While genetic improvement of susceptible crop species may enhance resistance to microbial pathogens and facilitate reduced pesticide load, the possibility for transmission of novel genes to wild relatives has hampered acceptance of GM crops in some markets. Chloroplast transformation presents an attractive alternative to nuclear transformation and offers the potential to ameliorate these environmental concerns. Most agronomically important species exhibit maternal inheritance of organellar genomes which eliminates the threat of transgene escape through pollen. Gene silencing is absent due to site directed, single copy insertion by homologous recombination. Foreign proteins can accumulate to high levels (up to 50% of total soluble protein) and are retained within the chloroplast envelope protecting them from degradation by host cytoplasmic proteases. A bacterial chloroperoxidase gene (cpo-p) was transformed into the tobacco chloroplast genome to test its efficacy against plant pathogens and the mycotoxin producing saprophyte Aspergillus flavus.

Magister Artium - MA / In a developing country like South Africa plagued by historical racial scars, attitudes pertaining to race, ethnicity and language, can be described as considerably problematic. Images used for advertising (ads) and the media form part of the foundation through which audience’s structure ideas about the normality and fluidity of race and ethnicity. Physical appearance is especially important in the media and influences the minds of many young people, especially young women and contributes to the way they feel about themselves. This magnitude of influence reinforces the importance of analyzing these images and assessing the implications it has on the South African society. Through a systemic functional multimodal discourse analysis (SF-MDA), this thesis explores the way in which earlier (2004) and more recent ads (2015) by Brutal Fruit have characterized and (re)characterised the ‘ideal’ South African woman. Particular attention is placed on the concept of racialized bodies- skin colour, hair, clothing and body types of the models employed during both periods when the ads were published. The language(s) used in the ads are analysed which creates a platform for engaging in issues related to transformation and inclusivity in society, as it is performed in the ads. The literature focuses on the revolution of South African society, group representation, race and the female body. The findings suggest that alcohol adverts largely use semiotics that reinforce antifeminist rhetoric. However, in more recent ads there is an attempt to compensate for the roles that have become available to women in the public sphere. Women are shown to have more agency in that they are depicted in leading roles and the narratives created about them relate that they are now in charge of their own sexuality. The positive depiction of alcohol especially in relation to masculinity affects the number of people who consume it. Alcohol consumption is linked to masculinity and power, however, in society women are still expected to remain feminine. This is especially relevant for women who aim to challenge dominant stereotypes about their position in society- and the use of alcohol is an avenue that is used to achieve this. However, women consume ‘pink drinks’ and not beer because ciders are still considered to be feminine by society, which is why many men refuse to consume it. Finally, a true representation of real women in society needs to become more popular in the media and a fresh approach to advertising alcohol especially to women needs to be re-evaluated because these ads could be positive for women instead of reiterating the usual derogatory stereotypes that society holds about women who do not conform to dominant patriarchal conventions.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Coordination, Collaboration, and Cooperation, (C04); Community (C01) Driven Development (D2) minus Historical Institutionalisation (HI) is equal to Policy Implementation Effectiveness (PIE), is recommended by the researcher to improve results. Trends in compiled data were analysed with regards to legislative oversight and accountability in the petroleum industry, using the OECD/ DAC evaluation criteria. In terms of relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency, the researcher discovered a partial link between the activities performed by parliamentarians representing the petroleum industry where HDSA transformation is concerned. It was concluded that electrical energy generation and distribution throughout the five-year period drew more focus in terms of oversight than on other sectors. It was further noted that oversight and accountability could have been applied more efficiently if input were linked to policy objectives and activities. This resulted in only partial or limited HDSA transformation in the petroleum industry. When it comes to sustainability the researcher argued that despite the apparent long-term stability of parliamentary activities, such stability may not translate to sufficient oversight and accountability to ensure sustainable transformation in the petroleum industry. It was concluded that while oversight and accountability was being applied to one specific arena, other areas in need of transformation did not receive sufficient, or indeed any, legislative oversight. The facilitation model: Communication, Coordination, Collaboration, and Cooperation, (C04); and Community (C01) Driven Oversight and Accountability (D1OA) is recommended by the researcher to improve effective oversight and accountability. Thus, Effective (A + O) = C04 + C01 /D1OA equals to (A + O)e = C205 / D1OA.

