Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study set out to investigate the social and institutional factors which impact on the retention and progression of female academics in four universities in Zimbabwe. Drawing on a qualitative research methodology the aim of the study was to understand the social and institutional factors related to the retention and progression of female academics in four institutions in Zimbabwe. In seeking to unpack the factors that shape the low representation of female academics in occupational spheres, the study finds unequal gender-based patterns in Zimbabwean society as a key condition that finds its way into the four institutions. In this regard, the patterns and shape of gender relations, based on the principles of kinship, become the platform for unequal relations among male and female academic staff. This manifests itself in different ways, including the (negative) role played by the extended kin family in the progression of married women academics to higher level management posts, resistance to women's authority by both men and women, the culture of male domination within institutions which works to the disadvantage of female academics and stereotypical behaviour by men within the institutions.

Apartheid may have ended formally in 1994, but its legacy endures in many aspects of South African society and in the lives of individual South Africans. One of the difficulties which post-apartheid South Africa has had to contend with is the question of justice for the victims of atrocities committed during the apartheid years, and the possibility of redress. The Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) was established in order to formalise a process whereby victims could tell their stories and have their pain recognized, and to grant perpetrators an opportunity to provide information and acknowledge their wrongdoing. This thesis explores the possibility of forgiveness in relation to the complexities of guilt and victimhood. Forgiveness is posited as a powerful and viable response, which has the potential to free both the perpetrators and the injured parties from the stranglehold of the past. The thesis draws on studies which approach the question of forgiveness from a moral and philosophical perspective. These include the work of historians and theorists such as Simon Wiesenthal, Hannah Arendt, Jacques Derrida and Paul Ricoeur. It then goes on to consider the ways in which a number of seminal post-apartheid texts, works of fiction and non-fiction, have dealt with forgiveness and its potential to heal. One chapter focuses specifically on texts which deal with the TRC and its aftermath, especially Antjie Krog’s Country of My Skull (1999) and Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela’s A Human Being Died That Night (2003). This is followed by an analysis of three important novels which foreground and problematise the issue of forgiveness: J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace (1999), Marlene van Niekerk’s Agaat (published initially in Afrikaans in 2004, and then in an English translation in 2006), and Mark Behr’s Kings of the Water (2009). Nelson Mandela will not go down in history for the 27 consecutive years that he lived imprisoned without ever renouncing his ideas. He will go down in history because he was able to draw from his soul all the poison accumulated by such an unjust punishment. He will be remembered for his generosity and for his wisdom at the time of an already uncontainable victory, when he knew how to lead so brilliantly his self-sacrificing and heroic people, aware that the new South Africa would never be built on foundations of hatred and revenge. / Thesis (DLitt)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / English / unrestricted

In my thesis I define the main consequences that recent global financial crisis left on Belorussian banking system. In order to achieve my goal, as the first step I introduce the country's banking system, where I describe the main construction elements of Belorussian banking system, present its basic qualitative and quantitative characteristics. In the second chapter first I am going to present the basic information about financial crisis and its development from the international point of view. Then I focus on Belarus and its specifics. The third chapter is dedicated to the analysis of the specific impact of the crisis process and taken measures on Belorussian banks. Finally I evaluate found specifics of Belorussian approach to financial crisis as well as specific effects on Belorussian banks.

The diploma thesis evaluates the microbiological contamination of meat and background in the company of Jatky Bučovice. Numbers of the choosen microorganisms are weighted against the change of the season.

This master’s thesis, using the process of research, explores and surveys the business of suppliers.The choice of vendors in a manufacturing company is very important. The main task of this thesis is to suggest each quality process and introduce a certain criteria to help the company find the right vendor and the other task was to create a rating of the current suppliers of the buying of goods and services.

