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The utility of Coleoptera in forensic investigations

- Midgley, John M, Richards, Cameron S, Villet, Martin H

Authors: Midgley, John M , Richards, Cameron S , Villet, Martin H
Date: 2010
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , book chapter
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442783 , vital:74033 , ISBN 978-1-4020-9684-6 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9684-6_4
Description: Forensic entomology is a developing field of forensic science, so there are many avenues to investigate. These avenues include novel directions that have never been addressed, as well as more critical and rigorous research into areas which have already been explored. Most research in forensic entomology has focused on flies, and beetles (Coleoptera) have been at best under-emphasized. A good example of this is the review by Smith (1986), where 70 pages are dedicated to Diptera and only 12 to Coleoptera; this situation has changed little in the subsequent 20 years. To contextualize the neglect, throughout the world there are at least as many species of Coleoptera that may visit a particular carcass as Diptera (Braack 1986; Louw and van der Linde 1993; Bourel et al. 1999; Lopes de Carvalho et al. 2000; Pérez et al. 2005; Shea 2005; Watson and Carlton 2005a; Salazar 2006; Martinez et al. 2007). A common assumption underlying the neglect of Coleoptera is that Diptera locate corpses faster, and thus give a more accurate estimate of minimum Post Mortem Interval (PMImin). Recent observations (Midgley and Villet 2009b) have shown that Thanatophilus micans (Silphidae) can locate corpses and start breeding within 24 h of death, and thus the potential utility of estimates based on this species is equal to that of those based on flies.
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Date Issued: 2010

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What is biocultural diversity?: a theoretical review

- Cocks, Michelle L

Authors: Cocks, Michelle L
Date: 2010
Language: English
Type: text , book
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141475 , vital:37975 , ISBN 9781441957009 , DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4419-5701-6_5
Description: Over the past decade, scholars from various fields have increasingly emphasized the detrimental effects of global socioeconomic processes on biodiversity. The industrial revolution, the demographic explosion of Homo sapiens, and the rise of the global exchange economy are all implicated as major factors that influence the loss of species diversity. From the late 1980s onward, biosystematics and conservation biology have successfully brought this concern to the attention of the public. Biodiversity is increasingly recognized as an essential resource on which families, communities, and nations depend. Biologists, ecologists, and conservationists have further recognized that solutions to biological problems lie in the mechanisms of social, cultural, and economic systems, which has led to attempts to place a monetary value on species and ecosystems to calculate the cost of using and conserving biodiversity.
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Date Issued: 2010

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English: ECL 320

- Nyika, N, Morkel, N, Blatchford, M, Wood, F, Mndebele, T, Mkhize, Jabulani, Kirton, Tenielle, Smith, N J, Mpepo, V M

Authors: Nyika, N , Morkel, N , Blatchford, M , Wood, F , Mndebele, T , Mkhize, Jabulani , Kirton, Tenielle , Smith, N J , Mpepo, V M
Date: 2010-01
Subjects: English
Language: English
Type: Examination paper
Identifier: vital:18286 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1011292
Description: English: ECL 320, supplementary examination January 2010.
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Date Issued: 2010-01

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A case of effective single-session treatment for attention deficit and learning problems in a routine clinical practice : the value of a transdiagnostic approach to case formulation

- Whitefield-Alexander, V, Edwards, David J A

Authors: Whitefield-Alexander, V , Edwards, David J A
Date: 2009
Language: English
Type: Article
Identifier: vital:6274 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008274
Description: This article reports a systematic clinical case study of the psychological assessment and treatment of Daniel (9), a coloured South African boy with a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (inattentive type). The case is of scientific interest because: (1) there was only a single treatment session, in which contingency management training was delivered to Daniel’s parents and teacher; (2) there was evidence for the effectiveness of the intervention immediately and at two-year follow-up; (3) it documents the transportability to a South African context of an intervention developed by overseas research; (4) it documents the central role of case formulation in the delivery of effective psychological interventions; and (5) although Daniel met the criteria for ADHD, he also displayed symptoms of depression and social anxiety and the case supports the use of a transdiagnostic approach to case formulation. The conscientiousness with which his parents and teachers applied the programme was a major factor in the effectiveness of the intervention, and such rapid impact would not be possible where parents and teachers are unavailable or not co-operative. The publication of systematic case studies such as this one is important for the development of a local evidence-based practice in South Africa.
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Date Issued: 2009

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A tropical/subtropical biogeographic disjunction in southeastern Africa separates two evolutionarily significant units of an estuarine prawn

