KwaZulu-Natal Province Of South Africa Research Articles

Decolonizing the Teaching and Learning of Indigenous Nguni Music Instruments in Higher Institutions of Learning in South Africa

This is an ethnographic study which was carried out to determine appropriate and effective models, approaches, strategies and techniques, for the transmission of Indigenous African Music (IAM), as practised in the communities of Tsembeyi village in the Eastern Cape Province and Impunga Village in KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa to the institutions of higher learning. The research explored pedagogical intervention measures for transplanting the teaching and learning of indigenous Nguni music instruments at Walter Sisulu University. This enquiry is underpinned by the praxial and Ubuntu theories, which ensure that participants are practically involved in doing, making, and experiencing learning as a collective. The study adopted an interpretive paradigm entrenched in a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews and participant observation were administered to collect data from 13 preservice music teachers including the main researcher and 3 community music experts drawn from the amaXhosa and AmaZulu, who are part of the Nguni nation in the Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. The thematic analysis revealed that the importance of engagement of the community in teaching and learning Nguni music instruments, underlying philosophical knowledge, and the understanding and approach to the construction and playing of IAM instruments. The authors argue for the possibility of breaking down the barriers of marginalization, and discrimination and celebrating human capabilities through the use of local resources and engagement of the community, thus, striking a meaningful and appropriate balance between the approaches that are used in traditional communities and institutions of higher learning. Keywords: Decolonization, Transmission, Curriculum, Indigenous African Music, and Nguni.

Tourism Entrepreneurial Education and Intention Among Youths: A Case from KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa

This paper explores the relationship between entrepreneurial education (ED) and youths’ entrepreneurial intention (EI) towards starting tourism businesses. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The study used purposive sampling method of the non-probability sampling design to select 400 youths living in different regions of the King Cetshwayo District Municipality (KCDM), KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. The methodology employed partial least squares - structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS software version 4.0.8.5 to assess the relationships among the construct variables. The results show a significant positive relationship between entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial intention. Recommendations are offered to the KCDM decision-makers (business support offices), National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), as well as Tourism KwaZulu-Natal to encourage youth entrepreneurship. South African higher education leaders and policymakers can benefit from these findings.

Trace detection of perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate in surface sediments using a liquid chromatograph coupled to an electrospray ionization single quadrupole mass spectrometer (LC-ESI–Q-MS)

Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are among the pollutants of environmental concern besides pharmaceuticals and personal care products, microplastics, and other persistent organic pollutants. Of all the different PFASs reportedly present in the environment, the most researched are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). In this study, these pollutants were detected using a precise, selective, and sensitive liquid chromatographic-electrospray ionization single quadrupole mass spectrometric (LC-ESI–Q-MS) method within a linear range of 0.002–0.02 μg/mL. The method developed was thereafter validated according to the ICH validation parameters. This method was used to monitor PFOA and PFOS in selected surface sediments collected within the environs of two prominent rivers in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa: Umgeni and Palmiet Rivers. While the PFOA levels varied from not detected to 1.490 ng/g dw, and PFOS levels ranged from 0.206 ng/g dw to 0.426 ng/g dw, the total PFOA and PFOS concentration (∑ PFOA and ∑ PFOS) in the surface sediment samples collected were 7.50 ng/g dw and 2.79 ng/g dw, respectively. The percent positive occurrence of PFOA and PFOS in all the tested sediment samples was 81.8 % and 100 %, respectively. This study becomes an eye opener to the commencement of research works with respect to developing remediation strategies for the removal of PFAS in the environment, especially the African environment.

