PhD Gradbook - December 2024

PhD GRADUATION CEREMONY Date: 09 December 2024 Time: 09:30

Examinations and Graduation Office

2nd Floor, Room 2021, Solomon Mahlangu House Tel: 011 717 1280/1 www.wits.ac.za/graduations

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A MESSAGE TO GRADUATES FROM THE CHANCELLOR A hearty congratulations to the class of 2024! You survived a global pandemic and never gave up on your pursuit of excellence. That shows character and grit.

This is the year where no less than 60 countries and more than 1.3 billion people globally go to vote, including South Africa. Our country continues to experience a plethora of challenges that threaten our economic stability and social cohesion, further deepening inequality and hopelessness.

The unrest of 2021 gave us a glimpse into the impact of hopelessness.

It is in this century that, as one of the member states of the UN that approved the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we intend to eradicate inequality, achieve peace, prosperity, and dignity for all, through partnerships while preserving the planet for future generations. We cannot achieve these lofty ambitions without your wisdom and servant leadership as you embark on your careers.

Your hard work to reach the pinnacle of your academic achievement, under immense challenges, is a true reflection of your resilience and commitment. It is this resilience that makes us confident that you have what it takes to build a better future that is equal and just. History has proven time and again that it is the weakest amongst us that determine our strength as a nation. The highly educated have the responsibility to enlighten and fight for social justice for the marginalised, fo the good of humankind.

As you venture into the world, take time to expand the depth and breath of your knowledge. Read outside your specialisation, engage with people outside your comfort zone. Understand the plight of people less fortunate than yourself. Be the change you want to see in your country first then the world. Le ders who leave footprints worth emulating, are not only the brightest but also those who take time to learn from others, who are accountable for their actions and omissions, who use what they know and what they have, to make the world a better place. Leaders who care. Those leaders do this consistently with Integrity, always. May you be those Dr Judy Dlamini Chancellor Wits University Wits for Good is about using all human capacity to find Innovat ve solutions to our challenges, with integrity!

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A MESSAGE TO GRADUATES FROM THE VICE-CHANCELLOR AND PRINCIPAL Dear Wits Graduate, Congratulations on successfully completing your academic programme at the University of the Witwatersrand, the premier University on the continent.

You are now a member of an elite group of graduates of this august institution. More than 200 000 alumni at the cutting edge of excellence, both locally and internationally in business, the public sector, the academy, and in civil society have trodden this path.

Today, you become a member of this illustrious community.

Over the past 100 years, Wits has grown into one of the leading universities on the continent and a globally respected institution for its teaching and learning, knowledge creation and generation, and social impact. It has shaped the lives of many and changed society for good. You are now an integral part of this proud and enduring legacy. Here at Wits, we actively pursue excellence and societal relevance in everything we do. From the abstract to the practical, our focus is on creating a space for the best thought, knowledge, and expertise to be unearthed and nurtured.

Wits is renowned for its intellectual leadership and for nurturing critical thinkers, creative innovators, problem-posers, and problem solvers. We have strived to match your ambition and drive to overcome the challenges thrown our way by the pandemic.

Together we have reached the crest of the hill and proven, once again that excellence is achievable, even in times of uncertainty and adversity.

Your success has furthered our commitment to equipping the next generation of leaders with the skills and determination that you will need to find innovative and sustainable solutions to the pressing problems of the 21st Century.

As a Wits graduate, you had access to an exceptional educational experience. You have been exposed to a world-class academic and research programme and a vibrant community that makes you a true global citizen. You have been part of an institution that generates cutting-edge knowledge and innovation for South Africa and the world. It is now time for you to step into the world and use that experience, for good. We know that you will enter the next stage of your journey with the determination to build a better society tomorrow. I want to encourage you to remain a part of the Wits family by participating in our alumni programme and by further advancing the reputation of your alma mater.

Best wishes for the next steps of your journey and congratulations on being such a big part of the history of this illustrious institution.

Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, FRS Vice-Chancellor and Principal Wits University

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GAUDEAMUS Gaudeamus igitur Juvenes dum sumus Post jucundum juventutem Post molestam senectutem Nos habebit humus.

Let us rejoice therefore While we are young.

After a pleasant youth After a troublesome old age The earth will have us.

Ubi sunt qui ante nos In mundo fuere?

Vadite ad superos Transite in inferos Hos si vis videre.

Where are they Who were in the world before us?

You may cross over to heaven You may go to hell If you wish to see them.

Vita nostra brevis est Brevi finietur Venit mors velociter Rapit nos atrociter Nemini parcetur.

Our life is brief It will be finished shortly Death comes quickly Atrociously, it snatches us away.

No one is spared.

Vivat academia Vivant professores Vivat membrum quodlibet Vivat membra quaelibet Semper sint in flore

Long live the academy!

Long live the teachers!

Long live each male student!

Long live each female student!

May they always flourish

Vivant omnes virgines Faciles, formosae.

Vivant et mulieres Tenerae amabiles Bonae laboriosae.

Long live all maidens Easy and beautiful!

Long live mature women also, Tender and loveable And full of good labor.

Vivant et republica et qui illam regit.

Vivat nostra civitas, Maecenatum caritas Quae nos hic protegit.

Long live the State And the One who rules it!

Long live our City And the charity of benefactors Which protects us here!

Pereat tristitia, Pereant osores.

Pereat diabolus, Quivis antiburschius Atque irrisores.

Let sadness perish!

Let haters perish!

Let the devil perish!

Let whoever is against our school Who laughs at it, perish!

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OFFICERS TO THE UNIVERSITY Chancellor DR NJ DLAMINI MBChB (Natal) DOH (Free State) MBA (Witwatersrand) DBL (Unisa) PGCE (Witwatersrand) IEC (Stanford-USA) Vice-Chancellor and Principal PROFESSOR Z VILAKAZI BSc (Manchester) MSc PhD (Witwatersrand) FRS, FAAS, MASSAf Chairman of Council MR I SHONGWE BA (Wesleyan) MPhil (Oxford) Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) PROFESSOR R OSMAN BA (Witwatersrand) HDipEd BEd (Unisa) MEd PhD (Witwatersrand) MASSAf Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) PROFESSOR L MORRIS BSc (Hons) (Witwatersrand) DPhil (Oxford) FRSSA FAAS MASSAf Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Systems and Operations) PROFESSOR IR JANDRELL BSc (Eng) GDE PhD (Witwatersrand) IntPE(SA) PrEng FSAAE FSAIEE SMIEEE Deputy Vice-Chancellor (People Development and Culture) PROFESSOR G STEVENS BA (Cape Town) BA Psych Hons MPsych (Western Cape) DLitt et Phil (Unisa), MASSAf Registrar MS CG CROSLEY BA HDipEd (Witwatersrand) BEd Hons (Unisa) MEd (Witwatersrand) Chief Financial Officer MS MM MANYAMA CA (SA) BCom Accounting (Cape Town) BCompt Hons (Unisa) BCom Hons Taxation (Pretoria) MBA (GIBS) Dean of Student Affairs MR JAP SEPTEMBER BA MPhil (Cape Town) DEANS OF THE FACULTIES Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management PROFESSOR J COHEN BCom Hons PhD (Witwatersrand) Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment PROFESSOR T MAJOZI BScEng MScEng (Natal) PhD (UMIST) CEng PrEng FIChemE FAAS MASSAf FWISA FSAAE Faculty of Health Sciences PROFESSOR SA MADHI MBBCh MMed PhD (Witwatersrand) FCPaeds(SA) MASSAf, RSSAf, TWAS, CBE Faculty of Humanities PROFESSOR M MUSEMWA BA Hons (Zimbabwe) MA (Cape Town) PhD (Minnesota, USA) MASSAf Faculty of Science PROFESSOR N CHETTY BSc Hons (Natal) MS PhD (U. Illinois Urbana-Champaign) MASSAf, MSAIP

