Abstract Obligate brood parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other species, foisting the costs of parental care onto the host parents. The success of the parasite and host are then at odds, with both parties evolving defences and countermeasures in an evolutionary arms race. This reciprocal influence of acting upon both species’ evolution — a process known as coevolution — has forged the natural world around us. Avian brood parasites and their hosts are now model systems for studyin...
Abstract The development of enhanced selectivity of a host towards (aromatic) isomers continues to be an important feature in supramolecular studies. In this thesis, several nickel Werner complexes have been synthesised and used as crystallographic hosts with inclusions of aromatic isomers, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols or ketones. Thermogravimetric methods were used to confirm the composition of the host-guest complexes and were employed to analyse their thermal behaviour. Struc...
SHORT ABSTRAC Over the past decade there has been global concern about the bycatch of seabirds, turtles and sharks in fishing operations, in particular longline and trawl fisheries, which have been widely held responsible for their declining populations and threatened conservation status. This thesis addresses the issue of bycatch in a holistic manner, taking into account that species, whether they be target or non-target, do not exist in isolation from each other and their environment. South...
ABSTRACT Nel, J.L. 2008. Enhancing the conservation of freshwater biodiversity through improved freshwater conservation planning techniques. PhD thesis, University of Cape Town. Freshwater ecosystems and biota are among the most endangered in the world. This current situation is even more disturbing when future threats of escalating human demand and global climate change are considered. Urgent measures are therefore needed to conserve freshwater ecosystems and sustain the services they provid...
Abstract This thesis uses phylogenetic and comparative data to test an hypothesis of adaptive radiation in the Cape grass genus Ehrharta Thunb. sensu stricto. Morphological data and sequence data from two noncoding regions of DNA (lTS1 and trnL-F) are used to produce a phylogenetic hypothesis for the tribe Ehrharteae. Combined analysis of these data sets resolves four principal clades that approximate the genera Ehrharta s. s., Micro/aena, Tetrarrhena and Zotovia and this result thus supports...
ABSTRACT Most researchers agree that work placement has a positive influence on students’ employability. Despite this consensus, there has been conflicting research on the factors that contribute to this influence. Moreover, the social mechanisms through which this outcome is realised have not been well understood. To address these shortcomings, this study explores how mechanical engineering students’ work placement experiences facilitate or hinder the growth of their occupational compete...
1.1Background and Motivation Impact evaluation studies are designed to get at the impact of a policy or treatment. The aim is often to assess the viability or success of an intervention. These studies are also useful in cost-benefit analyses for gauging the size of the benefit attributable to an intervention. It is therefore important for an estimated treatment effect to be as free from bias as possible. The object of interest is often the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT), which ...
ABSTRACT The research investigated some mechanical properties of aluminium waste concrete to harness its structural properties in the construction industry. Aluminium waste which was obtained from Aluminum Extrusion Industry (ALEX) Inyishi in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State was investigated. The mathematical models for the optimization of the compressive and flexural strengths of a five-component concrete mix was obtained. A computer program for the optimization of the compressive...
SUMMARY 'Koko1 was prepared in the laboratory from Ghanaian maize. The effect of grinding and sieving on the protein content wa3 determined. Protein losses were highest with the coarsest grinding. Starters were used in the fermentation and were found to increase the rate of acid production. Preservation of 'Koko' was carried out by Roller-drying, Spraydrying, Freeze-drying and Canning. The volatile constituents of the flavours were lost during Roller-drying and Spray-drying. Freese- • dryin...
ABSTRACT Relative performance of breed groups, additive and heterotic effects on milk production, reproduction and calf growth traits in Jersey x West African Shorthorn (WAS) and Jersey x Sokoto Gudali (GUD) crossbred cattle were studied using sixteen years field records kept at the Agricultural Research Station, Legon. The genotypes consisted of WAS; 1/2 Jersey, 1/2 WAS (WAS Fj); 3/4 Jersey, 1/4 WAS (WAS Be); GUD; 1/2 Jersey, 1/2 GUD (GUD Fj) ; 3/4 Jersey, 1/4 GUD (GUD Be). Milk production t...
ABSTRACT The promotion of lifelong learning (LLL) through information literacy (IL) is all learning activity under taken throughout life with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competences within a personal, civic, social and/or employment related perspective. This study reports on survey carried out on ten (10) Regional Public Libraries in Ghana investigating the promotion of LLL through IL. The study used the single case method. The sample size of the population for the study was 37...
ABSTRACT Following the core conversion of Ghana’s Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) from high enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU), there has been a change in the fuel composition, fuel, clad and other reactor core parameters. Since, the allowable core power in a nuclear reactor is limited by thermal considerations, this study presents thermal hydraulic analysis of the LEU core of the Ghana research reactor - 1(GHARR-1). Neutronic parameters of GHARR -1 with LEU core w...
ABSTRACT The shortage of public sector teachers in rural areas is one of the main challenges facing policy makers in the education sector, in both developing and developed countries. This study sought to analyze the preferences of teachers, and how they would respond to alternative incentives associated with working in a rural location. Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) which is rooted in Random Utility Theory (RUT) was used to capture the responses of 120 teacher trainees in Berekum College o...
ABSTRACT This thesis examined the appropriate model that best fit maternal mortality data in fifty six health facilities in the Central, Eastern, Greater Accra and Western regions of Ghana from 2010 to 2013 as well as factors contributing to this menace in the various health facilities. The study began with the application of a simple Poisson regression model which was extended to capture the hierarchical structure, overdispersion and zero-inflation. Expressions for the mean, variance and sc...
ABSTRACT The content of this study is the communal ritual meal Otor of the Worawora‟s of Ghana as a strategy for alternative conflict resolution and reconciliation. This communal meal is celebrated during the main festivals of the people of Worawora namely the Akwntutenten, yam and rice festivals. The Akwntutenten, festival has however, become the major festival of the people of Worawora. The symbolic ritual meal is very significant since it is perceived as a means by which conflict resolut...