Symbolic Narratives and the Role of Meaning: Encountering Technology in South African Primary Education

This article draws on the results of a long-term, design-based research study with South African primary school teachers to discuss the role of subjectively assigned meanings and symbolisms of technology, as key factors affecting the adoption, appropriation and use of educational technology in urban poor and under-resourced environments. The paper examines how teachers’ engagements with technology are framed, conditioned, and embedded in multi-levelled “technology encounters”. These encounters give rise to meaningful representations of technology that ultimately transform both the teaching and learning process, and culminate in the emergence of “symbolic narratives”: complex assemblages of symbolisms, meanings and interpretations that arise through and therefore come to influence further technology engagements. We argue that a closer examination of teachers’ symbolic narratives can shed light on the motivations that underpin the appropriation, integration -- or conversely, rejection -- of educational technology in urban poor and under-resourced environments.CA2016www.wits.ac.za/linkcentre/aji

Symbolic narratives and the role of meaning: Encountering technology in South African primary education.

This article draws on the results of a long-term, design-based research study with South African primary school teachers to discuss the role of subjectively assigned meanings and symbolisms of technology, as key factors affecting the adoption, appropriation and use of educational technology in urban poor and under-resourced environments. The paper examines how teachers’ engagements with technology are framed, conditioned, and embedded in multi-levelled “technology encounters”. These encounters give rise to meaningful representations of technology that ultimately transform both the teaching and learning process, and culminate in the emergence of “symbolic narratives”: complex assemblages of symbolisms, meanings and interpretations that arise through and therefore come to influence further technology engagements. We argue that a closer examination of teachers’ symbolic narratives can shed light on the motivations that underpin the appropriation, integration -- or conversely, rejection -- of educational technology in urban poor and under-resourced environments

Capturing the dynamics of the South African sunflower seed market in a partial equilibrium framework

Sunflower is the most important oilseed crop in South Africa and accounts for approximately 60 % of all oilseeds produced locally. The primary by-products of the sunflower seed crushing industry provides high-value inputs towards the food and animal feed manufacturing sector in the form of edible oil and protein meal. Prior to 1996, the South African sunflower seed complex market was controlled by the Oilseed Board, which operated a single-channel pool scheme and regulated the marketing of oilseeds and oilseed products. Since the liberalisation of the South African agricultural sector, role-players have been fully exposed to the dynamics and risks of the international oilseed complex market. Over the years participants in the agricultural commodity markets have developed various instruments to assist them in their decision-making process – one of them being commodity modelling, which is described as a methodological technique that provides a powerful analytical tool for examining the complexities of commodity markets. In South Africa, many role-players in the various agricultural industries make use of a multi-sector commodity level partial equilibrium model better know as the BFAP sector model which is maintained by the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) at the University of Pretoria. The objective of this study was to expand the coverage of the existing BFAP sector model by developing a comprehensive system of equations for the total sunflower seed complex, which includes not only a partial equilibrium model for sunflower seed, but also sunflower oil and cake. In this study much emphasis was not only placed on the formation of prices of the various products, but also the application of the most suitable model structures in order to trace the behaviour of the various prices under real market conditions as accurately as possible. This study applied the methodology developed by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) and further adapted by the Bureau for Food and Agriculture Policy (BFAP) to develop the partial equilibrium model of the South African sunflower complex. The single equations were estimated by mainly using ordinary least squares (OLS), but in cases where the results of the OLS were contradictory to the theory or where insufficient data was available, calibration techniques were employed and the equations were synthetically constructed. The constructed model was applied to lay down a baseline projection for the total production and consumption blocks of sunflower seed, oil and oilcake. The baseline projections also formed part of the ex post validation of the model’s performance. Finally the consistency of the model was evaluated in the form of scenario analysis. Various real-world market- and policy-related shocks were imposed and the results were compared to the baseline projections. In general the model developed in this dissertation performed well and can be used to analyse the effects of economic, technological and policy changes on the South African sunflower seed complex. It also provides a sound structure for the development of a complete South African oilseed complex model that includes soybeans, canola, groundnuts, cotton and imported palm oil. CopyrightDissertation (MScAgric)--University of Pretoria, 2010.Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Developmentunrestricte

