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A missiological analysis of strategies of the Seventh-day Adventist Church missionaries in South Africa
No full textThe Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) was organised in 1860 in the United States of America (USA). In the 1890s, the church was established in South Africa among White people (Mafani 2011:84). The church employed different strategies to convert the people in South Africa. The reason for this study was to identify and analyse the strategies used by SDA missionaries to convert people to Christianity in South Africa. The researcher used the praxis cycle of Madge Karecki as an analytical framework to analyse the missionary activities of the SDA missionaries at three mission stations. This was done by reading the primary "missionary reports" and "archival documents" written by SDA missionaries, or others who wrote about SDA missionary work in South Africa. The researcher visited the archives, selected books on the missionaries, and documented the histories of the missionaries, as well as others on the mission activities that took place. The study found that the strategies were marked by evils such as racism, militant sectarianism, and blind support of oppressive economic and political systems. The missionary strategies were not contextualised to fit in the local situation of the African people. The missionary strategies focused only on the teachings of the Bible and failed to address issues of human dignity and social justice. The SDA missionary strategies were Eurocentric and failed to consider the local cultures of the African people
Triazole fungicide sensitivity among South African Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici isolates
No full textDissertation (M.Sc.(Botany))--University of the Free State, 2022Wheat is an important crop and a key component in the diet of people, particularly in developing countries such as South Africa (SA; Pathak and Shrivastav, 2015). The crop is produced worldwide and is considered the most important source of food (Igrejas and Branlard, 2020). Two closely related species Triticum aestivum L. (bread wheat) and T. durum (durum wheat) are widely cultivated with global production dominated by countries including China, India, Russia, Ukraine and the United States of America (USA; OECD-FAO, 2020). During the 2019 to 2021 production seasons, SA produced an average of 1.8 million metric tons of bread wheat (CEC-Sagis, 2021), with nearly 42.2% of the total wheat yield contributed by spring wheat cultivars planted under dry land in the Western Cape province (Galal, 2021). Rust diseases are present in most areas where wheat is cultivated (Kolmer, 2005; Pretorius et al., 2020). Stem rust of wheat and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), caused by Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici Eriks. and E. Henn. (Pgt), is considered the most damaging wheat disease in history (Pretorius et al., 2017). Recent reports indicate this pathogen’s re-emergence in areas after decades of absence (Lewis et al., 2018; Tsushima et al., 2022). Kernels harvested from rust infected wheat are nutrient poor and low in test weight, while healthy kernels are plump and nutrient rich (Agrios, 2005). Disease control is important to maintain the production of high yielding wheat and is achieved through different control strategies, including fungicide application, a strategy widely practiced in SA (Roelfs et al., 1992; Soko et al., 2018; Anonymous, 2020b).
Rust pathogens are known for their ability to overcome monogenic sources of resistance, rapid dispersal over thousands of kilometres (Visser et al., 2019) and exponential rate of development into epidemics under favourable conditions. Stem rust mainly affects the stems of wheat during grain fill, as such fungicide applications are considered less effective if not applied preventatively (Wanyera et al., 2009; Tadesse et al., 2010). The effective chemical control of stem rust depends on application timing, adequate downward translocation of the active ingredient (a. i.) or coverage of the stem area (Bayer Crop Science, n.d.). The occurrence of fungicide insensitivity in populations of fungal pathogens limits the efficacy and period during which fungicides remain effective. Loss in fungicide efficiency contributes to increased costs associated with new fungicide development (Ma and Michailides, 2005). Fungicide insensitivity is the acquired and heritable decrease in the sensitivity of isolates to the a. i. present within a fungicide formulation (Brent and Hollomon, 2007). The widespread, repeated, and incorrect fungicide application as well as overreliance on a particular a. i. increases the risk of fungicide insensitivity. However, it may also occur without prior exposure in a phenomenon known as cross-resistance where insensitivity develops for different fungicides having a. i. with similar modes of action (Kang et al., 2019; McGrath, 2001). This insensitivity is usually to the mode of action of the a. i. of the specific fungicide and is a result of selection pressure exerted on the fungal population (Brent and Hollomon, 2007)
Absenteeism of factory workers at the Grain Field Chickens Abattoir
