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Assignment of spin and parity to states in the nucleus ¹⁹⁶T1
No full textThis work presents a study of high-spin states in the nucleus ¹⁹⁶Tl via γ-spectroscopy.
¹⁹⁶Tl was produced via the ¹⁹⁷Au(⁴He,5n) ¹⁹⁶Tl reaction at a beam energy of 63 MeV. The γ-γ coincidence measurements were performed using the AFRODITE γ-spectrometer array at iThemba LABS. The previous level scheme of ¹⁹⁶Tl has been extended up to an excitation of 4071 keV including 24 new γ-ray transitions. The spin and parity assignment to levels was made from the directional correlation of oriented nuclei (DCO) and linear polarization anisotropy ratios. An analysis of the B(M1)/B(E2) ratios was found to be consistent with the configuration of πh₉/₂♁vi₁₃/₂ for the ground state band. Although no chiral band was found in ¹⁹⁶TI and ¹⁹⁸TI
Investigating and expanding learning in co-management of fisheries resources to inform extension training
No full textThis study investigates and expands learning associated with the co-management of fisheries
resources to inform extension and training in the fisheries sector in two case study sites in
Malawi. The study was located in the field of environmental education with a specific focus
on community learning, agency and sustainability practices in co-management of fisheries
resources. It focuses on how fisheries stakeholder learning can be mediated through
expansive social learning processes to inform extension and training in the Malawi fisheries
sector and aims at understanding learning as an emergent, agency centred process of change
through social learning models that are said to have power to mobilise community agency for
change.
The empirical research for the study was conducted in two Malawian fishing communities: in
Lake Malombe and the south-east arm of Lake Malawi using qualitative case study research
design. The two sites were selected because they were the first sites in Malawi to implement
fisheries co-management programmes following the failure of centralised management of
fisheries resources. Data was generated through interviews, focus group discussions,
document analysis, observations and change laboratory workshops in both sites. The two
sites fall under one administrative office based in Mangochi where the two important
institutions of the sector – the Fisheries Research Unit of the Department of Fisheries and the
Fisheries College (a government institution responsible for the training of extension services)
are also based. Both sites have implemented new governance structures named Beach
Village Committees which are community-based organisational structures that function in
parallel with traditional authorities to manage the fishery.
Contextual and literature review work showed that extension services and programmes over
the past hundred years, as observed in the fisheries sector in Malawi and in extension services
elsewhere, have co-evolved with approaches to natural resources management. Early
approaches to natural resources management involved traditional management (associated
extension services and programmes were community based); later fisheries governance
practices changed to centralised management and associated extension approaches were
mainly top-down involving command and control or technology transfer. These early
approaches have been problematic as resource users were pushed away from their own
resources and were viewed as poachers. This resulted in loss of ownership among resources
users. Recently in Malawi, after the change of government to democracy in 1994, fisheries
management policy focused on co-management and/or adaptive co-management approaches,
an approach that has also been adopted in other African water bodies. This has implications
for extension service programmes in the fisheries sector that are not yet well defined.
The study’s literature review revealed that co-management approaches assume collaborative
learning, or co-learning, also termed social learning, or approaches that promote the engagement of different actors who are working on shared practice. They also assume a new
form of agency among co-management stakeholders and extension workers. However, the
theoretical foundations for establishing co-learning or social learning approaches in support
of co-management policies are not well established in the fisheries co-management sector in
Malawi, nor are the practices of how to support co-learning amongst diverse stakeholders in
the fisheries co-management in the Lake Malawi context. This study sought to address this
gap in knowledge and practice
Montane Wetlands of the South African Great Escarpment : plant communities and environmental drivers
No full textWetlands provide a number of valuable functions to both the surrounding environment and society. The anaerobic conditions created by flooding in wetlands provide a habitat that supports unique assemblages of plant life. High altitude wetlands are amongst the most species-rich in South Africa. They house a number of rare species and play a vital role in the supply of water to lower lying areas. These are some of the reasons that mountain wetlands are of high conservation value.
A phytosociological study was undertaken on the high altitude wetlands of the Great Escarpment with the aim of classifying the plant communities and identifying the environmental drivers of plant community patterns within these ecosystems. Data collection was focused in the Eastern Cape and was supplemented with data from existing studies to gain a more complete understanding of the wetlands of the Great Escarpment of South Africa.
Using the Braun-Blanquet approach, Hierarchical Cluster Analysis and Indicator Species Analysis; five broad wetland groups were identified, comprised of 33 individual plant communities and 81 indicator species. Multivariate analysis, including Canonical Correspondence Analysis revealed that the effects of altitude, such as temperature and rainfall, are the most significant large-scale drivers of vegetation patterns. Smaller scale drivers include wetness and soil nutrients including nitrogen, phosphorus, electrical conductivity, sodium, and organic content.
