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Women’s Day Celebration: Celebrating Black South African Female Jazz Composers
No full textWomen’s Day (9 August) a reminder of the tenacity, resilience, and power of South African women. This performance is part of the University of Pretoria’s weekly Lunch Hour Concerts, where leading musicians (local and international) host an open-public performance.
This concert, held on 10 August 2023, sounds and celebrates the often-subjugated voices of black South African female jazz composers and musicians whose impact is yet to be fully realised. These voices are often neglected in songbooks, repertoires, and writings on South African jazz history. This is not an issue unique to the said context, evident in research by Willis (2007), Caudwell (2012), Björck and Bergman (2018), Vleet (2021), and Buscatto (2021). Soules (2011) used the lives of American female jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams and singer Ella Fitzgerald as cases to explore intersectional factors and the struggles of black women navigating the male-dominated jazz space. This is also evident in Tucker (2008), who speaks to two historic American female big bands, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm and the Darlings of Rhythm, with a focus on the latter. Within this, Tucker notes that women in jazz were often viewed as “women from Mars” (p. 284).
I find an affinity with Masenya’s (1998) Bosadi approach, which emphasises the urgency to make South African women visible and to acknowledge the oppressive systems that inform their experiences. Therefore, the primary objective of this performance was to allow black South African female jazz musicians a space to exist. The artists whose work was part of the programme were Lindi Ngonelo (Tata), Nthabiseng Motsepe-Notyesi (Nthabysang), Lindiwe Maxolo (Nomalili), Phuti Sepuru (Keteko ya Bosadi), Nomfundo Xaluva (Thandoluhle) and Gloria Bosman (Play me those love songs). These are a few of the South African jazz women who exist(ed) not only as performers, singers, or instrumentalists, but also as composers and educators. This concert also sought to reflect women beyond common historical narratives as vocalists. Performing their works in this setting, and on this day, was a necessary step towards allowing basadi (women) into the space and acknowledging their contributions.
This performance provides a reinterpretation of these works (with the band being led by two women), encouraging the dialogic between thinking and doing. I conceptualised this performance, assembled the band, and served as a pianist, alongside fellow project leader and vocalist, Mrs. Nthabiseng Motsepe-Notyesi. We, as black female jazz musicians, wanted to have a sense of agency and urgency and take control of the ‘doing’. The performance is a dialogue; it presents an engagement and reciprocity within a group setting. But it also involved engaging the women whose works were the focus.
The broader performance provided a way of thinking through these issues. Performing, interpreting, and researching the works of other women was part of enhancing and thinking about my own composition. Listening to the selected repertoire and the underlying meaning(s) highlighted the fact that we are all searching for our own bodies and belonging. The compositions focus on self-exploration through the voice, sounding a musical home, articulating experiences, and borrowing from other sonic homes. My composition, Keteko ya Bosadi, was titled “Untitled” at the time of this recording. Trying to carve a home between a heritage of men, using the works of other women as a source of interpretation, led to the revised title, which translates as “A celebration of womanhood”. Here, the body, through performance, served as a tool for pushing boundaries—borrowing a home for basadi.
The research questions guiding this performance were:
1. In what ways have/are black South African jazz women contributing to the South African jazz canon?
2. What is the significance of making the contributions of women visible within the South African jazz space?
Within the South African context, scholars such as Dalamba (2008), Muller (2011), and Mzimela (2020) explored subjects related to female jazz musicians; namely, singers Miriam Makeba, Sathima Bea Benjamin, and Dorothy Masuka, respectively. Gender disparities within the South African jazz milieu are also articulated in research by George (2020) and Röntsch (2020), with the latter bringing to light the work of the first South African all-female big band. This performance may be viewed as a continuation of the efforts of these scholars.Art and Musi
Anticipating the unforeseen and expecting the unexpected: effectiveness of macro-prudential policies in curbing the impact of stranded assets in the banking sector
No full textBanks are exposed to climate risks through stranded assets. This risk can be substantial
in the banking sector, as it can spawn systemic risk. After the Great Recession, macro-prudential instruments effectively addressed systemic risk. However, climatic risks raise the research question of how feasible it is to address them by adopting macro-prudential instruments. The researchers, therefore, investigate how banks can respond to the risk posed by stranded assets through the framework of using macro-prudential instruments. A semi-systematic review of the related literature is carried out based on the researchers’ aim to evaluate theory evidence in the effectiveness of macroprudential instruments in addressing climate-related risks. The adaptability of macro-prudential instruments to address climatic risks and, by implication, systemic risk is demonstrated in the findings.
