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A comparison of implementation platforms for the visualisation of animal family trees
Get PDFGenealogy is the study of family history. Family trees are used to show ancestry and visualise family history. Animal family trees are different from human family trees as animals have more offspring to represent in a family tree visualisation. Auctioneering organisations, such as Boere Korporasie Beperk (BKB), provide livestock auction catalogues containing pictures of the animal on sale, the animal’s family tree and its breeding and selection data. Modern-day farming has become data-driven and livestock farmers use various online devices and platforms to obtain information, such as real-time milk production, animal health monitoring and to manage farming operations. This study investigated and compared two Business Intelligence (BI) platforms namely Microsoft Power BI and Tableau (Salesforce) and the Python programming language used in the implementation of cattle family tree charts. Animal family tree visualisation requirements were identified from analysing data collected from 23 agriculture users and auction attendees who responded to an online questionnaire. The results of an online survey showed that agriculture users preferred an animal family tree that resembled a human one, which is not currently used in livestock auction catalogues. A conference paper was published based on the survey results. The Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) was used to aid in creating animal family tree charts using Power BI, Tableau and Python. The author compared the visualisation tools against selected criteria, such as learnability, portability interoperability and security. Usability evaluations using eye tracking were conducted with agriculture users in a usability lab to compare the artefacts developed using Power BI and Python. Tableau was discarded during the implementation process as it did not produce the required family tree visualisation The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) theory, which seeks to predict the acceptance and use of technology based on users' perception of its usefulness and ease of use, was used to guide the research study in evaluating the artefacts. According to TAM, the adoption of the proposed technology to solve the problem of a static animal family tree in livestock auction catalogues was dependent on the agriculture user’s beliefs. This was based upon that the technology would help them make better buying decisions at livestock auctions effortlessly. The other theory used in this study was the Task Technology Fit (TTF). This theory was used mainly to create the task list to be used in the usability test. The results showed that the author of this work and the agriculture users preferred the artefact produced by Power BI. The learnability and development time was shorter and the User Interface (UI) created was more intuitive. The findings of this study indicated that the present auction catalogue could be supplemented using interactive online animal family tree visualisations created using Power BI. This study recommended that livestock auctioneering organisations should, in addition to providing paper catalogues, provide farmers with an online platform to view the family trees of cattle on auction to enhance purchasing decisions.Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Science, School of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics, 202
Learners’ understanding of their linguistic resources as a basis for learning natural sciences
Get PDFWith eleven official languages, South Africa is known for its multilingual environment. Despite this, the country's educational system heavily favours English and Afrikaans. Despite the varied linguistic backgrounds of learners, English continues to be used as the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT), which raises questions regarding fair access to education. Within the context of South Africa's constitution and policy frameworks, particularly the Language in Education Policy (LiEP), this study aims to investigate how group work activities in a Natural Sciences classroom can give learners an opportunity to mobilise their multilingual repertoires. Three formerly Afrikaans-medium high schools in the Northern Areas of Gqeberha, were the sites for this research which focuses on Grade Nine Natural Sciences learners. Through the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods such as questionnaires, classroom observations, and focus groups, the study explores how learners make use of their language resources to navigate science instruction in English. The results contest the idea that languages are distinct entities and show that learners use language interchangeably as a learning tool, a practice known as translanguaging. Group work becomes an important space in which learners exercise agency in language selection, enabling the link of dialogical, multilingual, and cultural responses. Sociocultural theory offers insights into group work relationships and provides the theoretical foundation for understanding how learners use language to understand scientific topics. Building on Gibbons' mode continuum (2003), which maps the shifts in discourse in classroom contexts from every day talk at the “here and now” to more specialized talk, the study also explored an expanded continuum which aimed at clarifying the nuances of language and cognitive progression among learners working in collaborative groups. This study adds to the conversation about language ideologies by recognising the ideologies of inclusion, access and identity which informed learners’ thinking and attitudes to language choice in education. Thus, the study emphasises the importance of a sophisticated comprehension of multilingual repertoires in the classroom. In order to better accommodate the changing linguistic patterns of multilingual learners, the study recommends re-evaluating language policies and encouraging educators to exploit the potential of group work to develop understanding of scientific concepts.Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Education, School of Post Graduate Education, 202
A discourse analysis study of traditional health practitioners’ role in the treatment of female sexual violence and its mental health sequelae in KwaZulu-Natal
