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Water footprint assessment of citrus production in South Africa: A case study of the Lower Sundays River Valley

  • Authors: Munro, Samantha A , Fraser, Gavin C G , Snowball, Jeanette D , Pahlow, Markus
  • Date: 2016
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/69240 , vital:29463 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.06.142
  • Description: Water footprint assessment is a developing method that is being increasingly applied to quantify water use, prioritise reductions, assess sustainability and provide information to achieve sustainable, efficient, and equitable water use. The objectives of this paper were to conduct a water footprint assessment of primary citrus production within the Lower Sundays River Valley in South Africa using local, high-resolution data and to examine indicators (water scarcity, pollution, efficiency, productivity and access) to determine the sustainability of blue, green and grey water footprints of a wet, dry and average year. Lemons were found to have the lowest blue and combined green-blue water footprint per ton of production across all climatic years, followed by soft citrus, valencias and navels. Valencias had the lowest, and navels the highest grey WF (relating to inorganic nitrogen). Lemons, despite their high crop water and fertiliser requirements, were regarded more economically efficient in comparison to valencias, soft citrus and navels, in that they provided higher net income and more employment hours per m3 of water in comparison to other citrus crops. In an average season, lemons generated approximately 39% more income per m3 of water than navels, despite navels being the dominant cultivar. Blue water consumption for citrus in the catchment was calculated to be 58.7 Mm3 for an average season and 89.2 Mm3 for a dry season. Due to an inter-basin transfer scheme, no physical water scarcity occurred, and both environmental and basic human needs are met. Water pollution levels related to nitrogen however, exceeded the assimilative capacity of the run-off in dry years. The area also experiences institutional and infrastructural scarcity and 14% of the population do not have access to piped water. Stakeholders and governments may use the results of water footprint assessments to determine the status of river basins, make evaluations for future water usage and the potential impacts of expanding agriculture and different management strategies. Including environmental and socio-economic indicators will also improve the integrity of water footprint assessments.
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  • Date Issued: 2016

Comparative photophysicochemical behavior of nanoconjugates of indium tetracarboxyphenoxy phthalocyanines covalently linked to CdTe/ZnSe/ZnO quantum dots

  • Authors: Oluwole, David O , Nyokong, Tebello
  • Date: 2015
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Article
  • Identifier: vital:7294 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020357 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2015.07.009
  • Description: This work reports on the photophysicochemical behavior of different nanoconjugates of core/shell/shell (GSH-CdTe/ZnSe/ZnO), core/shell (GSH-CdTe/ZnSe) and core (GSH-CdTe) (quantum dots QDs) with indium tetracarboxyphenoxy phthalocyanines ((OH)InTCPPc) in dimethylsulfoxide. The fluorescence quantum yields (Φf) and lifetimes (τf, in brackets) of QDs ranged from 0.20 (13.9 ns) to 0.42 (25.6 ns). The highest Φf value was obtained for GSH-CdTe/ZnSe/ZnO (4.5) while the least was observed in GSH-CdTe/ZnSe/ZnO (7.6), the numbers in brackets refer to the sizes. For (OH)InTCPPc alone a Φf and τf values of 0.02 and 2.43 ns, respectively were obtained. In the nanoconjugates, pivotal decrease in the Φf and τf of the QDs were observed with increase in the triplet and singlet oxygen quantum yields of (OH)InTCPPc. , Original publication is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2015.07.009
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  • Date Issued: 2015

Contrasting signals of genetic diversity and historical demography between two recently diverged marine and estuarine fish species

  • Authors: Von der Heyden, Sophie , Toms, Jessica A , Teske, Peter R , Lamberth, Stephen J , Holleman, Wouter
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/445611 , vital:74407 , https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11191
  • Description: Estuaries, at the confluence of marine and freshwater systems, are mostly of geologically recent origin and as such make excellent models for understanding recent speciation events. Using molecular approaches, we compared genetic diversity and demographic histories in 2 closely related southern African klipfish species, the marine Clinus superciliosus and the estuarine C. spatulatus. Strong genetic differentiation was identified using both mtDNA control region and nDNA S7 sequencing, despite some haplotype sharing. Coalescent-based modelling suggests that species divergence occurred during the Late Pleistocene or, more likely, during the Early Holocene, when present-day estuaries formed. Analyses of population demography suggest that C. superciliosus has undergone historical population expansion, whereas C. spatulatus is characterized by a population decline, potentially driven by repeated cycles of population crashes linked to the opening and closing of estuarine systems. This is also reflected in values of genetic diversity, which are almost an order of magnitude lower in the estuarine than in the marine species. Given the unique evolutionary history of C. spatulatus, a species that is restricted to only 2 South African estuaries, we highlight the need for a better understanding of the processes that have shaped the evolution of estuarine populations. The identification of unique genetic lineages in estuaries can help to better guide conservation and management efforts for some of South Africa’s most fragile habitats.
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  • Date Issued: 2015

