UKZN Academic Appointed Editor-in-Chief of World Journal of Diabetes
Professor Shahidul Islam.Click here for isiZulu version
Professor Shahidul Islam of the School of Life Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science has been appointed as an Editor-in-Chief of the World Journal of Diabetes (WJD), which is published by the Baishideng Group in the United States.
The WJD is a high-quality, online, open-access, single-blind peer-reviewed journal with its articles showcasing some of the most influential research carried out by world-renowned academic authors as well as international researchers.
Articles in the WJD, which aims to promote research in the field of diabetes, cover issues and subjects such as Opinion Review, Minireview, Basic Study, Clinical Research, Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, Evidence-Based Medicine, Field of Vision, Clinical Guidelines and Case Reports.
According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), almost half a billion people suffer from diabetes worldwide and this figure is predicted to be close to a billion by the year 2045. While almost half of the people with diabetes are undiagnosed, at least 1 in 6 deaths in the world currently occur due to diabetes or associated complications. Almost half of the people with diabetes suffer from one or more diabetes- associated complications such as diabetic neuropathy, nephropathy, retinopathy, cardiomyopathy and diabetic foot diseases. Hyperglycemia is one of the major diagnostic criteria of diabetes and uncontrolled hyperglycemia may lead to blindness, kidney failure and limb amputation as well as death.
Islam is one of the leading researchers in the area of type 2 diabetes and among the Top 15 researchers (2019) at UKZN. He has a C2 rating from the National Research Foundation.
His major area of research is to develop novel and alternative animal models of type 2 diabetes and conduct obesity and anti-diabetic and anti-obesogenic intervention trials of various functional and medicinal foods, alterative sweeteners, medicinal plant extracts, fractions and their isolated pure compounds and their mechanism of actions, for the purpose of developing novel food supplements and better alternative antidiabetic drugs for the management of diabetes.
Islam, who has published more than 160 research papers in international peer-reviewed journals, is also an academic leader for the Biotechnology (Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology) cluster on the Westville campus and previously served as a Chair of the University Animal Research Ethics Committee (AREC). He was awarded the 2015 College Distinguished Teacher Award for teaching excellence.
Islam has served as a lead guest editor for the Journal of Diabetes Research (USA) and is currently a guest editor of Frontiers in Chemistry (Switzerland); review editor of Frontiers in Pharmacology and Drug Discovery (Switzerland), and a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Biochemical and Pharmacological Research (USA).
Said Islam: ‘My appointment as an Editor-in-Chief of the World Journal of Diabetes while increasing my responsibility on the one hand, has also opened many doors for collaboration with world-renowned diabetes experts.’
Commenting on the appointment, Professor Albert Modi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of UKZN’s College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, said: ‘The World Journal of Diabetes has affirmed UKZN’s achievements in the medicinal chemistry area by appointing Professor Shahidul Islam Editor-in-Chief.’
Said Dean and Head of the School of Life Sciences Professor Ade Olaniran: ‘This is a prestigious appointment and the School of Life Sciences is proud of the international recognition of Prof Islam as an expert scientist in diabetes research. We are confident that he will make significant contributions towards improving the quality and impact of this highly ranked journal.’
Words: Leena Rajpal
Photograph: Supplied
author : .author email : .Master’s Student Participates in International Programming Challenge to Solve Real-World Problems
Mr Ethan Hammond.Click here for isiZulu version
Master’s student in Chemical Engineering Mr Ethan Hammond recently took part in the IBM Quantum Challenge Africa 2021 where, with the aid of the Python programming language, he and 464 other participants used the Qiskit quantum library to solve real-world problems in the fields of optimisation, finance and chemistry.
Qiskit is a quantum software library used to programme and simulate IBM’s quantum computers. The IBM Research Lab in South Africa and the University of the Witwatersrand developed the Africa-focused quantum computing challenge for African students, researchers and industry members.
The two-and-a-half-week challenge was developed by African researchers to grow the continent’s quantum community and quantum skills and did not require any formal quantum computing education. The problems included using a Monte Carlo algorithm to predict call option pricing and molecular simulations to design anti-retroviral treatments for HIV, both run on simulated and real quantum computers that IBM made available.
Hammond found the challenges well thought-out and executed, encouraging experiential learning and introducing the use of brand new code to perform complex tasks.
‘The task using molecular simulation to design an anti-retroviral for HIV treatment was the most interesting for me as I’d wanted to learn to do molecular simulations for a while - I was more familiar with the other general machine learning algorithms,’ said Hammond.
‘Being able to run code that I’d written on an actual quantum computer was somewhat of a dream come true.’
The experience Hammond gained from the challenge has piqued his interest in developing his skills through participation in future challenges.
While he is pursuing his research in Chemical Engineering, Hammond is also a keen programmer. With some exposure to programming in high school, he began working at it in earnest during his studies as a way to earn income through private tuition and programming for a research group at the University. He learns new programming languages when a problem arises that requires them and said this approach had helped him excel in his university assignments.
Engineering is about finding better ways to do things, Hammond says, and programming can similarly simplify life particularly when performing regressions or simulations.
‘If you are able to take on more difficult calculations with programming then you aren’t at all hindered in your engineering design or optimisation because you are able to deal with any mess created with some elegant programming,’ he said.
The enjoyment of finding counter-intuitive solutions led Hammond to study engineering, and to the complex world of chemical engineering, where he describes having to take into account a vast number of variables when tackling any problem. Encouraged to study at UKZN due to the strength of its engineering programmes, Hammond has found that being involved in an intensive programme has demanded lifestyle changes and hard work, but has yielded opportunities for personal growth.
His commitment to his studies earned Hammond several certificates of merit in his final-year, most notably for his final chemical engineering design project.
Research underway in Professor David Lokhat’s Reactor Technology Research Group led Hammond to pursue studies with the group, focusing on using a magnetic field to impact on the way molecules interact with a catalyst. Using the magnetic field, he aims to improve the reaction used by petrochemical companies to obtain liquid fuel products from gasified coal, and designed and fabricated a Helmholtz coil to produce a uniform magnetic field around a bench-top reactor.
