Welcome to the University of Venda Institutional Repository, an open digital archive of the research output of the University of Venda. Univen IR contains theses and dissertations, research papers as well as conference papers. For further information and assistance please contact Mr Keith Malabi at +27 15 9628564 or +27 15 962 8314 during office hours

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A Critical Analysis of the Enforcement of Human Rights in Addressing Workplace Discrimination Against the LGBTQIA+ Community in South Africa
(2024-09-06) Mashamba, Takalani; Mokoena, U. C. A.; Ndou, M.
Section 9(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa indicates that everyone is equal before the law and no one should be discriminated against on the grounds of gender, sex, race, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion, conscience, belief, culture, or language. Members of the LGBTQIA+ community are discriminated against in their homes, within their communities, and in their workplaces. This happens despite South Africa having progressive laws that support the LGBTQIA+ community compared to other countries around the world. In order to answer the research questions, this study adopted the doctrinal research methodology for its effectiveness in critiquing, assessing, and developing law. The aim of the study was to examine the extent to which the LGBTQIA+ community is protected against discrimination based on their sexual orientation at their workplaces. The objectives of the study were to explore discrimination within the work environment, workplace policies, and all other legislation protecting the LGBTQIA+ community; to explore the nature and determine forms of discrimination and other human rights violations against the LGBTQIA+ community in the workplace; and to analyse LGBTQIA+ anti-discrimination provisions and court judgements from other jurisdictions. The South African constitution and labour-related acts are there to ensure that the LBGTQIA+ community is protected from workplace discrimination. The Employment Equity Act, Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, Labour Relations Act, and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act are available to prevent discrimination. However, LGBTQIA+ people still experience discrimination in the workplace. When employees encounter discrimination because of their sexual orientation, they must first talk to their supervisor, and when no assistance has been provided, the employee must make use of the courts. The outreach awareness campaign for LGBTQIA+ rights in the workplace is also recommended. Equal pay for equal work done should apply to the LGBTQIA+ community in the workplace. Name-calling and harassment should be treated with severe punishment among co-workers who inflict discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community.
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Iphungwa Ngezithebe: Exploring Umaskandi in The Fourth Industrial Revolution Threats and Opportunities
(2024-09-06) Moloi, Mbuti Thomas; Mapanya, M. G.; Zulu, T. G.
The phenomenon of umaskandi, which was the adaptation and continuation of a deep-seated Indigenous Isizulu culture of music-making, has become a commodity over several decades and has been monetised. Social advancement has meant that cultural industries, such as umaskandi, could not resist technological advances that have determined its production, dissemination, and reception. The production side of umaskandi has seen the introduction of new technologies that created entirely new ways of serving existing needs. The acceleration of innovations and the velocity of disruption are hard to comprehend or anticipate. However, umaskandi's inception and subsequent development can be traced back to several previous periods of industrialisation. Currently, the world is in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution's perceived state that it will not spare any industry, including umaskandi. While these far-reaching developments have been taking place, scholarship on the critical role of stakeholders, such as the music industry value chain, in bringing umaskandi to the present state has been mute. This study explores umaskandi and The Fourth Industrial Revolution depending on the appropriate phenomenological research approach. Potential threats and opportunities to the survival of umaskandi in the Fourth Industrial Revolution have been identified during this exploration. Interviews, conversations, literature reviews, action research, focus meetings, analysis of diaries and other personal texts were the main modes of data gathering. It is envisaged that this study will generate and arm the music industry with an informed outlook on the state of umaskandi genre, which is more pressing as we move through the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Furthermore, it is anticipated that, through this study, detailed and comparative insight into the survival and the appreciation of opportunities presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution will promote the genre. Therefore, it is hoped that this study will benefit umaskandi, its practitioners, music education, and the music business.
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A framework for integrating adaptive assistive technologies in inclusive education: A case study of the Disability Unit of the University of Venda
(2024-09-06) Macheque, Vhutshilo; Kadyamatimba, A.; Ochara, N. M.
Integrating Assistive Technologies in inclusive education can enable the academic engagement of students living with disabilities and be transformative from a psychological perspective. However, the success of this endeavour in disadvantaged rural South African universities remains a surmountable challenge due to factors militating against this noble idea. The aim of the study was to conceptualise a framework for integrating assistive technologies in inclusive education at a South African rural university where many students are living with disabilities. The study employed Technology-Task Fit, a variance theory, and DeLone Maclean Information Systems Theory, a process theory as a theoretical underpinning. This study adopts a pragmatism perspective and used an explanatory sequential mixed method design in which quantitative data was collected using an online questionnaire from a convenience sample of seventy-one participants, and the qualitative data was collected from a purposive sample of five participants using face-to-face interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) Version 29, and results were presented as descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and chi-square test. Qualitative data were analysed thematically using Atlas ti23. The study found that several factors influenced the integration of assistive devices, but the lack of a proper framework, policies, or guidelines was the most influential. Five requirements for developing the framework were moderating factors, procurement strategies, training strategies, funding strategies, and ATs integration strategies. There was a strong and significant positive association between the requirements at p < 0.010 and other demographic characteristics and factors mitigating the integration of assistive devices in inclusive education. From the study, a Framework for Integrating Assistive Technology in Inclusive Education (IAATIE) was developed based on the requirements and best practices documented in journal literature. IAATIE was validated as relevance and acceptance using content (requirements), relevance, and acceptance by most of the reviewers and validators. The academic contribution of the study was the framework for Integrating Assistive Technologies in inclusive education at the university, which encouraged coordinated efforts from various key players, including students who have been previously ignored. The study recommends the implementation of a IAATIE framework for inclusive education.
