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Male-biased migration from East Africa introduced pastoralism into southern Africa
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Background
Hunter-gatherer lifestyles dominated the southern African landscape up to ~ 2000 years ago, when herding and farming groups started to arrive in the area. First, herding and livestock, likely of East African origin, appeared in southern Africa, preceding the arrival of the large-scale Bantu-speaking agro-pastoralist expansion that introduced West African-related genetic ancestry into the area. Present-day Khoekhoe-speaking Namaqua (or Nama in short) pastoralists show high proportions of East African admixture, linking the East African ancestry with Khoekhoe herders. Most other historical Khoekhoe populations have, however, disappeared over the last few centuries and their contribution to the genetic structure of present-day populations is not well understood. In our study, we analyzed genome-wide autosomal and full mitochondrial data from a population who trace their ancestry to the Khoekhoe-speaking Hessequa herders from the southern Cape region of what is now South Africa.
Results
We generated genome-wide data from 162 individuals and mitochondrial DNA data of a subset of 87 individuals, sampled in the Western Cape Province, South Africa, where the Hessequa population once lived. Using available comparative data from Khoe-speaking and related groups, we aligned genetic date estimates and admixture proportions to the archaeological proposed dates and routes for the arrival of the East African pastoralists in southern Africa. We identified several Afro-Asiatic-speaking pastoralist groups from Ethiopia and Tanzania who share high affinities with the East African ancestry present in southern Africa. We also found that the East African pastoralist expansion was heavily male-biased, akin to a pastoralist migration previously observed on the genetic level in ancient Europe, by which Pontic-Caspian Steppe pastoralist groups represented by the Yamnaya culture spread across the Eurasian continent during the late Neolithic/Bronze Age.
Conclusion
We propose that pastoralism in southern Africa arrived through male-biased migration of an East African Afro-Asiatic-related group(s) who introduced new subsistence and livestock practices to local southern African hunter-gatherers. Our results add to the understanding of historical human migration and mobility in Africa, connected to the spread of food-producing and livestock practices
A Trajectory towards a Culture of Quality: A Phenomenological Study of an Open Distance Learning University in South Africa and in China
No full textOver the past few years, we have witnessed immense advancements of technology which challenge conventional teaching methodologies. This paper analyses an open and distance learning university from two culturally distinct continents —Africa and Asia— through an international staff exchange program that was attended over a two-week period. This essay examines both distance learning institutions and data that was collected through interviews and observations to benefit students through quality assurance. According to the research presented in this paper, it is necessary to create an atmosphere that makes it possible for quality assurance activities to be carried out consistently. Distance learning institutions need to move towards a culture of quality and by doing this they need to tailor their student support not just to produce graduates at the end of a cohort but to produce quality graduates needed for the ever evolving and rapidly transforming information and communication technologies. The recommendations made in this paper are intended to help distance education institutions develop a culture of quality. It is argued that to successfully develop a quality culture, a supportive environment should be created for pedagogical activities linked to quality assurance.English Studie
Career wellbeing in the new world of work : the ability to be agile, adaptable and embedded
No full textPsycholog
Strategies to enhance performance of foundation phase grade 3 learners in diverse mathematics classrooms in the Waterberg District
Get PDFWorldwide, mathematics is regarded as one of the most important subjects, where ithas been recognised that basic mathematical and quantitative skills are becomingincreasingly important in all jobs and life skills, for tasks including budgeting and datahandling, and the changing nature of the international economy. The purpose of thisresearch was to explore the strategies that can enhance the performance ofFoundation Phase learners in diverse mathematics classrooms. The performance ofFoundation Phase learners in diverse mathematics classrooms is an issue of concernbecause teachers should identify different strategies that can accommodate theneeds of all learners in the Grade 3 class. The study was underpinned by theUniversal Design for Learning theory, which recognises the need of making educationmore responsive to learning differences between individuals, as well as increasing thepower of flexibility in teaching. The Universal Design for Learning also emphasisesthat the "what" of learning should be presented through a range of options, providingoptions for the "how" of