Bridging traditions: mobilising indigenous knowledge and marine biodiversity conservation to support learner talk and sense-making in Grade 11 Life Sciences

The Curriculum Assessment Policy and Statement (CAPS) document mandates that science teachers should integrate learners’ Indigenous Knowledge (IK) into their classrooms. However, many South African teachers, like those in Namibia, seem to struggle with this integration due to insufficient pedagogical content knowledge, leading to minimal IK integration and hence poor science performance. This issue suggests that science curricula seem to lack clarity on integrating IK. It is against this backdrop that I was motivated to mobilise marine Indigenous Knowledge to support Grade 11 Life Sciences learners from a township school to talk and make sense of marine biodiversity conservation. A qualitative case study research design was used as it permits the grouping of detailed information essential to making sense of the anticipated responses of the participants. This study was informed by Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). It was conducted at a township school in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Forty-five Grade 11 Life Sciences learners, two Indigenous Knowledge Custodians (IKCs) who grew up in marine environments and a local fisherman were participants in this study. Additionally, I asked one science teacher to be a critical friend. Data sets were gathered using a group activity, focus group interviews (sharing circles), observations (participatory and lesson observations), stimulated recall interviews and learners’ reflections. The sociocultural theory was used as a lens to find out how learners learn through social interactions and how learning takes place in a sociocultural context. I augmented this theory with CHAT as an analytical framework. The CHAT provided an analytical lens to understand how community involvement and IKC interventions supported learner talk and sense making of the content and facilitated meaningful learning. The main findings of the study revealed that during the IKCs’ presentations, learners were able to identify science concepts embedded in the Indigenous Knowledge of marine biodiversity conservation. The findings further revealed that the presentations stimulated learner talk and improved sense making among learners regarding marine biodiversity conservation and related concepts. The study recommends that teachers should leverage IKCs’ cultural heritage by inviting them into classrooms to make science more relevant, accessible and meaningful for learners.Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Secondary and Post School Education, 202

On β-Normal Spaces

This thesis revisits some types of normal spaces, namely, β-normal spaces and α-normal spaces, which were introduced by Arkhangel’skii and Ludwig in 2001. We study some properties of these spaces with a focus on improving some of the already existing properties and exploring new properties that are not available in the literature. Under β-normal spaces, among other things, we characterize these spaces using some types of open sets. We use the ultrafilter space to answer Murtinova’s question about the existence of a β-normal and regular space which is not Tychonoff. α-normal spaces are described in terms of countable open sets, a result imitating that of normality. It turns out that continuous functions which are onto, open and closed preserve β-normality, while those which are injective, open and closed reflect α-normality. The notion of β-normal spaces is extended to the category of bitopological spaces where we characterize these bitopological spaces simultaneously in terms of i-open sets, (i, j)-preopen and (i, j)-α-open sets. We study the interrelations of these spaces with other bitopological spaces.Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Mathematics, 202

Statistical analysis of travelling ionospheric disturbances during geomagnetic storms

This thesis presents observations of medium to large-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) originating from high latitudes, and propagating towards the equator and TIDs originating from the equator with a poleward propagation in the African-European sector during geomagnetically disturbed conditions between 2006 and 2022. 196 TID activities propagating over the African-European sector were observed, of these TID activities, 161 and 33 were observed during geomagnetic storms, and simultaneous occurrence of geomagnetic storms and solar flares, respectively. Total electron content perturbations derived from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) observations within a latitude range of 40°S–60°N and longitude ranges of 20°-40°E representing the African-European sector were analysed based on the storm criteria of Dst ≤ -30 nT. The GNSS total electron content (TEC) data were used to obtain the two dimensional (2d) TEC perturbations. The northern hemispheric part of the African sector has limited data coverage which is visualized by a gap around 20°, where there were no data coverage can be observed in the 2d TEC maps. An important result is that large-scale TIDs (LSTIDs) and medium-scale TIDs (MSTIDs) were found to occur predominantly during the main and recovery phases of geomagnetic storms respectively, at least over the African-European sector. During the main phase of storms equatorward LSTID activity was relatively consistent across both hemispheres, with years of solar maximum, between 2013 and 2015, showing higher frequencies of events. Equatorward MSTID activity appeared less frequent overall, particularly in the southern hemisphere (SH), suggesting that equatorward LSTID activity are more prominent during the main phase of geomagnetic storms. Poleward TID activity were more predominant in the recovery phase than the main phase of geomagnetic storms.Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Physics and Electronics, 202

Productive piano pedagogy: towards a compositional approach to piano lessons in a South African primary school in Makhanda, Eastern Cape

