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- Group work is increasingly used to teach and manage large classes in higher education institutions and to prepare students for entering the world of work, where potential employers seek teamwork skills as well as professional competency. This paper reports on an exploratory study of students’ views (n = 140) of a complex group work task in Life Sciences at year level four at a South African residential university. Students were asked for their experiences of the group work processes; the skills they had developed; and suggestions for improvement. Descriptive statistics and qualitative responses show that overall the students favoured the group work approach and felt that they had developed social and cognitive skills. Future group work exercises focusing on complex tasks would require more detailed guidance for students on the teamwork processes required to meet the demands of the assignment. The study concludes that undergraduate student group work involving complex tasks can be valuable from both social and cognitive perspectives but that processes need to be monitored and reviewed for maximum outcomes.
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- Exploitation of agricultural waste as green starting materials to produce various valuable products is attracting the attention of academic, industrial and other practitioners. Cashew nut shell (CNS) and its liquid extract (CNSL) in particular have been identified as agro-wastes rich in valuable and functional renewable products. The unique structural features of the CNSL constituents offer the possibility for different modifications to suit various applications. This review article provides recent developments in CNS and CNSL as green sources for use in the production of biorenewable chemicals, materials and energy. Extraction methods and applications of CNS, CNSL and isolates are discussed. Furthermore, a literature survey of the current status and efforts made on the utilization of these agricultural and food wastes for different applications is well outlined.
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- Traditional cultural practices mirror or replicate the values and beliefs held by members of the community. Throughout the world, every social grouping has specific traditional practices, some of which are beneficial to all, while others have become harmful to a specific group, such as women. Like in some African states, these traditional cultural practices are performed in South Africa and are violating women’s rights. Women’s right are human rights. The South African Constitution is one of the most progressive in the world, and notably includes the Bill of Rights which provides protection of socio-economic and cultural rights. Cultural rights are protected in Section 30 and 31 of the constitution, although such protection is not without limitation. This highly complex interplay and competition between human rights and cultural rights, which are manifested through cultural practices, is the golden thread that traces through this paper. The paper argues that there is conflict and the lack of balance between diverse cultural practices and legal or constitutional framework which promotes the value of human dignity and equality, especially for women. These practices are reviewed in connection with the South African government laws.
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- The integration of learners with disabilities into mainstream education has become educational policy in most developed countries and is currently a worldwide phenomenon. This move is part of a broader concern in South Africa to emphasize the rights of challenged learners since the implementation of the inclusive education policy twenty years ago in 1996. This paper investigated primary school educators’ views about including mentally challenged learners in the mainstream at the Umkhanyakude and Uthungulu districts in KwaZulu- Natal, South Africa. These educators were from mainstream schools, full service schools, remedial centres and special schools. A purposive sampling method was used to select participants. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire. The research findings indicate that most educators still held negative attitudes towards the inclusion of mentally challenged learners in mainstreaming. The results also revealed that variables of age, gender, school type, class size do not have an influence whilst the variable of grade had an influence on primary school educators’ attitudes towards inclusive education.
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- The aim of this paper is to explore experiences of secondary school principals pertaining to challenges facing school principals regarding effective implementation of participative management in patriarchal South Africa. The objective of this paper is to identify challenges of implementing participative management at secondary schools, and determine possible management development needs of school principals. The researchers reviewed literature on participative management practices. Empirical investigation based on quantitative data paradigm was used to collect data from school principals in the King Cetshwayo district of KwaZulu-Natal province. Questionnaires were used to facilitate the process of data collection. The findings revealed that there are too many administrative functions for principals which reduce time for participative management initiatives, and that gender imbalances in management and leadership positions tend to impact negatively on staff morale at secondary schools in South Africa.
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- Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) as a credible alternative to tackle food insecurity under the changing climate is gaining wide acceptance. However, many developing countries have realized that concepts that have been recommended as solutions to existing problems are not suitable in their contexts. This paper synthesizes a subset of literature on CSA in the context of small-scale agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa as it relates to the need for CSA, factors influencing CSA adoption, and the challenges involved in understanding and scaling up CSA. Findings from the literature reveal that age, farm size, the nature of farming, and access to extension services influence CSA adoption. Many investments in climate adaptation projects have found little success because of the sole focus on the technology-oriented approach whereby innovations are transferred to farmers whose understanding of the local farming circumstances are limited. Climate-smart agriculture faces the additional challenge of a questionable conceptual understanding among policymakers as well as financing bottlenecks. This paper argues that the prospects of CSA in small-scale agriculture rest on a thorough socio-economic analysis that recognizes the heterogeneity of the small farmer environment and the identification and harnessing of the capacities of farming households for its adoption and implementation.