‘Improving or contributing to such a world-renowned technology excited me, and presented an opportunity to develop more of my skills,’ he said.
Hammond plans to become a professional engineer, whether as a chemical engineer for an international project house or as a process engineer, and is particularly drawn to contributing to the global challenge of making chemical processes more eco-friendly.
Words: Christine Cuénod
Photograph: Supplied
author : .author email : .Tackling Climate Change Head-On at UKZN’s IPCC Technical Support Unit
The Durban office of the International Panel on Climate Change Working Group II Technical Support Unit has produced a booklet - titled: What I Can do about Climate Change.Click here for isiZulu version
The work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently received global attention following the release of the first part of its Sixth Assessment Report from Working Group I on the physical science basis for climate change.
With support from a component of the Working Group II Technical Support Unit (WG TSU II) hosted by UKZN’s School of Life Sciences, the Working Group II report on the impacts of climate change on ecosystems, biodiversity and human societies, their various vulnerabilities, and evidence on adaptation to climate change, is due for release in February next year.
This Durban office of the WG TSU II, launched in 2018, supports South Africa’s first IPCC Co-Chair Professor Debra Roberts, who was elected together with Professor Hans Otto-Pörtner of Germany to oversee the development of the Working Group II report. Roberts, the acting Head of eThekwini Municipality’s Sustainability and Resilient City Initiatives Unit, brings a unique perspective to the IPCC, marrying global science with local practice.
Roberts is supported by two science officers, Dr Andrew Okem and Dr Marlies Craig, and two postdoctoral researchers, Dr Michelle North and Dr Nina Hunter, who add value to the office through the production of climate change related knowledge for Africa and cities. They have produced publications in Earth-Science Reviews and Environmental Science and Policy on the underrepresentation of African authors in high-impact geoscience literature and the marginalisation of African perspectives in the fight against climate change respectively, and a systematic map of responses to climate impacts in urban Africa in Environmental Research Letters.
In 2021, the team has focused on its internal mandate of convening and supporting authors of the assessment reports, but has also undertaken projects to communicate knowledge about climate change to a wider and non-academic audience, and encourage prospective authors to contribute to the work of the IPCC.
A major achievement for 2021 was an Africa-wide outreach event, targeted at policymakers, the media and academia. The first time the IPCC has undertaken such targeted regional messaging. The virtual events were held in French and English and presented important Africa-specific messages from the three Special Reports of this assessment cycle: 1.5oC of global warming, oceans and frozen areas, and land.
The Durban office played a critical role in distilling the messages that formed the basis for this outreach and compiled the content into a booklet, available on the website.
Another major achievement has been the production of a booklet titled: What I can do about Climate Change, with a focus on local, personal climate action to encourage individual South Africans to reduce their carbon footprints. Providing examples for eThekwini Municipality, the booklet is freely available on the WGII TSU’s website, and is a useful tool for individuals, organisations and institutions seeking to identify personal response options to climate change.
According to Roberts and Craig, materials like the booklet are practical, accessible tools for improving the communication of knowledge, adding value to both science and society by using research to inform action and policy.
‘We urgently need transformative change, because the changes we are experiencing are entirely unprecedented,’ said Roberts. ‘It needs the whole of society to respond, and society is made up of individuals. A lot of attention in the IPCC world is focused on policy and decision makers, but we’re all policy makers and decision makers in our own homes, and we’re hoping to empower that level of decision maker to play their role.’
‘The IPCC targets the national level but doesn’t touch some areas of policy, so we are trying to use outreach and products like the booklet to bridge the gap and make this information accessible,’ said Roberts. ‘You cannot call on society to respond if you don’t give them access to information on which to base their decisions, and with which to hold their decision makers accountable.’
Informed by the three recent IPCC Special Reports, as well as other sources, the booklet is an accessible source of information to inspire effective individual action and stimulate conversations about what needs to be done to slow down or even reverse climate change.
Other work that the unit has prioritised, despite limitations imposed by COVID-19 restrictions, has been interacting with a network of African scientists to introduce the work of the IPCC during the German Academic Exchange Service’s climapAfrica IPCC Insight Series. The team spoke to around 40 postdoctoral researchers across Africa about the results of the three AR6 Special Reports, and about the structure and processes of the IPCC and opportunities for young African scientists to get involved.
Over the coming months the office will continue to assist in the finalisation of the main assessment report for this IPCC Working Group, and work towards successful communication of crucial messages to as wide an audience as possible.
Words: Christine Cuénod
Image: Supplied
author : .author email : .Journal Highlights UKZN Research on Sodwana Reefs
PhD candidate Mr Calvin Wells diving at the Sodwana coral reef system to place and monitor tilt current meters gathering spatial, temporal and flow data on the reef.The work of researchers in UKZN’s Environmental Fluid Mechanics Lab (EFML) on temperature anomalies in the waters around the Sodwana Bay coral reef system and what drives them has been featured in a paper published in the South African Journal of Science and appearing on its cover.
The publication highlights the quality of the research being undertaken and its significance in the context of global climate change.
Titled: Cold Water Temperature Anomalies on the Sodwana Reefs and their Driving Mechanisms, the paper was written by PhD candidate Mr Calvin Wells in partnership with Professor Derek Stretch and Dr Justin Pringle, who together head up the EFML.
Focused on the coral reef system at Sodwana Bay off the KwaZulu-Natal north coast, the study involved an analysis of 21 years of data on temperature changes between 1994 and 2015 on Nine-Mile Reef.
Exposure to elevated temperatures for extended periods, an increasing phenomenon as the climate changes and global sea temperatures rise, causes stress to coral systems and can result in bleaching.
Observing that the Sodwana reef system experiences short-term temperature fluctuations that may provide some relief from bleaching and be crucial to the future survival of the system, the authors set out to understand the mechanisms behind these anomaly events that result in a temperature drop of a few degrees on the reef.
Beginning by exploring the statistical link between these anomalies and the regional hydrodynamics, the trio found that temperature anomalies are not solely driven by the offshore cyclonic eddy interacting with the shelf of the African coastline as previously thought. By examining such an extensive dataset, the EFML team identified additional hydrodynamic patterns that could be significant.
