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Teaching asistants in classes in full-service schools: roles, tools and responsibilities
Get PDFJournal article published in African Perspectives of Research in Teaching & Learning APORTAL Vol. 7 (3) (2023)Inclusive education is a global movement aimed at providing access to education and ensuring the participation and success of all learners. The implementation of such a system is complex and challenging. One of the implementation strategies used in South Africa is the utilization of full-service schools. Teaching assistants are appointed to support teachers in their classes. These staff members are employed, despite the uncertainty of whether they add value and what their roles are. Cultural historical activity theory was used as the theoretical framework for this study, which aimed to explore the roles and experiences of teaching assistants who work in resource classes in full-service schools. This study employed an interpretive case study design. Data were collected primarily through individual interviews with eight research participants selected through purposive and snowball sampling. The data were analyzed using thematic and activity systems analyses. The findings revealed that teaching assistants are perceived as valuable assets in resource classes when there are specific affordances such as personal
characteristics, clear communication, cooperation, and a good relationship between teachers and teaching assistants
The in vitro antimycobacterial activities of extracts and isolated compounds from selected plants against mycobacterium smegmatis
No full textThesis (M. Sc. (Microbiology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2023Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an intracellular facultative microorganism that belongs to the M. tuberculosis complex and causes tuberculosis (TB) in human beings. TB is a global pandemic which poses a health security as the leading cause of death. This study aimed to determine the antioxidant activity, antibacterial activity, synergistic and cytotoxic effects, isolate and characterise bioactive compounds of five selected medicinal plants (Zanthoxylum capense, Ziziphus mucronata, Rosmarinus officinalis, Ximenia caffra and Rhoicissus tridentata). The leaves of the plants were collected, dried, and extracted using solvents of varying polarities (n-hexane, dichloromethane, acetone, methanol, and water). Methanol extracted the highest mass for Z. capense, Z. mucronata and R. tridentata while water extracted the highest mass for R. officinalis and X. caffra. Preliminary screening of major-phytoconstituents was determined using standard chemical methods and all plants lacked alkaloids. Qualitative phytochemical composition, antioxidant and antimycobacterial activity were determined using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). The quantity of phytochemicals and antioxidants was determined using colorimetric assay, while the quantitative antimicrobial activity and synergistic effects of the hexane and acetone extracts were determined using microbroth dilution assay. The anti-inflammatory activity was determined using egg albumin denaturation inhibition assay and the antibiofilm activity was also analysed. Cell viability was determined using the [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] MMT reduction assay. On preliminary screening, the different colours indicated the presence of different compounds. The quantity of phytochemicals showed that R. tridentata had the highest total phenolic and tannin content from its water extracts while the highest total flavonoid content was from the methanol extract of R. officinalis. Qualitative antioxidant activity analysis using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, where the yellow bands against the purple indicated the presence of antioxidant compounds, showed that antioxidant compounds were present in all plants except for Z. capense. It also had the lowest quantified antioxidant compounds. Qualitative antibacterial activity showed that R. officinalis and Z. mucronate had inhibited the growth of M. smegmatis from all extracts except their water extracts. R. officinalis had the highest antibacterial activity as compared to all plants and a synergistic outcome was observed when the n-hexane extracts R. officinalis and Z. capense were combined. All the plants were able to inhibit protein denaturation, even though Z. capense had poor anti-inflammatory activity with percentage inhibition of 42%. The plant extracts had a concentration dependent biofilm activity against M. smegmatis. Cell viability assay revealed that acetone extracts of R. tridentata had the highest percentage cell viability while Z. mucronata and Z. capense had the lowest percentage cell viability. Isolation of bioactive compounds was done using bioassay guided fractionation and the structure of the compounds was characterised using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The isolated compounds were 2 chromones with (compound 1 is 5-hydroxyl-2-methyl-7-(propan-2βol)-chromone and compound 2 as 7-acetonyl-5-hydroxy-2-methylchromone) and β-sitosterol compounds. All compounds had antibacterial activity against M. smegmatis, compound 4 had the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.125 mg/mL. The study demonstrated that selected medicinal plants have different phytochemicals that are responsible for antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antibiofilm activities. Further studies are recommended on Mycobacterium tuberculosis and in vivo studies