The identification of indicator species served to reveal potentially important wetland species across different areas of the Great Escarpment. The effects of altitude on plant community patterns highlights the susceptibility of the high altitude specific communities to upward temperature zone shifts resulting from global warming. Other threats include livestock trampling, water extraction, and land use change for agricultural purposes. The relative absence of alien species in these wetlands gives an indication of their pristine condition and therefore their importance as a reference from which they may be monitored. A large proportion of the wetlands studied here occur outside protected areas, and given the rate of wetland loss in South Africa, it is important that continued effective land management is practiced to ensure that these ecosystems are conserved in the future
A sociological analysis of the production, marketing and distribution of contemporary popular music by Zambian musicians
No full textThe purpose of this research was to gather information about the production, marketing and
distribution of Zambian contemporary music by Zambian musicians. Very little information has
been documented about the development of the Zambian music industry, particularly from the
perspective of those within the industry. As a result this study attempted to add to this
knowledge. To achieve this Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical concepts of ‘fields’ and ‘habitus’ were
used to gain an understanding of what affects the creation of art forms such as music as well as
the structures and underlying processes within the music industry. The concept of ‘fields’
usefully framed an explanation of the struggles and connections within the various fields in the
industry and a view of the Zambian music industry in relation to the international industry. To
gather the data necessary for this research a qualitative approach was utilised involving semistructured
in-depth questionnaires from twenty-three interviewees. These interviewees were
selected from various sectors of the music industry in an attempt to gain a holistic perspective of
the industry in the 21st century. There were four subgroups: the artists (singers, rappers and
instrumentalists), managers, radio DJs, and a miscellaneous group made up of the remaining
participants, a Sounds Arcade manager, a music journalist, the National Arts Council
Chairperson, a Zambia Music Copyright Protection Society (ZAMCOPS) administrator, and the
then President of the Zambia Association of Musicians (ZAM). With the limited exposure to
formal musical, instrumental and production training, musicians, instrumentalists, managers and
studio production personnel interviewed had had to learn their craft on-the-job. This limited
knowledge appears to add to the hindrance of the development of careers and the industry,
particularly in terms of how to register and distribute music correctly to earn royalties and
protect their intellectual property against piracy. From an institutional level piracy is being
addressed more forcefully with the introduction of holograms and the tightening of policies and
structures to do with the music industry
The investigation of perceptions of professional nurses regarding care of mental health care users in a general hospital setting
No full textThis study sought to explore the perceptions of professional nurses regarding care of stabilised mental health care users in a general hospital setting. A qualitative, explanatory, descriptive and contextual design was used for the study. A non-probability, purposive sampling method was used to select 12 participants from the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The services of an independent interviewer were used to avoid any bias as interviews took place where the researcher is employed. The services of an editor were also used for language control (see Annexure H).
The researcher repeatedly listened to the tapes used for data collection until completely satisfied with the interpretation of verbatim data. The research study was conducted in an ethically reflective manner and trustworthiness was ensured at all times.
Four themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews: fear, stigma, myths and training. The researcher utilised the services of an independent coder who verified the identified major themes.
The findings revealed that participants were fearful due to lack of knowledge, experience and psychiatric nursing skills. Participants feared because they lack knowledge about psychiatric medication and because mental health care users may have relapse. The participants also attached a stigma to mental health care users, which resulted in poor communication between participants and the stabilised mental health care user; a negative attitude towards mental health care users; and non-acceptance. Participants believed in myths about mental illness; they regarded it as contagious; and perceived mental health care users as dangerous. The participants strongly recommended that training should be provided to improve their knowledge and skills to enable them to care for stabilised mental health care users in a general hospital setting. The following should be facilitated: in-service training; adoption of a positive attitude; dispersal of myths and fear; education about referral systems; and allocation of specialist psychiatric nurses to medical wards for referral purposes with regard to complicated cases
Effects of Aloe ferox in drinking water, on growth performance, blood parameters, meat quality, fatty acid profile and oxidative stability of broiler meat.