Distribution, habitat and vulnerability to climate change of the Endangered Leptopelis xenodactylus

ABSTRACT Leptopelis xenodactylus is a little-known, Endangered species of frog that is thought to be endemic to the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. In an effort to determine the distribution of this species more accurately, a working species distribution model was created for use in searching for more populations over a period of three breeding seasons. Twenty-one more wetlands containing the frog were discovered and a second species distribution model was created for use in spatial planning applications. Leptopelis xenodactylus occurs primarily in temperate, alluvial hummock wetlands in U-shaped valleys at mid-altitudes in southwestern KwaZulu-Natal. The extent of occurrence and area of occupancy of L. xenodactylus were recalculated including the new records and have increased by 9% and 429%, respectively. The known localities for L. xenodactylus were analysed in relation to the predictions of two downscaled climate change models and a vulnerability framework. Climate change was found to be a potentially significant threat to L. xenodactylus according to the downscaled HadMC2 model and the vulnerability framework, potentially affecting up to 80.5% of the geographic range, but not according to the downscaled GFDL2.1 model and the vulnerability framework which indicated that up to 22% of the geographic range might be affected. The better understanding of the distribution and habitat of L. xenodactylus and of the potential combined impact of climate change and land transformation on the species gained through this study will assist in improving its conservation management.

Modeling the effect of imported malaria on the elimination programme in KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.

with imported malaria cases in a given population, the question arises as to what extent the local cases are a consequence of the imports or not. We perform a modeling analysis for a specific area, in a region aspiring for malaria-free status. data on malaria cases over ten years is subjected to a compartmental model which is assumed to be operating close to the equilibrium state. Two of the parameters of the model are fitted to the decadal data. The other parameters in the model are sourced from the literature. The model is utilized to simulate the malaria prevalence with or without imported cases. in any given year the annual average of 460 imported cases, resulted in an end-of-year season malaria prevalence of 257 local active infectious cases, whereas without the imports the malaria prevalence at the end of the season would have been fewer than 10 active infectious cases. We calculate the numerical value of the basic reproduction number for the model, which reveals the extent to which the disease is being eliminated from the population or not. without the imported cases, over the ten seasons of malaria, 2008-2018, the KwaZulu-Natal province would have been malaria-free over at least the last 7 years of the decade indicated. This simple methodology works well even in situations where data is limited.

An assessment of survey techniques using unmanned aerial vehicles to monitor Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus)

Monitored populations of the Nile crocodile Crocodylus niloticus at the southern end of its distribution, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, are largely in decline. Trophy hunting of wild Nile crocodiles is only permitted at Pongolapoort Dam in the province, and monitoring of this population is required to enable the setting of annual hunting quotas. The aims of this study were to determine the feasibility of using drones to count and measure Nile crocodiles in the inlet to the dam and evaluate the utility of photomosaics, individual photographs, and videos for this purpose. A total of 16.5 km of shoreline was surveyed and 183 sub-adult and adult crocodiles observed, averaging 10.74 crocodiles per kilometer. The use of drones was cost-effective compared to traditional survey methods even though a higher number of person hours were required for data collection and processing. We recommend that drones be used to acquire video footage, supplemented by photomosaics in areas where large aggregations of crocodiles occur, to regularly monitor this crocodile population.

Internal Migration: An Analysis of Associated Risks and Vulnerabilities of Women and Youth in KwaZulu-Natal

The abolition of the apartheid regime and the democratic process of 1994 led to the freedom of movement within South Africa. According to data, KwaZulu-Natal has had the second-highest rate of migration since 2000. The labour market and the provision of services are significantly impacted by these migration patterns. This paper analyses the migration patterns of young people in KwaZulu-Natal, as it examines the associated risks and vulnerabilities. The primary data for the study was obtained from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Development and International Organisation for Migration, unpublished report based on research it commissioned in 2014. The target population of this study comprises people between the ages of 15-39 years old from all 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal as they are more likely to migrate. Multi-stage sampling was used to select the clusters, households and ultimately the individuals to be surveyed. A cross-sectional survey of 1783 respondents were selected from various households in KwaZulu-Natal. For the purposes of this paper, the traditional literature review approach is adopted. Findings indicated that most of the young people who migrated did so for economic reasons. Findings also indicated that the migrants were exposed to health risks, gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, contracting and spreading human immunodeficiency virus as well as exposure to danger to life and property. The paper contributes to a deeper understanding of migration patterns and their implications within the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The theoretical framework guiding this study is the "Push and Pull theory," which helps to elucidate the factors motivating and influencing migration decisions among young people in the region.

