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It is no longer a myth that climate change‐related disasters are on the rise globally, with severe and devastating consequences in developing countries, particularly in Sub‐Saharan Africa, where many of the world's poor people reside. Thus, the emphasis on adaptation to climate change is no longer a choice or a deferred problem into the future, but rather an urgent matter of concern which must be considered a policy priority. As a response to retrogressive climate change challenges on social‐economic development and environmental degradation, the government of South Africa has in the last two and half decades, embarked on the progressive formulation of different policy instruments and strategic frameworks to curb and minimize the impacts of climate change on all sub‐sectors of the economy. Although much remains to be achieved, some level of success has been realized, particularly in the space of policy formulation, albeit the poor record of implementation. Using research methods inspired by the tradition of qualitative research and an appraisal of existing literature, this paper discusses the complexities of climate change adaptation governance at a local government level in South Africa, focusing on the Eastern Cape Province. It is argued in the paper that one of the major challenges for climate change governance at local municipality levels in South Africa emanates from the gap between aspirations and actions across the entire national governance system. The absence of an integrated climate change governance system has posed significant systemic challenges, and these have tended to constrain decision‐making and implementation processes. These issues have been discussed within the broader discourse of the sustainable development goals, particularly goals number 13, 16 and 17. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expanding floating wind into new markets could support emission reduction targets in several national contexts. It furthers the need for adequate assessments to gain a full understanding of the technology's potential in future markets. South Africa is a prime case study as it has seen limited industry and policy developments despite its huge technical potential for floating offshore wind (FOW). This paper assessed the locational potential of floating wind in South Africa through a three-phased approach that evaluated the key technical drivers/barriers of the technology, conducted a Geographic Information System analysis (GIS) using ArcMap 10.8 to exclude unsuitable sites based on a predetermined exclusion criteria (including marine protected zones, underwater cables, major oil and gas deposits, etc.), and estimated the total harvestable capacity in the feasible sites. The study found that 2% (246,105.4 km2) of South Africa's entire Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is suitable for hosting floating wind turbines, with a potential to generate a maximum of 142.61 GW of floating wind power. Although the Western Cape province holds the highest potential (80.52 GW) for floating wind in the country, the Eastern Cape region, with a locational potential of 20.04 GW, is considered most suitable for early-stage developments due to the availability of grid connection points, limited marine traffic, and proximity to appropriate port facilities. Future work can conduct techno-economic assessments to evaluate the technical and economic implications of developing floating wind in distinct sites in the country's EEZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study of two sites in South Africa: the Phumulani Agri-Village in Mpumalanga, and a school program in the Eastern Cape. The study evaluates the effectiveness of water and sanitation programs in these rural settings. A transdisciplinary literature review was conducted using primary and secondary data sources from the two sites. The data synthesized themes such as integrated water systems, agroecology, community participation, and resource use. The findings provide insights into the water and sanitation status and implementation of interventions. The application of integrated water systems demonstrated the effective use of rainwater harvesting and storage tanks, upgraded pit toilets, innovative stepped platforms, and stormwater retention methods. At Phumulani, old boreholes were repaired, and new ones were drilled, resulting in adequate water yield from five boreholes for agricultural projects and households, positively impacting the community. Plans to improve access and water quality are in place. These interventions underscore the importance of financial investment, human resources capability, infrastructure, and expertise in evaluation. The water systems have contributed to improved access to water, dignity, and health. Future objectives include containerized water treatment plants as sustainable solutions to ensure consistent, clean water for schools, households, agricultural projects, and eco-toilets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eastern Cape Universities have different Teaching and Learning Conditions, which need to be transformed. This paper explored the extent to which teaching and learning conditions are transformed in selected universities in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The focus was on the perspectives of students and lecturers on transforming teaching and learning conditions in the Faculties of Education in two selected universities. Thus, this paper covers the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning throughout the system and advancing redress for past inequalities. The theory of transformation underpinned the paper. The positivism paradigm, quantitative research approach, and survey design were adopted whereby the questionnaires were used to collect data. Systematic sampling was used to select 31 lectures and 106 students. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to compile appropriate frequency tables and graphs. The findings of the study revealed that positive strides have been made to ensure gender and age balances in student enrolment at higher education institutions in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, and universities in the Eastern Cape have gradually transformed to provide quality programs leading to institutional effectiveness and efficiency. It can be concluded that pedagogy considers what students already know and that leads to developing strategies that can be used in transforming teaching and learning. The study recommends that higher education institutions should ensure that age, gender and race balances should be considered in student enrolment, as this will ensure that there are equitable teaching and learning conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, climate change remains one of the most pressing challenges, and it is also an obstacle to the fundamental achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The purpose of the study was to examine the determinants of small-scale farmers' participation in social capital networks to enhance adoption of climate change adaptation strategies. Multistage and purposive sampling were used to carry out the study. A cross-sectional research design was used to carry out the study and structured questionnaires were used as a data collection tool. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Binary Logit model, and the Ordered Logit model. The findings of the study show that gender, household size, age, marital status, education, and employment status affect a farmer's participation in social capital networks. The results also show that household size, employment status, and income level affect the extent of participation in social networks. As the paper is the first to look at the determinants of the participation of farmers in social capital networks in Eastern Cape, the results are of paramount importance to policy formulators in order to formulate policies that will encourage farmers to join localized farmer-based social capital networks to adopt climate change adaption measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to determine acaricide resistance in Rhipicephalus decoloratus ticks collected from grazing cattle between November 2018 and May 2019 in Elundini, Senqu, and Walter Sisulu Local Municipalities in the northeastern region of the Eastern Cape Province. Materials and Methods: A sample of 20-30 adult engorged female R. decoloratus ticks were collected from at least 10 randomly selected cattle (highly tick-infested) at each dip tank and placed into the labelled plastic collection bottles containing absorbent paper and with a perforated lid at a constant room temperature of ±28°C and >70% relative humidity until resistance testing commenced. The Shaw larval immersion test method was used to determine R. decoloratus larvae resistance to various acaricide concentration levels [amidines, organophosphate (OP), and synthetic pyrethroids (SPs)]. Results: This study found that most ticks were susceptible to exposure to different acaricide field concentrations of amidines (49% at 250 ppm), OPs (33% and 47% at 300 ppm and 500 ppm, respectively), and SPs (44% and 23% at 150 ppm and 300 ppm, respectively). The resistance testing results showed no resistance to amidines at any localities and no resistance to OP in the Senqu region. However, resistance development of the larvae to amines, OPs, and SPs was extensively observed in Senqu (18%, 6%, and 7%), Elundini (15%, 15%, and 17%), and Walter Sisulu (13%, 19%, and 9%) regions, respectively. Conclusions: The larvae's resistance is a cause for worry. Hence, the continuous monitoring of tick resistance to commonly used acaricides will help mitigate widespread acaricidal resistance and sustain livestock productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite technological innovation and vast renewable energy sources in rural areas, a significant number of rural households are living in energy poverty, and there is a pressing need to come up with strategies to mitigate this. This paper presents an overview of the energy sources in the Eastern Cape Province, the status of renewable energy technologies and the household energy poverty coping strategies in rural areas. The analysis of this study is based on conducted studies