No description available.

The built environment is a product of man’s rationales and understandings of space. It is on the basis of these understandings that man builds, to facilitate his ways of life. These “understandings”, are the discourses that each individual is born into and the “ways of life” are the cultural practices resulting from these discourses. Architecture being a product of cultural discourse is intended to facilitate cultural practices. Post 1994 South Africa, has inherited a Johannesburg inner-city built environment, which is predominantly a product of apartheid and colonial discourse. During this era, black people were marginalised and excluded from the inner city, both physically and through architectural representation. The inner city was built in accordance with western (white) discourse to facilitate western cultural practices. Today the inner city is predominantly inhabited by black people, who were excluded and marginalised in its conception. Post colonial theorists assert that, while black people have embraced “modernity” and “western urbanity”, it has not resulted in a complete acceptance or appropriation of western cultural practices and discourses. Due a process termed “post colonial hybridity” these people merge the two seemingly irreconcilable cultural discourses and practices to form new cultural hybrids. The consequence of hybridity in the inner-city is; while the appropriated western cultural practices and discourses are inherently reflected and catered for, the retained aspects of black cultural practice and discourse remain marginalised. The built environment, which is meant to facilitate and reflect, negates and marginalises aspects of black discourses and cultural practices. “To be truly expressive, a building should grow out of its natural, social, and civilization context. It should reflect not only the personal values, needs and interests of its dwellers but also its relation to its natural and architectural site. Thus the formal organization of a building cannot be imposed on a people from the outside; it should originate from the context of human life in the given region. In this origination the process of spatial articulation results from a thought- full grasp of the dynamic interaction between the material elements of the architectural work and the human vision which guides this activity.” (Mitias 1994:103) In order to make a contribution to the creation of a more inclusive built environment this paper proposes the development of a hybrid building prototype that would facilitate and reflect the hybrid cultural practices and discourses of the city’s black inhabitants. The building prototype named the “Inner City Ritual Centre” aims to facilitate some of the marginalised practices of black people living in the city and to reflect some of the excluded spatial understandings of black people. The paper proposes a method of practice that utilises postcolonial hybridity, to include excluded and marginalised practices and discourses into the architectural representation of the city. This paper uncovers and highlights a few of these discourses and practices and demonstrates how the use of postcolonial hybridity in architecture would result in a more inclusive built environment.

Thesis (M.Phil.) --University of Limpopo, 2012 / An exploratory study was conducted on the ethnomedical aspects of rural communities in the Limpopo Province with emphasis on the use of cultural practices, values and belief systems to meet primary health care needs. The study explored the use of indigenous medical knowledge for remedial, preventive and protective health care. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through interviews and questionnaire administration with 240 research respondents purposely selected from four communities of the Northern Sotho in the Limpopo Province. The research findings show that the Northern Sotho culture is composed of a wealth of indigenous knowledge, practices, values and belief systems that were developed by the people themselves with the objective of maintaining good health. The study respondents have extensive experience and knowledge about the elements responsible for much of the diseases that afflict them. For this reason, they have developed cultural belief systems and values that lessen the risks for contracting disease. Susceptibility to disease is lessened by knowledge about cosmological factors, disease etiologies, heeding of cultural taboos, moral behaviour, hygiene, healthy diet, drinking of clean water and proper sanitation and waste removal. Immunization against disease is accomplished through administration of indigenous plant medicines dispensed by traditional health practitioners. Instances of self-medication were encountered in 18% of the respondents. The respondents apply simple home remedies for prevention and remedial purposes. Treatment is meant for simple ailments such as flu, cough, diarrhea, snakebites, fever, measles and mumps. The medicines administered for self-medication are prepared in the household by the patient, his/her parent or a family member. Traditional health practitioners are consulted for preventive, protective and remedial care by 52% of the respondents and their families. Traditional health practitioners provide holistic remedial care through administration of medicines prepared from the indigenous plant materials such as bulbs, roots, leaves and bark of trees. The indigenous health care mechanisms of the Northern Sotho address basic elements of primary health care such as fostering self-care and self-reliance, community participation and the use of traditional medical practices for the maintenance of good health. It is recommended that the indigenous knowledge of preventive, protective and remedial care should be incorporated into Primary Health Care Programs to promote the WHO principle that communities should plan and implement their own health care services. Scientific validation of the health benefits derived from the consumption or utilization of medicinal plants should be encouraged.

Results from 1988 show that yields of 3.9 and 3.7 tons per acre are feasible for Gustoe and NKX -1558 barley cultivars. The short season cultivar Barcott yielded about one ton less. The predicted optimum amounts of water and nitrogen were approximately 30 inches and 150 pounds per acre, respectively.

