Initiating temperate grassland restoration by controlling the dominant weed species; a case study with Nassella trichotoma

Temperate grasslands are globally important biomes, in that they (i) provide habitat for a wide diversity of species, (ii) sequester large stocks of carbon, and (iii) provide forage for important pollinators (Chapter 1). These ecosystems often fall within highly fertile areas, and consequently humans have come to depend on them to provide high quality forage for grazing livestock and land for agricultural development. Temperate grasslands are considered to be critically endangered on a global scale. The grazing industry relies upon healthy and productive grasslands for the production of a substantial proportion of human food products, however, when these systems incorporate unsustainable land-management practises, such as over-grazing and continual fertilisation with inorganic matter, has resulted in a significant decline in important native grass species. This has resulted in encroachment of unpalatable, noxious plants, which decrease the quality of available forage. One such noxious weed species, Nassella trichotoma, known commonly as serrated tussock, is having a significance impact on the constitution of temperate grasslands and grazing systems, globally, due to its unpalatability and competitive growth form. In order to return temperate grasslands to a fully-functional and a high-quality forage state, human intervention in terms of ecosystem restoration is required. The control of noxious species, together with the reintroduction and establishment of native species, is a critical step for restoration efforts with the return of native plant diversity, and the re-establishment of ecosystem services, such as habitat for higher trophic levels. This thesis reviews and overlaps the scientific disciplines of ecosystem restoration (Chapter 2), weed science relating to N. trichotoma (Chapter 3), and environmental management in order to provide solutions for controlling N. trichotoma in non-native grassland communities (Chapter 4). The effect of direct herbicide application, soil tillage, grazing exclusion, fire, and broadcasting native seeds for the control of this dominant weeds in a total of 13 different combinations is investigated. The experimental plots were surveyed over a four-year period and soil cores were collected over a three-year period to survey the seedbank density. It was found that the inclusion of fire significantly increased the establishment of the native broadcast species. Also, without the integration of fire or tillage, N. trichotoma recovered, and consequently was observed to be the dominant species in the final sampling period. To support the findings of Chapter 4, research into the seed longevity and seedbank persistence of N. trichotoma was undertaken in Chapter 5. It was found that less than 10% of the seeds were observed to be viable after 12 months of burial in field. In addition to this, the longevity of the seeds was determined by rapidly ageing the seeds through exposure to high relative humidity and temperature. This process determined that N. trichotoma produces transient seedbanks, referring to those that persist for 12 months or less, and therefore the seedbank would be reliant on new seed input annually to remain a competitive threat. This implies that management control of new seed fall is essential to prevent the reestablishment of the seed bank. The seedbank persistence for N. trichotoma is complicated by disturbance events such as fire. To investigate this impact, four different collection years; 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 were subjected to increasing heat (80, 100, 120, or 140OC) and time of exposure (1, 3, 6 or 9 minutes) by placing them into a temperature-controlled oven for the given treatment. It was found that only the 140OC treatment was significant for killing N. trichotoma, as detailed in Chapter 6. High moisture content (95%) increased the seeds sensitivity to radiant heat, with all tested temperature effective for killing this species. The seedlings were not killed by the tested treatments. Management implications and recommendations for the control of N. trichotoma in temperate grasslands (Chapter 7) include; (i) the use of herbicide in Autumn to prevent seed set in the following summer, and (ii) in addition to initial herbicide, use, subsequent fire treatment and broadcasting native seeds appear to provide ongoing competition against N. trichotoma reestablishment in treated areas. Further, high fire intensities, where the soil is heated to 140OC or more, can kill N. trichotoma’s seedbank and prevent its recruitment. In all cases of treatment, monitoring recruitment from the seedbank is recommended for up to one year after treating a site. This thesis suggests that localised eradication of N. trichotoma is achievable in as little as three years if (i) above-ground plants are treated, (ii) seedling recruitment from the seedbank is managed intensely within the first year, (iii) high densities of native grass is established to provide competition, and (iv) the addition of new seed is prevented.Doctor of Philosoph

Realising the effective enforcement of civil and political rights in Africa: an analysis of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.