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- The scourge of terrorism orchestrated by Boko Haram continues to challenge the security of the Nigerian state and its population. The reign of terror has generated responses from both state and non-state actors. The recurrent destruction of lives and properties has exposed the government’s incapacity to maintain order within its geographical territory. Nevertheless, the state-initiated divergent counter-terrorism measures, the institutional arrangements tasked with the responsibility of implementing government policies, continue to display weaknesses in containing terrorism in the country. Drawing from the conceptual framework of state fragility, the article assesses the capacity of state institutions to curtail Boko Haram’s uprising. The article utilizes documented and historical materials to highlight that the weakness of state institutions and poor service delivery explain the prevalence of terrorism inflicted on the state and its population by Boko Haram. Aside from suggesting diverse options to strengthen Nigeria’s state institutions, the article identifies other proactive strategies to combat terrorism.
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- Violence against men is not popular, yet men are mistreated in intimate relationships. The study investigated the causes of violence against men in an intimate relationship in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The theoretical basis of the study was informed by Social Learning Theory developed by Albert Bandura in 1963. This paper used a post-positivist research paradigm which enabled the researcher to yield multiple perspectives rather than a single reality from participants. In that light, this paper used both quantitative and qualitative research methods for data collection. The study sampled 60 men who once experienced abuse from their intimate partners. The study managed to get responses from all sampled men. Collected qualitative data were analysed through the use of content analysis. The study acknowledged how well the participants understood the participants understood the concept subjugation. Findings showed that men abuse is not a new thing in the province but is experienced by a large number of them.
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- In the last few years, the market of organically grown products (OGPs) has continued to grow due to speculated concerns for the environment, food safety and health issues. The market for OGPs in South Africa appears to be under threat; with their demand outstripping their supply. In light of this background, there are relatively few studies on the consumer purchase intentions of OGPs in South Africa, and thus, less understanding about its demand market drivers. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors influencing the purchase intentions of OGPs (fruits and vegetables) in Shelly Centre in Port Shepstone in Kwa-Zulu Natal Province of South Africa. Using a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional research design, a hundred and fifty (150) OGP consumers were selected through a systematic random sampling technique from three accredited OGP retail outlets namely Pick n’ Pay, Spar and Woolworths. Generally, descriptive results show that the interviewed consumers in Shelly Centre were reasonably educated and knowledgeable about OGPs. A higher proportion of the interviewed consumers in Shelly Centre consisted of women, employed and not of African descendant (ethnic group) consumers. Most were confident that OGPs are environmentally friendly, safe, high-quality products, and have a better taste compared to conventionally grown food products. A somewhat fair proportion expressed mixed feelings concerning the belief that OGPs are priced higher, their appeal to nature (smell), and their willingness to purchase OGPs regardless of price. Nonetheless, most were adamant that OGPs are difficult to find on the market. A multiple regression model analysis results reveal that consumer demographics; ethnicity (not of African descent) (p < 0.001), and monthly household income (p < 0.05) are statistically significant and positively influence the consumer purchase intentions of OGPs in Shelly Centre. Conversely, consumer perceptions that OGPs are priced higher (p < 0.05), have a better taste and of quality (p < 0.001), and the difficulty to find on the market (p < 0.001) are statistically significant and negatively influence the consumer purchase intentions of OGPs in Shelly Centre. The findings of this paper stress the need to design strategies and elements (marketing mix) to make OGPs affordable and readily available to consumers. Likewise, consumers from all ethnic groups and income levels need to be conscious of the environmental and health benefits of OGPs to make informed purchase decisions. To promote the purchase of OGPs; from a policy perspective, the government can offer support such as a consumer price subsidy to make OGPs affordable, and the provision of effective regulations and certification around the marketing of OGPs.
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- 2019| IFE Centre for Psych...Gender inequality in leadership has been the central focus of studies in the field of educational administration for many years. When female teachers are in principalship positions, there are still some teachers who regard them as incompetent and unable to resolve conflict in schools. This study explored the experiences of teachers in relation to female principals' skills of managing conflict in rural primary schools dominated by female teachers in the Gingindlovu Circuit of KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa. This study used a qualitative approach, collecting data from purposively sampled participants through face-to-face interviews. The study established that female principals have skills of managing conflict despite their gender roles that have been taken as determinants that females may not do well as managers. Some gender roles, which include nurturing and accommodating, have been identified as key to female principals in assisting them when resolving conflict at the workplace where the staff is dominated by female teachers.
