SEMI-ENDOGENOUS VERSUS SCHUMPETERIAN GROWTH MODELS: TESTING THE KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION FUNCTION USING INTERNATIONAL DATA

Using various indicators of innovative activity and product variety in the OECD countries over the past century, this paper tests whether first- and second-generation models of economic growth are consistent with the data over time and across countries. The estimation results give evidence in favour of Schumpeterian models while the semi-endogenous growth theories are not consistent with the data.Schumpeterian growth theory, semi-endogenous growth theory

A comparative analysis of reunification discourses in selected Cameroonian history textbooks.

Masters Degree, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.More than five decades after the (re)unification on October 1st 1961 of the former UNO trusteeship territories of French and British Southern Cameroons, to form a single nation-state, the phenomenon remains a hotly contentious and controversial discourse in both public and academic space of the Cameroonian society. Most often than not, the tensions around discourses on reunification have resulted in activities that have threatened the fabric of peaceful coexistence and social harmony between the Anglophone and Francophone communities of reunified Cameroon. Remnants of Anglo-French colonial heritage in the form of language, legal and educational systems, curricula and textbooks amongst others have most often been at the heart of the contention. In an era where textbooks in general and history textbooks in particular have been recognised to go beyond their core pedagogic purposes to also serve ideological and political functions, the need for their content to be constantly analysed with regard to their depiction of contentious phenomenon such as reunification has become a matter of absolute necessity. Against this backdrop, this study adopted a qualitative research approach and an interpretive paradigm to analyse six school history textbooks purposively selected from the Anglophone and Francophone sub-systems of education in Cameroon – three each from each of the sub systems. Making use of a bricolage of tenets of the qualitative content analyses methodology, nuanced with the discursive postcolonial theoretical framework, the analysis of the historical genre and historical knowledge types of the texts revealed certain dominant and supporting consistent and conflicting discourses on the nature of representation of reunification in Cameroonian history textbooks. These discourses include: an uncritical nature of school history and textbooks as it relates to reunification; an adoption of old styled school history characterised by substantive rather than procedural form of historical genre and knowledge; Cameroon as an imagined state; presence of single and master symbols/narratives; identity and nationalism discourse; big men historiography, male chauvinism; and exclusion. In explaining the reasons for the presence of these discourses, the analysis revealed the following notions: the nature of school history and textbooks as a colonial legacy performing the same ideological function in Cameroon as during the different periods of German, British and French colonisation; the complex nature of reunification as a phenomenon with a similar context of the reunification controversy in Germany; the ideological nature of history textbooks at the disposal of government authorities with examples such as the presence of vi master symbols in apartheid and post-apartheid South African school textbooks and the ideological use of history textbooks in the defunct German Democratic Republic (GDR) of post-WWII Germany. The postcolonial theoretical explanations of the discourse were linked to the notions of the postcolonial voiceless subaltern; the challenges of textbooks and author hybridity; and internal colonisation. The study recommends a harmonisation of the textbooks’ content, a more robust system of checks and balances in selection of history textbooks for use in schools, a review of the history syllabus and curriculum to be more inclusive of the contributions of women and ordinary Cameroonians in significant historical developments of Cameroon, to ensure a more critical curriculum that incorporates critical enquiry skills and multiperspectivity from learners and discards rote learning of history, and finally that both trainee and in-service history teachers be workshopped on these curricula improvements for history education in Cameroon schools.Only available in English

Copper and zinc in water, sediment and gastropods in the harbours of the Cape Town Metropole, South Africa