on renewable technologies in the Eastern Cape. This paper aims to help to provide a deeper understanding in the selection of the most appropriate renewable energy technologies suited to rural households' energy needs and to fill the knowledge gap existing in renewable energy technologies to make it easier to map a way forward into the households' energy poverty coping strategies in the Eastern Cape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the energy poverty status in off-grid rural households and its underlying socioeconomic factors. Employing the Foster–Greer–Thorbecke Technique and Probit regression on data from 53 households, the study uncovers a diverse array of energy sources in use, including firewood, paraffin, LPG, candles, and generators. Despite this energy source diversity, the poverty line threshold, as measured by the per capita energy expenditure line (92.40 ZAR) (1 US Dollar = ZAR 18.20), reveals the prevalence of energy poverty. Approximately 15% of respondents are experiencing severe energy poverty and 22% are facing moderate vulnerability to energy poverty, while over 50% are not energy poor. This indicates that, although they may lack access to electricity, their energy usage and expenditure in other forms might still be sufficient to meet their basic energy needs. This distinction highlights the importance of assessing energy poverty, extending beyond a simplistic assessment of absolute poverty but taking into account the dynamic nature of income levels. Gender, household size, formal education, and social grants emerge as key indicators shaping the energy landscape in the area. The results clearly indicate that male-headed households and larger households are less susceptible to energy poverty, while increasing formal education and social grants increases the risk of households being exposed to energy poverty. These findings suggest that the problem of energy poverty in the area is uniquely linked to social, economic, and cultural issues. Therefore, interventions targeted at addressing energy poverty problems must address the underlying social, economic, and cultural factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overall goal of this paper is to explore morphosyntactic variation in the Xhosa dialect cluster. It presents the results of a micro-variation project in which linguistic diversity of the Eastern Cape of South Africa is examined. It shows that regional variation in the Xhosa dialect cluster is minimal and that many older forms and sounds that have previously been reported on are no longer in use. With a specific focus on morphosyntactic variation, the paper gives examples from a corpus of recorded, transcribed and glossed speech collected across the Eastern Cape. It is argued that spontaneous speech is crucial in analysing morpho-syntactic variation when it is on a finegrained, intralinguistic level. The paper gives a detailed overview of previous publications on the dialects of the area and relates this to current findings based on the recordings. It is shown that the decline in dialectal differences does not correlate with a decrease in the linguistic identity which is connected to separate clans and kingdoms. The dwindling use of regional variants is explained by a long history of personal mobility, standardization and schooling. The primary contribution of the paper is to show that regional or dialectal variation on all linguistic levels is synchronically very fine-grained. It also contributes to our understanding of the linguistic complexities of the Nguni subgroup of Bantu languages. It is concluded that the differences reportedly experienced between standard Xhosa and the language spoken at home are not due to regional variation, and that their causes should be sought elsewhere, such as perhaps in an outdated standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes a conversational analysis (CA) or sequential approach to multilingualism to document and analyse classroom participation structures created by specific types of turn-taking and languaging practices. The setting was selected Grade 6 to 9 English language and English-medium content lessons in rural classrooms in the Eastern Cape. Three named language varieties are used in these classrooms, i.e., isiMpondo, isiXhosa and English. The study identified five turn-taking patterns, described their features, and analysed their functions. The research finds that (i) turn-taking types and the varieties through which they are implemented are valued differently in a classroom setting from the way they would be valued in an everyday setting, and (ii) that classroom turn-taking and language use are shaped by broader institutional factors, such as institutional goals and participants' roles, rather than turn-by-turn sequential factors, as hypothesised by a CA approach to multilingual interaction. The paper concludes by presenting a summary of the study's conclusions and findings and a discussion of the implications of the findings for a CA/sequential approach to bi- or multilingual talking in classroom interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premesh Lalu's 'In the Event of History' was written in 2000, before the publication of his first book, The Deaths of Hintsa: Postapartheid South Africa and the Shape of Recurring Pasts in 2009, as a preparatory statement for his doctoral study on which it was based. 'In the Event of History' is published here for the first time, lightly revised. While the outlines of the argument of the Hintsa book are clear enough, it is addressed, as it is not in The Deaths of Hintsa, to the field of public history. Noting how productive public history's notion of 'making history' has been - as discussed in the introduction to this special issue and in 'In the Event of History', it foregrounds the ways in which the past is mediated in and by the present - Lalu identifies a limit to public history: it leaves the spatio-temporal signifier, 'the present', largely unthought. To think through the genealogy of this problematic, Lalu turns to different nationalist narrations and commemorations of Hintsa, the nineteenth century Xhosa king who was killed by British soldiers in 1835. Attuned to the numerous critiques of nationalism, what Lalu aims to abide by here are 'the openings that nationalism established within its concept of the present'. The paper juxtaposes public history and nationalist texts of memory 'to define a crisis for the discipline of history', as Lalu writes, 'a crisis where critical history may set about doing its work'. That work, for Lalu, is a practice of reading, in a present that offers anything but a secure and stable ground. The argument is made twice, as it were, in the content and form of Lalu's deft readings, and in the disjunctive present in which he will have returned to the figure of Hintsa. If Lalu's reading of 'the present' puts it in question, 'the present' from which he reads is one that is, at once, sedimentary, fragmentary, and, in the psychoanalytic terms he deploys, one of afterwardsness. This paper drafted more than 20 years ago not only engages the theme of this special issue, but it also uncannily addresses and questions our present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a percentage of the total global energy supply, wind energy facilities could provide 10% of the total global energy supply by 2050 as reported in IEA World Energy Outlook (2022). Considering this, a just transition to renewable and sustainable energy in South Africa is a genuine possibility if steps are taken immediately to achieve this. The Eastern Cape Province exhibits a strong wind resource which can be exploited towards expediting such a just energy transition. No research and related modelling have, to date, been undertaken in quantifying and relating the detailed P50 energy yield analyses of representative wind energy facilities in temporal and spatial dimensions to the occurrence of specific synoptic types in South Africa. To quantify this energy meteorology climatology for a suitably sized geospatial area in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa (spatial focus area, latitude −30 to −35, longitude 20 to 30), the approach of using self-organising maps is proposed. These maps are used to identify the most common synoptic circulation types occurring in the Eastern Cape and can subsequently be mapped onto an equivalent time resolution wind energy production timeseries calculated based on probable wind energy facility sites. This paper describes comprehensive methodologies used to model the wind energy facilities, calculate with high confidence the P50 energy production, and then identify the predominant synoptic weather types responsible for the wind energy production in this spatial focus area. After quantifying the energy production, running a self-organising map software generates a purposely selected 35 node map that characterises archetypal synoptic patterns over the 10-year period. The synoptic types can be ranked by the highest energy production. It is shown that in this spatial area, monthly wind energy production is higher during the winter months. When the well-established high-pressure cells move northward, synoptic types associated with higher energy production are frequent and include tropical and temperate disturbances across South Africa, patterns resembling a ridging anticyclone off the west coast of South Africa and low-pressure cells occurring to the north and south. Low energy producing patterns show characteristics of the high-pressure cells moving southwards producing fine weather and mildly disturbed conditions. The purpose of this methodology is that it provides the foundation required to derive long-term frequency changes of these synoptic weather systems using global climate model ensembles and thus changes in wind energy production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to water is a universal human right for every individual and a key instrument in meeting the United Nations' sustainable development goal SDG 6, namely, to ensure safe drinking water and sanitation for all by 2030. Water is also intrinsically linked to any society or country's social, economic and political development. Nevertheless, many communities and households, predominantly rural and underprivileged