Towards Decolonizing and Africanizing Computing Education in South Africa

Many have called for action to decolonize South African universities. Decolonization focuses on dismantling Western epistemological traditions and practices entrenched in the university culture and knowledge domains. In this paper, we explore decolonization as a site of struggle in national higher-learning institutions not only politically but also epistemologically. More specifically, we examine how hegemonic and neoliberal policies that hinder decolonization and indigeneity govern efforts to Africanize computing education. We conclude with critical recommendations that can support computing departments and faculties in enriching the syllabus with indigenous knowledge

The representation of voluntourism in search engines: The case of South Africa

© 2015, © 2015 Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC). This paper responds to the paucity of research on the linkages between voluntourism and digital technology and seeks to understand the online representation of the phenomenon in a developing context. In particular, the researchers investigate the so-called ‘online domain’ of voluntourism in South Africa. The researchers collected a series of web results from search engines and analysed the presence of traditional and social media websites, the most relevant presented topics, and the type of argumentation found. Results identify the context and representation of voluntourism as it transpires virtually. This will contribute to the understanding of the interplay between voluntourism and digital technology, with specific emphasis on web presence. Ultimately, results will shed light on how digitally accessible voluntourism is in South Africa and will set the basis for future investigations

Die rol en invloed van stakings in Suid-Afrika en 'n internasionale vergelyking daarvan

Proefskrif (Ph.D.) -- Universiteit van Stellenbosch, 1986.Full text to be digitised and attached to bibliographic record

On-board image quality assessment for a satellite

Thesis (PhD (Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.The downloading of images is a bottleneck in the image acquisition chain for low earth orbit, remote sensing satellites. An on-board image quality assessment system could optimise use of available downlink time by prioritising images for download, based on their quality. An image quality assessment system based on measuring image degradations is proposed. Algorithms for estimating degradations are investigated. The degradation types considered are cloud cover, additive sensor noise and the defocus extent of the telescope. For cloud detection, the novel application of heteroscedastic discriminant analysis resulted in better performance than comparable dimension reducing transforms from remote sensing literature. A region growing method, which was previously used on-board a micro-satellite for cloud cover estimation, is critically evaluated and compared to commonly used thresholding. The thresholding method is recommended. A remote sensing noise estimation algorithm is compared to a noise estimation algorithm based on image pyramids. The image pyramid algorithm is recommended. It is adapted, which results in smaller errors. A novel angular spectral smoothing method for increasing the robustness of spectral based, direct defocus estimation is introduced. Three existing spectral based defocus estimation methods are compared with the angular smoothing method. An image quality assessment model is developed that models the mapping of the three estimated degradation levels to one quality score. A subjective image quality evaluation experiment is conducted, during which more than 18000 independent human judgements are collected. Two quality assessment models, based on neural networks and splines, are tted to this data. The spline model is recommended. The integrated system is evaluated and image quality predictions are shown to correlate well with human quality perception

Developing a model for measuring the environmental performance of the SAFCOR Panalpina operations and third party logistics services provided to clients, with a further aim of developing a consultancy capability as a further service offering

‟In light of current ecological concerns, investing in less-than-green ventures is tantamount to committing ecocide on a global environment and the communities it sustain‟‟ (Omar, 2011:7)." Companies around the world are daily urged to re-design their business practices, embrace different energy sources and lifestyles to ultimately have a more sustainable relationship with their environment. Companies with reduced emissions are fast becoming the preference as clients are starting to develop a deeper understanding for eco-friendly awareness. This translates into businesses whose services are eco-sensitive being chosen above competition, which ultimately impacts positively on the profitability of the company. According to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) 74% of the JSE‟s top 100 companies have responded to some sort of green project. This is a clear indication that environmental performance should remain sufficiently high on the agendas of South African companies (Omar, 2011). For the purpose of this project Safcor Panalpina‟s Third Party Logistics (3PL) services are assessed as a holistic system. In Chapter 4, operations management approaches are followed to develop a tool to measure and improve the environmental performance of SaPA‟s Third Party Logistics Clients. The customized model adapted from the Green Operations Reference Model is called the SaPA GREENTool. The GREENTOOL is applied to XYZ Pharmaceuticals via a case study; thereafter recommendations based on industry related best practices are given. The outcome of the project will not only be based on the principles of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) but also seek to develop a practical competitive advantage as the Environmental Management Systems (EMS) of clients gain value through using greener 3PL services. These competitive advantages will be gained through firstly giving recommendations on what SaPA‟s future green strategy should be and finally the development of a consultancy service in Chapter 5.Thesis (B Eng. (Industrial and Systems Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2011