Search results for: south african constitution

Authors: Patricia P. M. C. Lourenço

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South Korean Entertainment Industry has reversed the gender binary through Beast and Beauty Korean dramas that perpetuate Korean unrealistic beauty standards by emphasizing freckles, acne, pimples, excessive weight, fizzy hair, glasses, and braces as ugly and unattractive, therefore in need of correction to fit into society’s pre-established beauty mould. This pursuit of physical beauty as a happiness goal only detracts singularity in favour of mundaneness, sustaining the illusion that unsightly women need to undergo a physical transformation to improve their lives while handsome, wealthy men need not do anything more than altruistically accept them for who they really are inside. Five Beast and Beauty dramas were analysed for this paper. The assessment revealed that there is standardization and typecasting of Beast and Beauty roles in K-Dramas, a reflection of South Korean’s patriarchal society where women and men are continuously expected to fulfil their pre-established gender binary roles and stereotypes.

Keywords: K-dramas, beauty, low self-esteem, plastic surgery, South Korean stereotypes

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Authors: Lily Chimuanya, Ehioghae Esther

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Language, a versatile and sophisticated tool, is fundamentally sacrosanct to mankind especially within the realm of politics. In this dynamic world, political leaders adroitly use language to engage in a strategic show aimed at manipulating or mechanising the opinion of discerning people. This nuanced synergy is marked by different rhetorical strategies, meticulously synced with contextual factors ranging from cultural, ideological, and political to achieve multifaceted persuasive objectives. This study investigates the (de)legitimation strategies inherent in African presidential inaugural speeches, as African leaders not only state their policy agenda through inaugural speeches but also subtly indulge in a dance of legitimation and delegitimation, performing a twofold objective of strengthening the credibility of their administration and, at times, undermining the performance of the past administration. Drawing insights from two different legitimation models and a dataset of 4 African presidential inaugural speeches obtained from authentic websites, the study describes the roles of authorisation, rationalisation, moral evaluation, altruism, and mythopoesis in unmasking the structure of political discourse. The analysis takes a mixed-method approach to unpack the (de)legitimation strategy embedded in the carefully chosen speeches. The focus extends beyond a superficial exploration and delves into the linguistic elements that form the basis of presidential discourse. In conclusion, this examination goes beyond the nuanced landscape of language as a potent tool in politics, with each strategy contributing to the overall rhetorical impact and shaping the narrative. From this perspective, the study argues that presidential inaugural speeches are not only linguistic exercises but also viable weapons that influence perceptions and legitimise authority.

Keywords: CDA, legitimation, inaugural speeches, delegitmation

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Authors: Andre Bechuke

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The years of 2015-2017 witnessed a huge campaign, and in some instances, violent protests in South Africa by students and some groups of academics advocating the decolonisation of the curriculum of universities. These protests have forced through high expectations for universities to teach a curriculum relevant to the country, and the continent as well as enabled South Africa to participate in the globalised world. To realise this purpose, most universities are currently undertaking steps to transform and decolonise their curriculum. However, the transformation process is challenged and delayed by lack of a collective understanding of the concepts ‘decolonisation’ and ‘africanisation’ that should guide its application. Even more challenging is lack of a contextual understanding of these concepts across different university disciplines. Against this background, and underpinned in a qualitative research paradigm, the perspectives of these concepts as applied by different university disciplines were examined in order to understand and establish their implementation in the curriculum transformation agenda. Data were collected by reviewing the teaching and learning plans of 8 faculties of an institution of higher learning in South Africa and analysed through content and textual analysis. The findings revealed varied understanding and use of these concepts in the transformation of the curriculum across faculties. Decolonisation, according to the faculties of Law and Humanities, is perceived as the eradication of the Eurocentric positioning in curriculum content and the constitutive rules and norms that control thinking. This is not done by ignoring other knowledge traditions but does call for an affirmation and validation of African views of the world and systems of thought, mixing it with current knowledge. For the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, decolonisation is seen as making the content of the curriculum relevant to students, fulfilling the needs of industry and equipping students for job opportunities. This means the use of teaching strategies and methods that are inclusive of students from diverse cultures, and to structure the learning experience in ways that are not alien to the cultures of the students. For the Health Sciences, decolonisation of the curriculum refers to the need for a shift in Western thinking towards being more sensitive to all cultural beliefs and thoughts. Collectively, decolonisation of education thus entails that a nation must become independent with regard to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. Based on the findings, for universities to successfully transform their curriculum and integrate the concepts of decolonisation and Africanisation, there is a need to contextually determine the meaning of the concepts generally and narrow them down to what they should mean to specific disciplines. Universities should refrain from considering an umbrella approach to these concepts. Decolonisation should be seen as a means and not an end. A decolonised curriculum should equally be developed based on the finest knowledge skills, values, beliefs and habits around the world and not limited to one country or continent.