Despite global trends towards creative and productive musical learning, there is little available research on how to support music educators’ efforts to adopt productive praxis in piano lessons in primary schools, and none situated in South Africa. This climate of pedagogical innovation makes possible a turn to play-based teaching methods emerging from the global north, which are aligned with African traditions of knowledge transmission in which agentive participation in authentic cultural processes is of greater value than evaluative judgements of ensuant products. The literature advocates the cultivation of music learning ecologies that privilege learner agency through composition, yet practical means of doing so within established conventions of instrumental music tuition in South African primary schools are not provided. This thesis investigates how such an ecology might be cultivated in a primary school in the Eastern Cape, with particular emphasis on how this can be achieved without compromising established pedagogical practises that are oriented toward the attainment of important external benchmarks of musical achievement. A design-based study was conducted in a primary school over the course of 12 months, in which nine young students composed their own music during piano lessons through collaborative activity in which they were afforded a degree of autonomy in their work as they acquired and consolidated knowledge of music through its creation. A play-based teaching intervention was devised, which was iteratively enacted, analysed, and redesigned through three research cycles. This resulted in findings that drove the development of a framework for teaching composition in this context, as well as tangible teaching materials. Results show that this adapted play-based model is an effective vehicle for fostering an agentive music learning ecology in piano lessons in an Eastern Cape primary school and suggest that it is reasonable to expect similar success in comparable school contexts. The insularity of a single school setting limited this research in terms of broader applicability, so further trialling of the proposed framework is recommended in a range of school situations in South Africa and beyond to establish transferability.Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 202

Municipal demarcation: an exploration of ethnic conflict and violence in the 2015 Malamulele and 2016 Vuwani protests

In 2015, communities in Malamulele, located in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province, South Africa, protested against the Thulamela Local Government Municipality, citing inadequate service delivery and favouritism toward Venda-speaking areas. The protesters demanded the establishment of a new municipality for Tsonga-speaking residents, disrupting daily life through road blockades and shutdowns of schools, transportation, and commercial activities. In response, the government demarcated the Thulamela Municipality and created the Collins Chabane Local Government Municipality, which included Vuwani and other Venda-speaking communities. However, this inclusion sparked violent protests in Vuwani in 2016, fueled by claims of insufficient consultation and a desire to remain within the Makhado Local Government Municipality. This study utilised qualitative research methods, specifically semi-structured interviews, to capture the experiences and perspectives of participants from Vuwani and Malamulele. It applied conflict and territory theories to analyse the underlying issues. The findings reveal that colonial policies of divide and rule, along with apartheid-era Bantustan policies, significantly influenced these protests. The study underscores the importance of public participation in community matters, highlighting the unequal provision of services among different groups and emphasising the need for reconciliation. The protests were deeply rooted in the legacy of colonial and apartheid histories and cannot be understood in isolation from these historical contexts and their enduring impacts. This research addresses a gap in the academic literature by exploring the ethnic dynamics and sequence of events in the 2015 Malamulele and 2016 Vuwani protests. It provides insights into the decisions of the government, Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB), and community stakeholders that fueled these conflicts, contributing to a broader understanding of post-1994 ethnic violence and conflict in South Africa.Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Political and International Studies, 202

Investigating the factors influencing the resilience of medium-sized commercial fishing enterprises in the Eastern Cape province

This research took the form of a case study of a media company, Kagiso Media (KM), that had been through a process of change. The company adopted a branding approach and used internal branding activities to implement a change intervention, which was unconventional and a unique approach, making it worthy of investigation. The primary aim of the study was, therefore, to analyse how a change in brand ideology (i.e. encompassing the business mission, vision, goals and shared values) shaped the senior leadership behaviour at KM and also led to the development of an improved performance management system. A case study research method was used. Data was collected through face-to-face and online interviews with the leadership team and combined with relevant company documents. A deductive thematic approach was used to analyse the data. The study revealed that brand ideology can impact leadership behaviour and performance if implemented deliberately. When the new CEO was appointed, his starting point was to change the KM brand ideology. The study revealed that, because of greater clarity in brand ideology, leadership behaviour improved. There were shifts in the manner in which leadership behaved and how they handled performance as a result of entrenching the new brand ideology. The study also revealed that the development of brand ideology necessitated changes in the performance management system. Brand-centred performance management systems contributed towards building a performance culture. In essence, developing a clear brand ideology was central to changing leadership behaviour and the revision of the performance management performance system. While limitations of the study are acknowledged, it has contributed by offering a unique perspective of an internal branding driven change and demonstrates how a change in brand ideology can impact leadership behaviour and performance management. Furthermore, the study recommended that further research could be done to include the perspectives of staff beyond the leadership team.Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Commerce, Rhodes Business School, 202

