PhD / Doctoral

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http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29121

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    The Ngoma consciousness: IsiNgqi neSandi as existing and accessible tools for healing and therapy in Africa
    (2025) Koela, Nkosenathi; Ramugondo, Elelwani; Pather, Jayendran; Bam-Hutchison, June
    This thesis explores the ritual archive of isingqi (energy, rhythm and vibration) used in Ngoma (the divination arts and ecology) through ingoma (traditional sound and chants) as accessible tools for healing and therapy. Ngoma, etymologically, is a proto-Bantu term for an African praxis within which exists an ecology of related institutions such as the practice of medicine, divination, crafts, music, and ritual. Central in this thesis is the systemic dispossession and destruction of indigene ecologies of healing in South Africa as a result of coloniality, which De Sousa Santos (2015) unpacks through the framework of epistimicide and I unpack through the framework of ecolocide and musicolocide. The central question this thesis seeks to answer is: How is ritual involving isingqi used and preserved in the divination arts of/through ingoma (traditional sound and chants)? The overall objective is to unpack and explore this African (Ngoma) philosophical praxis and its related ecology of knowledge, through the applied method of ritual music as vibrations of healing in Southern Africa, and to offer an informed and decolonial use of ritual technologies such as ingoma and isingqi. To do this, I draw from inter-disciplinary research and archival literature that explores various epistemologies and uses of sound in African indigene communities. I also use the existing ritual archive of Ngoma and its modalities through a co-operative co-design method. The practical elements of my research provide a repository within which to explore some of the possibilities of Ngoma as consciousness, an ecology of divination arts, and praxis in the current context. This thesis argues that African indigenous scholars must engage deeply with African epistemologies like Ngoma to develop authentic technologies and healing modalities that can enrich South Africa's cultural and healing ecology. Doing so may help reinstate African- conscious institutions of healing in various sectors of society and introduce hybrid forms of sound therapy and psychosomatic treatments, involving unique healing methods through Ngoma rhythmic manipulation. My findings argue for a clear distinction between performance studies and indigene ritual studies. This distinction can provide a platform for interdisciplinary models of scholarship that enrich indigene knowledge systems and encourage research into African healing praxes.
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    Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Knowledge Claims: How can different types of knowledge be identified, documented and assessed in RPL applications of RPL credits. Comparison of two case studies at a South African vocational/professional higher educational institution (V/PHEI)
    (2025) De Graaff, Frederika Hilde; Cooper, Linda Helen
    The purpose of this study was to analyse the inner workings of RPL in the case of awarding credits for subjects within a qualification via RPL. For this study, RPL for credits requires the applicant to present informal and non-formal learning from the workplace in a manner that is recognisable within a higher education context. This qualitative study employed a case study methodology to highlight the uniqueness of two RPL applications: Human Resources Management and Architectural Technology. The RPL process at the institution is qualification-specific, with its RPL processes and requirements tailored to the qualification and its associated profession. Drawing on the concepts of different knowledge structures and disciplinary boundaries (Bernstein, 1999, 2000), knowledge from the formal qualifications was analysed, and the nature of the boundary in each knowledge field was explored. All documentation from the RPL process was analysed, and all academics involved were interviewed. To facilitate the RPL application, the academic departments changed the learning outcomes (LO) from the formal curriculum into RPL LOs for each qualification. A taxonomy based on the work of Anderson and Krathwohl (2002), consisting of two fields, type of knowledge and complexity of knowledge, was adopted as a conceptual tool to analyse and compare both sets of LOs. This study demonstrates that workplace knowledge can successfully be recognised for credits in an academic programme, under particular conditions. One enabling factor was that the knowledge structures of the disciplines concerned were found to be hybrid and segmented in nature. A further enabling factor was identified by drawing on the concept of 'chain of recontextualisation' (Evans et al., 2009). At least three interlinked processes o f recontextualisation were identified: Firstly, LOs from the formal curriculum were recontextualised into the RPL programme takes place; secondly, the RPL candidates recontextualised their workplace knowledge in the course of their portfolio development; and thirdly, the academics – in assessing the RPL application, interpreted (recontextualised) the evidence of workplace knowledge presented. The theoretical and knowledge contribution of this thesis includes that RPL for credit is not solely a process of Recognition of Prior Learning but also a process of Recontextualisation of Prior Learning (R-PL). The academics involved in the study adjusted and changed the learning outcomes of the formal programme for the purposes of the RPL programme. This demonstrates that selected learning outcomes of a formal programme need to be analysed and modified before an RPL process is undertaken. A further contribution is that this processes of recontextualisation points to the importance of a shared repertoire between the RPL assessors and the RPL applicants and highlights the significance of shared tacit knowledge (tacit-to-tacit knowledge) between RPL applicant and assessor within a specific field of expertise. The study demonstrates that granting credits via RPL is a complex process that requires a deep understanding of the curriculum, the workplace, the profession, and the legal framework within which the qualifications and RPL operate in South Africa. The conclusion supports Cooper and Ralph's (2016) view of RPL as a Specialised Pedagogy.