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President of Convocation MS K MUFAMADI BA LLB LLM (Witwatersrand)

EMERGENCY AND FIRE PLANS DURING GRADUATIONS 1. In the event of an emergency and/or fire: • The presiding officia (Chancellor/Vice-Chancellor/Deputy Vice-Chancellor) will make an announcement requesting guests, graduands and staff to keep calm and remain seated; • The Ushers will assist guests to proceed to the nearest Emergency exits in order to evacuate the graduation venue in an orderly fashion; • Emergency exit signs are visible, in red, above all exit doors situated on your left and right hand sides, as well as the back of the venue; • The Ushers will assist the elderly and disabled guests out of the building; • The academic procession on stage must exit through the back stage door; • Once outside the graduation venue, all guests, graduands and staff must proceed to the main assembly point on the piazza.

2. In the event of a Bomb threat All bomb threats will be treated as real in order to protect lives and property and the premises will be evacuated immediately.

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NATIONAL ANTHEM

Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika Maluphakanyisw’ uphondo lwayo, Yizwa imithandazo yethu, Nkosi sikelela Thina lusapho lwayo.

Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso, O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho, O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso, Setjhaba sa, South Afrika — South Afrika.

Uit die blou van onse hemel, Uit die diepte van ons see, Oor ons ewige gebergtes, Waar die kranse antwoord gee, Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom In South Africa our land.

The Wits Choir The Wits Choir has been around since 1995. Their repertoire is colourful and vibrant. They perform regularly at graduations and important ceremonies. The Wits Choir has toured internationally as well as playing host to other choirs here. They are also active in the community, undertaking choral outreach programmes.

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A MESSAGE TO GRADUATES FROM THE PRESIDENT OF CONVOCATION Dear Wits Graduate, There are a few defining moments in life – and it is without doubt that graduation is one of them!

Today, you enter the world as a graduate from one of the top universities on the African continent. You enter into a world filled with many challenges, but a world that is also filled with limitless possibilities. May you meet all the challenges and opportunities that await you with pride, drive, passion, innovation, social-conscience and positive-purpose.

In addition to earning the degree conferred upon you today, you have also earned the right to be associated with a special group of individuals – the Convocation of Wits University. Convocation represents all the degreed graduates of Wits and forms a vital link between the University and the global community in which it operates.

Membership to Convocation is free and serves as an official channel, allowing you, the members, to convey to the University management your views about the University.

This membership comes with several unique privileges, which include nominating the Chancellor of the University. The Convocation Executive has two members on the Wits Council (the governing body of the University) and maintains other regular contact with the University to ensure the voice of the Convocation is represented at the highest levels of The University.

There are approximately 200 000 Wits alumni worldwide. The distinction of our university is important to the prestige of our collective qualifications. We call upon you to nurture and enhance the value of your degree by promoting Wits’ image, preserving our values, and contributing towards our ongoing development, ensuring that we grow in stature as a globally competitive, proudly South African institution of higher learning.

Please engage with us via our numerous social media channels and keep connected with us so you can access career support, receive invitations to events and reunions and have sight of all the latest news about Wits and prominent Witsies: www.wits.ac.za/alumni/updateyourdetails/ I would like to extend a warm welcome to you – you are now a #Witsie4Life!

Ms Kgomotso Mufamadi President of Convocation Wits University

Convocation is a statutory body that includes all graduates of the University. Convocation is the largest constituency of the University (since the founding of the University in 1922, graduates number over 200 000). Its statutory mandate is to “… discuss and state its opinion upon any matters relating to the University including matters referred to it by the Council” and allows for the views of graduates to be represented at the highest levels of governance of the University.

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IHELE THE PROCESSION

IHELE Words and music by S.B.P. Mnomiya Anhom Falalala Obani labo?

Baphi Ahhom?

Ngibona beza Beyikazela Bathwel ‘ongiyane Bavela kuphi na?

Obani labo?

Ongqondongqondo Osibakhulu Yibo labo hhom!

Yini na leyo?

Ihele Ihele lezingwazi zakithi Ahhom udwendwe Ahhom Udwendwe lwezingqwele zakithi Nant’ ihele Longqondongqondo Nant’ ihele Losibakhulu Udwendwe Udwendwe Iwezingqwele zakithi

THE PROCESSION Who are those?

Which, Falalala?

I see them coming Walking with swinging garments They are wearing head rings Where do they come from?

Who are those?

They are people with knowledge They are people in authority These are the ones What is that?

It is a procession A procession of our heroes It is a procession A procession of our champions Here is a procession Of people of knowledge Here is a procession Of people of knowledge A procession A procession of our heroes

Ihele is known as the ‘Black’ Gaudeamus Igitur. In song, the writer, Mnomiya uses very poetic language to describe a graduation ceremony. The soloist sings of the ‘strange’ procession of people in long robes and head gear. The choir responds by saying that these people are academics who read profound books of knowledge.

Mnomiya goes on to say that the graduates are an inspiration to all of us, and we will also graduate like them one day. The song goes on to wish the graduates well and it ends with a resounding “Halala” (well done!).

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THE UNIVERSITY MACE

Maces were originally weapons of defence, designed to break through armour. In medieval times, bishops carried a mace instead of a sword into battle to enable them to defend themselves in accordance with the canonical rule that forbade a priest to shed blood. In time, the mace has come to be regarded as a symbol of delegated authority vested in a person or an institution. At this University, it is a symbol of the authority vested in the Chancellor and a reminder of the mandate given by the legislature of this country to the University to grant degrees.

The University mace is the work of the Edinburgh designer, silversmith and engraver, William Kirk, who designed and made the mace of the University of Stirling and of other institutions. It is silver-and gold-plated, is 1070 millimetres long and 180 millimetres broad and weighs seven kilograms. The heraldic devices used in the decoration reflect the character of this University as an institution of learning, set in a mining centre within the Republic of South Africa.

The head of the mace with its spreading vertical blades is symbolic of the horns of a springbok. The central vertical spike is representative of a rock drill on the mine, and the amber stone set in the head is intended as a tribute to a past Chancellor through its association with his name, Bernstein, which in German means amber stone. The heavy quality of the head is consistent with the traditional concept of the mace as a weapon of defence. The collar repeats the shape of the head. It consists of eight cogs which symbolise the cog-wheel in the University coat of arms and represents mining and industry. The shaft is octagonal and divided into three sections. The coat of arms of the University is placed on the shaft under the collar. Below this the words Universitas Witwatersrandensis Johannesburgi: are inscribed, followed by the date in Roman numerals – MCMLXXVI (1977) – which signifies the year of the dedication of the mace.

The mace is a symbolic portrayal of this University, this city, the Witwatersrand and the Republic of South Africa. It is a constant reminder to members of Council and Senate to uphold at all times the rights, powers and privileges of the University and its governing bodies.