From linguistic determinism to technological determinism

  • Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Mostert, André M
  • Date: 2015
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , book
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67062 , vital:29027 , https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-5888-2.ch447
  • Description: publisher version , From Introduction: This article seeks to analyse the link between linguistic determinism, the notion that language determines our thought and the way we perceive our reality, as espoused by the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, and contemporary technological determinism. Arguably this link takes place within a global context where equal access to technology is not yet guaranteed. Ellul (1964) and Lawson’s (2004) observations create an interesting metaphor in terms of the technological beast staring down human society. The overwhelming response if we accept Lawson’s observation is complacency at best or downright naivety at worst regarding the impact of technology on our thinking. Lawson made his observation in the pre-Facebook era and subsequent literature is now much more focused on all aspects of technology within our contemporary milieu. Technology is now totally ubiquitous in the developed world and becoming more so in developing countries, albeit with a much stronger mobile bias for early technology adopters. That technology is rushing ahead of many individuals and institutions is almost an aphorism with many lagging in its wake. This lag as recognised by Brynjolfson and McAfree (2011) has wide social and economic implications for all members of society, in the case of business those that do not keep up go under. A further pertinent question revolves around how individuals who start from low technological literacy levels or do not keep pace with technological developments are impacted. Dlutu (2013) assesses for example the impact of social network sites on the isiXhosa language and culture in both a rural and urban area of South Africa. Furthermore one may then ask how this technological milieu impacts on the general aspects of the day to day lives and thinking of all members of a society. This gives rise to the concept of technological determinism which in its simplest form states ‘that technology has important effects on our lives’ (Adler, 2008, p. 537). This is far too simplistic when the contemporaneous technological developments are assessed. Adler (2008, p. 537) goes further and recognizes ‘that technology itself is socially determined…and social structures co-evolve in a non-deterministic, emergent process…the effects of any given technology depend mainly on how it is implemented which in turn is socially determined’ (Adler, 2008, p. 537). Engaging this socially determined application of technology can be advanced when the relationship with language and language determinism is considered. Moreover, it is the interplay between technology and language that gives rise to the emerging concept of a language singularity which is brought about by a form of technological determinism. This article seeks to explore the possible effects of rapid technological development on human interaction, language and culture in a ‘globalized’ world which has unequal access to literacy and technology. Furthermore, the article explores the link between language, culture, thought and technology and the type of linguistic and technological determinism that we can anticipate.
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  • Date Issued: 2015

Impact of marine inundation after a period of drought on the lakeshore vegetation of Lake St Lucia, South Africa: resilience of estuarine vegetation

  • Authors: Sieben, E J J , Ellery, William F N , Dullo, B W , Grootjans, A P
  • Date: 2015
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144443 , vital:38346 , DOI: 10.2989/16085914.2015.1032208
  • Description: The shore of Lake St Lucia in the vicinity of Catalina Bay, in the southern part of the lake, receives freshwater input as surface and groundwater seepage from the adjacent elevated coastal plain. Vegetation, water quality and landform were recorded on the lakeshore and on the dry lakebed near one of these seepage zones. This was done along a gradient perpendicular to the lakeshore and along the lakeshore away from the fluvial source of freshwater input. A number of plant communities were found along a gradient of water salinity from the shoreline (fresh water) towards the centre of the lake, and also away from the fluvial input of water (increasingly saline). Species richness decreased with increasing salinity. The first study was conducted in 2006 after a prolonged drought associated with low lake levels and closure of the mouth, and repeated again in 2010 three years after breaching of the estuarine mouth by a tropical cyclone at sea, which caused inundation of the partly dry lakebed with sea water. The vegetation of the lakeshore after these major disturbances was remarkably similar in the two time periods, suggesting rapid recovery near freshwater seepage zones, following an influx of sea water.
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  • Date Issued: 2015

The development of Palladium(II)-specific amine-functionalized silica-based microparticles : adsorption and column separation studies

