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Literary representation of home and dislocation, trauma, healing and African spirituality in Niq Mhlongo’s way back home (2013) and Mongane Wally Serote’s.
(2024) Mazibuko, Ntando.; Dimitriu, Ileana.
This dissertation analyses the literary representations of collective disillusionment and emotional dislocation in contemporary South Africa as illustrated in Niq Mhlongo’s Way Back Home (2013) and Mongane Wally Serote’s Rumours (2013). In particular, I am interested in how the protagonists’ repressed memories of apartheid-induced trauma manifest themselves in the present, and how individuals attempt to process traumatic ‘hauntedness’ through practicing various forms of African spirituality as anchored in traditional indigenous knowledge.
Through an engagement with relevant critical theories and concepts – home, trauma and African spirituality – this dissertation explores the novelistic representations of the ex-political exiles’ emotional dislocation upon returning to South Africa in the early 1990s. I also examine the impact of past traumatic memories on the protagonists’ narrative present and further explore aspects of traditional indigenous knowledge and spirituality that may assist in one’s search for cultural identity, belonging and emotional healing from traumatic memories of past historical trauma.
Both novels present protagonists who have spent many years as political exiles serving under the armed wing of the ANC, uMkhonto we Sizwe, and who – upon returning to their homeland – struggle to integrate themselves into a rapidly changing society. Not only do they feel ‘unhomed’ and alienated, but they are also disenchanted with present-day post-transitional social circumstances. Their emotional dislocation is heightened by the repressed traumatic memories that infringe on their present, and threaten their future. To overcome their traumatic ‘hauntedness,’ both protagonists seek emotional healing through an engagement with traditional healers and indigenous healing methods. However, of the two protagonists, only Serote’s successfully uplifts himself from traumatic ‘hauntedness’ and finds belonging in the present.
My main interest in this dissertation is to explore how Serote and Mhlongo suggest ways in which the protagonists hope to process their traumatic ‘hauntedness’ through recourse to African spirituality and traditional indigenous knowledge. Although only Serote’s protagonist actually manages to still the demons of his past trauma, through an in-depth analysis, I suggest that both writers – Serote and Mhlongo – strongly advocate the need for one’s reconnection with indigenous culture, healing practices and spirituality.
"Ruffled feathers" the lives of five difficult women in Durban in the 20th Century: a study of the lives and contributions of Mabel Palmer, Killie Campbell, Sibusisiwe Makanya, Dr Goonam and Phyllis Naidoo.
(1997) Noble, Vanessa.; Burns, Catherine E.
Abstract available in PDF.
The strategic impact of resilience on performance optimisation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Manzini region, Eswatini.
(2024) Kule, Julius Warren.; Kanyangale, MacDonald.
Disruptions in the micro and business environments have highlighted the need to develop resilient capabilities to optimise the performance of SMEs. However, existing research findings on resilience remain inconclusive. This quantitative study investigated the strategic impact of resilience on the performance optimisation of SMEs in Eswatini. A gate keeper’s letter was obtained granting permission to collect data. Using a cross-sectional design, census sampling and self-administered questionnaires, data was collected from 206 owners/managers of SMEs in the Manzini region of Eswatini. Cronbach’s alpha was used to test reliability while confirmatory factor analysis was used to validate the findings. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Before the analysis, the study conducted fit indices to determine the appropriateness of the data with the selected analysis method. All fit indices showed positive results, thus allowing the analysis to proceed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Data on gender, age, highest level of education, role in the SME, number of years in role, age of the business, and whether the company is involved in planning were descriptively analysed. Five hypotheses were tested for significance in inferential statistics. Pearson’s correlation coefficient, multiple regression analysis and (SEM) via lavan package syntax from R-studio in JASP 0.18.2. Results of the study revealed a significant relationship between resilience and performance optimisation of SMEs in the Manzini region, Eswatini. The tested, integrated model showed that strategic foresight and absorptive capacity have a direct and significant relationship with performance optimisation of SMEs, while strategic orientation was determined to predict the resilience of owners/managers of SMEs. However, defender and reactor orientations were dropped for linear regression analysis because of poor factor loading. The study developed an integrated resilience model with a multi-dimensional perspective to optimise the performance of SMEs, incorporating strategic orientation, strategic foresight and absorptive capacity.The study contributes knowledge on SME resilience and performance by developing an integrative model of SME resilience. The model is useful to future researchers, policy makers, owner-managers and is recommended for adoption in Eswatini and similar contexts because of its holistic nature in understanding and creating resilience in SMEs. Future areas for research are highlighted.