Keywords: Africanisation, curriculum, transformation, decolonisation, multidisciplinary perspectives, South Africa’s higher education

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Authors: Ntandoyenkosi Moyo

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Majority of rural Eastern Cape villages of South Africa households do not have access to safe water supply. Due to changes in climatic conditions for example higher temperatures, these sources become not reliable in supplying adequate and safe water to the population. These rural populations due to the drying up of water resources have to find other alternative ways to get water. Climate change has an impact on the reliability of water resources and this has an impact on rural communities. This study seeks to establish what alternative ways do people use when affected by unfavorable conditions like less rainfall and increased temperatures. The study also seeks to investigate any local and provincial intervention in the provision of water to the village. Interventions can be in the form of programmes or initiatives that involve water supply strategies. The community should participate fully in making sure that their place is serviced. The study will identify households with improved sources (JOJO tanks) and those with unimproved sources (rivers) and investigate what alternatives they resort to when their sources dry up. The study also investigates community views on whether they have any challenges of water supply (reliability and adequacy) as required by section 27(1) (b) of the constitution which states that everyone should have access to safe and clean water.

Keywords: rural water resources, temperature, improved sources, unimproved sources

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Authors: Michelle Micah Augustine

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Soap opera narrative creates a sense of community. Uzalo is a South African local soap opera television series. It is unique because Uzalo tells the story of black people and their everyday struggle centered in KwaMashu township community, which is an excellent example of how moving image culture has contributed in portraying township community that was once marginalized by the apartheid regime in contemporary South Africa. While soap opera importance and promotion of social change and behaviours have been extensively studied throughout history, little research has examined the importance of space and place in its narrative. This study explored the conventional community space and place, the core elements that drive soap opera narrative. By means of qualitative content analysis, the study investigated the construction of public meeting places in Uzalo, using a purposive sampling technique to collect data by choosing episodes. The result indicates that characters convergence in public meeting places in soap opera creates disequilibrium which drives the narrative; reveals that construction of a public meeting place is an important way of creating a minimum of homogeneousness among disparate characters, gives a sense of unified experience drawing on the notion of the particular characteristics or attitude generated from such place. The result shows that the use of camera angles, movements, editing, music and usual tricks (mise-en-scene) applied in the narrative setting function as a guide for viewers comprehension of emotional responses of the story and to connect with the space in which the narrative is set.

Keywords: community, narrative, place, space, soap opera

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Authors: Bassey Rofem Inyang, Matshidze Pfarelo, Mabale Dolphin

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Using a qualitative descriptive design, this study established the consequences of the on-going transitional rites on youth morality in the Thulamela Local Municipality, South Africa. The participants were sampled using a non-random sampling procedure, specifically, a purposive sampling technique and a snowball sampling technique. A semi-structured interview guide was recruited to collect data from the Indigenous Knowledge (IK) custodians, the parents of the youths and the youths until the point of saturation. The analysis was performed using a thematic content method. With the emergence of themes and sub-themes, broad categories were generated to differentiate and explain the thoughts expressed by the various respondents and the observations made in the field. The study findings suggest that the on-going transitional rites are depicted by weekend social activities with the practice of substance use and abuse among the youths at recreational spots. The transitional rites are structured under the guise of “freaks” as an evolving culture among the youths. The freaks culture is a counterculture of the usual initiation schools for transitional rites of passage which is believed to instill morality among youths. The findings comprehensively show that the on-going transitional rites influence inappropriate youth morality. This study concluded that the on-going transitional rites activities and practices evolved as a current socialization standard for quick maturity status; as a result, it will be challenging to provide a complete turnaround of this evolving culture. The study, however, recommends building on the exciting transitional rites of passage to moderate appropriate youths’ morality in Thulamela communities.

Keywords: morality, transitional rites, youths, behaviour

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Authors: H. V. Smit, V. H. J. de Wet

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South African municipalities are dealing with aging and dilapidated infrastructure while faced with challenges in the form of expanding informal settlements, vandalism, theft, and a lack of maintenance which place even more pressure on existing infrastructure. The existing infrastructure was never designed to cater to these challenges, and this becomes evident when evaluating the current state of many municipal sewer pump stations. A need has thus arisen to develop a sewer pump station design concept that will address these challenges and allow for a long-term sustainable solution. This article deals with the design concepts which have been developed for sewer pump stations for an effective reduction in maintenance, improved grit handling, improvement to the operation and maintenance working conditions, and the adoption of high-security design philosophy.

Keywords: high security, low maintenance, municipal application, sewer pump station

