Size Variation in the Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis) and Late Quaternary Climatic Change in South Africa

1996 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Klein ◽  
Kathryn Cruz-Uribe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Rock Hyrax ◽  
Mean Size ◽  
Procavia Capensis ◽  
The Relationship

The average adult size of the rock hyrax varies greatly across South Africa. Regression analysis suggests that mean hyrax size is more closely linked to precipitation than to temperature, probably because precipitation has a much greater impact on preferred hyrax food plants. The relationship between mean size and precipitation is curvilinear, such that size increases up to about 700 mm/annum and declines thereafter. This parallels a tendency for less palatable grasses to replace more palatable ones where rainfall exceeds 700 mm/annum. In conjunction with other indicators of past climate, hyrax size variation can be used to reconstruct precipitation history near deeply stratified South African late Quaternary sites, including Elands Bay Cave, Die Kelders Cave 1, and Nelson Bay Cave.

Carnivore Size and Quaternary Climatic Change in Southern Africa

1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Klein
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Mathematical Relationship ◽  
Carnivore Species ◽  
Quantitative Estimates ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Problematic Aspect ◽  
Cool Conditions

The relationship between carnassial length and latitude south is analyzed for 17 African carnivore species to determine if individuals tend to be larger in cooler climates, as predicted by Bergmann's Rule. With modern data in support, middle and late Quaternary temperatures might then be inferred from mean carnassial length in fossil samples, such as those from Equus Cave, Elandsfontein, Sea Harvest. Duinefontein, and Swartklip in the Cape Province of South Africa. One problematic aspect of the study is the use of carnassial length and latitude as necessary but imperfect substitutes for body size and temperature, respectively. For some species, another difficulty is the relatively small number of available modern specimens, combined with their uneven latitudinal spread. Still, in 14 of the species, carnassial length does tend to increase with latitude south, while mean carnassial length in the same species tends to be greater in those fossil samples which accumulated under relatively cool conditions, as inferred from sedimentologic, palynological, or geochemical data. Given larger modern samples from a wide variety of latitudes, refinement of the mathematical relationship between carnassial length and latitude in various species may even permit quantitative estimates of past temperatures in southern Africa.

scholarly journals Commitment and the emigration intentions of South African professional nurses

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey J. Bagraim
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Employee Commitment ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Public Health Services ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Tertiary Hospitals ◽  
Quantitative Design ◽  
The Relationship

The emigration of skilled nurses from South Africa exacerbates the crisis in the provision of public health services. A descriptive, quantitative design was applied to investigate the relationship between intention to emigrate and employee commitment. Over 400 registered nurses (N = 419), working within public sector tertiary hospitals in the Western Cape, responded to a cross-sectional survey questionnaire. Three foci of employee commitment (organisational, professional and national) were examined but only national commitment significantly helped predict intention to emigrate from South Africa in the regression model (beta = -0.0525, p < 0.0001). The implications of the results obtained in this study are discussed.Die emigrasie van verpleegkundiges uit Suid-Afrika vererger die krisis in die verskaffing van gesondheidsorgdienste in die land. ’n Beskrywende, kwantitatiewe ontwerp is gebruik om die verwantskap tussen werknemertoewyding en die voorneme om te emigreer te ondersoek. Meer as 400 verpleegsters (N = 419) wat in openbare tersiêre hospitale in die Wes-Kaap werk, het op die vraelys gereageer. Drie fokusareas van toewyding (organisatories, professioneel en nasionaal) is gemeet, maar net nasionale toewyding het daartoe bygedra om emigrasievoorneme te voorspel (beta = -0.0525, p < 0.0001). Die implikasies van hierdie resultate word bespreek.

scholarly journals The relationship between the National Senior Certificate and the National Benchmark Test for accounting students at a South African university

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Riley Carpenter ◽  
◽  
Lily Roos ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Black Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Strong Correlations ◽  
Benchmark Test ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
The Relationship

