Browsing by Title
-
Kerfoot, Caroline; Geidt, Jonathan; Alexander, Lucy; Dayile, Nomvuyo; Groener, Zelda; Hendriks, Natheem; Walters, Shirley (Centre for Continuing and Adult Education (CACE), University of the Western Cape, 2001)[more][less]
Abstract: This study presents the results of an investigation into the impact of CACE courses for adult educators, trainers and development practitioners. The report describes how the courses affected the training practices and lives of past students. Case studies document and analyse the problems and successes of implementing capacity-building ABET training in the Northern Cape. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/216 Files in this item: 1
KerfootABET2001.pdf (923.6Kb) -
Hughes, Gail; Puoane, Thandi; Bradley, Hazel A. (SEMDSA (Society for Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes of SA), 2006)[more][less]
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Diabetes constitutes a significant health problem in South Africa. Early detection and good management can prevent or delay complications, with national guidelines for diabetes treatment now available to facilitate this. However, problems are being encountered with their implementation and there is evidence that preventive care is still inadequate in South Africa. Community health workers (CHWs) are lay personnel employed to serve as a link between professional health care staff and the community. They visit homes and can be a powerful force for diabetes prevention and adherence to treatment regimens, given appropriate knowledge. METHOD: We conducted a study to evaluate the knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of a group of CHWs serving a poor urban area, using focus groups and personal interviews. RESULTS: The CHWs did not have the requisite knowledge, attitudes and beliefs to make a positive impact on prevention and management of diabetes. For example, they cited eating sugar as a cause of diabetes. They advised folk remedies that purportedly diluted the blood sugar. Their patients took prescribed medication irregularly. Obesity was not considered an important risk factor. Poverty, however, was recognised as an obstacle to proper treatment. CONCLUSION: Training is clearly needed to empower the CHWs with skills to work within their communities to identify risk factors for diabetes and other non-communicable diseases, with emphasis on diet and physical activity. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/278 Files in this item: 1
HughesDiabetes2006.pdf (242.4Kb) -
van der Spuy, Patricia; Clowes, Lindsay (History Department, University of the Western Cape, 2007)[more][less]
Abstract: This article reviews Helen Scanlon's book, "Representation and reality", and Nombonisa Gasa's "Women in South African history", and locates each against the historiography of South African women's history URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/139 Files in this item: 1
vanderSpuyAccidentalFeminists2007.pdf (173.5Kb) -
Bozalek, Vivienne (Taylor and Francis, 2011)[more][less]
Abstract: Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) research techniques can contribute to decolonising methodologies by alerting participants to privilege and marginalisation through encounters across difference. Consciousness of privileges is often obscured and naturalised as part of normative expectations of everyday living. This paper contends that no one is exempt from interrogating their positionality and their beliefs, and that PLA research techniques can provide the means by which people can be confronted with privileges and marginality through encountering the ‘other’. A case study conducted across Higher Education Institutions in South Africa is presented to show how PLA techniques can make a substantial contribution to processes of research. The case study shows how PLA research techniques make it possible to bring people together to confront differential privileges, thus giving people the opportunity to become both insiders and committed outsiders in their interactions across differences. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/528 Files in this item: 1
-
Brierley, Andrew S.; Axelson, Bjorn Erik; Buecher, Emmanuelle; Sparks, Conrad A.J.; Boyer, Helen; Gibbons, Mark J. (Inter-Research, 2001)[more][less]