The task of drafting the standard of human rights is largely complete, and monitoring and enforcement institutions are functioning as intended. However limited that intent may have been, research has shown that the violation of human rights, particularly civil and political rights, are prevalent in many African countries. In this thesis, the focus is on realising effective enforcement of civil and political rights, using the normative and institutional framework of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights to inform the understanding and challenges to African regional enforcement. This thesis places emphasis on advancing thoughts that are normatively and institutionally open to improvement in the African human rights system. It proposes a reform to the African Charter system that considers the African Court and African Commission jurisprudence instead of transplanting from other regional or international treaties. This thesis reviews the African Charter as well as scholarly arguments on civil and political rights protection. First, it analyses the international protection of contemporary human rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in addition to the European Convention on Human Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights. This is done to emphasise the relevance and recognition of civil and political rights in the international sphere, and to lay a foundation on which the normative and institutional protection of the African Charter is analysed. Thereafter, it relates the African Charter normative and institutional protection to member states' obligations, in order to understand the general overview of the prospects and challenges of the African Charter civil and political rights enforcement. Using Nigeria, Tanzania and Benin as case studies to understand state party implementation of the African Charter on civil and political rights provisions, it examines whether African countries meet their African Charter obligations. In conclusion, this thesis demonstrates that, with appropriate reforms, the African Charter civil and political rights provisions can be effectively enforced

THE AFAR-ISSA/SOMALI CONFLICT IN EASTERN ETHIOPIA AND DJIBOUTI: A CASE STUDY OF AN INTRACTABLE CONFLICT AND THE ENSUING CHALLENGES OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN THE HORN OF AFRICA

