Walter Sisulu University
Not a member yet
1284 research outputs found
Sort by
Response of Ants, Beetles and Spiders to Disturbance Varies Among Taxa in a South African Savannah Biome
Get PDFSavannahs are structurally complex ecosystems consisting of a diverse community of plants and animals such as arthropods. Arthropods are essential in many ecosystem processes that help maintain life on Earth. The anthropogenic conversion of natural landscapes into croplands, residential and industrial areas has a negative impact on surface-active arthropods that have limited dispersal abilities and narrow habitat preferences. This study investigated the effect of disturbance on assemblages of ants, beetles and spiders in the savannah vegetation in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. We compared species richness, abundance and composition of these three taxa between the pristine savannah and the savannah that is exposed to a variety of anthropogenic activities (disturbed savannah). Arthropods were collected using pitfall traps in 15 sites in pristine savannah and 15 sites in disturbed savannah. We found that disturbance affects species richness and abundance of these taxa differently. Disturbance did not affect species richness of spiders and abundance of beetles, while greater species richness of ants and beetles, as well as abundance of ants and spiders was in disturbed than in pristine savannah. Furthermore, the species compositions of all taxa were different between disturbed and pristine savannah. The disturbed savannah had twice more unique indicator species than the pristine savannah. Differences in assemblages of arthropods between pristine and disturbed habitats suggest that it may be important to consider habitats in and outside protected areas in the conservation of arthropods, particularly in areas with greater percentage of natural and semi-natural landscapes occurring outside protected areas
Nature Inspiration, Imitation, and Emulation: Biomimicy Thinking Path to Sustainability in the Construction Industry
Get PDFThe construction industry has been globally fingered as the major sector responsiblefor the continued deplorable state of the environment. The rising exploitation of thenatural environment by the sector decapacitates the function of theflora and faunato sustain life on earth. Therefore, the adoption and implementation of sustainabilityconcepts in the construction industry are imperative to reduce the sector’s negativeimpacts on the environment. The growingfield of biomimicry as a sustainabilityconcept has increased global interest and call to maximize the numerous benefitsoffered by nature. This article is aimed at exploring biomimicry potentials in solvinghuman challenges in a sustainable manner through responsible imitation, emulation,and drawing inspiration from nature. Thefirst part of this paper explores theconstruction industry with rapt attention to its positive and negative impact onthe human and natural environment. The second part provides a comprehensiveoverview of the biomimicry concept looking at its definitions, tenets, andsustainability standpoint..
Learning Efficacy, Academic Goal Setting, and Burnout of Adolescent Learners in the Post-Pandemic Era
Get PDFThis study aims to examine the extent to which learning efficacy and goal setting will interact with academic burnout among learners in the post covid-19 pandemic era. The quantitative research design was adopted for this study. A total of 1, 407 adolescents in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria (male = 38.8%; female 61.2%) aged between 12 and 20 (mean = 15: SD = 4.24) responded to an online survey developed by the researchers, which was open for two months. Data were analysed using inferential statistics of linear logistics and regression analysis. The findings revealed that all the factors had a strong association with academic burnout, learning efficacy (OR = 1.02, 95% CI {1.01–1.04}) and goal setting (OR = 1.04, 95% CI {1.01–1.06}). Further, learning efficacy made the highest contribution to academic burnout..
Examining the Professional Excellence Programme: Inducting University Teachers into the Higher Education System in South Africa
Get PDFThe obligation to increase the standard of instruction and learning falls on academic developers. A crucial part of academic staff development at institutions of higher learning is the induction of academics who are primarily subject matter specialists without the pedagogical abilities to teach effectively in the higher education environment. This qualitative essay investigated how the Professional Excellence Programme (PEP) might be utilised as an induction Short Learning Programme (SLP) for new academics. After finishing the brief SLP, the inductees were given a questionnaire to evaluate the modules (Teaching and Learning, Curriculum Development, and Assessment in Higher Education) and qualitative data was gathered. The study was framed by Wegner's social learning theory. The research showed that the PEP programme can be an efficient programme to develop academics into university teachers. Since the SLP was accepted by all participants in the study, the study recommended that the Directorate of Teaching and Learning should develop the PEP programme into a credit-bearing postgraduate diploma in higher education at NQF Level 8, which is equivalent to an honours degree
The estimation and power of alternative discretionary accruals models
Get PDFDiscretionary accruals remain decade’s long measures to detect earnings management in empirical accounting research. The correctness of the specifications and test power of the information content for the models remains unexplored based on samples of most emerging market firms. Yet, country’s-based researchers have increasingly used different Jones-based discretionary accruals to proxy earnings management. The paper aims to evaluate four discretionary accruals models and to decide the most appropriate one for the detection of earnings management. For the aim, we apply regression methods to estimate and evaluate four Jones-type discretionary accruals models – simple Jones, modified Jones, extended Jones cash flow model and working capital accruals – based on evidence of a final sample of 1,852 firm-year of 102 firms in Nigeria during 2001–2020. The results disclose that all models are well-specified such that the likelihood of Type I errors is minimum and below the significance level of 5%. In order to demonstrate the power of the test, the simulations completed identify that the modified Jones model exhibits the highest power capability. The implication of this finding is that the modified Jones model is the most appropriate model to detect earnings management based on the Nigerian sample
Experimental Analysis of the Dual Source Heat Pump with Varying Water Temperature
Get PDFThe aim is to examine how water temperature influence the coefficient of performance (COP)of a dual-source heat pump (DSHP) and to show how water temperature influence the relationship between heating capacity and power consumption of the DSHP..
