size. Of these, the first three were positively associated with aboveaverage food security status, while household size had a negative association. A Tobit model was further used to identify the determinants of the household dietary diversity score. The exact same variables were significant from the Tobit analysis, and in the same manner.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Mnukwa, Minentle Lwando
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Food security
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17282 , vital:40872
- Description: In order to formulate or implement relevant food security programmes in rural areas, it is important to have a deep understanding of the food security status of rural households. Accordingly, this study was conducted to assess the food security status of rural households in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality. The study also sought to identify the socio-economic characteristics that influence household food security status. The research relied on primary data. Primary data were collected by using a structured questionnaire, which covered both demographic features of respondent households, and their recent food consumption patterns. The household survey was conducted among 272 participants of Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality. Statistical tools employed in this study included both descriptive and inferential statistics. The main descriptive statistics used were frequency tables, means and percentages in relation to a number of demographic characteristics and food security indicators. The main indicator of food security/insecurity used in the study was the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS). After calculating the HDDS for each household, households were defined as either food secure or insecure depending on whether their HDDS was above or below the average HDDS. A logistic regression model (binary or dichotomous) was then used to identify socio-economic factors that influence some households to have above-average rather than below-average food security levels. The Binary logistic regression model revealed that four out of eight variables included in the model were significant in explaining the variation in the food security situation of households in the study areas, namely age of household head, education level of household head, household income and household size. Of these, the first three were positively associated with aboveaverage food security status, while household size had a negative association. A Tobit model was further used to identify the determinants of the household dietary diversity score. The exact same variables were significant from the Tobit analysis, and in the same manner.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Science in the service of society: Is marine and coastal science addressing South Africa's needs?
- Cochrane, Kevern L, Sauer, Warwick H H, Aswani, Shankar
- Authors: Cochrane, Kevern L , Sauer, Warwick H H , Aswani, Shankar
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/126071 , vital:35847 , https://doi.10.17159/sajs.2019/4418
- Description: The modern world is confronted with many and diverse social and environmental challenges of high complexity. In South Africa, rapid and sustainable development is needed to address high levels of poverty and unemployment but this development has to take place in the context of an environment that is already severely impacted by human activities. Sound and relevant scientific input and advice, covering the full scope of each challenge, is essential for effective decisions and actions to address the needs. South Africa has the benefit of strong scientific capacity but the country’s National Development Plan reported that national research priorities were not always consistent with South Africa’s needs. We investigate the validity of that conclusion in the coastal and marine sciences by examining presentations made at the 2017 South African Marine Science Symposium on the theme of ‘Unlocking the ocean’s economic potential whilst maintaining social and ecological resilience’. Despite the theme, only 21% of the presentations were judged to be actionable and directly relevant to societal needs, as defined by the criteria used. Less than 7% were evaluated as being interdisciplinary within the natural sciences and approximately 10% were found to include both natural and human sciences. Poor representation by the human sciences was also noteworthy. This preliminary assessment highlights the need for an urgent review of the disciplinary representation and approaches in marine and coastal science in South Africa in the context of the priority practical needs of the country now and into the future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Cochrane, Kevern L , Sauer, Warwick H H , Aswani, Shankar
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/126071 , vital:35847 , https://doi.10.17159/sajs.2019/4418
- Description: The modern world is confronted with many and diverse social and environmental challenges of high complexity. In South Africa, rapid and sustainable development is needed to address high levels of poverty and unemployment but this development has to take place in the context of an environment that is already severely impacted by human activities. Sound and relevant scientific input and advice, covering the full scope of each challenge, is essential for effective decisions and actions to address the needs. South Africa has the benefit of strong scientific capacity but the country’s National Development Plan reported that national research priorities were not always consistent with South Africa’s needs. We investigate the validity of that conclusion in the coastal and marine sciences by examining presentations made at the 2017 South African Marine Science Symposium on the theme of ‘Unlocking the ocean’s economic potential whilst maintaining social and ecological resilience’. Despite the theme, only 21% of the presentations were judged to be actionable and directly relevant to societal needs, as defined by the criteria used. Less than 7% were evaluated as being interdisciplinary within the natural sciences and approximately 10% were found to include both natural and human sciences. Poor representation by the human sciences was also noteworthy. This preliminary assessment highlights the need for an urgent review of the disciplinary representation and approaches in marine and coastal science in South Africa in the context of the priority practical needs of the country now and into the future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Secret sex lives in the intertidal: insights into the mating systems of clinid fishes from molecular parentage analyses
- Authors: Scheeper, Martinus Johannes
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/72438 , vital:30048
- Description: Expected release date-April 2020
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Scheeper, Martinus Johannes
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/72438 , vital:30048
- Description: Expected release date-April 2020
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2019
Sectioned or whole otoliths? A global review of hard structure preparation techniques used in ageing sparid fishes
- Winkler, Alexander C, Duncan, Murray I, Farthing, Matthew W, Potts, Warren M
- Authors: Winkler, Alexander C , Duncan, Murray I , Farthing, Matthew W , Potts, Warren M
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/126733 , vital:35917 , https://doi.10.1007/s11160-019-09571-1
- Description: While otoliths are considered the most reliable structure to accurately age fish, a variety of otolith preparation techniques are available, which have consequences on the otolith’s optical properties and therefore interpretation of growth bands. Recently, numerous studies from a variety of authors have criticised the use of whole otoliths in ageing sparids with sectioned otoliths subsequently acknowledged as the most reliable preparation technique. Despite this criticism; ageing data is still being generated from whole otoliths and other unreliable structures such as scales. In an attempt to understand the severity of this issue we conducted a global literature review of otolith preparation protocols used for sparids. We identified global spatial inconsistencies in otolith preparation techniques with some regions predominately using methods other than sectioned otoliths to age sparids. The review highlights the need for a standardisation of otolith preparation methods and a move towards the use of sectioned otoliths, or at least valid support where alternative structures or preparation techniques are used. Given that large numbers of studies have been conducted on whole otoliths in certain regions, it may be necessary to revaluate the existing growth parameters to ensure that accurate information is incorporated into management structures.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Winkler, Alexander C , Duncan, Murray I , Farthing, Matthew W , Potts, Warren M