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Authors: Gerald Steyn

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Despite the huge number of identical, tiny, boxy, freestanding houses built by the South African government after the advent of democracy in 1994, squatter camps continue to mushroom, and there is no evidence that the backlog is being reduced. Not only is the wasteful low-density detached-unit approach of the past being perpetuated, but the social, spatial, and economic marginalization is worse than before 1994. The situation is precarious since squatters are vulnerable to fires and flooding. At the same time, the occupants of the housing schemes are trapped far from employment opportunities or any public amenities. Despite these insecurities, the architectural, urban design, and city planning professions are puzzlingly quiet. Design projects address these issues only at the universities, albeit inevitably with somewhat Utopian notions. Geoffrey Payne, the renowned urban housing and urban development consultant and researcher focusing on issues in the Global South, once proclaimed that “we do not have a housing problem – we have a settlement problem.” This dictum was used as the guiding philosophy to conceptualize urban design and architectural principles that foreground the needs of low-income households and allow them to be fully integrated into the larger conurbation. Information was derived from intensive research over two decades, involving frequent visits to informal settlements, historic Black townships, and rural villages. Observations, measured site surveys, and interviews resulted in several scholarly articles from which a set of desirable urban and architectural criteria could be extracted. To formulate culturally appropriate design principles, existing vernacular and informal patterns were analyzed, reconciled with contemporary designs that align with the requirements for the envisaged settlement attributes, and reimagined as residential design principles. Five interrelated design principles are proposed, ranging in scale from (1) Integrating informal settlements into the city, (2) linear neighborhoods, (3) market streets as wards, (4) linear neighborhoods, and (5) typologies and densities for clustered and aggregated patios and courtyards. Each design principle is described, first in terms of its context and associated issues of concern, followed by a discussion of the patterns available to inform a possible solution, and finally, an explanation and graphic illustration of the proposed design. The approach is predominantly bottom-up since each of the five principles is unfolded from existing informal and vernacular practices studied in situ. They are, however, articulated and represented in terms of contemporary design language. Contrary to an idealized vision of housing for South Africa’s low-income urban households, this study proposes actual principles for critical assessment by peers in the tradition of architectural research in design.

Keywords: culturally appropriate design principles, informal settlements, South Africa’s housing backlog, squatter camps

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Authors: Anupam Das

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Although financial liberalization has been one of the most important policy prescriptions of international organizations like the World Bank and the IMF, the effect of financial liberalization on economic growth in developing countries is far from unanimous. Since the '80s, South Asian countries made a significant development in liberalization the financial sector. However, due to unavailability of a sufficient number of time series observations, the relationship between economic growth and financial development has not been investigated adequately. We aim to fill this gap by examining time series data of five developing countries from the South Asian region: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Applying the cointegration tests and Granger causality within the vector error correction model (VECM), we do not find unanimous evidence of financial development on positive economic growth. These results are helpful for developing countries which have been trying to liberalize the financial sector in recent decades.

Keywords: economic growth, financial development, Granger causality, South Asia

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Authors: Eliane Cristina De Carvalho Mendoza Meza

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The Brazilian Federal Constitution from 1988 innovated with decentralized management, sharing the decision process among the federal government, states, and municipality (federalism). This innovation gave the opportunity to the civil society participates in the public policy agenda, including the municipal one; the state recognized that new actors were needed now it has been one more actor and not the only one. It was in this context that the woman’s Policy Secretaries were created in the three levels of government: federal, state and municipal. It intend to reduce the historical and social differences between men and women, especially in the poorest municipalities, working in a network basis with other secretaries, governmental institutions and non-governmental organizations to promote actions that can result in benefits and empowerment for women. In addition, they promote actions to protect them from domestic violence and to help them to learn how generate income. It was not a calm process, women have been fighting for their rights since the 1970s and despite the gender equality was recognized in the Federal Constitution of 1988, just in 2013 it was possible to see a real growth in the creation of municipal Women’s Policy Secretary. In 2009, just 6.5% of the cities in Brazil had implemented the Secretary; in 2013, it was 11%. The municipality realized that the gender issue was in reality a public problem, so the municipal agenda incorporated it and transformed in public policy, creating the municipal Women’s Policy Secretary. The introduction of a gender policy in Brazilian municipalities shows us that the female citizens are treated as political subjects and it is the first step to try to compensate inequality between men and women in the local level. It becomes more important when the Brazilian federalism is analyzed. In Brazil, the federal government controls the municipalities’ budgets to implement federal public policies and others federal interests, so having a public policy of gender approved by the actors in the local government with so little freedom to manage is something very important. It is necessary mark some points: taking a gender policy to the poorest cities is a form to protect all citizens with no distinction, men and women, as recommended in the Federal Constitution; not all problems in a city center in the municipal agenda, this only happens when a problem is perceived as an issue, it means the women situation was perceived as important, so that it became a public policy; at least, the gender public policy intend to emancipate and contemplate the empowerment of women.

Keywords: federalism, gender, municipal agenda, social participation

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Authors: Badamasi Tarda Ayuba

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African countries contend with many developmental challenges particularly that of overcoming ethnic and religious conflicts. There is the recent wave of terrorism which is also ascribed to religious intolerance. It is a reality that most sub-Saharan African countries/communities consist of several distinct ethnic groups. In a typical classroom, within both rural and urban contexts, children from diverse ethnic and socio-cultural backgrounds converge to learn and grow together. This implies that education has the potentials for fostering inter-communal understanding such that young people could learn, grow together and assume leadership positions to work in pursuit of common goals of nation building. However, given the spate of inter communal clashes erupting too frequently in many parts of the continent and the dangerous trend of ethnicization of serious national affairs, it is doubtful if these objectives are being realized through education. Thus, this paper argued that the current developments indicate failure of the education system in the realization of the countries’ educational goals of creating united, peaceful and indivisible nations, thus far. Further, the failure occurred and would continue to persist unless teachers are purposefully prepared in terms of professional competencies and attitudes to entrench in their students the culture of peaceful coexistence through the various professional roles they play within the schools and communities. Therefore, the paper examined the changing context and challenging roles expected of sub-Saharan African teachers in engendering peaceful coexistence and the need to purposefully develop their capacity and mindset for the new roles. The paper then recommended programs to expose and re-educate teachers towards such roles.

