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The Role of National Land Transport Strategic Framework in enhancing human development, with specific reference to income generation at uMlalazi Local Municipality
Get PDFA thesis submitted the to the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand,2018.Literature of the study showed that the transport studies in general that have examined the causality between transport and economic development. The literature revealed that there is a lack of studies that have specifically examined the role of road transport frameworks in enhancing human development. The present study examined the role of the National Land Transport Strategic Framework (NLTSF) in enhancing human development with a specific reference to income generation at uMlalazi Local Municipality. Using the New Public Management as an approach which guided crafting of strategic plans such as transport frameworks, the study examined the role played by strategic frameworks such as NLTSF in enhancing human development. The study adopted a mixed research method approach for collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data. The study used both approaches for the purposes of fully and broadly comprehending the phenomenon studied. Findings of the study revealed that there is a mixed picture about the contribution of road construction projects towards improving the socioeconomic livelihoods of the subjects of the study area. The study concluded that the provision of proper rural road transport infrastructure enhanced income generation capabilities, improved mobility, and, stimulated economic development through the establishment of small local businesses. However, lack of transparency and adherence to fair practices during the recruitment of projects participants, power contest between traditional leaders and councilors and political dynamics in the implementation of projects appeared to be the key challenges. Therefore, the study recommends the evaluation and monitoring of project recruitment procedures and the intensification of cooperative governance between government and civil society
Awareness and use of Open Access resources by researchers of the University of Zululand
Get PDFA dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master Of Arts in Library and Information Science in the Department of Library and Information Studies at the University Of Zululand, 2018This study set out to investigate whether researchers at the University of Zululand were aware of scholarly open access resources available to them. This involved determining the strategies put in place by the University to promote open access databases and resources and the extent to which the researchers had incorporated these resources into their research. The study also aimed to assess the barriers against and factors in favour of adoption and use open access resources at the University of Zululand.Open access resources are key to assisting institutions in strengthening their research and this study sought to investigate how the institution had progressed in doing this while acting as an awareness tool so that previously uninformed researchers could become knowledgeable about resources available to them. This research was underpinned by the pragmatic paradigm, to effectively carry out mixed method research.
This study was conducted within the natural setting of the research problem and was guided by case study design using a qualitative approach to collect data that helped to understand the population under study in depth. Data was collected directly from the target population by way of questionnaires and focus groups targeted at the researcher population and semi-structured interviews with the information librarians. The questionnaires were used in a survey to gather both qualitative data from open-ended questions and quantitative data from closed-ended questions and the focus group discussion points were not restrictive. This meant that both qualitative and quantitative data were collected concurrently thus saving time. The data from the information librarians was qualitative and assisted in getting a view from the staff tasked with bringing about awareness and promotion of these resources. The target populations for this study were researchers at the University of Zululand and information librarians. Included as researchers were postgraduate students of all faculties at the University of Zululand and academic staff. This brought the target population to 1515 (one thousand five hundred and fifteen) researchers and all four information librarians were targeted. It must be noted that the researcher number also includes some members of the academic staff who are studying part-time. The target population was stratified with the intention of getting respondents in proportion to their numbers at different academic levels and therefore achieve a measure of representivity in an effort to attain external validity. Stratified random sampling was employed across academic levels to sample respondents for participation in the questionnaire survey and the focus group discussions. This resulted in a total of one hundred and twenty-five (125) questionnaires being handed out. Of these, 96 were returned representing a response rate of 76.8%. The study held three focus group discussions with a total of fifteen (15) researchers participating. The study found that not all researchers are aware of the OA resources at their disposal. Of those who are aware, some are not always willing to make use of them or make their own work openly accessible. Researchers expressing awareness could not all be drawn to provide specific named examples of OA databases they use. This suggests a lack of thorough knowledge as to what OA is, while at the same time showcasing the challenges that come from the pressure to “publish or perish”, particularly in the Department of Higher Education and Training-approved journals. Challenges highlighted to using open access resources by researchers included poor or inadequate university ICT infrastructure and lack of adequate information literacy skills.