Thesis (Master of Environmental Health)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2020The harbours in Cape Town are an important hub for development and socio-economic activities, some of which include shipping traffic, ship repair and maintenance, commercial and artisan fishing, construction (dredging and reclamation) and recreational vessel activities. These harbour related activities have contributed enormously to the influx of contaminants such as metals into the coastal environment. The semi-enclosed nature of the harbours associated with limited water exchange is conducive for water pollution. Thus, harbours are increasingly becoming a hotspot for metal loading into coastal ecosystems. Copper and zinc are metal-based biocides in present-day antifouling (AF) paints. Concerns have been raised over the effect of these metal ions in the marine environment with high levels being detected in areas of intense vessel activities such as harbour. The aim of the study was to determine concentration levels of copper and zinc in seawater, sediment and gastropods (Burnupena spp. and Nucella spp.) from selected harbours and reference sites in the Cape Town metropole. Also, to determine the suitability of the two gastropods for use as biomonitors of metal contamination as well as whether there was a causal relationship between copper and zinc content in the gastropods and the concentrations in water and sediment from the harbours. Samples were collected once-off seasonally in March (dry season) and September (wet season) 2016 from sampling point(s) in the harbours and reference sites at spring low tides. Samples of seawater, sediment and gastropods (soft tissue and shell) were acid digested and metal concentrations analysed in quintuplicate using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Statistical analyses were conducted using the SigmaPlot 13 software. Statistically significant differences in copper and zinc concentrations between sampling points in harbours and the reference sites were evaluated using a Kruskal–Wallis One-Way ANOVA on Ranks and Student Newman Kuels Method for post hoc tests as datasets were non-parametric. Dunn’s Method was used for Post hoc test after the ranked based ANOVA to evaluate significant differences in copper and zinc concentrations between harbours (unequal datasets). The Mann Whitney Rank Sum Test was used for comparisons in copper and zinc concentrations between the two seasons per sampling point, per sampling sites and between soft tissue and shell per sampling point. The Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation was used to determine if there was a relationship between the metal concentrations in the ambient samples (seawater and sediment) and soft tissue and shells of the gastropods. The results showed that the mean copper and zinc concentrations (mg/L) in seawater ranged between not detected (ND) to 0.0818±0.0494 and ND to1.7679±0.639, respectively. The corresponding mean concentrations (mg/kg dry weight) of copper and zinc in sediment were ND to 3432.16±2306.68 and 1.20±1.53 to 2380.43±1456.79, respectively. The highest mean copper and zinc concentrations (mg/kg dry weight) were found in Nucella soft tissue with a range of 19.84±6.43 to 2211.61±3168.07 and 77.20±15.14 to 5045.44±2447.15, respectively. The mean copper and zinc concentrations in seawater, sediment and gastropods (soft tissue and shell) were found to be generally higher in the dry season than the wet season. Generally, the mean copper and zinc concentrations in the soft tissue of the gastropods were higher than in the shells. The findings indicated that variations in copper and zinc concentrations in seawater, sediment and gastropods (soft tissue and shells) at sampling points in the harbours could be attributed to proximity to contamination sources, the rate of water exchange, metal handling strategies of gastropods as well as changes in environmental factors. The highest mean copper and zinc concentrations were found at sampling points close to areas of intense vessel-related activities in the harbours. Therefore, it could be suggested that AF paints are a predominant source of copper and zinc in seawater, sediment and the gastropods in the harbours. The correlation analyses revealed that there were generally no significant correlations between copper and zinc contents in the soft tissue or shell of the gastropods (Nucella spp.) and the ambient environmental concentrations in the harbours and reference sites although some distinct trends were observed. It was shown that copper and zinc concentrations in the soft tissue or shell of Nucella spp. may not be directly affected by those of the ambient seawater and sediment. It may, therefore, be presumed that the changes in copper and zinc loading in seawater and sediment were not the only factors that influenced the level of bioavailability of these metals to the Nucella spp. It is possible that the bioaccumulation of copper and zinc in the soft tissue or shell of Nucella spp. may have been influenced by many physicochemical and biological parameters. By comparing the data with water and sediment quality guidelines, it was observed that mean copper and zinc concentrations in seawater from some of the sampling points in the harbours exceeded the South African Water Quality Guidelines (SAWQGs). Likewise, the mean copper and zinc concentrations in sediment from some sampling points in the harbours were moderately or seriously polluted based on the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem Sediment Quality Guidelines for southern Africa (BCLME-SQGs). It is, therefore, strongly suggested that source identification and continuous monitoring of copper and zinc in water, sediment and biota in the harbours is imperative