in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality, continue to experience persistent water shortages. This means entrenched poverty, ill health, hunger, stress, and social and economic challenges for the population. Using data collection tools inspired by traditional methods of qualitative and quantitative approaches, this paper scrutinised the social and economic factors contributing to severe inequality in water access in the municipality. Our findings established that water shortage is portrayed as a stand-alone issue without linking it to social and economic challenges. Furthermore, both government and municipalities fail to contextualise a multidimensional problem-solving approach to the water provision challenges in the municipality. This paper, therefore, recommends a multidimensional approach to tackling the problem of accessibility, taking into consideration the social and economic needs of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is not about work or labour itself, and how it changes historically in South Africa (from pastoral, to agricultural and industrial; native labour, wage labour, migrant labour etc.), but about how the meaning of ‘work’ and ‘labour’ itself changes. What we want to suggest, is that an ‘original’ meaning of the tasks/duties associated with ‘work’ was ‘woman’: ukusebenza. What men did, does not constitute ‘work’ but something else entirely: raiding, moving, occasional, going etc.: ukuphangela. It is in the latter term, ukuphangela, that the term ‘raid’ emerges, and the argument draws on this notion and meaning of raid to underscore the re-thinking of gender, the subject and her relation to work, and history. The paper operates in two registers, focusing on the historic meanings of work and labour in the Eastern Cape and tracing lateral translations of these meanings into East London in the 1950s. It argues that in re-thinking meanings of labour and work through multiple temporalities, and through the contested meanings of the isiXhosa terms ukusebenza and ukuphangela, these word fragments are read as ‘entryways to a wordliness’ that puts lateral universals and temporalities of work back into circulation. As such, we pose the question rather, following Anne Kelk Mager and Helen Bradford, of whether it is gender (and what it means to be a man or a woman) that is at the forefront not only of class and race struggles, but of what comes to constitute the meaning of ‘work’, a concept whose provenance and meaning changes, as we have noted, with the making of modernity, industrialisation/capitalism, and the ‘Europeanisation’ of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how HIV-positive abakhwetha (young male initiates) undergoing ulwaluko (traditional Xhosa initiation and circumcision) engage with HIV-related biomedical care and treatment. Health-focused life history narratives (n = 36), semi-structured interviews (n = 32) and analysis of health facility files (n = 41) with adolescent boys and young men (ages 13–24) living with HIV, and semi-structured interviews with traditional and biomedical health practitioners (n = 14) were conducted in 2017 and 2018. This research was part of the Mzantsi Wakho study, a longitudinal, mixed methods study of adolescents living with HIV (n = 1060). Findings demonstrate that ulwaluko rules of not engaging with biomedical care and treatment pose a challenge for initiates who are taking chronic medicine. Fears of inadvertent disclosure of their HIV-positive status collide with the pressure to successfully complete ulwaluko in order to be legitimised as men. In response to this dilemma, they engage a variety of strategies – including taking medicine in secret by hiding them, having a trusted person deliver them discretely, and stopping medicine-taking altogether. The three months following ulwaluko also pose a challenge in accessing biomedical treatment and care. In this time of high surveillance, amakrwala (new men) do not present at health facilities for fear of being thought to have had a botched circumcision or to have contravened 'manhood rules' and left ulwaluko before having healed properly. To get around this, those who continued taking medicine engaged caregiver pick-ups. Beyond suggesting that ulwaluko is a high-risk time for disengagement from biomedical treatment and care, this paper builds on a robust scholarship on the importance of locality and context in gender and health research. It documents the creativity, agency and resilience of initiates and their families as they subvert and re-signify health-related masculine norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tourism industry is distinguished from many other economic activities by the dominance of small-scale enterprises and micro-firms. Small tourism firms are critical change agents for destinations, local economic development and poverty reduction most especially in peripheral regions. This paper is situated within a growing international literature on tourism entrepreneurship and specifically the characteristics and motivations of small tourism entrepreneurs and their business operations. The research is conducted in Eastern Cape province of South Africa which is a resource-scarce or resource-constrained environment. Results are presented from a survey of 79 Black-owned small accommodation businesses and 19 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. It is shown that women own and operate the majority of these small accommodation businesses. These are mainly bed and breakfast establishments or small guest houses for which the clientele is mostly business tourists and government employees in particular. Issues under scrutiny are business motivations, start-up and operational issues. Networking emerges as an important business strategy for these peripheral entrepreneurs to address the challenges of business development. Overall, this study provides original findings and fresh insight into a segment of peripheral entrepreneurs operating in a resource-scarce context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore the gender socialization of adolescent boys in soccer clubs, and ask whether there are opportunities for integrating gender transformative elements into that socialization. This qualitative study involved 11 in-depth interviews and informal conversations with male soccer coaches from Gugulethu township and Mthatha town in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa, respectively. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. We found that the coaches felt that the adolescent boys in their soccer clubs faced serious social and emotional challenges, with the boys' poor socio-economic backgrounds and fragmented family structures being major contributors to these challenges. Most coaches also gave themselves the responsibility to try to address some of the challenges faced by their club members. To do this, they employed specific strategies, including creating an alliance with parents and professionals. In the process, the coaches engaged the boys on topics around respect, sexual and reproductive health, and avoiding alcohol, drugs, and involvement in criminal gangs. Some coaches also played a social fathering role to club members as a way of helping them to think differently about their lives, redirect risky practices, and reduce the chance for poor health outcomes. These findings highlight the role of soccer clubs and coaches as potential avenues for health- and equity-promoting gender socialization of adolescent boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper was to identify the factors influencing households to diversify rural on-farm livelihood activities in Intsika Yethu Local Municipality. This is against a background where literature suggests low livelihoods diversification among rural households despite several claimed benefits of diversification. Cross-sectional survey data was randomly collected for this study in October 2018 from 190 rural households in Intsika Yethu Local Municipality. A structured questionnaire was used for that purpose. Ordered logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the data. The results showed that diversification of on-farm livelihood activities was influenced by the gender of household head, education level of household head, household size, and number of livestock units owned. To promote on-farm livelihoods diversification in rural areas, the paper suggests targeting gender differential, informal education and awareness, labor dynamics associated with on-farm livelihood activities and household livestock units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa has been identified as having a high potential for solar powered irrigation. However, there has been a lag in the development of solar powered irrigation systems (SPIS) there, mainly due to the high investment cost associated with solar technology. South Africa has frequently implemented load shedding, which has affected many farmers. The work reported in this paper sought to determine the extent of solar powered irrigation and characteristics of the system types in use. The extent of SPIS in South Africa was determined using a questionnaire, and categorised in terms of farm size, SPIS configuration (storage of energy), type of irrigation, and location of the system. These were established mainly from a literature search. The questionnaires were administered on Survey Monkey®. The sample size of the study was 138 755 potential respondents. The number that participated and completed the questionnaires included a total of 18 SPIS engineers, installers and designers and 13 SPIS users (farmers). The main problem encountered with the distribution of the survey was finding SPIS users to participate. Results from SPIS engineers, installers and designers showed that most SPIS they implemented were in the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape, at 33% of the responses for both provinces. The total area under SPIS was found to be 364 ha, while the area under irrigation is South Africa is 1 300 00 ha, indicating a high potential for SPIS development. Some details on the extent of SPIS in South Africa were determined in this paper, but more SPIS users need to be identified to determine the details of their SPIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetable farmers are faced