  • Authors: Fayemi, Omolola E , Ogunlaja, Adeniyi S , Antunes, Edith M , Nyokong, Tebello , Tshentu, Zenixole R
  • Date: 2015
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:7270 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020285
  • Description: The adsorption and separation of platinum(IV) and palladium(II) chlorido species ([PtCl6]2− and [PdCl4]2−) on silica-based microparticles functionalized with ammonium centers based on ethylenediamine (EDA), diethylenetriamine (DETA), triethylenetriamine (TETA) and tris-(2-aminoethyl)amine (TAEA) were investigated. The functionalized sorbent materials were characterized using SEM, XPS, BET, and FTIR. The sorbents were used in the batch and column study for adsorption and selective separation of [PtCl62− and PdCl4]2−. The adsorption model for both [PtCl6]2− and [PdCl4]2− on the different sorbent materials fitted the Freundlich isotherm with R2 values > 0.99. The S-TETA sorbent material was palladium(II) specific. Pd(II) loaded on the silica column was recovered using 3% m/v thiourea solution as the eluting agent. Separation of platinum and palladium was achieved by selective stripping of [PtCl6]2− with 0.5 M of NaClO4 in 1.0 M HCl while Pd(II) was eluted with 0.5 M thiourea in 1.0 M HCl. The separation of palladium (Pd) from a mixture containing platinum (Pt), iridium (Ir), and rhodium (Rh) was successful on silica functionalized with triethylenetriamine (TETA) showing specificity for palladium(II) and a loading capacity of 0.27 mg/g. S-TETA showed potential for use in the recovery of palladium from platinum group metals such as from solutions of worn out automobile emission control catalytic convertors and other secondary sources. , Original publication is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01496395.2014.978017
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  • Date Issued: 2015

The Development of Palladium(II)-Specific Amine-Functionalized Silica-Based Microparticles: Adsorption and Column Separation Studies

  • Authors: Fayemi, Omolola E , Ogunlaja, Adeniyi S , Antunes, Edith M , Nyokong, Tebello , Tshentu, Zenixole R
  • Date: 2015
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:7269 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020278
  • Description: The adsorption and separation of platinum(IV) and palladium(II) chlorido species ([PtCl6]2− and [PdCl4]2−) on silica-based microparticles functionalized with ammonium centers based on ethylenediamine (EDA), diethylenetriamine (DETA), triethylenetriamine (TETA) and tris-(2-aminoethyl)amine (TAEA) were investigated. The functionalized sorbent materials were characterized using SEM, XPS, BET, and FTIR. The sorbents were used in the batch and column study for adsorption and selective separation of [PtCl62− and PdCl4]2−. The adsorption model for both [PtCl6]2− and [PdCl4]2− on the different sorbent materials fitted the Freundlich isotherm with R2 values > 0.99. The S-TETA sorbent material was palladium(II) specific. Pd(II) loaded on the silica column was recovered using 3% m/v thiourea solution as the eluting agent. Separation of platinum and palladium was achieved by selective stripping of [PtCl6]2− with 0.5 M of NaClO4 in 1.0 M HCl while Pd(II) was eluted with 0.5 M thiourea in 1.0 M HCl. The separation of palladium (Pd) from a mixture containing platinum (Pt), iridium (Ir), and rhodium (Rh) was successful on silica functionalized with triethylenetriamine (TETA) showing specificity for palladium(II) and a loading capacity of 0.27 mg/g. S-TETA showed potential for use in the recovery of palladium from platinum group metals such as from solutions of worn out automobile emission control catalytic convertors and other secondary sources. , Original publication is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01496395.2014.978017
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  • Date Issued: 2015

The time of hospitality in Samuel Beckett's Murphy, Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient and Damon Galgut's The Good Doctor:

  • Authors: Marais, Mike
  • Date: 2015
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144106 , vital:38312 , DOI: 10.1080/00138398.2015.1083193
  • Description: In this article, I focus on the temporal dimension of the differential process through which community constitutes itself. If community is premised on the sameness that is enabled by that which it excludes, and sees as a threat, then it must seek always to conserve itself and to render the future – which is hazardous in its uncertainty – calculable, predictable and determinable. In its search for stability and permanence, community must dominate time in such a way that it is overcome, that it withdraws from itself. Arguably, though, we would view time less teleologically and programmatically, if we could relate differently to the difference on which community depends. A form of hospitality that is predicated on an acceptance of otherness – not only that of a community's outsiders, but also the ‘common strangeness’ of its insiders – would alter the ways in which being-in-common is conceived, and would also change our experience of belonging.
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  • Date Issued: 2015