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ACADEMIC DRESS The academic dress of this University is patterned on that of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, with modifications based on the model of the Uni ersity of London and certain individual features, particularly in the costumes of office bearers and the hoods of degreesof bachelor and master.

Dress for Office Bearers • The Chancellor wears a scarlet silk gown with a broad facing of black velvet down each side, embroidered in gold and a black velvet cap with gold cord and tassels.

• The Vice-Chancellor and Principal wears a blue silk gown with a broad facing of gold silk down each side, embroidered in blue, the sleeves being lined with gold silk.

The cap is of the same design as that of the Chancellor.

• The Chairman of Council wears a black silk gown with a broad facing of red velvet down each side and around the neck, the sleeves being lined with gold silk. The cap is of the same design as that of the Chancellor.

• The academic dress of the Deputy Vice-Chancellors and the Executive Directors is the same as that of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, except that the colour of the facing and sleeves of the gown and of the cord and tassels of the cap is silver-grey.

• The gown of the President of Convocation is of blue silk, with a broad facing of gold silk down each side, the sleeves being lined with white silk. The cap is the same as that of the Chancellor, but with a blue cord and tassels.

• The Registrar wears a black silk gown with a broad facing of blue silk down each side, bordered with gold braid. The cap is the same as that of the President of Convocation.

• A member of Council wears a black silk gown with a broad facing of gold silk. The cap is the same as that of the Chancellor.

• The gown of the President of the Students’ Representative Council is black with a broad facing of blue satin.

Graduands’ Gowns • The gowns for all degrees of bachelor and master of the University are black, of the same pattern as the gown for a Master of Arts at the University of Oxford.

• The gown for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy is scarlet, after the University of London pattern.

• The gown for a senior doctorate is the same as that for the PhD, but with a gold satin facing on each side of the gown and with the sleeve button and cord in gold.

The Academic Hood The academic hood is the principal feature of the costume for holders of our degrees of bachelor and master. The hood for the PhD is standard, regardless of the Faculty in which the degree was obtained. It is scarlet silk, lined with white silk.

Degree Colours The hoods reflect the colour or colours of a particular degree r associated degrees.

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DISTINCTLY WITS As a 100-year-old public university in South Africa, Wits is proud of its record of achievement as a significant contributor to our society. We co tribute people to society that are training in their chosen field that are engage and able to tackle problems using evidence-based solutions. We also contribute knowledge that has a positive impact on the quality of life. Wits for Good.

Wits is a world-class research university based on our intellectual excellence, international competitiveness, and commitment to social justice; all of which have a measurable impact.

What makes Wits distinct? Here are a few of many differentiators: •

An international perspective that helps us maintain high standards in teaching and learning and research while not distracting us from our place in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Africa. 60% out our 2021 publications included international collaborators.

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An intellectual hub of Africa, a founding member of the African Research University Alliance. In 2021 Wits published 167 articles with Namibia, 220 with Botswana, 326 with Zimbabwe and 137 with Mozambique.

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An active and engaged community leader that takes a stand on social issues and is fully committed to the advancement of the public good.

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A growing contribution to the body of knowledge through peer reviewed academic publications: 4 400 in 2021 and an average growth rate of 500 per year over the last five years

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Knowledge contribution that is above global quality averages in several fields including: clinical and pre-clinical health studies (76% above global norms); arts and humanities (58% above global norms); life sciences (36% above global norms); physical sciences (12% above global norms).

•

Wits is particularly associated with the study of the fields of virology, particle physics and the Higgs Boson, malaria, archaeology, paleontology, paleoanthropology, violence, local and regional politics, geochemistry, rock mechanics, deep mining, forensic anthropology, climate change, migration, social justice, and many more.

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Proud of the four Nobel laureates and the 98 Rhodes Scholars.

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Proud of our current 40 000 students of whom 16 000 (40%) are undertaking postgraduate studies and learning to make their own unique contributions to the global knowledge base.

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Proud of our 200 000 graduates. More than 90% of Wits graduates obtain permanent employment within 12 months of graduation.

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Proud of its ability to raise external funding to support and drive its research efforts, with contributions exceeding R 2 billion per annum.

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ORDER OF PROCEDURE 09 DECEMBER 2024 AT 09:30 The audience will rise as the academic procession enters the hall and will remain standing until the Chancellor is in place The Chancellor will constitute the congregation The Chancellor will welcome the graduands and guests Address to the congregation Conferment of degrees The President of Convocation will address the graduates The Chancellor will dissolve the congregation The audience will stand while Ihele is played Members of the audience are requested to stand while the academic procession leaves the hall and not to leave the hall before the end of the ceremony.

IMPORTANT NOTICE In the event of load-shedding or power cuts, the Great Hall may become totally dark until the generator comes into operation.

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FACULTY OF COMMERCE, LAW AND MANAGEMENT DEAN: PROFESSOR J COHEN BCom Hons PhD (Witwatersrand) DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY AFADZINU, Nana Asantewa

Wits School of Governance

THESIS: Understanding indigenous philanthropy in Ghana from an Akan perspective The thesis examines indigenous philanthropy in Ghana from an Akan perspective, utilising indigenous methods. It explores the meaning, nature, and practice of Akan philanthropy and its influences by colonisation and westernisation. The findings reveal that indigenous Akan philanthropy exists and aligns with broader African philanthropy, contributing to the global philanthropy discourse. The work addresses gaps in understanding indigenous philanthropy, emphasising the need to decolonise philanthropy and recognise its diverse forms, offering new insights into African and Global contexts.

Supervisors: Professor D Everatt and Professor B Moyo AGYAPONG, Daniel

Graduate School of Business Administration

THESIS: Circular economy practices and sustainability financing mechanisms in Ghana The thesis investigates the factors that influence circular economy financing and their effects on waste management practices and firm performance in Ghana. The thesis employs a PLS-SEM to provide a quantitative analysis of how financial readiness, investment preparedness, and the broader business environment contribute to the adoption of circular economy practices. The evidence highlights valuable prescriptions for policymakers, waste management firms, and investors, underscoring the need for strategic investments to enhance sustainability and improve overall firm performance in the waste sector.

Supervisor: Dr G Tweneboah ATIPAGA, Umar-Farouk

Graduate School of Business Administration

THESIS: Essays on exchange rate movements and stock returns in emerging and frontier African economies The research explored four distinct, yet interconnected essays on African currency and equity market dynamics. Using wavelets, quantile regressions, and transfer entropy techniques, the study among others, found diversification and hedging benefits from advanced markets for some African equities at different time scales. Advanced economies offer safe-haven benefits for some African equities in extreme market conditions. While African policymakers can pursue currency stability to unlock portfolio flows, investors must appreciate the existence of heterogeneity in African markets over different horizons.

Supervisors: Dr G Tweneboah and Professor P Alagidede

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BHUGWANDIN, Kubeshnie

Graduate School of Business Administration

THESIS: Strategic approaches to disruptive innovations in regulated markets: two cases of state-owned electric utilities Electric utilities are navigating a wave of disruptive innovations that are reshaping the energy sector. A multi case study was used to investigate strategic approaches to disruptive innovations in the regulated electricity markets of South Africa and France. The theoretical interrelationships between Disruptive Innovation Theory, Dynamic Capabilities and Ambidexterity were explored within the regulated markets to present various strategic options for executives to successfully operate in evolving electricity markets and national energy regulators on how to reshape the industry.

