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An exploration of triple whammy oppression and its role in creating unsafe environments for black women in post-apatheid South Africa : a case study of Mankweng Community, Limpopo Province
Get PDFThesis (M.A. (Political Science)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022During the apartheid era in South Africa, Black women were mostly oppressed
members of the population. They faced the triple whammy oppression of race, sex
and class which prevented them from living their lives freely. These categories of
oppressions overlapped into the democratic dispensation. Although South Africa has
become a democratic Republic, Black women continue to experience the triple
whammy oppression of racism, sexism and classism. These oppressions are
prevalent among Black women in the Mankweng community of Limpopo Province,
resulting in different types of social issues. This development has motivated Black
communities to employ Womanist theory or Womanism to eradicate the triple whammy
oppressions and social issues that have morphed into challenges in the communities.
This theory considers the element of equality from different aspects of life in the
society. The aim of this study was to explore the triple whammy oppression and its
role in making Mankweng Community in Limpopo Province of post-apartheid South
Africa an unsafe environment. The study utilised semi-structured interviews to collect
and collate data. Collected data established that Black women and men have different
and similar views on the triple whammy oppression and social issues that contribute
to unsafe environments for Black women in Mankweng Community of Limpopo
Province. The study further established that Black women are mostly the victims of
oppressions and social issues. The study further recommends that black men must be
educated about the importance of women and that the philosophy of Ubuntu must be
practiced in the communities of Black people in order to have safe environments for
everyone
Analysing South Africa's state capture controversy : an economic monopoly battle or not?
Get PDFThesis (M. A. (Political Science)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022State capture in South Africa became the talk of the day in the mainstream media and social media alike. This was the case following state capture report (herein after referred to as ―the report‖) released by former public protector Thuli Madonsela which shed a light about the close relationship between former president Jacob Zuma and the Gupta family. The report alleged that the Gupta family played a role in appointing and offering ministerial positions to those who would bid for them in government procurements and tender awarding. This study seeks to analyse whether or not the state capture controversy in the context of the Zuma-Gupta family is a political manoeuvrings or economic contestations between the business competitors (White establishments and the Gupta family). The existing literature on the state capture narrative looks more at the Gupta family‘s ties with former President Jacob Zuma, highlighting their tumultuous relationship. The dissertation does not justify the Guptas‘ wrongdoings or nepotism, but it showcases that the State Capture narratives has been bolstered by those opposed to economic development. In terms of methodology, the study used qualitative and content analysis to examine the South African state capture debat
Land dispossession and restitution in South Africa : a case study of the Ravele Community in Luvuvhu Valley, Limpopo Province (1890-1994)
Get PDFThesis (Ph. D. (History)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022Based on the Afrocentric perspective, this study explored the impact of landlessness that descended upon the Ravele Community after their forced removal from original Mauluma, around the Luvuvhu River and on western side of Tshakhuma: in 1921 and in 1936. The river was then corruptly renamed Levubu River. It is as a result of the impact of the forced removal of the Ravele community during that period that the study is located around the Luvuvhu Valley. The Raveles were relocated to New Mauluma (Beaconsfield) in the Nzhelele Valley. During that period the Raveles were forced to occupy different places around the Luvuvhu Valley and elsewhere as some of them became scattered. It suffices to say that the establishment of the Luvuvhu Valley was meant to benefit the newly resettled ‘poor whites’, as part of the resettlement programme of the white administration, such that the Raveles bore the sever brunt of the forced removal. They became impoverished since their source of socio-economic life had been taken away when they were removed from the Luvuvhu Valley. The study shows that poverty had many dimensions because it is/ was not only limited to economic poverty but permeated all spheres of life. This included a person’s self-respect, the harshness of living as well as a feeling of powerlessness and hopelessness. It suffices to say that impoverishment was made to strategically maintain the political and economic power of the white minority, especially in this study of the Luvuvhu Valley. Their forced removal affected their livelihood because the Nzhelele Valley is/ was rocky, dry, barren and even infertile. As a result, they were