1,369 research outputs found

    A preliminary survey of soil nutrient status and vegetation distribution in Kirstenbosch

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    ’n Herwaardering van aanhouding sonder verhoor in die lig van die By­belse beskouing van menseregte

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    Human rights in general and detention without trial in particular have been discussed with great fervour in the course of the past few years. Because this is in teality a normative issue, writers have tended to approach the matter from the viewpoint of Humanism and Natural Law, while in the process neglecting to keep cognizance of a Biblical view o f human rights

    Development Of An Integrated Operating Framework For Strategy Execution In Gauteng Municipalities In South Africa

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    The establishment of a new democracy has created high expectations amongst all the different communities of South Africa. The demand for basic essential services by the previously disadvantaged communities has increased drastically, whilst at the same time, communities from developed areas are expecting and demanding an acceptable level of maintenance and services in their respective areas. Municipalities are in serious distress with regular service delivery protests, huge service delivery and infrastructure backlog challenges (e.g., electricity, roads, housing, water, and sanitation), poor financial management and the inability to execute approved strategies, plans, and programs. This article focused on the municipalities in the Gauteng Province of South Africa and the main objective was to answer the survey question: “What prevents Gauteng municipalities to successfully execute its strategies and what can be done to address the situation?” The research objectives were firstly, to review the literature and determine the key enablers required for successful strategy execution; secondly, to analyze the findings of the empirical research and to make recommendations towards the improvement of strategy execution within Gauteng municipalities. The third and final objective was to develop an integrated operating framework for strategy execution in Gauteng municipalities. The article concluded by making recommendations towards the improvement of strategy execution within municipalities and developing an integrated operating framework for strategy execution. The results of the literature review as well as the empirical research were taken into account during the development of the integrated operating framework

    Strategy And Planning As An Enabler For Strategy Execution In South African Municipalities

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    Literature confirmed that whilst progress has been made in recent years, there is still a pressing need amongst communities in South Africa for improved service delivery. There is also increasing frustration and anger at the inability of municipalities to do what is expected of them. Municipalities, in general, have a poor record in respect of execution of strategy.   The research problem - “what prevents Gauteng municipalities in South Africa to successfully execute its strategies and what can be done to address the situation?”-  will be answered and dealt with when the findings and conclusions relevant to each research objective are discussed.   Research and literature to date focused primarily on planning and strategy formulation but neglected the very important execution process. Whilst strategy execution is a dismal failure in most organizations, to date, very little research has focused on strategy execution.   Managers and their employees must apply new ways of thinking and they point out that today’s high performing organizations are able to bridge the strategy-execution gap due to the fact that their strategies translate to specific operational goals, their employees understand the context and purpose of their work, and they can readily measure how well they are performing

    Reduction in transport in wheat (Triticum aestivum) is caused by sustained phloem feeding by the Russian wheat aphid (Diuraphis noxia)

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    The Russian wheat aphid (Diuraphis noxia) feeds preferentially from the phloem of longitudinal veins of nonresistant wheat leaves. The xenobiotic, 5,6-CFDA was applied to exposed leaf blade mesophyll cells in control and aphid-infested plants. In control plants, the fluorophore moved approximately 5–6cm from the point of application of 5,6-CFDA within 3h of application. The fluorochrome was transported in the sieve tube companion cell complex, including those in the numerous interconnecting transverse veins. Leaf blades on which the Russian wheat aphid had been feeding demonstrated a marked decrease in 5,6-CF transport. Aphids feeding on the leaves formed local sinks and redirected the fluorophore (and presumably associated assimilate) to the aphids’ gut, with little longitudinal translocation of 5,6-CF below inserted stylets or aphid feeding areas. Aniline blue staining revealed massive deposits of wound and reaction callose caused by the aphids, with callose associated with the sieve plates, pore-plasmodesma between the companion cells and their associated sieve tubes, as well as with plasmodesmal aggregates in parenchymatous elements within the vascular bundles. Leaves that had been colonised by aphids but from which the aphids were removed, showed extensive wound callose deposits, which persisted for up to 48h after removal of aphid colonies, suggesting that the damage caused by aphid feeding is a long-term, non-transient event in non-resistant plants