Abstract: Multi-frequency acoustic data (18, 38 and 120 kHz) were collected in conjunction with pelagic trawl sampling for gelatinous macrozooplankton during a cruise to the Namibian Benguela in September 1999. Sampling focused specifically on the scyphozoan Chrysaora hysoscella and the hydrozoan Aequorea aequorea, both of which occur in large numbers, are probably of major ecological importance, and physically hamper pelagic fishing and diamond extraction activities. C. hysoscella was detected predominantly at an inshore station and A. aequorea was found in greatest abundance further offshore in deeper water. Echo-sounder observations were linked directly to net catches, and relationships between catch density (number of individuals m–3) and nautical area scattering coefficients (sA) at each frequency were determined for both species in order to estimate target strength (TS) using the comparison method. TS for C. hysoscella (mean umbrella diameter 26.8 cm) was –51.5 dB at 18 kHz, –46.6 dB at 38 kHz and –50.1 dB at 120 kHz; for A. aequorea (mean central umbrella diameter 7.4 cm) TS was –68.1 dB at 18 kHz, –66.3 dB at 38 kHz and –68.5 dB at 120 kHz. These TS values compared favourably with previously published estimates for related species. Jellyfish were caught at high numerical densities (maxima 3 C. hysoscella per 100 m3, 168 A. aequorea per 100 m3). These high densities, combined with the not unsubstantial TS at frequencies used for fisheries surveys, imply that jellyfish could potentially bias acoustic estimates of fish abundance. We suggest a simple multifrequency approach that could be used to discriminate between echoes from jellyfish and some commercially important pelagic fish in the northern Benguela ecosystem. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/246 Files in this item: 1
BrierleyAcoustic 2001.pdf (799.2Kb) -
Acrolein in wine: Importance of 3-Hydroxypropionaldehyde and derivatives in production and detectionCowan, Donald A.; Crouch, Andrew; Bauer, Rolene (American Chemical Society, 2010)[more][less]
Abstract: This review highlights the importance of 3-HPA and derivates in the detection of acrolein in wine. The biochemical and environmental conditions leading to 3-HPA production are also reviewed. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/168 Files in this item: 1
BauerAcrolein2010.pdf (123.6Kb) -
Steyl, Tania; Phillips, Julie (Faculty of Medicine, Makerere University, 2011)[more][less]
Abstract: Background: Substance use among youth is a worldwide epidemic that impacts negatively on the health sector as well as the family and society. Early student life is a time of tremendously high motivation to conform to the behaviours, values, and attitudes that are valued by the youth culture. They observe their peers’ behavior and alter their own behaviour with their peers’ norms and expectations. This compliance with perceived peer norms can however lead to increased smoking, alcohol and drug use. Objectives: To determine and analyze risky and health promoting behaviour of health science students at a university in the Western Cape, South Africa. In this paper the association between actual risk and perceived risk for substance is discussed. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire containing items from both the NCHRBS and the ACHA-NCHA were administered to 201 health science students at a South African university. Results: When perceptions of typical student behaviour were compared to actual reported behaviour, overestimated consumption patterns for the typical student was found for smoking, alcohol and drug use. Conclusion: The misperceptions of peer norms have important educational or prevention program implications. These findings clearly indicate that educational and awareness programs regarding alcohol and drug use should take perceptions of peer alcohol and drug use into consideration. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/506 Files in this item: 1
SteylSubstanceUse2011.pdf (109.5Kb) -
Ma, Zhen Yu; Tucker, William D. (Telkom, 2008)[more][less]
Abstract: Deaf people want to communicate remotely with sign language. Sign language requires sufficient video quality to be intelligible. Internet-based real-time video tools do not provide that quality. Our approach is to use asynchronous transmission to maintain video quality. Unfortunately, this entails a corresponding increase in latency. To reduce latency as much as possible, we sought to adapt a synchronous video codec to an asynchronous video application. First we compared several video codecs with subjective and objective metrics. This paper describes the process by which we chose x264 and integrated it into a Deaf telephony video application, and experimented to configure x264 optimally for the asynchronous environment. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/511 Files in this item: 1
MaTuckerDeafVideoTelephony2008.pdf (348.1Kb) -
du Toit, Andries (2009)[more][less]
Description: Paper presented at the "Escaping Poverty Traps: Connecting the Chronically Poor to Economic Growth" Conference, February 26-27, 2009 J.W. Marriott, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, D.C. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/65 Files in this item: 1
duToit_Adverse2009.pdf (408.0Kb) -
Khan, Sadika; Geerts, Greta (South African Dental Association (SADA), 2005)[more][less]
