4. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - Faculties submissions

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    The Awakening: Makudlalwe. A study on how play awakens the inner child in black Indigenous African adults
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Ncanana, Nomfundo Innocentia
    Our inner child speaks to the stories of ourselves that we carry around either knowingly or unknowingly. These stories may come in many forms and this research aimed to awaken these early experiences through the method of play. Neuro-dramatic play is a frame of play in Drama Therapy that was used to frame the activity choices. The method of guided play was used as a container to carry out the neuro-dramatic play techniques. These methods also set a frame for understanding how the inner child can be awakened. A way to activate these memories is through using our bodies as a vessel that allows the flow of experience to take place. This is why play is an important element of this research as it assists us in traveling to and navigating that space in time, using our bodies. The colonized African child growing up under post-colonial times may have the experience and memory of being deprived of play due to colonial factors that include Apartheid, land displacement, and but not limited to slave labour. These colonial factors were introduced to hinder the black mind from remembering and consciously being aware of who they are. The system continues to serve those who are oppressors as play factors have not been clearly defined in the African context. This study investigates how the use of play in the context of Drama Therapy, can be used to awaken the inner child of the black Indigenous African adult.
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    Investigating the genetic cause of oculocutaneous albinism type 2 in individuals of African descent through exome sequencing
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Mmbi, Phophi Mmapole; Ngcungcu, Thandiswa G.
    Oculocutaneous Albinism type 2 (OCA2) is a hypopigmentation disorder caused by variants in the OCA2 gene. A 2.7kb intragenic deletion is known to be the common variant that causes OCA2 in individuals of African descent. This variant accounts for 78% of OCA2-causing variant in the Southern African population. The diagnostic utility for individuals who tested either negative or heterozygous for the common 2.7kb deletion remained unsolved. This study reports on the identification of the NM 000275.3:c.1503+5G>A variant found in 3/8 (37.5%) non-2.7kb deletion OCA2 chromosomes within a small sample of OCA2 patients from the Southern African population, strongly suggesting the possibility of a second common variant, pending a larger screening study. This variant has been previously described in this population, but new variant interpretation tools have now permitted its reclassification. Furthermore, limitations encountered during the interpretation of data step in this study highlight the importance of informative clinical and phenotypic data for improved and sensible interpretation of genetic results.