They revealed that the temperature anomalies occur on average three times a year and predominantly during the summer months.
Their examination of the average sea surface heights and regional hydrodynamics over the 21-year period forms part of a larger study into delineating the driving mechanisms of temperature anomalies.
‘The significance of this study cannot be over-emphasised in the context of climate change - a topic of global deliberations in science, policy and development in general,’ said the authors.
Dean and Head of the School of Engineering Professor Glen Bright congratulated the three, saying: ‘This is such excellent work that really places our researchers at the forefront of their fields.’
Wells’ PhD research involves exploring the physics of how reefs function in terms of their interaction with varying flow regimes at micro and macro scales. Extensive field trips to and diving on the Sodwana reef were done to gather hydrodynamic data for analysis.
Field investigations have involved the design and development of a tilt current meter (TCM) to measure currents and temperature just above the reef bottom. The relatively low cost of the meters has allowed the deployment of 20 TCMs around the Sodwana reefs to gather data that will provide insight into the spatial distribution of temperature around the reefs and the associated hydrodynamics.
Wells and fellow PhD student Mr Vibhav Deoraj are also developing numerical models to supplement and explain the interaction between flows and coral reefs - these will unpack the physics of each driving mechanism and the extent to which they influence the cold water temperature anomalies.
By linking these flows and associated turbulent mixing to the temperature and biological functioning of coral reefs, Wells hopes to better understand and define the fundamental role hydrodynamics play in coral reef health.
UKZN’s EFML brings together passionate and motivated researchers whose specialities in fluid mechanics; coastal, ocean and estuarine dynamics, and hydraulic engineering are being applied to enhance the understanding of and provide solutions to several complex environmental issues.
With two PhD and seven master’s students coming through the ranks, the EFML is prioritising innovative research related to developing renewable energy options, improving coastal water quality, predicting the future of shorelines under climate change conditions, and investigating ocean turbulence and the interplay of waves, currents and coral reefs.
Words: Christine Cuénod
Photographs: Supplied
author : .author email : .Steve Biko Lecture - Time for Azania, Let’s Fix Ourselves
From left: Dr Mosibudi Mangena, Ms Beulah Thumbadoo, Professor Julian Kunnie and Mr Lawrence Monyahi.This year’s Steve Biko lecture, hosted by UKZN in a webinar, was titled: Time for Azania, Let’s Fix Ourselves.
The lecture is held annually to honour and commemorate the life of struggle hero Steve Biko who died in police custody on 12 September, 1977.
The title of the lecture was styled and part borrowed from a book titled: We Can Fix Ourselves by Dr Mosibudi Mangena, a former Minister of Science and Technology.
Mangena, who was a speaker at the lecture, thanked UKZN, the Umtapo Centre venue, and the panelists for making the event possible. He spoke about sensitivities in South Africa as a result of the trauma caused by the apartheid era, saying the country continued to resort to violence as a result of the increase of inequality and fast fading hopes for a stabilised democracy. ‘What is the use of the best constitution in the world if we are oppressed by crime,’ he questioned, going on to refer to continuing inequality in the Land Reform Programme over the past 27 years, as well as shocking levels of poverty in Black communities.
To launch proceedings, Acting Director of University Relations: Corporate Relations’ Ms Hazel Langa, welcomed everyone saying it was now 44 years since Biko’s passing and South Africa continued to be all the poorer for his death, starved as it was of the struggle icon’s great intellect and philosophies. Langa mentioned how Biko’s death had crippled the Black Consciousness Movement.
‘Steve Biko, a student at UKZN’s Medical School in the 1970s, is remembered by us as a proud representative and participant in the fight against oppression,’ she said. ‘It was here at UKZN that his political activism blossomed and under his leadership Black students decided to form an exclusively Black organisation to advance the cause of the oppressed in South Africa - the South African Student Organization (SASO). Biko was elected the first president of the movement.’
Ms Ntsako Mkhabela - theatre writer, producer and the Youth and Community Development Manager at the Johannesburg Theatre - said the Steve Biko Lecture was an annual event - not a once off, rather an ongoing series addressing Black consciousness and the upliftment of the youth.
Mkhabela introduced Life Coach and Ashoka International Board Member, Ms Beulah Thumbadoo, who spoke about Azania- the name used for South Africa by indigenous Black liberationists. On the subject of healing as a country, she said: ‘One of the very first steps of healing is to not be in denial.’ She referred to the “27 club” which consists of actors, musicians and artists who have died at the age of 27 as a result of extreme lifestyles, posing the question: ‘What are we going to do about that going forward?’
Author and activist Professor Julian Kunnie of the University of Arizona in the United States unpacked the true meaning of Black consciousness and what the philosophy aimed to achieve. Kunnie said a greater institutionalisation of indigenous African languages was needed in school systems and the workplace, and spoke about reaching true Africanism. ‘Biko echoed that there would be no race classification in a liberated Azania, no minority or majority groupings just Azanian people,’ he said and such a race less society was impossible under capitalism.
Social justice activist and Cooperative Movement Leader Mr Lawrence Monyahi, who has worked at the UMTAPO Centre for more than 10 years, expressed how the Centre was founded as a result of past violence in KwaZulu-Natal and in South Africa. The Centre’s slogan was: Free the Mind, Free the Land with its work involving the creation of an anti-racial society through peace, human rights and anti-racism education.
Speakers for the youth included Mr Sibabalwe Stimele - a Rhodes University Law student who discussed Black consciousness in the youth and the effect it had on them - and masters student at the University of Zululand Mr Shawn Mavundla, and Ms Pertunia Vhuthu of the University of Venda.
The lecture is available on YouTube here.
Words: Langa Mathe
Photograph: Supplied
author : .author email : .Inaugural Lecture Explores Religion and Social Transformation in Transformative African Digital Humanities
Professor Johannes Smit.Academic in the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics Professor Johannes Smit has delivered his inaugural lecture on Religion and Social Transformation in the Transformative African Digital Humanities in which he examined aspects of the development of a socially transformative generative grammar.