No full textDissertation (MBA. (Business Administration))--University of the Free State, 2022This research was conducted to assess absenteeism at the Grain Field Chickens broiler abattoir in Reitz. This was assessed through the analyses of absenteeism by contextualizing the different forms of absenteeism according to the literature; determining the contributing factors of absenteeism; determining how absenteeism affects the workplace and determining if strategies exist to assist in reducing absenteeism. The researcher adopted a quantitative research design where questionnaires were distributed. The researcher used Regression Analysis, Kruskall-Wallis analysis, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, and Chi-Squared Analysis to analyse the results. The population consisted of 352 factory workers working at the Grain Field Chickens Abattoir. The primary explanatory factor of absenteeism was found to be years of employment, followed by family responsibility. It was found that as the years of employment increase, the rate of absenteeism increases. The average absent days for employees that are employed for less than three years were 8.93 days per year, while employees that are employed for longer than three years were absent on average of 20.39 days per year. It was found that the average absent days for employees with family members in their care were 18.67 days per year, as opposed to 9.16 days per year for employees who do not have a family member in their care. Based on the findings, absenteeism figures should be documented in such a way as to inform managers of any adverse trends that may exist
Spectropolarimetric behaviour of a selection of high-energy blazars
No full textDissertation (M.Sc.(Physics))--University of the Free State, 2022Blazars form part of the jetted class of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), with a relativistic jet
closely aligning
to the observer’s line of sight. Due, in part, to this viewing angle, these sources are
characterised by Doppler-boosted emission across the entire electromagnetic spectrum that is
variable on timescales from years down to minutes. These are some of the most numerous
extragalactic γ-ray sources, dominated by polarised non-thermal emission produced by relativistic
leptons and/or hadrons moving within the jet- component. Blazars are subdivided into two
categories: BL Lac-type objects (BLLs), and Flat-Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs). They are
classified based on the presence/absence and equivalent widths of optical spectral features, as
well as the location of their synchrotron peak frequencies. Blazar SEDs are characterised by two
broad, non-thermal components, along with an underlying thermal contribution at optical/ultraviolet
wavelengths due to the accretion disc, host galaxy, and broad-line region of the blazar. However,
the nature and origin of the non-thermal, high-energy emission remains unclear, as it can be
reproduced by two different models, each assuming different particle populations and emission
regions that produce the emission. Polarimetry provides a unique diagnostic tool to probe the
polarisation signatures of the emission at optical wavelengths. The investigation of the
polarisation of blazar emission aides in constraining the particle populations and acceleration
mechanisms responsible for the non-thermal emission at lower energies, and constraining the
high-energy emission and polarisation. It also places constraints on the accretion disc component
and mass of the supermassive black hole, and sheds light on the structure of the jet’s magnetic
field. Here, an optical spectropolarimetric study of a selection of high-energy blazars was
undertaken. The aims of this project was to: first, investigate the change in the degree of
polarisation from high to low states, second, monitor the evolution of polarisation in BLLs and
FSRQs over a long period of time, and last, investigate overall trends in the behaviour of the
sample of blazars, and compare it to what has been found in other population studies. To achieve
these goals, optical spectropolarimetric observations were taken of eighteen blazars (six BLLs and
twelve FSRQs) using the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), complemented by optical
photometric data from the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO), and γ- ray data from the Fermi Large Area
Telescope (LAT). For the population of blazars investigated, it was found that FSRQs tend to reach
higher degrees of polarisation than BLLs during high states. More regular occurrences of high
states and a wider range of polarisation levels were observed for FSRQs. For both BLLs and FSRQs,
the average degree of polarisation was higher while the γ-ray fluxes were still on the rise than
while it was decreasing to a lower state. In agreement with what was found by the RoboPol
monitoring campaign, the degree of polarisation showed no clear correlation with the γ-ray
luminosity or redshift of the source, but showed a significant anti-correlation with the location
of the synchrotron peak frequency (νsy) of the sources. Two sources with noteworthy results were AP
Lib and PKS 1510–089. For AP Lib,
long-term variations in the optical and γ-ray fluxes were detected, with the same behaviour
mirrored in the degree of polarisation, but lagging by ∼ 54 days. PKS 1510–089 was observed
multiple times in 2022, during an unprecedented low-state in which the non-thermal emission from
the jet diminished completely. This project serves as a good basis for further investigation of
blazar polarisation, both in optical/ultraviolet and X-ray/γ-ray regimes.National Research Foundation (NRF
The contribution of Paul Hiebert to folk religion: a missiological study among the Dendis of North-East Benin
No full textThesis (Ph.D. (Practical and Missional Theology))--University of the Free State, 2022Hiebert contends that one of the reasons Christian mission has failed or not been very successful among folk religion, is the long ignorance of the folk religion worldview held by many of the early Western Christian missionaries (1982:35-47). Building on insights from his classic essay on the “excluded middle,” Paul Hiebert suggests a new concept and paradigm for cross-cultural mission–a three-tiered view of the universe (1982:44-47).