unable to cultivate as productively as before and/ or provide adequate grazing for their livestock. At New Mauluma the Raveles were placed under George Mbulaheni Mphephu, whose thovhele (kingship) status had by then been reduced to that of khosikhulu (principal senior traditional leader). Their socio-political life was affected since their vhuhosi (senior traditional leadership) status was reduced to vhugota (headmanship/ vhamusanda). In essence the Raveles’ new status was a demotion because to this date they are still fighting to restore their vhuhosi status. Although, land restitution is one of the pillars of land reform in South Africa, since it was implemented in the mid-1990s, after the implementation of South Africa’s democratic dispensation in 1994 (and is still in progress), the Raveles are still in the dark regarding the finalization of their claim to have Old Mauluma fully restituted to them. Experience in some restituted land in South Africa has shown that direct transfer without sufficient post-settlement support could lead to land restitution failures which are a source of embarrassment to the democratic government. Equally the government has been blamed for adopting a top-down approach in finding a solution to the challenge of transferring the expensive fertile Luvuvhu Valley to the Raveles as the rightful and original owners. The government has also been blamed for using the expertise of white owned agribusinesses, whose interests on land restitution are/ were to make profit. As a result, of their class position, as members of the petty bourgeois, many white settler farmers opposed land restitution by refusing to sell their farms to the government. The researcher identified and preferred to ground the study on the Afrocentric theory since it puts African values at the centre. It will also assist in debunking the Eurocentric/Western and liberal approach to issues that affect Africans
The virtual classroom : challenges of COVID-19 pandemic in accounting subject classrooms in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
Get PDFJournal article published in African Perspectives of Research in Teaching & Learning Journal (APORTAL) Vol 6 (2) (2022)The COVID-19 pandemic issues in South Africa's Eastern Cape area are discussed in the study. The article uses a case study layout as part of its qualitative study approach. To collect the data, semi-structured interviews were used. The selection of the ten accounting teachers was deliberate. The examination of the data was thematic. The article details the difficulties triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Accounting field, including infrastructure, data accessibility and lack of readiness for the virtual classroom. Educators of Accounting subjects are advised by the study not to view their work as routine business. The Network industry should participate with the departments of education to resolve data, connectivity, and convenience challenges so that virtual classroom learning is supported. All educators should be persuaded to participate in numerous types of online seminars after the COVID-19 to develop
Nutritional water productivity of cucumis myriocarpus in context of climate -smart agriculture
Get PDFThesis (Ph.D. (Plant Production)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022Malnutrition continues to pose a serious threat to humankind and their animals, and this is inextricably exacerbated by the irrevocable incident of climate change. Due to the latter, adaptation efforts for achieving the first Goal of the eight Millennium Development Goals appear to be unequivocally remote. The first Goal intends to eliminate hunger by ensuring that humankind is provided with nutritional food, thereby eliminating hidden hunger, which is malnutrition. Globally, malnutrition is widespread since best agricultural practices that increase yield do not necessarily correlate with increased nutrition in plant produce. The concept of nutriconclusiotional water productivity (NWP) links the accumulation of certain functional nutrients to the amount of water (m3) used in their bio-accumulation. Due to high nutrient deficiencies in exotic crops that were bred for high yield under best agricultural practices, attention is being redirected to certain indigenous underutilised crops, which had for centuries survived marginal conditions. Such underutilised crops had been, without empirically-based information, viewed as potential candidates for positively contributing towards the achievement of the first Goal of the eight Millennium Development Goals in lieu of biofortification. In the northern region of Limpopo Province, South Africa, one such underutilised crop is wild cucumber (Cucumis myriocarpus), a leaf vegetable indigenous to the northern semi-arid region of South Africa. The plant, due to its short stem, has attributes of a “stolon”, with drought-tolerance and nematode-resistant attributes, and had served as a leaf vegetable with various medicinal uses among the local people. The plant, therefore, has inherent potential benefits of promoting functional nutritional security under various conditions. Due to a lack of empirical information to advance the production of this underutilised crop, a decision was taken to investigate the production of the