Get PDFSouth Africa is considered the epicentre of rape, leading to its reputation as the ‘rape capital of the world’. As a way of mitigating the risk of re-victimisation to individuals who have experienced rape, hospital-based post-rape centres were developed to offer services and support to rape victims. The uptake of these services remains scant as issues such as rape stigma, limited knowledge on their availability and alternative health systems limits their usage. In South Africa, there exists medical pluralism, which refers to multiple ways of making sense of illness and treatment seeking methods. It is estimated that around 80% of South Africans utilise the services of traditional health practitioners in conjunction with biomedical health practices or as a standalone service to get alternative solutions for their health needs. Victims of rape need to access a wide range of services such as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), medical examinations, and emergency contraception. There has been a paucity in research looking into the alternative treatments accessed by rape victims who do not access services in the formal healthcare system. It is against this backdrop that this study explored the construction and treatment formulation of rape by traditional health practitioners. The study focused on the use of language and how it becomes action that influences the services rendered to rape victims. Thematic analysis, discourse and conversational analytical approaches were used to analyse data that emerges from the one-on-one interviews. 15 traditional healers who identified as abathandazi, Izangoma and izinyanga were selected to participate in the present study. The healthworlds framework and social constructionism were used to make sense of how traditional health practitioners construct rape and how the dominant discourses surrounding rape influence how they understand their position as healthcare providers. The main findings of the study illustrated that in the healthworld of traditional healers’ understanding of rape was constructed as ukungcola nobumnyama / impurity and darkness. These discourses spoke to the perception of rape as an aberration as one’s ancestors should prevent traumas and catastrophes from befalling on the individual. When rape occurs, it signalled spiritual problems resulting into a phenomenon where ancestors cannot safeguard the living. Under these discourse rape was also constructed as something that taints, impurifies and contaminates not just the raped individual but their entire bloodline and ancestors. As a result of the discourse surrounding rape, cleansing and purification rituals played a huge role in post-rape care. In addition, traditional health practitioners viewed their role as facilitators in reestablishing the relationship between the raped individual and their ancestors. The study observed that rape victims who share the same healthworld are likely to experience spiritual transgressions following rape which will have long-lasting effects on the psychological health outcomes of victims. The present study recommends a post-rape care model that advocates for collaborative opportunities between biomedical and traditional healthcare practitioners. This model can be integrated into existing post-rape care systems to provide holistic and comprehensive healthcare that addresses biopsychosocial as well as the spiritual and cultural influences of rape.Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Health Science, School of Behavioural & Lifestyle Sciences, 202
Facilitating language communication in English using “VFL” in English second language (ESL) primary school science classrooms
Get PDFMany classrooms across South Africa have teachers and learners who are English Second Language (ESL) speakers. As a result, teaching and learning becomes a challenge, especially in science education. Science has its own language, which has concepts, terminology, definitions and more that teachers and learners are expected to engage with. The language issues seem to weigh heavier on the learners’ scale as they are learning the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT), while they are learning science. Likewise, science teachers face their own challenges in that they are trying to teach the language of science while their learners are still in the process of learning the English language. Therefore, this research study addresses the issue of using language as a resource rather than seeing it as a challenge so that it can enhance the learners’ ability to engage with science concepts. In doing so, this study introduces a group of teachers to using VFL to teach science education through a Community of Practice. Through the use of qualitative methods such as questionnaires, video-recorded lessons and a focus group interview discussion, this study explores how VFL enhance the communication of ESL primary school science classrooms. The vehicles that were used in this study are drama, poetry, visual art, stories, and music. This study adds to the conversation around using the arts to teach science as well as the benefits thereof. One of the findings was that the learners were able to recall scientific content. Multilingual classrooms are the order of the day; therefore, language issues will be present. The teachers shared the same domain in this study within the COP. This space enhanced the opportunity for the teachers to create a community, where they were able to learn, share and grow from one another. Thus, this study encouraged teachers to step out of their comfort zone and to restructure how they teach science by including VFL. Therefore, VFL are a platform for teachers to see themselves as change agents.Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Education, School of Postgraduate education, 202
Role of community pharmacies in the management of diabetic foot ulcers in South Africa