While the university is not idle, there is need for further awareness and training activities to take place for researchers to realize the maximum potential of the open access movement. This will assist in challenging the negative perceptions attached to OA and at the same time promote them to those who are not familiar with these resources
Impact of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution on peace building and conflict prevention in Nigeria, 2000-2014
No full textA thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor Of Philosophy (Phd) in the Department of History at the University Of Zululand, 2018The study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) on peacebuilding and conflict prevention in Nigeria from 2000 to 2014. Established by the government as it transitioned to democratic governance in 2000, IPCR was mandated to identify the root causes of violent conflict in Nigeria through research and provide possible solutions through evidence-informed policy and practice options, and promotion of peacebuilding strategies. Recurring violent conflicts had not only destroyed several lives and property and displaced millions from their homes, but had also retarded the nation’s growth and development. Drawing from extensive sources of qualitative and quantitative data, the study examined the peacebuilding evidence that had worked and did not work for IPCR, and why, through conflict analysis model, theories of change and intervention theory for organizational development. Through historical, evaluative and descriptive analysis, the study found out that the Institute had within fifteen years of its history contributed to the promotion of peace through design and implementation of relevant, effective and efficient peacebuilding programmes for communities, women, youth, media, legislators, public servants, traditional, religious leaders and civil society. These groups of beneficiaries are the study’s target population. There was a strong evidence to argue that the impact of the interventions were mostly in short-term as it had impacted on the mind and work of beneficiaries but not enough to manage the underlying factors behind the recurrence of violent conflict in Nigeria. Nigeria often relapsed into more violence as soon as it gained some respite. Therefore, to achieve its mandate in the long, coherent and sustainable terms, the study suggests that the Institute must scale up its programmes to drastically stem the tide of violence through community peacebuilding. IPCR must make itself more visible at the community level because that was where most violent conflict originated. While the study recognized the fact that, though, the prevalence and complexity of underlying drivers of conflict in Nigeria were far beyond the ambit of one agency, it recommends the Institute to deepen and broaden its partnership and networks for greater peacebuilding impact. Similarly, the government needs to prioritize peace and security by increasing funding and giving sustainable support to IPCR as a democratic institution. Though much of its intervention impact still needed to be studied and learned, the study contends that better and more expanded programmes will make peacebuilding more effective and promote Nigeria’s peace in the long-term
Import and export demand functions and the Orcutt Hypothesis: evidence from South Africa
Get PDFA dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Administration and Law in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters (M Com) in the Department of Economics at the University Of Zululand, 2018The South African economy is subject to balance-of-payments constraints that retard the growth process before it is able to deliver higher per capita incomes to all South Africans. Whilst most studies that have embarked on addressing this phenomenon have used price and income elasticities as primary determinants of foreign trade, the present study uses the Orcutt hypothesis to investigate whether South Africa’s trade flows respond to exchange rate changes faster than they respond to relative price changes. Particularly, we employ the vector error correction (VECM) technique to estimate both the import and export demand functions and generate the generalised impulse response functions based on cointegration and error correction procedures of Johansen and Juselius (1990) to test the Orcutt hypothesis. Our results of the cointegrated models indicate that South Africa’s trade flows are predominantly influenced by income-both domestic and foreign-, relative prices, exchange rates. The results of the generalised impulse response analysis confirm the existence of Orcutt hypothesis in the South African import demand model and reject it in the case of export demand. According to the results, it takes about two quarters for South African imports to adjust to changes in relative prices and one quarter to adjust to changes in the nominal exchange rate. Meanwhile, export demand, on the other hand, takes about two to respond to changes in relative price and four quarters to respond to changes in the exchange rate. Therefore, on the basis of these results, we recommend that in order to reduce balance -of- payment constraints, South Africa should focus more on strengthening domestic industries and expanding the domestic markets. This should be done by paying a close attention to how exchange rate devaluation policies influence demand for foreign produced goods and by applying more intense commercial policy measures on imports, such as imports taxes and quotas as expenditure switching tools to boost domestic exporting industries