learning, and providing multiple options for engaging the "why"of learning. The study infused ubuntu African philosophy because it focuses onhumanity, kindness, friendliness, respect, mutual communication, care, and supportduring teaching and learning. The research study followed a mixed-method researchdesign. Data collection techniques took place through conducting pre-test and post-test, using interviews and lesson observations. Excel was used for data management,and Stata Release 15 was used for statistical data analysis. A t-test was used tocompare the two study groups, the experimental and the control groups. The resultswere interpreted at 95% confidence limit (2-sided). In other words, the results weredeclared significant if the p-value was less than 0.05. The post-test results after theintervention strategy showed improvement for both experimental and control groups.In particular, the experimental group showed an improvement in the mean score(x̄ = 55.05455) as compared to the pre-test mean score of (x̄ = 40.70175). The results revealed that the experimental group improved significantly (x ̄= 0.0016) in pre-testand post-test, less than 0.05 at 95% confidence limit in the post-test, which suggeststhat the intervention strategy had a positive impact on learning numbers, operationsand relationships (NOR) concepts. From the qualitative data, different codes to formdifferent themes were identified and used to describe the collected data during lessonobservations and interviews. The group work had a positive impact on the changing ofP1's teaching practice, where the learners’ performance improved. It is envisaged that the findings of the study might provide teachers with strategies that can be used toenhance learners' performance in diverse mathematics classrooms.D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)Inclusive Educatio
Detection and identification of faulty modules in a large-scale photovoltaic installation
Get PDFThe global warming and realisation that fossil fuel is limited, has been a drive over the years to move to renewable energy sources (RES). Consequently, solar energy and other renewable energy sources are currently being exploited. The fast development of photovoltaic technologies makes the systems one of the leading methods to effectively exploit the RES. In recent times, the Photo voltaic (PV) system are used at large to augment the classical energy supply. However, large-scale photovoltaic installations possess challenges of being susceptible to faults. Therefore, it is imperative that faulty modules are detected and isolated to preserve the efficiency of the overall PV system.
Fault detection is crucial to ensure operational reliability of a large-scale photo-voltaic installations (LSPVI). However, faults detection and identification are still a key challenge in LSPVI. In a large-scale photovoltaic installation, there are large quantity of photovoltaic arrays. Because of these arrays and their complex configuration, various types of faults are produced frequently which directly affect reliability and safety of PV installation. One of the goals of any PV installation is to retain power generation with the desired operation efficiency. Therefore, it is imperative that faulty modules are detected to preserve an efficiency of PV system. In this study, a fault detection and identification technique which involves excitation of both normal and faulty modules with signals that have various frequencies was implemented for detection of faulty modules in LSPVI. The results obtained show that the proposed techniques can diagnose and identify faulty solar panels in a large-scale photovoltaic installation.M. Tech. (Electrical Engineering)Electrical and Mining Engineerin
School health nursing at Msunduzi Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal: teachers' perspective
No full textThe Integrated School Health Policy (ISHP) is designed to promote the health of students; identify and prevent health problems and injuries, and ensure care for
students. School health nurses have an important role in ensuring students (learners) optimal development. They bridge the gap between the school and health care facilities by screening students and referring them according to health needs. Most children spend up to thirteen of their formative years, from early childhood to adolescence, in a classroom environment. This provides an ideal opportunity for health education and
interventions to address health and socioeconomic factors which affect children in South Africa
The purpose of the study was to describe perspectives of schoolteachers on the current ISPH in schools in Msunduzi Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal province. The researcher selected a quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive research design for the study.
The participants were 147 randomly selected teachers from selected primary schools and data was collected, using a self-administered structured questionnaire anchored on a 5-point Likert scale. A statistician analysed the data using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 14, and presented the findings in tables and diagrams.
Descriptive statistics summarised data and inferential statistics described the participants’ perspectives on the current school health services.