Firstly, using the Dendi people of North-East Benin as the context of the empirical study, this research examined the impact of a phenomenological study of folk religion mission among folk religionists. The researcher argues in this research that the implications for missions of Hiebert’s three-tiered view of the universe is the development of two theological concepts: “a theology of the invisible” (Hiebert et al. 1999:370) and “a theology of the kingdom of God.” (Love 2000:40; cf. Bosch 1991:10; Glasser et al. 2003:74; Hiebert et al. 1999:25; Ott et al. 2010: 65, 315).
Secondly, this researcher reviewed the Dendi responses to spirit attacks with ruqyah and adorcism and discusses how a Christian ritual of exorcism could replace these Dendi crisis rituals. The objective of this study was to evaluate how life crises or special events in the life of the Dendi people call for radical shifts or paradigm shifts. The ethnographic research of this study comprised interviews conducted in two different cities (Kandi and Malanville). The data randomly collected from 28 Dendi adult men and women was analyzed and interpreted using ATLAS.ti 9, a Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS). The qualitative data obtained from the field not only established the fact that the Islam practiced by the Dendi is still heavily influenced by the Dendi animist pre-Islamic worldview, but that a mission strategy that focuses on the people’s felt needs would be most efficient.
This study concludes that the felt need approach to mission among folk religion should be preferred and encouraged in Christian mission, because it is Christological missiology, holistic mission, which leads to worldview transformation and conversion: first meet the felt needs of the people and then invite them to follow Jesus (Love 2000:91; Ott et al. 2010:276; White 1905:143).
___________________________________________________________________Paul Hiebert voer aan dat een van die redes waarom Christelike sendings misluk het of nie baie suksesvol was onder volksgodsdienstiges nie, is die voortdurende onkunde van die wêreldbeskouing van volksgodsdiens wat deur baie van die vroeë Westerse Christelike sendelinge gehuldig is (1982:35-47). Hy bou voort op die bevindinge van sy klassieke opstel oor die “uitgeslote middel”, deur ’n nuwe konsep en paradigma vir kruiskulturele sendings voor te stel – ’n drieledige siening van die heelal (1982:44-47). Eerstens, deur die Dendi-mense van Noordoos-Benin as konteks van die empiriese studie te gebruik, ondersoek hierdie navorsing die impak van ’n fenomenologiese studie van volksgodsdienssending onder volksgodsdienstiges.
Die navorser argumenteer in hierdie navorsing dat die implikasies vir sendings van Hiebert se drieledige siening van die heelal, die ontwikkeling van twee teologiese konsepte is: “’n teologie van die onsigbare” (Hiebert et al. 1999:370) en “’n teologie van die koninkryk van God.” (Love 2000:40; vgl. Bosch 1991:10; Glasser et al. 2003:74; Hiebert et al. 1999:25; Ott et al. 2010: 65, 315). Tweedens het hierdie navorser die Dendi-reaksies op geestelike aanvalle met ruqyah en adorcisme hersien en bespreek hoe ’n Christelike ritueel van eksorsisme hierdie Dendi-krisisrituele kan vervang. Die doel van hierdie studie was om te evalueer hoe lewenskrisisse of spesiale gebeurtenisse in die lewe van die Dendi-mense radikale verskuiwings of paradigmaverskuiwings vereis. Die etnografiese navorsing van hierdie studie het bestaan uit onderhoude wat in twee verskillende stede (Kandi en Malanville) gevoer is.