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- Regardless of the steady increase in the economic growth of South Africa, poverty levels and food insecurity have not declined as one would have anticipated. Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) presents an opportunity as a livelihood strategy to alleviate poverty and ensure household food security within the urban and peri-urban spheres. However, less research has been done in this area to discover the contribution of UPA on households’ food security. This paper assesses the food security status of households that practised any form of UPA activities (later on referred to the rest of this paper as UPA practising households) and those that did not (later on referred to the rest of this paper as non-UPA practising households) within the Tongaat peri-urban area of eThekwini Municipality. The specific objectives of the paper are to estimate the household food security status of the UPA practising households vis-à-vis the non-UPA practising households and to elicit the reasons associated with the practice of UPA activities. Two hundred and eight (208) households (that is 109 and 99 UPA and non-UPA practising households respectively) were selected using a stratified random sampling procedure. The Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) and Household Food Insecurity Access Score (HFIAS) measures were employed to estimate a household’s food security status. A probit regression analysis was used to elicit the reasons associated with the practice of UPA activities by households. A non-parametric independent samples test (Mann-Whitney U) was used to compare whether there were significant differences between the two groups. A Pearson Chi-Square test reveals that the employment status, access to arable land, land tenure (ownership rights or arable land) and household monthly income variables were statistically significantly associated with the food security status (in terms of HDDS) of households. The results from the HDDS tool, show that a greater proportion (54%) of the UPA practising households consumed >6 food groups (deemed to be food secure in terms of dietary access) as compared to their counterparts, the non-UPA practising households (40%) in the same food group. However, the Mann-Whitney U test (U = 5292, p = 0.808) show that there was no significant difference from this data in terms of the dietary diversity (HDDS) of the two groups. The HFIAS measure reveal that a greater proportion (about 72%) of the UPA practising households indicated that they never or rarely worried about food shortages (deemed to be food secure in terms of food access) as compared to their counterparts—the non-UPA practising households (about 61%) that never or rarely worried about food shortages. The Mann-Whitney U test (U = 4118.5, p = 0.001) show that there was a significant difference in terms of food access (HFIAS) of the two groups. Overall, the results show that although UPA practising households seemed to be better off in terms of food access as compared to the non-UPA households, the results are inconclusive or show no evidence that a significant difference existed concerning dietary diversity of the two groups. The probit regression analysis shows that the variable arable land size (p = 0.000) has a positive correlation with the practice of any UPA activity. In order for UPA to enhance the household food security status (particularly in terms of dietary diversity) within the peri-urban spheres, an integrated approach (with agricultural land support from government and city planners) together with the diversification of high-value UPA activities by households is paramount.
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- The Millerite movement persisted during the great disappointment, even though many returnedto the former Christian churches because the dates predicted for the Lord’s second coming didnot come to pass. Miller’s central focus was to determine if his audiences were ready for Christ’ssecond coming. William Miller and Ellen White documenting their values and beliefs have seenthis movement develop into the Seventh-day Adventist Church as an organisation that has madegreat inroads into various areas. This organisation was established by lay preachers. The aim ofthis paper was to identify the various types of communication employed by the Seventh-dayAdventist Church. Klopper’s (2003) Theory of Optimisation of Human Communication (TOHC)will be used as the theoretical framework for this study. For a community to survive they need toemploy various types of communication available. Secondly, they need to be competitive againstother groups. This paper analysed the Seventh-day Adventist Church statistics from those whichwere posted on their websites. The paper shows how the Seventh-day Adventist Church survivedduring the great disappointment because they employed the various types of communicationeffectively. They became competitive by making inroads into new communities and presented thegospel through maximising the use of various types of communication available through thecenturies. To be effective, early Christian groups irrespective of which stage of development theywere in, should have maximised the use of all communication types accessible
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- The issue of large classes is evident at all levels of education. Regardless of this being viewed as challenging to both the students and educators, appropriate teaching pedagogies should be sought, although the teaching method used is cooperative learning, however, if appropriately used, it can prove to be very helpful to teachers who are faced with the large class scenario. However, the author is of the view that cooperative learning should be used in all classes irrespective of the number of students in the class. He believes that developing students to work within a team is beneficial to them. This method of learning will equip them for their path into the Business Sector. Cooperative learning will be the theoretical framework for this study. The aim of the paper revealed that students need to have their higher order thinking skills enhanced. The objective was to identify the various forms of cooperative learning and how it enhances higher order thinking skills. Cooperative learning has positives and negatives; however, the positives outweigh the negatives. The author has taught on many occasions and has discovered cooperative learning to be very beneficial for him and the students. Students entering the employment arena soon need to learn how to function as a team and cooperative learning develops these skills. Within this study the author narrated how he has utilised cooperative learning within his classes. The paper finally showed how cooperative learning as a teaching pedagogy enhances student's higher order.
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- This study explores classroom management challenges experienced by female educators in rural secondary schools. Quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used for data collection. The sample consisted of 280 female educators from 20 selected rural secondary schools in South Africa. The findings of the study among others show that classroom management is not solely dependent on gender; female educators respond well to the needs of individuals and groups, and female educators are overburdened with overload and limited resources. The study recommends among others that regular workshops should be organised to address and empower female educators in rural secondary schools on the appropriate teaching techniques to empower them cope with contemporary classroom management challenges during teaching and learning exercises.
