In the 1960s, Nigeria was on a par, in terms of aspirations to attain a very high level of economic growth and development, with its fellow-oil producing and exporting countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, but has since failed to keep pace with them. Nigeria’s agricultural, manufacturing and mining and quarrying sectors have played a continuous and significant role in the development of the country’s economy. The approval of the millennium development goals (MGDs) by the United Nations General Assembly therefore raises three pivotal questions for Nigeria. 1) Why is Nigeria still an underdeveloped and lowincome country? 2) What should the country do to make rapid economic and social progress? and 3) How can it attain a high level of economic development and growth?. This is the background of this study, which is an empirical investigation into the factors affecting Nigeria’s bid to achieve sustainable economic growth and development with particular reference to such sectors as agriculture, manufacturing and mining and quarrying (solid minerals) over the period of 1970-2005. This involves the analysis of the relevance of the health care and education sectors and examination of impediments to past economic development, a development model applicable to Nigeria, the efforts made and the challenges facing the country in achieving the MDGs, and the role of foreign development partners in complementing Nigeria’s development efforts. The methodology adopted for this study is sectoral-econometric modelling, using the Engle- Yoo (1991) model, which contributes to bridging the gap seen in empirical studies in the application of a multivariate dynamic econometric cointegration model on the effect of domestic and foreign financial resources investment for the development of the growth sectors in the Nigerian economy. The model captures the essential linkages between the growth sectors and the country’s efforts to achieve a high level of economic development. The results from the simulations are broadly consistent with findings described in theoretical and empirical literature. There is a strong positive relationship between the gross output of the agricultural, manufacturing and mining and quarrying sectors and labour input and public capital expenditure for the growth sectors. Also there is a strong positive relationship between the agricultural credit guarantee scheme, fertiliser and the gross output of agriculture. Furthermore, the findings show a positive impact of the structural adjustment programme with the agricultural and manufacturing production. Dynamic simulation of results was undertaken to assess the path of the 10 percent dynamic adjustment (shocks) on the relevant exogenous variables and the response properties show remarkable and positive significant impact due to the shocks. The estimated actual and forecast values of the equations in the model show notable increase in the amount and growth of the gross domestic product of the real sectors in Naira billion from 2005 to 2008. The study calls to question rigid government control over the mining and quarrying sector. The importance of mining and quarrying in accelerating the pace of economic growth in Nigeria should rather motivate the government to deregulate and reform the sector. This will enable the government to attract investors into the sector, while effectively planning to encourage the proliferation of small-scale artisan, medium-scale and large-scale miners. The deregulation of the mining and quarrying sector will boost production, growth and development through employment creation, increased income of household miners and upliftment of the social and economic status of the vast majority of Nigerians. Some of the reasons identified for Nigeria’s poor economic performance include: the serious effect of “Dutch disease”, reflected in the country’s inability to manage and diversify its oil wealth to transform and achieve dynamic industrial (manufacturing), agricultural, mining, health and educational and other growth sectors. Nigeria also suffers the effects of a troubled political history, during which military rule persisted for extended periods. This study shows the importance of improving the knowledge base for policymaking, where intersectoral linkages between economic and social factors can be identified, and direct and indirect macroeconomic policy effects discerned. This distinguishes the study from earlier work in Nigeria on development policy. Achieving a high level of economic development through transforming the country’s real sectors will not only reduce poverty by providing food security, increased agricultural and industrial exports, increased per capita income and consumption, but will also bring about improved literacy and a healthy workforce and foster peace and security in Nigeria. In addition, success in transforming the real sectors will strengthen and broaden the productive base of the country, which currently relies heavily on the petroleum sector as the major earner of foreign exchange. In order to achieve a high level of economic development and growth, attention should be concentrated on channelling global financial resources to the above-mentioned sectors because of their strong linkages with and powerful value-added effect to the rest of the economy. Under the new democratic dispensation, there ought to be large investment into the growth and support sectors from domestic and external sources if the country is to attain the international growth target of achieving a high and sustainable level of economic development. Therefore, with a strong will to become a patriotic civil society, stable and prosperous, and enough wisdom to elect leaders with good will and fairly good knowledge of the country’s economy, great prospects lie before the Nigerian economy. / Thesis (PhD (Economics))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Economics / unrestricted

Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) is an infectious, vector-borne protozoal disease which is amongst the so-called neglected diseases. In 2000, at a summit of the United Nations, eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were set, to be achieved by 2015. MDG 6 states “to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria & other diseases”. With just under 2 years to go before the end of 2015, HAT is still thriving in developing countries. The drugs currently used for the treatment of HAT are in short supply, have severe side effects and those used to treat late stages of the disease are very difficult to administer. The aforementioned challenges call for research into this neglected disease in order to develop new, safe and easy-to-use medicines. Naphthoquinones are a class of compounds shown to possess anti-parasitic activity, amongst a variety of other biological activities, and therefore this pharmacophore was selected for this study. The purpose of this study was to synthesise derivatives of 2,3-dichloro-1,4- naphthoquinone to be tested for anti-trypanosomal activity and thereafter conduct structureactivity relationship studies. A series of reactions were carried out using thiophenol, phenol and aniline nucleophiles to synthesise thioether (-S-), ether (-O-) and amino (-NH-) derivatives of 2,3-dichloro-1,4-naphthoquinone with various halogen or methyl substituents. Purification of the products was carried out by recrystallisation. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infra-red (IR) and high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to an electro-spray ionisation mass spectrometer (HPLC-ESI-MS) were the analytical methods used for structural confirmation of the products. There were eighteen 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives that were successfully synthesised using ethanolic solutions. Unfortunately, attempts to synthesise 1,4-naphthoquinones in reactions involving 2-(trifluoro-methyl)aniline and 2-isopropyl-5-methylphenol were unsuccessful, presumably due to steric hindrance by the bulky ortho-substituents. Although the aims of the synthetic procedures were to obtain both mono- and disubstituted products by nucleophilic displacement of the chlorine atom(s) of 2,3-dichloro-1,4- naphthoquinone, only monosubstituted products were obtained from substitution with aniline and phenol nucleophiles. Thiol nucleophiles, however, selectively yielded disubstituted products only. Synthesised naphthoquinone derivatives were tested against Trypanosoma brucei and calculation of the EC₅₀ values from the obtained dose-response curves was carried out using the four parametric equation. All the 1,4-naphthoquinones showed a degree of potency, except compounds 1b, 3c and 3e, which had little or lack of potency. Structure-activity relationship studies (SARs and QSARs) were carried out to determine which structural features or functional group substituents of the naphthoquinone derivatives contribute or take away from the desired anti-trypanosomal activity. It was found that compounds with the best in vitro anti-trypanosomal potencies in the series of analogous 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives had EC₅₀ values in the range 2.137 to 2.884 μM. The most potent compound in the series was 2-chloro-3-(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenylamino)-1,4- naphthoquinone 1e; but it was 142-fold less potent than the reference standard of melarsoprol.

The issue of child mortality is currently under international spotlight, as the rates of neonatal and under five mortality are sobering. „About 29,000 children under the age of five [approximately] 21 each minute die every day, mainly from preventable causes‟. Although there has been a decline in global child mortality rates since 1990, sub-Saharan Africa still has the highest rates, where one child in eight dies before age five. As contained in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010 report, in 2008, sub-Saharan Africa bore half of the 8.8 million deaths in children under five. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa))--University of Pretoria, 2012. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / nf2012 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

The purpose of this study was to investigate parents' perceptions of the food consumption practices and nutrition-related needs in a resource-constrained community, in terms of daily eating patterns, current knowledge and attitudes with regards to food choice, food production and food preparation, as well as community-based nutrition-related needs and information to be included in an intervention aimed at community-wide health and well-being. The study forms part of a broader research project, which aims to facilitate health and well-being in resource-constrained communities, in support of reaching identified Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs). Interpretivism was utilised as meta-theoretical lens and a qualitative research approach was followed. I selected Bronfenbrenner's Ecosystems Theory as guiding framework for the current study. A Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) research design was utilised to generate data with 22 purposefully selected parents from three primary schools in the Bronkhorstspruit area. Data were generated and documented through PRA-based workshops, observation, visual techniques, field notes and a reflective journal. Following inductive thematic analysis, five themes and related sub-themes emerged. The first theme relates to the daily eating patterns of the community, reflecting food consumed during breakfast, lunch and dinner. Secondly, healthy eating practices were identified as a theme, indicating that community members had a clear understanding of what healthy eating practices entails, available resources to inform healthy eating practices and current informational needs in terms of healthy eating practices. The third theme highlights food preparation practices, where women take responsibility for food preparation by means of a variety of methods. The fourth theme emphasises food purchasing practices, where community members buy from larger chain-stores, local shops and informal traders. Finally, the fifth theme indicates food production practices, where community members prefer to grow their own vegetables. Based on the findings it can be concluded that this community's food consumption patterns are primarily affected by factors in the macrosystem, namely poverty and unemployment. At the macro-level, access to healthy food, cost of healthy food and the influence of the media are aspects influencing the perceptions and decisions of community members such as parents. Changed food consumption practices and nutrition-related needs within the community may, in turn, effect change in the macrosystem by informing related future interventions. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