Effect of nanosized phthalocyanine on the photovoltaic performance of titanium oxide/metal organic framework composite
Get PDFThesis (Ph.D.(Chemistry)) -- University of Limpopo, 2023This thesis reports on the dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC), an unconventional opportunity for silicon solar cell owing to their flexibility, transparency and low cost. DSSC is one of the electrical production technology, which uses the photovoltaic effect. The necessity for DSSC to captivate more of the sunlight radiation was the motive force for the fabrication of semiconductor materials based on their high surface area. The main components in DSSC are the conducting substrate, dye, photoanode, catalyst and electrolyte. The photoanode is well known as an element that generates the energy conversion efficiency. There are different photoanode materials that were studied to date. Amongst photoanode materials, titanium dioxide (TiO2) materials are extensively documented, explored and considered. In this work, efforts are made to survey the strategies to advance the energy efficiency of TiO2 based photoanode with introduction of metal organic framework (MOF) in DSSC to suppress the recombination rate and electron loss. It was observed that to attain a high conversion yield in DSSC, it is vital to collect the produced ion carriers before electron re-combination. This work is devoted to the TiO2 and MOF photoanode, their properties and various improvement approaches using nanosized phthalocyanine for photovoltaic performance. A high surface area MOF was incorporated into TiO2 network to form a TiO2-MOF composite using sol–gel method and was employed as a photoanode material for photovoltaic applications. X-ray Diffraction patterns (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA) and Raman analyses showed the presence of MOF clusters in the TiO2 aerogel network. The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images revealed the smooth irregular shape of TiO2, octahedral shape of MOF and continuous arrangement of pore-solid network structure for composite. The TiO2-MOF composite showed a Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) surface area of 111.10 m2g−1 as compared to the surface area of TiO2 (262.90 m2 g−1) and MOF (464.76 m2g-1). It was seen that an increase in average pore size of 3.40 nm for composite analogous with the pore size of TiO2 (2.66 nm) and MOF (2.56 nm). Cyclic voltammetry (CV), electectrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and chronoamperometric were used to determine the energy level and suggesting a fast electron transfer as well as the high ionic conductivity. The overall power conversion efficiency of 0.722% along with a photocurrent density 0.46 mAcm−2 was achieved by TiO2-MOF composite. The other objective was to incorporate of phthalocyanine dye into TiO2-MOF composite to enhance the photovoltaic performance of DSSCs. The structural and morphological studies of the prepared CuPc dye and TiO2-MOF after dye adsorption were characterized with various analytical techniques. The ultraviolet visible (UV-vis) spectrum of CuPc showed absorption bands at 370 nm and 798 nm, which are attributable to the B-band or Soret band and the Q-band in H2SO4 solvent. The optical studies revealed the absorption of CuPc by TiO2-MOF composite. The XRD patterns have shown the anatase TiO2 phases, MOF and CuPc phases in the TiO2-MOF after dye adsorption (TiO2-MOF/CuPc). Raman and FTIR spectroscopies have shown the N-Cu-N and O-Cu-O vibrational mode for both MOF and CuPc, N-Cu-N vibrational mode on CuPc, as well as the symmetrical and antisymmetric vibration mode O-Ti-O of TiO2 in TiO2-MOF/CuPc. BET have revealed the decrease in surface area after CuPc adsorption in the composite. The SEM images of the final TiO2-MOF/CuPc revealed the rod structure of CuPc, agglomerated structure of TiO2 upon the introduction of MOF and the octahedral structure of Cu-MOF. The Tauc plot of TiO2-MOF/CuPc, has shown that there are differences in band gabs of the materials. The band gab of the final composite is 2.7 eV eV. A maximum photocurrent and power efficiency of 1.80 mA cm−2 and 1.63% at 0.8 V were recorded for TiO2-MOF/CuPc composite under simulated light source, respectively.
