In this dissertation, I extend existing acknowledgments of the impact of Sylvia Plath’s visual arts training on her writing in order to argue that her painterly sensibilities are central to her character construction. Specifically, I contend that Plath draws upon a set of visual techniques, which I categorise as hallucinations, mental images, dreams, blurriness, and visual-to-verbal re-inscription. The ability to control subjective experience through the imagination, a philosophy Plath discusses in her journals, acts as a framework for her narratives, and visual techniques become, for Plath’s personae, a method of manipulating their experiences through a blurring of the divide between individual imagination and subjective reality. Plath’s visual techniques further function to represent her personae’s psychic interiority in ways that not only illustrate the limits to expression of the traditionally literary but also offer a means of overcoming these limits through an alternative system of meaning-making. Thus, her personae’s agency exists at the level of form, through self representation that is not stymied by the limitations of the written word, as well as at the level of narrative, through her personae’s control of experience. Moreover, because these visual techniques appear frequently in narratives that are preoccupied with a gendered power dynamic, I contend that we should understand Plath’s moments of resistance to textual tradition as enabling her personae’s escape from patriarchal limitations to freedom and selfexpression. While this recognition of the significance of Plath’s visual techniques should not necessarily constitute a panacea to the constraints of traditional language, it does offer a new way of reading Plath which acknowledges her painterly sensibilities as crucial to the way in which she gives her personae agency and writes back to her literary forefathers.

The Botswana High is a prominent mid-tropospheric system that modulates rainfall over subtropical Southern Africa, but the capability of a Global Climate Model (GCM) to reproduce the characteristics and influences of this system on drought remains unknown. Furthermore, the summer variability of the Botswana High has been linked to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, it remains unknown whether the high's variability is a direct response to ENSO. To that end, this thesis examines the capability of a GCM with quasiuniform resolution (Model Prediction Across Scales, hereafter MPAS) in simulating the characteristics and influences of the Botswana High on drought modes over the subcontinent as well as the influence of ENSO on the high. To simulate the characteristics of the Botswana High and its influence on drought modes, the MPAS model is applied to simulate the global climate at 240km quasi-uniform resolution over the globe for the study period 1980-2010. The model results are validated against gridded observation dataset (Climate Research Unit, CRU), satellite dataset (Global Precipitation Climatology Project, GPCP), and reanalysis datasets (Climate Forecast System Reanalysis, CFSR; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA; and ERA-Interim reanalysis 5, ERA5). To investigate the response of the Botswana High to ENSO, this thesis carried out two MPAS model experiments. The first model experiment used observed SSTs everywhere during the study period, while the second experiment used observed SSTs everywhere except over the Pacific Ocean, where monthly climatological SSTs are imposed. The results of this thesis show that MPAS replicates all the essential features in the climatology of climate variables (e.g. temperature, rainfall, 500 hPa geopotential height and vertical motion) over Southern Africa, reproduces the spatial and temporal variation of the Botswana High, and captures the influence of the Botswana High on droughts and deep convections over the subcontinent. In all the datasets (CRU, ERA5, 20C and MPAS), the most dominant five Drought Modes (hereafter DM1-DM5) over Southern Africa jointly explain more than 60% of the interannual variability in the 3-month summer droughts for SPEI and for SPI. ERA5 and MPAS agree that the Botswana High influences the interannual variability of DM1; however, the influence is strong in ERA5 (r = -0.85) and moderate in MPAS (r = -0.42). In addition to that, wet years (+ve SPEI and SPI) are characterized by a weak Botswana High and drought years (-ve SPEI and SPI) by a strong Botswana High. In addition to that, the wet and dry years correspond to the -ve and +ve phases of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), respectively. Given this, the results of this thesis suggest that the Botswana High might be a conduit pipe through which ENSO signals influence DM1 over the region. Investigation into the impact of ENSO on the Botswana High reveals that the absence of ENSO forcing reduces the amplitude of the Botswana High variability, but the signal of the variability remains. While ENSO enhances the strength of the Botswana High, it does not aid the formation of the High. The result of the thesis has application in the improvement and application of MPAS for drought early warning systems over Southern Africa.