The researchers develop a framework constituting climate transparency disclosures, climate capital requirement ratio, climate capital conservation, carbon countercyclical buffer and macro-prudential climate stress tests to mitigate the effects of climate risks in banking.Graduate School of Business Leadershi
Teachers’ perceptions of inquiry based learning in teaching Grade 12 Life sciences : a case study
No full textInquiry-Based Learning (IBL) is considered a preferable teaching approach to the traditional teacher-centred method. This study aimed to understand teachers' perceptions of IBL, its effectiveness, benefits, and the challenges impeding its effective implementation. Adopting a constructivist viewpoint, qualitative research methods were used, including interviews with Grade 12 Life Sciences teachers and learners, classroom observations, and document reviews in South African schools.
The findings showed that teachers understood IBL as an effective learner-centred approach to teaching and learning and desired more training in the approach. IBL was found to be effective in facilitating Grade 12 Life Sciences topics, helping teachers develop pedagogical skills and fostering positive attitudes. Learners responded positively to IBL, actively participating and gaining scientific knowledge and skills. The flexibility of IBL allowed for the integration of remedial actions to overcome implementation challenges.
The study revealed the need to provide support for teachers to become effective facilitators, allocate necessary resources, and promote IBL to improve learners’ enrolment, retention, and examinations’ results. The research contributes to knowledge and identifies opportunities for further studies.M. Ed. (Natural Science Education)Science and Technology Educatio
Experimental studies and numerical modelling of the combustion, performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fuelled with biodiesel mixture and alcohol blends
No full textThe increase in energy demand, air pollution, and the decrease of fossil fuels globally has led to the partial substitution of diesel fuel with biodiesel in diesel engines. Biodiesel is known to have some properties like high density and viscosity which makes it difficult to use in such engines. One of the methods used to decrease the density and viscosity and decrease engine emissions is to blend it with alcohol. Due to its renewable nature and oxygen component, ethanol has become a good additive to biodiesel. Most literature focus on the use of blends of single biodiesel. However, there exists a knowledge gap in the use of biodiesel mixture, its blends with alcohol, and engine performance, combustion, and emission characteristics of these mixtures. The biodiesel mixture was produced from waste vegetable oil and soybean oil. The fuel property test results showed that the biodiesel mixture-ethanol blends exhibited decreased viscosity and density compared to WVB100, SB100, and BM100. The heating value of BM100 was superior to the individual biodiesels and the BME blends. The engine and combustion parameters, and emissions of the individual biodiesels, BM100 and BME blends were tested in a single-cylinder diesel engine. The experimental results were compared with predicted results obtained from Diesel-RK software. The experimental results for performance and combustion parameters of biodiesel mixture were better compared to individual biodiesels and BME blends. In terms of emissions, CO, NO, HC, and smoke for the BME blends decreased compared to the individual biodiesels and BM100 at maximum speed. The simulation results for ICP and HRR of BM100 were higher than those of BME and individual biodiesels. BME attained a longer ignition compared to other fuels tested while the STP values of BME were lower compared to the other fuels. BM100 exhibited better engine performance parameters compared to individual biodiesels and biodiesel mixture-ethanol blends. At maximum speed, BM100 had the highest value of NOx while BME had decreased NO, CO2, PM, and smoke emissions. BME15 emits lower CO2, NO, and smoke by 29.1%, 75.9%, and 35.7% compared to diesel. There were marginal differences between the experimental and simulation results.School of Engineerin
Therapeutic multidisciplinary team approaches in addressing learners' executive functioning needs in Cape Town special schools