The role of school governing bodies in Rural Section 21 schools in Sisonke District
Get PDFA thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master Of Education in the Department of Comparative and Science Education at the University of Zululand, 2018In the Manual: Guidelines for capacity building of school governing body members, South Africa (2015:12), “research indicates that most of the newly elected SGB members do not have the necessary capabilities to govern schools at the required level”. This view is corroborated by Pamillis (2005:23)’s assertion that “a common obstacle to democratic functioning of schools governing bodies in South Africa is the lack of capacity among many SGB members who may have not only insufficient knowledge of the legal requirements and rights of SGBs, but also lack the necessary education and skills to manage the school’s finances and business dealings and over above these deficiencies the SGB members may lack adequate support systems from the educational bureaucracy. Arguably, it is in light of these possible deficiencies that the South African Schools Act requires provincial departments of education to provide capacity-building programmes for governing bodies. Thus, as a consequence of this lack of the requisite capabilities, “experiences with decentralisation in education are somewhat mixed and often disappointing” (Azfar et al., 2001:8). This prevailing situation in respect of the lack of requisite governance skills is accounted for by the fact that “in South Africa a form of decentralisation has evolved that is strong in terms of devolution, but weak in terms of managing the disparate and often discriminatory proclivities and tendencies within local sites” (Azfar et al., 2001:8). What transpires from this is that “decentralisation South Africas not necessarily promote allocative efficiency […]” (Azfar et al., 2001:8). Thus, Azfar et al., (2001:8) view in this regard is that “whether decentralisation in fact improves or harms public sector performance appears to depend on formal institutional arrangements, as well as their interaction with social practices which influence the implementation of decentralised governance.” It is against this backdrop, therefore, that van Wyk (2007:137) argues that “in ceding power to the local site, the model in use in South Africa has failed to take account of diversity at the local level.” It is worth noting though that despite the failure cited by van Wyk, decentralisation as a pragmatic governance strategy is not dismissed willy-nilly. This view is corroborated by van Wyk’s (2007:137) argument that “the shift to decentralised school governance and management requires SGB members to develop a wide range of skills and capacity to deal with the complex issues and tasks they are expected to fulfil”. Thus, as a response to this predicament, “teachers often mentioned the necessity of providing appropriate training for school governors, particularly the parent representatives” (Van Wyk, 2007:137). Arguably, “skills deficit among SGB members weaken the effective functioning of SGBs (Van Wyk, 2007:135). The situation under discussion is exacerbated by and large by the fact that “there is a lack of accountability and possible participation problems in the relationship between schools and their governing bodies” (Transparency, 31). In the context of this study it is noted that “although the South African schools Act envisioned a system where schools would be community owned and controlled […]”, it is regrettable that “communities still perceive schools as belonging to government and teachers” (Transparency,31). Thus, in light of the numerous challenges cited above as being contributory factors on the seeming ineffectiveness of decentralisation in the education sector, this study sought to establish how best decentralised governance in schools could be harnessed notwithstanding its attendant constraining factors
A philosophical analysis of character education as panacea to Nigeria’s leadership crises
Get PDFPeer reviewed article published under Inkanyiso journal, Volume 10 Number 1, p.63-73, November 2018.A philosophical look through the history of ideas will reveal the importance of
morals to leadership. As a matter of fact, morals and morality pervade every aspect
of human life. Encompassing and successful leadership is not possible without a
good sense of morals. One of the ways of cultivating moral values or virtues is
through moral education, with special emphasis on ‘character’ (character
education). This is because education without character is counter-productive.