Mortality and morbidity due to low birth weight and pre-term birth are high, especially in developing countries where resources and qualified neonatal staff are scarce. There is a need to find measures that reduce the cost of care for low birth weight and pre-term babies without sacrificing quality. Conventional methods of care, where infants are exclusively cared for by the nursing staff using incubators, are very costly. In addition~ morbidity and mortality are adversely affected by some conventional low birth weight care procedures and better means of care are needed to avoid these extra risks. It is therefore important to find a substitute for conventional care without putting infants' lives in danger. The Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) method could be a viable solution, since it addresses many of the problems encountered with the conventional method. KMC is the practice of caring for low birth weight neonates by keeping them in skin-to-skin contact with their mother's chest. The length of time that the infants are placed in this position can vary from a few hours a day, to 24 hours a day. KMC provides warmth and care; it promotes bonding, breastfeeding and early discharge. Published studies of this method also indicate that KMC decreases mortality and costs while improving health outcomes. Much research has been done on the use of KMC with low birth weight children in different settings, but less has been done on its practice from the mother's point of view. This study explores the quality of the mothers' experiences with KMC in the East London Hospital Complex, consisting of the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital (CMH) and the Frere Hospital (FH), where it has been practised since July 1999. The aim of the study was to identify factors that influenced mothers' knowledge, attitudes and opinions regarding the practice of KMC. In order to make recommendations for improving the quality of KMC practice, the study also examines hypotheses that (1) Mothers' receptivity and responsiveness are critical to the implementation and practice of KMC and (2) Mothers receptivity and responsiveness are affected by (a) education and information, (b) nature and levels of support, and (c) general hospital conditions. In-depth interviews were conducted with thirty mothers in the East London Complex. Twenty participants were at CMH and ten at FH. One participant at each hospital was practising intermittent KMC. The findings of this qualitative study demonstrate clear consensus for the questions posed. The findings confirmed that KMC was positively received by mothers in a public hospital setting in South Africa but in order for the practice of KMC to be successful, attention should be paid to the following: (a) information received early and effectively, (b) KMC support in hospital and at home after discharge (c) improvement of hospital conditions. Recommendations based on these findings are included to improve the practice of KMC in hospital and at home after discharge.

Plato thought that dialectic is the method of philosophical inquiry. Yet there is no agreement between scholars regarding Plato\'s view of dialectic. The dominant interpretation, dating back to Robinson\'s Plato\'s Earlier Dialectic, which I call the \"discontinuous\" interpretation (DI), assumes a significant gap between Plato\'s account of dialectic as it is presented in the course of the dialogues. As such, although Plato considered dialectic as the method of philosophical inquiry, the term \'Dialectic\' is just a façon de parler conveying the method he deemed most suitable at different moments. One should note that (DI) entails the following trilemma: Plato\'s dialectic, as the method of philosophical inquiry, must be identified with either Elenchus (E), Hypothesis (H) or Collection & Division (C&D). For example, Irwin (1988:7) argues that one should identify dialectic with (E) while Benson (2015:238) argues that one should identify dialectic with (H). In contrast with (DI), the goal of this dissertation is to defend a \"continuous\" interpretation (CI): Plato introduced a unified view of dialectic as the method of philosophical inquiry in the Phaedrus. My argument supporting (CI) relies on three main premises: (1) The so-called three methods, (E), (H) and (C&D), are three different procedures of one διαλεκτικὴ τέχνη; (2) Plato\'s διαλεκτικὴ τέχνη is both a method of communication and a method of discovering truth; and (3) The Phaedrus (261a-266b) contains Plato\'s unified view of διαλεκτικὴ τέχνη, conceived as an amalgam of (E), (H) and (C&D), and a method of communication and a method of discovering truth. / Platão pensou que a dialética é o método de investigação filosófica. No entanto, não há consenso entre os estudiosos a respeito da sua visão da dialética. A interpretação dominante, que se remonta ao trabalho de Robinson Plato\'s Earlier Dialectic, que eu chamo de interpretação \"descontínua\" (ID), pressupõe que há uma ruptura na visão de Platão sobre a dialética no decorrer dos seus diálogos. Isto significa que ele considerou a dialética como o método de investigação filosófica, mas o termo \'dialética\' é apenas uma façon de parler para se referir ao método que considerou mais adequado em diferentes momentos. Portanto, (ID) implica o seguinte trilema: Devese identificar a visão de Platão sobre a dialética, enquanto o método de investigação filosófica, com o Elenchus (E), com a Hypotesis (H), ou com a Coleção & Divisão (C&D)? Por exemplo, Irwin (1988: 7) afirma que a dialética deve ser identificada com (E), enquanto Benson (2015: 238) afirma que a dialética deve ser identificada com (H). Em contraste com (ID), o objetivo do presente trabalho é defender uma interpretação \"contínua\" (IC): No Fedro Platão introduz uma visão unificada da dialética como método de investigação filosófica. Meu argumento para defender (IC) está baseado em três premissas: (1) os chamados três métodos, (E), (H) e (C&D) são realmente três procedimentos diferentes de uma διαλεκτικὴ τέχνη; (2) a τέχνη διαλεκτικὴ de Platão é o método de comunicação e descoberta da verdade; e (3) o Fedro (261a-266b) contém a visão unificada de Platão sobre a διαλεκτικὴ τέχνη, concebida como uma amálgama de (E), (H) e (C e D), e o método de comunicação e descoberta da verdade.