Seed dormancy and germination responses of cannabis landraces to various pre-treatments

The current study evaluated the effectiveness of different pre-treatments for dormancy breaking and seed germination of five cannabis landraces. These landraces were collected from local growers in three regions of KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa, namely, Bergville (B), Hammersdale (H), and Ladysmith (L). Each genotype was assigned an alphabet and number based on where the seed material was collected. The five landraces were as follows, ‘B1’, ‘K1’, ‘H1’, ‘L1’, and ‘L2’. The study was conducted using various pre-treatments, including potassium nitrate (KNO3), hydrochloric acid (HCL), hot water (HW) at 70 °C, nitric acid (HNO3), dry prechilling at 10 °C, gibberellic acid (GA3), sulfuric acid (H2SO4), and water, which served as the control. Before the germination test, the seed viability of cannabis landraces was assessed using the tetrazolium chloride (TCC) test. Afterward, the seeds were germinated in Petri dishes with cotton pads moistened with distilled water for five (5) days. The study was later validated under tunnel conditions. The parameters such as germination percentage, germination rate, seedling length, and seed vigour index of the germinated seeds were then measured. The landraces, dormancy breaking treatments, and their interactions showed significant differences (p < 0.001) in germination percentage, germination rate index, seedling length, and seed vigour index under both laboratory and tunnel conditions. In summary, GA3, KNO3 and prechilling were the most effective pre-treatments to improve the germination and seedling growth of cannabis genotypes and breaking seed dormancy. Therefore, it was concluded that cannabis genotypes had physiological dormancy.

Remote Sensing-Based Outdoor Thermal Comfort Assessment in Local Climate Zones in the Rural–Urban Continuum of eThekwini Municipality, South Africa

Due to the need to continuously monitor and understand the thermal environment and its socioeconomic implications, this study used remotely sensed data to analyze thermal comfort variation in LCZs, including along the rural to urban gradient of the eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. LCZs were mapped using multi-temporal and multi-spectral Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 data using the approach by World Urban Database and Access Portal Tools (WUDAPT), while thermal data were used to retrieve land surface temperatures (LSTs). Data for training classification of LCZs and accuracy assessment were digitized from GoogleEarth guided by knowledge gained and data collected during a field survey in March 2022 as well as pre-existing maps. LCZs were mapped using the random forest classifier in SAGA GIS software while a single channel algorithm based on band 10 was used to compute LST for different scenes. The LSTs were adjusted and further used to derive thermal comfort based on the Universal Thermal Comfort Index (UTCI) categories as an indicator for outdoor thermal comfort on the extremely low- and extremely high-temperature periods in the cool and hot seasons, respectively. LCZs were mapped with high accuracy (overall accuracy of 90.1% and kappa of 0.88) while inter-class separability was high (&gt;1.5) for all LCZ pairs. Built-up LCZs dominate the eastern parts of the municipality, signifying the influence of the sea on development within the area. Average LST was coolest in the dense forest, open low-rise and water LCZs in the cool and hot seasons, respectively. The compact high-rise LCZ was the warmest in both the hot (36 °C) and the cool (23 °C) seasons. The sea sands were among coolest regions in both seasons due to their high water content, attributed to their high water table and close proximity to the ocean. There was no thermal stress during the cool season, while most areas recorded moderate to strong heat stress in the hot season. Some areas in the densely built-up LCZs recorded very strong heat stress in the hot season. The findings suggest that policies and strategies should enhance heat mitigation capacities in strong-heat-stress areas during the hot season. Municipal authorities and citizens must work together to build strategies to minimize temperature extremes and associated socioeconomic pressures. Urban development policies, plans and strategies should consider implications on the thermal environment as well as the value of conservation of LCZs with high-heat mitigation value such as dense forests and expansion of built-up LCZs with low-heat absorption levels such as open low-rise. The study was based mainly on remotely sensed temperatures with some ground data used to validate results, which may limit the assessment. Overall, the study provides insights towards achievement of global sustainable and climate-smart development targets.