with computational and informational restrictions when making marketing decisions. Fresh produce markets in South Africa lack an efficient approach to supply chain management, from the farmers to the consumers. Improving market access can incentivise smallholder farmers to scale up their production. The present paper investigates factors influencing smallholder vegetable farmers' choice of market channels in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. A structured questionnaire and a multi-stage sampling technique were used to select 149 vegetable farmers. Multivariate probit regression and descriptive statistics were used for analysis. The results show that most sampled vegetable farmers in the study area sell their vegetable produce to traditional, wholesale, and retail outlets compared to other outlets. The study found that vegetable farmers can substitute one market with the other. Various socio-economic characteristics, transaction costs, asset ownership, membership of farm organisations, and access to extension services influence the selection choice. The study recommends intensive education and training to capacitate smallholder farmers through extension officers and farm organisations to enable farmers to understand and meet the requirements of high-value markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 2020 case of Coko v S 2022 1 SACR 24 (ECG), the Eastern Cape High Court held that a person's mistaken belief in consent to penetrative sex could constitute a valid defence in law. In statutory provisions and jurisprudence, the absence of the victim's consent is fundamental in establishing a case of rape. This paper evaluates the decision, where it was held that when an appellant reasonably believes that the complainant/victim had consented to sex, this alone could be enough to acquit the appellant of the charge of rape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationships between protected area managers and adjacent communities, as well as communities' attitudes, views and perceptions of these areas, are critical for the success of conservation efforts. It is important for protected area managers and administrators to understand how local communities view these areas and their management, so that they can build sustainable working rel ationships. This paper is based on a survey of 375 semi-structured questionnaires administered to household heads, living at distances ranging from the edge of the reserves to 50 km away from the reserve boundary across the Great Fish River, Mkambati, Hluleka, and Tsolwana nature reserves in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The paper provides a longitudinal assessment of households' knowledge about the role of reserves and the reserves' impacts on livelihood assets. In addition to households' knowledge about the role of reserves, the paper also provides an assessment of people's attitudes towards their location and management, as well as views on the best way to manage the reserves. For 79% of community members, reserves were important as they were seen to conserve biodiversity and valuable ecological systems necessary for sustaining life. Most (75%) respondents indicated that closely located reserves gave them opportunities to learn about nature conservation and to subsidize their incomes through tourism ventures. However, 58% had a problem with reserves' staff, due to restrictions on resource use, which negatively impacted their livelihoods. Over half (51%) of the households argued that sustainable conservation can only be achieved through an integrated approach where conservation and local communities' needs are given equal weight. We concluded that reserve managers should look at communities as active partners in the management of protected areas if sustainable conservation objectives are to be realised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of resistant profiles and detection of antimicrobial-resistant genes of bacterial pathogens in the nonclinical milieu is imperative to assess the probable risk of dissemination of resistant genes in the environment. This paper sought to identify antibiotic-resistant genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa from nonclinical sources in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, and evaluate its public health implications. Samples collected from abattoir wastewater and aquatic environment were processed by membrane filtration and cultured on CHROMagarTM Pseudomonas medium. Species identification was performed by autoSCAN-4 (Dade Behring Inc., IL). Molecular characterization of the isolates was confirmed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (rPCR) and selected isolates were further screened for the possibility of harboring antimicrobial resistance genes. Fifty-one Pseudomonas species were recovered from abattoir wastewater and surface water samples, out of which thirty-six strains were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (70.6%). The P. aeruginosa isolates demonstrated resistance to aztreonam (86.1%), ceftazidime (63.9%), piperacillin (58.3%), cefepime (55.6%), imipenem (50%), piperacillin/tazobactam (47.2%), meropenem (41.7%), and levofloxacin (30.6%). Twenty out of thirty-six P. aeruginosa displayed multidrug resistance profiles and were classified as multidrug-resistant (MDR) (55.6%). Most of the bacterial isolates exhibited a high Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) Index ranging from 0.08 to 0.69 with a mean MAR index of 0.38. In the rPCR analysis of fifteen P. aeruginosa isolates, 14 isolates (93.3%) were detected harboring blaSHV, six isolates (40%) harbored blaTEM, and three isolates (20%) harbored blaCTX-M, being the least occurring ESBL. Results of the current study revealed that P. aeruginosa isolates recovered from nonclinical milieu are resistant to frontline clinically relevant antipseudomonal drugs. This is concerning as it poses a risk to the environment and constitutes a public health threat. Given the public health relevance, the paper recommends monitoring of multidrug-resistant pathogens in effluent environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers some of the curatorial devices used in exhibitions at the South End Museum in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth). The South End Museum, which opened on 3 March 2001, is modelled in several respects on the District Six Museum in Cape Town: it, too, is an urbanbased, self-defined 'community museum' constituted around the histories of the apartheid Group Areas Act and the implementation of forced removals. Like many post-1994 museums in South Africa, the South End Museum relies on photographs for their displays, whilst also making use of maps, a mural and reenactment. The paper considers the ways in which these different displays touch, recall, reflect and activate one another. Keeping in mind that the notion of 'community' in South Africa bears the burden of being raced by its apartheid and colonial pasts, and abiding by the spectrality that is constitutive of the image, the paper grapples with the haunted space of 'community museums' in the Eastern Cape. While the South End Museum deploys some of the same curatorial devices as the District Six Museum, and deals with related histories of forced removal, South End, it is argued, brings the relation between race, indigeneity and 'ruin' within 'community museums' into fleeting focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principal aim of this paper is to show that marram grass is not an invasive alien in South Africa although it affects the dune dynamics as a useful pioneer species in the dune successional process. The historical perspective of marram introduction as a dune stabiliser and the studies and conclusions reached from our European Union funded project, INVASS, in the 1990s and early 2000s is presented. Although these studies showed that marram was non-invasive, this was not clearly carried through to the authorities, and the use of the grass as a dune stabiliser was limited without a special permit. This prompted a survey of the current situation of marram on dune sites in the Eastern Cape. Along with earlier (1980s) data on the dunes, 69 relevés with 66 species abundance from sites along the Eastern Cape shoreline were assembled. These data were analysed with Detrended Correspondence Analysis to show the relationships of the samples (relevés) and species in a 2-dimensional scatter diagram. The survey showed that there are four dune sites where marram grass is no longer present, due to either marram being out of its climatic range, erosion of sand under storm conditions which made the habitat unsuitable, or in one case where marram simply disappeared. Marram often remains in other sites where three to five dune pioneer species were recorded. On some dunes, although marram is the most abundant dune pioneer, it is never dominant in the dune environment but has a presence of as much as 75% at any site. The eight pioneer species are widely dispersed on the DCA scatter diagram, while the shrub species characterising the Coastal Scrub are tightly clustered, showing that all the pioneer dune communities behave similarly in the dune successional series. The conclusion from these studies is that marram grass does not always persist in the dune systems. If marram does persist, it does not compete and behaves identically to the indigenous species as a dune pioneer. These studies show that marram grass is a non-invasive species that can be successfully used in dune stabilisation on Cape dunes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing of coastal sediments for the purpose of automated mapping of their physical properties (grain size, mineralogy and carbonate content) across space has not been widely applied globally or in South Africa. This paper describes a baseline study towards achieving this aim by examining the spectral reflectance signatures of field sediment samples from a beach–dune system at Oyster Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Laboratory measurements of grain size and carbonate content of field samples (n = 134) were compared to laboratory measurements of the spectral signature of these samples using an analytical spectral device (ASD), and the results interrogated using different statistical