The Vice-Chancellor's Outstanding Research Award (40 and under) for 2018 went to Associate Professor Caroline Khene of the Department of Information Systems, while the Vice-Chancellor's Outstanding Senior Research Award for 2018 went to Professor Brett Pletschke of the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology. The Vice-Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Community Engagement went to Professor Jacqui Akhurst of the Department of Psychology for service learning and engaged research in the field of Community Psychology.
NRF B2-Rated Researchers
Dr. McLoughlin is a geologist and paleontologist who specializes in microbial traces of life preserved in rock. She also studies exceptional cellular preservation, focusing on key evolutionary events in the history of life.
NRF B3-Rated Researchers
RESEARCHERS
- Distinguished Professor Tebello Nyokong
- Professor Charlie Shackleton
- Distinguished Professor Heila Lotz-Sisitka
- Professor Kirk Helliker
- Emeritus Professor Dan Wylie
- Professor Barry Irwin
- Professor Rui Krause
- Professor Makaiko Chithambo
- Distinguished Professor Catriona Macleod
- Professor Oleg Smirnov
- Professor Emmanuel Mgqwashu
- Distinguished Professor Martin Hill
- Associate Professor Adrienne Edkins
- Professor Marc Schafer
- Professor Sioux McKenna
- Associate Professor Warren Potts
- Associate Professor Ozlem Tastan Bishop
- Emeritus Professor Chrissie Boughey
- Dr John Mack
- Professor Lynette Louw
- Distinguished Professor Christopher McQuaid
- Professor Enocent Msindo
- Associate Professor Michael Drewett
- Dr Lynda Spencer
- Associate Professor Karen Bradshaw
- Professor William Froneman
- Professor Paul-Henri Bischoff
- Professor Louise Vincent
- Associate Professor Sam Naidu
- Associate Professor Kenneth Ngcoza
PhD GRADUATIONS
FACULTY OF COMMERCE (3 PhDs)
FACULTY OF EDUCATION (16 PhDs)
NDJENDJA, Elizabeth, BSc, PG Dip (Education) (Namibia), MEd (Rhodes), in Education, in the Department of Education. REID, Gillian Janet, MEd (UKZN), in Education, in the Center for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning.
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES (28 PhDs)
MAFUKIDZE, Jonathan, cand.scient. (Sociology and social anthropology) (Zimbabwe), in sociology, at the Institute for Sociology. MUPARAMOTO, Nelson, BScHons (Sociology) (Zimbabwe), MSc (Sociology and Social Anthropology) (Zimbabwe), in Sociology, at the Institute for Sociology.
FACULTY OF PHARMACY (2 PharmD)
XABA, Mzingaye Brilliant, BSocSci (Fort Hare), MSocSci (Rhodes), Sociology, Department of Sociology. Thesis: The Impact of Land Restitution and Resettlement in the Eastern Cape, South Africa: Restoring Dignity Without Strengthening Livelihoods.
FACULTY OF SCIENCE (35 PhDs)
KANKUZI, Charles Frienderson, BEd, MSc (Malawi), MSc (Rhodes), in Geology, in the Department of Geology. MSANE, Gugu Florence, BSc, PGCE (Swaziland), MSc (UJ), in Chemistry, in the Department of Chemistry.
POSTGRADUATE FUNDING
In 2018, the percentage of students from specific groups increased to 88.5%, with 65% female and 89% South African.
PG Funding 2008 - 2018
DISTINGUISHED SENIOR RESEARCH AWARD
Planet Microbe
VICE-CHANCELLOR’S DISTINGUISHED SENIOR
The Power of Tiny
Enzyme Energy
Biodiversity and the Rise of the Global South
The government is doing its best to make science more accountable in the short term (three to five years), but very often governments and the community don't realize what science has to offer in the long term.” Professor Pletschke cites the ongoing habitat destruction and runaway fires in the Amazon rainforest and Indonesian jungle as an example.
Coffee, Aloes, Prebiotics and Animal Feed
If biodiversity scientists highlighted the value of keeping ecosystems intact, rather than – in the case of rainforests – burning them to expand plantations of palm oil, soybeans or livestock pastures, biodiversity could be protected rather than destroyed.