Furthermore, Copper phthalocyanine derivative, copper phthalocyaninine nanowire dye was synthesized from copper phthalocyanine molecule. This material was responsible for the dye material in the DSSCs technology. Copper phthalocyanine nanowire (CuPcNW) dyes are employed in DSSCs to generate low-cost devices, light-harvesting, fast electron transfer material, and prevent recombination process, as well as conductivity improvement. In this study, investigation for the effect of CuPcNW dye on TiO2, MOF, and TiO2-MOF in photovoltaic performance were made. Electrochemical characterizations such as CV and EIS were used to determine the highest occupied molecular orbital (EHOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (ELUMO) energies as well as the ionic conductivity. The EHOMO and ELUMO values were found to be -5.1 and -4.31 eV in the TiO2-MOF/CuPcNW ternary nanocomposite, respectively. The EIS behaviour showed the improved conductivity of the ternary nanocomposite with a value of 244 μS/cm. It was seen that the TiO2-MOF/CuPcNW ternary nanocomposite achieved a maximum power conversion efficiency of 6.467% at lower potential of 0.43 V owing to the presence of CuPcNW, which improved the photocurrent density. The impact of copper phthalocyanine nanotube (CuPcNT) dyes on performance of TiO2-MOF nanocomposite in the performance of photovoltaicapplications was investigated. The CuPcNW was hydrothermally treated at 180 °C in order to produce a self-assemble rectangular CuPcNT. This material was introduced as dye for DSSCs into TiO2-MOF composite to form TiO2-MOF/CuPcNT ternary nanocomposite. The UV-vis revealed the smaller band gap of 2.62 eV, and absorbed at the region beyond the UV light with the wavelength of 798 nm. The x-ray diffraction patterns showed the TiO2, MOF and CuPcNT phases, and functional groups in the TiO2-MOF/CuPcNT nanocomposite. The CV showed the half wave peak potentials of the TiO2-MOF/CuPcNT ternary nanocomposite with the values of 0.38 and 0.10 V for the oxidation and reduction reversible reactions with the calculated HOMO and LUMO energies of -4.85 and -4.37 eV, respectively. The EIS for TiO2-MOF/CuPcNT ternary nanocomposite revealed lower conductivity of 1.39 μS/cm with a lifetime of 1.94 ms as compared to the TiO2-MOF/CuPcNW material. Interestedly, the maximum photocurrent and power conversion efficiency of the TiO2-MOF/CuPcNT ternary nanocomposite were 7.02 mA cm-2 and 11.69 % at lower potential of 0.35 V under a simulated light source higher than in the TiO2, TiO2-MOF, TiO2-MOF/CuPc, and TiO2-MOF/CuPcNW. In conclusion, the role of nanosized pthalocyanine dyes may be used to improve photovoltaic performance of TiO2-MOF composite and make the resultant composites to be excellent candidates for dye-sensitized solar cell applications.National Research Foundation Thuthuka 2018
Chieta 2019
University of Limpopo (HR)
University of Limpopo (Research Development grands R202 AND R232)
Sasol inzalo foundation, South Afric
Attitudes of parents towards paediatric palliative care : a medical social work intervention perspective in the Limpopo Province, South Africa
Get PDFThesis (M.A. (Social Work)) -- University of Limpopo, 2023Case study design was used to explore parents’ attitudes towards paediatric palliative
care in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Semi-structured in-depth face-to-face
interviews were used as a main method of collecting data. Purposive sampling was
used to select twenty (20) participants to be involved in the study which were ten (10)
parents and ten (10) caregivers of children with cancer who were admitted in the
Paediatric Oncology ward within the Polokwane hospital in the Limpopo Province. A
Content analysis was used to analyse the data which encompassed ATLAS.ti
software. The results showed that parents and caregivers of children suffering from
cancer and admitted in Paediatric Palliarive ward at Polokwane hospital, had a
generally positive attitude towards PPC. The participants’ perspectives on their own
emotional, social, financial, and psychological health because of caring for a child with
cancer are mixed, with most parents reporting that they are striving to cope with the
situation. In relation to challenges that temper with their coping, other participants
made mention of their financial battle and losses incurred in their search for a cure for