Keywords: sub-Saharan Africa, teacher, professional development, peaceful coexistence, multi-ethnicity, communities

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Authors: Olayemi Bakre

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The majoritant of the South African rural populace are directly or indirectly engaged in agricultural practices for a livelihood. However, impediments such as the climate change and inadequacy of governmental support has undermined the once thriving subsistence farming communities of South Africa. Furthermore, the poor leadership in hydrology, coupled with lack of depths in skills to facilitate the understanding and acceptance of groundwater from national level to local governance has made it near impossible for subsistence farmers to optimally benefit from the groundwater beneath their feet. The 2012 drought experienced in South Africa paralysed the farming activities across several subsistence farming communities across the KwaZulu-Natal Province. To revamp subsistence farming, a variety of interventions and strategies such as the Resource Poor Farmers (RPF) and Water Allocation Reforms (WAR) have been launched by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) as an agendum to galvanising the defunct subsistence farming communities of KwaZulu-Natal as well as other subsistence farming communities across South Africa. Despite the enormous resources expended on the subsistence farming communities whom often fall under the Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDI); indicators such as the unsustainable farming practices, poor crop yield, pitiable living condition as well as the poor standard of living, are evidential to the claim that these afore cited interventions and a host of other similar strategies indicates that these initiatives have not yield the desired result. Thus, this paper seeks to suggest practicable interventions aimed at salvaging the vulnerability of subsistence farmers within the province understudy. The study pursued a qualitative approach as the view of experts on ground water and similarly related fields from the DWS were solicited as an agendum to obtaining in-depth perspective into the current study. Some of the core challenges undermining the sustainability and growth of subsistence farming in the area of study were - inadequacy of experts (engineers, scientist, researchers) in ground water; water shortages; lack of political will as well as lack of coordination among stakeholders. As an agendum to optimising the ground water usage for subsistence farming, this paper advocates the strengthening of geohydrological skills, development of technical training capacity, interactive participation among stakeholders as well as the initiation of Participatory Action Research as an agenda to optimising the available ground water in KwaZulu-Natal which is intended to orchestrate a sustainable and viable subsistence farming practice within the province.

Keywords: subsistence farming, ground water optimisation, resource poor farmers, and water allocation reforms, hydrology

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Authors: Naima Fatehi

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The paper reports on 107 medicinal plants, traditionally used in the South-West of Algeria (Bechar region). The information has been documented by interviewing traditional herbalists, various elderly men and women following different ethnobotanical methods. Ethnobotanical data was arranged alphabetically by botanical name, followed by family name, vernacular name, and part used. The present paper represents significant ethnobotanical information on medical plants used extensively in Bechar region for treating various diseases and provides baseline data for future pharmacological and phytochemical studies.

Keywords: medicinal plants, ethnobotanical survey, South-West Algeria, Bechar region

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Authors: Langa Hendrick Musawenkosi, Twala Bhekisipho

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The success or failure of students is a concern for every academic institution, college, university, governments and students themselves. Several approaches have been researched to address this concern. In this paper, a view is held that when a student enters a university or college or an academic institution, he or she enters an academic environment. The academic environment is unique concept used to develop the solution for making predictions effectively. This paper presents a model to determine the propensity of a student to succeed or fail in the French South African Schneider Electric Education Center (FSASEC) at the Vaal University of Technology (VUT). The Decision Tree algorithm is used to implement the model at FSASEC.

Keywords: FSASEC, academic environment model, decision trees, k-nearest neighbor, machine learning, popularity index, support vector machine

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Authors: Faith Samkange, Juliet Chipumuro, Henry Wanyama

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Business development and entrepreneurship constitute a major part of economic and human development for many countries within the Southern Africa Development Communities (SADC). While a marked increase in entrepreneurship activity has been registered, more than 70% of these business enterprises are still failing particularly in their conceptual years. One of the major reasons for this failure is that project process trends have tended to be fragmented and linear in approach while focusing primarily on isolated articulation of development aspects such as marketing, operations, accounting and human resources management with limited integration. Given the complexity of environmental, economic and human development issues in the SADC region, a multi-disciplinary, transformative, systematic and coordinated approach towards entrepreneurship development may be a more useful approach. This paper develops a proposed conceptual framework for an innovative and sustainable food production and food consumption Agritech entrepreneurship project in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa based on a systematic review of existing literature. A thematic analysis of the literature reviewed is applied to develop this theoretical contribution to knowledge. The conceptual framework will be tested in a research driven intervention project designed to improve the quality of life for marginalized indigenous African communities by addressing poverty alleviation, unemployment and gender inequality as stipulated in the global sustainable development goals by the United Nations in 2018.