Get PDFAppropriate wound care and management are essential to prevent complications in patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). It is important to evaluate if patients are getting the necessary therapeutic treatment and counselling at community pharmacies. The primary aim was to determine the role of community pharmacies in South Africa in the management of DFUs. This study used a mixed-method research design combining both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. In 2023 a questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 823 community pharmacists in South Africa with questions regarding DFUs. Data from the questionnaire were analysed and used in the next phase of the study, which was focus group discussions (FGDs). The FGDs were conducted with a group of pharmacy stakeholders. The response rate for the questionnaire was 18.95% (n=156). Only 105 respondents completed the questionnaire. Majority of the respondents (n=45) were located in Gauteng province, practising in corporate pharmacies (n=88) in urban areas (n=104). Majority of respondents (n=73) indicated that they did not have a clinic inside their pharmacies and 46 respondents indicated that they had a nurse employed in the pharmacy. Most frequently seen chronic wounds in community pharmacies were diabetic wounds and surgical wounds. Majority (n=71) of respondents indicated that they have not attended additional training on DFUs. Respondents indicated that they most often used the internet and other healthcare providers as information resources regarding DFUs. The results also indicated that community pharmacists would like to have more training regarding advanced wound care and that pharmacists do have a role to play when managing DFUs. During two FGDs, two main themes emerged namely “Community pharmacists encounter various challenges when treating patients with DFUs” and “There is a gap in training for community pharmacists in treating DFUs”. The focus group discussion (FGD) results complemented the questionnaire survey results. Since there is limited research published in South Africa on the role of community pharmacies managing DFUs, this study indicated that there is a need for additional training on DFUs for pharmacists working in community pharmacies in South Africa.Thesis (M.Pharm) -- Faculty of Health Science, School of Clinical Care & Medicinal Sciences, 202
Political competition and local government debt: implications for human development: A case study of Eastern Cape municipalities
Get PDFSouth African Municipalities are currently in a precarious financial situation. The financial distress has intensified so much that local governments are on the brink of collapse. Municipalities in South Africa currently owe over 35.5 billion rands. Reports from the Auditor-General of South Africa portrayed a grim picture of the state of financial affairs in municipalities; only 33 municipalities out of 278 had received a clean audit, with over 30 billion rands in expenditure declared irregular. The report further revealed that there were numerous cases of non-compliance with key legislation in municipalities. The poor financial audits across the country have stressed the severe lack of accountability, government issues and political turmoil. Due to this state of affairs, municipalities cannot deliver services such as sanitation, electricity, and water. As a result, many service delivery protests have occurred over the years. Political factors have been highlighted as the leading cause of these local government woes. This study aims to investigate the relationship between political competition and local government debt and its effect on human development in Eastern Cape municipalities. The study used a panel data set for 32 municipalities and electoral data from 2009 to 2016. The panel vector autoregression model, generalized least squares, fixed and random effects methods were used to investigate the relationship between political competition and local government debt. The study found a positive unidirectional relationship between political competition and local debt. This was found using the normalized Herfindahl index, debt to asset, tress index, human development index, population and poverty variables. Moreover, estimated results showed that local governments in the eastern cape were characterised by a political monopoly that, in turn, increased local government debt through growth-hindering policies adopted by political leaders. Resulting in economic concentration, which hinders local economic growth and human development.Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Commerce, Economics and Economic History, 202
An in vitro evaluation of the anti-breast cancer activity of Nigella sativa extracts and its bioactive compound in combination with curcumin
Get PDFBreast cancer constitutes 23% of all cancers in South African females. Curcumin and Nigella sativa have anti-cancer, anti-metastatic and antioxidant-properties and may be effective against breast cancer. This study focused on the effect of N. sativa extracts or thymoquinone and curcumin, individually and in combination, on breast cancer cells. An MTT assay showed that curcumin reduced cell viability by 50% (IC50) at 18 ± 2.63 μg/mL and thymoquinone (TQ) at 5 ± 0.95 μg/mL against the MDA-MB-231 cells. The IC50 values for curcumin and TQ were 35 ± 6.98 μg/mL and 4 ± 0.96 μg/mL against the MCF-7 cells, respectively. The IC50 value for the NSBE was determined to be 350 ± 55 μg/mL. The IC50 value of NSAE did not fall within the selected concentration range. Synergism was noted for combinations of NSBE with curcumin, and combinations of TQ with curcumin, against both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. Two synergistic combinations per treatment per cell line, as determined by the combination index analysis, were chosen for further investigation. The combinations and individual treatments tested against the MCF-10A cells, were not significant, except for NSBE80:CURC20 combination. Curcumin had the most significant anti-oxidant activity; however, no link was noted between the anti-oxidant activity and the cytotoxicity of the combinations. The combination treatments induced apoptosis more effectively than the individual treatments. Caspase-3 dependent apoptosis was noted for NSBE10:CURC90 and TQ80:CURC20 combinations against the MDA-MB-231 cells, and the TQ60:CURC40 combination against the MCF-7 cells. The individual and combined treatments effectively reduced MDA-MB-231 cell adhesion to fibronectin, but not all reduced the cell adhesion to laminin. Based on these results, the combinations of curcumin with TQ or NSBE, have promising anticancer benefits against breast cancer.Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, School of Biomolecular & Chemical Sciences, 202
Exploring the continued importance of technique in the co-production of art with A.I.