Abstract   The purpose of this study is to investigate how educators and teachers working with younger ages work with the picture book in preschool and school, based on the aesthetic subjects and how this work affects children's learning. This is relevant and important for the preschool teacher and teacher's profession as children of today live in a world where symbols, characters, text and image are part of their culture, and language, gestures and images are included in a broader perspective on what reading and writing mean. In preschool, children should be encouraged to use and explore various communicative tools to support and challenge their learning. In the study, the qualitative research method the focus group interview is used. The focus groups consisted of educators in preschool and teachers working with younger ages. In the focus group interviews, educators and teachers present a concrete example of how they process the picture book, based on the aesthetic subjects. This presentation is used as an icebreaker for the continued discussion on the subject. The focus group interviews were analysed based on the model of the phenomenography of data analysis and the socio-cultural theory of learning. In the results, focus group interviews 1, 2 and 3, their work on the picture book are presented  based on the aesthetic subjects and how the aesthetic subjects affected children in preschool and school. In conclusion, I find stress as an influence of the aesthetic subjects in teaching

Faculty of Humanities School of Humanities and Social Sciences 0215594h ameck98@yahoo.com / Music has always played an important role in the lives of mankind; the quest for freedom by black people across the world is a typical example. During the days of slavery and later the civil rights struggle in the US, the struggle for independence by African states and the fight against Apartheid, music was used as an instrument of resistance. Through music, black South Africans emerged from conscious and subconscious subjugation to rescue their psyche from alienation. Today they express their cultural self-confidence in ways very different from the generations with firsthand experience of apartheid. Conflict has always been an important contributor to music of resistance. Over the past hundred years, however, violent attempts by men to dominate each another have intensified (The two Great Wars and the Cold War, genocides, ethnic and religious clashes). In this same vein, so too have efforts to thwart such attempts. Conflicts exist at all levels, within and between individuals, communities, nations and cultures. For a society still in the process of transformation, conflict in South Africa has also taken a new dimension with focus now on social conflict (for example Crime, drugs, poverty and the generation gap) in the field of daily life also including racial conflict, affirmative action, ethnic conflict, economic conflict and others with less and less focus on political conflict. The benefit of post- 1994 South Africa is the freedom of expression it offers. This is a freedom that, 20 years ago, was a luxury for blacks living in a country torn apart by apartheid; a freedom to have pride in themselves, a freedom to express their cultural selfconfidence. The first place this freedom became visible was on the music scene in the form of new infectious, irresistible form of dance and music. Musicians use their music as a medium to demonstrate most of these societal conflicts that exist in South Africa. Peace researchers, peace workers, and others have worked over several decades to promote an alternative culture and an alternative approach to dealing with conflicts – one based on recognising the positive, constructive, and creative opportunities available in any conflict situation. In this regard I would like to dwell on music as a creative way of dealing with conflict.