MYCELIUM MILLENNIUM imagines a new era in which biological resources, specifically Fungi and Mycelium, are used to grow a collection of objects for everyday domestic rituals, merging biofabrication and traditional craft. The project is an effort to demystify the transformation of an organism to a biomaterial and at the same time raise questions of aesthetics and cultural acceptance. The fungal mycelium material qualities –  antibacterial, fire-resistant, heat isolating and water-resistant – are incorporated in the function of each design.  The objects adopt antique symbols embedding them in a longer material history, as well as a scale and form that introduces the fungal material to the context of the home. While the collection attempts to stress longevity and resilience, it is integrated into a circular vision, where the material is sourced from nature and returns to nature.   MYCELIUM MILLENNIUM is an invitation to raise awareness for a material revolution, an opportunity to learn from nature and its potential, where products and objects could match the planet's needs.

SAMMANFATTNING Bakgrund: Varje år dör över 300 000 kvinnor i komplikationer relaterad till graviditet och förlossning. Milleniemålen som syftar till att minska mödradödlighet med 75 procent mellan åren 2000-2015 har inte uppnåtts. Kvinnor dör i samband med graviditets och eller barnafödande och mest drabbade är kvinnor i lågresursländer, det vill säga Afrika Söder om Sahara, Nordafrika, Mellanöstern, Sydostasien, respektive Sydasien. För att främja en hållbar utveckling bör olika faktorer beaktas för att eliminera fattigdom, förbättra infrastruktur, utarbeta abortpolicier och lagar, befrämja befintliga moderskapsprogram, samarbete mellan regeringar och hälsosjukvårdssystem, öka allmänhetens medvetenhet och investeringar samt fler barnmorskor särskild på landsbygden, för att möta behoven. Syfte: Att belysa faktorer som orsakar mödradödlighet i lågresursländer samt att beskriva det preventiva arbetet för att minska mödradödligheten. Metod: En systematisk litteraturöversikt valdes att besvara studiens syfte. PubMed och Cinahl är databaserna som användes. Sjutton originalartiklar inkluderades i studien. Resultat: Tre huvudkategorier och fem underkategorier identifierades. Huvudkategorierna var: Direkta obstetriska orsaker till mödradödlighet, Indirekta orsaker till mödradödlighet samt Prevention. Underkategorierna som identifierades var: Före partus, Efter partus, Sjukdom hos modern, De tre fördröjningarna samt Kulturella faktorer. Slutsats Resultatet visade att orsakerna till mödradödlighet i lågresursländer är mångfacetterade. Det beror dels på obefintliga resurser samt hur prioriteringar görs av ländernas beslutsfattare. Faktorer som kultur, religion, utbildning och fattigdom var hinder som försvårade vårdkontakten som också bidrog till en ökad mödradödlighet. Det är viktigt att i det preventiva arbetet identifierar kvinnor i riskzon för att dö i samband med graviditet och förlossning i tid för att kunna ingripa och förhindra mödradödligheten.