Die data wat lukraak ingesamel is van 28 volwasse Dendi-mans en –vroue, is ontleed en geïnterpreteer met behulp van ATLAS.ti 9, ’n rekenaarondersteunde, kwalitatiewe, data-analise-sagteware (CAQDAS). Die kwalitatiewe data wat in die veld verkry is, het nie net die feit vasgestel dat die Islam wat deur die Dendi-mense beoefen word, steeds sterk beïnvloed word deur die Dendi-animistiese pre-Islamitiese wêreldbeskouing nie, maar dat ’n sendingstrategie wat fokus op die behoeftes wat mense ervaar, die doeltreffendste sou wees. Hierdie studie kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat die behoefte-benadering wat ervaar is om sendingwerk onder volksgodsdienstiges te doen, voorkeur moet geniet en aangemoedig moet word tydens Christelike sendings, want dit is Christologiese missiologie en holistiese sendingwerk wat lei tot wêreldbeskouingstransformasie en bekering: voldoen eers aan die behoeftes wat die mense ervaar en nooi hulle dan uit om Jesus te volg (Love 2000:91; Ott et al. 2010:276; White 1905:143).
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The water footprint of biodiesel produced from sunflower in South Africa
No full textThe use of feedstock crops for the production of biodiesel suggests that biodiesel production may have a major impact on the scarce freshwater resource in South Africa. This paper aimed to assess the green plus blue water footprints (WFgreen+blue) of biodiesel produced from sunflower in South Africa using the Global Water Footprint Standard approach. The green (WFgreen) and blue water footprint (WFblue) at the farm level were assessed for sunflower grown under the rain-fed and irrigation production system respectively. The results show that 2617 m3 and 2477 m3 are required to produce 1 ton of rain-fed and irrigated sunflower respectively. At the processing level, about 7.12 L of blue water is required to produce 1 L of biodiesel from sunflower. The WFblue at the processing stage of biodiesel produced from irrigated sunflower was 1.01 m3/GJ, compared to 1.15 m3 m3/GJ from rain-fed sunflower. The WFgreen+blue of biodiesel produced from irrigated and rainfed sunflower was 2477 and 2617 m3/ton, respectively. WFgreen was the largest, accounting for about 59% and 99% for biodiesel produced from irrigated and rain-fed sunflower, respectively. It was further found that water consumption at the farm level accounted for about 99% of the WFgreen+blue of biodiesel in both production systems. Management practices that improve water use efficiency at the farm level may help to lower the WFgreen+blue of biodiesel. Interestingly, the WFgreen+blue is lower for biodiesel produced from irrigated sunflower than for rainfed sunflower. The blue water scarcity assessment showed that blue water scarcity is low during the period when sunflower requires water. As such, purely from a water use perspective, irrigated sunflower production in the Orange Riet Irrigation Scheme may be considered sustainable.Publisher's versio
Trauma and memorying in King's killing Karoline, Msimang's always another country and Smith's the camp whore
No full textIn this study I read Smith’s The Camp Whore (2017), King’s Killing Karoline (2017) and Msimang’s Always Another Country (2017) through theories of life narratives, memory, trauma and feminisms in order to unpack the representation of the authors and fictional character, Susan (Smith), in relation to narration, gender, belonging, memory and identity reformation. The study also considers the autobiographical and fictional characters as gendered subjects, their specific experiences in history and everyday life experiences and the different ways in which the narrators attempt to resist existing oppressions, engage in memory making and healing, and reconstitute themselves. Therefore, this study evaluates the narrators' life experiences through South Africa's history, their individual traumatic and other lived experiences, and how this leads to the reconstruction of their identities. This study also evaluates how the narrators claim their place in historical events such as the Anglo-Boer War, the apartheid and post-apartheid era, and the way their narratives engage with official histories. These objectives assisted in developing an analysis of the ways in which the auto-biographers, King and Msimang, and the fictional character, Susan, resist their oppressions, partake in memory making and healing, and reconstructing their identities. The research also presents the link between the authors and character under study’s experiences and the recollection of their countries’ history. I therefore underline further the link between their individual traumatic and other lived experiences and their identity reformation. In addition, I consider how the women reflect their agency and subjectivity through finding healing and attaining their subjectivity through writing
The influence of scientific investigation workshops on life science teachers’ attitudes towards scientific investigations