methods. These results show that the proportion of fine sand, CaCO3 content and the distributional range of sediment grain sizes within a sample (here termed span) are the parameters with greatest statistical significance—and thus greatest potential interpretive value—with respect to their spectral signatures measured by the ASD. These parameters are also statistically associated with specific wavebands in the visible and near infrared, and the shortwave infrared parts of the spectrum. These results show the potential of spectral reflectance data for discriminating elements of grain size properties of coastal sediments, and thus can provide the baseline towards achieving automated spatial mapping of sediment properties across coastal beach–dune environments using hyperspectral remote sensing techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of technology to teaching and learning has brought about modernisation of academic activities. The drastic paradigm shift faced by the education sector is inevitable, especially as the impact of the much-touted Fourth Industrial Revolution is being felt in key sectors of the economy. This reality imposes the need for technology-enhanced learning for tertiary students as it represents the future of the workplace for which they are being prepared at university. For effective learning to take place, institutions need to incorporate technological tools in their teaching and learning. Adapting to a myriad of technology tools can be challenging, especially for less privileged learners who might be adjusting to tertiary life and previously have not been exposed to the basics of computers and other technology tools. This challenge is further compounded by the fact that most of these learners are experiencing the independence of tertiary education for the first time and are still struggling to balance their academic workload with the anxieties of social blending. This paper investigated how first-year students at a traditional, previously disadvantaged university in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa, adapted to Blackboard Learn (also referred to as WiseUP), the learning management system (LMS) adapted for blended learning at the university. The paper explored the challenges faced by the new students and thereafter employed a combination of the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Technology Acceptance Model to build a new model, which reveals the critical factors that influence students to embrace technology. This model will assist lecturers, faculty and student support structures to understand the underpinning factors that influence first-year students to embrace the technology tool, namely, the university's LMS. Quantitative data collection and analysis were used in the case study, which was conducted with two groups of first-year students in management and information technology courses. Results show the significant factors that influence students' attitudes positively towards the use of technology for learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The informal poultry and pig sector in the Eastern Cape Province (ECP) of South Africa is of significant socio-economic importance as it sustains livelihoods and ensures food security; yet little is known about the distribution and prevalence of infectious and zoonotic diseases in this region. This paper reviews data published for pig and poultry diseases in the province during the last 20 years (2000–2020). The review included relevant published papers identified by a computerised literature search from Web of Science; provincial animal health reports; the national database from the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD); animal health reports submitted by DALRRD to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) via the World Animal Health Information Database (WAHID) interface and laboratory records. A publication was considered eligible if it included qualitative or quantitative information on any disease affecting pigs and poultry including zoonosis. The search retrieved 174 publications, of which 26 were relevant. The review found that Newcastle disease (ND), coccidiosis and fowl pox (FP) were the most reported avian diseases in the national database, whereas avian infectious bronchitis (AIB), ND and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) were the most reported diseases in the OIE database. Classical swine fever (CSF) was the most reported pig disease in both databases. The retrieved literature on pig and poultry diseases was scarce and no longer up to date, providing decision makers with little information. The review identified important zoonotic diseases that require further studies yet failed to find information on important neglected diseases like leptospirosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South African Renewable Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme selects bid winners based on bid tariff (70% weighting) and various economic development criteria (30% weighting). Locating renewable energy (RE) projects in areas with better resources increases their cost competitiveness. As a result, most successful bids for wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to date have been concentrated in the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape provinces, respectively. Studies have shown that a wider geographic distribution of wind and solar PV projects mitigates the impacts of the variability of wind and solar PV resources, eases grid congestion and generally improves the power system's operation. This paper conducts a literature review to investigate the procurement methods used in different regions of the world to influence the placement of RE plants, the results of which then inform proposals on adjustments to the current REI4P. The study finds that, after congestion incidents due to concentration of RE plants, some regions implement location-based tariff, where high-resource areas receive the lowest tariff and vice versa. Other regions prioritise on building transmission infrastructure in high-resource areas, while others limit the size of RE installations in one area. Given the current generation and transmission constraints in South Africa, it is important to encourage geographical dispersion of RE plants and avoid RE curtailment, since this can escalate the cost of RE integration significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, is a chronic parasitic blood fluke infection acquired through contact with contaminated surface water. The illness may be mild or can cause significant morbidity with potentially serious complications. Children and those living in rural areas with limited access to piped water and services for healthcare are the most commonly infected. To address the prevalence of the disease in parts of South Africa (SA) effective national control measures are planned, but have not yet been implemented. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and trends of public sector laboratory-confirmed schistosomiasis cases in SA over an eight-year (2011–2018) period, to inform future control measures. Methodology & principal findings: This is a descriptive analysis of secondary data from the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS). The study included all records of patients for whom microscopic examination detected Schistosoma species eggs in urine or stool specimens from January 2011 to December 2018. Crude estimates of the prevalence were calculated using national census mid-year provincial population estimates as denominators, and simple linear regression was used to analyse prevalence trends. A test rate ratio was developed to describe variations in testing volumes among different groups and to adjust prevalence estimates for testing variations. A total number of 135 627 schistosomiasis cases was analysed with the highest prevalence observed among males and individuals aged 5–19 years. We describe ongoing endemicity in the Eastern Cape Province, and indicate important differences in the testing between population groups. Conclusion: While there was no overall change in the prevalence of schistosomiasis during the analysis period, an average of 36 people per 100 000 was infected annually. As such, this represents an opportunity to control the disease and improve quality of life of affected people. Laboratory-based surveillance is a useful method for reporting occurrence and evaluating future intervention programs where resources to implement active surveillance are limited. Author summary: This is the first paper to describe the prevalence of human schistosomiasis in South Africa using nationally representative data. The prevalence remained consistent during the eight-year period, independent of increasing annual testing volumes. Groups with the highest burden included males and individuals aged 5–19 years. The schistosomiasis-endemic provinces of Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal emerged as the highest-burdened areas, and ongoing endemicity in Eastern Cape Province was demonstrated. Western Cape Province likely reported cases imported from endemic provinces rather than being acquired by local transmission. In summary, schistosomiasis remains an important public health problem in South Africa that needs long-term sustainable, effective standardised interventions to reduce the burden. Passive laboratory-based surveillance is a practical tool for reporting prevalence, and could be used to monitor and evaluate future intervention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Appropriate health-seeking practices may have a positive influence on child survival, particularly when practiced by kin caregivers of children who are below the age of 5 years. While literature has shown that children who are raised in kinship care often present with poor health outcomes and often have unmet healthcare needs, the health-seeking behaviours and practices of the children's kin caregivers that ultimately influence these health outcomes remain largely unknown. In this paper, we explored the healthcare beliefs and practices of kin caregivers in South Africa on child survival.Methods: Overall, 12 structured interviews were conducted with all the participants. Six [6] interviews were conducted in the Eastern Cape province and 6 were