The AgResults Nigeria Aflasafe TM Challenge Project: 2019 Annual Report

This report documents the key activities that were carried under the AgResults Aflasafe Pilot Project during the 2018/ 2019 maize-growing season on the verification process to trigger premium payments for successfully harvested and aggregated Aflasafe™-treated maize

Open quantum system modeling of optically trapped nanoparticles

In this thesis we develop an open quantum system model for a levitating particle trapped in an optical cavity by external optical tweezers. First we define optical forces and see how they can be used to trap particles in optical tweezers. We study Stokes and Anti-Stokes processes and show that blue detuned optical cavities can be used to cool trapped particles to their quantum ground states. We derive the Gorini-Kossakowski-Sudarshan-Lindblad (GKSL) master equation for a general open quantum system, and present its quantum state diffusion (QSD) unravelling into an ensemble of pure states. Then we derive the GKSL equation for our system, and use the QSD equations to find differential equations for parameters of an ansatz state. We find the time dependent norm for the pure states in the QSD ensemble and show how we can use it to calculate the expectation values for observables in our system

Characteristics of near surface circulation patterns in the Benguela as derived from the ADCP(Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler).

Bibliography: leaves 63-73.This study forms part of one of the Benguela Environment Fisheries Interaction and Training (BENEFIT) program projects, whose main objective is to implement effective and quality ADCP data collection in the Benguela region. The thesis has two main components, firstly it undertook to investigate and assess the data quality, processing methods and software of ADCP data that are used to collect and process the ADCP data available in the Benguela region. An inter-comparison was made between the two different formats for data collection, i.e. raw and RDI proprietary "TRANSECT"processed data (which is more readily available in South Africa), to evaluate their respective accuracy in depicting current flow. The raw data were validated (edited and calibrated) using the CODAS software package before the current vectors could be drawn. TRANSECT -processed data could not be validated therefore vectors were drawn from the un-validated data. Data used here was collected during a monthly monitoring survey on 06-08 August 2001 on board one of the South African research vessel Algoa. The comparison results showed that TRANSECT -processed data includes unedited errors, noise and biases, which are already averaged into the data by the program and that the raw data presented a more realistic current flow. Secondly, the study undertook to apply the ADCP data collected to describe the state of oceanography of the Benguela region during the survey periods. Data from monitoring survey in 06-08 August 2001 was used to describe the southern Benguela while the second data set from a cruise conducted off Namibia in October 2000 was used to describe the oceanography of the central and northern Benguela. Most of the structures observed were in support of the literature and confirming previous studies of the region. In the southern region, the equator ward shelf jet off Cape Peninsula was observed to be forced offshore and entrained in an anticyclonic-like feature, which appeared to be part of a wann Agulhas filament. In northern Nambia, a strong poleward movement of the wann Angolan water was measured

Who Gets to Decolonize: A Reflection on the Importance of Positionality in the Decolonization of Digital Learning Spaces and Learning Design

Decolonization as a term and concept gained prominence in the 20th century as new nations emerged from the cessation of the global colonial project which primarily saw European countries occupying different parts of the world. In modern times, interests in decolonization have taken different forms, particularly in learning design and digital learning spaces. In the digital space, researchers mainly suggest introducing indigenous perspectives and cultural lenses in the design of digital learning environments and the design of emerging technologies that embed indigenous perspectives (Nede, 2023). This reflexive essay discusses the importance of positionality in digital learning spaces and learning/instructional design. While acknowledging that existing approaches are critical, and often center marginalized groups or voices in decolonization, we also argue that the current landscape may resemble a free-for-all regarding who can engage in decolonization. We further contend that positionality and the implications of these positions need to be discussed more in the emerging literature on decolonizing digital learning spaces