A New Approach to Quantifying Raw Material Selectivity in the African Acheulean: Perspectives from Angola and South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Isis Mesfin ◽  
Matt G. Lotter ◽  
Maria Helena Benjamim

Abstract In southern Africa, the use of gravel outcrops has been recorded at a range of Earlier Stone Age sites, and this raises questions about the diversity of raw material sourcing practices adopted by hominins. To assess the existence of sourcing strategies, this study details a new morphometric analysis method that investigates the influence of pebble and cobble shape at two Acheulean case-study sites: Dungo IV (Benguela Province, Angola) and Penhill Farm (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa). Since these assemblages present frequent pebble and cobble artefacts, we investigate these to identify raw material blank properties to then establish whether these properties were intentionally selected for. To do so, we analyse each archaeological sample separately via a technological and morphometrical approach and then compare them with geological samples obtained during fieldwork survey. Overall, these two case studies provide some illustration of variable selection strategies within the southern African coastal plain.

2021 ◽  
pp. 002087282096742
Author(s):  
Emmison Muleya

Successful social reintegration is critical if we are to reduce recidivism and crime in general. This voice of people article presents a background case for why effective offender reintegration services are key in South Africa, and the Eastern Cape in particular, through an example of the Offender Reintegration programme rendered by the National Institute of Crime Prevention and Reintegration of Offenders (NICRO). Apart from the paucity of literature on offender reintegration, very few voices from people working directly with these former offenders are ever heard. Therefore, this article seeks to address this gap by contributing to the body of knowledge on offender social reintegration.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Junior Choruma ◽  
Oghenekaro Nelson Odume

Globally, farmers remain the key ecosystem managers responsible for increasing food production while simultaneously reducing the associated negative environmental impacts. However, research investigating how farmers’ agricultural management practices are influenced by the values they assign to ecosystem services is scarce in South Africa. To address this gap, a survey of farmers’ agricultural management practices and the values they assigned towards ecosystem services was conducted in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Results from the survey show that farmers assign a high value on food provisioning ecosystem services compared to other ecosystem services. Irrigation and fertiliser decisions were mostly based on achieving maximum crop yields or good crop quality. The majority of farmers (86%) indicated a willingness to receive payments for ecosystem services (PES) to manage their farms in a more ecosystems-oriented manner. To encourage farmers to shift from managing ecosystems for single ecosystem services such as food provision to managing ecosystems for multiple ecosystem services, market-oriented plans such as PES may be employed. Effective measures for sustainable intensification of food production will depend on the inclusion of farmers in the development of land management strategies and practices as well as increasing farmers’ awareness and knowledge of the ecosystem services concept.


Water Policy ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 998-1014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jai K. Clifford-Holmes ◽  
Carolyn G. Palmer ◽  
Chris J. de Wet ◽  
Jill H. Slinger

At the centre of the water law reform process initiated by the first democratic government of the Republic of South Africa (RSA) lay the challenge of transforming away from apartheid water injustices. Reform culminated in the promulgation of new legislation, regarded internationally as ambitious and forward-thinking legislation reflective of the broad aims of integrated water resource management (IWRM). However, implementation of this legislation has been challenging. This paper analyses institutional dysfunction in water management in the Sundays River Valley Municipality (Eastern Cape Province, RSA). A transdisciplinary approach is taken in addressing the failure of national law and policy to enable the delivery of effective water services in post-apartheid RSA. A case study is used to explore interventions to promote effective water supply, locating these interventions and policies within the legislative structures and frameworks governing the water sector. We suggest that fine-grained institutional analysis together with learning from persistent iterative, adaptive practice, with principled goals intact, offers a pragmatic and achievable alternative to grand-scale policy change.


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 623-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Wall ◽  
O. Ive ◽  
J. Bhagwan ◽  
F. Kirwan ◽  
W. Birkholtz ◽  
...  

Having viewed the successful social franchising partnerships pilot programme that serviced sanitation facilities at 400 schools in the Butterworth District of the Eastern Cape of South Africa, the Amathole District Municipality (ADM) expressed interest in exploring how well the partnership model could empty household pit latrines in its jurisdiction. The impact and effectiveness of the model was demonstrated by the emptying, by five franchisees over a period of only six weeks, of the contents of 400 household ventilated improved pit latrines in Govan Mbeki Village, and the safe disposal of their content. The paper describes the methods and results in removal and disposal of faecal sludge. Problems were encountered, and the solutions (technical, institutional and social) are described. Not unexpectedly, the amount of effort involved in this work – including time, training required, equipment required and ingenuity – varied enormously. The main variables included the type of top structure, the nature of the pit contents, whether or not there was broad consistency of type and contents in an area, distances (between pits, from home base to work site, from pits to disposal site, from location of specialized equipment to work site), logistical delays (e.g. non-arrival of equipment) and bureaucratic hold-ups (especially payment delays).


2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-32
Author(s):  
Tshepiso Jonathan SETOKOE ◽  

This article investigates the viability of community-based tourism (CBT) in support of socio-economic development and poverty alleviation through a case study in Nqileni Village, Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. This was done through data solicited using a qualitative research approach amongst residents of Nqileni village in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The data collected was then analysed using NVivo system, version 11, which provided substance to the research through the creation of a comprehensive observation report. The results indicated a positive view of members of the community relating to the contribution of CBT to community development (socio-economics) and poverty alleviation.


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