crop in relation to NWP of mineral malnutrition (MMN) elements and micronutrient malnutrition (MNMN) substances under conditions that had been predicted through modelling to be threatening inland South Africa with the advent of increasing intensity of global warming. The objectives of the study were, therefore, five-fold, namely, to investigate the responses of NWP of MMN elements in C. myriocarpus leaf tissues to (1) planting density, (2) irrigation interval, (3) population density of root-knot (Meloidogyne species) nematodes, (4) chloride salinity and (5) inoculation with arbuscular vascular mycorrhiza (VAM) under various conditions. In all objectives, soil water content was measured using soil moisture profile probes, connected to an HH2 Moisture Meter (Delta-T Devices, UK). At 56 days after initiating the treatments, 20 healthy mature leaves were harvested per plant, oven-dried at 70°C for 72 h and ground in a Wiley mill, with the extraction of nutrient elements performed using the digestion method from 0.4 g material. Selected MMN elements were quantified using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer ICPE-9000, with related NWP values. In three of the five objectives, MMN elements versus independent variables (i.e. planting density, irrigation interval or salinity) exhibited significant (P ≤ 0.05) quadratic relationships, which offered the opportunity to compute the optimisation point using x = –b1/2b2 relations, derived from Y = ax2 + bx + c quadratic equation. In contrast, in the remaining two objectives, MMN elements versus independent variables (i.e. nematodes or Biocult) did not exhibit significant relationships, except that occasionally, population densities of M. javanica linearly reduced NWP of Fe. In conclusion, the findings in the current study demonstrated for the first time that nutritional quality in harvestable produce, as articulated using the concept of NWP of MMN elements is not aligned with the philosophy of high yield (quantity) as pronounced in best agricultural practices. The provided models showed
that although certain cultural practices could be disadvantageous to the producers in terms of quantity, stressful conditions could to a certain extent be advantageous to consumers in terms of the nutritional value of the produce.Land Bank Chair of Agriculture – University of Limpopo,
National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF)
the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR) of Belgium and the
Agricultural Research Council-Universities Collaboration Centre
Caregivers' perceptions towards disclosure of Human Immunodeficiency Virus positive status to children living with HIV at Mohodi Community in the Limpopo Province
Get PDFThesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2022Background: the purpose of this study was to explore the caregiver’s perceptions
towards disclosure of human immunodeficiency virus positive status to children living
with HIV at Mohodi community in the Limpopo province. Many children who are HIV
positive grow up unaware of their HIV positive status, because caregivers are afraid or
uncomfortable to inform their children about their positive HIV status. Evidence from
some studies have identified non-disclosure of HIV positive status to children as one of
the actors that lead to a delay in access to treatment. Therefore the study seek to
explore caregivers’ perceptions towards disclosure of HIV positive status to children
living with HIV at Mohodi community in the Limpopo Province. The objectives of the
current study were to discover the insights of caregivers towards disclosing the HIV
positive status to their children living with HIV and to determine contributory factors to
the delayed disclosure of HIV positive status to children living with HIV amongst
caregivers at Mohodi community in the Limpopo Province.
Methods: The study used the qualitative research design. A qualitative exploratory
descriptive design was used to reflect the naturistic perspective and to understand a
phenomenon in a natural setting. Participants of the study were caregivers taking care
of children who are living with HIV. The children who are unaware of their HIV status.
Data was collected through in-depth interview with open ended questions, participants
were interviewed one by one using an interview guide. The sample size was 10
participants which was determined by saturation of data. An audiotape was also used to
record interviews with participants, and field notes were also taken during the interview.
Data was analysed through Thematic Content Analysis.
Results: HIV disclosure to children is generally low, even among adolescents.
Significant factors influencing disclosure include the child's age, the child's persistent
questioning and caregivers’ perceptions of the child's ability to understand and cope up
with HIV. The literature suggest that caregivers identify many barriers to disclosure
within these settings, the most prominent being fear of stigma and of negative
consequences for children's emotional and social well-being. In the midst of caregivers’
worries about disclosure and low prevalence of disclosure, there is only limited evidence
to suggest how disclosure should be conducted. The study provide useful qualitative
enquiry of how the caregivers at Mohodi village perceive the disclosure of HIV towards
their children living with HIV.