Nigeria as a nation, since its amalgamation in 1914 and subsequent independence
in 1960, has witnessed a series of leadership crises at different levels. To many
Nigerians, virtually all Nigeria’s problems could be blamed on leadership crises or
failures. This, in most, if not in all cases, could be anchored in a lack of appropriate
moral sensibilities or moral character on the part of Nigerian leaders, as well as
prevailing unjust or defective political systems. In view of the above, this paper
argues that a part of the reasons why Nigeria has been facing leadership crises
and challenges is because our leaders, both past and present, lack the correct,
adequate, and required moral values and virtues. This is the result of a lack of
moral education and orientation right from childhood. This consequently leads to
unjust political structure. In this regard, this paper argues that good leadership and
governance skills should be cultivated through moral education, right from our
elementary schools, with special emphasis on ‘character education’. With this, our
leadership orientation would significantly change for the better. The paper
concludes that as long as Nigerian society fails to cultivate its leadership skills on
character education, it will continue to witness leadership problems, since
leadership has to do with character traits of the key players and the political
structure in which they operate. This is because both leadership and morality deal
with the implications of an individual’s action to other human beings
Assessment of groundwater quality in a part of Mhlathuze catchment of Empangeni and Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Get PDFA dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science and Agriculture in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters Of Science (MSc) in the Department of Hydrology at the University Of Zululand, 2018The study area comprises of a part of Mhlathuze catchment of Empangeni and Richards bay, KwaZulu Natal. This study has revealed the significance of hydrogeochemical studies in understanding the groundwater quality for drinking and irrigation purposes. The study also identified the hydrogeochemical processes and the probable source of toxic metals in the groundwater. About 40 and 33 groundwater samples were collected in the year 2015 and 2016 respectively and they were analysed. The groundwater ranges from acidic to alkaline in nature. The parameters of drinking water quality such as pH, EC, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cl, HCO3 and SO4 exceeds the permissible limits of WHO standard. The USSL salinity classification revealed that the groundwater samples of the study area are unsuitable for irrigation as high salinity and high alkalinity hazards are observed. The hydrogeochemistry of the major ions in the groundwater are in the order of dominance of Na > K > Ca > Mg and Cl > HCO3 > SO4 in 2015 and Na > Ca> Mg >K and Cl > SO4 > HCO3 in the year 2016. Ca-Mg-Na, Cl-SO4-HCO3, Ca-Mg-Cl, and Na-Cl are the dominant hydrochemical facies. The hydrogeochemical processes that have strong influence on groundwater quality are the rock water interaction, ion exchange, and reverse ion exchange, carbonate and silicate weathering processes and evaporation. PI values specified that the quality of groundwater is good for irrigation purposes. The abundance of metals exhibited the sequence in increasing order as follows: Mn < Si < Fe < B < Cu < Zn < Pb < Al < Li < Co < Ni < Cd < Cr and Si < B < Zn < Ag < Li < Pb < Mn < Al < Cr < Fe < Cd < Co. The water quality analysis clearly revealed that the toxic heavy metals such as Mn, Fe, Pb, Al, Ni, Cd and Cr exceeded the permissible limit of WHO and USEPA drinking water standard. Spatial variation of heavy metals also revealed that the overall part of the study area are extremely hazardous and polluted by landfill site, industrial effluents, mining and associated activities, fertilizers and anthropogenic sources in and around the study area. Consumption of groundwater by the public may cause severe health issues. Generally, the study concludes that the high level of contamination is contemporary in the Empangeni and Richard Bay area. The study also suggests that utilising this baseline informations, reconciliation strategies should be formulated to improve and protect the groundwater quality in the study region.
Production, Characterisation and Application of Bioflocculants from Pure Bacterial Strains and their Consortia Isolated from Sodwana Bay in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa
Get PDFA dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science and Agriculture in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor Of Philosophy (Microbiology) in the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry at the University Of Zululand, 2018Flocculation is the physical purification technique whereby destabilized colloidal particles are enhanced to agglomerate to form large and settleable flocs. Bioflocculants have been the center of attention in bioremediation because of their effectiveness, biodegradability, harmlessness and environmentally inert nature. This study aimed at producing, characterising and applying bioflocculants from pure marine bacteria and their consortia. The medium composition and culture conditions of previously isolated bioflocculant producing strains: Bacillus pumilus JX860616, Bacillus subtilis CSM5 and Alcaligenes faecalis HCB2 and their consortia were optimised. The produced bioflocculants were obtained through solvent extraction and purification. The physicochemical analyses of the bioflocculants were attained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), elemental detector, Zetasizer Nano, Fourier transform infrared (IR) spectrophotometry, liquid chromatography-mass spectrophotometry and thermo gravimetric analyzer. The thermal, pH and salinity stabilities of bioflocculants were evaluated spectrophotometrically. Flocculation mechanism was assessed by Zetasizer Nano. The biosafety of the bioflocculants was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The removal efficiencies of the bioflocculants on biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), sulphur, nitrogen, calcium and aluminium were determined spectrophotometrically in water from the Nhlabane estuary, effluents from the Umhlathuzi and a local coal mine wastewater treatment plants. Bioflocculant production by all the three pure bacterial species and two bacterial consortia was obtained when the inoculum sizes were 2% (v/v) or less. Fructose was effectively utilized for production of crude bioflocculant by B. subtilis CSM5, while maltose was a good carbon source for the bioflocculant production by A. faecalis HCB2. Glucose was preferred for production of crude bioflocculant extracts by Bacillus pumilus JX860616, consortium of B. pumilus JX860616 and B. subtilis CSM5 and consortium of B. pumilus JX860616 and A. faecalis HCB2, respectively. Amonium sulphate was efficiently utilized for bioflocculant production by B. pumilus JX860616 and consortium of B. pumilus JX860616 and B. subtilis CSM5. Urea was the best nitrogen source for production of crude bioflocculants by B. subtilis CSM5 and A. faecalis HCB2, while yeast extract supported production of bioflocculant by consortium of B. pumilus JX860616 and A. faecalis HCB2. The bioflocculants were produced when in optimum culture conditions of: 20-30°C, 55 -165 rpm, after 60-72 hours in different initial medium pH. The extracted and purified bioflocculant yields from bacterial consortia were higher than those of pure strains. B. pumilus JX860616 produced 2.5 g/l, B. subtilis CSM5 had 1.5 g/l and A. faecalis HCB2 had 2.7 g/l). The consortium of B. pumilus JX860616 and B. subtilis CSM5 yielded 3.1 g/l while that of B. pumilus JX860616 and A. faecalis HCB2 gave 3.0 g/l. All purified bioflocculants were cation dependent and relatively effective at low dosage bioflocculants (≤ 0.8 mg/ml). The bioflocculants are anionic glycoproteins in nature and are predominantly composed of carbohydrates. They revealed the presence of elements such as: N, C, O, P, Ca, and Na. IR observations showed that biofloculant TMT was indicative of hydroxyl, vinyl, amide and amino groups. All other bioflocculants (TTT, TKT, TST and TPT) had similar functional groups; hydroxyl, amino and amide groups. The bioflocculants were stable in a wide range of pH and also showed saline and thermal stability. They demonstrated a margin of safety as they revealed insignificant cytotoxic effects. The flocculation process could be as a result of double layer compression by Ba2+, chemical reactions and bridging mechanisms. The bioflocculants were comparatively effectively to convesional flocculants in the removal of pollutants. The results of this study advise that the use of bacterial consortia can improve bioflocculant yields and that bioflocculants have potential to serve as an alternatives to conventional chemical flocculants.National Research Foundation Of South Afric
Effects of Carbon, Nitrogen, Particle size and moisture on Oyster Mushroom Production in KwaZulu Natal - Cedara
Get PDFDissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Faculty of Science and Agriculture, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at the University of Zululand.Mushrooms are liked for their delicious flavour, high protein content and absence of cholesterol. Farmers require guidance in how they can manipulate the current existing mushroom production methods to fit in their cheaper, local ready available raw materials. Mushroom production can be optimized only if its substrate specific requirements are known and well maintained. Different potential sources of carbon and nitrogen such as wheat bran, teff, lucerne, bagasse, maize, sawdust, juncao and hominy chop were analysed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES Analysis). Carbon and nitrogen content was used to set up five carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratios (15:1, 25:1, 35:1, 70:1 and 100:1). Milling of the raw materials was done in three phases which were 8 mm, 12 mm and 25 mm using different sieves of the multi-purpose milling machine. The raw materials were mixed and the water was added to achieve 65% moisture. The raw materials were bagged and pasteurized at 900C for 14 hours. The substrates were inoculated with Pleurotus ostreatus spawn produced at Department of Agriculture