Supervisors: Professor T Carmichael and Dr C van der Hoven CHINOMONA, Rudo Cynthia Christine

Business Sciences (Management)

THESIS: Predictors of willingness to participate in e-waste recycling in Johannesburg: a case of electronic and electric repair firms This study addresses South Africa’s urgent need for proper electronic waste (e-waste) management practices and policies, especially given the rapidly growing technology sector. By examining awareness, knowledge, and attitudes toward e-waste recycling in Johannesburg’s electronic repair SMEs, the study utilizes theories like TPB and SEM methodology to analyze the predictors of recycling willingness. Findings reveal significant positive relationships between e-waste awareness, knowledge, and attitudes, encouraging organizations like eWASA to foster recycling practices. Drawing from the findings this thesis provides academics, managerial and policy recommendations relating to e-waste management.

Supervisor: Professor O Samuel DADZIE, Emmanuel Asuah

Graduate School of Business Administration

THESIS: African financial markets and global uncertainties: nonlinearities, asymmetries, and information flow This thesis models the effects of global uncertainties on African financial markets, focusing on stock and currency markets across the continent. It aims to address gaps in the literature, particularly the lack of research on nonlinearities, asymmetries, and the flow of information between global uncertainties and African markets. Using the Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise (CEEMDAN), Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD), and nonlinear econometric techniques, the thesis provides empirical evidence and valuable policy prescriptions for policymaking in Africa.

Supervisor: Dr G Tweneboah DAKA, Lincoln

Economics

THESIS: The effect of parental education on child and adult health in Zambia: a regression discontinuity analysis The thesis examines the effect of education on child health, fertility and HIV/AIDS seroprevalence status in Zambia. To circumvent the endogeneity of education he uses Zambia’s Universal Free Primary Education policy as an exogenous source of variation in education. His application of a fuzzy regression discontinuity design shows that education improves child health and lowers fertility and HIV seroprevalence. Overall, the findings highlight the heterogeneous nature of these effects of education on health, including across household wealth.

Supervisor: Professor F Booysen

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DENNISON, Margaret Opelo

Business Sciences (Management)

THESIS: Exploring the concept of Strategy as Practice in National Disaster Risk Reduction: the case of Botswana The study explores the concept of Strategy as Practice (SAP) in National Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR): the case of Botswana. It considers the process in which individual interactions and interpretations of organisational strategy lead to enactment of strategy on the ground. Findings indicate that historically, disaster mitigation has been conducted without effective communication and coordination of strategies and systems at national, district and village levels. The study recommends an SAP based framework to promote proactivity in reducing disaster risks.

Supervisor: Professor D Coldwell EDAYI, Juliet Eronmwon

Business Science

THESIS: Fostering retention of talented and skilled employees by understanding the motivators of employee turnover intention from a South African SME perspective Research on employee turnover intention in SMMEs is surprisingly limited given the disruptive and costly consequences of actual employee turnover. This thesis addresses this gap by providing novel insights into factors that prompt the decision of employees to leave their jobs at SMMEs. The results of this study show that transformational leadership, perceived empowerment, and job satisfaction reduce employee turnover intention, thus providing important insights into how entrepreneurs are able to pre-empt actual turnover and retain talent accordingly.

Supervisor: Dr R Venter GREENBLATT, Jennifer

Graduate School of Business Administration

THESIS: Activating concentrated curiosity in problem construction to enhance creative problem solving The Concentrated Curiosity Model presented in this thesis proposes a novel approach to creative problem construction. This new theory combines a novel “interrogative” approach to information search, focusing on iterative question generation, with a novel “composite framing” approach, enabling conceptual combination in sequential narrow problem framing. The model is tested through an experimental approach and then expanded into an implementation framework informed by more fieldwork. The implementation framework is finally extensively tested through iterative action research within an organizational case site.

Supervisor: Professor G Lee JACOBS, Jevon Luke

Wits School of Governance

THESIS: Alternative resident-led governance in the housing sector: the case of Ruo Emoh, Cape Town This thesis critically analyses the case of Ruo Emoh (‘our home’) in Mitchells Plain through insurgent resident-led urbanism. Ruo Emoh, a medium-density housing development, began in 1995 as a resident-led savings scheme aimed at providing adequate and affordable housing tenure. However, the state’s centralist housing delivery mechanisms prohibit residents from assuming active - and recognised - roles in housing delivery. The thesis argues that democratic mobilisation is impossible, especially against a detatchist state that has eroded or corrupted the agency of citizens.

Supervisor: Dr C Abrahams

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KANGUWE, David Fikile

Graduate School of Business Administration

THESIS: Entrepreneurial orientation and financial performance in the South African construction and materials sector: a focus on bricolage capability and absorptive capacity This pioneering thesis used the theoretical framework of the resource based and contingency theories to investigate the role of bricolage capability, absorptive capacity, and organisational identity as potential moderators to the EO-performance-environment relationship of the South African construction and materials sector. The study contributes a unique managerial orientation to the Strategic Entrepreneurship literature which advances knowledge on how various internal resources and capabilities can be orchestrated for optimum performance and used as complementary assets to improve EO-performance outcomes.

Supervisor: Professor B Urban KAPIAMBA, Luabeya Frank

Graduate School of Business Administration

THESIS: Natural resources, productive structures and economic performance across sub-Saharan countries: Economic complexity and product space perspectives This study explores the growth dynamics of sub-Saharan countries, contrasting resource-rich and resource-poor economies. It challenges the conventional resource curse narrative by focusing on the role of productive capabilities. Using an extended growth regression framework, complex network theory, and machine-learning techniques, it reveals that limited incentives to develop capabilities, not resource dependence, constrain sustained growth. The study advocates shifting policy focus from maintaining sound macroeconomic fundamentals to nurturing capabilities through targeted industrial and innovation policies to foster long-term economic growth.

Supervisor: Associate Professor J Odei-Mensah KGOSINYANE, Pogisho Godfrey

Wits School of Governance

THESIS: Decoding the District Development Model to understand decentralised governance in South Africa The study examines how the District Development Model in South Africa points to a recentralising tendency in the state. The model assumes that interests of governance actors are homogenous and core governance principles align. The thesis reveals uneven and fascinating interactions in two cases where different political parties govern different spheres of government. It demonstrates how multi-level governance is steeped in contestation, and in the context of coalition governments, critiques political culture in South Africa and its decentralised governance arrangements.

Supervisor: Dr C Abrahams KIGEN, Fiona Cheruiyot

Marketing

THESIS: The effect of cognitive dissonance on customer loyalty among demarketed segments in the banking sector with communication openness as a moderator

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This study explores how firms, specifically banks, manage customers when offering them one product but declining them for another, a necessary practice known as demarketing. Through the lens of cognitive dissonance and commitment-trust theories, it examines how demarketing ultimately affects customer loyalty. Findings suggest that demarketing diminishes customer satisfaction and loyalty, but that coping mechanisms employed by customers may moderate this effect. Ultimately, the study offers practical solutions that banks can use to navigate the challenges associated with demarketing.

Supervisor: Professor M Venter

LARBI, Lee Calvin Jojo Tete

Business Sciences (Management)

THESIS: Determinants of Corporate Social Innovation in South Africa’s Commercial Banking Sector This mixed-methods thesis provides unique insights into the various factors shaping the propensity of South African commercial banks to engage in Corporate Social Innovation. Through a quantitative survey and qualitative semi-structured interviews of CSR professionals, the research examines the direct effects and indirect effects of individual predictors of Corporate Social Innovation. In so doing, this study has sought to provide an empirically grounded novel understanding of the necessary conditions to foster Corporate Social Innovative behaviours in order to address societal challenges.