Seaweeds vs Cancer, Diabetes, Obesity
The idea is to create a range of bio-products, including MOS from aloe and spent coffee grounds, a seaweed enzyme inhibitor and an animal feed fortifier, to boost the bio-economy and create jobs within a sustainable, environmentally friendly production space."
Right Time, Right Place
Julienne du Toit
DISTINGUISHED RESEARCH AWARD
Engaged Citizens, Responsive Government
Technology and Poverty
VICE-CHANCELLOR’S DISTINGUISHED
Her PhD studies focused on an evaluation framework for rural information and communication technology centered around the Siyakhula Living Lab project near Dwesa along the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape. Launched in 2006 and involving Fort Hare and Rhodes Universities, Siyakhula provided linkage and communication-based services to 20,000 children and adults in a very poor area.
The Smoke that Calls’
Smartphones and Accountability
Not coincidentally, Grahamstown began to appear repeatedly in the national news during this time due to the municipality's financial mismanagement and collapse of service delivery. The project is finally gaining traction with some parts of the municipality, especially for fixing water leaks and broken pipes.
Truth and Evidence
The Human Interface
FEATURE
Women in War, Women in Peace
A Father in Uniform
An Under-Studied Field
Women at Home
No Benefits
Most of the women who left South Africa and joined MK were young and independent, reveals Dr. Magdalene. The majority of the internally based combatants have not received any form of compensation from the state.
The Interviews
Yet these women are written from the dominant narrative of armed struggle and excluded from the. These women would not describe themselves as fighters, although the "young lions" they protected would describe themselves as people's war fighters.
Survival Mechanisms
These women had to rediscover themselves for the post-apartheid reality, economically, socially, politically and psychologically," says Dr. Magadla. Part of this thesis also examines the different ways in which women navigate civilian life and how they deal with lingering memories and wounds from the past.”
Panel on State Security
Chris Marais
The Teacher
Reptile Detectives
Taxonomy and Taxidermy
The Species Sleuths
Evolution and Speciation
A speciation event, while sounding rather sudden, is usually millions of years in the making. Another area of research of Dr Edwards involves the distribution of the house gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia) in the Eastern Cape Province.
Pressure and Change
Snakes and Lizards
Threats, Pets and Roads
Horny Devils and Technicolour Warfare
So if you have a lizard with the ability to break off its tail and make it wiggle behind it, the predator is distracted and that gives the lizard an advantage. I have photographed all the species I encountered and uploaded them to my website for others to enjoy the amazing diversity of Southern Africa.”
Long Walk to the Lab
The Farm School Years
Their grandfather died and the farmer made them an offer: the family could stay on the farm with a regular salary and food rations, provided the older boy worked for him.
Brothers in a Shack
Conflict in the Classroom
New School, New Possibilities
Hard Teenage Lessons
Braving a New World
Search for the ‘Gold Drugs’
Love for Academia
The Solitary Student
Finding his Focus
World of Books
Through collaboration with the laboratories of Associate Professor Adrienne Edkins, a co-supervisor of Mbaba's dissertation, and Associate Professor Heinrich Hoppe of the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Dr. Khanye's group has published a number of peer-reviewed research papers in renowned international journals. I want to teach as Dr Khanye and other young university students inspire - just as he inspired me."
A Woman in Search of a Theory
Her search for theory was resolved when she encountered critical social theory while working at the University of the Western Cape in the late 1980s. It is related to the value of the evidence that must be provided for knowledge claims.
And what of the curriculum - a concept that has received a great deal of criticism
For all her research, Boughey firmly believes that at most of the country's universities, efforts to develop students' understanding of what to do are misleading. I don't understand how you can expect at least qualified academic support staff to teach students what to do if they themselves don't understand what's involved!”.
Bring Back the Land
The Mission
The Team
The Place
Drought, possibly caused by climate change, is affecting this already impoverished area, where most of the income is in the form of social grants.
Hearts, Minds and Hands
The five PhD candidates at Rhodes University involved in the GEF 5 project on Sustainable Land Management know this path very well. Their supervisor and team leader, Professor James Gambiza of Rhodes University's Department of Environmental Sciences, cannot hide his pride.
On the Ground
The project is divided into "hubs", each of which is responsible for PhD students who interact with the community, transfer knowledge and record the progress and results of their PhDs. Among them are 71 people who directly participate in the project - of which 41 are women and 30 are men.