their child's illness. The study also revealed positive support received from health
workers and family members. Regarding the knowledge of PPC, results indicate that
parents do not have sufficient information regarding the meaning of PPC. The results
also revealed lack ofreferrals by social workers for PPC and lack of cooperation
between health workers and social workers. The researcher concluded that the
support provided to parents improves their knowledge and awareness of PPC
services, and consequently, changes their ‘negative’ attitudes towards PPC. Thus,
they begin to trust the system being certain that their children will receive better
treatment in PPC
Investigating grade 4 learners' enactment of utterances embodied in a mathematical classroom discourse
Get PDFThesis (M.Ed. (Mathematics Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2023The study aimed to investigate Grade 4 learners’ enactment of utterances embodied in mathematical classroom discourse. I adopted teaching experiments as a design for the study and I observed learners’ utterances and interactions in their attempts to develop mathematical knowledge; hence I adopted a teaching experiment design. I designed the research process, and engaged with and reported on all 73 Grade 4 learners in the classroom. The learners were grouped in groups of four in order for them to engage with each other and with me. Furthermore, I only questioned and guided learners when they were learning in groups. In teaching experiment design, the researcher’s role is to organise, listen and observe and, in this study, I organised, listened to and observed the learners, who I viewed as ‘students of mathematics’. I collected data by making use of observations, interviews, video recordings and notetaking to capture learners' interactions among themselves and with my. Furthermore, I used preliminary and retrospective analysis, as prescribed by the teaching experiment design (Steffe & Thompson, 2000). As a result, I captured the results from each teaching episode and analysed the learners’ interactions preliminarily. Afterwards, I returned to the teaching episodes and analysed the learners' interactions in order to undertake a retrospective analysis. I used tenets of the dynamic system theory of cognitive development to analyse the interactions.The key findings from the study were that learners portray different utterances depending on the concept of engagement. These utterances influenced their learning of mathematical concepts. The positive utterances that learners portrayed enhanced their development in mathematical thinking. On the other hand, negative utterances did not influence the development of learners’ mathematical thinking. Furthermore, learners portrayed positive utterances when engaged in questions involving mathematical shapes and negative utterances when engaged in word problem
The perception of emerging cattle farmers on extension and advisory services in improving the welfare of their cattle in Sinthumule-Kutama Areas of Makhado Municipality in Vhembe District, in Limpopo Province
Get PDFThesis (M.A. Agricultural Management (Agricultural Extension)) -- University of Limpopo, 2023The study was carried to find out the perceptions that emerging cattle farmers hold
regarding the importance of agricultural extension, the role and the impact of extension
advisors in improving the welfare of their cattle in Sinthumule-Kutama areas. Primary
data was collected from emerging cattle farmers of Sinthumule-Kutama areas, under
Makhado municipality using questionnaires.
The target population was emerging cattle farmers of Sinthumule-Kutama areas.
Simple random sampling method was used to select sixty seven (67) emerging cattle
farmers from the targeted areas (18 villages) but extra 13 farmers were interviewed
and the total of interviewed farmers is 80. SPSS tool was used for descriptive analysis
(percentage) and the mean score to address the objectives of the study.
Majority of emerging cattle farmers were found to be older than 50 years and majority
of these farmers are female. Majority of farmers had primary education as their highest
qualification, however male farmers were found to be more educated than female
farmers. Many of them are married, pensioners and they rely on non-farming activities
for source of income.