Der Afar-Issa/Somali-Konflikt ist ein schwer lösbarer Konflikt am Horn von Afrika. Der Konflikt dauert seit mehr als einem Jahrhundert an. Er ist extrem gewalttätig und fordert viele unschuldige Menschenleben. Beide Seiten sind der Meinung, dass er nicht friedlich gelöst werden kann, da er mit hohen psychologischen, militärischen und wirtschaftlichen Investitionen verbunden ist, die von beiden Parteien als wesentliches und grundlegendes Ziel für ihr Überleben als Gemeinschaft angesehen werden. Bei allen Versuchen, den Konflikt zu lösen, wurden nie Kompromisse oder Zugeständnisse in Erwägung gezogen. Der Konflikt ist insofern von zentraler Bedeutung, als sowohl die Afar- als auch die Issa/Somali-Gemeinschaften einschließlich ihrer Diaspora ständig und kontinuierlich in den Konflikt verwickelt sind. Der Konflikt zeichnet sich auch durch seine Komplexität aus, die eine transnationale Dimension hat, die politische Akteure an den Grenzen von Äthiopien, Dschibuti, Eretria und Somalia/Somaliland einbezieht, sowie durch die Vielfalt der beteiligten Akteure, einschließlich der Diaspora und anderer internationaler Akteure. Verschiedene Wissenschaftler haben den Konflikt aus verschiedenen Blickwinkeln erklärt: Der Wettbewerb um knappe pastorale Ressourcen ist das vorherrschende Interpretationsschema; ein Ressourcenkonflikt zwischen zwei benachbarten pastoralen Gruppen um Wasser und Weideland (Ali 1997; Markakis 2003); andere Studien erklären den Konflikt aus einer geopolitischen Perspektive (Mu'uz 2009; Yasin 2011). Der Afar-Issa/Somali-Konflikt wird auch mit wirtschaftlichen Aspekten erklärt, insbesondere mit dem Wettbewerb um den Schmuggelhandel und die Handelsrouten (Markakis 2003; Menbere 2013). Andere Wissenschaftler erklären den Konflikt als einen Territorialkonflikt, der durch das ethnische Design der äthiopischen und dschibutischen (nicht direkt ethnischen) Föderationen, die seit 1992 eingerichtet wurden, noch verschärft wird (Asnake 2009). Obwohl all diese Studien ein gewisses Licht auf die Natur des Afar-Issa/Somali-Konflikts geworfen haben, wurde er in keiner von ihnen als unlösbarer Konflikt betrachtet. Unter Berücksichtigung der Langlebigkeit und Komplexität des Konflikts und unter Rückgriff auf den sozialpsychologischen Analyserahmen für die Untersuchung hartnäckiger Konflikte (Northrup & Thorson, 1989; Kriesberg 1995; Bar-Tal, 2013) wurde der Afar-Issa/Somali-Konflikt in der Studie als eine Art hartnäckiger Konflikt betrachtet. Mit dem Schwerpunkt auf seiner Hartnäckigkeit analysierte die Studie die sozialpsychologischen Grundlagen des Afar- und Issa/Somali-Konflikts, insbesondere die kollektiven Erinnerungen (sowohl populär als auch offiziell), kollektive emotionale Orientierungen und das Ethos der Afar-Issa/Somlai. Darüber hinaus analysierte die Studie, wer die regionalen Akteure sind und warum viele Konfliktlösungsversuche gescheitert sind, um den hartnäckigen Konflikt zwischen Afar und Issa/Somali zu lösen, und argumentierte, dass der konstruktivistische Ansatz für seine Lösung geeignet ist. Konkret wurden in der Studie unter Berücksichtigung der Langlebigkeit und Komplexität des Konflikts und unter Rückgriff auf den sozialpsychologischen Analyserahmen für die Untersuchung hartnäckiger Konflikte die Ursachen, Akteure und Ereignisse des Afar-Issa/Somali-Konflikts als eine Art hartnäckiger Konflikt analysiert. Dabei stützt sich die Studie auf den sozialpsychologischen Analyserahmen von Daniel Bar-Tal (2013) für die Untersuchung hartnäckiger Konflikte, der das kollektive Gedächtnis der Konfliktparteien, das Konfliktethos und die kollektive emotionale Orientierung der Afar- und Issa/Somali-Bevölkerung an dem Konflikt untersucht. Dabei wurden die folgenden grundlegenden Fragen untersucht: Was sind die eigentlichen Ursachen des Afar-Issa/Somali-Konflikts? Wer sind die Akteure, die behaupten, die Ansichten und Interessen der Afar und Issa/Somali zu vertreten? Welche Rolle spielen die externen Akteure in dem Konflikt? Wie hat sich der Charakter des Konflikts im Laufe der Zeit verändert? Wie nehmen die Afar und die Issa/Somali die Konfliktsituation wahr und wie definieren sie sie? Werden die strittigen Fragen in existenziellen Begriffen formuliert, etwa mit Bezug auf Identität und Geschichte? Was macht den Afar-Issa/Somali-Konflikt unlösbar? Welches sind die offiziellen und kollektiven Erinnerungen, das Konfliktethos und die kollektive emotionale Ausrichtung des Konflikts? Welches sind die wichtigsten gesellschaftlichen Überzeugungen: gesellschaftliche Ziele, Selbstbilder, Mythen, kollektive Erinnerungen, Normen und Gruppenbilder bei den Afar und den Issa/Somali, die für die Bewältigung des hartnäckigen Konflikts funktional sind und ideologische Rechtfertigungen für die Fortsetzung des Konflikts liefern? Welches sind die wichtigsten regionalen Akteure des unlösbaren Konflikts zwischen Afar und Issa/Somali? Was ist ihr Engagement in dem Konflikt? Was sind ihre Bedürfnisse? Welche Rolle haben diese regionalen Akteure in dem hartnäckigen Konflikt zwischen den Afar und den Issa/Somali gespielt? Was sind die Bedingungen der verschiedenen Konfliktlösungsinterventionen durch staatliche und nichtstaatliche Akteure? Warum sind die verschiedenen Konfliktlösungsmaßnahmen gescheitert? Welche Aussichten gibt es, den Afar-Issa/Somali-Konflikt zu transformieren? Welches Modell der Konfliktlösung und -transformation ist das geeignetere? Das Forschungsdesign für diese Studie ist ein qualitativer Untersuchungsansatz, der explorative und erklärende Forschungstypen kombiniert und eine Fallstudie verwendet. In Bezug auf die Untersuchung kombiniert die Studie deskriptive und erklärende Ansätze. Beim deskriptiven Untersuchungsansatz beschreibt die Studie die Phänomene, wie sie existieren. Beim erklärenden Untersuchungsansatz geht die Studie über die bloße Beschreibung der Merkmale hinaus, um zu analysieren und zu erklären, warum oder wie die Fälle im hartnäckigen