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/126733 , vital:35917 , https://doi.10.1007/s11160-019-09571-1
- Description: While otoliths are considered the most reliable structure to accurately age fish, a variety of otolith preparation techniques are available, which have consequences on the otolith’s optical properties and therefore interpretation of growth bands. Recently, numerous studies from a variety of authors have criticised the use of whole otoliths in ageing sparids with sectioned otoliths subsequently acknowledged as the most reliable preparation technique. Despite this criticism; ageing data is still being generated from whole otoliths and other unreliable structures such as scales. In an attempt to understand the severity of this issue we conducted a global literature review of otolith preparation protocols used for sparids. We identified global spatial inconsistencies in otolith preparation techniques with some regions predominately using methods other than sectioned otoliths to age sparids. The review highlights the need for a standardisation of otolith preparation methods and a move towards the use of sectioned otoliths, or at least valid support where alternative structures or preparation techniques are used. Given that large numbers of studies have been conducted on whole otoliths in certain regions, it may be necessary to revaluate the existing growth parameters to ensure that accurate information is incorporated into management structures.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Sedimentology and shale gas potential of the Ecca Group, Karoo Supergroup in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Nemanashi , Tshisikhaiwe
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Sedimentology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/14616 , vital:40023
- Description: The aim of the study was to establish a deeper understanding on the stratigraphy, sedimentology, petrology, organic geochemistry and diagenesis of the Ecca Group, and to provide new insight on the shale gas occurrence and potential of the Ecca Group, Karoo Supergroup in the southern Karoo Basin. The Ecca Group stratigraphy is divided into five formations from the bottom upwards, namely the Prince Albert, Whitehill, Collingham, Ripon and the Fort Brown Formations. The stratigraphy of the five studied stratigraphy’s formations is now sub-divided into two new different members each. These subdivision was based on field investigation of lithological features, sedimentary structures, facies characteristics and stratigraphic correlation points. Each member has been assigned a lithological name. Sixteen sedimentary facies have been identified in the study area and were subdivided into six distinctive facies associations (FA 1, FA 2, FA 3, FA 4, FA 5 and FA 6). Sedimentological characteristics of facies associations identified indicate that the Ecca Group sediments initially accumulated in a deep marine environment, progressed through turbidite, shallow marine and ended in lacustrine and deltaic environments. The stratigraphic succession of the Ecca Group constitutes a perfect regression sequence, indicating that the marine water gradually retreated and the sea-level gradually dropped. Grain size analysis was performed on twenty four Ecca Group sandstone samples. Statistical parameters of grain-size statistical parameters, linear discriminate functions, passega diagrams and bivariate analysis were used to reveal the hydrodynamic conditions and depositional environments. The results indicated that the Ecca Group sandstones are mostly fine to very fine grained, near-symmetrical, mesokurtic and indicative of dominance of low energy environments. The linear discriminate function analysis for the Prince Albert, Whitehill, Collingham and Ripon Formations samples indicates that the majority of the deposits were by turbidity currents all in a deep marine environment; whilst of the Fort Brown Formation samples are lacustrine/deltaic deposits. The depositional mechanism C-M plot indicates that majority of the Ecca Group sediments clustered in the PQ and QR field suggesting deposition mainly by suspension, rolling or saltation as well as graded suspension. Modal mineral composition analysis indicates that the main framework grains of the Ecca Group sandstones are quartz, feldspar as well as lithic fragments derived from metamorphic, igneous and sedimentary rocks with a few from volcanic origin. The Ecca Group sandstones iii are immature compositionally and can be classified as feldspathic wackes and lithic wackes. The QFL ternary diagram revealed a dissected and recycled orogen arc provenance; whereas QmFLt ternary diagram point to dissected arc and transitional arc sources to an active continental margin as well as recycled provenance. These provenance characteristics suggest a metamorphic and plutonic terrains influence as the main source rock with minor debris derived from recycled sedimentary rocks. The weathering diagram and semi-quantitative weathering index suggests that the sandstones from the Ecca are mostly from a plutonic source area under arid to humid climatic conditions. The detrital modal compositions of these Ecca Group sandstones are related to a strike-slip setting, back arc to continental margin setting. Diagenetic features of the Ecca sandstones and shales are subdivided into early, late (burial) and uplift-related diagenetic stages. Mechanical compaction, recrystallization, cementation, replacement and the dissolution of framework grains or cements are some of the main diagenetic processes that largely affected the Ecca sediments. Early diagenetic processes include cementation, point/planar contact, formation of pyrite, hematite cements and mineral inversions. Recrystallization, replacement, compaction, overgrowth, albitization, seritisation, illitization, concave-convex and suture contacts as well as dissolution took place mostly in the later diagenetic stage due to increase of temperature and pressure as burial depth increased. The uplift-related diagenetic stage was mostly affected by deformation and fracturing, calcitization, dissolution, erosion and weathering. Diagenetic processes largely affected the porosity and permeability of the reservoir rock properties of the Ecca Group. Organic geochemistry results indicate that the sediments were highly weathered and the TOC values ranging from 0.10 to 7.35 wt% with mostly less than 0.5%, which indicate the source rocks have poor oil potential. The majority of the Ecca Shales have HI values less than 50 mg HC/g, TOC indicating Type-IV kerogen mostly derived from reworked organic matter with very little hydrocarbon generation potential. The relatively high Tmax (oC) and vitrinite reflective values indicate that most shales are thermally over-matured thus they have low hydrocarbon pontential.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Nemanashi , Tshisikhaiwe
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Sedimentology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/14616 , vital:40023
- Description: The aim of the study was to establish a deeper understanding on the stratigraphy, sedimentology, petrology, organic geochemistry and diagenesis of the Ecca Group, and to provide new insight on the shale gas occurrence and potential of the Ecca Group, Karoo Supergroup in the southern Karoo Basin. The Ecca Group stratigraphy is divided into five formations from the bottom upwards, namely the Prince Albert, Whitehill, Collingham, Ripon and the Fort Brown Formations. The stratigraphy of the five studied stratigraphy’s formations is now sub-divided into two new different members each. These subdivision was based on field investigation of lithological features, sedimentary structures, facies characteristics and stratigraphic correlation points. Each member has been assigned a lithological name. Sixteen sedimentary facies have been identified in the study area and were subdivided into six distinctive facies associations (FA 1, FA 2, FA 3, FA 4, FA 5 and FA 6). Sedimentological characteristics of facies associations identified indicate that the Ecca Group sediments initially accumulated in a deep marine environment, progressed through turbidite, shallow marine and ended in lacustrine and deltaic environments. The stratigraphic succession of the Ecca Group constitutes a perfect regression sequence, indicating that the marine water gradually retreated and the sea-level gradually dropped. Grain size analysis was performed on twenty four Ecca Group sandstone samples. Statistical parameters of grain-size statistical parameters, linear discriminate functions, passega diagrams and bivariate analysis were used to reveal the hydrodynamic conditions and depositional environments. The results indicated that the Ecca Group sandstones are mostly fine to very fine grained, near-symmetrical, mesokurtic and indicative of dominance of low energy environments. The linear discriminate function analysis for the Prince Albert, Whitehill, Collingham and Ripon Formations samples indicates that the