This dissertation thesis summarizes results of experiments that have been carried out during my PhD studies related to the new mass spectrometric methods for trace gas analysis of human breath. The thesis is divided into the theoretical and experimental part. The chapter at the beginning of this dissertation summarizes the current research in the area of breath analysis. It is describing the common breath metabolites, benefits and challenges of the method for therapeutic monitoring and clinical diagnosis and current applications. The next chapter of the theoretical introduction describes the techniques suitable for this area of research, with a special emphasis on mass-spectrometric techniques (in particular the selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry, SIFT-MS, method that allows accurate quantification of trace gases and vapours in humid air/human breath). All these parts are elaborated via the scientific literature review. The following chapters are then directly related to my own research and describes the conducted experiment, including the results obtained. This experimental part "Results and Discussion" is divided to the individual subsections, which are conceived as the commentaries to the enclosed research papers published in peer reviewed journals. The first is the detailed step by step...

Antibiotic Feed Additives (AFA) have been used to prevent many bacterial infections during weaning of livestock. The use of these AFA’s resulted in the development of multiresistant bacterial strains and was therefore banned by the European Union. The United States also restricted the use of these feed additives considerably. Many scientists have started to search for alternatives in the prophylactic and therapeutic treatment of bacterial infections. Plants have been used traditionally by resource poor people all over the world to treat many infections. Diarrhoea not only causes many problems in the high intensity production of livestock but also leads to many human deaths. A large number of plants have been used to treat diarrhoea in humans and animals. Several authors have selected one or two species based on traditional use to evaluate in depth. In this project several different relevant parameters of 53 plant species used traditionally to treat diarrhoea were investigated in order to develop a model that would identify the species with the highest chance of delivering a useful antibacterial product. Antibacterial activities against two pathogens important in diarrhoea (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli) were positive parameters in selecting species. Because tannins frequently have antibacterial activity, but are not useful as prophylactic agents due to their effect on production, high tannin content was considered to be a negative indication. Cellular toxicity was also used as a negative parameter at a later stage. In addition to the in vitro assays there are also other parameters to be investigated to evaluate the potential use of plants. The influence of season of collection was determined on the antibacterial activity and tannin content of acetone leaf extracts of five plant species traditionally used to treat diarrhoea. They were Acacia karroo, Acacia sieberiana var. woodii, Peltophorum africanum, Trichilia emetica and Ziziphus mucronata. The antibacterial activity varied depending on the season of collection with the best activity generally in the months of late summer to autumn (January to April). The activity of Acacia karoo against E. coli was best in the month of April (MIC = 0.11 mg/ml (TA = 332 ml/g)) and against S. aureus in the month of March (MIC = 0.06 mg/ml (TA = 334 ml/g)). Acacia sieberiana subsp. woodii extracts had the best activity against E. coli (MIC = 0.10 mg/ml (TA = 303 ml/g)) in March against S. aureus in April (MIC = 0.08 mg/ml (TA = 303 ml/g)). <i.Peltophorum africanum extracts were most active against E. coli in February (MIC = 0.05 mg/ml (TA = 1188 ml/g)) and against S. aureus in February and March (MIC = 0.04 mg/ml (TA = 1188 ml/g and 1075 ml/g)). Trichilia emetica extracts were generally not very active against the bacterial strains (best activity: MIC = 0.22 mg/ml (TA = 74 ml/g) against E. coli in May and MIC = 0.28 mg/ml (TA = 26 ml/g) against S. aureus in December). Ziziphus mucronata was most active against both bacterial strains and in May (E. coli: MIC = 0.10 mg/ml (TA = 589 ml/g); S. aureus: MIC = 0.04 mg/ml (TA = 1099 ml/g)). The tannin content varied in the extracts as well. The antibacterial activity however did not seem to be directly correlated to the tannin content. Another important parameter in the use of plant species is to determine the interspecies variation of plants based on genetic or environmental influences. Leaves from 42 plants of Combretum molle were collected at different locations during the same season. The average MIC against E. coli was 0.227 mg/ml. The low standard deviation of 0.07 indicates that there was very little variation in activity. The average value against S. aureus was 0.399 mg/ml with a slightly higher standard deviation of 0.16. However due to the fact that the samples from different areas extracted different amounts, the total activity varied. The tannin assays revealed that