Plato thought that dialectic is the method of philosophical inquiry. Yet there is no agreement between scholars regarding Plato\'s view of dialectic. The dominant interpretation, dating back to Robinson\'s Plato\'s Earlier Dialectic, which I call the \"discontinuous\" interpretation (DI), assumes a significant gap between Plato\'s account of dialectic as it is presented in the course of the dialogues. As such, although Plato considered dialectic as the method of philosophical inquiry, the term \'Dialectic\' is just a façon de parler conveying the method he deemed most suitable at different moments. One should note that (DI) entails the following trilemma: Plato\'s dialectic, as the method of philosophical inquiry, must be identified with either Elenchus (E), Hypothesis (H) or Collection & Division (C&D). For example, Irwin (1988:7) argues that one should identify dialectic with (E) while Benson (2015:238) argues that one should identify dialectic with (H). In contrast with (DI), the goal of this dissertation is to defend a \"continuous\" interpretation (CI): Plato introduced a unified view of dialectic as the method of philosophical inquiry in the Phaedrus. My argument supporting (CI) relies on three main premises: (1) The so-called three methods, (E), (H) and (C&D), are three different procedures of one διαλεκτικὴ τέχνη; (2) Plato\'s διαλεκτικὴ τέχνη is both a method of communication and a method of discovering truth; and (3) The Phaedrus (261a-266b) contains Plato\'s unified view of διαλεκτικὴ τέχνη, conceived as an amalgam of (E), (H) and (C&D), and a method of communication and a method of discovering truth. / Platão pensou que a dialética é o método de investigação filosófica. No entanto, não há consenso entre os estudiosos a respeito da sua visão da dialética. A interpretação dominante, que se remonta ao trabalho de Robinson Plato\'s Earlier Dialectic, que eu chamo de interpretação \"descontínua\" (ID), pressupõe que há uma ruptura na visão de Platão sobre a dialética no decorrer dos seus diálogos. Isto significa que ele considerou a dialética como o método de investigação filosófica, mas o termo \'dialética\' é apenas uma façon de parler para se referir ao método que considerou mais adequado em diferentes momentos. Portanto, (ID) implica o seguinte trilema: Devese identificar a visão de Platão sobre a dialética, enquanto o método de investigação filosófica, com o Elenchus (E), com a Hypotesis (H), ou com a Coleção & Divisão (C&D)? Por exemplo, Irwin (1988: 7) afirma que a dialética deve ser identificada com (E), enquanto Benson (2015: 238) afirma que a dialética deve ser identificada com (H). Em contraste com (ID), o objetivo do presente trabalho é defender uma interpretação \"contínua\" (IC): No Fedro Platão introduz uma visão unificada da dialética como método de investigação filosófica. Meu argumento para defender (IC) está baseado em três premissas: (1) os chamados três métodos, (E), (H) e (C&D) são realmente três procedimentos diferentes de uma διαλεκτικὴ τέχνη; (2) a τέχνη διαλεκτικὴ de Platão é o método de comunicação e descoberta da verdade; e (3) o Fedro (261a-266b) contém a visão unificada de Platão sobre a διαλεκτικὴ τέχνη, concebida como uma amálgama de (E), (H) e (C e D), e o método de comunicação e descoberta da verdade.

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