Abstract: Removable partial dentures (RPD) are an effective and affordable treatment option for partial edentulism. If the main reason for seeking treatment is the need for improved aesthetics, treatment should be geared towards achieving this goal. This article is the result of a literature study on aesthetic clasp design for the conventional RPD. In this context, the position of the clasp on the tooth, clasp types, clasp material and alternative methods of retention are reviewed. Although published in reputable journals, the authors report that many articles published on this subject are of a descriptive nature and lack scientific evidence. Therefore, clinicians are encouraged to be critical in their interpretation of literature and the application of published information in their clinical practices. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/223 Files in this item: 1
KhanRemovable2005.pdf (617.5Kb) -
Pretorius, Joelien (Routledge, 2011)[more][less]
Abstract: The United States India nuclear agreement, announced in 2005, was a first step in the process to normalise India’s international nuclear relations despite the fact that India is not a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Africa is largely seen as a uranium supplier rather than nuclear power producer in the world nuclear order. The position that African states take towards Africa India nuclear cooperation, uranium supply to India in particular, is informed by two seemingly contrasting factors, namely economic and political pragmatism on the one hand, and non-proliferation imperatives and norms on the other. The African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty, also referred to as the Pelindaba Treaty, prohibits uranium and nuclear-related exports to states without comprehensive safeguards of their nuclear facilities, but the case of India is still open for interpretation. Africa and India’s shared post-colonial consciousness, manifesting in their historical ties, membership of the Non-Aligned Movement and South South cooperation, is often regarded as another factor facilitating Africa India nuclear relations. A more critical view points to the different notions of post-coloniality in Africa and India, resulting in different approaches to nuclear non-proliferation that constrain their nuclear relations. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/484 Files in this item: 1
PretoriusPelindabaTreaty2011.pdf (256.8Kb) -
Mohamed, Shehaamah; Fullard, Allison (2009)[more][less]
Abstract: African Higher Education Research Online (AHERO) is an international disciplinary repository for research texts that focus on the practice and development of higher education in Africa. Distributed researchers upload their documents to AHERO through a semi-automated process. Launched in January 2007, AHERO now holds 435 full text research texts relating to African higher education. The paper will outline the project’s objectives and present the results of findings emerging from the two year experience of liaison with researchers and publishers as we attempted to recruit papers for the disciplinary archive. Description: Paper presented at the African Digital Scholarship and Curation conference, 12-14 May 2009, CSIR Conference Centre, Pretoria, South Africa URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/31 Files in this item: 1
MohamedFullard2009.pdf (825.5Kb) -
Gottschalk, Keith (Adonis & Abbey Publishers, 2012)[more][less]
Abstract: After seven decades of episodic existence through conferences, the Pan-African project became permanently institutionalised with the founding of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963, with a qualitative upgrade into the African Union in 2002. Much academic literature on African integration and the OAU-AU is pessimistic. Most media commentary is dismissive of the AU, and derogatory of the Pan-African Parliament. This article seeks to trace the on-going evolution of the OAU-AU, and enquire how the AU stands up to contemporary regional organisations. This makes it focus on operationalised ground truth, rather than entities which exist mostly on paper. The African Union and its regional communities have achieved significantly more - and attempted vastly more - than a score of contemporaries such as the Organisation of American States, the League of Arab States, the Association of South-East Asian Nations, and the Southern Common Market. Among regional communities, the African Union is arguably second in accomplishments to only the European Union, which has a three orders of magnitude larger budget and personnel establishment. The African Union's operations focus on peace-making, while its institution-building focuses on economic integration and development. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/492 Files in this item: 1
GottschalkAfricanUnion2012.pdf (786.2Kb) -
Field, Roger (Taylor & Francis, 2012)[more][less]