No full textDissertation (M.Ed.(Curriculum Studies))--University of the Free State, 2022Life Science teachers’ attitudes play a vital role in successful scientific investigations. Some Life Science teachers situated in the central part of South Africa might experience challenges that include a lack of the necessary scientific knowledge and skills that hinder scientific investigations. These challenges might adversely influence Life Science teachers’ attitudes towards conducting scientific investigations, which might result in them conducting the minimum number of investigations with their learners. Professional, in-service training workshops allow teachers to develop the necessary scientific knowledge and skills to successfully conduct scientific investigations. This study aimed to understand how a scientific investigation workshop might affect Life Science teachers’ attitudes by measuring the ABC attitude model’s affective, cognitive and behavioural components. This research provided information on how vital in-service training programmes such as this scientific investigation workshop are in fostering positive attitudes toward scientific investigations. The findings that emerged from this study imply that implementing this scientific investigation workshop has developed Life Science teachers’ confidence in their science skills and knowledge to facilitate scientific investigations. The findings also indicate that this scientific investigation workshop caused a significant improvement in teachers’ intended behaviours in implementing scientific apparatus in the science classroom, as they gained valuable knowledge and skills regarding the science apparatus
The role of perceived social support in the relationships between self-esteem and posttraumatic growth in participants living with psychophysiological skin disorders
No full textDissertation(M.A.(Psychology))--University of the Free State, 2022Psychophysiological skin disorders affect a large number of people and are associated with a heavy burden of disease worldwide. It was reported that at least 30% of patients with skin disorders have significant psychological co-morbidities. Many studies only focus on the pathological aspects of these skin ailments, as well as the impact of psychological distress and poor mental health. However, it remains imperative to establish factors that enable these patients to develop their personal strength, to increase their self-esteem, and to receive adequate support. Thus, the aim of this study was to expand on this body of research by investigating the relationship between self-esteem and posttraumatic growth, as well as whether perceived social support moderates or mediates the relationship between self-esteem and posttraumatic growth in participants living with psychophysiological skin disorders.
A sample of 100 participants aged between 18 and 60 years, who met one of the four types of psychophysiological skin disorders that this study included namely, Atopic Dermatitis, Psoriasis, Pruritus, and Alopecia were obtained from a hospital in Bloemfontein, Free State. Participants were selected using a non-probability, convenience sampling method. For the purpose of this study, a quantitative, non-experimental and correlational research design was utilised.
The Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28 was employed to analyse the results of the study. In particular, the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients and multiple hierarchical regression analyses were performed to investigate the research objectives respectively. Results indicated that there is indeed a significant positive relationship between self-esteem and posttraumatic growth, with coefficients indicating a moderate to large effect size. Emotional-informational support, as an aspect of perceived social support, acts as a moderator between self-esteem and posttraumatic growth. Further, tangible support as an aspect of perceived social support did not moderate/mediate the relationship between self-esteem and posttraumatic growth.
The current study’s findings emphasise the implication of distinguishing between the emotional-informational and tangible dimensions of perceived social support in aiding increased self-esteem and posttraumatic growth amongst participants living with psychophysiological skin disorders
Straddling the line between creation and conservation - Reclaiming Kamfers dam
No full textDissertation (M.Arch. (Architecture))--University of the Free State, 2022Architecture ceases not to exist outside its context,every structure is sited among ever-changing climates and cultural conditions. It is shaped by its environment, natural forces, objects over systems, and formal morphology over networks and ecologies. The association of one body with the other aligns itself with a level of accountability and it is in this regard that absolute engagement is defined (Baldwin, 2021). Straddling the line between creation and conservation within the greater context of Kamfers Dam, a permanent wetland located 6km north of Kimberley, Northern Cape. The study responds to ecology with subliminal thresholds, buffer zones, shared notions, established ecosystems, and tangible and intangible tensions that co-exist between various natural and man-made communities. According to Wolfhart Pannenberg, creation is not just placed into existence once, creation needs conservation of its existence in every moment. Thus, conservation is nothing else but a continuous creation that is part of a greater ecosystem (Miller, 2009). The interest of this study proposes a Conservation, Research, and Visitors Centre, which aims to explore how a landscape intervention can better foster, facilitate and narrate the concurrent tensions between humanity and natural systems. The aim is to simultaneously and armoniously mend the “undissolvable unity” between ”creation and conservation”, humanity and nature” and the engagement between various bodies