The South African accounting profession needs racial transformation. Consequently, students pursuing the chartered accountant (South Africa) (CA(SA)) designation, especially at-risk Black students, require adequate support. To be successful, the support must be driven by factors influencing students’ academic performance. As prior academic performance is one such factor, this study examines the relationship between the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams and the National Benchmark Test (NBT) for students enrolled in an accounting degree at a South African university. Due to numerous moderate and strong correlations between NSC and NBT results, without multicollinearity, it was concluded that both sets of results should be considered as factors contributing to students’ academic performance. The findings highlight the need for further empirical research on NSC and NBT results as determinants of success for accounting students.

scholarly journals Spatial economic attributes of O.R. Tambo and Cape Town airport-centric developments in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masilonyane Mokhele
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
South African ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Economic Forces ◽  
Transportation Accessibility ◽  
Normative Models ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Empirical Analysis

Background: The concentration of development around airports is a topical subject on the relationship between transportation, accessibility and the distribution of land use. Notwithstanding the existing literature on the analysis of airports and surrounds, and normative models of airport-led development, extensions are required on the empirical analysis of spatial economic attributes of airports and surrounds.Objectives: Objectives of the article were twofold: firstly, to establish the economic activity mix and reasons for the location of firms on and around O.R. Tambo and Cape Town international airports; and secondly, to analyse linkages between firms on and around the two airports as well as linkages those firms have with their metropolitan, regional, national and international contexts.Method: The article focused on the South African case studies of O.R. Tambo and Cape Town international airports and used a telephone survey as the primary data collection method.Results: The article discovered that the developments around O.R. Tambo and Cape Town international airports are spatial clusters that are also linked with other airports in South Africa and beyond.Conclusion: The article extended existing knowledge by providing insights on the spatial economic characteristics of airports and surrounds. The findings can be improved upon with work on other case studies, and potentially be used as bases for extending a theoretical framework that describes and explains the spatial economic forces that drive development on and around airports.

The Relationship Between Parenting and Identity Styles Among Adolescents in South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 213-235
Author(s):  
Nicolette Vanessa Roman ◽  
Marsha van Heerden ◽  
Eugene Lee Davids ◽  
Kerstin Adonis
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Identity Styles ◽  
Identity Style ◽  
African Context ◽  
Development Of Identity ◽  
Adolescent Relationship ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter provides insight into the mother–adolescent relationship in a South African context, focusing on the relationship between identity styles and the mother’s parenting. The findings revealed that maternal involvement predicted adolescent identity style in a sample of non-White South African adolescents. Identity development is an important process in the lives of adolescents, and many changes and much decision-making occur during this phase. Maternal influence, it would seem, is vital in identity development of adolescents. As an understudied area of research in South Africa, this study offers tentative insights into the potential of harnessing the mother–adolescent relationship to enhance positive development of identity style and commitment.

scholarly journals Land, group identities and competing justice values in South Africa: Reformed perspectives on embracive justice and permeable identity formation

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nico Vorster
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Group Identities ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
The Relationship

This contribution argues that competing justice values are hindering progress in the land debate in South Africa. Two factors contribute to this state of affairs: Firstly, social justice is a multifaceted concept undergirded by a range of values. These values often stand in tension with each other, especially when it comes to intergenerational conflicts and transitional social contexts. Secondly, South African approaches to justice seem to be closely related to group identities, particular historical experiences and political interests. To address the impasse on land, we need to recalibrate our disposition to the hierarchy of justice values and the priority we assign to each value. Moreover, we need to address the relationship between justice dispositions and identities. The question posed is the following: Can reformed-theological resources add an extra ingredient to our understanding of social justice? What would be the implications of such a recalibration for our understanding of human identity? This article proposes the concept of embracing justice as orienting principle in resolving the land issue. Furthermore, it draws on reformed notions of self-denial and cross-bearing to advocate a permeable notion of identity that internalises and enacts the demands of embracive justice.

scholarly journals ‘We are having a very enjoyable game’: Britain, sport and the South African War, 1899–1902

