Habitat and forage dependency of sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) in the Pretorius Kop region of the Kruger National Park

The distribution of animals across landscapes is driven by processes operating across a multitude of spatial scales. In essence, the spatial and temporal variability in nutrient availability characteristic of savanna ecosystems, superimposed on the spatial pattern of the distribution of predator risky areas, govern the herbivore foraging response. Thus studying the foraging behaviour of individual herds is a fundamental link in ultimately understanding demographic responses of entire populations. This study formed part of a broader research programme managed by the Centre for African Ecology (CAE) specifically focusing on the decline of rare antelope species in the Kruger National Park (KNP). Ultimately the aim was to contribute towards identifying the causal factors of a recent decline in sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) in the KNP. Specifically, this research was designed to span two levels of selection. Firstly to identify the forage resources that sable depend on by investigating the acceptability and dietary contribution of grass species and by examining the way in which the selection of particular species is influenced by changes in grass phenology and structure. In addition, with this study I attempted to describe the characteristics of sable foraging habitat and to identify the landscape features that distinguish areas suitable for feeding from those areas that remain unaccepted for feeding. I predicted at the level of the grass species that factors influencing the distribution and concentrations of nutrients between species and between tufts of the same species should influence the relative acceptance of a species by sable. Similarly, I expected sable’s use of foraging areas and feeding sites to be governed largely by nutrient distributions across the landscape, but to be restricted within safe areas with high visibility where the probability of the timely detection of predators is high. Four herds of sable were fitted with GPS/GSM collars and tracked from the early dry season to the start of the wet season for a total of two years during which characteristics of the foraging area and forage selection were recorded. The dietary contribution and the attributes of the foraging area remained largely descriptive and only involved analysis of seasonal and herd differences. Grass species and phenological and structural features influencing species acceptance were analysed using generalised linear models (GLM). A similar analysis technique was employed to identify the landscape attributes that played an important role in the distinction between feeding and non-feeding sites. The grass species that were consistently highly accepted by all four herds and contributed considerable proportions to the diet of each herd, included Panicum maximum, Heteropogon contortus, Hyperthelia dissoluta and Setaria sphacelata. Sable increased the dietary contribution of P. maximum and H. dissoluta during the dry season by feeding more frequently in areas where it was abundantly available. Regardless of the identity of the grass species, sable were more likely to feed from tufts that were green relative to the greenness available in that season. Sable also adjusted their acceptance of grass species based on the height of the tuft and were more likely to feed from tufts greater than 20 cm in height. The foraging area was mostly located on upper catena positions and a lack of a dry season increase in the use of bottomlands suggested that nutrients were either not accumulating in bottomlands as expected, or that sable were not responding to an accumulation of nutrients. Sable foraged and fed readily in low to high shrub cover and showed no response to the increased predation risk that would be expected to be associated with increased shrub cover. Sable were more likely to feed in areas with a relatively high tree canopy cover and more likely to feed in areas with a relatively green sward. However, sable still fed fairly frequently in open areas or areas with a predominantly brown sward. Overall, sable seemed unexpectedly tolerant of landscapes that would be predicted to range widely in nutrient distributions and forage quality as well as relative predation risk

The role of apex predators in ecosystem function: fear triggered cascades regulated by differential prey vulnerability

Trophic cascades involving large terrestrial mammals are very seldom empirically demonstrated. The high species diversity often associated with terrestrial systems is thought to modulate the strength of trophic cascades. In speciose systems, species often vary in vulnerability to consumption, hence some species are less responsive to top-down pressure. African large mammalian herbivores are highly diverse and vary greatly in body size, a characteristic linked to vulnerability to predation. Moreover, Africa is one of the last places to still support megaherbivores, species that have grown large enough to be practically impervious to non-human predation. Thus an African ecosystem is the ideal setting to explore trophic cascades in speciose terrestrial systems. In this study I explored patterns in trophic interaction amongst carnivores, vulnerable mesoherbivore and predator-invulnerable megaherbivores in an intact African savanna at a variety of spatial scales. I examined the mechanistic links between trophic levels at the patch scale through fine scale empirical manipulation of predation risk. In addition, I assessed the landscape scale biological relevance of these trophic interactions through correlative observations over large spatiotemporal scales. I present the first evidence of community level trophic cascades explicitly involving megaherbivores. I demonstrate how megaherbivores’ disregard of predation risk masks the effects of predator-triggered trophic cascades and weakens their impact on the ecosystem. The risk of predation triggered a spatial response in vulnerable species, driving them into safe areas, yet did not influence the space use of megaherbivores. This species-specific spatial response had contrasting effects on nutrient distribution. Vulnerable herbivores’ fear-induced foraging behaviour led to localised nutrient accumulation whereas the foraging behaviour of predator-invulnerable megaherbivores led to nutrient redistribution across the landscape. In addition, the fear-driven spatial differences in mesoherbivore grazing impact and nutrient deposition led to landscape scale changes in the distribution and persistence of herbivore maintained grass communities, so-called grazing lawns. However, the grazing activity of the in-vulnerable megagrazer, white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) weakened the effect of this trophic cascade by creating and maintaining grazing lawns within the risky habitat avoided by mesograzers. This study contributes to our understanding of what drives the variation among patterns of trophic control and provides the first evidence of the modulating influence that megaherbivores have on predator-triggered trophic cascades