Socio-Economic and Security Ramifications of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe
Get PDFThe outbreak of COVID-19 came with serious socio-economic and national security implications across the globe. While more deaths were recorded in developed countries than in developing countries, socio-economic impacts were, however, more pronounced in developing countries than in developed countries. In this study, we examined the socio-economic and national security implications of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe. The study adopted a mixed-methods design, with202 participants recruited from Harare Central Business District through quota and purposive sampling techniques. Findings revealed that poverty, hunger and starvation, and rising unemployment were the major socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe. In terms of security, domestic violence was considered the most prevalent crime during COVID-19, followed by corruption. The study concludes that restrictive measures during public health emergencies come with a host of negative socio-economic impacts, which require sound mitigatory measures from governments. The study recommends a number of social measures to mitigate this outcome, namely providing social grants to vulnerable citizens, implementing partial rather than total lockdowns, and limiting the powers of law enforcement agents during public health emergencies
In Vitro Anti-Venom Potentials of Aqueous Extract and Oils of Toona ciliata M. Roem against Cobra Venom and Chemical Constituents of Oils
Get PDFThere are high mortality and morbidity rates from poisonous snakebites globally. Many medicinal plants are locally used for snakebite treatment in Uganda. This study aimed to determine the in vitro anti-venom activities of aqueous extract and oils of Toona ciliata against Naja melanoleuca venom. A mixture of venom and extract was administered intramuscularly in rats. Anticoagulant,antiphospholipase A2(PLA2) inhibition assay, and gel electrophoresis for anti-venom activities of oils were done. The chemical constituents of the oils of Ciliata were identified using Gas chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (GC-MS/MS). The LD50of the venom was 0.1680.21g/g. The venom and aqueous extract mixture (1.25g/g and 3.5 mg/g) did not cause any rat mortality, while the control with venom only (1.25g/g) caused death in 1 h. The aqueous extract ofT. Ciliata inhibited the anticoagulation activity of N. melanoleucavenom from 18.58 min. to 4.83 min and reduced the hemolytic halo diameter from 24 to 22 mm. SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis showed that oils completely cleared venom proteins. GC-MS/MS analysis showed that the oils had sesquiterpene hydrocarbons(60%) in the volatile oil (VO) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (48.89%) in the non-volatile oils (NVO).Some major compounds reported for the first time inT. ciliataNVOs were: Rutamarin (52.55%),-Himachalol (9.53%), Girinimbine (6.68%) and Oprea1 (6.24%). Most compounds in the VO were reported for the first time in T. ciliata, including the major ones Santalene (8.55%) and Himachal-7-ol(6.69%). The result showed that aqueous extract and oils ofT. Ciliata have anti-venom/procoagulant activities and completely neutralised the venom. We recommend a study on isolation and testing the pure compounds against venom
Organisational Capacity for Learners: Let Them All Speak and Write
Get PDFIn classroom situations encouraging learners to holistically engage in spoken and written tasks in English language learning with characteristics of being additional and unfamiliar, is equated to enhancing learning environment, thereby fostering individualand collective growth. For organizations to inspire recipients with speaking and writing abilities, this leads to innovative solutions. This paper seeks to inquire whether fostering opportunities in an organizational capacity for learners to engage in speaking and written activities have any significant importance towards enhanced language development. Underpinning this inquiry is a qualitative research approach with a case study design to explore key characteristics of the studied case. To gather data, five conveniently nominated participants were identified from a rurally located institution of higher learning. Semi-structured interviews led to a thematic analysis of gathered data. Findings revealed that through consistent engagements in spoken and written texts (i) there were improved communication skills and (ii) the development of an inclusive learning environment. The study concludes that when learner communication skills have been refined, this is tantamount to academic excellence with recommendations that individual learner contributions should be valued as inclusion promotes mutual responsiveness among teachers and learners not only in language learning but across all subjects underpinning curriculum
Fixed Point Theory in External Parametric Sb-Metric Spaces and Its Applications
Get PDFThis article introduces the novel concept of an extended parametric Sb-metric space, which is a generalization of both Sb-metric spaces and parametric Sb-metric spaces. Within this extended framework, we first establish an analog version of the Banach fixed-point theorem for self-maps.We then prove an improved version of the Banach contraction principle for symmetric extended parametric Sb-metric spaces, using an auxiliary function to establish the desired result. Finally, we provide illustrative examples and an application for determining solutions to Fredholm integralequations, demonstrating the practical implications of our work