Assessment of the long-term response to rehabilitation of two wetlands in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

  • Authors: Cowden, Craig , Kotze, Donovan C , Ellery, William F N , Sieben, E J J
  • Date: 2014
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144431 , vital:38345 , DOI: 10.2989/16085914.2014.954518
  • Description: Assessing the ecological outcomes of wetland rehabilitation activities is an important need recognised by the ‘Working for Wetlands’ programme in South Africa. An assessment of ecological response was conducted in the Killarney and Kruisfontein wetlands, KwaZulu-Natal, in 2005 prior to rehabilitation in 2006, and again in 2011 and 2012, respectively, following rehabilitation. The assessment criteria included an evaluation of changes in ecological integrity, the supply of ecosystem services, and vegetation composition. Improvements in hydrological and geomorphic integrity were recorded in both wetlands, resulting in improved ecosystem delivery.
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  • Date Issued: 2014

Competition between two aquatic macrophytes, Lagarosiphon major (Ridley) Moss (Hydrocharitaceae) and Myriophyllum spicatum Linnaeus (Haloragaceae) as influenced by substrate sediment and nutrients

  • Authors: Martin, Grant D , Coetzee, Julie A
  • Date: 2014
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76925 , vital:30641 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2013.11.001
  • Description: Competition between two globally economic and ecologically important submerged aquatic macrophytes, Lagarosiphon major (Rid.) Moss ex Wager and Myriophyllum spicatum L., was studied in response to growing in different substrate nutrient and sediment treatments. Addition series experiments were conducted with mixed plantings of L. major and M. spicatum grown under two soil nutrient concentrations (high vs. low) and two sediment treatments (sand vs. loam). Competitive ability of the plants was determined using an inverse linear model of the total dry weights as the yield variable. In high nutrient sediment treatments, L. major was the stronger competitor relative to M. spicatum, with one L. major plant being competitively equivalent to 2.5 M. spicatum plants in terms of their respective ability to reduce L. major biomass. In the loam sediment treatments, L. major was an even stronger competitor relative to M. spicatum with one L. major being equivalent to 10 M. spicatum plants. Additionally, L. major had a faster relative growth rate (RGR) than M. spicatum when grown in mixed cultures, a loam sediment type and at both high and low planting densities. The results indicated that L. major is a superior competitor to M. spicatum and that both nutrient and sediment conditions significantly affect the competitive ability of both species. The results contribute to the understanding of competition between submerged invasive macrophytes, and provide insight into the establishment and spread of invasive submerged macrophytes.
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  • Date Issued: 2014

Developing a relational perspective on intergenerational learning

  • Authors: Schudel, Ingrid J
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , book chapter
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/437161 , vital:73349 , ISBN 978-9086862528 , https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-802-5_16
  • Description: This chapter argues for a critical perspective on the use of lo-cal knowledge and practices in teaching and learning, present-ing some pedagogical thinking tools for reviewing intergenera-tional teaching and learning processes. The chapter highlights five relational elements in teaching and learning processes, including the relationship between individual and community, social and historic contexts, school-based actions and local practices, local and regional/national/global concerns, and fi-nally between local knowledge and abstract school knowledge. These relational elements of learning illustrate how it is possi-ble to mitigate against conservative, over-simplistic or idealistic responses to environmental concerns. This argument is illus-trated through reference to a lesson designed and implement-ed by a school teacher participating in a Rhodes University ac-credited teacher professional development course–the Schools and Sustainability course. This teacher depended substantially on intergenerational communication for her les-son, which supported Grade 1 pupils to research the use of wild vegetables historically in their community and plant these vegetables in their school garden with the support of knowledgeable community members.
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  • Date Issued: 2014

Development and evaluation of pictograms on medication labels for patients with limited literacy skills in a culturally diverse multiethnic population:

  • Authors: Kheir, Nadir , Awaisu, Ahmed , Radoui, Amina , El Badawi, Aya , Jean, Linda , Dowse, Roslind
  • Date: 2014
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156720 , vital:40041 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2013.11.003
  • Description: Much of the migrant workforce in Qatar is of low literacy level and does not understand Arabic or English, presenting a significant challenge to health care professionals. Medicine labels are typically in Arabic and English and are therefore poorly understood by these migrant workers. To develop pictograms illustrating selected medicine label instructions and to evaluate comprehension of the pictograms or conventional text supported with verbal instructions in foreign workers with low literacy skills.
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  • Date Issued: 2014