‘Even though the phenomenon has been with humanity since antiquity, that religion transformatively impacts society’s social systems, institutions - including political and economic systems and formations - are well attested throughout history. In whichever polity research is focused, it is also common currency to account for the ways and means through which religious formations may reasonably serve and pattern a society’s own processes of social formation, de-formation, and re-formation,’ said Smit.
He drew on some of his recent published research and public lectures at UKZN on research innovation, and his memorial lecture for Professor Bonganjalo Goba, former Vice-Chancellor of the Durban University of Technology.
Said Smit: ‘For the academy’sresearch-led socially transformed humanities knowledge production towards constituting a transformed, Africanised modern symbolic universe, it learns from society as well as intellectualises socially observed social relations and interactions. These may be in empirical and/ or in-text social interaction - including the production of materials and artefacts in indigenous languages.’
To settle and stabilise academic discourse, Smit argues that it is necessary to measure up to the social transformation initiatives and directives for the scientific development of Humanities language usage. ‘It must be inclusive of constructive analytical thought driven intellectualisation from both in, and outside the academy and especially as these creatively interact. It is characterised by open dialogue and captured in practices related to the lekgotla and indaba for instance.’
He notes that founders of discursivity, organise the human data fields of the world for the human study of the human, under rubrics of the Arts, Religion, Philosophy, Theology, Classics, Ethics, the Applied Human Sciences, the Social Sciences, Education, the Built Environment and Development Studies, as in the case of the College of Humanities.
In terms of religion, Smit says: ‘The question of truth has especially been asked about beliefs (or dogma) and the truth of scriptures, traditions, experience, and human organisation. And even though semiological answers have been developed and accepted by some, such truth, perceived from world historical and world civilizational perspectives, are subject to the continuously developing of current world historical and world civilizational discourse and discursive formation developmental processes.’
Smit identifies that truth is not a religion. ‘There are commitments to truth, to African realities, to African internalities. And how the religions of and in Africa articulate with these realities, are crucial for our collective material well-being in respect of these epistemologies. Moreover, it is precisely the non-separation of indigeneity from knowledge, but rather the entwined interrelationalities that ensure the empowering effects of knowledge in community and society.’
He highlights that the more relevance is achieved with similar conceptual usage, in respect of evidence relevant to specific aspects of a problem, the more there is both a contribution to and recognition of contextually relevant discursivity.
Within the South African context, Smit posits that the escalation of inductive empirical social-science research is indicative of the opening up of a space for knowledge, ‘We are living through a period of the exponential increases in empirical social scientific studies - all functioning with the primary tool of involving the people in knowledge production - with, by, for and about the people themselves.’
He also argues that there is only world civilisation, which is quite problematic in many ways because of the unregulated and un-coordinated global economic processes of development, and the growth and advancement of the quality of human life on earth, irrespective of calamitous environmental impacts for most. ‘The aim is to reroute onto a new journey, to plans and projects of a future world of sustainable self-sufficiency and sustainable self and social development. The study of past civilisations are crucial in this respect, especially with regard to their rise and fall but also the diversity of their optimum functioning,’ says Smit.
Speaking to African Digital Humanities, Smit challenged all to think further and wider than the regularities of our disciplines ‘so as to produce knowledge content about our African internalities and realities, especially as our indigeneities interface knowledge construction via relevant instances.
‘And the task is for us as researchers, to do this, with, for and about the internalities and realities of our own African academic and societal communities, systems and institutions.’
Smit also shared his thoughts on Black Consciousness and Black Theology, which were shaped by two very significant historical figures Steve Biko and Goba.
On current and future plans, Smit is currently writing about existing and potential future discursivities of African bioeconomic; the African biosocial and bioethical/ biolegal in respect of the bioenvironmental; and the African biomedical.
‘All academic friends, teachers, colleagues, students and friends, nationally, continentally and internationally who have included me in their own lifetime academic endeavours, and then also the Alternation project - I think, for all of us, the best is yet to come,’ said Smit.
Words: Melissa Mungroo
Photograph: Supplied
author : .author email : .UKZN’s Cabaret and Beyond Festival Brings New Musical Theatre to Durban
The Cabaret and Beyond Festival cast (from left) Amanda Kunene, Lyle Buxton, Sam Landers and Tshepo Kcokoane.Click here for isiZulu version
A stunning showcase of new musical theatre works is being presented at Durban’s Seabrooke Theatre from 15 - 24 October.
Featuring 20 new songs from 21 local composers, the Cabaret and Beyond (CAB) Festival is the culmination of a three-month writing collective facilitated by UKZN Music lecturer Dr Roland Perold at the behest of the Centre for Creative Arts (CCA) in the College of Humanities.
CCA Director Dr Ismail Mahomed says CAB adds live music theatre to its line-up of festivals. ‘By adding this to our already successful bouquet of festivals we want to play a role in rekindling a cultural economy that has been seriously affected by the national lockdowns. Musical theatre straddles easily between entertainment and social commentary. It can be both playful and relevant,’ said Mahomed.
The showcase is directed by respected Durban-based director Steven Stead of KickstArt fame. ‘As a director, especially of musical theatre, it is very rare to get to work on material that is entirely new and original. It is tremendously exciting to be discovering and helping to develop new work and new South African composers! There is so much diversity of style in this programme, such range of expression. And some really fabulous music,’ said Stead.
A talented cast of four - Amanda Kunene, Sam Landers, Tshepo Kcokoane and Lyle Buxton - will be guided through the new material by musical director and show pianist Wessel Odendaal. Design is entrusted to the talented Karabo Legoabe Mtshali, recently recognised in the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans 2021 to watch out for.
Composers hail from across South Africa with participants from Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) where a partnership with the Mandela Bay Theatre Complex sees two full-length one-act musicals being premiered in that city in March next year.
During the CAB Festival, two composers (or writing teams) whose work shows promise for future development, will be identified and receive grants to develop their ideas into a project to be created in conjunction with the CCA.