Get PDFAbstracts in English, Afrikaans and XhosaThe sparse research and deficient documentation regarding the collaborative multidisciplinary team approach in special schools in South Africa have necessitated the undertaking of this study. This study explored the multidisciplinary team approaches in three different special schools accommodating foundation phase learners' executive function needs. This study employed the interpretivism research paradigm, a qualitative research approach, and a multiple case study design. Non-probability purposive sampling was employed to select the participants, professionals constituting the three multidisciplinary teams, and the three special schools serving as research fields. Data was collected through questionnaires, participant observations, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions, supplemented by the reflective journal of the researcher. Thematic content analysis was applied to analyse the data to identify emergent themes related to the participants' lived experiences. The findings reveal that the focus of support and therapy is on the functioning of learners and their needs to succeed in the classroom rather than on a diagnosis. The occupational therapists and speech-language therapists in the multidisciplinary teams collaborate with the foundation phase teachers to incorporate curriculum content with therapeutic goals. This approach enables learners to transfer the knowledge and skills taught in therapy, enabling them to apply it in different contexts. Executive functioning deficits are not exclusive to learners in special schools. This study can contribute to informing ordinary mainstream schools about interventions to address executive functioning needs in foundation phase learners. Further research is required to investigate multidisciplinary team collaboration in other settings, such as private therapists delivering a service in mainstream schools. It is recommended that the approach of the multidisciplinary teams described in this study serve as a guideline for other special schools and private practitioners whose focus is still on deficiencies and individual therapy to work in collaboration and to follow an integrative approach rather than a parallel clinical approach.Die navorsingskaarste en gebrek aan dokumentasie wat betref die wederkerige,
multidissiplinêre spanbenadering in spesiale skole in Suid-Afrika was die rede vir die
behoefte vir hierdie studie. Die studie het die multidissiplinêre spanbenadering in drie
spesiale skole ondersoek om grondslagfase-leerders se uitvoerende
funksioneringsbehoeftes te akkommodeer. Die interpretivistiese
navorsingsparadigma, ’n kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenadering en ’n veelvuldige
gevallestudieontwerp is aangeneem. Doelgerigte
niewaarskynlikheidsteekproefneming is gebruik om die deelnemers te kies, naamlik
beroepsmense wat die drie multidissiplinêre spanne uitgemaak het, en die drie
spesiale skole wat as navorsingsvelde gedien het. Data is ingesamel deur vraelyste,
deelnemerwaarnemings, semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude en
fokusgroepbesprekings, en dit is aangevul deur die reflektiewe joernaal van die
navorser. Tematiese inhoudsontleding is uitgevoer om die data te ontleed om
voortspruitende temas te identifiseer wat verband hou met die deelnemers se geleefde
ervarings. Die bevindings toon dat die fokus van ondersteuning en terapie op die
funksionering van leerders en wat hulle benodig om in die klaskamer suksesvol te
wees, moet wees eerder as op ’n diagnose. Die arbeidsterapeute en spraak-taalterapeute
in die multidissiplinêre spanne werk saam met die grondslagfaseonderwysers
om kurrikulum-inhoud met terapeutiese doelwitte te kombineer. Hierdie
benadering stel leerders in staat om die kennis en vaardighede wat in terapie geleer
word oor te dra in verskeie kontekste, en dit daar toe te pas. Uitvoerende
funksioneringstekorte is nie beperk tot leerders in spesiale skole nie; hierdie studie het
dus die potensiaal om by te dra om hoofstroomskole in te lig oor intervensies wat gerig
is op die uitvoerende funksioneringsbehoeftes van grondslagfase-leerders. Verdere
navorsing is nodig om multidissiplinêre spansamewerking in ander omgewings te
ondersoek, soos die lewering van dienste deur privaat terapeute in hoofstroom-skole.
Daar word aanbeveel dat die multidissiplinêre spanboubenadering wat in hierdie
studie beskryf is as riglyn moet dien vir ander spesiale skole en privaat praktisyns
waar die fokus steeds op gebrekke en individuele terapie is, om hulle aan te moedig
om saam te werk en ’n integrerende benadering te volg eerder as ’n parallel kliniese
benadering.Ukunqongophala kophando kunye nokushokoxeka kogcino lwamaxwebhu malunga
nendlela yeqela lentsebenziswano elivela kwiinkalo ngeenkalo kwizikolo ezineemfuno
ezikhethekileyo eMzantsi Afrika kuphakamise imfuneko yolu phando, oluphonononge
iindlela zeqela elivela kwiinkalo ngeenkalo kwizikolo ezintathu ezineemfuno
ezikhethekileyo ezamkela iimfuno zokusebenza kobuchule bengqondo zabafundi
besigaba esisisiseko. Kusetyenziswe indlela yophando yokufumana ubunzulu
obungakumbi ngokukhangela amava neengcamango zomxholo othile wezentlalo,
indlela yophandontyilazwi, kunye noyilo lwesifundo ngomzekelo esiphindaphindiweyo.
Abathathinxaxheba bakhethwe ngokusebenzisa ukhetho lwegcuntswana ledatha
ngenjongo yokukhethwa ngokwethuba elilinganayo lokubandakanywa, oko kukuthi
iingcali eziphuma kula maqela mathathu avela kwiinkalo ngeenkalo, kunye nezikolo
ezintathu ezineemfuno ezikhethekileyo ezisebenze njengeendawo zophando. Idatha
iqokelelwe ngokusebenzisa amaxwebhu emibuzo, ukuqwalaselwa
kwabathathinxaxheba, udliwanondlebe olucwangciswe mayane kunye neengxoxo
zeqela ekugqxilwe kulo, yaze yongezelelwa yijenali yeenkumbulo zomphandi.
