Graduation - 2025 - March (Open Access)

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    Physical Sciences teachers’ awareness of science anxiety among Physical Sciences learners
    (Stellenbosch University, 2025-03) Schreuder, Lana Hilda
    There is a growing emphasis on increasing the number of learners studying subjects in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). With Physical Sciences being an optional subject in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase, it is interesting to see that the number of learners choosing the subject in high school is not increasing rapidly. Academic anxiety has been identified as a contributing factor to the challenges arising in the teaching and learning of Physical Sciences. Teachers in the field experience learners showing signs of anxiety before or during an examination, or they start with a positive attitude towards Physical Sciences in Grade 10 but cease to display the necessary resilience to want to continue with the subject into Grade 11 or 12. Teachers are likely only to observe anxiety among learners while already employed full-time and working as teachers, and even then, often learners’ anxiety goes undetected as science teachers may not always recognise learners’ emotional turmoil. This study aimed to investigate Physical Sciences teachers’ perspectives on science anxiety among learners taking Physical Sciences as a subject. The literature review revealed numerous factors that contribute to learners’ anxiety, as well as possible reasons for learners experiencing anxiety. However, the literature fails to elaborate on teachers’ experiences and perspectives on learners’ anxiety. With this in mind, the focus of the study was to determine how aware Physical Sciences teachers are of learners’ anxiety, what they experience as the possible reasons behind it, and what they can do to support learners. A mixed-method approach was followed in this study. In Phase one of the study, quantitative data collection methods were used to measure learners’ anxiety towards Physical Sciences in general and a formal assessment in Physical Sciences. This was followed by a second qualitative phase, where the results from the quantitative approach were used to design interview questions for Physical Sciences teachers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to investigate teachers’ perspectives on learner anxiety and its possible reasons. The findings of this study show that learners do display signs of anxiety towards Physical Sciences as a subject, and more so when it comes to completing a formal assessment of the subject. Furthermore, it showed that teachers are indeed aware of learner anxiety in Physical Sciences, and they have extensive ideas about the reasons behind learners’ anxiety in the subject. Teachers also implement strategies in their classroom practice to support learners and to help reduce their anxiety towards the subject, but more can be done to create awareness about learner anxiety in Physical Sciences and to equip teachers with skills to implement support strategies in their daily practice. The findings highlight important implications for practice for teachers and the broader parent community, as the ultimate goal is to teach and support learners about reflecting on and dealing with their own anxiety to enhance their teaching and learning experiences.
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    Exploring the Proteomic Landscape of Traumatic Brain Injury Models
    (Stellenbosch University, 2025-03) Vorster, Melissa Sona; Patterton, Hugh George; Tabb, David Lee; Loos, Ben; Eckert, Stephan; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Science. Centre for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology.
    Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a multifaceted condition characterized by primary and secondary injury mechanisms, leading to significant molecular and cellular disruptions. Understanding these processes at the proteomic level is critical for developing targeted therapeutic strategies. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses can provide insights into the broader landscape of TBI research, while experimental comparisons of TBI models can refine our understanding of their relevance to human pathology. Research Gap: Current models fail to capture the full complexity of human TBI, particularly the interplay between biochemical and biomechanical mechanisms. Comparative analyses of TBI models and integrative proteomic studies remain limited. Objective: This study aimed to integrate findings from a systematic review, conduct a meta-analysis of publicly available proteomic datasets, and evaluate two chemical TBI models, sodium dithionite (SDT) and 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG), to better understand TBI-associated proteomic changes. Method: A systematic review and meta-analysis identified key proteins and pathways altered in TBI. Proteomic analyses of SDT and 2DG models were conducted to assess their ability to replicate TBI pathologies, including oxidative stress, apoptosis, autophagy, and metabolic dysfunction. Comparative analyses explored shared and distinct molecular responses. Key Findings: The systematic review and meta-analysis identified critical proteins and pathways linked to oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and cell death. SDT induced oxidative stress and excitotoxicity, while 2DG disrupted metabolic pathways and caused energy depletion. Both models showed overlapping responses, such as inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction, and distinct pathway activations. Limitations included the inability of chemical models to replicate biomechanical injury, the static nature of proteomic analyses, and incomplete metadata affecting reproducibility. Implications: By combining systematic review, meta-analysis, and experimental model comparison, this study offers a comprehensive framework for understanding TBI at the proteomic level. These findings highlight the strengths and limitations of current models and inform future research directions, including integrating mechanical and chemical models, employing longitudinal and multi-omics approaches, and improving metadata reporting and experimental validation. This approach will enhance the translational relevance of findings and support the development of targeted therapies and biomarkers to improve TBI management and outcomes.