A Qualitative Study of Employment Equity Gap Challenges: Responses and Solutions in a Local Government

Purpose: Remarking on the rife in employment discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and persons with disabilities in South Africa, sparse policy measures have been taken to address these challenges. To address this gap, the study seeks to assess the impact of employment equity (EE) implementation on the municipality and how employment equity management challenges can be mitigated.&#x0D; Design/Method/Approach: The interpretivism research philosophy and qualitative approaches were used in this study. A total of 15-unit managers were purposively recruited and interviewed in November 2021. The quality of the qualitative data was ascertained through the four indicators of trustworthiness including credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. The NVivo (v12) software was employed to identify themes, and the Content Analytical Tool was used to make sense of the themes.&#x0D; Findings: The significance of employment equity in the municipality includes increased awareness of affirmative action policy in the areas of gender equality and the promotion of organizational diversity, an upturn in employee motivation and sense of belonging irrespective of race, gender, and skin color, and the promotion of more women to the senior management level. Change in culture and orientation, management program and commitment to employment equity implementation, leadership management program, and talent identification and succession plan were shown as measures for addressing employment equity challenges.&#x0D; Practical Implications: The study recommends the application of a strategic policy as more critical to addressing the challenges of EE. This perspective indicates that EE should be strongly cherished as an instrument for the creation of a new South Africa devoid of employment discrimination. The study also recommends a more responsive evaluation, monitoring, and compliance effort of municipalities in their capacities toward addressing EE challenges. This recommendation is no doubt important as it will sustain municipalities’ efforts at maintaining challenge-free EE implementation and increased zeal for the identification of scarce skills from the designated areas to fill the vacuum of EE in the municipality.&#x0D; Originality/Value: Although there are available commentaries on the impact of EE on organizations in South Africa, the originality of this present study can be uncovered from the attempt to proffer solutions to the management of EE, specifically in the context of the eThekwini Municipality of South Africa which is sparsely researched.&#x0D; Research Limitations/Future Research: This study provides a good account of the challenges and management of EE through the qualitative account. Future studies can look at the research problem through a quantitative approach and a comparative study of municipalities can give a broader review of EE in the Kwazulu-Natal Province of South Africa.&#x0D; Paper Type: Empirical&#x0D; JEL Classification: J14, J16, J21, K31

Business studies teachers' understanding and implementation of flipped learning in technology-enhanced classrooms

There is a growing demand nowadays for teachers to shift from teacher-centred to learner-centred teaching methods. In accordance with this, novel teaching methods such as flipped learning have been devised. This study explores business studies teachers' understanding and implementation of flipped learning in technology-enhanced classrooms. This qualitative study is underpinned by an interpretive paradigm. A phenomenology research design was adopted and six business studies teachers from six secondary schools located in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa were conveniently sampled. Interviews and classroom observations were used to collect data. Thematic analysis was adopted to analyse data collected through the interviews, and data generated through classroom observations were also analysed thematically. The study found that some teachers did not fully understand and implement flipped learning. Therefore, the study recommends that teachers undergo in-service training to orientate them to novel teaching methods such as flipped learning.

The Role of Traditional Leafy Vegetables on Household Food Security in Umdoni Municipality of the KwaZulu Natal Province, South Africa.

This study assessed the effect of traditional leafy vegetables (TLVs) on the level of food security in the rural area of Dlangezwa, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. A total of 100 respondents were selected using a simple random sampling method. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) was used to measure the food security status. The influence of TLVs on household food security was examined using an ordered logit model. Pumpkin leaves and blackjack were the most consumed traditional leafy vegetables in the study area, at 97% and 81%, respectively. The results from HFIAS showed that 17% of the households were food secure, 44% were mild food insecure, 26% were moderately food insecure and 13% were severely food insecure. The results from the chi2 test showed that there was a significant correlation between the intake of cowpeas (p = 0.02), blackjack (p = 0.01), and moringa (p = 0.02) with the degree of household food security in the surveyed houses. The ordered logit model's findings indicated that consumption of leafy vegetables, educational attainment, employment status, and marital status all had a substantial impact on the food insecurity of the households. The marital status of a household showed a positive and significant impact on the food insecurity situation, while educational level, employment status, and consumption of leafy vegetables showed a negative and significant impact. For enhanced household food security, there is a need for initiatives that encourage the use of a wide range of traditional leafy vegetables such as Moringa oleifera, Amaranthus, and cowpeas. More awareness should be made regarding the nutritional benefits that TLVs have.