Diagnosing the sexual pattern of Diplodus cervinus hottentotus (Pisces: Sparidae) from southern Angola

  • Authors: Winkler, Alexander C , Santos, Carmen V D , Potts, Warren M
  • Date: 2014
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124286 , vital:35589 , https://doi.10.1007/s11160-006-9034-6
  • Description: The sexual pattern of Diplodus cervinus hottentotus was investigated in southern Angola. Females were significantly smaller and found in greater numbers, with an adult sex ratio of 1.0:0.7, F:M. Histological observations of preserved gonads indicated that the species is a rudimentary hermaphrodite, possessing a non-functional bisexual ovotestis before maturation. Histological examination of five macroscopically staged ‘bisexual’ individuals revealed that they were functional males with residual ovarian tissue in the gonad, which had persisted from a juvenile bisexual stage. Although empirical population structure and macroscopic observations suggested protogyny, histological evidence suggested otherwise, confirming the need for the use of histology when diagnosing the sexual pattern of sparid fishes.
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  • Date Issued: 2014

Empathetic apprentice: pedagogical developments in aesthetic education of the social learning practitioner in South Africa

  • Authors: McGarry, Dylan K
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , book chapter
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/437176 , vital:73350 , ISBN 978-9086862528 , https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-802-5_12
  • Description: Apprenticeship is an ancient and intuitive approach to learning, yet today traditional forms of apprenticeship are becoming in-creasingly scarce. The role of apprenticeship in relation to learning through embodied, first hand experience is somewhat overlooked, particularly in the the pedagogical development of social learning. Understanding this in my early doctoral re-search, I focused on the process of apprenticeship and its contribution to social learning practice. I moved beyond the concept of traditional apprenticeship (that of learning a specific artisan practice) and explored the possibility of sharpening my capacities as an ‘ecological-citizen’; expanding Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) concepts, and investigating a wider embodied learning of a citizen situated in a greater social-ecological phenomenon.
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  • Date Issued: 2014

Human perception of the measurement of a network attack taxonomy in near real-time

  • Authors: Van Heerden, Renier , Malan, Mercia M , Mouton, Francois , Irwin, Barry V W
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429924 , vital:72652 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44208-1_23
  • Description: This paper investigates how the measurement of a network attack taxonomy can be related to human perception. Network attacks do not have a time limitation, but the earlier its detected, the more damage can be prevented and the more preventative actions can be taken. This paper evaluate how elements of network attacks can be measured in near real-time(60 seconds). The taxonomy we use was developed by van Heerden et al (2012) with over 100 classes. These classes present the attack and defenders point of view. The degree to which each class can be quantified or measured is determined by investigating the accuracy of various assessment methods. We classify each class as either defined, high, low or not quantifiable. For example, it may not be possible to determine the instigator of an attack (Aggressor), but only that the attack has been launched by a Hacker (Actor). Some classes can only be quantified with a low confidence or not at all in a sort (near real-time) time. The IP address of an attack can easily be faked thus reducing the confidence in the information obtained from it, and thus determining the origin of an attack with a low confidence. This determination itself is subjective. All the evaluations of the classes in this paper is subjective, but due to the very basic grouping (High, Low or Not Quantifiable) a subjective value can be used. The complexity of the taxonomy can be significantly reduced if classes with only a high perceptive accuracy is used.
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  • Date Issued: 2014

Hyperbenthic and pelagic predators regulate alternate key planktonic copepods in shallow temperate estuaries

  • Authors: Wasserman, Ryan J , Vink, Tim J F , Kramer, Rachel , Froneman, P William
  • Date: 2014
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68224 , vital:29220 , https://doi.org/10.1071/MF13233
  • Description: Publisher version , Although predation has been identified as an important community driver, the role of predator diversity in structuring estuarine zooplankton has not been assessed. As such, we investigated the effects of two different zooplanktivorous fish species on the estuarine zooplankton community during a 12-day mesocosm study. Three experimental treatments were established, whereby natural zooplankton communities were subject to either (1) no predatory pressure, (2) predation by a pelagic predator (Monodactylus falciformis) or (3) predation by a hyper-benthic predator (Glossogobius callidus). The pelagic feeding M. falciformis fed largely on the numerically dominant mid-water copepod species, Paracartia longipatella. In contrast, the hyper-benthic fish had a greater predatory impact on the less numerically dominant copepod, Pseudodiaptomus hessei, which demonstrates strong diel vertical migration. Variations in prey-population regulation are ascribed to the distinct behavioural differences of the predators, and mediated by the differences in behaviour of the copepod species.
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  • Date Issued: 2014