conducted in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The sample of participants was obtained by seeking permission from the child welfare authorities in the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) to assist in identifying a sample of the kin-caregivers who have provided primary care to children below the age of 5. The structured interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic content analysis. After thematic content analysis was carried out, transcripts were given case numbers and then imported into NViVo version 11 for analysis and interpretation of the findings.Results: The healthcare seeking behaviours and poor use of healthcare services of the caregivers were largely influenced by their notions and perceptions of health and illness. The notions and perceptions that the caregivers hold about the health statuses of the children placed under their care and illness were found to be largely culturally determined and largely influenced by preconceptions and certain healthcare beliefs. Increased reliance on traditional herbs, Notion of witchcraft and Faith healing emerged as key factors that influence health-seeking practices and beliefs of kin caregivers, thus influencing under-five mortality.Conclusion: Kin caregivers should be equipped with the necessary guidance, resources and training that facilitate the successful fulfilment of the caregiving role, given the number of unmet needs and challenges that they face. This will in turn translate into positive child health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the challenges restricting the commercialization of cattle across Nguni Cattle Project beneficiaries in South Africa. Data were collected from one hundred and twenty (120) Nguni cattle beneficiaries using a structured questionnaire across six district municipalities of the Eastern Cape Province. Results revealed that majority of Nguni cattle beneficiaries were males, were above 60 years old, and have received formal training in livestock farming. Most of the beneficiaries reared cattle with other livestock species, with 45% owned non-descript breeds, 33% Nguni and 22% other breeds such as Bonsmara and Brahman. About 79.2% of the beneficiaries practised continuous grazing while 52.5% give their cattle supplements, with most commonly (48%) using rivers as the source of water. Most beneficiaries (38.4%) reported diseases as main production constraints, followed by stock theft (27.5%) and feed shortages (22.5%). Furthermore, results showed that 80.8% of beneficiaries market one to 10 cattle per year, 64.8% adult cattle (2+ years old) and 35.2% weaners (8 months to 1 year). Most beneficiaries (78.7%) used private marketing channels to sell their animals, while 4.3% used abattoirs. Factors identified as the main market constraints included low cattle numbers (41.7%), inability to meet formal market standards (25%) and inadequate government support. There was a strong association between formal livestock training and cattle marketing attributes as well as production constraints. In conclusion, more emphasis should be given to improve cattle production and commercialization through provision of more cattle, livestock trainings and market services to communal farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pondo Blues, is a song by Eric Nomvete and the Big Five, a group that came from East London to perform at the Moroka-Jabavu Stadium as part of the 1962 Cold Castle jazz festival. Although the song has acquired symbolic meaning and recognition as one of the 'classics' in South African jazz, prevailing understandings of the song have framed it as a traditional drinking song as well as a song lamenting the Mpondo revolt, where both these understandings have tied it deeply to the rural Eastern Cape. This paper tracks the sonic and social relationships of disarray, change and improvisation that come together to rehearse Pondo Blues across space and time, and atmospheres of history which move us away from iPhondo as the provincial Eastern Cape, which is tied up with the rural, the ethnic, the backward countrified folk and the local towards a more expansive and infinite sense/s of pasts and futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper engages with the concept of the migrant subject, as framed through contemporary literature on migrancy, and read through the Pauline Ingle photographic collection, located in the Eastern Cape. As against gendered historiographies of labour migrancy and the associated meanings attributed to the rural as a site of social reproduction, Ingle's photographs invite a series of atypical readings that unsettle these subjectivities. Rather, they suggest social and political acts that presage and constitute a migrant citizenship, one that undermines the dichotomy of the rural (traditional) and urban (modern) and projects the possibility of reading the history of the subject in the Eastern Cape differently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing occurrence of multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in clinical and environmental settings has been seen globally as a complex public health challenge, mostly in the developing nations where they significantly impact freshwater used for a variety of domestic purposes and irrigation. This paper detail the occurrence and antibiogram signatures of the Enterobacteriaceae community in Tsomo and Tyhume rivers within the Eastern Cape Province, the Republic of South Africa, using standard methods. The average distribution of the presumptive Enterobacteriaceae in the rivers ranged from 1 × 102 CFU/100ml to 1.95 × 104 CFU/100ml. We confirmed 56 (70.8%) out of 79 presumptive Enterobacteriaceae isolated being species within the family Enterobacteriaceae through the Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight technique. Citrobacter-, Enterobacter-, Klebsiella species, and Escherichia coli were selected (n = 40) due to their pathogenic potentials for antibiogram profiling. The results of the antibiotic susceptibility testing gave a revelation that all the isolates were phenotypically multidrug-resistant. The resistance against ampicillin (95%), tetracycline and doxycycline (88%), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (85%) antibiotics were most prevalent. The Multiple Antibiotic Resistance indices stretched from 0.22 to 0.94, with the highest index observed in a C. freundii isolate. Molecular characterisation using the PCR technique revealed the dominance of blaTEM (30%; 12/40) among the eight groups of β-lactams resistance determinants assayed. The prevalence of others was blaCTX-M genes including group 1, 2 and 9 (27.5%), blaSHV (20%), blaOXA-1-like (10%), blaPER (2.5%), and blaVEB (0%). The frequencies of the resistance determinants for the carbapenems were blaKPC (17.6%), blaGES (11.8%), blaIMP (11.8%), blaVIM (11.8%), and blaOXA-48-like (5.9%). Out of the six plasmid-mediated AmpC (pAmpC) genes investigated blaACC, blaEBC, blaFOX, blaCIT, blaDHA, and blaMOX, only the first four were detected. In this category, the most dominant was blaEBC, with 18.4% (7/38). The prevalence of the non-β-lactamases include tetA (33.3%), tetB (30.5%), tetC (2.8%), tetD (11.1%), tetK (0%), tetM (13.9%), catI (12%), catII (68%), sulI (14.3%), sulII (22.9%) and aadA (8.3%). Notably, a C. koseri harboured 42.8% (12/28) of the genes assayed for which includes five of the ESBL genes (including the only blaPER detected in this study), two of the pAmpC resistance genes (blaACC and blaCIT), and five of the non-β-lactamase genes. This study gives the first report on C. koseri exhibiting the co-occurrence of ESBL/AmpC β-lactamase genes from the environment to the best of our knowledge. The detection of a blaPER producing Citrobacter spp. in this study is remarkable. These findings provide evidence that freshwater serves as reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance determinants, which can then be easily transferred to human beings via the food chain and water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The highly invasive Nassella neesiana, N. tenuissima and N. trichotoma are naturalised in high altitude mountain grasslands of South Africa. • The current knowledge of Nassella invasion dynamics is based on limited research mainly done before the 1990s or research being done in Australia and New Zealand. • Current control methods are not coping with invasions. • There's a potential to use biological agents to control Nassella invasions. • There are many knowledge gaps that require urgent research in order to effectively manage invasions. Three species of Nassella have naturalized in South Africa. Nassella trichotoma and N. tenuissima are declared weeds under category 1b of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEM:BA) and occur mainly in the montane grasslands of the Western and Eastern Cape provinces. Nassella neesiana is not listed in NEM:BA but is naturalized in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Free State provinces. Research conducted in the 1970s and 1980s led to vigorous government-funded awareness and control campaigns which ended in 2000. No research on Nassella distribution or control has been undertaken since then. Despite this hiatus, Nassella remains a dangerous genus in southern Africa, given the serious impacts of these species in similar social-ecological systems in Australia and New Zealand. This paper presents a synthesis of available information about Nassella invasions in South Africa and identifies research gaps. It specifically addresses these questions: What identification issues exist? What is the current spatial distribution of Nassella ? What is the autecology of the genus? What are the social-ecological impacts of Nassella ? What control measures are currently applied and what are their strengths and limitations? What do we know about Nassella distribution and its response to climate change? This paper highlights many knowledge gaps about Nassella, such as the species' current distribution range, field identification and detection difficulties, and the uncoordinated control efforts that require urgent research to inform an effective management response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sprouting Entrepreneurs is a three-year teaching programme for rural primary and