Pedagogic Dilemma for History Education: Voices of Student Teachers in Lesotho

It is no secret that history education in many parts of the world is facing immense challenges. This academic discipline has never been under more pressure to justify its place in the curriculum of many educational systems. While some systems such as South Africa have overtly downplayed the importance of the discipline through unfavorable curriculum implementations over the years since the dawn of democracy, other systems like Lesotho have adopted more covert strategies to systematically out-phasing history education in the secondary and high schools. The result in the case of Lesotho is that the subject is very unpopular in secondary and high schools as the number of schools teaching the subject has dwindled drastically over the years. The situation is exacerbated by poor Junior Certificate (JC) examination results for the few schools that teach the subject.Against this backdrop, this article engages the discourses around the status of history education in the context of Lesotho from a student teacher’s perspective. While many studies have focused on the role of students, government departments and school administrations in explaining the negative position of history education, the stance in this article is that the role of the history teacher is as vital and cannot be undermined. Teachers’ understanding of the objectives of history teaching and their attitudes towards the discipline has important implications for the way the discipline is perceived by students and the public. As a result, this article presents findings ofa study conducted with some novice history teachers in Lesotho on their understandings of the objectives of history teaching especially in a Lesotho context. Such understandings are then used as a basis to theorise the status of the discipline, but also to reflect on the future of history education in Lesotho

Continental shelf delimitation in areas beyond 200nm: The relationship between the CLCS, its recommendations and international Courts and Tribunals.

This thesis sets out to analyse available case law on the delimitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nm for the purpose of clarifying the relationship between the Commission, its recommendations and international courts and tribunals. In Dispute Concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean (Ghana/Côte d’Ivoire) in 2017, the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) was the first adjudicative body to delimit the continental shelf beyond 200 nm where one of the parties to the dispute had already received recommendations from the CLCS concerning the location of the outer limits of its continental shelf. This thesis will in particular discuss whether the existence of CLCS recommendations impacted the work of the Special Chamber in delimiting the continental shelf and compare the Ghana/Côte d’Ivoire delimitation with previous judicial practice on delimitation beyond 200 nm, where the CLCS has not issued recommendations

Vulnérabilité des systèmes d’approvisionnement en Eau Face aux Risques Climatiques en Zone Soudano-Sahélienne : Cas De Mogode, Extrême-Nord Cameroun

Les évènements climatiques extrêmes affectent négativement les systèmes d’approvisionnement en eau en Afrique sub-saharienne et menacent la sécurité en eau des populations rurales. Cet article contribue à déterminer les facteurs à risque climatique et à évaluer la vulnérabilité des dispositifs d’approvisionnement en eau aux extrêmes climatiques dans l’arrondissement de Mogodé, situé en zone soudano-sahélienne du Cameroun. L’approche méthodologique bottom-up basée sur la perception des usagers de l’eau a consisté à collecter des données à l’aide d’interviews semi-structurés, complétés par des observations directes et des prises au GPS. Les impacts du changement climatique projeté ont été utilisés pour prédire l’impact du changement climatique sur l’approvisionnement en eau dans la zone.Les résultats indiquent que les sécheresses et les inondations sont perçues comme les facteurs à risque climatique majeurs affectant l’eau dans la zone d’étude. Les inondations détruisent les infrastructures d’eau tandis que les sécheresses réduisent la ressource en eau disponible et de ce fait augmentent l’insécurité de l’eau. Les puits, les forages et les sources constituent la quasi-totalité des dispositifs d’eau potable existants. Les puits et les sources, regroupant 75 % des systèmes, sont très vulnérables auxdits facteurs identifiés. Tandis que les forages, plus résilients, sont assez peu représentés à cause du coût élevé d’installation qui limite leur large diffusion en milieu rural. Les impacts projetés des changements climatiques prévoient des sécheresses et des inondations plus intenses qui réduiraient considérablement l’accès à l’eau potable dans la partie soudano-sahélienne du Cameroun. C’est ainsi qu’il sera judicieux de renforcer la protection des dispositifs en place pour augmenter leur résilience aux inondations. A court terme, il est préconisé des technologies résilientes. A long terme, la solution durable serait d’intégrer une gestion adaptative de la ressource en eau au niveau des bassins versants pour augmenter l’infiltration et réduire le ruissèlement.Mots clé : Risque climatique, systèmes d’approvisionnement en eau, vulnérabilité, technologies résilientes au climat, gestion intégrée et adaptativeEnglish AbstractExtreme climatic events negatively affect domestic water supply systems in sub Saharan Africa and threaten the water security of rural populations. The objective of this paper was to determine the risk factors and the vulnerability of domestic water supply systems to climate extremes in the soudanosahelian zone of Cameroon. The study was conducted in Mogode subdivision in the Far North Region of Cameroon using a bottom up approach based on the perception of the population. Data was collected using a semi structured questionnaire administered to water users. This was complemented with direct observations, geo-referencing of the study site and existing analysis of climate change in the area. The impacts of projected climate change on the zone were used to predict the impact of climate change on water supply in the area.The results indicate that droughts and floods are the most important climate risk factors affecting domestic water supply in the study area. Floods damage water infrastructures while droughts reduce the available water resources and hence increase water insecurity. Most of the water supply systems found in the area are either wells, boreholes or springs. Wells and springs, constitute more than 75 % of the systems and are highly vulnerable to the identified high-risks factors. Boreholes are more resilient but their high construction costs, limits their widespread use in rural areas. The projected impact of more intense floods and droughts due to climate change will further reduce access to water supply in this part of Cameroon. It is therefore recommended that existing water systems should be reinforced with protective barriers to increase resilience to floods. In the short run, more resilient systems should be envisaged for new rural water supply projects. A sustainable solution in the long run is integrated and adaptive water management at the level of water catchments to increase infiltration and reduce the runoff.Keywords: Climatic Risk, Water Supply Systems, Vulnerability, Climate Resilient Technologies, Integrated and Adaptive Managemen