Kwenziwe uhlalutyontyilazwi lomongo ekuhlalutyeni idatha ukwenzela kuchongwe
imixholo evelayo enxulumene namava okuphila abathathinxaxheba. Iziphumo
zibonisa ukuba ingqwalasela yenkxaso kunye nonyango kufuneka ibe kukusebenza
kwabafundi kunye noko bakufunayo ukuze baphumelele kwigumbi lokufundela,
kunokuba bafumane ukuxilongwa. Iingcali zonyango ngokwasemsebenzini kunye
neengcali zonyango lonxibelelwano kumaqela eenkalo ngeenkalo zisebenzisana
nootitshala besigaba esisisiseko ukudibanisa umxholo wekharityhulam kunye
neenjongo zonyango. Le ndlela yenza ukuba abafundi bakwazi ukudlulisela ulwazi
nezakhono ezifundiswa kunyango kwiimeko ezahlukileyo, baze bazisebenzise kuzo.
Iintsilelo zokusebenza kobuchule bengqondo aziphelelanga kubafundi bezikolo
ezineemfuno ezikhethekileyo; olu phando ke ngoko lunganako ukuba negalelo
ekwaziseni izikolo eziqhelekileyo malunga nokungenelela okujoliswe kwiimfuno
zokusebenza kobuchule bengqondo zabafundi besigaba esisisiseko. Luyafuneka
uphando olungaphezulu ukuphanda intsebenziswano yeqela elivela kwiinkalo
ngeenkalo kwezinye iimeko, ezifana nokunikezwa kweenkonzo ngoogqirha bonyango
lwabucala kwizikolo eziqhelekileyo. Kucetyiswa ukuba indlela yeqela elivela kwiinkalo
ngeenkalo echazwe kolu phando kufuneka isebenze njengesikhokelo kwezinye izikoloD. Phil. (Psychology of Education)Psychology of Educatio
Search for dark matter produced in association with a dark Higgs boson decaying into W+W− in the one-lepton final state at s = 13 TeV using 139 fb−1 of pp collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector
No full textAbstract
Several extensions of the Standard Model predict the production of dark matter particles at the LHC. A search for dark matter particles produced in association with a dark Higgs boson decaying into W+W− in the
ℓ
±
νq
q
¯
′
,
final states with ℓ = e, μ is presented. This analysis uses 139 fb−1 of pp collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The W± →
q
q
′
¯
decays are reconstructed from pairs of calorimeter-measured jets or from track-assisted reclustered jets, a technique aimed at resolving the dense topology from a pair of boosted quarks using jets in the calorimeter and tracking information. The observed data are found to agree with Standard Model predictions. Scenarios with dark Higgs boson masses ranging between 140 and 390 GeV are excluded
Modelling the relationship between green supply chain management practices, dynamic capabilities and supply chain performance in the South African manufacturing sector
No full textThe quest for sustainability as a result of both resource scarcity and customer environmental conscious attitude has prompted manufacturing companies to start investing in green innovation and technology. The adoption and implementation of green supply chain management (GSCM) is still in its early stage in South Africa. The aim of the study is to contribute to the body of knowledge by providing a research model for the relationships between green supply chain management (GSCM) practices, supply chain dynamic capabilities (SCDCs) and supply chain performance (SCP) in the South African manufacturing sector.
Quantitative data were collected from 402 respondents of the South African manufacturing sector in Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga and Limpopo through online survey questionnaires using a cross-sectional design. The collected data were tested using a partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) through Smart-PLS 3 and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for data screening (descriptive statistics).
The results of the study suggest that GSCM practices, which include eco-design (ED), green distribution (GD) and green training (GT), exert a positive and significant impact on SCDCs, which in turn positively influence SCP through supply chain agility (SCA), supply chain reliability (SCRELL), supply chain costs (SCCs), supply chain responsiveness (SCR), customer satisfaction (CS) and supply chain balance (SCB) in the South African manufacturing sector.
This study contributes to the body of knowledge, innovation, and organisational capability literature of the manufacturing sector by providing a comprehensive model for the relationships between GSCM practices, SCDCs and SCP.D.B.L. (Supply Chain Management)Graduate School of Business Leadershi
Object
No full textFor further reference see the link to the artist's website above https://www.gwennethmiller.com/domestic-matters“Domestic matters” consisted of eight works presented on two group exhibitions. The works searched for expression of the often-conflictual context through which familial relationships are articulated.