Conclusions: The study revealed that the reasons for non-disclosure from caregivers is
that they believe that the child is either not old enough or not ready to comprehend the
meaning of their HIV positive status. Some are of the view that the children are not
sufficiently mature to cope with their HIV positive status. Some believe that, their
children would not keep their diagnosis private and therefore concerned that their
children would be exposed to stigmatisation and discrimination in their communities and
families. These concerns suggest that improved psychosocial support services could
aid in the disclosure process, Social workers and health care professionals to work
hand in hand to enhance referrals. There is a need for structured, evidence-based
protocols, materials and guidelines for disclosure which will equip the caregivers with
knowledge about HIV disclosure to their children living with HIV
The linkage between economic complexity, governance economic growth for Africa's top performing country: a PARDL approach
No full textThesis (M.Com. (Economics) -- University of Limpopo, 2022Several economists have identified economic complexity and governance to be significant engines for growth and development. Compared to governance, economic complexity is a relatively new concept that has gained attention from various authors and is considered to have a greater impact on economic growth, particularly in the African context. In the last decade, Sub-Saharan countries have experienced negative economic growth rates which have worsened in terms of good governance and economic complexity. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to analyse the linkage between economic complexity, governance, and economic growth for Africa’s top-performing countries by using panel data from 2002-2017.The results of the unit root tests show that the variables are integrated of order(0) and order(1), or a combination of both, which justified the use of the PARDL approach. Panel cointegration methods were employed to analyse the short and long run relationships of the variables of interest. These tests found that there is a long run relationship between GDP and the explanatory variables with the short run results depicting an error correction term of -0.59. The results show that economic complexity, government effectiveness, regulatory quality and political stability have a positive impact on economic growth whilst the control of corruption and voice and accountability have a negative impact on growth. The study further employed the impulse response function and variance decomposition tests to assess how shocks to the economic variables reverberate through an economic system. Furthermore, economic tests such as the Engle-Granger causality test were conducted to establish the causal relationship between GDP and other explanatory variables. Economic complexity, government effectiveness, regulatory quality and political stability are seen to be great contributors to economic growth; hence, policies aimed at increasing these variables should be made the primary objectives of these African countries
Factors contributing to missed clinic appointments by people living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy at a health centre in Capricon District Limpopo Province, South Africa
Get PDFThesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2022Topic : Factors contributing to missed clinic appointments by people living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy at a health centre in Capricon District Limpopo Province, South Africa. Background: The approach of the South African healthcare sector concerning the management and reduction of queues at clinics throughout the country was developing a system where patients made appointments. The focus of this study was on patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy and how they have been reported to be missing their appointments. When patients miss their antiretroviral therapy appointments it has a negative impact on operations at the clinic as well as its finances. Aims : The aim was to investigate the contributing factors to missed appointment visits of People Living With HIV for antiretroviral therapy at a Health Centre in Capricorn District, Limpopo. Methodology: A quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive study design was used to achieve the aim of this study and its objectives. Results: one hudred and eighty eight participants took part in the study. Majority were and females. Participants had various reasons for missing appointments, such as the lockdown restrictions (24.4%), the long distance from the healthcare facility (23.9%), and a lack of money for transportation (9.5%). A significant relationship was observed between the year of missed appointments and reasons for missing appointments with p values of 0.01 and 0.03 respectively. The study concludes that most antiretroviral therapy patients miss clinic appointments due to lockdown restrictions
Untargeted metabolites and chemometric approach to elucidate the response of growth and yield attributes on different concentrations of an amino acid based biostimulant in two lettuce cultivars
Get PDFJournal article published in Scientia Horticulturae 306 (2022) 111478The study aims to underpin biochemical mechanisms induced by the application of different concentrations of an amino-acid based Phytostim® biostimulant on growth and yield attributes. Different concentrations of Phytos- tim® biostimulant: 0 (untreated), 1, 3, and 6% were foliar applied on lettuce cultivars (‘Lara’ and ‘Elisa’). After
45 days of transplanting, analysis growth and yield attributes, biochemical analysis and LC-MS untargeted metabolites profile were performed. Application of 3% dose improved both growth and yield parameters in both cultivars in comparison to the 6% dose which inhibited growth. Similar trend was observed for biochemical and
antioxidant analysis (phenolic, flavonoids, carotenoids, chloroplyll a and b and scavenging activity). The PCA and OPLS-DA score-plot clustered the metabolome profile of biostimulant treated vs untreated samples with major heterogeneity distinction observed in the untreated samples. Obtained results validate the use of bio-
stimulants in agriculture while giving information on the effects of the treatments towards changes in the chemical composition within the studied cultivars
Crisis in the implementation of inclusive education: reflection on the role of full-service schools in Sekhukhune district
Get PDFThesis (Ph.D. (Curriculum Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022The purpose of this study was to look at the crisis in the implementation of inclusive
education and to reflect on the role of full-service schools in Sekhukhune district.
Participants were purposively selected in this study. Most of the mainstream school‘s
struggle to cater for special educational needs learners, resulting in many dropouts. The
study collected data through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions.
The findings of the study have shown that many educators lack capacity on inclusive
education, and full-service schools do not play a critical role in supporting neighbouring
mainstream schools. The findings reveal that lack of capacity development like
workshops and human resources are main factors contributing towards failure of full service schools to support neighbouring mainstream schools. In addition, inclusive
education needs to be included in educator training at tertiary level qualifications.
Therefore, further investigation of the impact of educator qualifications and
implementation is recommended