Decentralization of river basin management : a global analysis

Decentralization and increased stakeholder involvement have been major elements of water sector reform as ways to promote sustainable and integrated resource management particularly of river basins. Based on an analytical framework for relating decentralization and stakeholder involvement to improved river basin management, this paper infers several hypotheses about factors associated with greater or lesser likelihood of success of the decentralization process using data from 83 river basins worldwide. The results suggest that physical, political, economic, financial, and institutional characteristics of the basin do affect the process and the level of performance of the decentralization. In particular, the presence of water scarcity may be a stimulus to reform, uniting the stakeholders in the basin and leading to better performance; organized user groups push for the initiation of decentralization reforms but may be associated with costs to the process and difficulty of achieving decentralization; the existence of dispute resolution mechanisms supports stakeholder involvement and improves decentralization performance; where stakeholders accepted greater financial responsibility, complying with tariffs and contributing to the budget for basin management, the decentralization process and performance measures increased; basins with higher percentages of their budgets from external governmental sources benefited from better stability and support and it shows in the performance of the decentralization process.Water Supply and Sanitation Governance and Institutions,National Governance,Town Water Supply and Sanitation,Drought Management,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems

Evaluation of uptake mechanisms of phosphate by Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides in Early Proterozoic oceanic conditions

Banded iron formations (BIF) are proxies of global dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP) content in Precambrian marine waters. Estimates of Precambrian DIP rely on constraining the mechanisms by which Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides scavenge DIP in NaCl solutions mimicking elevated Precambrian marine Si and Fe(II) concentrations. The two DIP binding modes suggested for Early Proterozoic marine waters are 1) surface attachment on pre-formed Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides (adsorption), and 2) incorporation of P into actively growing Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides (coprecipitation) during the oxidation of Fe(II) to Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides in the presence of DIP. It has been suggested that elevated Si concentrations such as those suggested for Precambrian seawater, strongly inhibit adsorption of DIP in Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides, however recent coprecipitation experiments show that DIP is scavenged by Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides in the presence of Si, seawater cations and hydrothermal As. In this study we show that the DIP uptake onto Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides by adsorption is less than 5% of that by coprecipitation. Differences in surface attachment and the possibility of structural capture within the Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides are inferred from the robust influence Si has on DIP binding during adsorption, but inhibited for coprecipitation when As(III) and As(V) are present. The data imply that in the Early Proterozoic open oceans, Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides precipitated when deep anoxic Fe(II)-rich waters rose and mixed with the first permanently oxygenated ocean surface waters, caused DIP removal from surface waters through coprecipitation rather than adsorption. Local variations in DIP and perhaps even stratification of DIP in the oceans were likely created from the continuous removal of DIP from surface waters by Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides, and its partial release into the anoxic bottom waters and in buried sediments. In addition to a DIP famine, the selectivity for DIP over As(V) may have led to As enrichment in surface waters both of which would have most likely decreased the productivity of cyanobacteria and O2 production