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    Mnemonic sketches: Utopias of mourning in contemporary South African performances of tragedy
    (2025) Chauke, Lesego Thabang; Fleishman, Mark
    This multidisciplinary study locates, at its centre and at the centre of tragedy more broadly, the notion of chorus. My orientation around chorus in this study is based on the one hand, in performance- as in the live moment of present encounter- and on the other hand, in the local context of contemporary South Africa. In this feat, I survey a range of case studies that mobilise chorality in notable aesthetic and political ways. Fundamental to my own definition of tragedy is the idea of mourning. Here, mourning is not simply something done by characters in a tragic performance. As we will see in the chapters that follow, mourning becomes an orientation toward and away from history, it comes to name the complex relationship between making history and being in history. I attempt, in chapters one and two, to outline the ways in which tragedy and mourning may be understood as collective structures of experience that shape individual perceptual possibilities. Upon establishing the context in which this study unfolds, which is also the task of the first two chapters, I mobilize even as I agitate, foundational concepts of tragedy in their mimetic and diegetic applications. I then turn my attention toward the notion of utopia, in and beyond performance, in chapter three, arguing for chorus as its own structure of experience that, if allowed to settle its debt to tragedy, can shape individual perceptual possibilities. Chapter four takes on a performance analysis methodology to probe the concept of the archive as a tool for performative and performance historiography. The final chapter turns towards my own performance works produced over the course of the study. Here, I discuss the notion of mimesis as a particular orientation towards history and historiography. The research takes practice- as-research and literary/performance analysis as its primary methodologies. These two approaches are anchored by an ethnographic process which not only seeks out external subjects but calls attention to my own subject position as a researcher engaged in an ethnographic project. Ultimately, my understanding of tragedy finds articulation in the convergence of the three key concepts, namely utopia, mimesis, and the archive, towards a theory of contemporary tragedy anchored in a non-Western framework.
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    Synthesis and mechanistic studies into the cytotoxic activity of garlic-related trisulfides in cancer cells
    (2025) Ali, Doaa; Hunter, Roger; Kaschula, Catherine
    Garlic has long been recognized for its medicinal properties and is well-documented to produce organosulfur compounds (OSCs) with significant chemopreventive and therapeutic potential. Among these, trisulfides are notable phytochemicals that exhibit a broad range of biological activities, including anticancer effects both in vitro and in vivo, as well as antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antithrombotic properties. Recent methodologies have enabled the development of novel synthetic methodologies for synthesizing unsymmetrical organotrisulfides. This thesis explores our contributions to the synthesis of these compounds, their cytotoxicity and their mechanisms of action against cancer cells. Building on our group's previous research on the cytotoxicity of ajoene, which demonstrated its ability to modify proteins by S-thioallylation of cysteine residues through a thiol-disulfide exchange reaction, we extend these findings to trisulfides, providing new insights into their potential as anticancer agents. Chapter One offers an overview of naturally occurring trisulfides, highlighting their significant biological activities. It emphasizes trisulfides from natural sources, particularly diallyl trisulfide (DATS), a garlic-derived compound with notable anticancer potential. This chapter sets the stage for exploring trisulfides therapeutic potential in cancer treatment, a central theme of this dissertation. Chapter Two reviews existing synthetic methods for trisulfide formation, highlighting the need for greener and more sustainable approaches. It discusses current challenges, including the difficulty of synthesizing unsymmetrical trisulfides, and introduces our novel method for achieving these compounds with high yield, purity, and selectivity. This chapter lays the groundwork for the synthetic developments detailed in chapter 4. Chapter Three shifts the focus to the cancer biology of organosulfur compounds (OSCs), with a detailed examination of trisulfides. It provides an in-depth analysis of their extraction, biosynthesis, metabolism, and bioavailability, particularly in relation to cancer chemoprevention. The chapter investigates the role of reactive species, including hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and perthiols (RSSH), generated through thiolysis exchange of trisulfides with protein thiols. The role of H₂S as a crucial gaseous signaling molecule is examined, highlighting its involvement in various physiological processes. The chapter also explores perthiols, Page | IV characterized by their unique chemical properties, which enable them to participate in redox reactions and radical processes. Chapter Four presents our novel methodology for synthesizing unsymmetrical trisulfides, including details of the optimization conditions and the stability of the products. The methodology yields