- Teske, Peter R, Winker, A Henning, McQuaid, Christopher D, Barker, Nigel P

Authors: Teske, Peter R , Winker, A Henning , McQuaid, Christopher D , Barker, Nigel P
Date: 2009
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/445407 , vital:74383 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-009-1168-3
Description: Recent phylogeographic research has indicated that biodiversity in the sea may be considerably greater than previously thought. However, the majority of phylogeographic studies on marine invertebrates have exclusively used a single locus (mitochondrial DNA), and it is questionable whether the phylogroups identified can be considered distinct species. We tested whether the mtDNA phylogroups of the southern African sandprawn Callianassa kraussi Stebbing (Decapoda: Thalassinidea) are also recovered using nuclear sequence data. Four mtDNA phylogroups were recovered that were each associated with one of South Africa’s four major biogeographic provinces. Three of these were poorly differentiated, but the fourth (tropical) group was highly distinct. The nuclear phylogeny recovered two major clades, one present in the tropical region and the other in the remainder of South Africa. Congruence between mitochondrial and nuclear DNA indicates that the species comprises two Evolutionarily Significant Units sensu Moritz (1994). In conjunction with physiological data from C. kraussi and morphological, ecological and physiological data from other species, this result supports the notion that at least some of the mtDNA phylogroups of coastal invertebrates whose distributions are limited.
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Date Issued: 2009

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Rapid biological assessment of the fishery potential of Xonxa Dam, near Queenstown, South Africa

- Richardson, T J, Booth, Anthony J, Weyl, Olaf L F

Authors: Richardson, T J , Booth, Anthony J , Weyl, Olaf L F
Date: 2009
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/125798 , vital:35818 , https://doi.10.2989/AJAS.2009.34.1.9.734
Description: In Africa, the harvesting of fish from small reservoirs has been identified as an important food resource for small rural communities, particularly those living close to waterbodies (Kapetsky and Petr 1984, Marshall and Maes 1994, van der Knaap 1994). Development of fisheries to utilize these resources has recently been identified by the African Union as a priority investment area for poverty alleviation and regional economic development (NEPAD 2005). Within a South African context, it is suspected that there will be increased interest in developing these fisheries to address major national policy objectives, which include food security, economic empowerment, optimal economic benefit from water, and poverty eradication (RSA 1998a, 1998b). South Africa, however, presents a somewhat anomalous situation. The lack of a fishing history in communities, the lack of species with a high fisheries potential, inadequate inland fisheries policy and a lack of directed fisheries development have resulted in low utilisation levels of fish resources in South African reservoirs (Weyl et al. 2007).
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Date Issued: 2009

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A preliminary investigation of spinal kinematics during sugar cane harvesting

- Todd, Andrew I

Authors: Todd, Andrew I
Date: 2008
Language: English
Type: Article
Identifier: vital:6759 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009462
Description: The sugar cane industry forms a significant portion of the South African economy, and unlike many other countries the harvesting of sugar cane in South Africa remains manual in nature. The focus of the present study was therefore on the assessment of spinal kinematics (range of motion, velocities and accelerations in all three cardinal planes) during the harvesting process. Eight workers were recruited from the Illovo Esperanza farm in Kwa-zulu Natal as subjects for the study. The experimental protocol was conducted in situ and required subjects to cut the sugar cane using specially modified knives as they would under normal harvesting conditions. The motion performance was quantified using the lumbar motion monitor (LMM), a triaxial electrogoniometer. Results indicate that the harvesting of sugar cane places excessive demands on the spine. During cutting, subjects were required to maintain the spine in a high degree of flexion throughout the task which also demonstrated significant twisting and lateral bending. Of particular concern were the high lateral velocities (ranging between 50 and 90 m.s-1), as this is a key risk factor in the development of lower back pain. It is evident from these results that new techniques of harvesting sugar cane are essential to reduce the rate of injury within this industry.
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Date Issued: 2008

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High level internet scale traffic visualization using hilbert curve mapping

- Irwin, Barry V W, Pilkington, Nick

Authors: Irwin, Barry V W , Pilkington, Nick
Date: 2008
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429911 , vital:72650 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-78243-8_10
Description: A high level analysis tool was developed for aiding in the analysis of large volumes of network telescope traffic, and in particular the comparisons of data col-lected from multiple telescope sources. Providing a visual means for the evaluation of worm propagation algorithms has also been achieved. By using a Hilbert curve as a means of ordering points within the visual-ization space, the concept of nearness between nu-merically sequential network blocks was preserved. The design premise and initial results obtained using the tool developed are discussed, and a number of fu-ture extensions proposed.
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Date Issued: 2008

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A Digital Forensic investigative model for business organisations