Abstract: The Greek poet George Seferis (1900-1971) spent 10 months in South Africa during WWII as a senior diplomatic official attached to the Greek government in exile. Drawing on his diary entries, correspondence and poetry this article challenges earlier interpretations of his work best described as a ‘synchronic panoptic vision’ (Bhabha). Beginning with an exploration of the troubled relationship between the ‘glory that was Greece’ and the failure of its early 20thcentury nationalist, expansionist and modernization projects, the article argues that Seferis tried to overcome alienation from landscape and a crisis of creativity in two ways: he transcribed and commented on Cavafy’s poetry, but was unable to resolve his relationship with the latter; by reaching down into the ruins of ancient Greece and back into its mythological past, through a process of negative displacement he transforms these crises into a descent to the world of the dead. Unlike Odysseus, he receives no guidance from its inhabitants, for they speak only the language of flowers and there are none. Accompanying Seferis’ dual purpose use of classical mythology as national heritage and ironic device is a more problematic aspect of modernism – the relegation of Africa and its sub- Saharan inhabitants to a primitive otherness that, he felt, limited his ability to express himself, and which generated some of his greatest poetry. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/512 Files in this item: 1
FieldGeorgeSeferis2012.pdf (266.4Kb) -
Phillips, Julie (Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, University of the Western Cape, 2008)[more][less]
Abstract: Background: According to the World Health Organization global alcohol consumption has increased in recent decades, with most of this increase occurring in developing countries. Added to this is the concern of the increased social acceptability of alcohol use and the widespread experimentation with alcohol during adolescence. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to better understand health risk behaviours, specifically alcohol use, among black female high school learners in a designated research locale of a local community in the Western Cape, South Africa. Study design: The method of inquiry in this study was a mixed methods sequential explanatory strategy. Results: A lifetime prevalence of alcohol use was reported by 57.8% of the study sample. All the participants agreed that drinking has a negative influence on adolescent health. Conclusion: Alcohol use in South Africa is an ever-increasing health problem and the current study provides evidence that the prevalence of this behaviour remains a public health concern. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/113 Files in this item: 1
PhillipsAlcohol2008.pdf (68.01Kb) -
Conradie, Ernst (Stellenbosch University, 2011)[more][less]
Abstract: This article first offers a brief overview of the history of what is understood under "natural theology". The contrast between the Barthian critique against natural theology and the dangers of repudiating natural theology as stressed within the context of contemporary discourse on science and theology is highlighted. In response, the author offers a constructive proposal in which the hermeneutic necessity of natural theology is affirmed. This follows from a notion of that which is "natural" which includes human constructs (also ideas). In this sense all theology is by definition natural theology. However, the Barthian critique against natural theology may still be appropriate as a selection of those signs that can express the inexpressible with relative adequacy URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/389 Files in this item: 1
ConradieTheology2011.pdf (59.24Kb) -
Bock, Zannie; Gough, David H. (Routledge, 2001)[more][less]
Abstract: The question of the 'great divide' between orality and literacy has been critically addressed by various scholars of literacy, including social literacy theorists. This paper uses the notions of primary and secondary discourse across both oral and literate contexts to examine this 'divide'. Using evidence from the oral tradition of the Xhosa, it is shown that 'traditional' societies have well-established primary and secondary discourse types. Against this understanding, the issue of 'access' to Western academic literacy is examined. It is argued that within the changing context of South African society and as a direct result of former apartheid policies, individuals may have failed to acquire the cultural capital of both oral secondary and literate secondary discourse types. The literate secondary discourse practices of Xhosa-speaking students at univer¬sity are explored through an analysis of student writing. This paper then reports on several projects which attempt to address some of the concerns of academic staff with respect to student writing. In particular, this section argues for a broadening of the notion of 'academic literacy' and suggests some ways in which texts derived from the oral tradition may be used to develop awareness of secondary discourse types. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/266 Files in this item: 1
Bock_Perspectives2001.pdf (637.5Kb) -
Bock, Zannie; Mazwi, Ngwanya; Metula, Sifundo; Mpolweni-Zantsi, Nosisi (Department of General Linguistics, Stellenbosch University, 2006)[more][less]