there was with one exception no correlation between the antibacterial activity and the tannin content. So it can be safe to assume that genetic variation does not influence the activity too much at least in C. molle leaves Fifty three plant species traditionally used to treat diarrhoea in published literature were then ranked using a novel system in order to determine which species had the most potential value. Ranking was based on the lowest MIC value against E. coli, lower activity against S. aureus (to limit selecting for general metabolic toxins), low tannin concentration and high extract yield. From this ranking, five plants were chosen to investigate their potential value further: Acacia sieberiana var. woodii (E. coli: MIC = 0.13 mg/ml, TA = 108 ml/g; S. aureus: MIC = 0.13 mg/ml, TA = 108 ml/g; Yield = 14 mg), Albizia adianthifolia (E. coli: MIC = 0.14 mg/ml, TA = 239 ml/g; S. aureus: MIC = 0.04 mg/ml, TA = 765 ml/g; Yield = 34 mg), Deinbollia oblongifolia (E. coli: MIC = 0.17 mg/ml, TA = 158 ml/g; S. aureus: MIC = 0.08 mg/ml, TA = 338 ml/g; Yield = 27 mg), Spirostachys africana (E. coli : MIC = 0.13 mg/ml, TA = 300 ml/g; S. aureus: MIC = 0.09 mg/ml, TA = 438 ml/g; Yield = 38 mg) and Tetradenia riparia (E. coli : MIC = 0.09 mg/ml, TA = 214 ml/g; S. aureus: MIC = 0.13 mg/ml, TA = 149 ml/g; Yield = 20 mg). None of the plants contained any tannin. The next step towards the recommendation of a plant for the development of a commercial product was to evaluate the cytotoxicity of the selected five species. The following values were obtained: Acacia sieberiana var. woodii LC50 = 0.026 mg/ml, Albizia adianthifolia LC50 = 0.068 mg/ml, Deinbollia oblongifolia LC50 = 0.078 mg/ml, Spirostachys africana LC50 = 0.025 mg/ml and Tetradenia riparia LC50 = 0.028 mg/ml. Deinbollia oblongifolia (for its low LC50 value) and Spirostachys africana (for its good antibacterial activity and total activity) were potentized by removing inactive compounds through solvent-solvent fractionation. The antibacterial activity against E. coli was increased this way (MIC = 0.08 mg/ml for Deinbollia oblongifolia (chloroform fraction) and MIC = 0.08 mg/ml for Spirostachys africana (chloroform fraction)) The LC50 values for both chloroform fractions were determined (LC50 = 0.188 mg/ml for Deinbollia oblongifolia and LC50 = 0.062 mg/ml for Spirostachys africana ). The selectivity index (SI) was also determined and proved that the potentization was indeed successful (Deinbollia oblongifolia SI = 2.35 compared to a value of 0.45 for the crude extract; Spirostachys africana SI = 0.78 compared to a value of 0.19 for the crude extract). Based on these values, the chloroform fraction of Deinbollia oblongifolia was chosen as the less toxic one with similar activity and a higher selectivity index to be worked on further. One of the active compounds was isolated and evaluated for its activity against E. coli (MIC = 0.74 mg/ml) The LC50 value of 0.042 mg/ml indicated that the activity of the extract was a result of synergism rather than being due to a single active compound (the selectivity index (SI) was 0.06 compared to the values of 0.45 for the crude and 2.35 for the potentized extract). The plant extracts should of course be as effective against pathogenic strains as they were against the ATCC strains and so the extracts and pure compound of Deinbollia oblongifolia were tested for their activity against four different pathological E. coli strains. The results showed that the crude extract and the fraction were as active as in the preliminary screening results against only one of the four pathological strains. The pure compound on the other hand was more active against all four pathological strains than against the ATCC strain. The next step was to test the safety of the extracts of Deinbollia oblongifolia in mammals. Unfortunately neither the crude extract nor the chloroform fraction of Deinbollia oblongifolia could be used safely in a living organism or in an isolated organ study. A part of the problem may have been caused by the vehicle used in the study despite reports in the literature that an acetone water mixture is safe to use. In general all the species investigated had good antibacterial activity against E. coli this supports the traditional use of these species although we used acetone as extractant rather than the water used traditionally. There were major differences in antibacterial activity over a season indicating that mature leaves were more active than young leaves before senescence started. At least in the case of Combretum molle there was little difference in the antibacterial activity of many plants collected at different locations during the same season. The results obtained in this study could be useful in further studies to develop extracts that can be used to control diarrhoea in animals. Possibly more emphasis should be put on the difference in activity towards E. coli and S. aureus to eliminate the presence of general metabolic toxins. Such an approach would lead to a different priority order for species to examine. A major first step would probably be to test the in vitro and in vivo toxicity of selected species. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Paraclinical Sciences / unrestricted