- Forrester, Jock, Irwin, Barry V W

Authors: Forrester, Jock , Irwin, Barry V W
Date: 2007
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/430078 , vital:72664 , https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Barry-Ir-win/publication/228783555_A_Digital_Forensic_investigative_model_for_business_organisations/links/53e9c5e80cf28f342f414987/A-Digital-Forensic-investigative-model-for-business-organisations.pdf
Description: When a digital incident occurs there are generally three courses of ac-tions that are taken, generally dependant on the type of organisation within which the incident occurs, or which is responding the event. In the case of law enforcement the priority is to secure the crime scene, followed by the identification of evidentiary sources which should be dispatched to a specialist laboratory for analysis. In the case of an inci-dent military (or similar critical infrastructures) infrastructure the primary goal becomes one of risk identification and elimination, followed by re-covery and possible offensive measures. Where financial impact is caused by an incident, and revenue earning potential is adversely af-fected, as in the case of most commercial organisations), root cause analysis, and system remediation is of primary concern, with in-depth analysis of the how and why left until systems have been restored.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Determining the daily spawning cycle of the chokka squid, Loligo reynaudii off the South African Coast

- Melo, Y, Sauer, Warwick H H

Authors: Melo, Y , Sauer, Warwick H H
Date: 2007
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124275 , vital:35588 , https://doi.10.1007/s11160-006-9034-6
Description: The study investigated the duration and peak of the daily spawning cycle of the chokka squid Loligo reynaudii, and the possibility of estimating the spawning frequency by means of classification and grouping (by age) of postovulatory follicles. Post-ovulatory follicles were classified into three types: new, intermediate or old, based in part on the degree of resorption of the follicles determined from histological sections. Ovulation in this species appears to be a rapid process, seen by the occurrence of both mature oocytes and post-ovulatory follicles in partially spent ovaries. Results suggest that chokka squid present a diel timing of spawning, with successive periods of egg accumulation at night, interrupted by periods of active spawning during the day. The ovarian cycle for this species appears typical of serial spawners. During the spawning phase ovaries go through ripe, partially spent and recovering stages by undergoing a process of maturation, ovulation and redeveloping, where a new batch of advanced oocytes is recruited. The cycle typically appears to last between 24 and 36 h, and may depend on a number of factors such as environmental conditions and the presence of predators. The short-lived (about 14 h) nature of the post-ovulatory follicles precludes the calculation of the exact spawning interval and does not allow us to accurately predict the spawning frequency. Together with the degree of oviduct fullness they do however give a good indication of imminent or recent spawning.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Lazarus in the Constitutional Court: an exhumation of the exceptio doli generalis

- Glover, Graham B

Authors: Glover, Graham B
Date: 2007
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/70678 , vital:29688 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC53775
Description: A landmark moment in the history of South African contract law was the emphatic interment of the exceptio doli generalis by Joubert JA in Bank of Lisbon and South Africa v De Ornelas 1988 (3) SA580 (A). Throughout most of the twentieth century, the exceptio doli generalis had been viewed as an equitable defence that allowed a defendant to resist a claim for performance under a contract when there was something unconscionable about the plaintiff's seeking to enforce the contract (or a clause thereof) in the specific circumstances of that case (see A J Kerr Principles of the Law of Contract 6 ed (2002) 637ff; P J Aronstam 'Unconscionable contracts: The South African solution?' (1979) 42 THRHR 21; P van Warmelo 'Exceptio doli' 1981 De Jure 202).
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Date Issued: 2007

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SACCAWU Shoprite Checkers National Shopstewards Summit

- SACCAWU

Authors: SACCAWU
Date: Oct 2007
Subjects: SACCAWU
Language: English
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/113913 , vital:33844
Description: Comrades National Office Bearers of SACCAWU, other leadership of the Union at various level, the Wits Regional leadership of SACCAWU, the Shoprite Checkers NSSC NOBs, Officials, esteemed guests and delegates to this Summit, a substructure to the NSSC, I bring you warm and revolutionary greetings on behalf of the Shoprite Checkers NOBs and the entire NSSC and the entire SACCAWU membership. We are indeed honoured that you have all, particularly the SACCAWU NOBs, Officials and Guests, went to great length and sacrifices to ensure that you form part of this historic Summit. It is historic in that it is the only meeting of national competence convened in the year the NSSC turns twenty. Lest we forget, the Shoprite Council was launched in 1987, and has over the years relaunched to match the developments that were taking place within the company as it was growing its brands. Without your presence, we have no doubt that our debates would be poorer, leading to decisions that might in the long run prove inappropriate. You are once more welcome and assured that you are free to participate in the deliberations over the next few days. The Council have seen various onslaughts through the years and survived the iron-fisted resolve of the brutal apartheid regime and the capitalist system in its changing forms. It is the experiences of the time that has moulded numerous Shopstewards to an extent of understanding the necessity of participating within the Union and Federation structures. It is no coincidence that today, this Council has many of its Shopstewards in the CEC of the Union. It is of course worthless to have numbers in such structures if we do not play a positive and constructive role in shaping the direction of the Union. We can only do so if we are really grounded on the traditions of the mass democratic movement and the national democratic revolution. The Summit is convened after various components of the Alliance convened their own important gatherings. The deliberations in all such gatherings clearly points to the fact that our revolution is threatened by new tendencies ranging from internal squabbles and political intolerance of each other’s views. The fact that our ANC is now a contested terrain should not surprise us as this was to be expected once we took over political power. What is surprising though is the apparent manipulation of some of our comrades by some forces intent on discrediting the Movement and the Alliance. Such state of affairs place a challenge to the working class, particularly organized labour to fight in defense of the revolution.
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Date Issued: Oct 2007