Development of a permanent vacuum prism air refractometer for accurate compensation of the refractive index of air as used in dimensional metrology.
(2025) Kruger, Oelof Abraham.; Chetty, Naven.
The refractive index has a wide range of applications, and it is used in many different areas of measurement, such as in thin films, sugar contents in beverages and wine, and the medical industry. Compensation of the refractive index of air has been required since the speed of light was measured accurately enough to require a correction for the medium in which it travels. There have been various research advances to measure the refractive index of numerous mediums more accurately, to keep up with technological advances and the increase in accuracy required. Metrology requires accurate refractive index measurements since it is critical in the definition of the SI units of the metre. Even more so since 2019 with the new definitions of the SI, which is based on physical constants, the kilogram and the Kelvin and the derived unit for pressure, the pascal. This research focussed on length and dimensional metrology where the SI unit, the metre is defined in terms of the speed of light in a vacuum. While the definition of the metre is in terms of the speed of light in a vacuum, most dimensional measurements are performed in the air. The refractive index requires to be measured and correctly applied to the velocity of the light during the measurements compared to the speed of light in a vacuum for more accurate computation of the metre. This research was motivated by technical limitations observed in existing refractometers. Previous studies where the author researched, designed, and built a low-cost tube refractometer with adequate accuracy to perform the required compensation to the velocity of the laser light during dimensional measurements. However, there were drawbacks to this design; mainly the use of a vacuum pump every time a refractive index measurement needs to be made. This led to unwanted heat generation around the measuring area and drawing a vacuum each time a measurement was made increased the likelihood of dust particles entering the vacuum tube, which may cause the refraction of the laser beams through these particles and thereby reducing the accuracy of the measurement. Adding another notable drawback is the deformation of side windows under vacuum conditions, which alters their thickness and, consequently, the optical path length. Such variations can significantly influence the accuracy of refractive index measurements. These limitations highlighted the need for improved refractometer designs, ultimately leading to the development of more stable and accurate measurement techniques researched in this study. This research work focused on the design, building, and testing of a refractometer for the compensation of the velocity of the light compensations that does not require the use of a vacuum pump every time a measurement has to be made. The custom-designed and built refractometer uses a permanent vacuum as the reference etalon. In the first design an additional laser beam was incorporated to improve the zero-measurement stability, while the second design introduces an innovative method for the refractive index measurement based on a Fizeau interferometer configuration. The system is simple, cost-effective and highly accurate for use in everyday dimensional measurements. The results showed that although simple in design, the refractometer is accurate to approximately 2,7 x 10-8, which meets the initial conditions for the design and compares favourably with published values obtained through the use of more expensive and specialised techniques.
Theoretical investigation of second electric-field-induced second-harmonic-generation (ESHG) virial coefficients.
(2025) Jacob, Roshna Mariam.; Couling, Vincent William.
The molecular theory of the second electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation (ESHG) virial coefficient Bγ describing the effects of interacting pairs of molecules on the molecular hyperpolarizability is reviewed, and then extended to include contributions arising from the permanent electric quadrupole moments and the dipole-dipole-quadrupole hyperpolarizabilities of the molecules. The classical long-range dipole–induced-dipole model is used to describe the interactions between pairs of molecules. The molecular (hyper)polarizability tensor components required in the calculations have been obtained by ab initio computation using DALTON. This investigation has been limited to non-dipolar species, where the permanent electric quadrupole moment is the leading multipole moment. The expressions obtained for contributions to Bγ are evaluated numerically for the H2, N2, CO2 and C2H4 molecules. For CO2 and C2H4, the quadrupole-induced and dipole-dipole-quadrupole hyperpolarizability contributions become significant, and the calculated Bγ virial coefficients indicate that the pair-interaction contributions arising for CO2 and for C2H4 are large enough to be comfortably measurable by Shelton’s ESHG apparatus and electrode arrays.