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Donaldson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Military Personnel ◽  
Press Coverage ◽  
The South ◽  
South African War ◽  
The Military ◽  
War Stories ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Military Tradition

This article explores the relationship between sport and war in Britain during the South African War, 1899–1902. Through extensive press coverage, as well as a spate of memoirs and novels, the British public was fed a regular diet of war stories and reportage in which athletic endeavour and organized games featured prominently. This contemporary literary material sheds light on the role sport was perceived to have played in the lives and work of the military personnel deployed in South Africa. It also, however, reveals a growing unease over an amateur-military tradition which equated sporting achievement with military prowess.

scholarly journals The relationship between prophetic preaching and performing the gift of prophecy in South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben J. De Klerk
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Short Description ◽  
African Society ◽  
The South ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Prophetic Preaching ◽  
Church Life ◽  
The Gift ◽  
The Relationship

The goal of this article is to investigate the relationship between the liturgy of the worship service, where prophetic preaching is delivered, and the liturgy of life, where the gift of prophecy must be put into practice. In what way could the ‘prophets’ be equipped to become practitioners of the gift of prophecy? A short description is given of what is understood by prophetic preaching and the gift of prophecy in an effort to determine the relationship between these concepts. In a brief summary, burning questions in church life and in the South African society are addressed: in church life, the questions of extreme conservatism and extreme liberalism are scrutinised and in the South African society, corruption and inequality are investigated. In conclusion, a few guidelines are given for putting the gift of prophecy into practice in the liturgy of life.

Christianity and Secularisation in South Africa: Probing the Possible Link between Modernisation and Secularisation

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nico Vorster
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
Max Weber ◽  
The Third ◽  
African Experience ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Relationship

The secularisation theory of Max Weber states that modernisation inevitably leads to the decline of religion. This theory has in recent years been challenged by the desecularisation theories of various sociologists and philosophers. This article probes the possible link between modernisation and secularisation through a case study of the Republic of South Africa. South Africa is an important case study because it went through a rapid process of modernisation from the 1990s onwards. The first section examines the secularisation thesis of Weber and his supporters, as well as theories of desecularisation. The second section discusses the periods of anti-modernisation (1910–90) and modernisation (1990–2012) in South Africa. The third section analyses statistical data on the state of religion in South Africa, while the last section offers some concluding remarks on the relationship between modernisation and secularisation in South Africa thus far. The finding of the article is that the South African experience indicates that modernisation has an impact on religion, but the effect is not necessarily one of a decline in religion. In South Africa, modernisation has led to the decline of religion in some communities and the rejuvenation of religion in others. The effect of modernisation on religion seems to depend on its interaction with a range of other social factors.

scholarly journals On the relationship between maxillary molar root shape and jaw kinematics in Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 180825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kornelius Kupczik ◽  
Viviana Toro-Ibacache ◽  
Gabriele A. Macho
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Shape Analysis ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
East African ◽  
Australopithecus Africanus ◽  
Maxillary Molar ◽  
Dietary Niche ◽  
The Relationship

Plio-Pleistocene hominins from South Africa remain poorly understood. Here, we focus on how Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus exploited and—in part—partitioned their environment. Specifically, we explore the extent to which first maxillary molar roots (M 1 ) are oriented and thus, by proxy, estimate the direction of loads habitually exerted on the chewing surface. Landmark-based shape analysis of M 1 root reconstructions of 26 South African hominins and three East African Paranthropus boisei suggest that A. africanus may have been able to dissipate the widest range of laterally directed loads. Paranthropus robustus and P. boisei , despite having overlapping morphologies, differ in aspects of root shape/size, dento-cranial morphologies, microwear textures and C4 food consumption. Hence, while Paranthropus monophyly cannot be excluded, equivalence of dietary niche can. The South African hominins occupied distinct ecological niches, whereby P. robustus appears uniquely adapted to dissipate antero-posteriorly directed loads.

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