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Compatible components of the integrated pest management of Bathycoelia distincta (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae
(2024-09-06) Manzini, Shaun; Foord, S. H.; Joubert, E.
Two-spotted stink bug, Bathycoelia distincta Distant (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is a major pest of macadamia. It causes damage by directly feeding on macadamia kernel throughout the season and reducing nut quality by inducing nut abscission, premature nut abortion, necrotic lesions, deformed kernels, discoloration, or translucent blemishes on the kernel. Currently, growers rely on chemical insecticides to control stink bug populations. However, with overreliance and extensive use of chemical insecticides, the B. distincta has developed some resistance to certain active ingredients Furthermore, there is no doubt that agricultural intensification is the primary driver of the loss of biodiversity globally. Therefore, there is a need to develop Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies to effectively minimize the damage caused by B. distincta and the loss of biodiversity due to agricultural intensification. The goal of this study was to investigate the role of landscape context, elevation, flying vertebrates, and pesticide application in shaping arboreal arthropod assemblages and macadamia nut quality metrics and evaluate the efficacy of alternative pest control measures to control B. distincta, explicitly focusing on entomopathogenic fungi and egg parasitoids Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston, 1858) (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae). Landscape context and elevation were the principal factors that explained species richness and arthropod size. Species richness and insect size decreased with increasing pesticide application rate; however, it was not significant. Insect damage did not vary in response to pesticide application, but the proportion of sound kernels decreased significantly with increasing pesticide application. All entomopathogenic fungal treatments were effective against B. distincta, with chitinase enzyme leading to a 95% mortality rate. Under field conditions, EPFs and a chemical knock-down spray showed no significant difference between the treatments. All parasitoid treatments significantly affected B. distincta egg mortality, with two pairs reaching a 100% parasitism rate. The processes that increase sound kernel recovery seem to be related to an increase in invertebrate community diversity and arthropod size, and although the mechanisms related to this are not always clear, the results suggest that arthropod diversity could be a good proxy for these processes. On the other hand, the study results showed that EPFs and stink bug egg parasitoids, Trissolcus basalis, may be used as biological control agents against B. distincta. Overall, the thesis emphasizes the importance of reducing pesticide application and using biological control agents, promoting more sustainable agricultural practices, and supporting biodiversity to improve ecosystem service provided by pest natural enemies.
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Assessment of nutraceutical attributes of selected wild edible fruit plants used by Vhavenda people of the Thulamela Local Municipality
(2024-09-06) Nephawe, Rinae Lucy; Mokganya, M. G.; Madala, N. E.
Wild edible fruit plants are highly valued in many remote rural areas, where they play a significant role in fulfilling the sociocultural and livelihood needs of people. Many of these plants are harvested by local communities to augment and diversify their diets as well as to promote local food security. The decline in the use of wild edible fruit plants may be due to a lack of knowledge of their nutritional value, their potential for income generation, and medicinal and cultural uses. This study focused on the documentation of utilisation, conservation, and nutraceutical composition of the wild edible fruit plants of the Thulamela Local Municipality. Information on wild edible fruit plants was gathered through semistructured interviews, fieldwork, and a literature review. A total of 39 wild edible fruit plants of 22 botanical families recorded during the study were used as food, beverage, and additionally as medicine. The number of wild edible fruit plants with medicinal properties was 39 whereas those used to make beverages were 9. Wild edible fruit plants of Thulamela municipality were experiencing challenges due to human activities resulting in declining, endangered, or even extinct. Results of this study also showed the use of wild edible fruit plants as firewood because 10 out of 39 were mentioned for this use. In this study the UHPLC-qTOF-MS/MS-based in source collision induced dissociation method was utilized to generate fragmentation data to assist in the differentiation of closely related isomers. Wild edible fruit plants have been used for centuries in traditional medicine and for nutritional purposes. Strychnos species has not yet been fully decoded, and due to the inherent complexity of plant metabolomes, the characterization of Strychnos photochemistry remains challenging. Thus, in this study, we propose the use of molecular networking to unravel the families using the metabolome analysis of two Strychnos species (Strychnos pungens and Strychnos spinosa) and highlight the relevance of molecular networking in exploring the chemotaxonomy of plants. This allows visualization of chemical classes and the variety of substructures within the molecular families.