Supervisor: Dr R Venterl MABHALI, Luyolo Andrew Baxolise

Graduate School of Business Administration

THESIS: Effect of dynamic workforce capabilities on firm-level innovation in the South African metals industry The focus of this research was investigating the influence of education qualifications, tenure, and demographic background on firm-level innovation in the South African metals industry. A positive correlation was found across all three factors and firm-level innovation.

The positive value of the correlation coefficient also showed that a positive change in these three factors results in a positive change in firm-level innovation. Therefore, the dynamic workforce capabilities, made up of these three factors, warrant consideration in the dynamic capabilities literature.

Supervisors: Dr M Mzyece and Dr P Omotoso MAINGEHAMA, Francisca Nyasha

Business Sciences (Management)

THESIS: Growth effects of human capital and innovation in small and medium-sized South African firms before and after the COVID-19 pandemic Building on Penrose’s theory of firm growth and the resource-based view, this study develops a model linking human capital, innovation, and entrepreneurial orientation to firm growth.

A systematic review of 206 articles (2000-2020) informs the model, which is then tested using data from 497 respondents and partial least squares structural equation modeling. Key findings reveal innovation’s critical role in mediating entrepreneurial orientation and human capital effects on SME growth, advancing understanding within the South African context.

Supervisor: Professor C Callaghan MEKWA, Itumeleng Eskia

Graduate School of Business Administration

THESIS: Voluntary and Involuntary delisting and shareholder wealth in the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) The thesis examined the wealth effects and determinants of delisting events on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Contrary to previous literature, voluntary delisting events do not exhibit significant abnormal returns, indicating efficient market incorporation of delisting information. Most notably, new evidence uncovered suggests that voluntary delisting affects the consumer non- cyclical and industrial sectors, while involuntary delisting primarily impacts the technology stocks. The study provides policy recommendations to mitigate the negative impacts of delisting, and support for delisted firms.

Supervisor: Professor P Alagidede

18

MOKHOHLANE, Daniel Manama

Wits School of Governance

THESIS: Impact of Mega Astronomy Infrastructure Projects on Development in the Rural Northern Cape, South Africa The candidate, whose unique contribution to knowledge is the development of a new framework for mega astronomy infrastructure projects for development of rural areas.

This thesis grappled with the relationship between mega astronomy infrastructure and economic development in rural communities in the Northern Cape. It also engages with the paradoxes of development in marginal communities, casting a new light on development theory and its utility for rural development.

Supervisors: Professor M Qobo and Professor I Sarakinsky MOLOKWANE, Masibane John

Wits School of Governance

THESIS: The post-1994 land reform prism to interrogate development planning in South Africa While land reform has featured in various policies post-1994, it has not been elevated and used as a central means in advancing development planning and development to address socio-economic challenges. This study, therefore, took a unique approach, unlike previous studies examining land reform in the context of development planning and development. The study aimed to address the dearth of literature that prioritises and focuses on the instrumentality of land in development and the inability of the post-1994 South African land reform approach to view land as a development tool.

Supervisor: Dr K Pooe MPOFU, Kathleen

Law

THESIS: Using a Multilevel Governance Framework for the reform of the International Investment Law Architecture The thesis explores the reform of the International Investment Law system. It identifies that the current reform process is deficient in that it does not cater to the needs of a wider range of stakeholders beyond investors. To address a broad range of substantive and procedural concerns currently plaguing the system, the thesis makes use of the multilevel governance framework to effectively organise and incorporate the different stakeholders and different levels of governance into the international investment law system.

Supervisor: Professor M Forere NATTO, Dinah Milembe

Graduate School of Business Administration

THESIS: Effect of Corporate Governance on firm performance and economic growth: a comparative analysis The study investigates the effects of corporate governance and institutional quality on firm performance and economic growth in emerging and developed markets. Using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), the research finds that corporate governance has significantly improved in emerging markets, with South Africa leading. However, weak institutions can negate these benefits, particularly in emerging economies. The study highlights the importance of strong governance and institutional frameworks for promoting economic growth and firm performance, offering valuable insights for policymakers and investors.

Supervisor: Associate Professor T Mokoaleli-Mokoteli

19

NCAMANI, Sibulelo

Graduate School of Business Administration

THESIS: Determinants of business success and failure for South African financial services companies doing business in West Africa South African companies have expanded into the rest of the continent seeking growth opportunities. Some encountered challenges exiting the targeted host countries. This study analysed factors which cause South African financial services firms to succeed or fail in West Africa. It makes a significant contribution to the field of International Business Management adding to the existing literature by expanding on the commonly used frameworks on internationalisation. It presents a roadmap to assist executives when making pertinent decisions concerning West Africa.

Supervisor: Dr R Horne NORTJE, Jacqueline

Graduate School of Business Administration

THESIS: Customer behaviour change through gamification: goal framing and temporal effects Gamification is a widely used design strategy deployed widely to encourage participation in key behaviours. Despite its widespread use, and continuous growth, there are aspects that are poorly researched or insufficiently grounded in theory. This thesis investigates two such aspects: the use of goal setting and the use of gamification over extended periods.

The thesis enhances the use of goal setting theory within a gamification context through an alternative framing methodology and delivers insights on the long-term impact of gamification.

Supervisor: Professor G Lee NYAMVURA, Elliot

Business Sciences (Management)

THESIS: Supply Chain Resilience and Supply Chain Performance: examining the moderation and mediating effect of collaboration activities and risk management culture This research explores the critical relationship between Supply Chain Resilience (SCR) and Supply Chain Performance (SCP), emphasising the role of collaboration and risk management culture. Analysing data from 316 food manufacturers and retailers in Qatar, the study reveals that SCR enhances SCP, particularly when supported by strong collaboration and risk management culture. It offers practical strategies for developing resilient, high-performing supply chains capable of withstanding global disruptions, benefiting industry leaders and policymakers alike.

Supervisor: Professor F Saruchera OLUMIDE-OJO, Nkiru Juliet

Marketing

THESIS: A two-perspectives study of 4ps of brand leadership for two African brands: Effects of employee customer-oriented behaviours and customer brand admiration Dangote, DSTV and MTN are consistently Africa’s top admired and brand leaders. This study took guidance from three theories and five models to identify people, person, product and place factors (4Ps) behind DSTV and Dangote brand leadership and admiration. For both brands people and person impactful factors are perceived organisational support, employeebrand fit, brand knowledge, brand belief, and transactional leadership. Key product and place drivers are brand warmth and competence, enabling and enriching benefits, product and service availability, basic country and category-country images. Brand admiration significantly impacted brand leadership dimensions of brand quality, value, popularity and innovativeness.

Supervisor: Professor H Duh

20

RADEBE, Osiel Bongani

Wits School of Governance

THESIS: Evaluation of the civilian intelligence service oversight model: a South African perspective Intelligence is vital for state security but requires robust governance to ensure accountability and protect civil rights. This research evaluated South Africa’s post-1994 civilian intelligence oversight system, highlighting regulatory and institutional weaknesses. It recommends targeted reforms to enhance transparency and accountability, including reviewing legal frameworks and oversight mechanisms. Emphasising the integration of societal and constitutional values, the study advocates aligning these values with regulatory and institutional frameworks for effective governance.