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The comparison of in vitro release methods for the evaluation of oxytocin release from Pluronic® F127 parenteral formulations

- Chaibva, Faith A, Walker, Roderick B

Authors: Chaibva, Faith A , Walker, Roderick B
Date: 2007
Language: English
Type: Article
Identifier: vital:6351 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006033
Description: The objective of these studies was to develop a discriminatory in vitro release test for assessing formulation factors that may affect oxytocin (OT) release during formulation development studies of a Pluronic® F127 OT in situ gel-forming parenteral dosage form. An appropriate release assessment method should be able to discriminate between the performance of different formulation compositions (1, 2), and this was the primary criterion used for selection of an appropriate test procedure during the test method development process. ANOVA and the difference (f1) and similarity (f2)factors were used to evaluate the discriminatory behavior of different test methods that were investigated in these studies. The in vitro release tests that were investigated included the use of USP Apparatus 1, 2, and 3; a dialysis bag in USP Apparatus 2; and a membrane-less diffusion method. It was concluded that the use of USP Apparatus 3 was best able to discriminate between OT release for the different formulations tested. USP Apparatus 3 was thus considered the most suitable in vitro release test apparatus for studying formulation factors affecting OT release during the development of a parenteral dosage form prepared using Pluronic® F127.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Think Piece : an opening dialogue with Think Pieces and feature articles on learning in a changing world in this journal

- Lotz-Sisitka, Heila

Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
Date: 2007
Language: English
Type: article , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59602 , vital:27630 , https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/122734
Description: From Conclusion:This opening Think Piece invites you into such a dialogue, with this journal, its words and flows of meaning, and with the World Environmental Education Congress, its words and flows of meaning. Dialogue, as explained by Bohm, and as illustrated in the thought experiments in this paper, is a process of creatively and experimentally seeking out meaning and coherence through listening, and through deeper explorations of the tacit, implicate order. It is also a free process, where you as individual are invited to seek out the relations between your thoughts and the collective. Welcome to the process.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Biogeographic and nearshore–offshore trends in isotope ratios of intertidal mussels and their food sources around the coast of southern Africa

- Hill, Jaclyn M, McQuaid, Christopher D, Kaehler, Sven

Authors: Hill, Jaclyn M , McQuaid, Christopher D , Kaehler, Sven
Date: 2006
Language: English
Type: text , Article
Identifier: vital:6878 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011633
Description: There are broad differences in oceanography and primary production around the southern African coast that are likely to give rise to major differences in trophic pathways. Stable isotope ratios provide integrated information on trophic relationships, yet there has been limited research on geographic variation in isotopic composition of marine consumers and their food. In this study, δ13C and δ15N of suspended particulate matter (SPM), intertidal mussels and common macroalgae along the southern African coastline were explored. Nearshore–offshore isotope trends as well as biogeographic and temporal patterns in isotopic ratios of mussel tissue, macroalgae and SPM were investigated at 12 sites along the coast from Namibia to the Mozambique border. SPM exhibited overall trends of nearshore 13C depletion from south-west to north-east along the coastline and from nearshore (0 km) to offshore (10 km) waters, in both cases suggesting a shift from a nearshore signature strongly influenced by macroalgal detritus to one more representative of oceanic phytoplankton. With one exception it was possible, using discriminant analysis, to categorize mussel populations into 4 geographic groups, on the basis of both carbon and nitrogen signatures: the east coast, the south-east coast, the south-west coast and the west coast. Macroalgae showed no consistent biogeographic trends and need to be examined in greater detail to relate nearshore SPM values to living macroalgal signatures. A linear mixing model indicated that mussels along the entire coastline generally demonstrated more than 50% dependence on nearshore carbon and nitrogen, emphasizing the importance of nearshore primary production to intertidal consumers.
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Date Issued: 2006

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