Graduation - 2024 - December (Open Access)
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Now showing 1 - 5 of 146
- ItemMigrant churches and missional praxis : a case of AFM Shonka speaking assemblies in Cape Town(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-12) Linda, Justice; White, Peter; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Practical Theology and Missiology.This research is a missiological study which sought to study the missional praxis of the Shona speaking assemblies of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa. Assemblies within Cape Town were used as case studies. The economic and political turmoil facing Zimbabwe has resulted in an upsurge of migrants from Zimbabwe to South Africa. The migrants from Zimbabwe, once in South Africa choose to start assemblies using Shona as the language of communication. The research adopted a qualitative methodology. Previous studies and articles were utilized as secondary sources of data and information. The researcher conducted interviews with pastors and congregants. The missional practices of the AFM Shona speaking churches include prayer and fasting, worship and hymn services, home missions, pastoral care, and counselling amongst others. Furthermore, the research has shown various adaptations which have been adopted by the AFM Shona speaking assemblies in South Africa. These assemblies have resorted to using social media to preach the gospel. Some have gone multilingual, changing service times, and coming up with gender-inclusive leadership. These practices and changes by the AFM Shona speaking assemblies have led to their growth and transformation. The research concludes by providing implications and recommendations.
- ItemThe impact of thermal treatment on comminution performance of blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and South African abalone (Haliotis midae) shell waste(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-12) Lesofe, Ts’olo Ernest; Goosen, Neill; Van Wyk, Petrie; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Chemical Engineering.Low-trophic species like molluscs have been integral to the human diet for centuries and are a promising option for aquaculture. However, industries such as mussel and abalone canning generate significant quantities of waste shells, often discarded into landfills or public water bodies, causing environmental issues like coastal pollution, foul odours, and sanitation challenges. Despite mussel and abalone shells containing up to 98% calcium carbonate—a valuable industrial resource—their extreme toughness, shaped by biomineralization, makes size reduction and valorisation through comminution processes difficult. Efficient recovery of calcium carbonate from these shells could reduce reliance on limestone mining, but existing methods are energy-intensive and under-optimized. This study aims to develop a processing strategy to improve the comminution performance of mussel and abalone shell waste into industrially ready calcium carbonate, reducing environmental impacts and dependence on limestone mining. The shells were roasted in a retort kiln at temperatures ranging from 300 °C to 480 °C and for times between 10 and 45 minutes, followed by ball milling for durations of 15 to 45 minutes. Optimal conditions for mussel shells were found at 400 °C for 25 minutes of roasting and 30 minutes of milling. Compositional analysis confirmed the safety of the material, with mussel and abalone shells containing 98.4% and 98.1% calcium carbonate, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that calcium carbonate decomposes into calcium oxide and carbon dioxide beyond 600 °C. Untreated shells could not achieve the target particle size of 0.5 mm for lime applications, with milling achieving a P80 of 2.1 ± 0.3 mm for mussel shells and 4.4 ± 0.5 mm for abalone shells. Roasting pretreatment was essential for altering shell structure, enabling improved comminution performance. The microstructural analysis demonstrated that the presence of aragonitic or calcitic calcium carbonate, along with organic content in the shells, strongly influences comminution efficiency. This study provides a foundation for designing energy-efficient processing strategies to valorise mollusc shell waste, offering an environmentally sustainable alternative for calcium carbonate production.
- ItemInculturated Worship in an African Multisite Church(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-12) Lephoto, Mojalefa; Wepener, Cas; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Practical Theology & Missiology.Worship is a core aspect of the Christian faith. Through it individuals and communities of faith have the opportunity to draw closer to God and to receive that which He wants to give. Praise and worship is a typical inclusion in the flow of many church services. How people worship looks different depending on which church is attended. However, in the multisite church, this is not necessarily the case. A growing phenomenon, the multisite church affords worshippers the opportunity to gather in different locations while still having the same or similar experience of a particular church, including when it comes to praise and worship. In this study we aim to understand how we are to worship God in a manner that brings Him the glory that is due to Him, in the context of a church that gathers in multiple locations. More specifically, we explore this study in the context of a church that is located in Africa, that is also part of a global multisite church brand that began in Australia. In order to do this there are several aspects for this study that require investigation. One aspect pertains to ascertaining the place of worship in the faith of individuals and church communities. We will seek to understand the role of the church with regards to the Christianity, determining what it means for the church to be missional and how this informs the practices of the church. We then examine what worship is and how instrumental it is not only in the formation of faith but in equipping the church in its mission. We also take a closer look at context and how this is important in the experience and expression of faith. We look at culture and how this concept informs various aspects of life, including identity, spirituality and music. As the nature of multisite churches involves the building of church with some degree of homogeneity, we consider what the appropriateness of such an expectation is when considering the role of culture and the differences seen across cultures. As worship is the focus of this study, we then explore the concept of liturgical inculturation and its applicability to our findings. Throughout the study we look at worship as it is experienced in Hillsong church. We consider how this global megachurch approaches worship and the impact such an approach has to the African expression of this church. From our study we aim to develop a preliminary theological praxis for worship that can be applied to any church, regardless of the context.