Supervisors: Dr K Pooe and Professor A Van Nieuwkerk SEBASTIAN, Avani

Business Finance

THESIS:How does integrated report quality affect decision-making? An equity analyst perspective in the South African Market Given that uncertainty increases proclivity for behavioural biases, and that integrated reports are intended to reduce uncertainty, this thesis explored the effect of integrated reports on equity analysts’ biases. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, it was established that analysts prefer direct interactions with management over integrated reports. The findings show herding around the consensus and scepticism of the information in integrated reports. The extent of scepticism varies according to the proximity of the analyst to previous instances of financial misstatement.

Supervisor: Professor Y Seetharam STAROSTA, Paulina Dagna

Law

THESIS: The role of psychology in legal education: incorporating cognitive science into legal pedagogy Criticisms of legal education suggest that students leave law schools without the lawyering competencies required of effective legal practitioners. Psychology has a great deal to teach us about the core competencies of lawyering. This thesis proposes that psychology and cognitive science can be used to better equip students to practice law. This thesis proposes an undergraduate bridging course on how psychology operates within the law and the course is designed to show how cognitive science and psychological phenomena affect and impact on both the learning and the practice of law.

Supervisor: Professor M Du Plessis TEMBO, Margret

Business Finance

THESIS: The institutional determinants of dividend policy: the case of African listed firms This study examines the institutional determinants of dividend policy in Africa using panel data estimations over the period 2006 to 2020. Results highlight institutional factors’ significance, with investor protection, financial development, and press freedom as key determinants. It also reveals a negative link between innovation and dividend policy.

Institutional development moderates this, amplifying the negative impact in weak institutions and mitigating it in strong ones. Furthermore, firms in weak institutional settings tend to engage in more dividend smoothing.

Supervisor: Professor C Chipeta

21

VAN ZIJL, Wayne

Accountancy

THESIS: The evolution of consolidation accounting: an application of chaos and memetic evolution theory Scholars of accounting history maintain that changes in how accounting is practised and understood are the result of economic stimuli, rational technical imperatives and the political interests of the accounting fraternity. This work advances an alternate perspective. It proposes that accounting change is best understood as a function of “memetic evolution”. Drawing on Darwin’s work on natural selection and chaos theory, the current study illustrates how consolidation, and contemporary, accounting is a product of accumulated selections informed by memetic games rather than the result of grand economic design.

Supervisor: Professor W Maroun WOTELA, Ruth Rumbidzai

Graduate School of Business Administration

THESIS: Attitude and acceptance of Artificial Intelligence technologies in the South African financial services industry The research investigates factors influencing employees’ attitude and acceptance of AI technologies within the financial services industry. The results indicate that employee wellbeing, competitive pressure, perceived usefulness, management support, perceived ease of use, organisational justice and customer pressure are key determinants of attitude towards use of AI. Attitude towards AI influences acceptance of AI. Employees’ job roles do not moderate the relationship between attitude and acceptance of AI, but experience does. An ITOE model for implementing AI technologies is developed.

Supervisor: Dr C Maier

22

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT DEAN: PROFESSOR T MAJOZI BScEng(UND) MScEng(UND) PhD (UMIST) CEng PrEng FIChemE FAAS MASSAf FWISA FSAAE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY CHILOANE-NWABUEZE, Salome

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

THESIS: A Decision Support Framework for grading of Civil Engineering contractors and evaluation of Infrastructure Project Performance The study was motivated by the level of inefficiencies in the South African civil engineering construction sector. To achieve the study objectives, a questionnaire was deployed to industry role players followed by a multi-criteria decision-making framework using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). The adoption of these methodologies has enabled the framework for registering, grading, and evaluating of project performance of contractors to be developed.

Supervisor: Professor A Fitchett FAHMY, Randa Mahmoud

School of Architecture and Planning

THESIS: Cultural Memories and Place-Identity: a case study of Syrian Refugees’ resettlement and acculturation strategy in Egypt Focusing on Syrian Refugees, the thesis explores how refugees of Arab origin(s) retrieved perceived authentic architectural heritage from their cultural memories in the processes of acculturation, and when constructing new place identity in the host country Egypt, where they found refuge.

Supervisor: Professor N Elleh GILAYENEH, Victor Saye

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

THESIS: Prospects of Gibbsite-Rich Laterite as a Source of Aluminosilicates in Geopolymerisation The study investigated the use of gibbsite- or aluminium-rich laterite in the development of sustainable cement-based materials. Although not ideal for geopolymerisation, calcined aluminium-rich laterite was found to be suitable for low-strength construction applications.

The findings also indicate that aluminous laterite can, in addition to being used to develop hybrid binders, also be used as an alternative supplementary cementitious material in concrete.

Supervisors: Professor M Otieno and Professor S Nwaubani

23

MALETE, Refiloe Minah

School of Construction Economics and Management

THESIS: An analysis of the effectiveness of infrastructure delivery management system in South African government The study examines infrastructure delivery in the public sector and challenges that hinder the effective execution of infrastructure projects. The report presents an integrated delivery framework for infrastructure. The study adds to the literature on infrastructure delivery techniques and contributes to the development of efficient and sustainable methods for delivering infrastructure.

Supervisor: Professor N Khatleli MBINZA, Zenzile Emile

School of Architecture and Planning

THESIS: The dynamics of place branding in the City of Johannesburg: 1994-2019 The candidate’s thesis is an inquisitive journey. It gets into the heart of the literature on place branding both in the developed and developing world. The thesis unravels the historical motivations, twist-and-turn dynamics, and complexities of place branding in Johannesburg from 1994 to 2020, using interviews, archives, and a detective intuition.

Supervisor: Professor M Sihlongonyane MOLOI, Nosipho Prudence

School of Construction Economics and Management

THESIS: Essays on the Corporate Governance Evolution and South African Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) The candidate investigated the impact of corporate governance on the performance of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in South Africa. Using econometric methods on REITs stock price, the results examined the role of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility in explaining REITs’ performance.

Supervisors: Professor O Akinsomi and Dr W Wong MONAKEDI, Tshepo Albia

School of Architecture and Planning

THESIS: Understanding the contribution of informal non-state actors in the governance of cities of the global South through informal institutions: the case study of informal car guarding in Johannesburg, South Africa This thesis is about the contribution of informal non-state actors in the functioning of cities in the global South. Using the case study of Informal Car Guarding in Johannesburg, South Africa, the thesis forms part of urban planning theory that is informed by the daily realities of people who interact through informal institutions.

Supervisor: Professor A Karam MOODLEY, Prebantha

School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering

THESIS: The Water Impact of Carbon Dioxide Avoided: a new metric to understand the trade-offs between Water Usage and Carbon Capture Technologies in Fossil-Based Power Generation This research explores the development of a new sustainability metric, Water Impact of Carbon Dioxide avoided (WICa), to evaluate the potential increase in water use versus the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in carbon capture technologies Supervisors: Professor K Harding and Professor TA Adams ll

24

MUDAVANHU, Tabani Bernard

School of Mechanical, Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering

THESIS: Towards a generic model to guide and sustain enterprise strategy implementation This thesis provides a ground-breaking artifact towards resolving the ongoing challenges to successful strategy Implementation, by applying for the first time an Engineering Enterprise perspective. Thus it courageously delves into and explores for the first time the deepest organisational level, the ontological level, and uncovers a critical relationship with implementation. This knowledge provides a fundamentally new direction for researchers and practitioners in this field.