CAB is an initiative that seeks to showcase excellence in new music theatre writing and provide the first outlet for these works. As the composers nurture their material the audience will be encouraged to engage, reflect, laugh, cry and become part of the burgeoning landscape for the development of the genre locally. More information about the composers is available at: https://www.cabfestival.com/the-creatives.
Evening performances start at 19h00 and on Sundays at 11h00. COVID-19 protocols will be observed.
Tickets cost R100 with a two-for-one concession available for students. (Preview night tickets - 15 October - cost R70).
Bookings can be made through: https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/Event.aspx?itemid=1508544749
Words: Melissa Mungroo
Photographs: Charles Dlamini
author : .author email : .UKZN Involved in TV Series Featuring Durban Musicians
Clockwise from top left: Xolisa Dlamini, Nosihe Zulu, Jaedon Daniel, Natalie Rungan, David Smith, Thulile Zama, Neil Gonsalves, Bethuel Tshoane, Senzo Mdamba, and Burton Naidoo.UKZN’s Centre for Jazz and Popular Music in association with Agetv is presenting Beneath the Mask, a four-week music TV series featuring some of Durban’s well-known musicians.
Senzo Mdamba and Xolisa Dlamini recently launched the series which has also featured Nosihe and Burton Naidoo.
Upcoming shows will put the spotlight on Jaedon Daniel, N’den, Natalie Rungan, Melvin Peters, Neil Gonsalves and Bethwel Tsoane.
The purpose of the series is to showcase the exceptional musical talent there is in Durban and to give support to artists who have released some incredible music and done amazing musical things during the national lockdown.
Mdamba, who started off as a drummer, said his love for music began at a tender age where he played instruments in a church where his father was a pastor. He says he will release his second single before the end of the year and believes it is going to be a hit.
Dlamini says her third album Fire Born was inspired by her brother who she believes evokes the artist in her.
Naidoo says lockdown gave him time to work on a single that he recently released. He collaborated with talented artists Martin Sigamani, Riley G and IIdo Nanja, recording the entire song remotely.
‘I am currently working on an album called Sometime Before which seeks to reflect on a time when COVID-19 did not exist. I must admit that the album would have not happened if it was not for the lockdown.’
Nosihe added: ‘I like to involve my fans when making music. I firmly believe in bringing authentic music to my people, hence, the live recording of my EP.’
Check out the Agetv and Centre for Jazz and Popular Music Facebook and YouTube pages:
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/UKZNJazzcentre/
https://web.facebook.com/agetvdurban/
YouTube : UKZN Jazzcentre
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-vmcF03FAmch2zk9HHosbw/featured
Words: Sinoyolo Mahlasela
Photographs: Supplied
author : .author email : .Webinar held to Enlighten UKZN Community About Threats of Human Trafficking
Webinar panel members (from left) Ms Cebile Fuse, Adv Dawn Coleman-Malinga, Adv Samokelisiwe Hlongwane and Ms Tershia de Klerk.To commemorate Human Trafficking Awareness Week and create campus safety awareness at UKZN, the Corporate Relations Division (CRD) organised a webinar targeting University students.
The webinar was held in partnership with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of South Africa and the KwaZulu-Natal Human Trafficking, Harmful Traditional Practices, Prostitution, Pornography and Brothels (HHPPB) Task Team.
Titled: Prevention and Combating of Human Trafficking, the event highlighted what human trafficking is, the characteristics of Human Trafficking, how to identify victims, how students can prevent being lured, duped and trafficked, and the dangers trafficked people face.
The webinar was facilitated by the Victim Assistant Officer at the Thuthuzela Care Centre from the NPA’s Sexual Offences and Community Affairs Unit (SOCA), Ms Cebile Fuse, while speakers included the NPA’s Senior State Advocate Ms Dawn Coleman-Malinga, Junior State Advocate and UKZN alumnus, Ms Samokelisiwe Hlongwane, and the Chief Operating Officer for STOP Trafficking of People, Ms Tershia de Klerk.
Coleman-Malinga said this year’s anti trafficking theme - “Victims Voices Lead the Way” - made it clear that victims were key factors in the fight against Human Trafficking, and played a crucial role in assisting with the development of effective measures to prevent the occurrence of the crime as well as identify, rescue and support victims on their road to rehabilitation. She advised the participants in the webinar to report any trafficking crimes while reminding them that trafficking was not always about women and children locked up in cages - exploitation could happen out in the open and in broad daylight.
She said characteristics of human trafficking included its occurrence both locally and internationally, and the fact that it could be perpetrated by one person or a criminal syndicate. Coleman-Malinga said victims could be recruited either informally with the promise of a job or money or by a threat of harm, force or coercion.
Coleman-Malinga said to secure a conviction in the case of adults, the NPA had to prove all the elements of the offence which include the Act (what), the Means (how) and the Purpose (why) while for children, only the Act and Purpose needed to be proven.
De Klerk echoed Coleman-Malinga’s sentiments adding that just 2% of victims were rescued or managed to escape. She said human trafficking was the fastest-growing illegal enterprise in the world and took place on a variety of fronts in South Africa, adding that it was often hidden by other crimes and took place in rural and urban areas.
On the subject of “job scams”, she advised students looking for employment to be alert for red flags which included the job sounding too good to be true, prospective employers only providing a cell phone number or communicating via WhatsApp, requesting a photo of the student, or a promise of higher pay with no qualifications needed. She advised students to always investigate the addresses given by prospective employers, and to be aware of jobs advertised on platforms such as Gumtree and Marketplace.
She said there was a free job scam vetting service titled: Prevention versus Cure - which could be contacted by phone or WhatsApp at 081 7207181 or through the website www.preventionversuscure.com De Klerk advised students to download safety apps such as Namola which provided information on their whereabouts or The Freedom App, which gave an indication about whether a job opportunity or offer was legitimate.
Hlongwane said traffickers first established the vulnerability of intended victims and then used certain methods to gain control over them, isolating them through deception, religion, culture and beliefs. Once victims were under their control, traffickers used a variety of measures to detain them, including drug addiction, confiscation or travel documents, blackmail and physical violence.