Get PDFn Plato’s Republic, artists are criticised for their perceived lack of rationality, since “art encourages and appeals to emotion,” insofar as “its ruling principle is the passions, which in a happy and well-ordered life must be controlled by reason;” indeed, on this basis, “the aesthetic experience” is even said to be “a psychological anarchy, [and] an orgy of misrule” (Collingwood, 1925: 156). However, this reification of reason in Plato’s hypothesized world,1 informed as it was by static hierarchy, has remained dissonant with the path of history toward entropy, as evinced by the chaotic flux of postmodernity. Certainly, this is exemplified in our own postmodern world, characterized as it is by ever greater degrees of disintegration into diversity, as the economic, social, and geo-political orders established in the mid-twentieth century are challenged and transformed into new paradigms through the increasing multiplicity of demands being made on them (Fowlie & Sills, 2011: 120-121). Accordingly, far from being a source of delusion and dissimilation, it could equally be argued that, collectively and individually, artists’ works reflect this kaleidoscopic trace of time more truthfully than the lens of reason, precisely because life – like art – is also largely psychological anarchy and an orgy of misrule. And within this dynamic environment, the reflections of artists, in turn, assume their value, as traces of what, for want of a better term, will henceforth be referred to as living dialogical time. That is, from this perspective, artists are not the political problem Plato suggested them to be, but rather as a whole comprise a reflection of the living dialogical time that, today, recognises itself collectively as humanity. However, while art has always involved material marks, digitality has recently changed this requirement, in ways which have raised a series of important and difficult questions for the world of art. That is, digitality has changed the wall of the cave into the digits of ones and zeros, which are eradicated at the click of an icon, only to be reconstructed at the click of an icon. Thus, the interface between art and digitality involves the former being presented with increasing opportunities for dynamism, but only at the expense of its materiality – insofar as such dynamism requires art to transition to cyber-virtual platforms. But in this regard, it must be remembered that, by definition, an icon is something which connects us to what cannot ever be represented, because it is beyond our everyday living reality, in an atemporal plane.Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Language, Media and Communication, 202
An assessment of the youth employment creation strategy in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality: a case of Isiqalo Youth Fund
Get PDFYouth unemployment is a persistent and pressing challenge faced by communities and governments worldwide. In Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, a region characterised by its diverse socioeconomic landscape and unique set of opportunities and constraints, the issue of youth unemployment is of particular concern. The Isiqalo Youth Fund was established as a strategic initiative to address this challenge and promote economic empowerment and employability among the youth. This fund was designed to provide financial support and resources to young individuals in the municipality, offering them the opportunity to gain the skills, training, and experience required to enter the workforce and make meaningful contributions to the local economy. The study aimed to assess the implementation of the Isiqalo Youth Fund, which aims to facilitate youth employment in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality. The study utilised the qualitative research methodology, and the sample was selected using a purposive sampling technique. The sample for this study comprised ten youth beneficiaries of the Isiqalo Youth Fund, five officials from the Office of the Premier, and five officials from the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT) responsible for the administration and oversight of the fund. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to capture the experiences and perceptions of the youth beneficiaries and the insights of the officials involved in the implementation of the Isiqalo Youth Fund. The study’s findings from the beneficiaries’ perspective indicate that accessing the Isiqalo Youth Fund is associated with several challenges, such as high levels of bureaucracy, poor fund management, a lack of information, lack of proper monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and complex application procedures. The findings from the administrators’ perspectives indicated that a lack of ethics, fair dealing, and accountability adversely influenced the effective administration of the Isiqalo Youth Fund. The study recommends that local authorities and stakeholders collaborate to simplify the application process, improve fund management, increase awareness, offer support and mentorship, and enhance project monitoring and evaluation.Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Public Management and Leadership, 202
Community perceptions on teenage pregnancy: the case of Kamvelihle Township in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
Get PDFIncreasingly, teenagers in South Africa get pregnant while studying and this disrupt their schooling program. The above problem in many instances ended up affecting their performance at school and they drop-out of the school. This study investigates the community perceptions on teenage pregnancy in Kamvelihle Township. The study objectives are as follows: to investigate the community perception on teenage pregnancy in Kamvelihle Township, to contribute within the South African Sociological field with specific reference to Kamvelihle Township in the Eastern Cape and to come up with the recommendations with the view to addressing some of the problem in Kamvelihle Township. The research methodology employed in this study is qualitative in approach and it included amongst others, individual interviews using an interview guide containing relevant questions posed to participants. Research ethics protocol has been adhered to from the initial up to the last stages of the study. To supplement the above, relevant secondary sources were consulted ranging from scholarly journal articles as well as scholarly books including other available reading material. In this study, sex education has been used as a conceptual framework to understand the problem of teenage pregnancy in Kamvelihle Township.Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Governmental and Social Sciences, 202