No full textThe objective of the study was to determine the effects of Aloe ferox inclusion in drinking water on growth performance, blood biochemistry, physico-chemical characteristics, fatty acid profile and oxidative stability of broiler meat. The importance of A. ferox as a medicinal plant and factors that influence its utilization by communal poultry farmers were also investigated by use of a questionnaire survey. The survey revealed that the majority of respondents (84.6%) faced health challenges in their chickens and many relied (96.2%) on A. ferox to treat diseases and control parasites. The study also revealed that the choice of medicine (traditional or conventional) was influenced (P<0.05) by level of education and income. In the second phase of the research, a total of 600 Ross 308 day-old broilers, were randomly put in 6 treatment groups with 4 replicates, each having 25 birds. Fresh aqueous A. ferox leaf juice (ALJ) was administered in drinking water at a dosage of 20ml/litre to T1, T2 and T3 from day one to day 35, day one to day 14 and day 15 to day 28, respectively. Birds in T4 and T5 (positive controls) were treated with terramycin at the recommended dosage of 14g/litre of drinking water from day one to day 6 and from day 15 to 20, respectively; and birds in T6 (negative control) received distilled water from day 1 to 35. Feed Intake (FI), average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated for the 5 week trial. After slaughter, carcass characteristics particularly dressing percentage (DP) and relative organ weight (ROW) were calculated. Serum biochemistry was also determined. For meat quality, pH and color were recorded 45 minutes and 24 hours after slaughter from the breast muscle. Fatty acid profiling and oxidative stability were determined using meat samples from the breast and thigh muscles.
The results for growth performance showed that thebirds which were given A. ferox for the first two weeks (T2) consumed significantly (P>0.05) more feed (189.4g) than those in the negative control (159.6g) at the beginning of the starter phase. Subsequently, their ADG recorded on day 7 (27.1g) and day 14 (43.1g) were significantly (P<0.05) higher than the negative control (22.8g and 36.2g, respectively). Significant treatment effects (P<0.05) for FCR were reported in the 4th week for the birds that received A. ferox throughout (T1: 3.5). Carcass characteristics were not significantly (P>0.05) affected by A. ferox inclusion in drinking water. The highest high density lipoprotein (HDL) values (2.78 mmol/L) were yielded in T2and T3 had the lowest values (0.61mmol/L) for low density lipoprotein (LDL). For physico-chemical properties, no significant effects (P>0.05) of treatment on pH, colour, cooking loss and tenderness were observed. However, the group treated with A.ferox throughout the production cycle, had the highest pH (6.2), lowest lightness (38.5), highest redness (4.1), highest tenderness (13.86N) and the lowest cooking loss (12.6%). Significant treatment effects (P<0.05) were observed on the composition of the PUFA eicosatrienoic acid (C20:3c8, 11, 14(n-6)) of the breast muscle which was significantly lower in the A. ferox treatment groups than the positive controls. For the thigh muscle, there were significant (P<0.05) treatment effects on composition of palmitoleic acid (C16:1c9) and g-linolenic acid (C18:3c6, 9, 12 (n-3)). No significant (P>0.05) effects were found on oxidative stability of both thigh and breast muscles. In conclusion, the wide use of A. ferox by communal chicken farmers showed its importance as a medicinal plant. Apart from it being an effective medicinal plant, A. ferox inclusion in drinking water results in improved FI, ADG, reduced in LDLC and better g-linolenic and palmitoleic acid composition in the meat.
Keywords: Aloe ferox, feed intake, average daily gain, feed conversion ratio, blood biochemistry, fatty acid composition
Public Policy Management IV : PUPY4/0
No full textExamination on Public Policy Management IV : PVPY4/0, June 201
"Blade what's good?"
No full textOn Wednesday, 21 October 2015, Rhodes University closed in solidarity with the higher education sector as students and staff embarked on nationwide protest action against the shortage of funding in the South African higher education sector. #FeesMustFall is a national student led protest movement that began in mid-October 2015 in response to proposed increases in fees at South African universities. These images depict the peaceful march and illustrate the extent of solidarity among staff, students and community members who joined in support of the protest
"Education in Hogwarts is free and that is real magic"
No full textOn Wednesday, 21 October 2015, Rhodes University closed in solidarity with the higher education sector as students and staff embarked on nationwide protest action against the shortage of funding in the South African higher education sector. #FeesMustFall is a national student led protest movement that began in mid-October 2015 in response to proposed increases in fees at South African universities. These images depict the peaceful march and illustrate the extent of solidarity among staff, students and community members who joined in support of the protest
"Free Oscar (yes) free education (?)"
No full textOn Wednesday, 21 October 2015, Rhodes University closed in solidarity with the higher education sector as students and staff embarked on nationwide protest action against the shortage of funding in the South African higher education sector. #FeesMustFall is a national student led protest movement that began in mid-October 2015 in response to proposed increases in fees at South African universities. These images depict the peaceful march and illustrate the extent of solidarity among staff, students and community members who joined in support of the protest