Hlongwane said with human trafficking being a high profit-low risk crime based on the principles of supply and demand, criminals took advantage of “push and pull” factors with individuals seeking better living conditions often ending up being part of the human trafficking chain. ‘Traffickers use the push and pull factors to trap their victims, with promises of a better life and increased opportunities.’
Senior State Advocate and Acting Head of the SOCA Unit for KwaZulu-Natal, Ms Omashani Naidoo thanked the panel members for sharing their expertise on how human trafficking affects South Africans and for the advice offered. She also thanked the UKZN team for working hard to ensure that through the webinars, the University community was more aware and armed with knowledge about the dangers of human trafficking.
• The 24-hour South African National Human Trafficking Hotline is 0800 222 777. For more information on STOP Trafficking of People, email de Klerk at: info@stoptrafficking.org.za
Words: Sithembile Shabangu
Photographs: Supplied
author : .author email : .UKZN Academics Analyse Impact of Recent Looting and Burning in SA
Dr Andrisha Beharry-Ramraj and Dr Pfano Mashau.College of Law and Management Studies academics analysed the impact of the recent looting and unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng in papers they presented at the Political Economy of Protests and Opportunistic Crimes in South Africa Conference.
The academics were Dr Andrisha Beharry-Ramraj of the School of Management, Information Technology and Governance and Dr Pfano Mashau of the Graduate School of Business and Leadership.
The title of Beharry-Ramraj’s paper, co-authored with her master’s student, Mr Linden Singh, was: The Impact of Riots and Looting in South Africa on Human Resource Management.
‘The impact on Human Resource Management has been challenging for businesses and organisations in terms of restructuring, retrenchment, and the laying off of staff,’ said Beharry-Ramraj.
The paper examined how employers and HR managers acted against workers involved in the unrest and looting, or who were active on online media platforms in connection with the unrest.
‘HR managers should tread carefully when assessing workers involved with any criminal activity linked to the unrest and looting, applying action that is fair and just. HR divisions across the country are evolving and adapting to be prepared to effectively handle any future situations similar to the recent unrest,’ said Beharry-Ramraj.
Mashau’s paper was titled: Protests and Business Management: The Effects of South African Protests on Business in eThekwini Municipality.
‘The protests had severe implications for future investment in the country,’ said Mashau.
Words: Thandiwe Jumo
Photographs: Supplied
author : .author email : .Becoming Men of Virtue - Subject of Panel Discussion
.This article has been removed and will be republished.
author : .author email : .UKZN Academics Publish Book on Public Administration in Conflict Affected Countries
Professor Purshottama Reddy (left) and Professor Juraj Nemec.Two senior academics Professor Purshottama Reddy and Professor Juraj Nemec have published a book on Public Administration in Conflict Affected Countries.
Reddy, who is attached to the School of Management, Information Technology and Governance, is Vice-President of Programmes of the International Association of the Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA) and Chairperson of the Programme and Research Committee of the International Institute of Administrative Science (IIAS), both headquartered in Brussels.
Nemec - of the Faculty of Economics and Administration at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic and at the Faculty of Economics, Matej Bel University in Slovakia - has more than 20 years’ professional experience in various transition countries and as a key advisor to the governments of Slovakia and the Czech Republic. He is Vice-President of Publications for IASIA and is currently a member of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) at the United Nations.
The book, published by Springer, interrogates the main issues determining the quality of public administration in conflict affected countries, and assesses the extent to which the conflict determines and impacts on the performance of public administration in the countries in question.
The key value added by this book is the confirmation of the general expectation that there is no direct and universal link between the conflict and public administration performance and vice-versa. It could be argued that each country’s situation differs and specific factors of internal and external environments determine the trends of public administration performance in conflict affected countries.
To accomplish the predominant goals of the book, the authors reflected on studies conducted in Africa, Asia and Europe in the following countries: Bangladesh, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, Georgia, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Palestine, Paraguay, the Philippines, Serbia, South Africa, Uganda, Ukraine, and Venezuela.
Words: NdabaOnline
Photographs: Supplied
author : .author email : .Human Trafficking Awareness Month
For more information on Trafficking in Persons or to report a case, contact telephone: 10111 / 0800 222 777 or visit www.0800222777.org.za or www.a21.orgTraffickers tend to target vulnerable people with women and children in South Africa particularly at risk because of historical, social and economic inequalities prevalent in South Africa.
Traffickers target women and children in communities and areas where there is poverty, unemployment, child-headed households, sparse educational opportunities, gender discrimination, and lack of alternative lifestyles.
Victims of Trafficking in Persons (TiP) are lured by money, deceived by false promises, abducted, solicited by friends to join in “earn easy money” schemes, sold by their families, or ‘tricked into believing they are the trafficker’s girlfriend’ after which they are exploited. Victims are controlled using drugs, “juju”, voodoo practices, rape, torture, beatings, isolation, debt bondage, blackmail, and threats to kill or harm their families if they speak out or try to escape.
Victims are often desperate for an improved lifestyle, better employment opportunities, a safer financial future and to enjoy “glamorous” lifestyles in cities.
Examples of TiP cases include young girls brought into South Africa from foreign countries and forced to work as domestic servants in exchange for food and shelter only (domestic servitude); being forced into marriage at young ages, raped and made to do all sorts of work (forced marriages); tricked with offers of jobs as waitresses and bar attendants, only to discover that they are expected to become prostitutes (sexual exploitation), and foreigners brought into the country to work long hours for low wages and getting locked into factories under threat of their illegal status being revealed and dismissal if they refuse to work (labour trafficking).
Signs that a person may be a victim of trafficking include: evidence that they are being controlled, not speaking up for themselves, and having no passport or other form of identification or documentation.
For more information on TiP or to report a case contact telephone: 10111 / 0800 222 777 or visit: www.0800222777.org.za or www.a21.org.
Words: NdabaOnline
Image: Shutterstock
author : .author email : .Researchers Trained to Write for the Media
A dashboard showcasing UKZN’s Associate Professor, Varsha Bangalee’s articles published in The Conversation Africa and other media.UKZN in partnership with The Conversation Africa held a science communication and writing for the media workshop for researchers.