Abstract: The main aim of this research is to evaluate “what has been lost” in the simultaneous interpretation and transcription processes of selected Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) testimonies. The testimonies under consideration are those of two of the widows of the Cradock Four who were murdered by the South African Security Branch in 1985 for their work in mobilising resistance to apartheid. The widows testified in Xhosa at the East London Human Rights Violation hearings in 1996 and their testimonies were simultaneously interpreted into English on the day of the hearing. Using audiovisual copies of the testimonies on which one can hear the original soundtrack, as well as the English voice-over, we transcribed the testimonies in the source language (e.g. Xhosa). We then translated these into English and compared our translation with the official English versions which are published on the TRC website. Our analysis revealed that a significant number of meanings were lost under the pressures of simultaneous interpretation. These meanings related predominantly to the ‘emotional’ content: for example, to aspects of narrative style expressed through gesture, intonation, repetition and the use of direct speech, particularly the verbatim quotes of the police in Afrikaans. We also noted that an understanding of the culture of the testifier was essential to understanding the testimony and that researchers who did not have access to the testimony in the source language and the cultural codes of the testifier would be significantly compromised when trying to understand the testimonies. In addition, we noted the loss of a number of factual meanings as a result of inaccuracies and omissions both during the interpretation and transcription process. We argued that these losses and omissions detracted primarily from what the TRC referred to as the ‘narrative truth’ or subjective meanings of the testimonies, and, in some cases, the ‘factual truth’. We undertook this research because we are concerned that many researchers only have access to the official TRC record. This record, in our view, is in some cases compromised as the processes of simultaneous interpretation and transcription inevitably led to some loss of meaning due to the pressures and constraints under which the interpreters were working. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/214 Files in this item: 1
BockTRCTestimonies2006.pdf (119.0Kb) -
Cowan, Donald A.; Mamais, A.; Russell, Nick A.; Sheppard, Devon M. (Springer Verlag, 2002)[more][less]
Abstract: We have applied bioluminescent ATP detection methods to microbial enumeration in Antarctic Dry Valley mineral soils, and validated our ATP data by two independent methods. We have demonstrated that ATP measurement is a valid means of determining microbial biomass in such sites, and that the desiccated surface mineral soils of the Antarctic Dry Valleys contain cell numbers over four orders of magnitude higher than previously suggested URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/162 Files in this item: 1
CowanAntacticDryValleys2002.pdf (475.3Kb) -
Basson, Nicolaas; Grobler, Sias (BioMed Central, 2008)[more][less]
Abstract: Background: Honey has been shown to have wound healing properties which can be ascribed to its antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial activity can be effective against a broad spectrum of bacterial species especially those of medical importance. It has also been shown that there is considerable variation in the antimicrobial potency of different types of honey, which is impossible to predict. With this in mind we tested the antimicrobial activity of honeys produced from plants grown in South Africa for their antibacterial properties on selected standard strains of oral microorganisms. Methods: The honeys used were produced from the blossoms of Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Bluegum) trees, an indigenous South African plant Leucospermum cordifolium (Pincushion), a mixture of wild heather shrubs, mainly Erica species (Fynbos) and a Leptospermum scoparium (Manuka) honey. Only pure honey which had not been heated was used. The honeys were tested for their antimicrobial properties with a broth dilution method. Results: Although the honeys produced some inhibitory effect on the growth of the microorganisms, no exceptionally high activity occurred in the South African honeys. The carbohydrate concentration plays a key role in the antimicrobial activity of the honeys above 25%. However, these honeys do contain other antimicrobial properties that are effective against certain bacterial species at concentrations well below the hypertonic sugar concentration. The yeast C. albicans was more resistant to the honeys than the bacteria. The species S. anginosus and S. oralis were more sensitive to the honeys than the other test bacteria. Conclusion: The honeys produced from indigenous wild flowers from South Africa had no exceptionally high activity that could afford medical grade status. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/597 Files in this item: 1
BassonAntimicrobialactivity2008.pdf (210.5Kb)