Pricing patterns of an indigenous goat in rural and urban communities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Agro-pastoralism plays an important role in the livelihoods of rural communities in many parts of the world. In southern Africa, small-scale rural farmers keep various kinds of livestock like goats for additional income and to meet their household needs. The objective of the study was to determine whether small-scale goat farmers obtained better prices for their animals at auctions as opposed to sales taking place at their homesteads. We quantified sales of indigenous goats that took place at homesteads and auctions, and determined the number, colour, sex, age, and the prices at which the goats were sold. We did this by collecting data on sales from 27 homesteads in the Msinga area of KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa during 2017 and 2018. Similarly, we collected data on sales at three goat auctions that took place at a rural and peri-urban centre located near Msinga and at another auction located at an urban centre distant from Msinga. All four auctions occurred between 2019 and 2022. The data were analysed using generalised linear models with a gamma distribution and log-link function. Results showed that male and female goats were sold in about equal numbers among all sales while subadult goats were more represented (55%) in the sales than adult goats (45%). At a mean price of ZAR1484.22 ± 30.23, a male goat was substantially cheaper than a female goat (R1911.81 ± 65.71) among all sales. Overall, the urban auction provided the best price, followed by homestead sales and the rural auction, and lastly the peri-urban site. Most of the animals that were not sold were returned from the peri-urban site. Adult goats fetched a significantly higher price than subadult goats, but at the auctions, this was also influenced by site, i.e. significant site × age interaction. Brown-coloured goats fetched the highest price at homesteads (R2287.50 ± 493.15) and auctions (R1965.10 ± 81.74) while black goats fetched similarly low prices of R1239.58 ± 147.37 and R1237.50 ± 519.82, respectively. Taken together, these results suggest that prices of indigenous goats sold at homesteads compare favourably or better than those obtained at local level auctions. Auctions at major urban centres may fetch higher prices but this may be offset by transport costs. Farmers may benefit from auctions when they need to sell many animals in a short time.

The Minibus Taxi Industry’s Communication Strategies in Dealing with Linguistic Diversity on the Way to Business Leadership: The Case of South Africa

Informal businesses, such as the minibus taxi industry, positively contribute to the country’s economy whilst providing an essential public transport service to the linguistically diverse communities of multilingual South Africa. The systematisation of the scientific literature on the development of the minibus taxi industry proved the absence of comprehensive studies aimed at understanding the communication strategies that taxi operators use among themselves and when interacting with passengers. This paper aims to investigate the types of language strategies that take place in six taxi associations in which IsiZulu and English are the two dominant languages. This investigation is conducted against the multilingual context of the country and its attractiveness as an international and domestic tourist destination to determine how the business leadership in the taxi industry responds. The article’s theoretical framework draws from the transformative paradigm as it enables one to explore the experiences of marginalised communities. In this case, the marginalised communities are the taxi operators who stand to benefit from appropriate communication strategies. By taking the initiative and showing “agency”, they direct their efforts to solve existing problems in communication with passengers. The qualitative approach was adopted as a research methodology in which the researcher selected a structured interview approach. It involved interviews with twenty-four taxi operators and drivers who were purposefully selected in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The participants gave an account of their experiences of bi-/multilingualism in the taxi industry during taxi association meetings, when interacting informally among themselves and in their communication with passengers. The results of the analysis of the responses of the respondents showed that the communication strategies used to mediate challenges posed by linguistic diversity are translation, interpretation, slang and language dominance. It is concluded that through their agency and by taking initiatives to deal with linguistic challenges in the eThekwini taxi industry, the economically marginalised are to be commended for being able to resolve impediments to their economic growth.