Keywords: innovative entrepreneurship, sustainability, food production and consumption, marginalised communities, poverty alleviation

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Authors: J. O. Idoko, C. N. Michael, T. O. Fasuan

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This study investigated the effects of cooking time, seed-to-water ratio and soaking time on proximate and functional properties of African walnut seed using Box-Behnken design and Response Surface Methodology (BBD-RSM) with a view to increase its utilization in the food industry. African walnut seeds were sorted washed, soaked, cooked, dehulled, sliced, dried and milled. Proximate analysis and functional properties of the samples were evaluated using standard procedures. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Quadratic models were obtained to predict the proximate and functional qualities as a function of cooking time, seed-to-water ratio and soaking time. The results showed that the crude protein ranged between 11.80% and 23.50%, moisture content ranged between 1.00% and 4.66%, ash content ranged between 3.35% and 5.25%, crude fibre ranged from 0.10% to 7.25% and carbohydrate ranged from 1.22% to 29.35%. The functional properties showed that soluble protein ranged from 16.26% to 42.96%, viscosity ranged from 23.43 mPas to 57 mPas, emulsifying capacity ranged from 17.14% to 39.43% and water absorption capacity ranged from 232% to 297%. An increase in the volume of water used during cooking resulted in loss of water soluble protein through leaching, the length of soaking time and the moisture content of the dried product are inversely related, ash content is inversely related to the cooking time and amount of water used, extraction of fat is enhanced by increase in soaking time while increase in cooking and soaking times result into decrease in fibre content. The results obtained indicated that African walnut could be used in several food formulations as protein supplement and binder.

Keywords: African walnut, functional properties, proximate analysis, response surface methodology

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Authors: Khatija Bahdur, Duane Dell’Oca

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There is limited information on how altitude impacts performance in a team sport. Most altitude research in football has been conducted at high elevation ( > 2500m), resulting in a chasm of understanding whether low to moderate altitude affects performance. The South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) fixtures entail matches played at altitudes from sea level to 1700m above mean sea level. Despite coaches highlighting the effect of altitude on performance outcomes in matches, further research is needed to establish whether altitude does impact match results. Greater insight into if and how altitude impacts performance in the PSL will assist coaches in deciding if and how to incorporate altitude in their planning. The purpose of this study is to fill in this gap through the use of a retrospective analysis of PSL matches. This quantitative study is based on a descriptive analysis of 181 PSL matches involving one team based at sea-level, taking place over a period of thirteen seasons. The following data were obtained: altitude at which the match was played, match result, the timing of goals, and timing of substitutions. The altitude was classified in 2 ways: inland ( > 500m) and coastal ( < 500m) and also further subdivided into narrower categories ( < 500m, 500-1000m, 1000-1300m; 1300-1500m, > 1500m). The analysis included a 2-sample t-test to determine differences in total goals scored and timing of goals for inland and coastal matches and the chi-square test to identify the significance of altitude on match results. The level of significance was set at the alpha level of 0.05. Match results are significantly affected by the altitude and level of altitude within inland teams most likely to win when playing at inland venues (p=0.000). The proportion of draws was slightly higher at the coast. At altitudes between 500-1000m, 1300-1500m, and 1500-1700m, a greater percentage of matches were won by coastal teams as opposed to draws. The timing of goals varied based on the team’s base altitude and the match elevation. The most significant differences were between 36-40 minutes (p=0.023), 41-45 minutes (p=0.000) and 50-65 minutes (p=0.000). When breaking down inland team’s matches to different altitude categories, greater differences were highlighted. Inland teams scored more goals per minute between 10-20 minute (p=0.009), 41-45 minutes (p=0.003) and 50-65 minutes (p=0.015). The total number of goals scored per match at different altitudes by a) inland teams (p=0.000), b) coastal teams (p=0.006). Coastal teams made significantly more substitutions when playing at altitude (p=0.034), although there were no significant differences when comparing the different altitude categories. The timing of all three changes, however, did vary significantly at the different altitudes. There were no significant differences in timing or number of substitutions for inland teams. Match results and timing of goals are influenced by altitude, with differences between the level of altitude also playing a role. The trends indicate that inland teams win more matches when playing at altitude against coastal teams, and they score more goals just prior to half-time and in the first quarter of the second half.

Keywords: coastal teams, inland teams, timing of goals, results, substitutions

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Authors: Muhammad Adil

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Women in different parts of the world confront several barriers to accomplishing their legal rights, particularly political rights. One of the common barriers in this respect is the indigenous culture of the locality. In the same way, women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are facing difficulties in accomplishing their political rights. The most significant obstacle in this context is Pakhtunwali, the traditional code of conduct in Pakhtun society, which is perceived as a substantial impediment for Pakhtun women in practicing their political rights as guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan and international legal instruments. Several codes of Pakhtunwali, like peghor (slander or abuse), tor (blame or disgraced), sharam (shame and dishonor), purdah (gender segregation), and ghayrat (honor) have a prominent role in this regard. The research approach employed a combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods to ensure a thorough exploration of the subject. Not only different documents have been analyzed but also a questionnaire has been developed to get accurate findings. Simultaneously, both primary and secondary data have been utilized. The finding shows that the Pakhtun culture is a formidable hurdle in accomplishing women’s political rights in Pakhtun society, particularly in rural areas. Observation reveals that a prevailing societal perception is that having women as their representatives would be viewed as a challenge to the honor of Pakhtun men. Consequently, women candidates who participated in the general elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa received only 1 percent or less than 1 percent of the votes compared to their male counterparts. It is recommended that certain codes of Pakhtunwali should be redefined and made compatible with international legal instruments.