One-irrigation barleys were bred to be grown with only a single irrigation near planting time. To further our understanding of how to manage these new cultivars, two one - irrigation barley genotypes (Seco and 2 -22 -9) were grown at four seeding rates (20, 40, 60, and 80 lbs seed /A); four nitrogen rates (0, 50, 100, and 150 lbs N /A); two phosphorus rates (0 and 100 lbs P₂O₅ /A); four row spacings (6, 12, 18, and 24 inch); and three planting dates (Nov 19, Dec. 23, and Jan. 22). The optimum seeding rate, fertilizer rate, and row spacing were dependent on genotype and planting date. The optimum seeding rate was 40 to 60 lbs /A for Seco and 80 lbs /A for 2 -22 -9. An increase in seeding rate decreased kernel weight and kernel number per head but increased head number. A positive response to nitrogen fertilizer was not obtained due to the high levels of residual soil nitrogen at planting (20 ppm NO₃⁻N) except for the case of Seco at the Dec. 23 planting date. Phosphorus fertilizer increased yield only at the Nov. 19 planting date and if accompanied by 100 lbs N /A. Soil phosphorous levels were 2 ppm PO₄⁻P and a positive response was expected Kernel weight was not influenced by Nor P fertilizer. Kernel number per head increased with certain combinations of genotype and planting date. Head number decreased with N rate but increased with phosphorus. The optimum row spacing was 18 inches at the Nov. 19 planting and 12 inches for Seco at the Jan. 22 planting date. At other combinations of genotype and planting date, no differences in grain yield were detected due to row spacing. Kernel weight increased with row spacing at the Nov. 19 planting date; kernel number per head was generally not affected and, head number decreased with row spacing. The results of this study surest that any recommendations on how to grow one - irrigation barley are gross approximations because of variations due to year, planting date, and genotype.

WestBred 881 durum commands a premium price due to its superior quality, but it produces a lower yield than other commonly grown cultivars. This study was initiated to improve our understanding of how to grow WestBred 881. Two dumm cultivars (WestBred 881 and Aldura) were planted at five seeding rates (30, 60, 120, 180, and 240 lbs seed /A) and five row spacings (3, 6, 12, 18 an 24 inches) at the Marana Agricultural Center. The optimum seeding rate was 180 lbs /A for WestBred 881 and 120 lb /A for Aldura. An increase in seeding rate resulted in decreased kernel weight and number and increased head number. At row spacings of 3, 6 and 12 inches, grain yield of WestBred 881 was 6120, 6300, and 6060 lbs /A and grain yield of Aldura was 6350, 6770, and 7190 lb /A, respectively. WestBred 881 has larger kernels than Aldura but fewer kernels per head and heads per unit area. The yield advantage of WestBred 881 relative to Aldura at higher seeding rates was due to in kernels per head. At the closer row spacings, the advantage was due to kernel weight, kernels per head and heads per unit area.

WestBred 881 durum commands a premium price due to its superior quality, but it produces a lower yield than other commercially available cultivars. Studies conducted at Maricopa in 1987 suggested that yields of WestBred 881 may be increased by 3-inch row spacing. Studies were conducted at three commercial farms in an effort to mimic the effect obtained with 3-inch row spacing by using conventional grain drills to obtain more uniform plant spacing. Seeding twice in parallel directions did not result in the desired effect because the seed planted in the first pass was covered by extra soil from the second pass, and the seedlings emerged from cracks made by the disk openers from the second pass. Broadcasting on beds resulted in a poor stand and non- uniform plant distribution compared to drilling the beds. Planting twice in perpendicular directions to each other resulted in a more uniform plant distribution than drilling once, but a slightly poorer stand was achieved due to extra wheel traffic and yields were not significantly increased. The best method to obtain a more uniform plant spacing may be to seed with a 3-inch drill.

Three varieties of feed wheat were compared in an on farm demonstration in the Safford valley. AC79 -97, developed by the University of Arizona for the Safford area,produced the largest amount of high protein feed Comparing 200 and 300 pound per acre seeding rates, both AC79 -97 and Super -X yielded slightly more grain at the 200 pound rate than at the 300 pound rate. Yolo, a feed wheat variety that has done well in the Sacramento valley in California, yielded slightly lower than the Super-X.

Planting date is an important consideration when growing small grain varieties under reduced water use conditions. The objective of this study is to document interactions of planting date and varieties grown with a single irrigation near planting. Field studies were conducted at the Maricopa Agricultural Center during the 1988, 1989, and 1990 growing seasons. Six barley, durum, and wheat varieties were compared at four planting dates from November to February. Early November or early December planting dates were optimum. The relative performance of the varieties differed depending on the year and planting date. The highest yielding varieties over most planting dates were Solum and 6-39-1-1 (barleys), Mexicali (durum), and B85-277A and M83-39-18 (wheats). Improvement of barley, durum, and wheat genotypes for reduced water use conditions continues at the University of Arizona, and notable progress in durum and wheat performance has been achieved recently.

Yield trials were conducted at the Maricopa Agricultural Center during the 1990 -91 growing season. Barley, Durum and Wheat varieties as well as experimental lines from various seed companies were tested for yield performance. Gustoe and Sunbar 409 barleys, Turbo and Aldura durum wheats; and 911 and Klasic bread wheats were the highest yielding commercial varieties in this yield trial.