and rural Development (DARD). The rate of the mycelium growth and contamination was monitored and recorded. When the substrates were fully colonised, they were cut on top and randomly placed on the wall and irrigated daily. Fresh mushrooms of each mushroom pack were harvested and weighed. The optimum substrate requirements were determined based on best C/N ratio, particle size, biological efficiency and contamination rate. The highest biological efficiency was achieved with the following substrate composition 31.3% bagasse, 6.3% wheat bran, 12.5% maize, 12.5% sawdust, 12.5% hominy chop, 12.5% juncao, 6.3% lurcerne and 6.3% teff with particle size of 8 mm and C/N ratio of 35:1. There are many agro-waste that can be successful used in production of oyster mushrooms, but its combination to form a required optimum C/N ratio is very important. This study showed that the particle size also played a crucial role in mycelium growth. The study concluded that particle size of the raw material when using plastic bag (150x300 mm) must be at least between 8 and 12 mm and C/N ratio should above 25:1 and below 35:1
Novel Precursors for the Synthesis of Metal Selenide Nanoparticles, Thin Films and Alloys
Get PDFA dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science and Agriculture in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor Of Philosophy in Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University Of Zululand, 2018Metal selenides are important semiconducting materials and are highly useful in various electronic and/or thermoelectric devices. Different synthetic protocols are available for preparation of metal selenide nanoparticles and/or thin films. Nonetheless, the use of single source precursors is usually advantageous, as they can be used for the synthesis of metal chalcogenide nanocrystals, and are equally suitable for the deposition of thin films. Furthermore, a better control over stoichiometry and phase can be achieved, due to preformed bonds between metal and chalcogen atom. Numerous sulfur based single source precursors have been used successfully for synthesis of variety of metal sulfide nanoparticles and/or deposition of thin films. However, the use of single source precursors with higher chalcogeno congeners, are not well explored. The prime reason is the difficulty in the synthesis of Se/Te based precursors. Only a limited starting material is available and that too are usually highly toxic, such as, phosphines and/or carbon disulfide. Hence, a facile synthetic route, using comparatively less toxic aterials, is highly desired for the synthesis of selenium containing molecular recursors. In this thesis, we have introduced a new one-pot synthesis of metal (Bi, Sn and Sb) selenobenzoate complexes and established their suitability for the synthesis of respective metal selenide nanoparticles, thin films and alloys. The thesis is divided into seven chapters, in which the first chapter gives a comprehensive literature review of all the selenium based single source precursors used until the present for the synthesis of metal selenide nanocrystals and/or thin films. The second chapter describes the synthesis of selenobenzoate ligand and its antimony complex i.e. tris(selenobenzoato)Sb(III) complex. The crystal structure of the complex was elucidated and the complex was used as a suitable single source precursor for the synthesis of Sb2Se3 nanorods by hot injection method and thin films were deposited by the aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) method. The nanorods synthesized by colloidal method were used for water splitting application. In third chapter, the similar synthetic strategy was used to prepare tris(selenobenzoato)Bi(III) complex and the decomposition of the molecular precursor by hot injection method yields Bi2Se3 nanosheets. Thin films were also deposited at different temperatures on glass substrates and the water splitting efficiency of the oleylamine capped nanosheets was investigated. Both Sb2Se3 and Bi2Se3 shows p-type behavior as cathodic currents were observed for both materials. Similarly, the fourth chapter entails the detail about the use of bis(selenobenzoato)Sn(IV) for the deposition of SnSe thin films and nanosheets. The electrochemical studies indicate bifunctional behavior and the material can behave either as cathodic material and/or anodic material by changing the voltage.
In chapter 5 and 6, thio- analogues of bis(selenobenzoato)Sn(IV) and tris(selenobenzoato)Sb(III) i.e. bis(thiobenzoato)Sn(IV) and tris(thiobenzoato)Sb(III) complexes were synthesized and mixture of both chalcogeno- complexes were used to prepare solid solutions (Sb2(SxSe1-x)3 and SnSxSe1-x) in entire range with excellent stoichiometric control. Sb2(SxSe1-x)3 was prepared by colloidal route using oleylamine as solvent and capping agent, band gap tuning was observed. For SnSxSe1-x solid solution, in addition to colloidal synthesis, solvent-less route was also used and the effect of both routes on structural behavior was investigated. Chapter 7 gives a brief summary of all the chapters and the potential future research plan.National Research Foundation Of South Africa/DST
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