The application of elemental fingerprinting techniques to identify population connectivity using austrovenus stutchburyi recruits

The density, distribution and dynamics of benthic bivalve populations are believed to be largely determined by the planktonic larval phase of the life history. As the hard parts of larvae, such as the prodissoconch (larval shell), develop and grow, ambient environmental conditions are recorded as chemical signatures (elemental fingerprints). If the chemical signals of reference sites are known, the larval signatures can be matched to reference sites, hereby reconstructing the origin of the larvae. The collection and identification of larval bivalves is extremely difficult, however, previous studies have shown that the prodissoconch is retained into the juvenile phase, thus enabling juveniles to maintain a record of the larval movement. Before elemental fingerprinting can be used as a larval tracking tool, site specific signatures must be evident in the shells. As a precursor study to test the application of elemental fingerprinting to track bivalve larvae, the presence of spatial variability in shell signatures as well as the scale at which these variations occurred, were established for New Zealand conditions. Furthermore, temporal stability of the shell signatures was explored, as temporal stability is crucial if the signals of shells collected at one time are to be used as predictors of unknown samples collected at a different time. The venerid bivalve Austrovenus stutchburyi is a common and widespread constituent of New Zealand estuarine communities and were therefore selected as the study species. The chemical signatures of entire Austrovenus stutchburyi shells were examined to determine the inter-site spatial differences in elemental fingerprints of shells and also to characterise the temporal stability of the signatures. Furthermore, shells were ablated at two reference points (the prodissoconch and most recently formed shell material) to determine the intra-shell variation in the chemical signatures. Juvenile individuals were collected from 19 sites in the North Island of New Zealand as part of the whole shell spatial study. One site (in Tauranga Harbour) was examined for the temporal study, whilst four sites were used to compare intra-shell chemical variation. Whole shells were digested and analysed as solution based samples using inductively coupled ii ABSTRACT iii plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for the spatial and temporal studies, and by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) for the point ablation intra-shell variation study. Results showed that shell concentrations were sufficiently different to yield a classification success of 68% over 19 sites, however the classification success markedly increased as the number of sites included in the analysis decreased (e.g. 12 sites = 75%, 10 sites = 84%, 5 sites = 90%, 3 sites = 95%). Shells were successfully classified across all of the spatial scales that were tested (approximately 10 km to 1150 km). Temporal stability in chemical signatures was observed over a 44 day period. The chemical signatures were not correlated with ambient temperature or salinity, however more vigorous sampling is needed to accurately assess the relationship between shell elemental incorporation and environmental conditions. Intra-shell variation was also observed for some of the shells analysed from two of the four sites. These results were promising and indicated that there may be chemical variations between the larval shells and the more recently formed shell material, thus suggesting the possibility of external recruitment. The results from this study emphasised the potential for the application of elemental fingerprinting techniques to track and better understand the larval transport and population connectivity for New Zealand invertebrate species, however more research is required before elemental fingerprinting can effectively be applied to New Zealand invertebrate species. With a fundamental understanding of the origin of bivalve recruits, restoration efforts following estuarine disturbance events can be effectively employed

Towards an Effective Learning Organisation and the Role of Human Resources (HR) Department: The Case of a South African Finance Organisation

This study investigates the effectiveness of measures taken by a South African finance institution towards guaranteeing that it is a learning organisation and the supportive role of Human Resources (HR) in this regard. The business environment today is volatile, uncertain, and has become more complex and ambiguous. Organisations have to make fast and appropriate decisions in order to remain current and relevant. Given the rate of change in the global business environment, organisations which are still characterised by traditional bureaucratic and hierarchical structures will find it difficult to adapt to the ever-changing business environment. This institution’s environment is characterised by a high level of bureaucracy and hierarchy resulting in prolonged decision-making processes. The prevalent culture does not promote information sharing and synergies between employees and different departments. In this study, the quantitative research method was used due to the large sample and population. The probability sampling technique was used to collect data from a population of 388 stratified into different management layers. Using multiple regression analysis, the study proved that the ability to promote learning abilities is significantly influenced by HR in driving a culture of learning within the organisation. The study provided further evidence that the learning organisation concept is holistic in its approach and that HR plays a key role in laying the foundation for this concept to thrive. Finally, a recommendation is made in the study that management should review organisational structures in place to improve decision-making. HR should play a more visible role in providing guidelines for mentorship and encourage cross-functional training, knowledge sharing and transfer among departments and employees

Architecting information : a Delphi study of South African perspective

Abstract: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has transformed society at large, with the Internet and World Wide Web (WWW) revolutionising the access, flow and use of information within the societal context. For organisations to maintain and increase their competitive stance within the market, attention should be focused on how the information is structured within the organisational context. Considering information may be regarded as the catalysts of change within the economy, the objective of this research is to determine how important the architecture of information is to organisations operating in South Africa. The research design utilised to answer the question is based on a pragmatic ontological stance. Building onto the ontological stance, the research employs an abductive epistemological assumption to rationalise the nature of knowledge..