The myth of the ‘book famine’ in African publishing

The publishing industry in Africa is usually described in terms of ‘booklessness’, ‘hunger’ or ‘famine’. But does this language of scarcity reflect the realities of book production and consumption? In this paper, the concept of ‘book famine’ is analysed as a central frame of discourse on African books, using a survey of existing documentation. Two ways of responding to book famine – provision and production – are identified, and the shortcomings of book aid (provision) are contrasted with strengthening local publishing industries (production). It is argued that the concept has become a cliché that is no longer relevant and that African publishing, while variable, is responding to local needs.L’industrie de l’édition en Afrique est généralement décrite en termes de « pénurie du livre », de « faim » ou de « famine ». Mais ce langage de la rareté reflète-t-il les réalités de la production et de la consommation de livres ? Dans cet article, le concept de « famine du livre » est analysé comme un cadre central du discours sur les livres africains, en utilisant une étude de la documentation existante. Deux manières de répondre à la famine du livre - l’approvisionnement et la production - sont identifiées, et les lacunes du système de dons de livres (l’approvisionnement) sont mises en contraste avec le renforcement des industries locales de l’édition (production). L’article fait valoir que le concept est devenu un cliché qui n’est plus pertinent et que l’édition africaine, bien que variable, répond aux besoins locaux.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/crea202022-02-26hj2020Information Scienc

South African crime and detective fiction in English : a bibliography and publishing history

Against the general assumption that crime and detective fiction has only recently emerged as a genre in South African publishing, this essay will consider the publishing history of this genre in South Africa. The question that is considered is whether trade or general-interest publishers targeting a mass audience in South Africa have produced ‘whodunnits’ in addition to their output of cookbooks and romance fiction? The evidence of writers like June Drummond, James McClure and Wessel Ebersohn, at the very least, suggests that they have, but there is also an older history. This article aims to develop a bibliography and publishing profile of this genre. This will enable us to build a contextualised historical perspective and deepen our understanding of a very popular genre.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rcwr20hb201

Between complicity and resistance : a social history of the university presses in apartheid South Africa

University press publishing, while often associated with the promotion of academic freedom, may be situated between the poles of resistance and complicity when considering intellectual responses to apartheid. Yet the history of this form of scholarly publishing has largely been ignored thus far, due to a perception that it had little to tell us about either apartheid or the struggle against it. However, the social history of South Africa’s university presses – at Wits, Natal and Unisa, in particular – provides a new angle for examining academic freedom and knowledge production during the apartheid era. Using a hybrid methodology including archival research, historical bibliography, and political sociology, this study aims to examine the origins, publishing lists and philosophies of the university presses through the lens of a continuum of intellectual responses: ranging from collaboration and complicity, to opposition and dissidence. Results show that, over time, the positions and publishing strategies adopted by the South African university presses shifted, becoming more liberal. It is argued, however, that the university presses should not be considered oppositional or anti-apartheid publishers, in part because they did not resist the censorship regime of the government, and in part because they operated within the constraints of publicly funded, bureaucratic institutions of higher education. They nonetheless produced an important, if under-valued, body of work and provided a platform for a variety of academic opinions. Moreover, the university presses faced a variety of challenges in their struggle to survive over the years, including financial pressures, international competition, and wavering institutional support. But perhaps the greatest challenge was a delicate balancing act: an attempt to promote academic freedom within a climate of political repression, censorship and ideology. The study demonstrates the significance of publishing history for an examination of broader issues of social history, as well as the applicability of a wide range of methodological tools for the field of Book History.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013.Information Scienceunrestricte

Miriam Tlali and Ravan Press : politics and power in literary publishing during the apartheid period

In a committed anti-apartheid publisher like Ravan Press in the 1970s and 1980s, the selection of authors was usually based on political or ideological grounds as well as the quality of their writing. As a result, Ravan was harassed and subjected to censorship. But to what extent did Ravan’s social position and capital inform the author–publisher relationship? One relatively well-known case is that of Miriam Tlali, described as ‘the first black woman to publish a novel in South Africa’. Tlali’s account of her relationship with Ravan has been described in very negative terms. However, her account changed over time and is not supported by other evidence. Based on archival sources and interviews, this article will explore the relationship between Tlali and Ravan Press, raising questions of the politics and power dynamics of literary publishing in the apartheid period. The article also raises questions about the methods used to write literary history.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjss202019-10-23hj2018Information Scienc