majority of the deposits were by turbidity currents all in a deep marine environment; whilst of the Fort Brown Formation samples are lacustrine/deltaic deposits. The depositional mechanism C-M plot indicates that majority of the Ecca Group sediments clustered in the PQ and QR field suggesting deposition mainly by suspension, rolling or saltation as well as graded suspension. Modal mineral composition analysis indicates that the main framework grains of the Ecca Group sandstones are quartz, feldspar as well as lithic fragments derived from metamorphic, igneous and sedimentary rocks with a few from volcanic origin. The Ecca Group sandstones iii are immature compositionally and can be classified as feldspathic wackes and lithic wackes. The QFL ternary diagram revealed a dissected and recycled orogen arc provenance; whereas QmFLt ternary diagram point to dissected arc and transitional arc sources to an active continental margin as well as recycled provenance. These provenance characteristics suggest a metamorphic and plutonic terrains influence as the main source rock with minor debris derived from recycled sedimentary rocks. The weathering diagram and semi-quantitative weathering index suggests that the sandstones from the Ecca are mostly from a plutonic source area under arid to humid climatic conditions. The detrital modal compositions of these Ecca Group sandstones are related to a strike-slip setting, back arc to continental margin setting. Diagenetic features of the Ecca sandstones and shales are subdivided into early, late (burial) and uplift-related diagenetic stages. Mechanical compaction, recrystallization, cementation, replacement and the dissolution of framework grains or cements are some of the main diagenetic processes that largely affected the Ecca sediments. Early diagenetic processes include cementation, point/planar contact, formation of pyrite, hematite cements and mineral inversions. Recrystallization, replacement, compaction, overgrowth, albitization, seritisation, illitization, concave-convex and suture contacts as well as dissolution took place mostly in the later diagenetic stage due to increase of temperature and pressure as burial depth increased. The uplift-related diagenetic stage was mostly affected by deformation and fracturing, calcitization, dissolution, erosion and weathering. Diagenetic processes largely affected the porosity and permeability of the reservoir rock properties of the Ecca Group. Organic geochemistry results indicate that the sediments were highly weathered and the TOC values ranging from 0.10 to 7.35 wt% with mostly less than 0.5%, which indicate the source rocks have poor oil potential. The majority of the Ecca Shales have HI values less than 50 mg HC/g, TOC indicating Type-IV kerogen mostly derived from reworked organic matter with very little hydrocarbon generation potential. The relatively high Tmax (oC) and vitrinite reflective values indicate that most shales are thermally over-matured thus they have low hydrocarbon pontential.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Segmenting objects with indistinct edges, with application to aerial imagery of vegetation
- James, Katherine M F, Bradshaw, Karen L
- Authors: James, Katherine M F , Bradshaw, Karen L
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/460614 , vital:75969 , ISBN 9781450372657 , https://doi.org/10.1145/3351108.3351124
- Description: Image segmentation mask creation relies on objects having distinct edges. While this may be true for the objects seen in many image segmentation challenges, it is less so when approaching tasks such as segmentation of vegetation in aerial imagery. Such datasets contain indistinct edges, or areas of mixed information at edges, which introduces a level of annotator subjectivity at edge pixels. Existing loss functions apply equal learning ability to both these pixels of low and high annotation confidence. In this paper, we propose a weight map based loss function that takes into account low confidence in the annotation at edges of objects by down-weighting the contribution of these pixels to the overall loss. We examine different weight map designs to find the most optimal one when applied to a dataset of aerial imagery of vegetation, with the task of segmenting a particular genus of shrub from other land cover types. When compared to inverse class frequency weighted binary cross-entropy loss, we found that using weight map-based loss produced a better performing model than binary cross-entropy loss, improving F1 score by 4%.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: James, Katherine M F , Bradshaw, Karen L
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/460614 , vital:75969 , ISBN 9781450372657 , https://doi.org/10.1145/3351108.3351124
- Description: Image segmentation mask creation relies on objects having distinct edges. While this may be true for the objects seen in many image segmentation challenges, it is less so when approaching tasks such as segmentation of vegetation in aerial imagery. Such datasets contain indistinct edges, or areas of mixed information at edges, which introduces a level of annotator subjectivity at edge pixels. Existing loss functions apply equal learning ability to both these pixels of low and high annotation confidence. In this paper, we propose a weight map based loss function that takes into account low confidence in the annotation at edges of objects by down-weighting the contribution of these pixels to the overall loss. We examine different weight map designs to find the most optimal one when applied to a dataset of aerial imagery of vegetation, with the task of segmenting a particular genus of shrub from other land cover types. When compared to inverse class frequency weighted binary cross-entropy loss, we found that using weight map-based loss produced a better performing model than binary cross-entropy loss, improving F1 score by 4%.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Selected Namibian secondary school geography teachers’ pedagogical thinking and practices: the case of mapwork
- Naxweka, Johanna Ndamononghenda
- Authors: Naxweka, Johanna Ndamononghenda
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Geography -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , Cartography -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , Maps -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76969 , vital:30651
- Description: Learner performance in mapwork in secondary school geography in Namibia has been consistently poor. Examiners’ reports provide detailed feedback on the difficulties learners demonstrate with little, if any, attention paid to teachers’ perceptions, experiences and pedagogical practices of mapwork. This qualitative study generated insights to understand selected geography teachers’ perceptions and pedagogical practices of mapwork. Data were generated through a questionnaire administered to thirty geography teachers in fifteen secondary schools in the Ohangwena Circuit in the Ohangwena Region of Namibia. The teachers’ responses were coded and analyzed and patterns and trends identified. Based on what emerged, a purposive sample of three teachers was chosen for in-depth interviews to probe their responses and to observe their classroom practices. The study draws on learner centred pedagogy (LCP), the official educational policy in Namibia, and Shulman’s perspectives of teachers’ content and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) (1986, 1987) to interpret what teachers say about the teaching of mapwork and how they teach it. The qualities of teachers’ PCK that support student learning in mapwork are not yet fully understood because there has been little research on teachers’ PCK for teaching mapwork and spatial thinking in geography classrooms (Jo & Bednarz, 2014). The study sheds light on the teachers’ qualifications and experience, their perceptions and attitudes towards the teaching of mapwork, their teaching strategies and the resources they use. The findings reveal that the teachers are conscientious but ill-equipped to teach mapwork. The study illuminated a disjuncture between the rhetoric and practice of learner centred pedagogy. There is evidence which suggests that the teachers’ knowledge of the curriculum is superficial and limited to content. Their practices are focused on teaching map skills and procedural knowledge with little, if any, attention given to spatial and map conceptual understanding and application of knowledge to solve problems. The study concludes that teachers’ map and spatial conceptual understanding and pedagogical content knowledge should be strengthened if the persistent problem of poor learner attainment is to be resolved. It provides insights that may be of value to Namibian teachers, teacher educators, curriculum policy developers and Senior Education Officers when addressing this problem.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Naxweka, Johanna Ndamononghenda