An inventory and analysis of the medicinal plants of Mozambique

Ethnopharmacological relevanceA comprehensive checklist and analysis of medicinal plant species and their uses in Mozambique, and a comparison with South Africa provided a more profound understanding of the broad concept of Traditional African Medicine as a healing culture and the need for a more informative classification system. Aims of the studyThis study was aimed at recording all medicinal plants reported in Mozambique according to literature and answer four main questions. 1. How many medicinal plant species have been recorded for Mozambique? Of those, how many are indigenous to Mozambique, and how many are introduced or cultivated exotics? 2. What are the main medicinal uses in Mozambique and which species are used for which ailments? 3. What are the similarities and differences between the medicinal floras of Mozambique and South Africa – are the same species used for the same ailments and is there evidence of cultural exchange? 4. Do the data provide new insights into Traditional African Medicine as one of the oldest medicine systems in the world? Materials and methodsA literature survey was done to compile the medicinal checklist of Mozambique using 29 available literature sources, which were found from published books, journal articles, reports, unpublished theses, dissertations, and online databases. ResultsA total of 731 medicinal plant species and infraspecific taxa from 447 genera and 120 families was recorded for Mozambique. Of these, 590 (81%) are indigenous, and 87 are non-indigenous (50 naturalised and 37 cultivated exotics). Of the 731 medicinal plant species, 494 (68%) are also used medicinally in South Africa and 148 (30%) are used for the same or similar ailments. Many of the shared taxa and uses have been recorded in the adjoining KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa, which has similar vegetation types. ConclusionThe similarity between Mozambique and South Africa (and especially the KwaZulu-Natal Province) not only suggest an exchange of traditional knowledge but also indicates the existence of a hitherto unnamed medicinal system of the southern and eastern African Bantu-speaking cultures that is in need of detailed comparative studies.

Physical Sciences Teacher’s Epistemic Cognition on Electric Circuits and their Science Teaching Practice

Although a wide range of studies have been conducted on teachers' cognition and their beliefs. The relationship between teachers' epistemic cognition and their teaching practices has rarely been studied. This study aimed to investigate how physical science teachers' epistemic cognition relates to their teaching practices on electric circuits. A mixed-method explanatory sequential design was adopted for this study. A purposive sampling technique was used to sample participants from the accessible population in uMkhanyakude District KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. A total number of forty Further Education and Training (FET) Physical Sciences teachers formed the sample. A survey (questionnaire level 5 Likert scale) and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The Model of Teacher Epistemic Cognition was employed as the theoretical framework. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study showed that physical science teachers’ teaching practices are strongly correlated to ECS (Epistemic Cognition Source), ECJ (Epistemic Cognition Justification), SEA (Simple Epistemic Aim), and ECC (Epistemic Cognition Certainty). Furthermore, there was a negative correlation between complex epistemic aims with teaching practice which accounted for why teachers do not teach electric circuits for conceptual understanding but rather algorithmically mathematical knowledge. Implications for teaching practices particular to electric circuits are discussed. The findings have implications for teaching science and further research into epistemic cognition.

Wastewater profiling of illicit drugs, an estimation of community consumption: A case study of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa

Estimation of community-wide consumption of illicit drugs through wastewater analysis is a new concept in Africa although widely applied in developed nations as wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). It is an important tool that can be used in understanding supply and demand patterns of illicit drug use on a local, national, and international scale. Information on illicit drug use is currently limited in Africa, because of a lack of monitoring structures by governments and financial constraints. This study hopes to bridge that gap by contributing to Africa's baseline information on illicit drug use. This study provides the first application of wastewater analysis to quantitatively evaluate daily illicit drug use in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa by quantifying the major urinary excreted metabolites, called drug target residues (DTRs), in raw wastewater from four major wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) sampled for a week. The results showed that cocaine was the dominant illicit drug consumed in the catchment followed by amphetamine, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, with a per capita use of 360–3000 mg day−1 1000 inh−1, 47–800 mg day−1 1000 inh−1, 19–120 mg day −1 1000 inh−1, not detected (ND) to 4.9 mg day−1 1000 inh−1, and ND to 410 g day−1 1000 inh−1 respectively. The weekly usage patterns between the four WWTPs differed probably due to the lifestyle of the populace serving the different WWTPs. These results provide useful data on illicit drug use in eThekwini that can be utilised by public health agencies to implement suitable response strategies.