secondary schools that focuses on entrepreneurship in agriculture. It addresses the South African real-life challenges of food insecurity, youth unemployment and rural poverty from a classroom perspective, by linking agriculture, food and entrepreneurship as main learning areas. This paper outlines the programme in its local social and economic context. It argues for the need for a concept of entrepreneurship education that views opportunities in the context of young people's positive freedoms. Its didactical model combines the EntreComp framework with the capability approach developed by Amartya Sen and others. It emphasises the role of capabilities or freedoms in developing and implementing ideas that create value for others. The Sustainable Development Goals form a medium of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement launched in 2011 contracts renewable energy producers to supplement the national electricity grid. No preferred bidders produce energy using hydrogen fuel cells, particularly Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), possibly due to technicalities associated with qualifying hydrogen and fuel cells as renewable. The study explores processes to be followed in South Africa to commercialize green hydrogen production for PEMFC from kraal manure. The paper employed an integrative literature review methodology. There are different stages in product commercialisation, such as developing a product, taking the product to markets, growth, and diffusion. The discussions indicate a huge amount of hydrogen that can be produced from kraal manure that is in abundance in the Eastern Cape. Commercialization of hydrogen production can address global economic goals such as waste management, fighting poverty, reducing unemployment and addressing energy challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a multi-theoretical framework, the article examines the perceived effect of the influx of illegal foreign nationals (undocumented immigrants) on the socio-economic environment and provision of basic service delivery, in the Senqu Local Municipal area of the Eastern Cape province. Little is known about the perceived effect of the continued influx of illegal foreign nationals on the socio-economic conditions and provision of basic service delivery in a rural municipal area. This is because limited research has been done on this. A qualitative research approach was used to answer the research questions. The empirical findings of the study revealed that the continued influx of illegal foreign nationals in the Senqu Local Municipal area had compounded serious challenges in the provision of selected socio-economic conditions, namely health services, employment, and job creation opportunities to local communities through local economic development (LED) and the provision of basic service delivery, such as electricity, water, sanitation, and housing. The article provides recommendations to address the challenges posed by the continued influx of illegal foreign nationals in the Senqu Local Municipal area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to assess the determinants of the utilization of digital technologies by smallholder farmers in South Africa. A cross-sectional survey of 250 smallholder farmers was purposively sampled from Port St Johns and Ingquza Hill Local Municipalities. Binary and ordered logistic regression were used to analyse the data. The results show that 55% of the smallholder farmers were using digital technologies. Out of these, 40% were using smartphones and radio. Close to 47% of the smallholder farmers who were using digital technologies were using them to some extent and 65% had been using digital technologies for a period of 1–4 years. 89% of the smallholder farmers using digital technologies indicated that they are beneficial and 83% had opted to continue using digital technologies to increase their skills and knowledge. However, 44% of the smallholder farmers who had opted to discontinue the use of digital technologies indicated that these technologies were not beneficial for them. Overall, 85% of the smallholder farmers would recommend the use of digital technologies to other farmers. Factors such as age, educational level, marital status, full-time farming, and land size affected the utilization of digital technologies while age, marital status, educational level, full-time farming, household size, non-crop producing, and tenure affected the extent of digital technology utilization. The study concludes that the partial utilization of low-tech digital technologies is a socio-economic driver. Recommendations include the promotion of digital technologies, especially high-tech technologies, taking into account the socio-economic circumstances of smallholder farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE) in South Africa faces significant infrastructure challenges in rural schools, including inadequate funding, poor maintenance, and a shortage of essential facilities. These challenges hinder quality education provision and violate the Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure (MUNS-PSI) regulations. This study investigates these infrastructure challenges and proposes strategies to improve adherence to MUNS-PSI regulations. An interpretivist philosophy and inductive approach were adopted, focusing on a case study strategy. The study employed a mono-method qualitative approach, collecting data through semi-structured interviews with ten school managers and senior managers within the Chris Hani East District infrastructure delivery section. Purposive sampling was used to select participants, and thematic analysis was applied to the data. The findings revealed that the ECDoE lacks credible plans, sound systems, and effective leadership, resulting in poor governance and non-service delivery. Key challenges identified include the absence of a retention plan and a shortage of technological expertise. The study suggests forming a cross-functional group led by the head of the Department of Education to manage school infrastructure effectively. Training officials on technical skills related to the built environment and implementing the Infrastructure Delivery Management System are recommended. These strategies aim to enhance adherence to MUNS-PSI regulations, thereby improving the educational infrastructure and quality of education in the Eastern Cape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Diatoms in two springs with different surrounding land use in the Karoo compared. • Diatom indices GDI, SPI,BDI and%PTV were used to evaluate water quality. • Diatom species and indices in Great Fish River compared to historical data. • Indices at headwater site reduced ecological classification compared to previous study. This paper examines the efficacy of diatoms as bioindicators of water quality in the upper reaches of the Great Fish River following a period of reduced flow from drought conditions. Of the five sites, three were sampled three times in an 18 month period while the remaining two were sampled once. As a comparison, one headwater site within Mountain Zebra National Park, situated in the same district, was sampled. A total of 166 diatom taxa belonging to 29 genera were identified. Dominant taxa for the Great Fish River were identified as Amphora pediculus; Epithemia sorex; Nitzschia frustulum; Navicula veneta and Craticula buderi. These species, indicative of high nutrient concentrations and moderately saline to brackish conditions can tolerate low flow conditions. The Generic Diatom Index (GDI), the Specific Pollution sensitivity Index (SPI) the Biological Diatom Index (BDI) and the% Pollution Tolerant Valves (%PTV) – part of the UK Trophic Diatom Index (TDI) were used for interpretation of the results. The indices showed that this river is in poor condition. By comparison the headwater site in the Mountain Zebra National Park had Cocconeis placentula var. euglypta, Achnanthidium minutissimum and Cocconeis placentula var. lineata as dominant species and, using the same indices, the river was classified as in moderate to good condition with respect to water quality. When compared to a previous study (2010 – 2012), these sites showed a shift in dominant species indicating a change in water flow conditions and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peripheral tourism is a major theme for tourism scholars. This article contributes to the expanding international debates and writings surrounding 'tourism in peripheries' and of peripheral tourism development. It applies a longitudinal research approach towards the evolution of tourism in one particular marginal tourism region in the global South. The geographical focus is South Africa where the space economy exhibits a core-periphery structure. The paper traces the trajectory of tourism development which has occurred in one peripheral region of the country. The case study is of King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province. This is an area of particular interest as it incorporates much of the territory that was the former Transkei homeland. The discussion shows that the historical growth of different forms of tourism in this municipality exhibits marked differences between its inland and coastal areas. Importantly, the contemporary tourism economy of this peripheral region shows signs of serious decline despite tourism being acknowledged as one of key drivers for local development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older persons face an array of challenges with regard to parenting a delinquent grandchild. The study adopted a qualitative approach with the use of an explorative and descriptive design, with data collected from in-depth interviews with grandparents, communities and probation officers. The study also adopted phenomenology as the specific research approach. Findings revealed that grandparents parenting their grandchildren face the pernicious experiences of grandchildren's delinquency; financial challenges and poverty; and deterioration of their health and social life. This paper recommends that the government prioritise the grandparents' vulnerability to address the delinquency of their grandchildren and ensure that they are freed from such a pernicious preoccupation. Policies should be developed to ensure that grandparents