Expanding music teachers’ perceptions of learning strategies in the 21st century

This study was prompted by the need the author experienced for the rethinking of many practices in music teaching and her interest in achieving transformation in individual music teaching and learning. An eclectic approach was adopted for the research. Despite much existing ‘fuzzy’ terminology, ‘broader’ or ‘less fixed’ meanings were sought of terms including Holism, intelligence, learning, Modernism, perception, personality, Postmodernism, teaching, temperament and whole-brain learning. The reader is presented with a palette of ideas, open for further exploration, in order to stimulate creativity and different viewpoints in music teaching and learning. The study has a student-centred approach, taking into account different types of learners and how to adapt teaching styles to connect with students in their learning environment. Challenges teachers may encounter are how the meanings of many terms relate with music teaching practice, themselves and their pupils. The research explores the interaction and relation of terms with one another in order to reconsider and expand teaching methods. Inter, intra and multidisciplinary aspects of teaching are touched upon as being valuable in cutting across several traditional fields of study and also referring to knowledge seen as a coherent whole within one subject area. Experiences of ‘flow’ and transformative learning are explored in order to challenge students’ and teachers’ ‘fixed’ thinking methods. The whole-brain model is considered where the brain is seen in four quadrants, each quadrant displaying distinctive strengths of value in music teaching. The importance of Emotional Intelligence in developing other intelligences is investigated and its link with Inter and Intrapersonal Intelligences in order to equip teachers to connect effectively with pupils in a learning context. There is no “one size fits all” teaching strategy, learning style or framework that can apply to the myriad needs of individual music teachers and pupils. The research, however, demonstrates the importance for music teachers to be receptive in enlarging their thinking patterns. In so doing a path can be set for shifting focus in teaching strategies to a ‘moving forward’ ideal in perception and understanding of teaching and learning in the 21st century.Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2010.Musicunrestricte

Publishing South African scholarship in the global academic community

South Africa's academic publishing history has been profoundly influenced by its colonial heritage. This is reflected in the publication of Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society (later, the Royal Society of South Africa) from 1878. Although the Society and journal sought to promote original research about South Africa, it was modelled after the Royal Society in London and formed part of an imperial scientific community. As the local higher education institutions grew more independent and research-focused, local scholarly publishing developed as well, with university presses playing an increasingly important role. The University of South Africa (Unisa) Press started publishing departmental journals in the 1950s, with a focus on journals that ‘speak to the student’, and it is today the only South African university press with an active journals publishing programme. As external funding declined and the country became intellectually isolated in the high apartheid period, the Press managed to attract journals that could no longer be subsidized by learned societies and other universities. More recently, new co-publishing arrangements have brought South African journals back into an international intellectual community. Although some argue that this constitutes a re-colonization of South African knowledge production, it is also an innovative strategy for positioning local research in a global context.http://rsnr.royalsocietypublishing.org2016-09-30hb201

Unique perspectives on South Africa’: imagining South Africa through the homebru book marketing campaign, 2002–2012

Publishers’ and booksellers’ marketing campaigns are aimed at ‘target audiences’ – groups of potential book buyers who can be demographically and geographically segmented. This segmentation is not always overt, but in the case of a ‘buy local’ campaign, it becomes so. One example is the ‘Homebru’ promotion run annually by South Africa’s biggest trade bookseller, Exclusive Books. The campaign aims to promote South African publishing, and as a result has inevitably been seen as promoting token local works for commercial purposes. Marketers for Exclusive Books argue that Homebru holds a mirror up to the local publishing scene, but this discourse of reflection and uniqueness conceals the careful construction of a certain reality. The 2012 campaign, titled ‘Unique perspectives on South Africa’, had a deliberate emphasis on the environment and landscape of the country. The marketing poster featured a photograph of a South African township, but its realism masks the fact that this is certainly not the milieu of the average local book buyer. This article examines the changing imagining of South African identity and space, as constructed over the past ten years in the Homebru campaign. The marketing materials and their messages – both textual and visual – are analysed for insights into their discursive framing of the spatial reality of South Africa and, indeed, South Africans. The article thus examines how the consumption and reception of post-apartheid South African books are mediated by paratextual elements.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rcrc202016-04-30hb201

Transforming a publishing division into a scholarly press : a feasibility study of the Africa Institute of South Africa

Based on informal discussions with a range of scholars across the African continent, it was felt that there was a need for a scholarly publisher located in Africa, focusing on African content, and targeting an African audience. It had also been expressed by a number of researchers, and was of wider potential interest – given the author’s institutional situation and context at the time, as well as management imperatives – that the Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA) could use its existing capacity and strengths in the area of African studies, specifically from a social science and development perspective, and its networks on the African continent, to form a possible institutional base for such a press, through the expansion of its publishing division. But there was no certainty as to whether this was in fact a viable business idea. Thus, this study carries out a feasibility study, to investigate and evaluate whether a scholarly press focusing on African material would be viable in the current South African, continental and international context. The study takes the form of a literature survey, questionnaire-based empirical survey, and business planning exercise. The key research question that is investigated is: Given the limitations of and challenges currently facing the South African (and wider African) scholarly publishing industry, could a scholarly publisher working according to the above vision be viably set up, and how could this be achieved? Broad support is found for the notion of a new scholarly publisher, and a business plan is developed to show how such a press could be set up, working within certain constraints and assumptions.Dissertation (MIS)--University of Pretoria, 2007.Information ScienceMISUnrestricte