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Geography -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , Cartography -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , Maps -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76969 , vital:30651
- Description: Learner performance in mapwork in secondary school geography in Namibia has been consistently poor. Examiners’ reports provide detailed feedback on the difficulties learners demonstrate with little, if any, attention paid to teachers’ perceptions, experiences and pedagogical practices of mapwork. This qualitative study generated insights to understand selected geography teachers’ perceptions and pedagogical practices of mapwork. Data were generated through a questionnaire administered to thirty geography teachers in fifteen secondary schools in the Ohangwena Circuit in the Ohangwena Region of Namibia. The teachers’ responses were coded and analyzed and patterns and trends identified. Based on what emerged, a purposive sample of three teachers was chosen for in-depth interviews to probe their responses and to observe their classroom practices. The study draws on learner centred pedagogy (LCP), the official educational policy in Namibia, and Shulman’s perspectives of teachers’ content and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) (1986, 1987) to interpret what teachers say about the teaching of mapwork and how they teach it. The qualities of teachers’ PCK that support student learning in mapwork are not yet fully understood because there has been little research on teachers’ PCK for teaching mapwork and spatial thinking in geography classrooms (Jo & Bednarz, 2014). The study sheds light on the teachers’ qualifications and experience, their perceptions and attitudes towards the teaching of mapwork, their teaching strategies and the resources they use. The findings reveal that the teachers are conscientious but ill-equipped to teach mapwork. The study illuminated a disjuncture between the rhetoric and practice of learner centred pedagogy. There is evidence which suggests that the teachers’ knowledge of the curriculum is superficial and limited to content. Their practices are focused on teaching map skills and procedural knowledge with little, if any, attention given to spatial and map conceptual understanding and application of knowledge to solve problems. The study concludes that teachers’ map and spatial conceptual understanding and pedagogical content knowledge should be strengthened if the persistent problem of poor learner attainment is to be resolved. It provides insights that may be of value to Namibian teachers, teacher educators, curriculum policy developers and Senior Education Officers when addressing this problem.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Selected stakeholders’ views on the use of tablet computers in learning and teaching – a South African case study at a university
- Fernandez, Simon Christopher
- Authors: Fernandez, Simon Christopher
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Computer-assisted instruction Tablet computers Educational technology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15903 , vital:40553
- Description: The popularity of mobile technologies has greatly influenced the people of all ages, especially adolescents. Tablet computers as part of mobile technologies, were launched in colleges and universities in many countries to supplement and complement learning and teaching. However, research reports based on the effectiveness of the use of tablet computers in higher education institutions in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province are scarce. In order to address the deficiency, this study examined the views of stakeholders such as students, lecturers and managers on the use of tablet computers for learning and teaching in one of the Eastern Cape universities. The research adopted the Post-Positivist paradigm and mixed method approach. The theoretical frameworks were Constructivism and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. The sample consisted of (a) 155 students from a population of 254 extended-stream National Diploma students in Information and Communication Technology and National Diploma Electrical Engineering cohorts; (b) 14 lecturers from a relevant population of 25; and, (c) 16 managers from a population of 20. Three separate questionnaires as well as interview protocols for each of the stakeholder cohorts provided the core data. All members in the sample were surveyed. The researcher opted to be an outsider and received assistance from a few qualified trained academics to administer the questionnaire to students in different cohorts in order to minimise data bias. Only 18 students, five lecturers and nine managers were interviewed. Quantitative data were captured manually into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 24) and they were analysed using descriptive and inferential analysis: Analysis of Variance and Independent Samples t-test. Qualitative data were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis to generate major themes and sub themes for the sub-research questions. Main strengths of using tablets from the findings of the study were (a) tablets motivated students in learning and lecturers in teaching (b) students understood the different styles of learning (c) enhanced students’ engagement and collaboration in learning. Main weakness of using tablets were students’ use of tablets for personal work and social networking during class hours was causing distractions to lecturers and other students. Generally, the evidence shows that strengths were greater than the weaknesses. It should also be noted that all stakeholders were positive and not statistically significantly different from each other in their views towards the use of tablets for learning and teaching in university classroom. However, students had views different from lecturers on the advantages and disadvantages of using tablets. The variance could be due to new students or new lecturers’ ignorance in the effective use of tablets and this might change as their familiarity in the use of the device improves. The research report makes a few recommendations which include training to all students and lecturers on the effective use of tablet computers for learning and teaching and installation of relevant applications before the commencement of each academic year. Moreover, the Information and communication technology technical staff must prevent students from visiting unwanted and restricted sites by keeping a network based tracker and blocker software application.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Fernandez, Simon Christopher
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Computer-assisted instruction Tablet computers Educational technology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15903 , vital:40553
- Description: The popularity of mobile technologies has greatly influenced the people of all ages, especially adolescents. Tablet computers as part of mobile technologies, were launched in colleges and universities in many countries to supplement and complement learning and teaching. However, research reports based on the effectiveness of the use of tablet computers in higher education institutions in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province are scarce. In order to address the deficiency, this study examined the views of stakeholders such as students, lecturers and managers on the use of tablet computers for learning and teaching in one of the Eastern Cape universities. The research adopted the Post-Positivist paradigm and mixed method approach. The theoretical frameworks were Constructivism and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. The sample consisted of (a) 155 students from a population of 254 extended-stream National Diploma students in Information and Communication Technology and National Diploma Electrical Engineering cohorts; (b) 14 lecturers from a relevant population of 25; and, (c) 16 managers from a population of 20. Three separate questionnaires as well as interview protocols for each of the stakeholder cohorts provided the core data. All members in the sample were surveyed. The researcher opted to be an outsider and received assistance from a few qualified trained academics to administer the questionnaire to students in different cohorts in order to minimise data bias. Only 18 students, five lecturers and nine managers were interviewed. Quantitative data were captured manually into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 24) and they were analysed using descriptive and inferential analysis: Analysis of Variance and Independent Samples t-test. Qualitative data were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis to generate major themes and sub themes for the sub-research questions. Main strengths of using tablets from the findings of the study were (a) tablets motivated students in learning and lecturers in teaching (b) students understood the different styles of learning (c) enhanced students’ engagement and collaboration in learning. Main weakness of using tablets were students’ use of tablets for personal work and social networking during class hours was causing distractions to lecturers and other students. Generally, the evidence shows that strengths were greater than the weaknesses. It should also be noted that all stakeholders were positive and not statistically significantly different from each other in their views towards the use of tablets for learning and teaching in university classroom. However, students had views different from lecturers on the advantages and disadvantages of using tablets. The variance could be due to new students or new lecturers’ ignorance in the effective use of tablets and this might change as their familiarity in the use of the device improves. The research report makes a few recommendations which include training to all students and lecturers on the effective use of tablet computers for learning and teaching and installation of relevant applications before the commencement of each academic year. Moreover, the Information and communication technology technical staff must prevent students from visiting unwanted and restricted sites by keeping a network based tracker and blocker software application.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Semantic waves: Context, complexity and academic discourse