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    Socially Inclusive Heritage Conservation Land-Use Management in Small Towns: A Case Study in the Greater Oudtshoorn Municipality
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2025-03) Adendorff, Rudi; Geyer Jr, H. S.; Donaldson, S. E.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies.
    This study addresses the critical issue of heritage loss due to inadequate conservation measures and limited municipal resources in small rural towns. As local governments are struggling to provide social development and even basic services, heritage conservation is a low-priority objective and is often disregarded by inadequately resourced municipalities. The study therefore also addresses the challenge of socially inclusive approaches to heritage conservation that aim to preserve the cultural heritage of various social groups in previously disadvantaged communities. This dilemma requires that heritage conservation overcomes heritage dissonance by incorporating the varying perspectives and narratives of heritage. For this study a mixed-methods approach has been employed, by combining GIS data and aerial photographs to create an inventory of historical structures. This was accomplished in order to categorise the heritage grading, conservation worthiness and condition rating of structures in the study areas of De Rust, Dysselsdorp, De Hoop, and Armoed/Volmoed. These study areas are all situated within the Greater Oudtshoorn Municipality, Western Cape. Thereafter, key stakeholders within the local community were interviewed to acquire detailed information on the significance as well as on potential threats to these structures. Finally, the application of land-use policies was evaluated in order to determine their effectiveness in terms of internationally recognised heritage conservation guidelines. Key findings have revealed a variety of heritage conservation outcomes in the study areas. While the heritage conservation measures in De Rust and Volmoed were well developed and included a high percentage of buildings with impressive grading values under the National Heritage Resources Act (NHRA), a large number of dwellings were graded as “Not Conservation Worthy” (NCW) as a result of considerable alterations and modifications. Issues such as drug-related crime, historical disassociation due to objections against colonial and apartheid-era heritage, conflicting socio-economic uses of structures, and the need for security-related alterations to the structures collide with heritage conservation efforts, resulting in the further deterioration of historical structures. Excessive heritage structure restoration costs also impose significant financial burdens upon impoverished homeowners, particularly in previously disadvantaged communities. Heritage conservation is often neglected by local municipalities, thus resulting in the deterioration of both tangible and intangible heritage assets. Nevertheless, many deteriorated heritage sites without conservation-worthy buildings such as Die Ou Lokasie and Dysselsdorp, hold particular sentimental value for the local Coloured community because of their historic relations to the sites. Subconscious biases in heritage conservation exists when intangible aspects of living heritage that are evident in practices, traditions, and community identity are neglected, leading to even further negligence of tangible heritage. In order to address heritage dissonance, contrasting perspectives of local history should be engaged to reassess the different meanings and significance of heritage. Finally, socially inclusive heritage conservation requires the implementation of targeted land-use management policies, such as Heritage Protection Overlay Zones (HPOZ) or heritage-sensitive zones, by proactively involving diverse communities and local heritage organisations in heritage conservation efforts.
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    Women Leaders in Local Government in South Africa: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2025-03) Adams, Kay-Dee; Pillay, Pregala; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.