The aim of the event was to assist UKZN researchers to work on how they communicate and pitch their research findings to non-academic audiences as well as how to publish successfully on The Conversation Africa platform.
The platform assists researchers to (1) build their brand and profile on the continent and globally while showcasing their work; (2) to contribute to improving their academic standing; (3) to provide them with a platform that allows researchers to share their knowledge; (4) provide expertise to the public, policy makers and other academics, and (5) help them to be more accountable for their science, especially if they are funded for their research.
In her opening remarks, Executive Director for Corporate Relations Ms Normah Zondo emphasised the importance of researchers sharing their research. ‘It is imperative that research moves beyond the pages of a thesis, that it is available and utilised. What is most important about writing for public consumption is that your research has a direct impact on the wider community and provides answers to some of the socio-economic and other related challenges that affect them.
‘It becomes crucial to unleash some of the issues that face our society on a daily basis. It serves no purpose to write for a small community of academics who have the capacity to search for information wherever they wish to do so. It is more beneficial to ordinary people who bear the brunt of every day challenges to access this information in a simplified way,’ said Zondo.
The Conversation Africa’s Ms Pfungwa Nyamukachi, who is responsible for Strategic Partnerships and Stakeholder Relations, said: ‘Scientists do important research work and need to be more widely visible in popular media to help shape and guide public discourses on all issues facing society. The Conversation Africa exists to assist scientists and academics to achieve this.’
She says since The Conversation Africa was launched in May 2015, it has published more than 7 200 articles authored by 5 000 academics and scientists resulting in more than 105 million reads globally - proving that scientists’ voices matter and that readers want to hear from experts. A total of 85 UKZN academics have published 122 articles which have reached 1 799 909 readers through the platform since its establishment.
Nyamukachi said their objective was to make the knowledge and research insights produced by universities and the research sector more accessible and easy to understand.
The Conversation Africa (TC-Africa) is a not-for-profit media initiative serving universities and the research sector in Africa. TC-Africa’s mission is to mainstream the voices of scientists in the media and to support science engagement and science communication activities of scientists in Africa.
Words: Sithembile Shabangu
Image: Supplied
author : .author email : .Law Students Benefit from Vacation Work Programme
Law students Ms Nompendulo Cele, Mr Lethukuthula Motaung and Ms Xoliswa Manzini.UKZN’s Black Lawyer’s Association Student Chapter (BLASC), in partnership with J Leslie Smith and Company Inc Attorneys, organised a vacation work programme for 10 University Law students.
During the programme, the students visited the Offices of the Master of the High Court, which proved to be interesting with the group learning about the Guardians Fund and the Administration of the Trust Property Control Act, Act 57 of 1998. They also learnt how a deceased person’s estate is wound up and how title deeds are obtained or transferred.
The students also interacted with a variety of office holders at the court.
While at the offices of the attorneys they also learned about a variety of different aspects of the law, including specialised fields such as Labour, Commercial and Tax law.
The students all enjoyed the experience saying it had given them practical insight into a career in law, which had now motivated them to work hard and excel in their studies.
The UKZN-PMB BLASC Chairperson, Miss Nomasabatha Mkhize thanked those who participated and issued out reference letters. She also thanked J Leslie and Company Inc Attorneys for giving the students such an amazing opportunity. The Executive Committee of BLASC also called for more, similar programmes for Law students.
Words: NdabaOnline
Photographs: Supplied
author : .author email : .Achieving Financial Management Goals
Gain vital financial management skills.As a manager in a business or organisation, it is vital to be fully aware that there are usually financial consequences involved in every decision made and their impact could be either beneficial or detrimental.
In business, finance is the common language at the centre of activities so learning basic financial skills even as a non-financial manager assists in making sound decisions. When promoting decisions that have financial implications for a business or company, it is important to be fully aware of possible consequences. Apart from other core management elements, it is essential to understand what sets finance apart.
At UKZN’s Extended Learning Division, we offer a Finance for Non-Financial Managers programme which is designed to empower delegates to contribute with confidence to financial discussions when leading a team. It is vital to understand what goes into running a business and what it takes to gain a clear and concise perspective on company goals and financial circumstances.
The knowledge gained through this Finance for Non-Financial Managers programme will enable business executives and managers to make more informed decisions, helping mould them into well-rounded leaders with a progressive mindset. The programme is designed to empower delegates wanting to improve their financial literacy and assist them to function efficiently in business.
We are now offering a promotion for selected programmes. Register for the Finance for Non-Financial Managers programme, starting on 27 October and you will qualify for a 25% discount on the fee!
For more details on how you can take advantage of this offer, please click here, or for more information on the programme contact Nokwanda Mokoena at phone +27 31 260 4665 or email: MokoenaN@ukzn.ac.za.
Words: Nkosingiphile Ntshangase
Photograph: Adobe Stock
author : .author email : .Humanities Academics Receive Social Work Awards
Social Work lecturers Dr Thembelihle Makhanya (left) and Dr Maud Mthembu.Click here for isiZulu version
Social Work lecturers Dr Thembelihle Makhanya and Dr Maud Mthembu have received awards from the Association of South African Social Work Education Institutions (ASASWEI).
Makhanya won the runner-up award for the best emerging social work educator and Mthembu the award for the best researcher in 2021. The prize-giving ceremony was held at the Premier Hotel in Richards Bay as part of the ASASWEI 2021 conference.
A call was made by ASASWEI for Disciplines of Social Work in South Africa to nominate academics for awards in six categories. Relevant published articles, conference presentations and community involvement were considered in selecting the award-winners.
‘To be chosen by ASASWEI as the runner-up for its Emerging Social Work Educator of the Year for 2021 award,suggests a positive direction to my career development.This is encouraging not only for me but for our students and emerging academics,’ said Makhanya.
‘The award means that my peers recognise the contribution of my research in developing innovative approaches to improve the lives of children, specifically in child protection and child counselling. These awards serve as one of the platforms that recognise the excellent work social workers do to improve the lives of the people through research, social work practice and social work education,’ said Mthembu.
‘We must use our positions as social work students, practitioners, researchers and educators to bring a change in communities we serve and to advocate for the vulnerable.’