- Authors: Maton, Karl
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/445894 , vital:74440 , ISBN 9780429280726 , https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429280726-3/semantic-waves-karl-maton
- Description: This chapter introduces ideas from the Legitimation Code Theory dimension of ‘Semantics’ that have been influential in shaping research into academic discourse and theory in systemic functional linguistics (SFL). The concepts of ‘semantic gravity’ and ‘semantic density’ explore the context-dependence and complexity of meanings. These concepts have been used widely by applied systemic linguists in research into education and beyond. They have also helped spur theoretical development in the framework of SFL – specifically Martin’s meta-concepts of ‘mass’ and ‘presence’. This chapter is an introduction to the concepts and illustration of how they are being used in research into accessing academic discourse. It begins by briefly highlighting how LCT concepts attend to two key obstacles to supporting knowledge-building: knowledge-blindness and shallow theorizing. Second, the key concepts are defined. Third, the chapter demonstrates how these LCT concepts are being used to explore education, drawing on studies of student assessments and teaching practice. These analyses suggest that ‘semantic waves’, where knowledge is transformed between relatively decontextualized, condensed meanings and context-dependent, simplified meanings, are the key to student achievement and enabling knowledge-building in teaching practice. How these concepts are being widely used to explore organizing principles of diverse practices in education beyond classrooms, including research and curriculum, is discussed, revealing the widespread, complex and suggestive nature of ‘semantic waves’ and their implications for understanding how to promote access to academic discourse.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Maton, Karl
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/445894 , vital:74440 , ISBN 9780429280726 , https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429280726-3/semantic-waves-karl-maton
- Description: This chapter introduces ideas from the Legitimation Code Theory dimension of ‘Semantics’ that have been influential in shaping research into academic discourse and theory in systemic functional linguistics (SFL). The concepts of ‘semantic gravity’ and ‘semantic density’ explore the context-dependence and complexity of meanings. These concepts have been used widely by applied systemic linguists in research into education and beyond. They have also helped spur theoretical development in the framework of SFL – specifically Martin’s meta-concepts of ‘mass’ and ‘presence’. This chapter is an introduction to the concepts and illustration of how they are being used in research into accessing academic discourse. It begins by briefly highlighting how LCT concepts attend to two key obstacles to supporting knowledge-building: knowledge-blindness and shallow theorizing. Second, the key concepts are defined. Third, the chapter demonstrates how these LCT concepts are being used to explore education, drawing on studies of student assessments and teaching practice. These analyses suggest that ‘semantic waves’, where knowledge is transformed between relatively decontextualized, condensed meanings and context-dependent, simplified meanings, are the key to student achievement and enabling knowledge-building in teaching practice. How these concepts are being widely used to explore organizing principles of diverse practices in education beyond classrooms, including research and curriculum, is discussed, revealing the widespread, complex and suggestive nature of ‘semantic waves’ and their implications for understanding how to promote access to academic discourse.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Semi-synthesis and evaluation of sargahydroquinoic acid derivatives as potential antimalarial agents:
- Munedzimwe, Tatenda C, van Zyl, Rovyn L, Heslop, Donovan C, Edkins, Adrienne L, Beukes, Denzil R
- Authors: Munedzimwe, Tatenda C , van Zyl, Rovyn L , Heslop, Donovan C , Edkins, Adrienne L , Beukes, Denzil R
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163456 , vital:41040 , DOI: 10.3390/medicines6020047
- Description: Malaria continues to present a major health problem, especially in developing countries. The development of new antimalarial drugs to counter drug resistance and ensure a steady supply of new treatment options is therefore an important area of research. Meroditerpenes have previously been shown to exhibit antiplasmodial activity against a chloroquinone sensitive strain of Plasmodium falciparum (D10). In this study we explored the antiplasmodial activity of several semi-synthetic analogs of sargahydroquinoic acid.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Munedzimwe, Tatenda C , van Zyl, Rovyn L , Heslop, Donovan C , Edkins, Adrienne L , Beukes, Denzil R
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163456 , vital:41040 , DOI: 10.3390/medicines6020047
- Description: Malaria continues to present a major health problem, especially in developing countries. The development of new antimalarial drugs to counter drug resistance and ensure a steady supply of new treatment options is therefore an important area of research. Meroditerpenes have previously been shown to exhibit antiplasmodial activity against a chloroquinone sensitive strain of Plasmodium falciparum (D10). In this study we explored the antiplasmodial activity of several semi-synthetic analogs of sargahydroquinoic acid.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Sequencing, assembly and annotation of the mitochondrial and plastid genomes of Gelidium pristoides (Turner) Kützing from Kenton-on-Sea, South Africa
- Authors: Mangali, Sandisiwe
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Gelidium -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/19109 , vital:39883
- Description: The genome is the complete set of an organism's hereditary information that contains all the information necessary for the functioning of that organism. Complete nuclear, mitochondrial and plastid DNA constitute the three main types of genomes which play interconnected roles in an organism. Genome sequencing enables researchers to understand the regulation and expression of the various genes and the proteins they encode. It allows researchers to extract and analyse genes of interests for a variety of studies including molecular, biotechnological, bioinformatics and conservation and evolutionary studies. Genome sequencing of Rhodophyta has received little attention. To date, no published studies are focusing on both whole genome sequencing and sequencing of the organellar genomes of Rhodophyta species found in along the South African coastline. This study focused on genome sequencing, assembly and annotation mitochondrial and plastid genomes of Gelidium pristoides. Gelidium pristoides was collected from Kenton-on-Sea and was morphologically identified at Rhodes University. Its genomic DNA was extracted using the Nucleospin® Plant II kit and quantified using Qubit 2.0, Nanodrop and 1% agarose gel electrophoresis. The Ion Plus Fragment Library kit was used for the preparation of a 600 bp library, which was sequenced in two separate runs through the Ion S5 platform. The produced reads were quality-controlled through the Ion Torrent server version 5.6. and assessed using the FASTQC program. The SPAdes version 3.11.1 assembler was used to assemble the quality-controlled reads, and the resultant genome assembly was quality-assessed using the QUAST 4.1 software. The mitochondrial genome was selected from the produced Gelidium pristoides draft genome using mitochondrial genomes of other