The shaped-format painting "Carry me softly" initiated the 2023 creative output research to investigate how everyday things trigger a reflection of the past. Acknowledging my previous mycelium research, small mushrooms grow from the carpet and under the table in this artwork as signs of degeneration. Reflecting on the comfort of objects belonging together being inadvertently separated through life circumstances (much like people in a household), a weathered table rises from a fluffy carpet suggesting an act of separation.
Two photographic works, “The mother” and “The father”, are the outcome of a process involving the use of a discarded scrubbing brush. This process recalls a memory of my mother polishing red cement floors. Considering the interaction between the worn object and the gleaming polished floor, I captured the brush from various angles: looking down onto it, confronting the cracked brush head-on and documenting the same object laterally, suggesting that access is barred. These changing perspectives was my attempt to ‘think through’ the distress of the paradoxical emotions of shame, love, fear and exclusion. In these photographic works, the act of close looking was also a contemplation of gender roles experienced in my childhood. My mother’s debilitating and damaged life, alongside my father’s own fragility emersed in poverty and dyslexia, are narratives I’ve been rewriting through my life. In “Violence, Gender, and Subjectivity”, Veena Das (2008:283-299), reminds us that there are deep connections between our experiences of the everyday and understanding of emotional wounding. The cracks on my ‘rescued’ brush had debris embedded in its worn surface and reminded of the psychological scars caused by precarious relationships, a theme associated with artworks by, amongst others, Usha Seejarim and Louise Bourgeois. “The Mother” and “The Father” are contributions to the visual discourse of encoded gender constructs.
An enlarged process-print of “The father”, opened the suggestion of a wooden boat-shaped structure. The mixed media works “The Pont I” and “Pont II”, along with “Farmhouse”, seek to draw links to environments that refers to specific childhood daydreaming of water and a wooden raft that will carry me away.
“History /Herstory lessons in brushwork” and “Ode to all mothers” were created by scrubbing the paper using the discarded brush, thus allowing the object to physically ‘perform’ my memory in the artmaking process. The process-driven and object-bound way of drawing-through-scrubbing becomes a unique gestation of a trope of domesticity and women's work. “History /Herstory lessons in brushwork” started by rubbing charcoal dust into brown craft paper until the brush found its way onto the page. In “Ode to all mothers", I poured a puddle of ink and water onto curved Fabriano, then gently scrubbed it into the surface, allowing it to dry overnight. The drying process added its own movement, resulting in only traces of my actions with the brush – an inky patch reminiscent of a surreal landscape.
On researching the idea of past experiences’ impact on an unfolding present, I found the terminology of "recasting and pastcasting" in the article "Looking backward to the future: On past-facing approaches to futuring", where Bendor, Eriksson and Pargman (2021) postulate that memory is more malleable than what we imagine. Instead of being bound by the past that is fixed in childhood, new ways of thinking can shift debilitating remembering. Though physically reenacting thought, my narrative moved to a measure of personal agency. These ideas are evoked in the collaged image of urchin-like brushes floating over the surreal landscape of “Ode to all mothers", where the detached object becomes a symbol that is both past-facing and future-facing.
The contribution of this project lay in the reinventive power of art, and how its processes and materials can actively help to reexperience interpretations of contradiction, to build agency in a project of recasting the past as an approach to “futuring” (Bendor et al. 2021). "Carry me softly" was first exhibited at “Rhizome” (Latuvu Art Gallery, France, July 2023) and then again with the new artworks in the exhibition “Object” (George Museum, October 2023). Both exhibitions were curated by Elfriede Dreyer.Art and Musi
Representation of indigenous cultures for tourism consumption in South Africa through cultural villages : focus on Lesedi Cultural Village
Get PDFNo keywords, abstract providedM.A. (Arts History)School of Art
Rethinking the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement: an African ecclesiological approach
No full textThe Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement accepts and practices the beliefs in the gifts of the Holy Spirit without leaving the fundamental teachings of a mainline tradition. Similarly, in the Catholic Church, this is a movement that has embraced the gifts of the Holy Spirit without leaving Catholicism. The movement has been influenced largely by the protestant tradition, particularly the Pentecostal movement, hence some resemblances with Pentecostal ecclesiological practices such as charismatic worship, prophecy, divine healing, and speaking in tongues. Previous studies on this movement have only looked at the various challenges or attacks on the movement such as shifting their focus away from the church ordinances and sacraments. What is new in this article, is a reflection on the practices of the charismatic renewal in offering a relevant African ecclesiology. This will be done by locating this article within an African ecclesiological approach which when applied to the charismatic renewal makes the movement relevant to an African context.Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiolog