Indigenous and traditional musics in the school classroom : a re-evaluation of the South African Indigenous African Music (IAM) curriculum

Musical ideals set by European standards and values, entrenched through colonial oppression and promoted by the continued veneration of Western culture need to be re-evaluated. Despite the intention of the ANC government, through the Department of Basic Education's Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement music curricula, to integrate Indigenous Knowledge and musics into the South African classroom, evidence shows that opportunities to do so are not seized. With reference to the proclaimed values of an African sensibility in the model of the South African music education curriculum, the history of its development and the current pedagogical movement towards transformation in the production of knowledge and the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge (IK), this thesis questions why teachers in government schools in South Africa are not executing the Indigenous African Music (IAM) syllabus in the CAPS FET music curriculum. Taking the history of music education and the development of curriculum models and frameworks into account, it interrogates what strategies could improve the application of the current music curriculum in government schools in South Africa. These questions are addressed in the thesis by way of a discussion of the music curriculum and what its praxis in the classroom reveals about its efficacy, through observations and personal experiences, the observations of teachers and student teachers, a comparison with the experience in Zimbabwe, and an analysis of the music curriculum as it is currently devised and implemented. Straddling three methodological approaches, namely the ethnographic, the autoethnographic and the action research approach this study finds that the CAPS FET music curriculum does provide realistic opportunities to engage with African Indigenous and traditional music. This, however, is dependent upon the training of the teacher, facilities available in the classroom and the prior knowledge of the learner. A fundamental flaw of this curriculum is the approach to practical assessment of Indigenous and traditional African musics and the lack of assessment criteria and practical guidelines. In addition, the findings suggest that the fault regarding implementation of the curriculum lies in the training of students (who become teachers) at tertiary level, where an integrated approach to skills development regarding Indigenous African music is suggested

Dérivation d’un spectre de réponse spécifique au site de la grande mosquée d’Alger (Algérie)

The estimation of the soil seismic response at the surface can be made by several experimental methods, approximate and numerical. This study consists in using numerical simulation to determine the surface response in terms of maximum acceleration and response spectrum of soil profiles located at the site of the Grand Mosque of Algiers, taking into account the soil’s non-linearity behavior, with an equivalent linear behavior (hysteresis degradation of the shear modulus G). The responses calculated on the surface that they are amplified or de-amplified compared to the excitation at the base (earthquake of May 21, 2003 in Boumerdès) indicate the presence of the site effects and which allows the derivation of a spectrum calculation to the studied site.L’estimation de la réponse sismique en surface du sol peut être faite par plusieurs méthodes expérimentales, approchées et numériques. Cette étude consiste à utiliser la simulation numérique pour déterminer la réponse en surface en termes d’accélération maximale et spectre de réponse des profils de sol localisé au niveau du site de la mosquée d’Alger en tenant compte de la non-linéarité du comportement du sol, avec un comportement linéaire équivalent (dégradation hystérésis du module de cisaillement G). Les réponses calculées en surface qu’elles soient amplifiées ou dés-amplifiées par rapport à l’excitation à la base (séisme du 21 Mai 2003 à Boumerdès) nous indiquent la présence des effets de site et ce qui permet la dérivation d’un spectre de calcul spécifique au site étudié

Optimization of High-Performance-Concrete properties containing fine recycled aggregates using mixture design modeling

This investigation means to predict and modeling the fresh and hardened concrete behavior containing fine aggregates from concrete and brick wastes, for different recycled aggregates substitution rates. To succeed this, the design of experiments DOE method was used. It is observed that slump of recycled concrete is significantly influenced by the content in recycled concrete aggregates (RCA), natural sand (NS) and recycled brick aggregates (RBA), respectively.The compressive strength (CS) reaches a maximum value of 83.48 MPa with factors values of 25% RBA, and 75% RCA. And HPC’s based on RBA sand presented greater values of flexural strength at 7 days than HPC’s based on RCA sand, it was revealed that this is due to the RBA fines pozzolanic reaction and the production of new CSHs, which leads to better cement matrix densification.Under optimal conditions, themaximum desirability is 0.65, who has given HPC no added natural sand, by mixing recycled sands RBA (9.5%) with RCA (90.5%).The statistical terms result show that the expected models are very well correlated with the experimental data and have shown good accuracy

Vortex-induced vibrations: a soft coral feeding strategy?

Soft corals, such as the bipinnate sea plume Antillogorgia bipinnata, are colony building animals that feed by catching food particles brought by currents. Because of their flexible skeleton, they bend and sway back and forth with the wave swell. In addition to this low-frequency sway of the whole colony, branches of A. bipinnata vibrate at high frequency with small amplitude and transverse to the flow as the wave flow speed peaks. In this paper, we investigate the origin of these yet unexplained vibrations and consider their effect on soft corals. Estimation of dynamical variables along with finite element implementation of the wake-oscillator model favour vortex-induced vibrations (VIVs) as the most probable origin of the observed rapid dynamics. To assess the impact of the dynamics on filter feeding, we simulated particles advected by the flow around a circular cylinder and calculated the capture rate with an in-house monolithic fluid-structure interaction (FSI) finite element solver and Python code. We observe that vibrating cylinders can capture up to 40% more particles than fixed ones at frequency lock-in. Therefore, VIVs plausibly offer soft corals a better food capture.Comment: 20 page

Etude de l’influence de la granulométrie et de la nature des granulats recyclés sur les propriétés physico-mécaniques et la durabilité des bétons par la méthode des plans d’expériences.

L’étude vise à examiner l’effet de l’incorporation des sables recyclés sur le comportement physico-mécaniques des BHP. Pour parvenir aux formulations des bétons, une approche théorique et expérimentale est appliquée en utilisant le plan de mélange en réseaux (Simlpex lattice designs), les modèles dérivés des prédictions ont été utilisés pour évaluer les effets des facteurs de mélange et leurs interactions, pour optimiser les performances du système étudié. Les résultats indiquent que l’affaissement du béton recyclé est fortement influencée par la teneur en SDBt, puis SA et SDBr, respectivement. Dans des conditions optimales les trois facteurs ont les valeurs (0% SA, 25% SDBr, 75% SDBt) pour lesquelles la résistance à la compression (Rc 28jr) atteint une valeur maximale de 82.8 MPa. A 28 jours, La résistance en flexion optimale est celle de béton BHP9 (75% SA et 25% SDBr), ceci est attribué à la réaction pouzzolanique des fines de SDBr (l’argile calcinée) et la production des nouveaux C-S-H, ce qui a apporté une meilleure densification de la matrice cimentaire. L’analyse des paramètres statistiques (R2=0.97, p-valu<0.05, les résidus) a montré que les modèles développés étaient capables de prédire l’effet de la nature du sable sur les performances frais et durci des bétons. Les bétons peuvent présenter un comportement critique sous l'attaque chimique lorsqu’ils sont exposés à l'eau de mer. L’analyse des effets sur leurs microstructures a été une étape nécessaire à la compréhension des phénomènes macroscopiques complexes, car le béton subit des modifications physicochimiques qui influencent fortement sa microscopie. Pour cela les informations sous forme visuelle rendues par l'observation microscopique du béton sont été complétées par des analyses thermo- gravimetriques et thermo-differentielles (ATD/ATG) sur cinq BHP à différentes proportions des sables recyclés. Leurs résistances mécaniques pendant 28 et 180 jours

Diethyl 1,4-bis­(4-nitro­phen­yl)-1,4-dihydro-1,2,4,5-tetra­zine-3,6-dicarboxyl­ate

The complete mol­ecule of the title compound, C20H18N6O8, is generated by a crystallographic twofold axis. The dihedral angle between the nitrobenzene rings is 43.5 (2)°. The central six-membered ring exhibits a boat conformation. In the crystal structure, weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O inter­actions are observed

Legal access to our musical history: an investigation into the copyright implications of archived musical recordings held at the International Library of African Music (ILAM) in South Africa

This thesis explores the South African Copyright Act No. 98 of 1978 as it pertains to the archived holdings at the International Library of African Music (ILAM) situated at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. The purpose of analysing this law is to advise and assist ILAM in fulfilling royalty payment obligations as stipulated in a contract signed between ILAM and the Smithsonian Global Sound (formally Global Sound Network) in 2001. In order to clearly comprehend the scope of the royalty payment clause in the Smithsonian Institution’s contract with ILAM, this research includes an examination of: the history and nature of South African copyright as a sub-structure of intellectual property; specific internationally documented copyright infringement cases; the recording and documentation practices of Hugh Tracey (ILAM’s founder and director from 1954 to 1977); the contract between Global Sound Network and ILAM; and contentious issues surrounding collective ownership and indigenous knowledge. In conclusion, this research suggests equitable solutions to ILAM’s copyright concerns and proposes the Eastern Cape Music Archiving Project (ECMAP) as a practical vehicle to assist the South African Department of Trade and Industry in implementation of the South African Intellectual Property Amendment Bill (2008) if, and when, it is passed