Makhanya’s research interests include teaching and learning in Higher Education; (de)coloniality and (de)colonialism; social work education; and fatherhood. She has produced a number of publications in local and international journals, and has also presented papers at international, national and regional conferences.
Makhanya, who offers her professional services to the Department of Correctional Services as a Victim-Offender Mediation Dialogue co-ordinator and facilitator, is a founder and a chairperson of an NGO Imbewu Youth Empowerment Centre, which addresses psychosocial issues faced by young people in the Ugu District.
She has received numerous accolades including the Working with the Disadvantaged Groups NIHSS Research Funding Award; being listed among 13 top young academics at UKZN in 2021, and an award for the best paper at the NIHSS 2019 conference.
Mthembu, a principal investigator for various international and local collaborative projects, published a children’s IsiZulu book this year on COVID-19 titled: Uhambo Lwami Ngesikhathi seKhovithi which aims to educate children about the pandemic and to help them share their experiences of the virus. Due to its popularity, the book has been translated into six languages including Sesotho, IsiXhosa and English.
Mthembu has received funding from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to create a short-animated movie partially based on the book. Her area of interest includes child protection, children’s rights and developing child-friendly counselling tools.
Words: Melissa Mungroo
Photographs: Supplied
author : .author email : .New Accounting Honours Programme
Pursue a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting Honours degree in 2022.The School of Accounting, Economics and Finance is offering a new Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting Honours degree to equip graduates with practical knowledge on global trends to enable them to apply and be qualified for both South African and international employment opportunities.
This innovative programme is fully accredited by leading international accountancy body the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and will use learner-centred academic practices to ensure that students have the necessary knowledge and expertise about global trends in accounting, finance, business leadership and taxation, among other fields.
The programme is designed for Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting (South African Institute of Chartered Accountants accredited) graduates who want to become part of the global community of more than 600 000 associates.
In the current economic landscape, most companies are going global and integrating their businesses with the international community, creating a demand by employers for professional accountants who will have a detailed knowledge of international reporting and standards.
Statistical figures show that the ACCA course is highly-rated by more than 8 500 employers globally.
The programme is offered over one year on a full-time block release basis. Students will receive lectures on three full days a month during each semester (the lecture block). Between lecture blocks, academic staff teaching on the programme provide regular assignments and feedback through the University’s online learning management system to guide students through the study material. Lecturers will be available to interact with students to further facilitate learning.
Interested candidates can apply online: http://applications.ukzn.ac.za before the closing date of 31 October 2021. For more information contact: Kim Henry on e-mail: Henryka1@ukzn.ac.za.
Words: NdabaOnline
Image: Shutterstock
author : .author email : .UKZN Hosts Relationship Awareness Webinar
Webinar on Relationship Awareness hosted by the Human Resources Division in partnership with ICAS. The Human Resources Division in partnership with the Independent Counselling and Advisory Services (ICAS) hosted a webinar on Relationship Awareness - the last of this year’s Topic Talks on employee wellness.
Presented by the Client Relationship Manager at ICAS Ms Zodidi Bizana, the talk offered nuggets of wisdom on developing and maintaining healthy relationships.
Citing characteristics and situations that made good relationships possible, Bizana listed the following: trust, mutual respect, mindfulness, being present, welcoming diversity and open communication.
She noted how healthy relationships brought about happiness and good health and highlighted the importance of setting appropriate boundaries as well as asking questions rather than assuming.
Discussing the reality that relationships were a central part of everyday life, she touched on how a relationship with self was the foundation and asked participants what they had done for themselves throughout the year to practise self-care.
Bizana said because individuals spent half their lifetime at work, it was important to develop good workplace relationships. She noted the ability to engage with colleagues and handle conflict, sharing some key values to practise such as developing people skills, maintaining professionalism, emotional intelligence, being positive, being authentic, showing you care, listening actively and being honest.
Explaining how personal relationships had been impacted by COVID-19 due to job losses and working from home, she focused on how establishing good support structures, work-life balance, sharing tasks with one’s children and or partner, time management and being flexible were all priorities.
She also addressed the high levels of divorce/separation and suicide, urging webinar participants to be present and make time to engage with their partners and children.
Bizana observed how seeking professional help through counselling or therapy could assist parties by helping to define their issues, recognise their contributions and create a safe space for discussions.
She encouraged UKZN employees to seek support for personal and workplace relationships as well as relationships with self by downloading the ICAS On-the-Go App or the 24-hour toll free line: 0800 254 255 - UKZN code UKZ001.
Director: UKZN Human Resources Development Mrs Busisiwe Ramabodu said relationships were a two-way street and expressed the hope that the webinar had provided individuals with key tools to deal with difficult individuals and build better relationships with one another.
Ramabodu urged those dealing with relationship issues in the workplace to seek assistance through ICAS or the Alternate Dispute Resolution Programme offered by the UKZN’s Human Resources Division.
Words: Hlengiwe Khwela
Image: Supplied
author : .author email : .Free Grade 10 Maths Study Aid Material
Professor Msizi Mkhize.A UKZN father and son team is offering free Grade 10 mathematics study guide material to anyone in need.
The user-friendly aid has been created by the Dean of Teaching and Learning at the College of Law and Management Studies Professor Msizi Mkhize, and his son, Mr Siphesihle Mkhize, who is a Postgraduate Certificate in Education student at the University.
Material, featured in a step-by-step method, can be used by both pupils and teachers inside or outside the classroom. The goal is to share as widely as possible the unique maths material which covers the entire Grade 10 syllabus.
‘We help pupils by providing them with useful problem-solving methods - we want them to pass Grade 10 maths,’ said Mkhize. ‘At the same time we promote UKZN, encouraging students to choose the University for their studies.’
Mkhize says they also answer questions posed by pupils and teachers as well as parents who contact them. ‘When we assist pupils we motivate them, boost their confidence and touch on career guidance. We also encourage teachers to go over the material with their pupils.’
The material is available on Mkhize’s Facebook or Siphesihle’s Facebook, or the CLMS website.
Words: NdabaOnline
Photograph: Supplied
author : .author email : .