Keywords: constitution, fundamental rights, honor, pakhtunwali.

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Authors: Amy Gooden, Meshandren Naidoo

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Genetic research and transfers of big data are not confined to a particular jurisdiction, but there is a lack of clarity regarding the legal requirements for importing and exporting such data. Using direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT) as an example, this research assesses the status of data sharing into and out of South Africa (SA). While SA laws cover the sending of genetic data out of SA, prohibiting such transfer unless a legal ground exists, the position where genetic data comes into the country depends on the laws of the country from where it is sent – making the legal position less clear.

Keywords: cross-border, data, genetic testing, law, regulation, research, sharing, South Africa

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Authors: Charles Mothobiso

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This study attempts to identify the client’s main priority when delivering green projects. The aim is to compare whether clients’ interests are similar when delivering conventional buildings as compared to green buildings. Private clients invest more in green buildings as compared to government and parastatal entities. Private clients prioritize on maximizing a return on investment and they mainly invest in energy-saving buildings that have low life cycle costs. Private clients are perceived to be more knowledgeable about the benefits of green building projects as compared to government and parastatal clients. A shortage of expertise and managerial skill leads to the low adaptation of green buildings in government and parastatal projects. Other factors that seem to prevent the adoption of green buildings are the preparedness of the supply chain within the industry and inappropriate procurement strategies adopted by clients.

Keywords: construction clients, design team, green buildings, procurement

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Authors: Johan Anker

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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the nature of gender construction in modern dystopian fiction, the development of this genre in Young Adult Literature and reasons for the enormous appeal on the adolescent readers. A recent award winning South African text in this genre, The Mark by Edith Bullring (2014), will be used as example while also comparing this text to international bestsellers like Divergent (Roth:2011), The Hunger Games (Collins:2008) and others. Theoretical insights from critics and academics in the field of children’s literature, like Ames, Coats, Bradford, Booker, Basu, Green-Barteet, Hintz, McAlear, McCallum, Moylan, Ostry, Ryan, Stephens and Westerfield will be referred to and their insights used as part of the analysis of The Mark. The role of relevant and recurring themes in this genre, like global concerns, environmental destruction, liberty, self-determination, social and political critique, surveillance and repression by the state or other institutions will also be referred to. The paper will shortly refer to the history and emergence of dystopian literature as genre in adult and young adult literature as part of the long tradition since the publishing of Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World. Different factors appeal to adolescent readers in the modern versions of this hybrid genre for young adults: teenage protagonists who are questioning the underlying values of a flawed society like an inhuman or tyrannical government, a growing understanding of the society around them, feelings of isolation and the dynamic of relationships. This unease leads to a growing sense of the potential to act against society (rebellion), and of their role as agents in a larger community and independent decision-making abilities. This awareness also leads to a growing sense of self (identity and agency) and the development of romantic relationships. The specific modern tendency of a female protagonist as leader in the rebellion against state and state apparatus, who gains in agency and independence in this rebellion, an important part of the identification with and construction of gender, while being part of the traditional coming-of-age young adult novel will be emphasized. A comparison between the traditional themes, structures and plots of young adult literature (YAL) with adult dystopian literature and those of recent dystopian YAL will be made while the hybrid nature of this genre and the 'sense of unease' but also of hope, as an essential part of youth literature, in the closure to these novels will be discussed. Important questions about the role of the didactic nature of these texts and the political issues and the importance of the formation of agency and identity for the young adult reader, as well as identification with the protagonists in this genre, are also part of this discussion of The Mark and other YAL novels.

Keywords: agency, dystopian literature, gender construction, young adult literature

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Authors: Hilary Rutto, Mbali Chiliza, Tumisang Seodigeng

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The study on reactivity of calcined calcium-based material is very important in dry flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) process, so as to produce absorbent with high sulphur dioxide capture capacity during the hydration process. The effect of calcining temperature and time on the reactivity of calcined limestone material were investigated. In this study, the reactivity was measured using a pH stat apparatus and also confirming the result by performing citric acid reactivity test. The reactivity was calculated using the shrinking core model. Based on the experiments, a mathematical model is developed to correlate the effect of time and temperature to the reactivity of absorbent. The calcination process variables were temperature (700 -1000°C) and time (1-6 hrs). It was found that reactivity increases with an increase in time and temperature.