Gelidiales as search queries on the local BLAST algorithm of the BioEdit software. Contigs matching the organellar genomes were ordered according to the mitochondrial genomes of other Gelidiales using the trial version of Geneious R11.12 software. The plastid genome was also selected following the same approach but using plastid genomes of Gelidium elegans and Gelidium vagum as search queries. Gaps observed in the organellar genomes were closed by amplification of the relevant gap using polymerase chain reaction with newly designed primers and Sanger sequencing. Open reading frames for both organellar genomes were annotated using the NCBI ORF-Finder and alignments obtained from BlastN and BlastX searches from the NCBI database, while the tRNAs and rRNAs were identified using the tRNAscan-SE1.21 vi and the RNAmmer 1.2 servers. The circular physical map of the mitochondrial genome was constructed using the CGView server. Lastly, in silico analysis of cytochrome c oxidase 3 and Heat Shock Protein 70 was performed using the PRIMO and the SWISS-MODEL pipelines respectively. Their phylogenies were analysed through Clustal omega and the trees viewed on TreeView 1.6.6 software. Qubit and Nanodrop genomic DNA qualification revealed A260/A280 and A230/A260 ratios of 1.81 and 1.52 respectively. The 1% agarose gel electrophoresis further confirmed the good quality of the genomic DNA used for library preparation and sequencing. Pre-assembly quality control of reads resulted in a total of 30 792 074 high-quality reads which were assembled into a total of 94140 contigs, making up an estimated genome length of 217.06 Mb. The largest contig covered up to 13.17 kb of the draft genome, and an N50 statistic value of 3.17 kb was obtained. The G.pristoides mitochondrial genome mapped into a circular molecule of 25012 bp, with an overall GC content of 31.04% and a total of 45 genes distributed into 20 tRNA-coding, 2 rRNAcoding genes and 23 protein-coding genes, mostly adopting the modified genetic code of Rhodophyta. The SecY and rps12 genes overlapped by 41 bp. This study presents a partial plastid genome composed of 89 (38%) fully annotated genes, of which 71 are protein-coding, and 18 are distributed among 15 tRNA-coding, 2 rRNA-coding and 1 RNaseP RNA-coding genes. Sixty-one (26%) partial protein-coding genes were predicted, while approximately 84 (36%) genes are not yet predicted. In silico analysis of the cytochrome c oxidase and heat shock protein 70 showed that the gene sequences obtained in this study and the resultant transcribed protein have sequences and structures that are similar to those from several other different species, thus validating the integrity of the genome sequences. This study provides genomic data necessary for understanding the genomic constituent of G.pristoides and serve as a foundation for studies of individual genes and for resolving evolutionary relationships.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Mangali, Sandisiwe
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Gelidium -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/19109 , vital:39883
- Description: The genome is the complete set of an organism's hereditary information that contains all the information necessary for the functioning of that organism. Complete nuclear, mitochondrial and plastid DNA constitute the three main types of genomes which play interconnected roles in an organism. Genome sequencing enables researchers to understand the regulation and expression of the various genes and the proteins they encode. It allows researchers to extract and analyse genes of interests for a variety of studies including molecular, biotechnological, bioinformatics and conservation and evolutionary studies. Genome sequencing of Rhodophyta has received little attention. To date, no published studies are focusing on both whole genome sequencing and sequencing of the organellar genomes of Rhodophyta species found in along the South African coastline. This study focused on genome sequencing, assembly and annotation mitochondrial and plastid genomes of Gelidium pristoides. Gelidium pristoides was collected from Kenton-on-Sea and was morphologically identified at Rhodes University. Its genomic DNA was extracted using the Nucleospin® Plant II kit and quantified using Qubit 2.0, Nanodrop and 1% agarose gel electrophoresis. The Ion Plus Fragment Library kit was used for the preparation of a 600 bp library, which was sequenced in two separate runs through the Ion S5 platform. The produced reads were quality-controlled through the Ion Torrent server version 5.6. and assessed using the FASTQC program. The SPAdes version 3.11.1 assembler was used to assemble the quality-controlled reads, and the resultant genome assembly was quality-assessed using the QUAST 4.1 software. The mitochondrial genome was selected from the produced Gelidium pristoides draft genome using mitochondrial genomes of other Gelidiales as search queries on the local BLAST algorithm of the BioEdit software. Contigs matching the organellar genomes were ordered according to the mitochondrial genomes of other Gelidiales using the trial version of Geneious R11.12 software. The plastid genome was also selected following the same approach but using plastid genomes of Gelidium elegans and Gelidium vagum as search queries. Gaps observed in the organellar genomes were closed by amplification of the relevant gap using polymerase chain reaction with newly designed primers and Sanger sequencing. Open reading frames for both organellar genomes were annotated using the NCBI ORF-Finder and alignments obtained from BlastN and BlastX searches from the NCBI database, while the tRNAs and rRNAs were identified using the tRNAscan-SE1.21 vi and the RNAmmer 1.2 servers. The circular physical map of the mitochondrial genome was constructed using the CGView server. Lastly, in silico analysis of cytochrome c oxidase 3 and Heat Shock Protein 70 was performed using the PRIMO and the SWISS-MODEL pipelines respectively. Their phylogenies were analysed through Clustal omega and the trees viewed on TreeView 1.6.6 software. Qubit and Nanodrop genomic DNA qualification revealed A260/A280 and A230/A260 ratios of 1.81 and 1.52 respectively. The 1% agarose gel electrophoresis further confirmed the good quality of the genomic DNA used for library preparation and sequencing. Pre-assembly quality control of reads resulted in a total of 30 792 074 high-quality reads which were assembled into a total of 94140 contigs, making up an estimated genome length of 217.06 Mb. The largest contig covered up to 13.17 kb of the draft genome, and an N50 statistic value of 3.17 kb was obtained. The G.pristoides mitochondrial genome mapped into a circular molecule of 25012 bp, with an overall GC content of 31.04% and a total of 45 genes distributed into 20 tRNA-coding, 2 rRNAcoding genes and 23 protein-coding genes, mostly adopting the modified genetic code of Rhodophyta. The SecY and rps12 genes overlapped by 41 bp. This study presents a partial plastid genome composed of 89 (38%) fully annotated genes, of which 71 are protein-coding, and 18 are distributed among 15 tRNA-coding, 2 rRNA-coding and 1 RNaseP RNA-coding genes. Sixty-one (26%) partial protein-coding genes were predicted, while approximately 84 (36%) genes are not yet predicted. In silico analysis of the cytochrome c oxidase and heat shock protein 70 showed that the gene sequences obtained in this study and the resultant transcribed protein have sequences and structures that are similar to those from several other different species, thus validating the integrity of the genome sequences. This study provides genomic data necessary for understanding the genomic constituent of G.pristoides and serve as a foundation for studies of individual genes and for resolving evolutionary relationships.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Sex-specific grazing dynamics of the recently described copepod, Lovenula raynerae, in an ephemeral pond in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa
- Authors: Froneman, P William
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479352 , vital:78292 , https://doi.org/10.2989/16085914.2019.1615405
- Description: This study investigated the temporal changes in the sex specific ingestion rates of the recently described calanoid copepod, Lovenula raynerae, which numerically and by biomass dominates the plankton community in ephemeral ponds in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Ingestion rates of the copepod were investigated on two occasions, one week after emergence and two weeks thereafter, employing the gut fluorescent technique. Results of the study indicate the absence of any diel patterns in feeding for both sexes on both sampling occasions (p > 0.05 in both cases). Moreover, there was no significant differences in gut pigment contents between adult male and females during either of the surveys (p > 0.05). Daily rations of the adult copepods during the two studies were equivalent to 2% (range 0.8 to 1.8%) body carbon per day suggesting that they are consuming alternative carbon sources to meet their daily carbon requirements. The main findings of this study suggest that L. raynerae can be considered as a generalist omnivore.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Froneman, P William