Supervisor: Dr B Emwanu MUZANENHAMO, Chido Anna Maria

School of Architecture and Planning

THESIS: Gendered strategies and aspirations of black women inhabiting borderland spaces: a case study of Musina Local Municipality This research focuses on the construction of black femininity within an African borderland.

Conducted in the Musina Local Municipality on South Africa’s border with Zimbabwe, the study explores a double-borderland - an overlap of transnational and urban-rural interfaces. It shows how black women are caught in between idealized conceptualizations of black femininity and the pressures of assimilating into a borderland society.

Supervisors: Professor P Harrison and Dr M Rubin MYBURGH, Sabrina Gabrielle

School of Mechanical, Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering

THESIS: Bodies of cunicularity in supersonic flow The ability of porous media in supersonic flows to reduce the drag a body experiences, was investigated. The drag-reducing effect of organised porosity within conic bodies was demonstrated through numerical and experimental investigations. From this study, the three most significant contributions to drag were identified and modified, yielding a body with organised porosity that has significantly reduced drag.

Supervisor: Professor C Law NAICKER, Thilgavathie

School of Architecture and Planning

THESIS: Place leadership for the governance of complex urban agglomerations The thesis explores the concept of `place leadership’ and its relevance within a complex and dynamic socio-political space such as the Gauteng City-Region. It uses three thematics to analyse place leadership, namely `temporality’, `crisis’, and `transcalarity’. By incorporating these thematics, the concept has value for city-regions in the Global South.

Supervisor: Professor P Harrison

25

OMALANGA, Sendango Landry

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

THESIS: Using a hybrid adsorption-membrane filtration system to produce biologically stable drinking water In this study, the candidate investigated the effectiveness of a hybrid adsorption-membrane filtration system in lowering the bacterial regrowth potential in portable water. Readymade multi-walled carbon nanotubes were non-covalently functionalized and used as adsorbents whereas polysulfone membranes were produced by phase inversion method using N, N-dimethylformamide solvent. The results of the study showed that the hybrid system adopted can effectively remove two forms biodegradable organic matter from water. Therefore, the system can be used to produce biologically stable drinking water.

Supervisors: Dr P Biyela and Professor G Simate ONYEDIKACHI, Samuel Nnamdi

School of Electrical and Information Engineering

THESIS: Estimating resistance and performance of earthing systems electrode in variably saturated soil conditions Regular onsite inspection and measurement of transmission tower earthing resistance are recommended to ensure system reliability and operational safety over seasonal variations.

However, integrity tests are costly and time-consuming. This research offers a new method, using subsoil properties and climate conditions to estimate earthing resistance and performance, minimizing the requirement for extensive onsite measurements.

Supervisor: Professor G Gomes OSMAN, Amani Alged Fetaha

School of Electrical and Information Engineering

THESIS: Physical layer security with NOMA in mixed RF-FSO systems This study investigates the security of a multiple-input multiple-output based non-orthogonal multiple access system in a mixed radio frequency and free-space optical system from a physical layer security perspective in the presence of a single and multiple eavesdroppers.

Statistical properties of the RF and FSO links are derived in terms of the PDF and CDF of the SNRs at the receivers’ ends and subsequently used to establish theoretical expressions of the secrecy performance measures. Monte Carlo simulations confirm the accuracy of the proposed analytical frameworks.

Supervisors: Professor F Takawira and Professor J Moualeu RABOTHATA, Mahlatse Solomon

School of Mechanical, Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering

THESIS: Effects of ni-mo binder and laser surface engineering of nbc based cutting inserts during face-milling of automotive grey cast iron The candidate’s thesis focuses on the development of novel niobium carbide-nickel/ molybdenum (NbC-Ni/Mo) cermet based cutting inserts as alternatives to conventional tungsten carbide-cobalt (WC-Co) inserts for face-milling automotive grey cast iron (aGCI). By utilising advanced techniques such as pulsed electric current sintering (PECS), composition manipulation and femtosecond laser surface modification (LSM), the research achieved significant improvements in mechanical properties, abrasion wear resistance, machining performance, and energy efficiency. This work contributes to the field of hard materials and engineering, offering valuable insights for future advancements in cutting tool technologies.

Supervisors: Professor C Polese and Professor R Genga

26

SHONIWA, Kuda John

School of Construction Economics and Management

THESIS: The use of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) to reduce construction claims in South African mining capital projects This study explores the use of IPD benefits to reduce construction claims in South African mining capital projects. The findings show an opportunity to use IPD aspects and infusing them into the Design-Bid-Build method. The candidate then developed a new framework that uses IPD collaboration and integration benefits as remedies to causes of construction claims.

Supervisors: Professor S Laryea and Professor E Saghatforoush THERON, Patricia Frances d’Altera

School of Architecture and Planning

THESIS: Lagos as a Metropolitan Assemblage: reading the layering and complexity in urban infrastructure This thesis uses “assemblage” to explain an emergence of process and pattern in the urban setting of Lagos, as revealed through systems of physical infrastructure. The colonial World War I port and the independence era oil-wealth bridge and ring-road projects of the 1970s are read as infrastructural assemblages, involving complex relationships of actors, institutions, and material networks.

Supervisors: Professor N Elleh and Professor P Harrison ZWANE, Sibongile

School of Construction Economics and Management

THESIS: A comparative approach to market-wide herding The thesis examined market-wide herding in the US, UK, South Africa and Taiwan across bonds, equities, and listed real estate. It found persistent herding within and between indices, with herding more pronounced in listed real estate. Herding is more prevalent in emerging markets, suggesting investors should mitigate risks through product integration.

Supervisor: Dr T Sebehela

27

FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES DEAN: PROFESSOR SA MADHI MBBCh MMed PhD (Witwatersrand) FCPaeds(SA) MASSAf, RSSAf, TWAS, CBE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ABDALLA, Yosra Mahjoub Ahmed

Pharmacy

THESIS: A thermo-responsive scleral device for the management of ocular tumours This thesis involved the exploration of a thermo-responsive hydrogel with pH-responsive nanoparticles for targeted treatment of ocular surface tumours using interferon alpha.

The hydrogel and nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized, followed by an assessment of cellular absorption, ocular pharmacokinetics, using a rabbit model. The system demonstrated persistent release of the drug in vivo and no significant inflammatory response in the conjunctivae or sclera, indicating its potential as a therapy option for specific ocular surface tumour sites.

Supervisors: Professor Y Choonara, Professor L Du Toit and Dr N Ally ABDELGADER, Ahmed Abdalla Bakheit

Pharmacy

THESIS: A multi-unit, polymer-based, prolonged-release, intrauterine device for the relief of the genitourinary syndrome of menopause The genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) is a condition affecting millions of women globally. Despite its occurrence, there is a lack of effective long-term treatments that consider patient safety and compliance. This study addresses this concern through the development of an implantable, multi-unit platform for the site-specific delivery of hormonal drugs. Overall, this system presents a promising solution for GSM treatment, while potentially revolutionising drug delivery in the genitourinary tract through the development of a versatile targeted, controlled release system.

