Browsing by Author "Dlamini, Sifiso"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Teachers’ ICT Adoption in South African Rural Schools: A Study of Technology Readiness and Implications for the South Africa Connect Broadband Policy
    (2019-12-06) Mwapwele, Samuel Dick; Marais, Mario; Dlamini, Sifiso; Van Biljon, Judy
    The South Africa Connect national broadband policy of 2013 aims to ensure that the country achieves universal internet access by 2030, thereby fostering digital skills development. This study investigates one dimension of the South Africa Connect policy objectives, by considering rural teachers’ adoption of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for teaching and learning at 24 schools. This research used baseline data from the Information and Communication Technology for Education (ICT4E) project undertaken in rural schools in seven South African provinces. The technology readiness index (TRI) was used as the theoretical lens. We found that the vast majority of the teachers surveyed were optimistic about the use of ICTs for teaching and learning, which suggests teachers’ readiness to use ICTs despite the existing financial, technical and digital skills challenges at their schools. We also found that the majority of the schools had policies prohibiting student use of personal digital devices, apart from calculators, on school premises. In our analysis, these policies potentially conflict with the objectives of South Africa Connect. This study contributes to theory and practice by offering empirical evidence of the usefulness of the TRI for presenting teachers’ readiness to adopt ICTs in situations of conflicting forces. The study also has the potential to contribute to policy deliberations by highlighting the possible disconnect between the schools’ bans on student personal digital devices and the objectives and targets set by the South Africa Connect policy.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Impacts of Ungulate Foraging on Small Mammal Diversity in a Protected Site and Livestock Grazing Site
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-09) Dlamini, Sifiso; Linhsan, Emmanuel Do; Madikiza, Kim
    Vegetation cover and food availability are important determinants of how favourable an area is for the settlement of animals, especially small mammals such as rodents, which rely heavily on vegetation for protection against predators and access to food. This study investigated the impact that ungulate foraging activities (both domesticated and wild) have on small mammal diversity in two Short Euphorbia Thicket habitats within the Albany Thicket Biome: a natural site in the Great Fish River Nature Reserve and an adjacent livestock grazing site belonging to Kwandwe Private Game Reserve. Trapping was carried out over 7-day/7-night trapping sessions during the wet and dry seasons at each site, with grids of 10 x 10 traps with a 10 m spacing. Over a total of 5,600 trap nights/days, 272 unique individuals of six small mammal species (4 rodents, 1 shrew, and 1 sengi) were captured. Habitat (i.e., the 1 ha area studied on each site) and microhabitat differences were assessed for the two study sites using plant cover at different heights, the number of bushes, the presence of Euphorbia bothae, as well as the amount of bare ground and rocky surfaces around each trap station. Between the habitats, vegetation in all the height categories differed significantly during each season, while the number of bushes did not differ. The microhabitats also showed seasonal variation, with the dry season having less vegetation cover than the wet season. Although greater vegetation cover was recorded during the wet season, small mammal abundance was low, as were species richness and diversity. It was the dry season that had the higher small mammal abundance for both sites, with the protected site having four times the abundance (across all species) of the livestock grazing site. Small mammal diversity was, however, highest at the livestock grazing site, where the species were evenly represented, whereas the protected site had unevenly represented species with a lower diversity. It is concluded that both domesticated and wild ungulate foraging activities, as well as seasonal changes in climatic conditions, alter vegetation cover. This determines whether a habitat is conducive for small mammals, thereby driving their richness, abundance, and ultimately diversity within a habitat.