State-of-the-Art Deep Learning Methods for Objects Detection in Remote Sensing Satellite Images.

Introduction: Object detection in remotely sensed satellite images is critical to socio-economic, bio-physical, and environmental monitoring, necessary for the prevention of natural disasters such as flooding and fires, socio-economic service delivery, and general urban and rural planning and management. Whereas deep learning approaches have recently gained popularity in remotely sensed image analysis, they have been unable to efficiently detect image objects due to complex landscape heterogeneity, high inter-class similarity and intra-class diversity, and difficulty in acquiring suitable training data that represents the complexities, among others. Methods: To address these challenges, this study employed multi-object detection deep learning algorithms with a transfer learning approach on remotely sensed satellite imagery captured on a heterogeneous landscape. In the study, a new dataset of diverse features with five object classes collected from Google Earth Engine in various locations in southern KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa was used to evaluate the models. The dataset images were characterized with objects that have varying sizes and resolutions. Five (5) object detection methods based on R-CNN and YOLO architectures were investigated via experiments on our newly created dataset. Conclusions: This paper provides a comprehensive performance evaluation and analysis of the recent deep learning-based object detection methods for detecting objects in high-resolution remote sensing satellite images. The models were also evaluated on two publicly available datasets: Visdron and PASCAL VOC2007. Results showed that the highest detection accuracy of the vegetation and swimming pool instances was more than 90%, and the fastest detection speed 0.2 ms was observed in YOLOv8.

‘Were the Fathers Available?’: An Evaulation of Fathers’ Involvement in Emergency Remote Eeducation of Learners who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing

Prior to the emergence of the coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19), studies revealed lower involvement of fathers in the education of learners who are Deaf and Hard of hearing (LDHH). Although research evidence reveals that work structure and other commitments may be responsible for fathers’ limited involvement in the education of their children, there is limited research evidence in existence on the involvement of fathers of LDHH in remote education during the COVID-19 lockdowns. This study therefore explored fathers’ involvement in the remote education of their LDHH, based on the mothers’ perceptions. Hinged on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, two research questions were raised and answered in the study. Eight mothers of LDHH from KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa participated in this qualitative study. Data was gathered via a semi-structured telephonic interview, and the collected data was analysed thematically. The findings revealed that: (i) the involvement of fathers in the remote education of LDHH saw a fair increase during the lockdowns when compared to the pre-COVID-19 era; (ii) father-child communication competencies (especially in terms of sign language), the fathers’ ability to provide the technical devices needed for remote education, and their ability to intervene promptly during technical difficulties were factors that influenced the perceptions of the fathers’ involvement in the remote education of LDHH during the lockdowns. Based on the findings, appropriate recommendations were made for policy and practice.

The clinicopathological spectrum and treatment outcomes in metastatic colorectal cancer in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.

In high-income countries (HICs) 17-20% of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients have metastatic CRC (mCRC) at the time of diagnosis, of which 10-25% are or become resectable, and a further 4-11% of patients will develop metachronous metastases. The study aimed to establish the prevalence and pattern of metastatic CRC to document treatment outcomes in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), and to compare results to international norms. The study population comprised patients with mCRC presenting between 2000 and 2019. Demographics, primary tumour site, spectrum of metastatic disease and resection rate were assessed. MCRC occurred in 33% of the CRC patient population. Eight hundred and thirty-six patients had metastatic disease, comprising Africans (325, 38.8%), Indians (312, 37.3%), Coloureds (37, 4.4%) and Whites (161, 19.2%). Six hundred and fifty-four patients (79%) had synchronous metastases and 182 patients had metachronous metastases (21%). Single organ metastases occurred in 596 patients (71.2%) (M1A) and multiple organ metastasis occurred in 240 patients (28.7%) (M1B). Metastases occurred in the liver (613), lung (240) and peritoneum (85). Fifty-two patients (6.2%) underwent resection of their metastases. The prevalence of stage IV CRC in our setting is at the upper limit of international norms. mCRC occurred in 33%, with similar proportions in all races. Resection rate for metastases is low.