Thesis (M. A.(African Languages)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / This study focused on identifying and analyzing the perceptions of Sepedi poets on women. This qualitative, descriptive research was conducted to determine if there were any discrepancies between role perceptions and role expectations. Data was collected from texts (poetry books) in the form of poems that poems which portrays negative perceptions of poets on women. Poems were selected randomly and analyzed to expose their perceptions on women. The study has exposed the prejudices that were unfairly inflicted upon women through poetry. The findings revealed that there is a need to rehabilitate authors, poets in particular to write positive about women, perceive women as capable and gifted beings. If this social ill is left unattended, it may result in confusion and role conflict among members of the society, which can ultimately transgress the attainment of credible and aesthetic element of literary work.

Minority ethnic groups have disproportionately high rates of diabetes prevalence and complications. This study examined the degree, nature, and mediation of ethnic differences in changes over time in four health outcomes: functional limitations, emotional symptomatology, psychosomatic symptomatology, and self-reported health status. The theoretical context incorporated tenets from the social characteristics and the minority status perspectives. Data were drawn from two rounds (1992 and 1996) of the Health and Retirement Survey, a national plane survey of midlife Americans. The study focused on a subsample of 744 respondents who had been diagnosed with diabetes or high blood sugar by the time of the first round. Descriptive and lag-time regression analyses were employed. Five models were used to: (1) assess the independent effects of being Black and being Hispanic on changes over time in each of the outcome variables without and with the set of mediating variables; and (2) gauge the specific manner in which mediating variables affected initial statistically significant effects among Blacks and Hispanics. The mediating variables included five social position measures (education, income, net worth, gender, and a role integration index), health insurance coverage, and four health-related lifestyle measures (body mass index, drinking, smoking, and physical inactivity). The results pointed to a complex pattern of effects between Blacks and Hispanics and across outcomes. The social characteristics hypothesis was supported in two instances: increases in functional limitations over time for Blacks and poorer self-reported health over time for Hispanics. The minority status hypothesis was supported only for increases in emotional symptomatology among Hispanics. No support for either hypothesis was observed for psychosomatic symptomatology. Critical mediating variables also differed between Blacks and Hispanics across the outcomes. The two variables mediating the Black effort for functional limitations were body mass index and gender, whereas the two variables mediating the Hispanic effect for self-reported were smoking and education.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the effects, if any, of a supplemental phonics curriculum, Saxon Phonics, on the reading achievement of first-grade students in one mountain-west, semirural, school district. The design was casual-comparative and ex post facto, and answered the questions: (1) Do students taught using a traditional basal program and students taught using both the traditional basal program and a supplemental phonics program (control vs. treatment) differ on selected end-of-year reading achievement scores (i.e., portions of the DIBELS Next assessment—nonsense word fluency [NWF], oral reading fluency [ORF], and accuracy [ACC])? (2) do any possible interactions among selected variables (i.e., instructional program, gender, and beginning-of-year reading level) exist related to performance differences on end-of-year reading achievement scores among students receiving reading instruction with or without a supplemental phonics program? The independent variables were the instructional program Saxon Phonics, a traditional/basal reading curriculum and the reading levels of low, medium, and high. The dependent variables were oral reading fluency, accuracy and nonsense word fluency, measured by the DIBELS Next assessment. The 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 DIBELS Next data were collected from the school district database upon approval from the Institutional Review Board in January of 2017. A mixed effects model was utilized to explore the relationship between use of the selected supplemental phonics curriculum and selected reading achievement scores of first-grade students. Results revealed that there was no significant difference between the control and treatment groups, though there was a statistically significant improvement of low readers in the treatment group over the control group.