aliphatic trisulfides in high yield and purity, while aromatic trisulfides are more labile. The trisulfide's distinct chemical shifts in 1H NMR allow for their identification and differentiation from other sulfur species. The applicability of this method extends to a range of functional groups, including those derived from cysteine and sugar moieties. Chapter Five investigates the cytotoxic effects of trisulfides in cancer cells, focusing on a refined library of trisulfides to identify structure-activity relationships, particularly in benzyl derivatives. The chapter examines the impact of various substituents on perthiol stability, demonstrating that electron-donating groups prolong perthiol lifetime and enhance cytotoxicity. This by raising their pKa and reducing their disproportionation to homotrisulfides. The p-OMe derivative, in particular, displayed higher extracellular perthiol concentrations, as measured by Ellman's assay, corroborating initial stability studies. The chapter further extends to monitoring H₂S production in WHCO1 cancer cells using a fluorescent probe, establishing that fluorescence intensity, indicative of H₂S concentration, increases with greater electron release from para-substituents. This relationship between enhanced perthiol stability and increased H₂S production reinforces the thiolysis-based mechanism of trisulfide cytotoxicity and suggests a pathway for designing more effective anticancer agents. Additionally, studies using a dansyl-propyl trisulfide probe indicated localisation in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), suggesting a role for the unfolded protein response (UPR) in conjunction with H₂S signaling in promoting apoptosis.
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    The performance of information systems implementation outcomes: The case of an enterprise system implementation in a South African University
    (2025) Akin-Adetoro, Adedolapo; Seymour, Lisa
    Problem statement: The existing landscape of research on the outcomes of information systems (IS) development and implementation suggests that this domain has been extensively researched. Results indicate that most IS implementations fail, yet uptake of these systems is still on the rise. In response to the alarming failure rates, researchers and practitioners have extensively researched the concept of IS success and failure by prescribing and promoting a cumulative list of critical success factors which they believe should improve the success rate. These efforts, however, have not yielded much improvement considering the vast amount of research in this domain. This inconsistency might be as a result of the representational (rational/objective and narrative/subject) approach, which characterises how IS success and failure are currently defined, framed and assessed in research. By adopting a performative view, this study challenges the dominant representational approach which downplays the information technology (IT) system in focus and views outcomes as static and fixed. Purpose of the study: The main purpose of this study was to provide understanding on how the realities of IS success and failure are performed within an organisation. This was necessary given that the performative approach eliminates the idea of the metaphorical middleman (representations) in understanding reality. The performative perspective puts forward IS outcomes as relational consequences enacted by sociomaterial practices of an IS implementation actor-network. Research Question: This research addresses the question: "How are the competing realities of ES implementation outcomes performed?". Research methodology: This study adopted an explanatory purpose guided by the agential realism theoretical perspective. This study employed the actor-network theory as a theoretical lens because it allows researchers to examine the complex network of relationships and intra-actions that shape the performance of IS implementation outcomes. This study used the implementation of an enterprise system at Ìwádí University as a case study to elucidate the phenomenon. We employed semi-structured interviews, documents, system event log, observations, and field notes to gather data. The data was analysed using ANT analysis and event log analysis. Key findings: The findings reveal a multi-step process where competing realities of success and failure emergently unfold across different actor-networks through distinct sociomaterial practices shaped by ontological politics. Implementation outcomes are not pre-given, but relationally co constituted via entangled sociomaterial intra-actions between technologies, organizational actors, vii discourses and situated practices within each network. Coordination mechanisms like meetings and reports perform agential cuts, selectively including/excluding issues to stabilize particular realities aligned with network interests. Originality/contribution: This study challenges binary success/failure notions, providing a performative perspective on how these outcomes manifest as multiple, divergent, relationally enacted realities across organizational actor-networks. Theoretical propositions offer insights into the sociomaterial complexities, ontological politics and constitutive relations underlying competing assessments. It integrates ANT and process mining analyses to capture sociomaterial entanglements and technology performativities. For practice, it highlights adopting inclusive, iterative approaches bridging strategic aims and localized end-user realities through participative translation during implementations