    Aphid (Sitobion yakini) investigation shows thin-walled sieve tubes in barley (Hordeum vulgare L) to be more functional than thick-walled sieve tubes

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    Barley, like most other grasses that have been studied, contains two kinds of sieve tube. The first formed are called thinwalled sieve tubes because of their thin wall compared to the late-formed, and are associated with companion cells. The late-formed are thick-walled sieve tubes, which differentiate next to the metaxylem vessels and lack companion cells. Aphid (Sitobion yakini (Eastop) feeding was studied using light microscopy to determine if they preferentially feed from thin- or thick-walled sieve tubes in the barley leaf. Penetration of the stylets through the leaf epidermis and mesophyll was largely intercellular, becoming partly intercellular and, partly, intracellular inside the vascular bundle. Sixteen of 19 pairs of stylets (84%), and 293 of 317 (92%) stylet tracks terminated at the thin-walled sieve tubes, suggesting that Sitobion yakini feeds preferentially on the thin-walled sieve tubes which seem to be more attractive to the aphid. These thin-walled sieve tubes are thus probably the most functional in terms of phloem loading and transport

    A Theoretical Model to Measure Managerial and Leadership Competence of Business School Managers

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    A theoretical model to measure managerial competence was developed by evaluating two previous models with similar aims. In addition to the original eight management competencies, another eight competencies were identified and applied to determine the management competencies needed in the Fourth Industrial Revolution with its fast-changing business environment. The article narrows down eleven management competencies and develops measuring criteria for each; in total 42 criteria. The eleven business competencies are leading change, cultural intelligence, team building, conflict management, communication skills, a global leader mindset, emotional intelligence, career awareness, personal value system, and external and ethical influences. The model is a theoretical model and presents management competencies relevant to the modern business environment. The value of this study resides in a strong theoretical basis for postmodern business environmental skills that managers need to maintain completeness of their organizations as well as providing a sound point of departure for other researchers of managerial competence.&nbsp

    In Search of an Alternative to Fire for Manipulating Bush Encroachment in the Arid Karoo Region of South Africa

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    Burning of natural rangeland in order to rejuvenate and increase palatability of grazing is a common practice in parts of South Africa. Concern about the long-term effects on biodiversity and the depletion of much-needed soil car-bon led to this investigation

    Resistance or tolerance: an examination of aphid (Sitobion yakini) phloem feeding on Betta and Betta-Dn wheat (Triticum aestivum)

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    Engineering pest resistance into crops is important. However, the mechanisms of resistance are not clearly understood. In this study, we examined the effects of aphid feeding on Russian wheat aphid-resistant and -susceptible cultivars of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.); Betta-Dn and Betta, respectively, by the grass aphid, Sitobion yakini (Eastop). These cultivars were grown with or without aphid colonies. In each case, we examined the plants specifically for the formation of wound callose associated with the phloem, using aniline blue and fluorescence microscopy. We observed that aphid feeding stimulated the formation of wound callose in the susceptible cultivar, but that callose was comparatively reduced in the resistant cultivar of wheat. In a separate series of experiments, the xenobiotic, 5, 6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate was applied to attached sink leaves, distal to feeding aphids. When leaf segments were examined four hours after application, little evidence of phloem transport of the fluorescent cleavage product, 5, 6-carboxyfluorescein (5, 6-CF), was evident below known aphid-probed sieve tubes. Low levels or absence of 5, 6-CF indicates that either the aphids have successfully redirected sap to themselves, or that the phloem is no longer functional. In contrast, 5, 6-CF transport was evident below sites of aphid probing in Betta-Dn, suggesting that the phloem was still capable of long-distance transport. In addition, callose deposition was reduced in Betta-Dn leaf phloem and it is surmised that transport was not as affected by aphid feeding in the resistant cultivar. This indicates that the ‘resistant’ wheat cultivar may in fact be tolerant to aphid feeding by successfully overcoming the nutrient drain that feeding aphids imposed on the phloem transport system
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