Dealing with Dongas
Together with the community, we build and produce solutions so that they are effective and sustainable long after this project ends in 2022.”
Regenerative Grazing
It helps to break the crust of the soil, fertilize it and let other areas rest." Chakoma says they hope to have all the agreements between livestock owners in place within the next few months.
Growing Livelihoods
Francis works with 25 Home Gardening Champions with six demonstration sites in the five villages of Machubeni. Another reason why we prefer the tower gardens is that they are not so badly affected by frost,” she adds.
Women and Governance
Women find the home gardening aspect of the project the easiest to incorporate into their daily lives, simply because it also allows them to take care of children and perform household chores.” That's why I'm so happy that the mayor of Emalahleni and the ward councilor are here today, and to see how interested and involved they are.
Youth and the Future
We have just applied to add support for this project to the local municipality's Integrated Development Planning (IDP). The people at Machubeni are developing unique green economy skills, but they will need the support of the government to maximize and monetize them.”
In Search of the Big Trade Win- Win
Over a period of a few years of adaptation, you see the confusion, the miscommunication, the cultural gap and frustration on both sides of the company-workshop landscape.
A Useful Handbook
The ‘Going-Out’ Strategy
What Africa Wants, What China Wants
There are Downsides
The organizations reveal that China has invested more than $136 billion in Africa in less than 20 years.
One China, Many Africas
Small Trade’ in Mozambique
Building in Uganda
The Chinese managers ate their meal for 30 minutes, took a nap for 30 minutes and returned to work refreshed,” he says. The Chinese are learning to speak English (the second language in Uganda) and they are teaching Mandarin to senior Ugandan staff."
Lessons from Africa
The project manager believes that Ugandan employees are not as loyal to their work as Chinese workers. Whereas the Ugandan workers would not take a nap and then look sluggish in the afternoon.
Looking at Cameroon
Out of all the Chinese investments in all parts of the world, the one that has drawn the most criticism is their investment in Africa." Because they tend to invest in relatively unstable countries that are rich in natural resources, and their loans are resource-backed.”.
Getting to Know Each Other
The Honest Truth in Pulp Fiction
Happily Ever After
Bridget Jones, Chick Lit and Feminism
Penny Dreadfuls, Dime Novels, Nigerian Chapbooks
Zulu Girl Online
Topics include dystopian African cities, Chinese involvement in the continent, the climate crisis and Nigerian astronauts.
Popular Imaginaries and African Feminism
The Accidental Academic
Walk far, Walk together
Lucky Number Seven
It's a shame the teacher never asked me why I wanted to play at number seven, the flank forward. You see, my mother (umaRadebe - her clan name) worked for the principal of Victoria Primary School for Girls in Beaufort Street and she lived at Number Seven, Ayliff Street.
Lessons from the Forest
Every morning I ran from Fingo village to number seven where my mother gave us bread for breakfast so we could eat something before school. We wouldn't eat again until she came home in the evening with some leftovers for us.
Education Metamorphosis
And although my parents were not educated people, they sacrificed a lot for us.” I would tell him it's not about the position, it's about the number.
Teaching the Teachers
It was the first time I was in the same classroom with white students. In the early 1990s, Professor Ngcoza realized that his first love was the professional development of teachers, especially in the fields of math and science.
The Promised Land - a hybrid space
In the past, very few students came to Rhodes from city schools,” he says. In addition, Professor Ngcoza is involved in the Vice-Chancellor's initiative which focuses on creating schools of excellence in the districts.
Raised by Strong Women
Creative Thinkers, Creative Citizens
Building from the Ground Up
Growing up in the War Years
Chris was raised in a village in the Murewa District of Mashonaland East at a time when the country was going through a bloody civil war. This made it very difficult for many to access medical care from government facilities and they had to rely on indigenous knowledge.
Granny’s Herbs
Coming to South Africa
The Science behind
Umqombothi and oshikundu are brewed from grains such as maize, millet and sorghum and are common traditional alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages among the Xhosa in South Africa and Oshiwambo in Namibia respectively. The preparation of the two drinks involves many practices that can be used to teach scientific concepts such as alcoholic fermentation, reaction rates, osmosis and diffusion.
A Troubled School
Mutanho adds: “For me, decolonizing education is all about removing the constraints, boundaries and barriers that limit people from realizing their full educational potential, regardless of who they are. He adds "When I review my current research, I find a strong female voice running through it and I wish my grandmother was here to see it."