Seven statements were used to measure perceptions of farmers towards AEAS,
farmers agreed with four statements regarding their perception towards AEAS in
helping them with improving their cattle welfare. Farmers agreed on statements like
cattle welfare is important in farming, AEAS are important in cattle farming, they are
knowledgeable about cattle welfare and methods used by extension workers are
important. This shows that emerging cattle farmers of Sinthumule-Kutama regard
agricultural advisors as important bodies in their cattle welfare improvement.
Results further indicated that majority of farmers are receiving services and advice
from extension workers on their cattle welfare. Majority of farmers further revealed
that the extension activities contribute to their knowledge of cattle welfare and that
they receive the support regarding their cattle welfare from extension workers, for
instance; extension workers arrange animal technicians to inject their livestock and
provide medications after every season in areas and places without animal handling
facilities such as crush pen. Extension workers collaborate with some of these farmer
who are leaders within the community to manage cattle welfare when extension worker
is not around .The results further revealed that majority of farmers rely on those leaders as they are accessible ,they expect them to perform extension work and to
vaccinate cattle during animal health emergence. Majority, here refers to half of the
respondents of farmers stated that the activities held by extension workers are
meetings, furthermore emerging cattle farmers of Sinthumule-Kutama are expecting
to be getting medication every time not only when season changes and they are also
expecting to be trained, they believe that these expected services can help them
improve their cattle welfare
Postharvest dormancy and sprout development in potato tubers stored with apple fruit
Get PDFThesis (M.Sc. (Horticulture)) -- University of Limpopo, 2023The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a highly valuable starchy crop, serving as an important staple food. However, the crop postharvest quality is compromised during storage due to sprouting, which normally leads to reduced shelf-life. Thus, the aim of the study was to assess the potential of apple fruit as a biological suppressant against sprouting of potatoes. Potato tubers were collected from four commercial farms, thereafter, stored alone (control) or with apple fruit at ambient temperature (23º C) for 30 days. Analysis of variance showed that storage duration influenced the efficacy of apple treatment on tuber sprouting and dormancy. Tubers stored with apple fruits had significantly (P0.05) between tubers stored alone or with apple fruit while reducing sugars significantly (P<0.05) increased with an increasing storage duration in untreated tubers as compared to apple treatment. Furthermore, apple treatment had a significantly (P<0.05) reduced dry matter and starch content compared to the control in all locations except for Elmar. The study demonstrated that storing potato tubers with apple fruit at ambient temperature can be a biological anti-suppressant in potato tubers. Therefore, the method could be adopted as an alternative to synthetic ethylene gas and various chemicals used to control potato tubers sprouting during postharvest storage
The impact of community works programme on poverty alleviation at Erasmus Village in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality of Gauteng Province
Get PDFThesis (M.Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2023The primary objective of the Community Works Programme (CWP) is to provide a safety net to the poor, unemployed and under-employed people by providing them with regular and predictable work opportunities enabling them to earn a monthly wage (DCoG, 2017). CWP was established as a government-wide initiative targeting the poorest wards in each area of implementation. The study investigated its impact on poverty-alleviation among participants at Erasmus village of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng province.
A multiple data collection approach was used to collect data. Quantative data approach was collected with 81 respondents whilst qualitative data was collected among programme administrators through focus group interview. Simple random sampling was used to sample respondents whilst a questionnaire was administered in data collection. The collected data was processed using MS Excel system with results presented in tables and graphs.
The study found a relationship on impact among public employment programme implemented in south Africa i.e. EPW and CWP. In both programmes, the stipend was used to purchase family basic goods and service, payment of school fees, community psychosocial needs such as payment of burial societies, Stokvel and to some extent, payment of municipal services. The activities undertaken by participants using income earned from the programme were found to have presented an opportunity for local economic growth in the community. This includes increased spending on local goods such as taxi fare, local garden vegetables and purchasing of locally made school uniform.