- ItemBecoming and Unbecoming: Black Students’ Identity Paralysis at Stellenbosch University(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-12) Lefika, Jimmy M.; Painter, Desmond; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Psychology.This is a qualitative, exploratory study of Black students’ self-reports and narratives of their perceptions and experiences of being students at Stellenbosch University, a Historically White Institution (HWI): how they navigate and negotiate space and a sense of self in the context of historical and contemporary racism and limits to transformation. Almost three decades post-1994, race and racism continue to affect many South Africans’ lives. The institutional cultures and environments of HWI’s are embedded in the historical legacies of apartheid and Whiteness, and this hinders transformation. Research has indicated that Black students experience alienation and perceive a lack of transformation at Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) and especially HWI’s in South Africa. However, many of these institutions have indeed amended their old policies and have transformation agendas aimed at welcoming students of the historically excluded groups and meeting government transformation requirements. The discrepancy between research findings on black student experiences and the universities’ stance regarding the exclusion, marginalization and racism, requires critical exploration. Based on a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with nine Black students at Stellenbosch University, the thesis shows that Whiteness and racism continues to mark students’ lived experiences on campus and that transformation policies without changes that are meaningful from the vantage point of Black experiences, often fall prey to becoming an illusionary, tokenistic façade that further fuels feelings of alienation. Black students experience immense pressure to assimilate and acculturate, and they are fraught with perceptions of being negated. As such “becoming” what institutional culture embraces and assimilating into campus culture becomes a priority; however, this also means “unbecoming” that which Whiteness categorizes and negates as inferior, a contradiction that leads to identity paralysis. This research sought to afford Black students a platform and a voice to share their experiences and perceptions of the campus environment, to explore their feelings of being welcome or unwelcome at the university and their perception of what a transformed HWI would look like. Findings reveal that Black students do not feel fully welcome, and that they experience a sense of being tolerated and offered a space to study at the institution as form of tokenism. Across participants, there seems to be a common sentiment of fighting: to study at Stellenbosch University, for space and recognition, to graduate and to disprove Black inferiority stereotypes.
- ItemThrough the lens of Groot Constantia: Cape Foodways during the period of Dutch Occupation, 1652-1795(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-12) Le Roux, Margaret; Chetty, Suryakanthie; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.The Cape of Good Hope became a site of heightened cultural exchange with the arrival of the Dutch in 1652. The VOC, who initially planned only to build a victualling station, soon settled at the Cape and in so doing, drew the Southernmost tip of Africa into a web of merchant cities, ports, and trading posts. Much has been written about this period in Cape history, with a significant portion of study devoted to social history. However, relatively little academic work has focused on the study of food at the Cape in the period of Dutch Occupation (1652-1795). This period saw a marked increase of interaction between local peoples, Dutch settlers, and so-called Cape Malay slaves. These interactions brought about the development of a new culinary expression that is still a lingering influence in South African cuisine today. A key objective of the historical branch of ‘foodways’ is considering the impact of human interaction on food culture. This thesis explores Cape foodways along three themes: the spaces of food preparation, the cooks who lived and worked in these spaces, and the food with which they worked. One of the most prosperous estates of the Cape Dutch era, Groot Constantia, is returned to throughout the thesis as a specific example with which to examine these themes. The material culture of the Cape kitchen is observed through primary sources such as household inventories, recipes and an original list of Cape cooks. As such, it draws neglected figures out of the shadows of the past and adds to what was previously written about Cape foodways in the period of Dutch Occupation, the essential contributions of enslaved cooks to Cape cuisine, and the connections between food and status at the Cape of Good Hope.