Keywords: reactivity, citric acid, calcination, time

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Authors: Diogo Prosdocimi, Don Ross, Matthew Townshend

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Road authorities are mandated within limited budgets to both deliver improved access to basic services and facilitate economic growth. This responsibility is further complicated if maintenance backlogs and funding shortfalls exist, as evident in many countries including South Africa. These conditions require authorities to make difficult prioritisation decisions, with the effect that Road Asset Management Systems with a one-dimensional focus on traffic volumes may overlook the maintenance of low-volume roads that provide isolated communities with vital access to basic services. Given these challenges, this paper overlays the full South African road network with geo-referenced information for population, primary and secondary schools, and healthcare facilities to identify the network of connective roads between communities and basic service centres. This connective network is then rationalised according to the Gross Value Added and number of jobs per mesozone, administrative and functional road classifications, speed limit, and road length, location, and name to estimate the Basic Access Road Network. A two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method, capturing a weighted assessment of drive-time to service centres and the ratio of people within a catchment area to teachers and healthcare workers, is subsequently applied to generate a Multivariate Road Index. This Index is used to assign higher maintenance priority to roads within the Basic Access Road Network that provide more people with better access to services. The relatively limited incidence of Basic Access Roads indicates that authorities could maintain the entire estimated network without exhausting the available road budget before practical economic considerations get any purchase. Despite this fact, a final case study modelling exercise is performed for the Namakwa District Municipality to demonstrate the extent to which optimal relocation of schools and healthcare facilities could minimise the Basic Access Road Network and thereby release budget for investment in roads that best promote GDP growth.

Keywords: basic access roads, multivariate road index, road prioritisation, two-step floating catchment area method

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Authors: Brian W. Mandikiana

Abstract:

Homestead food production has the potential to alleviate hunger, improve health and nutrition for children and adults. This article examines the relationship between self-reported hunger and homestead food production using the ordered probit model. A sample of households participating in homestead food production was drawn from the first wave of the South African National Income Dynamics Survey, a nationally representative cross-section. The sample selection problem was corrected using an ordered probit model with sample selection approach. The findings show that homestead food production exerts a positive and significant impact on children and adults’ ability to cope with hunger and malnutrition. Yet, on the contrary, potential gains of homestead food production are threatened by shocks such as crop failure.

Keywords: agriculture, hunger, nutrition, sample selection

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Authors: Abidi Myriam, Ben Amor Rim, Gueddari Moncef

Abstract:

Understanding ecosystem response to the restoration project is essential to assess its rehabilitation. Indeed, the time elapsed after restoration is a critical indicator to shows the real of the restoration success. In this order, the south lagoon of Tunis, a shallow Mediterranean coastal area, has witnessed several pollutions. To resolve this environmental problem, a large restoration project of the lagoon was undertaken. In this restoration works, the main changes are the decrease of the residence time of the lagoon water and the nutrient concentrations. In this paper, we attempt to evaluate the trophic state of lagoon water for evaluating the risk of eutrophication after almost 16 years of its restoration. To attend this objectives water quality monitoring was untaken. In order to identify and to analyze the natural and anthropogenic factor governing the nutrients concentrations of lagoon water geochemical methods and multivariate statistical tools were used. Results show that nutrients have duel sources due to the discharge of municipal wastewater of Megrine City in the south side of the lagoon. The Carlson index shows that the South lagoon of Tunis Lagoon Tunis is eutrophic, and may show limited summer anoxia.

Keywords: geochemistry, nutrients, statistical analysis, the south lagoon of Tunis, trophic state

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Authors: Andrew Rylance, Anna Spenceley

Abstract:

An evaluation was undertaken to understand opportunities for stimulating local enterprise development within the tourism supply chain, linked to a private game reserve in South Africa, the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, which neighbors the Kruger National Park. The study focused on understanding the market demand for local products and services from commercial lodges, and the current local supply from enterprises and entrepreneurs in local communities. This article quantifies the value of current procurement spend by lodges on local products and services and estimates their potential future expenditure. The study matches these responses with the availability of products and services in the neighboring communities. It also provides insights into relationships between private lodges, game reserves and local communities in South Africa. It concurs with previous research on tourism supply chains in rural South Africa, and also makes recommendations for the development of local businesses with higher technical capacity development.

Keywords: tourism, communities, business development, South Africa, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, market study, supply study

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Authors: Collen Maseloane, Chris Cloete

Abstract:

The study investigated the status of building condition assessments of state-owned immovable assets in South Africa. A stratified random sample of 200 (out of 372) personnel was drawn from the eight rele-vant business units of the Department of Public Works (DPW). A questionnaire comprising open-ended questions was distributed to the sampled participants and a total of 139 completed questionnaires were received. A significant number of state asset properties were found to be in poor condition owing to the asset managers’ inability to access automated information on the conditions of assets. It is recommended that the immovable asset register of the Department requires constant enhancement to update information on the condition of each state-owned immovable asset under its custodianship. Implementation of the proposals should contribute to the maintenance of the value of state assets in South Africa.