Afar-Issa/Somali-Konflikt entstanden sind. Was den Forschungsansatz betrifft, so wurde in der Studie eine Fallstudie verwendet, und zwar eine Mehrfach-Fallstudie. Da sich die Konfliktdynamik der Afar und der Issa/Somali innerhalb und außerhalb der Gruppe herausgebildet und kristallisiert hat, wurde ein qualitativer, eingebetteter Ansatz mit mehreren Fallstudien unter Verwendung von Interviews mit Schlüsselinformanten, Fokusgruppendiskussionen und Dokumentenanalyse als Datenquelle verwendet. Um die erforderlichen Daten zu erhalten, bediente sich der Forscher einer Reihe von Datenerhebungsmethoden: Befragung von Schlüsselinformanten, Fokusgruppendiskussionen (FGD), Regierungsarchive für offizielle Aufzeichnungen und Überprüfung von Sekundärquellen, um die erforderlichen Daten zu erhalten.:Acknowledgement Acronym and Glossary List of Figures, Maps and Official Memories Abstract and Keywords Chapter One: Introduction and Background of the Study 1.1. Introduction 1.2. The Research Problem 1.3. Objective of the Research 1.4. Research Questions 1.5. Research Design and Methodology 1.5.1. Data Collection Method 1.5.2. Sampling Process 1.5.3. Data Analysis 1.6. Significance of the Study 1.7. Limitation and Problems Encountered 1.8. Structure of the Study Chapter Two: Literature Review of Concepts and Topical Issues 2.1. Introduction 2.2. Conceptual Framework 2.2.1. Definition, Type and Nature of Conflict 2.2.2. The Concept of Intractability and Intractable Conflict 2.2.3. Characteristics of Intractable Conflicts 2.2.4. Challenges of Intractable Conflicts: Why different, why difficult to resolve? 2.3. Theoretical Framework of Intractable Conflicts 2.3.1. Socio-psychological Foundations of Intractable Conflicts 2.3.2. Conflict Resolution Theories: Are they Fit to Resolve Intractable Conflicts? 2.3.3. From Intractable Conflict to its Resolution 2.3.4. A Constructivist Approach for Intractable Conflict - Conclusion Chapter Three: The Land, Peoples and the Socio-Political Dynamics of the Afar and Issa/Somali 3.1. Introduction 3.2. The Land and Peoples of the Study Area 3.3. The Afar and the Issa/Somali Peoples 3.3.1. The Afar People in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea 3.3.2. The Issa/Somali People in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia - Conclusion Chapter Four: Intricacies of the Afar-Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict 4.1. Introduction 4.2. Historical Background of the Afar-Issa/Somali Conflict 4.2.1. Historical Background of the Afar-Issa/Somali Conflict in Ethiopia 4.2.2. Historical Background of the Afar-Issa/Somali Conflict in Djibouti 4.3. Causes of Afar-Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict 4.3.1. Causes of the Afar-Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict in Ethiopia 4.3.2. Causes of the Afar-Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict in Djibouti - Conclusion Chapter Five: Social-Psychological Foundations of the Afar-Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict 5.1 Introduction 5.2. Collective Memories of the Afar and the Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict 5.2.1. The Popular Collective Memories of the Intractable Conflict 5.2.2. The Official Collective Memories of the Conflict 5.3. The Social Belief of the Afar-Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict 5.4. Collective Emotional Orientations of the Afar-Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict Conclusion Chapter Six: The Geopolitics of the Horn of Africa and the Intractability of the Afar-Issa/Somali Conflict 6.1. Introduction 6.2. Regional Dynamics of the Afar-Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict 6.3. The Geo-Politics of the Horn of Africa: The Pre, During and Post-colonial Periods 6.3.1. The Pre-Colonial Period of the Horn of Africa 6.3.2. Colonialism in the Horn of Africa and the Afar-Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict 6.3.3. The End of the Colonial Era and Its Impact on the Afar-Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict 6.3.4. The Post-Colonial Reconfiguration of the Horn and its Impact on the Afar-Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict 6.4. Regional Actors and the Afar-Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict 6.4.1. Government of Ethiopia 6.4.2. Government of Djibouti 6.4.3. Government of Eritrea 6.5. Regional Wars and the Afar-Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict 6.5.1. Ethiopia-Somalia Wars 6.5.2. Ethiopia-Eritrea War 6.5.3. Djibouti-Eritrea War 6.5.4. Somalis Internal Instability and Long Time Statelessness 6.5.5. The Afar Nationalism: Movement for Unified Afar Triangle 6.5.6. Three Countries, One Customary Leader: The Influence of the Issa/Somali Ugas 6.6. The Afar and the Issa/Somali Diaspora and its Engagement in the Intractable Conflict 6.6.1. The Afar Diaspora and the Intractable Conflict 6.6.2. The Issa/Somali Diaspora and the Intractable Conflict - Conclusion Chapter Seven: Conflict Resolution Attempts of the Afar-Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict 7.2. Customary Conflict Resolution Attempts of the Conflict 7.3. Governmental Conflict Resolution Attempts 7.3.1. Government of Ethiopia’s Conflict Resolution Attempts 7.3.2. The Attempt by the Government of Djibouti to resolve the Afar-Issa Intractable conflict 7.4. Non-Governmental Organizations Attempt of Conflict Resolution of the Afar and Issa/Somali 7.5. The Afar and Issa/Somali Diaspora Contributing for Peace 7.6. Constructivist Approach for Afar – Issa/Somali Intractable Conflict Resolution Chapter Eight: Summary and Conclusion 8.1. Introduction 8.2. Summary of Major Findings of the Study 8.3. Conclusion of Major Findings of the Study 8.4. Suggestions for Future Research Bibliography Annexes Annex I. List of Primary Sources Annex II. Information Sheet for Interview Participants Annex III. Consent Form for Interview Participants Declaratio