A Comprehensive Rebuild
In 2017 he left his job to complete his PhD at the Department of Education in Rhodes under the supervision of Professor Ngcoza. The importance of engaging community members lies in the fact that they are more knowledgeable than others when it comes to local knowledge and storytelling.
The Magic of Many Tongues
One Boy, Two Cultures
Growing Up, Growing Apart
The Future is Multilingual
A Case for the Mother Tongue
The project was launched under the auspices of language and policy specialist Naledi Mbude, also completing her PhD under the supervision of Professor Kaschula, who says:.
Cofimvaba Success Story
Memories of a Florist Shop
Monolingual Isolation
Law Courts and Language
My argument was that if you remove Afrikaans, you go backwards, from a bilingual to a monolingual position. So you are immediately working to downgrade the African languages even further, because then there is no hope of ever placing them there.
Open to Interpretation
I am looking at the relationship between language-qualified LLB graduates and language of record. How can we expect to transform the legal system if we are creating monolingual students?"
The Emoji Universe
Critical Diaries of a Busy Man
Some of the miombo forest trees are already coming out in hints of spring color - from lime green to deep maroon - at least a month early. In Harare I sit in the garden of a friend's house, and the gray lories and arrow-marked warblers squeak and flicker through the trees; the dog chases sticks;.
Mentors and Mindfulness
The ‘Zulu Period’
Finding Shaka
Ecological Criticism
Future Fantasies
The Poet
In his time, the Capetonian man of letters was regarded as the pre-eminent South African poet of his time. It was the most intellectually challenging book I have tried, about a difficult but, for me, endlessly stimulating poet who is considered by many to have been the finest of his generation,” says Wylie.
View from Stones Hill
The stars are counting themselves, the sky is passive, except for the comets that settle into the cracks in the galaxies. Another project a few decades in the making was Intimate Lightning (UNISA Press, 2018), his study of Sidney Clouts and his poetry.
Books/Chapters/Monographs
Peer Reviewed Subsidy-Earning Journal Research Publications
Center for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning (CHERTL) offers formal courses aimed at building knowledge and expertise in teaching and learning, and contributes to research in the field of higher education studies. The field is particularly important in the context of a higher education system struggling with the challenge of creating conditions for success for the majority of students.
Postgraduates / Graduations
CHERTL adds to an understanding of contemporary higher education in a rapidly changing world through various postgraduate programs and accredited publications, conference presentations and the popular press.
PhD graduations
Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Higher Education (HE) graduations
Distinguished Visitors / International Visits
Significant Research Aligned Events
Other Publications
Peer Reviewed Non-Subsidy-Earning Journal Research Publications
An exploratory study of department heads' responses to student calls for decolonized higher education. A critical dialogue about the limitations and opportunities of academic development in the current higher education context.
Research Papers Presented at Academic/Scientific Conferences
Research Papers published in the popular press
All of this highlights the growing expertise in the emerging discipline of Scholarship of Engagement at Rhodes University, which is now recognized as a national leader in engaged research. Furthermore, the transdisciplinary nature of all work undertaken within the department demonstrates the wider commitment of the Rhodes academic community to higher education for the public good through community-based research.
International Visits
The Community Engagement Division hosted the annual international Community Engaged Learning Symposium at the National English Literature Museum (NELM). In May 2018, Rhodes hosted the Erasmus+ Funded Common Good First Project consortium meeting, in which the Community Engagement Division is a key partner.
Concerts, Exhibitions, Performances, Workshops, Events
Research Papers Presented at Academic/Scientific Conferences (Non-peer-reviewed Proceedings)
She was also awarded the Engaged Research Student of the Year award at Rhodes University for her work on scientific engagement and water quality with 90 students from schools across Makana. Primary Purpose: To develop and maintain efficient, reliable and responsive library and scholarly communication services that promote, support and enhance the research, teaching and learning endeavors of Rhodes University.
Physical Library and Usage
The Rhodes University Library (RUL) includes research work in its daily activities of Postgraduate support and training; scholarly communication; digital communities; new acquisitions; and collaboration in support of research, teaching and learning. Library Culture: RUL strives for a shared culture, 'a way of being in thought and in action' in support of a positive academic outcome for the Rhodes University community, while also creating a positive working environment for all.
Collections
Usage
Teaching and Learning Contribution
Social Media/Web 2.0
Champion Open Access (OA), open
Investigate tools and initiatives to enhance access to information resources and the
Scholarly Communication Tools: raise researcher and institutional visibility
Open Researcher and Contributor ID)
Rhodes Digital Commons
Open Journal Systems
Postgraduate and Research Support and Training
Cory Library
Publishing and Books
Conference / Workshop Presentations
To Honours, MA and PhD Students: "An Analysis of Archives as Instruments of Power, Agency and Therapy in the Writing of South African History".
Human Resources
Appointments
Resignations
Sector Engagement and Professional Involvement
Research activity in the department continued at a modest pace due to the focus on the delivery of the accredited professional program of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). Associate Professor Arendse is educated with a PhD in Accounting in Taxation and her dissertation entitled 'An Investigation into the Introduction of a New Wealth Tax in South Africa' was later awarded first prize in the 2018 South African Institute of Professional Accountants ( SAIPA) Tax Dissertation Competition for the Doctorate category.
Other Publication
Peer-reviewed Proceedings
How urban dwellers identify with natural elements within urban green spaces in the Eastern Cape. A closer look at the characteristics of urban green spaces in low-income areas of South Africa.
Significant Research Achievements
Associate Professor Edkins was also the winner of the DST South African Women in Science (SAWiSA) Award for Distinguished Young Scientist in the Natural/Engineering Sciences. Professor Pletschke and Associate Professor Edkins were nominated as Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS).
Distinguished Visitors
2018) Synthesis and biological screening of diethyl-[N-(thiazol-2-yl)carbamoyl]methylphosphonates. 2018) Synthesis and evaluation of substituted 4-arylimino-3-hydroxybutanoic acids as potential HIV-1 integrase inhibitors. The development of genetically modified baculoviruses for improved control of the false codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta in South Africa.
Staff recognition
The Center graduated ten (10) Honors (including four (4) Distinctions), five (5) Masters (including one (1) Distinction) and four (4) PhD candidates (Rose Kadye, Stephen Bentley, Shane Flanagan and Lance Ho). at the graduation ceremony. Professor Limson was also an invited speaker at the SciCOM 100 conference at Stellenbosch University, 5-7 November 2018.
Workshops
The BioSens research group led by Professor Limson and Dr. Fogel presented their work at the 69th annual meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry in Bologna, Italy. Lars Guenther at the 15th International Public Communication of Science and Technology conference in Dunedin, New Zealand, 3-6 April 2018.
Media
A workshop at Scifest Africa encouraged science communicators to explore new roles in science engagement, particularly in responsible research and innovation settings.
Awards
Patents
Journal of the Turkish Chemical Society, Section A: Chemistry (JOTCSA). 2018) An antiplasmodial depside from a Nigerian lichen Dirinaria Picta, epiphyte on the oil palm Elaeis Guineense. 2018) Effect of bromination on the optical limiting properties at 532 nm of BODIPY dyes with p-benzyloxystyryl groups at the 3,5 positions. 2018).
Convergence
In 2018, the research activities of the Informatics department were organized around the mutual support of the research groups listed below. With the exception of BioInformatics, all groups are integrated into the Telkom Center of Excellence in Distributed Multimedia, a triple helix initiative that brings together industry, government and academia to advance innovation that benefits every participant.
Security and Networks
ICT for Development
Distributed Audio Networks
Parallel and Distributed Computing
Bioinformatics
The department is represented nationally and also internationally (Cambodia, Serbia, Japan, Greece, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Hong Kong). She is a lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) where she teaches Theater for Human Rights in the School of Arts, Drama for Life department.
Research-Aligned Events
Professor Rosenberg presented the Tsitsa research at the International Adaptation Futures Conference in Cape Town (Rosenberg, E. with Biggs, H., Palmer, T. and Cockburn, J. 2018. Makhanda: https://www.ru.ac. za /artsofafrica/writingandoutputs/writing reviewsthinkpieces/the opening of the exhibitiondebeerscentenary art collectionr evisitedineastlondon/. 2018) Li Anshan and Jiang Hui eds., Zhongguo feizhou yanjiu pinglun (wenxue zhuankan).