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- The year 2019 marks 140th Anniversary of the Battle of Isandlwana. The Battle of Isandlwana is one of the critical events of South African liberation history – mounted against colonial expansion. This battle was a dramatic turning-point in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, and has become an icon of South African heritage because of the crushing defeat inflicted on the invading imperial British army by indigenous Zulu one. In the historical literature of the war, the official British account of the battle held sway till 1965. In that year Donald Morris' Washing of the Spears and the movie Zulu awakened a popular interest in the war which has endured to this day. Thanks to Morris and the movie, a revolution has taken place in the interpretation of the battle, sustained by new sources and perspective, most notably ones which focus on Zulu victory, rather than the British defeat. Unfortunately knowledge of historical method varies and handling of historical source material often differs. As a result of this, we are still without a comprehensive and reliable account of the battle. This article is an attempt to explore African perspective and to show how this battle is remembered by South Africans.
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- The upcoming detector facility aims at developing new state-of-the-art particle detectors as well as providing hands-on training to postgraduate students using both analog and digital signal processing from nuclear radiation detectors. The project is two-fold and aims at developing: 1) ancillary detectors to be coupled with the new GAMKA array at iThemba LABS. Of particular interest to our group is the determination of nuclear shapes, which depend on the hyperfine splitting of magnetic substates; 2) PET scanners for cancer imaging using a cheaper technology. Performance of NaI(Tl) inorganic scintillator detectors has been evaluated using PIXIE-16 modules from XIA digital electronics. Gamma-ray energy spectra were acquired from 60Co and 137Cs radioactive sources to calculate the detector resolution as well as to optimize the digital parameters. The present study focuses on improving and optimizing the slow and fast filter parameters for NaI(Tl) detectors which can eventually be used in the list mode of data acquisition.
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- The study sought to determine whether or not there would be a statistically significant difference in performance between learners taught through a cognitive conflict-based conceptual change approach and versus those taught through a collateral learning approach. To establish this, the two respective post- test mean scores were compared. The result was that although some gains had been made by both groups, there was no statistically significant difference between the post- test mean scores for the two groups. However, when pre-test mean scores were used as baseline, a statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-test mean scores for the collateral learning group was established. This suggests that there could be some merit in favour of the collateral learning approach. Hence, this result also suggests that more research still needs to be carried out to give clarity to the issue.
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- Technology has no doubt changed the way we interact and behave in our daily lives. The traditional learning spaces have adapting to be transformed into a digital space. In order for this transformation to be successful, there must be stable Internet access and available Information Communication and Technology (ICT). The cost of Internet access and electricity challenges are a major challenge the rural child and teacher faces. This is quantitative and qualitative research which focused on ICT usage in rural schools in the King Cetshwayo District Municipality (KCDM). Findings reveal that 57.7% of respondents affirmed the deficiency of skills to utilize ICT with the curriculum. Thus, implement of ICT usage in the classroom is unsuccessful. Moreover, the majority of the respondents (59.5%) indicated that they have inadequate ICT skills. Training in ICT is essential. Findings also advised that a comparative study be done between teachers from rural and urban schools.
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- The South African basic education faces many disparities and challenges. The schooling sector is made up of both private and government schools. The use of technology in South African public schools is very limited, in some cases, non-existent or at best avoided. This paper focused on rural secondary schools that are in the King Cetshwayo District Municipality (KCDM) which is made up of the following municipalities Mbonambi: uMhlathuze, Ntambanana, uMlalazi, Mthonjaneni, and Nkandla. The paper looked at how a framework that could address the integration of ICTs for teaching and learning in rural secondary schools. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and The Interactive Model of Communication were used to conceptualise this qualitative research. The framework that was graphically designed comprise three states: The Current, the Desired and the Future states for ICT usage were developed. This framework could provide both rural secondary and schools in general, a process for developing a sustainable process for using ICT for teaching and learning. The research recommends future research on how the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will advance teaching and learning in public schools.
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- This study explored teachers‘ and learners‘ views about factors that contribute to Physical Sciences underperformance in Grade 12 from a rural context. A mixed- methods research methodology was used where a concurrent triangulation research design was employed; where a structured questionnaire was used to solicit learners‘ views, while an interview schedule was used to delve into the teachers‘ views.Descriptive statistics revealed that learners viewed class-size, support, resources, and attitude towards Physical Science as factors that contribute to underperformance. Teachers indicated that it is difficult to give extra support without well-resourced laboratories and parental support. This paper contributes to the existing knowledge about the teaching of Sciences. It further recommends that measures be put in place to ensure that the recommendations of the National policy for the provision and management of Learning and Teaching Support Material are implemented in schools.
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