Efficient plant regeneration and transformation procedures and the stability of the transgene are important to the success of the cotton and soybean biotechnology industry. Engineering herbicide resistance into plants will provide the potential solution to effective weed control in agriculture and reduce loss in crop yields due to weeds. It will also provide cheaper control and decrease environmental hazards. The aims of this study were to develop efficient regeneration and transformation protocols for commercially grown soybean and cotton in South Africa and to use tobacco as a model plant to study the stability of the pat gene through seed generations, successive generations and high temperature and drought stress regimes. Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Samsun) leaf disks were successfully transformed with the pat gene. PCR analysis confirmed the integration of the pat gene in all nine transgenic plants and T1, T2 and T3 progeny. Successive generations, high temperatures and drought stress had no adverse effect on the stability and expression of the pat gene in the transgenic tobacco plants. In view of the economic importance of soybean (Glycine max) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) in South Africa and the potential to improve commerciallygrown cultivars by genetic transformation, a regeneration and transformation protocol using the shoot apical meristem and Agrobacterium-mediated DNA transfer was successfully developed, to obtain herbicide (Basta) resistant commercially-grown South African soybean and cotton plants for the first time. The frequencies of regenerated plants per meristem were 66% for Talana, 52% for Ibis, 90% for Sabie, 74.6% for LRCC 101, 69.5% for Palala and 70% for 107/1. Prior to transformation experiments, Talana and Ibis were screened for susceptibility to virulent Agrobacterium tumefaciens sis 43. Both cultivars produced tumours in response to infection and were therefore compatible hosts for Agrobacterium-mediated DNA transfer. Transformation of Talana, Sabie and 107/1 with the pat gene, was successfully achieved following wounding of the shoot apical meristem and injecting with Agrobacterium in the presence of acetosyringone. Transformed explants and shoots grew in the presence of kanamycin and PPT, indicating that the integrated pat gene was producing the enzyme PAT which was successfully detoxifying the herbicide PPT. Final transformation frequencies from the initial transformed meristems to regenerated plants were 1.06% for Talana, 2.3-3% for Sabie and 1.2-2.3% for 107/1. These transformation frequencies were higher than those reported in the literature. PCR analysis of the extracted DNA from transgenic soybean and cotton shoots confirmed the presence of the 558 bp pat coding region in the transformed plants. The success of this study on the regeneration and transformation of soybean and cotton indicates that South African agriculture now has available techniques for plant regeneration and recombinant DNA technology for crop improvement of soybean and cotton.

Gender mainstreaming is defined as “[the] efforts to scrutinize and reinvent processes of policy formulation and implementation across all issue areas to address and rectify persistent and emerging disparities between men and women (True 2001)”. This explanation serves to highlight the dynamic nature of the concept while recognizing the eternal presence of the relational aspect of female/male interaction within society. What strand of institutionalism is employed in the diffusion of gender mainstreaming in the process of development at the various levels of implementation; what are the consequences of improperly conceived institutions as they apply to gender mainstreaming and development; what are the implications for the future institution construction; What if anything is hindering the progress of gender mainstreaming and development; How was relatively similar gender mainstreaming progress achieved by two countries with such different economic capacities? This paper will further consider the answers to these questions as supplied by international organizations, non-governmental organizations, as shown through their development initiatives in Rwanda and South Africa. Gender mainstreaming is the innovative inclusion and dramatic reshaping of power hierarchies through the manipulation of both formal and informal institutions. This paper will reveal the importance of contextual considerations in the creation and reform of institutions in developing states, as they strive to adhere to international standards of gender inclusive development. KEYWORDS: Beijing Platform for Action; Development; Gender Mainstreaming; Institutionalism; Institutions; Transformation; Rwanda; South Africa

The focus of this study was the challenge of implementing school improvement interventions from inception through the system to the school, within a framework of the multiple layers of South Africa's complex education system. These are the macro level, (the provincial and national political and bureaucratic decision makers), the meso-level (the role and function of district offices and external agents), and the micro level (local contexts at the site of the school). This study does not intend to evaluate school improvement interventions but rather to research and interrogate the mediation of the interventions at various levels and within the contextual realities of an education system in transition. The problem is three-pronged and is premised on understanding the link between the study of implementation and of school improvement within education in transition. The hypothesis put forward is that, on the one hand, contextual realties, contestation and contradictions at various levels of a complex organization shape the outcomes of a school improvement intervention. On the other hand, school improvement strategies must be further located within the framework of implementation in order to explore the complexities of getting things done in an emerging democracy. The challenge posed is whether a coherent link between implementation and school improvement can be achieved while taking into cognizance the three levels and the contextual realities informed by the legacy of the past. I identified two case studies of school improvement initiatives undertaken in the Gauteng province. The first was initiated during the first phase of the new democratic government, an EQUIP intervention programme initiated by the first Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for education in Gauteng. I chose EQUIP because the design and initiation of this intervention symbolized the political ideology of this first period of government. The second school improvement initiative, the Education Action Zone (EAZ) intervention, was chosen because it reflects a significant shift in political ideals in the second period of government. This study argues that school improvement in the emerging South African context must respond to the contested nature of transforming societies and the serious lack of cohesion and capacity at all levels of the system. In order to respond to this difficult terrain, implementation within a cyclic model must be an integral part of the design of a school improvement intervention. There must be a clear understanding of the political, cultural and technical nuances in each of the three environments. Implementation is dependent on actors in them, and the contextual realties shape the level of agency played by the people in each. The linkage also determines the fidelity, compliance, and communication of the message of the intervention as actors within each have different levels of power and authority to influence the change process.