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479352 , vital:78292 , https://doi.org/10.2989/16085914.2019.1615405
- Description: This study investigated the temporal changes in the sex specific ingestion rates of the recently described calanoid copepod, Lovenula raynerae, which numerically and by biomass dominates the plankton community in ephemeral ponds in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Ingestion rates of the copepod were investigated on two occasions, one week after emergence and two weeks thereafter, employing the gut fluorescent technique. Results of the study indicate the absence of any diel patterns in feeding for both sexes on both sampling occasions (p > 0.05 in both cases). Moreover, there was no significant differences in gut pigment contents between adult male and females during either of the surveys (p > 0.05). Daily rations of the adult copepods during the two studies were equivalent to 2% (range 0.8 to 1.8%) body carbon per day suggesting that they are consuming alternative carbon sources to meet their daily carbon requirements. The main findings of this study suggest that L. raynerae can be considered as a generalist omnivore.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Shaping society from below social movements, social policy and development
- Authors: Alfers, Laura C
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478194 , vital:78163 , ISBN 9781785368424 , https://doi.org/10.4337/9781785368431.00010
- Description: One of the lasting legacies of Marxist thought for the study of state and society is the idea that social change and the way this change is institutionalized through the state, in its regulations, laws and policies is a result of the contestation of social forces. Running through this are questions about the interplay of structure and agency, power and the response to power, and debates about whether, how and under what conditions organized groups of the less powerful can use their relative numerical dominance to engage with more powerful interests to improve their situation. The concern with how forces from below initiate, engage with, challenge and/or resist social change has characterized a wideranging academic literature, crossing multiple disciplinary boundaries. The result has been a large and diverse body of scholarship on what are known as social movements, which are broadly defined by Tilly (2004) as groups of ordinary people who mobilize around a common interest to make collective claims on others. While much social movement scholarship is focused on groups of people organizing for greater social and economic inclusion, it is important to acknowledge that social movements can also mobilize around issues that are considered exclusionary (for example, neo-Nazi groups, anti-immigration and religious fundamentalism).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Alfers, Laura C
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478194 , vital:78163 , ISBN 9781785368424 , https://doi.org/10.4337/9781785368431.00010
- Description: One of the lasting legacies of Marxist thought for the study of state and society is the idea that social change and the way this change is institutionalized through the state, in its regulations, laws and policies is a result of the contestation of social forces. Running through this are questions about the interplay of structure and agency, power and the response to power, and debates about whether, how and under what conditions organized groups of the less powerful can use their relative numerical dominance to engage with more powerful interests to improve their situation. The concern with how forces from below initiate, engage with, challenge and/or resist social change has characterized a wideranging academic literature, crossing multiple disciplinary boundaries. The result has been a large and diverse body of scholarship on what are known as social movements, which are broadly defined by Tilly (2004) as groups of ordinary people who mobilize around a common interest to make collective claims on others. While much social movement scholarship is focused on groups of people organizing for greater social and economic inclusion, it is important to acknowledge that social movements can also mobilize around issues that are considered exclusionary (for example, neo-Nazi groups, anti-immigration and religious fundamentalism).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Shifting contexts, shifting identities: a realist exploration of transnational mobility, change and identity construction in South African Higher Education expatriates in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
- Authors: Reid, Gillian Janet
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: College teacher mobility , College teacher mobility -- Abū Ẓaby (United Arab Emirates) , College teachers, Foreign -- Abū Ẓaby (United Arab Emirates) , College teachers -- Psychology , Expatriation -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92898 , vital:30760
- Description: Positioned in relation to the globalization of higher education, this realist study is approached from an interest in identity and focuses on nine South African academics professional contexts in South Africa and Abu Dhabi, UAE. As the context of identity formation and emergence is always local, the intention of this research was never to generalize. Rather, in using Bhaskar’s critical realism as its underpinning philosophy, and Archer’s social realism, theories on self, personal and the development and attainment of social identity - her concept of analytical dualism and her morphogenetic framework, this qualitative case study was designed to explore how global and national powers and mechanism effected change in this sub-group of academic’s respective higher education sectors and institutions in post- 1994 South Africa and in Abu Dhabi between 2008 and 2016. The study suggests that participants perceived their academic roles and role-incumbent professional identities to have been negatively impacted by the changes that were implemented in the South African higher education sector as a result the countries reintroduction to the global stage. Their response to become transnational educators in Abu Dhabi’s presented them with conditions that allied their professional experiences of the transformation of South African’s higher education sector. This led to a continued sense of loss of academic agency and powerlessness. This effecting the emergence, through the personal power of reflectivity, combined with discourse and affinity powers and mechanisms, in a social identity that supplanted their academic identities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Reid, Gillian Janet
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: College teacher mobility , College teacher mobility -- Abū Ẓaby (United Arab Emirates) , College teachers, Foreign -- Abū Ẓaby (United Arab Emirates) , College teachers -- Psychology , Expatriation -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92898 , vital:30760
- Description: Positioned in relation to the globalization of higher education, this realist study is approached from an interest in identity and focuses on nine South African academics professional contexts in South Africa and Abu Dhabi, UAE. As the context of identity formation and emergence is always local, the intention of this research was never to generalize. Rather, in using Bhaskar’s critical realism as its underpinning philosophy, and Archer’s social realism, theories on self, personal and the development and attainment of social identity - her concept of analytical dualism and her morphogenetic framework, this qualitative case study was designed to explore how global and national powers and mechanism effected change in this sub-group of academic’s respective higher education sectors and institutions in post- 1994 South Africa and in Abu Dhabi between 2008 and 2016. The study suggests that participants perceived their academic roles and role-incumbent professional identities to have been negatively impacted by the changes that were implemented in the South African higher education sector as a result the countries reintroduction to the global stage. Their response to become transnational educators in Abu Dhabi’s presented them with conditions that allied their professional experiences of the transformation of South African’s higher education sector. This led to a continued sense of loss of academic agency and powerlessness. This effecting the emergence, through the personal power of reflectivity, combined with discourse and affinity powers and mechanisms, in a social identity that supplanted their academic identities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Shifting contexts: contemporary South African art in changing times