Neoliberalism constrains academic freedom

Positioning the university as a public good that serves people and the planet was a central concern for those responsible for shaping post-apartheid education. Unfortunately, the current neoliberal environment has led to institutional risk aversion. This means that universities are loathe to speak out on issues of social injustice and environmental degradation. And academics often forfeit their freedoms by assuming that top management can speak on behalf of the university. In the Commentary 'Should our universities respond to geopolitical conflicts around the world?'1, Chetty questions when and why a university should speak out on global issues. In particular, Chetty refers to the Israeli-Palestinian war. I leave it to other respondents to tackle the substantive issue of South African higher education's silence on this issue. Instead, I home in on what I see as a common problem in the post-apartheid university. Chetty explains that: He thus understands the university as a complex organisation, as indeed it is. But he repeatedly reveals an understanding of the university as one which is controlled by management. For me, one of the most troubling sentences in the article is this: Universities thrive on a diversity of viewpoints, and so imposing a hegemonic view from the top management often leads to problems in a university setting

The heterogeneous effects of macroeconomic and financial factors on financial deepening in Africa: evidence from a method of moments quantile regression analysis

This paper aims to investigate the heterogeneous effects of macroeconomic and financial factors across various distributions of financial deepening in 22 African countries over the past two decades (2000–2019). The paper uses a recent method of moments quantile regression, which accounts for the often overlooked heterogeneity effects. The analysis focuses on the banking sector, which is predominant in Africa, using a broad range of macroeconomic and financial indicators

Assessing land use and land cover change dynamics of wildlife ranches in South Africa

With increasing urbanisation and corresponding environmental impacts, urban green infrastructure (UGI) and the services it provides are of high importance. However, the degree to which these spaces are beneficial and provide ecological services are influenced by the extent to which patches of UGI are connected to each other. Varying levels of connectivity may enhance or lower the resilience of the UGI and the biodiversity it houses. Although not considered as UGI, golf courses are prominent green spaces in many urban landscapes occupying vast areas of land, and therefore hold potential to aid biodiversity and facilitate species movement. However, the extent which golf courses are able to do so is a function of both the structure and availability of resources on the golf courses, as well as in the surroundings areas or landscape in which they are situated. This notion of connectivity of golf courses to their surroundings UGI (in its many forms) and landscapes has not been adequately explored in the literature as much of the present literature has addressed golf courses’ biodiversity in isolation of other UGI, or where it has been considered, only the context in which golf courses were situated has been acknowledged (i.e. urban or rural landscapes). Moreover, as golf courses occupy large areas of lands forms of UGI, they may also be able to enhance the connectivity of the landscapes in which they are situated through increasing land cover, and lowering fragmentation through connecting patches. This however, is also context specific, as seen in natural settings were golf courses would in fact fragment the landscape. This study therefore sought to assess the extent to which urban golf courses are connected to other forms of UGI in the South African context, and illustrate the importance of paying attention to connectivity in an avifaunal diversity study. It also aimed to investigate the potential of urban golf courses to foster avifaunal diversity in comparison to a reference landscape, the direct surrounding urban and residential areas. To analyse the extent to which golf courses in three South African cities were connected to the wider landscape a connectivity analysis was undertaken using GIS software. This analysis indicated that all golf courses were to some extent connected to a range of different UGI. Whilst the level of connectivity fluctuated between golf courses and cities, there was however no significant difference noted. Urban golf courses in the South African context are thus not isolated habitats but connected to other land uses and therefore potentially provide valuable resources that aid biodiversity. Despite being physically connected to surrounding UGI illustrating that both the golf courses benefit from the surrounding UGI and vice versa, at a larger landscape there was not sufficient evidence of the ability of golf courses to enhance connectivity. Although there was little evidence of golf courses’ ability to aid connectivity at the larger landscape scale, the observed extent to which golf courses were connected to their directly surrounding landscape and the high presence UGI within the larger landscape, informed the more refined investigation of avian biodiversity of golf courses in comparison to surrounding urban areas in the city of Cape Town. This biodiversity analysis indicated that there was significantly higher bird diversity on golf courses in comparison to the surrounding urban areas. However, the high level of connectivity to directly surrounding UGI that was obtained in the former part of the study proved to have no impact on the diversity noted. In contrast, the connectivity at the landscape scale, a scale addressing the broader landscape, provided valuable insight into factors determining the levels of avifaunal diversity noted. This dissertation therefore provides evidence of the biodiversity supporting function of urban golf courses and highlights the importance of landscape context in ecological assessment. These findings are a starting point for future research about the capacity of golf courses to support biodiversity in conjunction with other UGI. In the Global South context, which is complex and dynamic in nature, this information is vital, as these dynamic and changing landscapes provide opportunities to incorporate, and preserve already existing biodiversity.Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Environmental Science, 202

Physiological responses of savanna grasses, encroaching, and non-encroaching tree saplings to changing water availability and elevated atmospheric CO2

Access restricted. Expected release in 2027.Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Botany, 202