Research Thesis being in partial submission for the degree of Master of Management in Finance and Investments at the University of Witwatersrand. / Unlocking the potential for growth at African Development Finance Institutions has become imperative, with the financial crisis of 2007/2009 having generated new discussions on the role of the state in the economy, most especially in the financial sphere (Calice, 2013). This raises new interests among decisionmakers involved in development finance institutions (DFIs), according to the World Bank (2013). It is noteworthy that DFIs played a very important role in avoiding a drastic credit crisis in many developing economics, by intensifying their activities, in terms of deleveraging and increased risk avoidance by private agents (Calice, 2013). The challenge at present, is the manner in which adequate use of DFIs can be guaranteed, to safeguard against the deployment of some costly policy instruments, while ensuring they play a dynamic role in providing access to finance (Gutierrez, Rudolph, Homa and Blanco, 2011). With prevalent market failures in the provision of finance for infrastructure, agriculture, and housing, as well as small and medium enterprise (SME) finance, this is specifically relevant for Africa, and provides a strong rationale for DFIs to play an active developmental role. The study findings will help countries in Africa and finance professionals in investment and development banking, to improve their application of policies and procedures, in order to achieve the mission and vision of the proposed developmental projects. In addition, the research findings will serve as good reference material for scholars studying development finance, while the longterm benefit will result in assisting Investment bankers, DFIs, Donors, and individuals, as well as governmental institutions, to operate optimally in providing services to their customers more effectively. Although much has been done towards improving knowledge about African DFIs, to provide evidence on key areas to target., more research is, however, still needed (Calice, 2013). The aim of this study, therefore, is the analysis and evaluation of the perceived or real problem(s) associated with the effectiveness of development banks for African countries. In other words, to explore a comprehensive assessment of the development effectiveness of African DFIs to measure public policy performance and how it can enhance development financing. Both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection were employed, to critically evaluate the development effectiveness of African Development Financial Institutions. Primary data, collected using online questionnaires, came from selected DFIs in the headquartered, corporate business environment in Johannesburg, South Africa and Lagos, Nigeria. A well-functioning, efficient and effective, international development financing system is essential for: global poverty reduction; improving living standards in developing countries; reducing worldwide inequalities; and for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), with feedback from respondents of this study indicating that much has been done by DFIs in Africa. The findings, indicate potential problem areas, with regards to environmental issues and their handling, as well as there being no proper stakeholders’ needs alignment, which could be due to collaboration issues, and/ or lack of training and experience. / XL2018

Water filters and sediment trap samples were collected weekly from late May to early September 2009 from four lakes of the Lofoten archipelago, northwestern Norway, and were used to explore the applicability of the alkenone unsaturation index (UK37) for temperature reconstruction in limnic systems in the area. For the first time, we observed the occurrence of long-chain alkenones (LCAs) within the water columns of lakes in this region. Water filters from two of the four studied lakes contained measurable concentrations of alkenones that were restricted to spring turnover and disappeared with the onset of summer stratification. These results indicate that alkenones in the lake sediment of these lakes reflect biological production and temperature during lake mixing, taking place in late spring to early summer. Measurements from sediment trap material collected over the sampling season combined with water temperature measurements from automated data loggers provide an in situ calibration of the alkenone paleothermometer (Temperature = 33.0 x UK37 + 22.8; N=10; R2=0.95). Notably, this calibration reveals a UK37 sensitivity to temperature (i.e., the slope of the relationship) that is very similar to previous calibrations reported from both marine and lacustrine environments. LCAs can therefore serve as the first quantitative proxy for reconstructing past temperature variability from the Lofoten Islands. Based on this temperature calibration, a high-resolution temperature record was reconstructed over the past millennium, which shows unprecedented lake surface temperature warming during the past decades.

Archaeomagnetism is an area of research that utilises the magnetic properties of archaeological materials to date past human activity. This research aimed to use the evidence of past geomagnetism, as recorded by archaeological and geological materials, to identify and characterise short timescale changes in the Earth¿s magnetic field. This contribution to the discipline focused on the first millennium BC, as there is evidence that during this time the Earth¿s magnetic field experienced rapid changes in direction. This work focused on an established weakness in archaeomagnetic studies, i.e. the application of archaeological information to assign a date range to the magnetic directions. The date ranges for 232 magnetic directions from 98 Iron Age sites were reviewed and a programme of fieldwork produced 25 new magnetic directions from 11 Iron Age sites across Britain. The approach developed in this thesis has made significant improvements to the data examined, which represent the prehistoric section of the British secular variation curve (SVC). These data have been incorporated into the British archaeomagnetic dataset that now comprises over 1000 magnetic directions and will be used to generate future British SVCs. The potential of the near continuous records of geomagnetic secular variation from British lake sediment sequences to SVCs was explored. This showed that these sediments have recorded the relative changes in the Earth¿s magnetic field but the dating and method of constructing the British master curve requires revision. As SVCs are predominately used as calibration curves for archaeomagnetic dating, this work provides a foundation for a revised and extended British SVC. This revision would be to the mutual benefit of studies in archaeology and archaeomagnetism, as the latter could potentially enable highresolution dating of Iron Age material, providing a viable alternative to radiocarbon dating. / Available full-text since June 30th 2013, at the end of the embargo period. / Lab data and appendices 3 and 4 are unavailable online.

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