Perceptions of final year undergraduate education students about the influence of a reading culture on their academic achievement at selected universities in Tanzania.

Doctor of Philosophy in Information Studies. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2017.The study investigated the perceptions of final year undergraduate education students about the influence of a reading culture on their academic achievement at selected universities in Tanzania. Four universities were involved in the study namely: Sokoine University of Agriculture, Mzumbe University, Teofilo Kisanji University and University of Iringa. Social Cognitive Theory informed the study. Pragmatism paradigm underpinned this study, while mixed methods using survey questionnaire and interviews were used for the data collection. Questionnaire was used to collect data from 312 students and 62 lecturers while interview was administered to 50 subject librarians. Quantitative data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 20.0 to generate tables, charts, percentages and frequencies, while Chi-square was generated to determine relationships between variables. Finally, qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Reliability and validity were ensured by adopting instruments from studies with acceptable Cronbach’s Alpha value of >0.7. The study adhered to the ethical protocol of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The findings showed that there was a high level of awareness among students, lecturers, and librarians regarding influence of reading culture on students’ academic achievements. The students perceived their reading self-efficacies as enabler to promoting reading culture. The findings revealed students rarely spent time reading for leisure, for information or for entertainment. The results also showed students rarely visited the library. The results further showed that factors which motivated students to read include reading to gain knowledge, reading for entertainment purposes, reading for examinations, tests, assignments and research projects. The study concluded that students in universities lacked reading culture but were motivated to read for the purpose of passing examinations, tests, assignments and research projects. There was absence of policy on reading culture and this impacted negatively on students’ academic achievement. The study consequently advanced recommendations among them strategies, policy, curricular transformation, programmes and guidelines in order to improve academic achievement of students

Ethiopean-Eritrean studies: a bibliography on society and history, 2016-2022

J. Abbink produced a new bibliography on Ethiopian-Eritrean studies in society and history. It is a by- product of research he did on these countries in the past five years and is the ultimate volume in the series. The volume covers the period from 2016  to July 2022 and contains all the crucial references to recent work in history, archaeology, sociology, anthropology, economics, agricultural studies, politics, international relations, environmental studies, religious and cultural studies. Also prominent are themes like the Nile Basin, (regional) conflict, food (in)security, gender relations, demographic developments, urban life, arts & crafts, and pastoral societies.A brief introduction situates the bibliography in the wider field of Ethiopian-Eritrean studies and clarifies the underlying criteria of inclusion and organization of the references. As much as possible, the individual references also contain a link to their digital publication website. The work is concluded with an author name index and is published as an E-book only.ASC – Publicaties niet-programma gebonde

How and why do states provide for children? Comparing social grants for families with children in Southern Africa

This thesis explores variation in public policy with a focus on the provision of social grants (social cash transfers) for families with children. The thesis investigates how and why three middle-income countries (South Africa, Namibia and Botswana) and a low-income country (Zimbabwe) in Southern Africa provide for children in different ways. In-depth interviews and desktop research established that ‘child welfare regimes’ (CWRs) (a combination of programmes affecting the welfare of children, primarily cash transfers, feeding programmes, health and education fee waivers) are similar in providing some form of social grants, directly and/or indirectly to children or families with children. But there are significant variations between the CWRs. The CWRs primarily vary across two dimensions: first, the coverage of programmes; and secondly, their targeting, specifically whether they are targeted on poverty or on perceived ‘family breakdown’. I present a taxonomy of CWRs with four distinct types: a pro-poor (poverty-targeted) CWR (as in South Africa), a familialist CWR (targeted on ‘broken’ families) (as in Botswana), a mixed (pro-poor-familial targeted) CWR (as in Namibia) and an agrarian (family-targeted) one (as in Zimbabwe). A pro-poor CWR is distinguished by high coverage and generous transfers. A familial CWR provides medium coverage with overall generosity but with parsimonious cash benefits. A mixed CWR has low coverage and modest generosity while an agrarian CWR has low coverage and ungenerous benefits. This taxonomy emphasises variation in targeting form, an important but underestimated dimension in identifying and explaining CWRs particularly in Southern Africa. In explaining the variation, the factors that were especially important include colonial antecedents, need or structural factors (particularly AIDSrelated health shocks, demographic changes and family breakdown), international influence by international organisations, particularly UNICEF, the level of democracy but all these factors and the choice for a CWR reflect domestic politics (party politics and civil society organisations). These findings extend the Power Resource Theory beyond developed countries but also reveal new influential factors, within the theory, that have been overlooked but significant in explaining variation between CWRs

Proceedings of the construction business and project management conference

Conceptualising challenges and opportunities in the construction industry