Keywords: building condition assessment, immovable asset register, life cycle asset management, public works, South Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 109

Authors: Aldi Nel, Cliff L. W. Jones, Justin O. G. Kemp, Peter J. Britz

Abstract:

Kelp Ecklonia maxima is included in formulated abalone feeds in South Africa, but its effect on abalone growth, feed utilisation efficiency and gut-bacterial communities has not previously been investigated. An eight-month on-farm growth trial with sub-adult Haliotis midae (~43 mm shell length) fed graded levels of kelp in formulated feeds was conducted. Kelp inclusion (0.44–3.54 % of pellet dry mass) promoted faster growth (65.7 – 74.5 % total mass gain), with better feed and protein conversions (FCR: 1.4 – 1.8; PER 2.3 – 2.7), compared to abalone fed the non-supplemented feed (52.3% total mass gain; FCR: 2.1; PER 1.9; p < 0.001). The gut-bacterial communities of abalone fed kelp-supplemented feed (0.88 % of pellet dry mass) were subsequently compared with that of abalone fed a non-supplemented control diet. Abalone gut-bacterial DNA was sequenced using 16S rRNA pyrosequencing and sequences were clustered into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at a 97 % similarity level. A supplementary 16S rRNA denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis was conducted. The dominant OTUs differed in terms of their relative abundances, with that of an autochthonous Mollicutes strain being significantly higher (p = 0.03) in the guts of abalone fed kelp-supplemented feed. The DGGE band patterns displayed a higher within-group variability of dominant bacterial strains for abalone fed the control diet, suggesting that dietary inclusion of kelp, which is rich in fermentable polysaccharides, promotes a balanced gut-bacterial community. This may contribute to the better feed utilisation and growth in abalone fed kelp-supplemented feeds.

Keywords: abfeed, digestion, macroalgae, mariculture

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Authors: Adebisi David Alade

Abstract:

In pre-colonial West Africa, the deadliness of the climate vis-a- vis malaria and other tropical diseases to Europeans turned the region into the “white man’s grave.” Thus, immediately after the partition of Africa in 1885, civilisatrice and mise en valeur not only became a pretext for the establishment of colonial rule; from a medical point of view, the control and possible eradication of disease in the continent emerged as one of the first concerns of the European colonizers. Though geared toward making Africa exploitable, historical evidence suggests that some colonial Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) policies and projects reduced certain tropical diseases in some West African communities. Exploring some of these disease control interventions by way of historical revisionism, this paper challenges the orthodox interpretation of colonial sanitation and public health measures in West Africa. This paper critiques the deployment of race and class as analytical tools for the study of colonial WASH projects, an exercise which often reduces the complexity and ambiguity of colonialism to the binary of colonizer and the colonized. Since West Africa presently ranks high among regions with Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), it is imperative to decentre colonial racism and economic exploitation in African history in order to give room for Africans to see themselves in other ways. Far from resolving the problem of NTDs by fiat in the region, this study seeks to highlight important blind spots in African colonial history in an attempt to prevent post-colonial African leaders from throwing away the baby with the bath water. As scholars researching colonial sanitation and public health in the continent rarely examine its complex meaning and content, this paper submits that the outright demonization of colonial rule across space and time continues to build ideological wall between the present and the past which not only inhibit fruitful borrowing from colonial administration of West Africa, but also prevents a wide understanding of the challenges of WASH policies and projects in most West African states.

Keywords: colonial rule, disease control, neglected tropical diseases, WASH

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Authors: Charles A. Khamala

Abstract:

In 2003, constrained by an absent “rule of law culture” and negative economic growth, the new Kenyan government chose to pursue incremental judicial reforms rather than comprehensive constitutional reforms. President Mwai Kibaki’s first administration’s judicial reform strategy was two pronged. First, to implement unprecedented “radical surgery,” he appointed a new Chief Justice who instrumentally recommended that half the purportedly-corrupt judiciary should be removed by Presidential tribunals of inquiry. Second, the replacement High Court judges, initially, instrumentally-endorsed the “radical surgery’s” administrative decisions removing their corrupt predecessors. Meanwhile, retention of the welfare-reducing Constitution perpetuated declining public confidence in judicial institutions culminating in refusal by the dissatisfied opposition party to petition the disputed 2007 presidential election results, alleging biased and corrupt courts. Fatefully, widespread post-election violence ensued. Consequently, the international community prompted the second Kibaki administration to concede to a new Constitution. Suddenly, the High Court then adopted a non-instrumental interpretation to reject the 2003 “radical surgery.” This paper therefore critically analyzes whether the Kenyan court’s inconsistent interpretations–pertaining to the constitutionality of the 2003 “radical surgery” removing corruption from Kenya’s courts–was predicated on political expediency or human rights principles. If justice “must also seen to be done,” then pursuit of the CJ’s, Judicial Service Commission’s and president’s political or economic interests must be limited by respect for the suspected judges and magistrates’ due process rights. The separation of powers doctrine demands that the dismissed judges should have a right of appeal which entails impartial review by a special independent oversight mechanism. Instead, ignoring fundamental rights, Kenya’s new Supreme Court’s interpretation of another round of vetting under the new 2010 Constitution, ousts the High Court’s judicial review jurisdiction altogether, since removal of judicial corruption is “a constitutional imperative, akin to a national duty upon every judicial officer to pave way for judicial realignment and reformulation.”

Keywords: administrative decisions, corruption, fair hearing, judicial review, (non) instrumental

Procedia PDF Downloads 457