- Authors: Ntombela, N
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146200 , vital:38504 , ISBN 9781869143398 , https://books.google.co.za/books?id=xZlAjySD5-cCandq=Tribing+and+Untribing+the+Archive:+Identity+and+the+Material+Record+in+Southern+KwaZulu-Natal+in+the+Late+Independent+and+Colonial+Periodsdq=Tribing+and+Untribing+the+Archive:+Identity+and+the+Material+Record+in+Southern+KwaZulu-Natal+in+the+Late+Independent+and+Colonial+Periodsl=ensa=Xved=0ahUKEwjJ3oOGgcDpAhVuURUIHQyoAnIQ6AEIJzAA
- Description: Book abstract. The pernicious combination of tribe and tradition continues to tether modern South Africans to ideas about the region's remote past as primitive, timeless, and unchanging. Any hunger for knowledge or understanding of the past before European colonialism remains to a significant degree unsated in the face of a narrowly prescribed archive and repugnant, but insidiously resilient, stereotypes. These volumes track how the domain of the tribal and traditional came to be sharply distinguished from modernity, how it was denied a changing history and an archive, and was endowed instead with a timeless culture. They also offer strategies for engaging with the materials differently-from the interventions effected in contemporary artworks to the inserting of nameless, timeless objects of material culture into histories of individualized and politicized experience. The two volume set make this archive of material culture visible as an archival resource. They also seek to spring the identity trap, releasing the material from pre-assigned identity positions as tribal into settings that enable them to be used as resources for thinking critically about identity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Ntombela, N
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146200 , vital:38504 , ISBN 9781869143398 , https://books.google.co.za/books?id=xZlAjySD5-cCandq=Tribing+and+Untribing+the+Archive:+Identity+and+the+Material+Record+in+Southern+KwaZulu-Natal+in+the+Late+Independent+and+Colonial+Periodsdq=Tribing+and+Untribing+the+Archive:+Identity+and+the+Material+Record+in+Southern+KwaZulu-Natal+in+the+Late+Independent+and+Colonial+Periodsl=ensa=Xved=0ahUKEwjJ3oOGgcDpAhVuURUIHQyoAnIQ6AEIJzAA
- Description: Book abstract. The pernicious combination of tribe and tradition continues to tether modern South Africans to ideas about the region's remote past as primitive, timeless, and unchanging. Any hunger for knowledge or understanding of the past before European colonialism remains to a significant degree unsated in the face of a narrowly prescribed archive and repugnant, but insidiously resilient, stereotypes. These volumes track how the domain of the tribal and traditional came to be sharply distinguished from modernity, how it was denied a changing history and an archive, and was endowed instead with a timeless culture. They also offer strategies for engaging with the materials differently-from the interventions effected in contemporary artworks to the inserting of nameless, timeless objects of material culture into histories of individualized and politicized experience. The two volume set make this archive of material culture visible as an archival resource. They also seek to spring the identity trap, releasing the material from pre-assigned identity positions as tribal into settings that enable them to be used as resources for thinking critically about identity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Shifting white SADF veteran identities from apartheid to contemporary South Africa
- Authors: Weich, Francois
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: South Africa -- History -- 1961-1994 , Angola -- History -- South African Incursions, 1978-1990 -- Veterans , South Africa -- History, Military -- 1961- , Veterans -- South Africa -- Personal narratives , South Africa -- Armed forces , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1961-1978 , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1978-1989 , South Africa. South African Defence Force
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76106 , vital:30504
- Description: The ideologies and structures of the apartheid state have received extensive academic attention, but the legacies of the militarisation of white South African men – a group that exists at a unique intersection of apartheid privilege and exploitation – have not been sufficiently addressed. Even as beneficiaries of apartheid, white men were militarised through structures of coercion and the mobilisation of identity constructions that resulted in the widespread submission to conscription and support for apartheid militarism. This thesis explores the relationship between those militarised identities and the historical processes of apartheid through a consideration of a broad range of white SADF veteran narratives from the Missing Voices Oral History Project archive. This consideration of the role of identity mobilisation in apartheid can shed light on the effect of historical processes of militarisation on white men in South Africa, as well as address the persistence of values and behaviours that may present barriers to the social transformation of South Africa towards a true constitutional democracy. The thesis explores identity in SADF veteran narratives through the application of social constructionism in order to determine the effect of coercive structures and identity mobilisation on individuals, and to gauge the persistence militarised identities after the social and political structures underpinning them had become defunct. The identity content of the narratives is contextualised in relation to structures of coercion employed by the apartheid state and the SADF alongside a consideration of the effect of political transition on veterans. The legacy of the historical environment and the impact of political transition on SADF veterans’ constructed identities is investigated in relation to these veterans’ own visions of their roles in post-apartheid South Africa. Therefore, this thesis endeavours to contribute to the expansion of the field of historical and identity study by considering the construction and renegotiation of military identities that maintained, benefited from, and were exploited by the apartheid state.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Weich, Francois
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: South Africa -- History -- 1961-1994 , Angola -- History -- South African Incursions, 1978-1990 -- Veterans , South Africa -- History, Military -- 1961- , Veterans -- South Africa -- Personal narratives , South Africa -- Armed forces , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1961-1978 , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1978-1989 , South Africa. South African Defence Force
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76106 , vital:30504
- Description: The ideologies and structures of the apartheid state have received extensive academic attention, but the legacies of the militarisation of white South African men – a group that exists at a unique intersection of apartheid privilege and exploitation – have not been sufficiently addressed. Even as beneficiaries of apartheid, white men were militarised through structures of coercion and the mobilisation of identity constructions that resulted in the widespread submission to conscription and support for apartheid militarism. This thesis explores the relationship between those militarised identities and the historical processes of apartheid through a consideration of a broad range of white SADF veteran narratives from the Missing Voices Oral History Project archive. This consideration of the role of identity mobilisation in apartheid can shed light on the effect of historical processes of militarisation on white men in South Africa, as well as address the persistence of values and behaviours that may present barriers to the social transformation of South Africa towards a true constitutional democracy. The thesis explores identity in SADF veteran narratives through the application of social constructionism in order to determine the effect of coercive structures and identity mobilisation on individuals, and to gauge the persistence militarised identities after the social and political structures underpinning them had become defunct. The identity content of the narratives is contextualised in relation to structures of coercion employed by the apartheid state and the SADF alongside a consideration of the effect of political transition on veterans. The legacy of the historical environment and the impact of political transition on SADF veterans’ constructed identities is investigated in relation to these veterans’ own visions of their roles in post-apartheid South Africa. Therefore, this thesis endeavours to contribute to the expansion of the field of historical and identity study by considering the construction and renegotiation of military identities that maintained, benefited from, and were exploited by the apartheid state.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019