Primary Teachers’ Experiences Relating to the Administration Processes of High-stakes Testing The Case of Mathematics Annual National Assessments

  • Authors: Graven, Mellony , Venkat, Hamsa
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/482466 , vital:78654 , https://doi.org/10.1080/10288457.2014.965406
  • Description: In this paper we highlight teacher experiences of the administration of high-stakes testing, in particular, of the 2012 Annual National Assessments (ANAs). The exploration is based on data gathered across two primary numeracy teacher development projects in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng in the form of open-ended questionnaires designed to elicit teacher experiences of the 2012 Numeracy ANAs (at Grades 1–3) and Mathematics ANAs (Grades 4–6). Fifty-four teachers across 21 schools (including fee-paying and non-fee-paying schools) completed the questionnaire. Using a grounded approach to the analysis of data, we note that, while teachers state support for the purpose of the ANAs ,several concerns emerge in relation to their administration. These concerns fall largely into two categories: concern for learner experiences and concern for the implications of the administration processes (including the use of exemplars and the marking process) for teacher practices. The primary purpose of the paper is to raise awareness of the need for further discussion and research into the way in which ANAs result in possible unintended consequences.
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  • Date Issued: 2014

Reappraising the concept of biocultural diversity: a perspective from South Africa

  • Authors: Cocks, Michelle L , Wiersum, K Freerk
  • Date: 2014
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141176 , vital:37950 , DOI: 10.1007/s10745-014-9681-5
  • Description: Biocultural diversity has been conceptualised as the sum of the world’s differences regarding biological diversity at all levels and cultural diversity in all its manifestations, and their interactions. The concept is often framed in the context of conservation as a retention versus loss model by emphasizing the religious and spiritual values of the natural environment and the positive interactions between traditional indigenous people and conservation of natural ecosystems and indigenous species. On the basis of our research amongst the ‘non-traditional’ amaXhosa in South Africa, we argue that this interpretation is too narrow and that the concept needs to be reappraised in order to capture the dynamic, complex and relational nature of bio-cultural diversity relations. We conclude that the concept involves a complex of human values and practices related to the three main dimensions of biodiversity at landscapes, species and genetic levels.
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  • Date Issued: 2014

Smallholder farmers’ access to credit in the Amathole District Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

  • Authors: Baiyegunhi, Lloyd J S , Fraser, Gavin C G
  • Date: 2014
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/69351 , vital:29503 , https://jarts.info/index.php/jarts/article/view/2014121946870/814
  • Description: Provision of credit has being identified as an important instrument for improving the welfare of smallholder farmers directly and for enhancing productive capacity through financing investment by the farmers in their human and physical capital. This study investigated the individual and household characteristics that influence credit market access in Amathole District Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, using a cross sectional data from smallholder farmers’ household survey. The aim is to provide a better understanding of the households’ level socio-economic characteristics, not only because they influence household’s demand for credit but also due to the fact that potential lenders are most likely to base their assessment of borrowers’ creditworthiness on such characteristics. The results of the logistic regression suggest that credit market access was significantly influenced by variables such as gender, education, households’ income, value of assets, savings, dependency ratio, repayment capacity and social capital. Implications for rural credit delivery are discussed.
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  • Date Issued: 2014

Some life-history parameters of the non-native amphipod Platorchestia platensis (Talitridae) in a warm temperate South African estuary

  • Authors: Hodgson, Alan N , Booth, Anthony J , David-Engelbrecht, Viginia , Henninger, Tony O
  • Date: 2014
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/126976 , vital:35940 , https://doi.10.1080/0035919X.2014.941961
  • Description: Density, population structure, growth, mortality and aspects of reproduction of the non-native amphipod Platorchestia platensis were studied for 20 consecutive months (October 2008 to May 2010) in the supralittoral wrack of the Knysna Estuary, South Africa. Amphipod density varied over the sampling period with the lowest numbers recorded in summer (January and February). Ovigerous females with embryos, and juveniles were found in most months with peaks in recruitment found in both April and October, suggesting that in Knysna this species is a biannual breeder. Average female size was significantly greater in winter, with larger females tending to brood more embryos. The largest adults (13.5 mm total length) were always male although the monthly sex ratio was nearly always female biased. Growth rate estimated from a cohort analysis was about 1 mm per month and monthly survival about 69%. The ability to reproduce all year round may be one reason why this introduced species has become established within this warm temperate estuary.
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  • Date Issued: 2014
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