above the age of 60 years should not assume full custody of children, as they are also a vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Stormberg Group comprises the Molteno, Elliot and Clarens formations and is one of four stratigraphical groups that make up the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. The group is the highest unit in the Karoo Basin, representing the final phase of preserved sedimentation. The major problem with the Stromberg Group is that the mode of transport, hydrodynamic energy conditions and depositional environment are still poorly understood. For the present paper, grain size and lithofacies studies on selected sandstones from the Molteno, Elliot and Clarens formations were performed so as to elucidate their textural characteristics, depositional processes, sedimentation mechanisms and hydrodynamic energy conditions and to discriminate different depositional environments. The statistical parameters of grain size distribution (mean grain size, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis) show that the sandstones are predominantly unimodal, fine grained, moderately well sorted, mesokurtic and near symmetrical. The bivariate diagrams of the aforementioned statistical parameters demonstrate that river and aeolian dune had the greatest impact on the depositional environments. Likewise, the C-M pattern (Passega diagram) shows that the sandstones were mostly deposited through tractive current process. Furthermore, the C-M diagram reveals the prevalence of rolling, suspension and graded suspension modes of sediment transportation. Seventeen sedimentary lithofacies were identified and grouped into seven lithofacies associations. These lithofacies associations indicate braided channel, overbank and swamp deposits for the Molteno Formation, alluvial fan/floodplain and playa deposits for the Elliot Formation and aeolian deposits for the Clarens Formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion of wildlife ranching has been broadly linked to conservation benefits, job creation, and economic contributions. However, a more nuanced understanding of the socioeconomic contributions of wildlife ranching accounting for the enterprise diversity in the sector remains a major limitation to assessing its potential to contribute to sustainable development. We assessed several important socioeconomic contributions of diverse wildlife‐based business models, defined by their main revenue‐generating activities, within the South African wildlife ranching industry, and the financial viability of these models. Owners and managers of privately‐owned wildlife ranches and conventional agricultural farms (for comparative purposes) were interviewed in the Eastern Cape (112 ranches; 24 farms) and Limpopo provinces (152 ranches; 4 farms). We used a hierarchical clustering analysis to delineate six wildlife ranching business models. These included three more specialized models: ecotourism, trophy hunting, and wildlife breeding, and three more mixed models: mixed hunting (i.e., both meat and trophy hunting), mixed wildlife‐agriculture, and trophy hunting‐game meat. In general, ecotourism‐focused ranches employed more people in total and per hectare (median = 23 jobs; 0.008/ha), and a higher proportion of women and skilled employees (41% and 45% of employees, respectively) than the other ranching models (median = 7–21 jobs; 0.002–0.005/ha) and conventional agriculture (median = 12 jobs; 0.004/ha). Trophy hunting‐focused ranches employed the second highest number of people per hectare (0.006) although on average, a third of these jobs were seasonal. Trophy hunting ranches tended to be more profitable (median profit margin = 33%) than ecotourism (−10%), wildlife breeding (0%) and mixed‐hunting (12%) ranches, though ecotourism ranches showed very high variability (interquartile range = −32% to 14%). These findings advance our understanding of the distinct socioeconomic contributions of diverse wildlife ranches, which benefits policy discourse and implementation surrounding the industry, promoting improved industry sustainability and inclusive growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Household contact investigations are effective for finding tuberculosis (TB) cases but are hindered by low referral uptake for clinic-based evaluation and testing. We assessed the acceptability and feasibility of in-home testing of household contacts (HHC) using the GeneXpert Edge platform. Methods We conducted a 2-arm, randomized study in Eastern Cape, South Africa. HHCs were verbally assessed using the World Health Organization-recommended 4-symptom screen. Households with ≥1 eligible symptomatic contact were randomized. Intervention households received in-home GeneXpert MTB/RIF molecular testing. GeneXpert-positive HHCs were referred for clinic-based treatment. Standard-of-care households were referred for clinic-based sputum collection and testing. We defined acceptability as agreeing to in-home testing and feasibility as generation of valid Xpert MTB/RIF results. The proportion and timeliness of test results received was compared between groups. Results Eighty-four households were randomized (n = 42 per arm). Of 100 eligible HHCs identified, 98/100 (98%) provided consent. Of 51 HHCs allocated to the intervention arm, all accepted in-home testing; of those, 24/51 (47%) were sputum productive and 23/24 (96%) received their test results. Of 47 HCCs allocated to standard-of-care, 7 (15%) presented for clinic-based TB evaluation, 6/47 (13%) were tested, and 4/6 (67%) returned for their results. The median (interquartile range) number of days from screening to receiving test results was 0 (0) and 16.5 (11-15) in the intervention and standard-of-care arms, respectively. Conclusions In-home testing for TB was acceptable, feasible, and increased HHCs with a molecular test result. In-home testing mitigates a major limitation of household contact investigations (dependency on clinic-based referral), revealing new strategies for enhancing early case detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithified layers of complex microbial mats known as microbialites are ubiquitous in the fossil record, and modern forms are increasingly identified globally. A key challenge to developing an understanding of microbialite formation and environmental role is how to investigate complex and diverse communities in situ. We selected living, layered microbialites (stromatolites) in a peritidal environment near Schoenmakerskop, Eastern Cape, South Africa to conduct a spatial survey mapping the composition and small molecule production of the microbial communities from environmental samples. Substrate core samples were collected from nine sampling stations ranging from the upper point of the freshwater inflow to the lower marine interface where tidal overtopping takes place. Substrate cores provided material for parallel analyses of microbial community diversity by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and metabolomics using LC–MS2. Species and metabolite diversities were correlated, and prominent specialized metabolites were targeted for preliminary characterization. A new series of cyclic hexadepsipeptides, named ibhayipeptolides, was most abundant in substrate cores of submerged microbialites. These results demonstrate the detection and identification of metabolites from mass-limited environmental samples and contribute knowledge about microbialite chemistry and biology, which facilitates future targeted studies of specialized metabolite function and biosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study argues that gender non-conforming learners do not relate to learning activities, the language used, and curriculum pedagogies. Due to gender socialization, the language used in some schools promotes gender binarism. The main aim is to investigate schools' tolerance of gender-conforming learners in one Eastern Cape Province Secondary school. In this study, a qualitative research approach was administered to study and narrate findings identified in the form of narratives. This investigation was embedded in the case study design as authors could not have unwinged the investigated problem without first getting acquainted with the logistics of the case holistically. Three teachers offering the subject known as Life Orientation across the GET and FET bands were purposefully sampled as the relevant cohort to submit what they perceive, as data informants for this investigation. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically. Findings established that gender non-conforming learners cannot relate to the curriculum offered as it promotes gender binarism through language and learning activities, with impressions that such learners are not welcome in schooling societies. The study recommends the use of gender-neutral language. Provision of gender-neutral activities, in classroom environments with gender non-conforming characters, and teacher training on gender inclusivity, can act as remedial strategies to curb the situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses water-related issues in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Irrigation development and providing water for human consumption have been key factors in the country's rural development planning, notably during the postapartheid era when the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and Water Services Act and Free Basic Water of 1997 became effective. By exploring the use of water in rural villages in the central Eastern Cape, the paper addresses the conceptual and practical limitations of the provisioning of water for human consumption and irrigation, in particular, and how this is being handled by various implementing agencies. The paper draws attention to the importance of 'irrigation by night' which refers to unplanned and 'unlawful' water-use practices. People in villages 'unlawfully' re-appropriate piped water for irrigation purposes to produce food and generate some income. The paper proposes a shift away from the rigid conceptualisations that currently form the backbone of planning to instead adopt a multiple-use system (MUS) approach which is more in tune with local practices currently observed in rural villages of South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]