    Although South Africa has witnessed a number of women being appointed in the local sphere of government, the underrepresentation at both the senior and middle-management levels persists. As the lowest sphere of government, it is mandated to adapt to and implement all national policy directives including gender equality (Mpofu, 2021). Local government provides a great window of opportunity to rectify the imbalances of the past and to empower women because they are affected the most by poverty due to inequality. The government formulated a comprehensive legislative framework, which mandates that women be empowered as well as participate in their own development. Although several pieces of legislation have been implemented to empower women, none have produced the anticipated outcomes. Hence, it can be inferred that women continue to be considered inferior to occupy senior management and leadership positions in local government compared to men (Mpofu, 2021). The adopted qualitative research methodology sought to explore the trends, challenges, and opportunities related to women in leadership roles at the local sphere of the South African government. Furthermore, the extent to which existing processes enable active participation in municipal systems including viable alternative interventions to reinforce the process was also investigated. The data was gathered from the two case studies, namely, Drakenstein and Stellenbosch Municipality. Purposive and convenient sampling was utilised to conduct semi-structured interviews with four (4) senior participants in senior management positions from both municipalities and online surveys were completed by twenty-nine (29) women in administrative positions at the Drakenstein and Stellenbosch Municipalities. The findings of this study revealed that historical norms, a lack of gender sensitivity, and the notion of male dominance is still embedded within the local sphere of government. However, bot the Drakenstein and Stellenbosch Municipalities are taking strides forward by implementing existing employment and gender equality policies and processes to allow so that women can have an equal opportunity to occupy senior management positions. On an individual level, as emerged from The online surveys and interviews revealed that four prominent elements are required which would motivate more women to pursue leadership positions at the local sphere of government, for example, through mentoring, access to information, networking, and training. According to the reviewed European studies, this model can be referred to as the MINT-model. Public awareness and acceptance of gender representation on a societal level could enhance representation of women in leadership positions and political life in local government. Existing studies have revealed a gap in the prioritisation and scrutiny of the extent to which current legislative frameworks and strategies include equality and equity to enable women to participate in governance in senior leadership positions. This study examined existing policy framework of the participation of women in local government and insight gathered from local officials in top management positions. It is recommended that current mechanisms and alternative new strategies be strengthened so that women can be represented through a multi-faceted approach including more supportive organisational cultures; enforce institutional and legal frameworks; establish mentorship and networking opportunities; promote education and develop skills; and change the perception and acquire the buy-in from their male counterparts. This could enable a cultural shift in terms of the role of gender within the local sphere of government in South Africa and society as a whole.
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    The development and evaluation of a partial generic individual non-managerial competency model
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2025-03) Adams, Dalin Enrique; Theron, Callie; De Wet, Marietha; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
    Organisations always look for ways to improve their employees’ performance, as the quantity and quality of products and services are highly dependent on the performance of these employees. To improve employee performance to this effect the person-centred and situational determinants of performance need to be understood. This study initiates the development of a generic non-managerial competency model based on the work of Myburgh (2013) and Botes (2019) that attempts to explain why performance differs from employee to employee in non-managerial positions. The long-term purpose is to eventually develop a valid generic actuarial prediction rule which could be used for selection in small organisations that cannot develop such an actuarial prediction rule themselves due to the unavailability of sufficiently large samples. The study focused on non-managerial employees from private and public sector organisations across South Africa. A survey method of collecting data was used. Organisations were approached through an institutional permission letter that had to be signed and stamped. Informed consent was obtained from respondents. As the study sought to obtain reasons for the variance in performance amongst non-managerial employees, the questionnaire asked questions about how well they thought they did their job, how they felt about their job, and how they saw themselves. The study managed to obtain a sample of 292 valid responses. Campbell and Wiernik's (2015) position that motivation, skill, and knowledge serve as key mediators in the relationship between all distal person-centred and situational latent variables and the dimensions of performance, provided a foundational point of departure for our theorising. This study hypothesised 11 person-centred latent variables as direct and indirect determinants of performance of a non-managerial employee on 3 latent competencies. A structural model was created illustrating 18 different path-specific hypotheses that collectively formed the overarching substantive research hypothesis. The explanatory latent variables that were used in the model included: Task motivation, the salience of the root needs of psychological ownership, the perceived presence of job characteristics, psychological safety, motivation to pursue the routes to psychological ownership, the three routes to psychological ownership, psychological ownership, declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge. The performance dimensions or competency variables included: task performance, effort and organisational citizenship behaviour. Good psychometric support was found for the majority of items representing the latent variables they were created to measure. The item parcel measurement model showed close model fit. Reasonable structural model fit was inferred from the reasonable fit of the comprehensive LISREL model. The analysis of the structural model parameter estimates showed that 12 out of 18 path-specific hypotheses were supported. Limitations were identified, recommendations were made for future research, practical managerial recommendations were made, and final comments were given.