The skills acquired by participants in the programme include both generic and technical. The basic nature of skills acquired were found to be incapable of assisting participants to find new jobs or exit the programme to form their own businesses. The skills provided in the programme since the programme started in 2007 require a review, both in terms of courses offered and alignment with the modern economy needs
Adolescent's attitudes and perceptions towards sexual health education in the healthcare facilities at Sebayeng in the Limpopo Province, South Africa
Get PDFThesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2023Background: Adolescence is a stage marked by sexual health challenges that adolescents are faced with. Early sexual debut contributes to these challenges. Sexual health education is important in equipping adolescents with knowledge and skills to deal with these challenges. South Africa has made efforts to combat the challenges by introducing the Integrated School Health Policy. Through this policy, adolescents are educated about sexual health in schools. The adolescent-friendly approach was also implemented for the adolescents to access sexual health education in healthcare facilities. This study seeks to explore adolescents’ attitudes and perceptions towards sexual health education in healthcare facilities at Sebayeng.
Objectives: To determine adolescents’ perceptions towards sexual health education in healthcare facilities at Sebayeng, Limpopo Province, South Africa.
To determine factors that influence adolescents’ access to sexual health education at Sebayeng. To explore adolescents’ experiences regarding sexual health education in the healthcare facilities of Sebayeng.
Methods: The study comprised of twelve (12) male and female participants who were at their adolescent stage and had attended sexual health education programme in health facilities at Sebayeng. We used the qualitative research approach in this study. For data collection, semi-structured interviews were utilised. Face to face interviews were used as a form of interaction between researcher and participants through interview guide schedule. Twelve (12) participants were sampled, and the researcher interacted with them until data was saturated. Data was recorded using an audiotape and filed notes during the interviewing process. For analysis of qualitative data, Thematic Content Analysis was used.
Results: There is an inadequate provision of sexual health education to the adolescents. They receive education mainly from health facilities, and there is reluctance from parents and teachers in school. Those who have attended the programme believe that it is important for shaping their sexual life. The adolescents argue that they have benefitted from the sexual health education programme, which influenced their healthy sexual behaviour. There are barriers relating to how sexual health education programmes are provided, and this contribute to adolescents’ sexual
vi
health challenges. Even though our study did not generalise the overall adolescents’ attitudes and views regarding sexual health education, as a qualitative research, the study findings are vital and provides important information to the adolescents of Sebayeng.
Conclusion: Sexual health education programmes are sources of information for adolescents’ sexual health, who should be supported and equipped with knowledge regarding sexual health education. However, more interventions are still needed to improve adolescent’s sexual health knowledge, and to increase the availability, as well as accessibility of sexual health education programmes beyond the parameters of health facilities
Public confidence in the police in Mankweng Zone1, Limpopo Province
Get PDFThesis (M. A. (Criminology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2023This study sought to measure the public’s level of confidence in the police in Mankweng, Unit- A. The study focused on public confidence in the police and reasons why it is of such importance, lack of public trust in the police, and aspects that the police should give attention to in serving the public. The study also focused on factors undermining public confidence in the police, police behaviour, and strategies to improve public confidence. The researcher used a quantitative, cross-sectional research design to evaluate the community’s level of confidence with their police. Probability multi-stage cluster sampling was used to select participants. The sample size comprised of 177 participants. A fixed-response questionnaire was written in English and translated to Sepedi because the community in Mankweng Zone 1, consists almost entirely of semi-black people belonging to the Sepedi Language group.
The study measured professional fairness as the attribute of treatment and quality of decision making, and when combined the answers created a procedural fairness index of Cronbach’s Alpha = .7; and mean inter-item correlation of = .394. A relatively large percentage of the respondents were negative about the attribute of making quality decisions and treatment from the police. 75,2% of the sample reckoned the police are very ineffective in fighting crime. The study found that procedural fairness judgements play a crucial part and individuals focus strongly on police competence and fear of crime