The study found that the participants acknowledged the importance and benefits of school health nursing services in schools but inadequate resources and lack of
intersectoral collaboration between the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Basic Education (DOBE) and Department of Social Development (DOSD) hampered effective implementation of the ISHP. The study makes recommendations for policy, school health services, and further research.M.A. (Nursing Science)Health Studie
Peculiarities in the Pentecostal tradition: Disciplinal and decolonial perspectives in a South African context
No full textThe African Pentecostal tradition as a distinct movement within the Protestant tradition is
discussed here from disciplinal and decolonial perspectives. The characteristics that inform this distinction are explored to show that Pentecostalism is part of the Protestant tradition but distinct from other streams within this tradition. In addition, the different types and streams that exist within the broader Pentecostal movement such as classical Pentecostalism, African Independent Pentecostalism, Newer Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches and prophetic Pentecostalism are highlighted to demonstrate peculiarities. These distinctions help not to generalise when addressing the challenges and weaknesses of a specific Pentecostal subtradition. However, it is these distinctions in Pentecostalism that enable both insiders and outsiders to engage in an interdisciplinary study within theological disciplines and multidisciplinary study between theology and other disciplines. The distinctions in Pentecostalism assist African scholars in thoroughly engaging in decolonial discourses within theological studies in order to highlight challenges and provide solutions.Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiolog
Does foreign direct investment influence poverty in Zimbabwe? A multivariate approach
No full textThis study examined the causal relationship between poverty and foreign direct investment inflows in Zimbabwe using data from 1990 to 2020. The study was motivated by the need to determine which factor influence the other between FDI and poverty. This would contribute to identifying possible solution to the challenge of low foreign direct investment and high poverty levels in Zimbabwe, despite the government open-door policy for foreign investors. The human development index and household consumption expenditure were used as poverty proxies. Using the autoregressive distributed lag to cointegration test and ECM-based causality test, the study found a unidirectional causal flow from poverty to foreign direct investment in both the short and long run, regardless of the poverty proxy used. The study confirms the importance of preconditions to foreign direct investment inflows. It is recommended that policy makers in Zimbabwe complement the open-door policy for foreign investors with policies that address preconditions such as poverty, infrastructure, education and health, to stimulate high levels of foreign direct investment.Economic
Information for Banking Efficiency in Africa: Evidence from Income Levels and Legal Origins
No full textThe study assesses how information sharing through mobile phones affects banking system efficiency in Africa with particular emphasis on income levels (middle-income versus low-income countries) and legal origins (English Common law versus French Civil law countries). The focus is on 53 African countries with data for the period 1996-2019, and the empirical evidence is based on Quantile regressions which enable the study to assess the nexus throughout the conditional distribution of banking system efficiency. The following findings are established: (i) mobile phone penetration promotes banking system efficiency in the 25th quantile and the median of banking system efficiency in low-income countries, while for middle-income countries, it is significant exclusively in the bottom quantile (i.e., 10th quantile). (ii) Except for the highest (i.e., 90th) quantile in which the effect of the mobile phone is not significant in English Common law countries, the impact is significant throughout the conditional distribution of banking system efficiency in Common law countries. (iii) As for French Civil law countries, the nexus is only significant in the median and highest (i.e., 90th) quantile of the conditional distribution of banking system efficiency. Policy implications are discussed.Colleges of Economic and Management Science
Literacy matters in sustainable livelihood development among refugee adults in South Africa
Get PDFBackground: Political and economic upheavals in the current millennium globally have
displaced millions of people, making cross-border and forced migration a reality. Many
refugees are forced out of their countries and flee to other countries to find new languages with which they are not familiar. South Africa as a signatory to the 1954 UN Convention on refugees and stateless persons accepts refugees (asylum seekers) from all over the world. The displaced persons are mostly illiterate in English and the indigenous languages of their new settlement
countries. Objectives: The study was set up to investigate the socio-economic value of literacy in the lives of refugee adults in South Africa. Hence, in this article, literacy refers to the ability to read, write, calculate, communicate and function in any language with a basic understanding in one’s environment. Method: This ethnographic qualitative study used interviews, observations and focus group meetings to explore how literacy matters in the sustainable development of entrepreneurial activities among the refugee adults and youths in South Africa. The study is grounded in Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy theory and has some implications for adult literacy throughout the developing world where millions of adult refugees find themselves vulnerable. Results: The study revealed that refugee adults learn functional literacy in English and other 11 local South African languages informally as communication skills for the survival of their small businesses and for social and economic use in their ‘adopted home’. They find it difficult to get employment in the formal sector and often use their ingenuity to create their own jobs
for survival and livelihoods in informal trade and entrepreneurship. Conclusion: The article concludes that within the public adult learning interventions by the Department of Basic Education, where literacy programmes are offered, refugees should be encouraged and supported in attending formal classes to deal with their livelihoods and small businesses for survival.Adult Basic Education (ABET