Factors influencing a mother's choice of feeding after discharge of her baby from a neonatal unit

Objective. To assess feeding methods chosen by mothers of babies who spent time in a neonatal unit.  Factors influencing this decision were investigated.Design. Descriptive study.Methods. Mothers were interviewed on the day they took their babies home. Basic demographic data on mother and baby were collected from the hospital records.Setting. The neonatal unit, Pelonomi Hospital, Bloemfontein from May 1996 to May 1998.Subjects. Eighty-one mothers of babies admitted to the neonatal unit.Outcome measures. At discharge 60% of mothers intended to breast-feed their babies exclusively the  next day. The mother's decision to breasHeed her baby at home was significantly associated with her decision before delivery (P = 0.0050). Otherfactors positively associated with the decision to breast-feed exclusively at home were a significantly higher birth weight of the baby (P < 0.0008) and gestational age of the baby (P < 0.0005). The only hospital practice positively associated with this decision was the frequency with which mothers saw their babies during their stay in the unit (P = 0.0153). Mothers' knowledge of how to increase breast-milk supply was very poor.Conclusions. Infants with a lower weight and gestational age, who stayed in the unit longer, were less  likely to be breast-fed after discharge from the neonatal unit. The mothers' experience in the unit did not seem to alter their choice of feeding method decided upon before delivery. This suggests that efforts to promote breast-feeding in the neonatal unit were either ineffectual or inadequate. In order to remedy this situation it is necessary to keep the motherinfant pair together (lodger mothers) and to promote  breastfeeding before and after delivery. It would also be necessary to train staff in the management of lactation problems

Rezeption muslimischer Repräsentationen und gesellschaftlicher Zusammenhalt

Im Artikel werden Befunde einer qualitativen Rezeptionsstudie mit Angehörigen der muslimischen Diaspora zu Medienrepräsentationen des Islams präsentiert. Ausgangspunkt für die Durchführung der Studie waren zwei zentrale Aspekte. Erstens belegen zahlreiche Inhaltsanalysen, dass über Muslimas und Muslime sowie den Islam zumeist ereigniszentriert und in einem gewalt- und konfliktbehafteten Kontext berichtet wird. Es ist anzunehmen, dass eine derart negativ verengte Berichterstattung nicht folgenlos für den Zusammenhalt in der Gesellschaft bleibt. Allerdings ist zweitens wenig darüber bekannt, wie Muslimas und Muslime selbst die Islamberichterstattung wahrnehmen und ob sie muslimische Medienbilder als Gefährdung für den gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt deuten. Diese Leerstelle aufgreifend wurden 12 problemzentrierte Leitfadeninterviews mit Angehörigen der muslimischen Diaspora geführt. Die Befunde zeigen, dass aus Sicht der Interviewten die mediale Repräsentation weitestgehend nicht mit ihrem eigenen Selbstverständnis übereinstimmt und nur wenig Identifikationspotenzial bietet. Im Gegenteil, sie fühlen sich vielfach durch die Islamberichterstattung diskriminiert und ausgegrenzt. In diesem Zusammenhang werden Tendenzen einer Gefährdung des gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalts sichtbar. Für die medienpädagogische Praxis bieten die empirischen Befunde zahlreiche Ansatzpunkte

Feedlot performance of the Drakensberger in comparison with other cattle breeds : a meta-analysis

The aim of this study was to compare the growth performance and incidences of health disorders of the Drakensberger breed to the collective total of all other beef breeds in feedlots. The objective was to conduct a meta-analysis on the performance, health and centralised growth data (Phase C) of all cattle breeds from different regions in South Africa. The intention was not to compare different breeds with each other but only the Drakensberger breed to other breeds and crossbreeds generally found in feedlots. Results from Phase C performance tests at the centres, as well as historical growth and health data were gathered from a number of feedlots. Data from feedlots were only accepted when individual animal records were kept; classification was according to breed type; and when Drakensbergers were present in the particular feedlot. The aim was to utilise historical records of up to ten years per feedlot. After initial processing and elimination of outliers, a meta-analysis was performed on the growth data. Each feedlot was analysed separately, followed by a final meta-analysis, which incorporated results from all the feedlots. It included 497 798 head of cattle from 5 feedlots, with a separate analysis on Phase C performance test data, comprising of 6139 animals from 4 Agricultural Research Council (ARC) test centres. Health data from 2 feedlots, comprising of 24 819 animals, along with Phase C performance test data from 2 ARC test centres, including 1746 head of cattle, were analysed. The variables included in the analysis were: average daily gain (ADG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), mortality and morbidity ratios and type of disease or disorder. In addition to determining the individual effects of breed, sex, season, year, region and diseases, possible interactions amongst these factors were investigated. The meta-analysis on the feedlot performance and Phase C performance tests revealed that other breeds had a higher (P < 0.01) ADG than Drakensbergers. No difference was observed between Drakensbergers and other breeds within gender and within season. The meta-analysis on Phase C performance test data showed no significant difference in FCR between Drakensbergers and other breeds. A feedlot study, including 23 554 head of cattle, has shown that Drakensbergers have a higher rate (P < 0.01) of respiratory disease occurrence during the winter season than other breeds. Likewise, results from the ARC test centre in Irene, consisting of 1553 animals, reveal that the occurrence of respiratory diseases was less (P < 0.01) in other breeds than in Drakensbergers. However, there seem to be no significant differences in the occurrence of metabolic disturbances and other diseases between Drakensbergers and other breeds. Although a statistical difference of only 20 grams per day (P < 0.01) in ADG were found between Drakensbergers and other breeds in feedlots and test centres, the biological and economical effect would most probably be insignificant. The large dataset of close to 500 000 cattle also contributed to such a small weight difference being significant. The majority of the contributing feedlots stated that their record keeping lack accuracy and do not comprise of a complete set of health data. Readers are therefore advised to interpret the health data analyses with caution as the analyses are not representative of the actual health status of cattle in the feedlot industry, simply because accurate data does not exist.Dissertation (MSc(Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2013.Animal and Wildlife Sciencesunrestricte