‘Partnership’ has become a buzzword in development circles. The term is used to describe almost any relationship that pools the resources of different actors to address societal challenges and concerns. Because it encompasses such a broad range of perspectives, the contention of this thesis is that partnership can only be fully understood in relation to practice. A critical assessment of a selection of my research publications is used to explore how partnership is interpreted in different contexts, why and by whom, and to what extent it might offer possibilities for achieving social progress. This review finds that partnership can be construed as both a structure and a process, and as a means to an end and an end in itself. Attention thus needs to be given to its instrumental value as a development tool and to its intrinsic worth in cementing social capital. Consideration is given to connections between these different forms of partnership and other development ‘solutions’; the complex interplay between external, organisational and individual drivers for multi-stakeholder collaboration, and evidence for the benefits of working in this way. This analysis reveals that it is hard to judge the effectiveness of partnership due to the complexity of different levels of interaction; lack of clarity on goals and motivations for partnering; and, because process-related results generally emerge in the long term, attribution is a challenge. It is thus suggested that assessments of partnership might more usefully focus on methodologies that enhance its potential to generate individual and societal value. The attributes of such ‘transformational’ arrangements, and how these compare with other collaborative connections, are examined using a typology that builds upon a transactional-transformational partnership continuum. Further investigation into the nature of stakeholder participation, and related power dynamics, indicates that partnership can both promote and embody social progress when participation is carefully facilitated by ‘partnership brokers’; embedded in sociohistoric contexts, and based upon open-ended dialogue processes that seek to comprehend different points of view rather than change them. In order to explore this potential more fully, as well as continued research into particular partnership experiences and possible alternatives, more imaginative exchanges of knowledge about working in this way are recommended.

This research addresses pedagogy in relation to Information & Communication Technology (ICT) in secondary education. Computers have been used in classrooms for approximately thirty years, but it remains unclear whether teachers’ pedagogies have changed much in consequence. Thus this research explores the transformation of pedagogy through Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In 1998 a 2-year, multi-site case study linking teams of students and teachers within four broad UK regions was begun. A further six-year period allowed analysis of research data, to support theory building in relation to transformation of teachers’ pedagogy and the conditions necessary to make pedagogical transformation possible. The research made use of Grounded Theory within a case study methodology. Varied data were collected through my records of planning meetings with teachers and engineers during the project; of pedagogical transformation while visiting schools involved in the project; of teachers’, engineers’ and pupils’ case study interview data where more insightful and directly focused questions on pedagogical issues from their different perspectives were involved, and of teachers’ subject knowledge arising from the combined school and industrial manufacturing situated context of the project. The case study interviews involved a representative sample of those taking part in the two-year school and industry project. Theory on pedagogical transformation has resulted from the analysis of these data. Developing this involved modelling alternative meanings of phenomena observed during the case study and developing new concepts as building blocks of the theory. I also used NVivo as a tool to help with handling the mass of raw data collected during the project and with aspects of the qualitative data management. The research concludes that teachers may personally reconstruct their pedagogies when faced in certain ways with certain new pedagogy precedents, and develops precedence as a pre-condition of pedagogical transformation.