Supervisors: Professor Y Choonara, Dr M Govender and Dr P Kumar ATIBA, Foluso Ayobami

Anatomical Sciences

THESIS: Effects of aqueous extract of kolanut (Cola nitida) on Sprague Dawley dams and exposure on the hippocampus of the progeny This thesis explored the effects of prenatal kolanut (Cola nitida) exposure, on the hippocampus of Sprague Dawley rat progeny. Prenatal kolanut consumption by Sprague Dawley dams adversely affected food intake. The treatment also adversely affected behaviour indices, neuronal morphology, decreased neurogenesis and neuroplasticity in the progeny. It induced oxidative stress and significant downregulation of cfos, cjun, creb1, dlg3, and dlg4, genes, important for normal synaptic-neuronal development, resulting in dysmorphology of dendrites and spines.

Supervisors: Professor AO Ihunwo and Professor E Mbajiorgu

28

BARNIGHAUSEN, Kathryn Elizabeth

Public Health

THESIS: Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention in Eswatini: understanding the barriers, facilitators and opportunities for women This thesis examines findings from the formative qualitative component of the Eswatini Preexposure prophylaxis(PrEP) demonstration project. Using 217 semi-structured in-depth interviews with health care workers, stakeholders and PrEP uptake, decline, discontinuation and continuing clients, the thesis describes where - along the HIV prevention cascade gaps in service provision, demand creation, access, and retention in care are visible. The outcomes of the thesis contributed to the national scale up of PrEP in Eswatini and have informed ongoing programmatic and implementation adaptations.

Supervisors: Professor K Kahn and Dr S McMahon BLANCHARD, Charmaine Louise

Internal Medicine

THESIS: Developing an intervention to improve informed decision-making for oncology patients in South Africa This thesis applies the Intervention Mapping framework to understand the challenges oncology patients face in making informed decisions and utilises theory-based strategies to address behaviour change determinants in developing a suitable decision support program. Findings were that patients have high information needs, however patientoncologist communication is constrained by language and cultural discordances, and limited consultation time. The resulting oncologist communication and patient coaching program will provide a culturally sensitive patient-centred approach to making informed cancer treatment decisions.

Supervisors: Professor S Norris and Professor M Patel BLOCH, Nerissa Wendy

Virology

THESIS: Heat shock factor (HSF) expression and its effect on life table parameters in the main malaria vector Anopheles funestus Anopheles funestus is a major malaria vector and is understudied due to the species’ natural resistance to laboratory colonisation. Temperatures worldwide are rising steadily, which can affect mosquito distribution and behaviour. This study explored heat shock factor (HSF), a transcription factor, which is crucial to these physiological and behavioural processes. It is imperative to understand the role of HSF in Anopheles funestus as it is important to advance knowledge in order to understand this main African malaria vector.

Supervisor: Professor L Koekemoer BOPAPE, Malebogo Audrey

Physiology

THESIS: Effects of Dietary supplementation with ß-sitosterol on cobb 500 broiler chicken productivity, health and product quality In commercial poultry production feeds are fortified with growth promoting synthetic antibiotics which pollute the environment, taint poultry products and cause antibiotic resistance. In pursuit of “green and climate-smart” feed supplements, this study demonstrated that ß-sitosterol, a natural phytochemical, can replace synthetic antibiotics in broiler chicken feeds as a growth promoting feed supplement without compromising growth performance, meat yield and quality and bird health.

Supervisors: Associate Professor E Chivandi, Professor KH Erlwanger and Dr B Lembede

29

CAMPBELL, Lisa

Human Genetics

THESIS: The utility of clinical exome sequencing as a first-tier diagnostic tool in critically ill infants in South Africa Genetic disorders significantly contribute to infant mortality and morbidity globally; nevertheless, their diagnosis remains challenging. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)based testing approaches have proven successful in diagnosing these conditions in infants worldwide; however, previous studies lack representation from low and middle-income countries. This pilot study demonstrated the successful implementation of NGS-based gene panels for the diagnosis and management of ill infants in the South African State healthcare system, achieving a diagnostic yield of 22%, and explored the necessary adaptations from global implementation strategies to address local challenges.

Supervisors: Professor A Krause and Dr N Carstens DOWNS, Sarah Leah

Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases

THESIS: Temporal changes in Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization in children following routine childhood immunization with pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in South Africa This research developed a high-throughput nanofluidic real-time PCR method for detecting 92 pneumococcal serotypes and 15 bacterial species in nasopharyngeal samples, significantly improving serotype-specific analysis. Applied to South African children in rural and urban settings, the study revealed substantial declines in vaccine-type (VT) pneumococcal colonization eight years post-PCV13 introduction. However, VT 19F prevalence persisted, suggesting limitations in current vaccination effects. These findings offer essential insights into serotype dynamics in South Africa, informing future vaccine impact evaluations in similar settings.

Supervisors: Professor SA Madhi, Professor MC Nunes and Dr CP Olwagen ENGELBRECHT, Linette

Nursing

THESIS: The development of a competency-based programme for management of disease outbreaks Disease outbreaks significantly impact global health, leading to millions of deaths and straining healthcare systems, particularly in African nations. There is a notable absence of specialised programs aimed at equipping healthcare professionals to effectively manage these outbreaks. This study employed an exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach, grounded in Critical Realism, to create and validate a tailored program for South African nurses. The final curriculum consists of ten modules designed to equip nurses with essential skills and knowledge for effective management of disease outbreaks.

Supervisors: Associate Professor S Schmollgruber and Dr L Crous ESSA, Divesha

Pharmacy

THESIS: Design of a smart, stealth nano-system for targeted drug delivery in prostate cancer treatment This research describes the design and development of an antibody-conjugated polymeric nano-system for receptor targeted delivery of docetaxel for prostate cancer treatment.

The work outlined the experimental optimisation of the nano-system and highlighted its ability to specifically target prostate cancer in 2D and 3D in-vitro models. The results demonstrated the higher efficacy and selectivity of the targeted nano-system compared to the free drug, suggesting its potential for application in targeted prostate cancer therapy.

Supervisors: Professor Y Choonara, Professor P Kumar and Professor M Kaur

30

GBANDE, Sulleh

Nursing Education

THESIS: ANurse-led palliative care programme for women receiving palliative chemotherapy for breast cancer in Ghana The researcher conducted a sequential multi-method study directed in four phases. The purpose was to develop, validate and pilot test a palliative nursing care programme for women receiving palliative chemotherapy for breast cancer in Ghana. The Wilcoxon rank signed-rank test showed that before the intervention severity of pain among patients was high with a mean score m=9.34 (SD±1.04). However, after the intervention the severity of pain among breast cancer patients reduced, with a low mean score m= 2.75 (SD±0.00), with a significance of p-value ≤ 0.05.

Supervisor: Professor J Maree and Professor LO Obiora GEEL, Jennifer Ann

Paediatrics

THESIS: The feasibility of introducing a harmonised treatment regimen comparing affordable blood tests and PET CT scans to improve two-year survival rates in children, adolescents and young adults with Hodgkin lymphoma in South Africa This study aimed to improve survival of children and adolescents with classical Hodgkin lymphoma in South Africa through a harmonised treatment guideline. The retrospective component established baseline survival rates and prognostic factors. The prospective phase incorporated all state and most private paediatric oncology units, documenting higher survival with risk-stratified, response-adapted regimens. Machine learning was used to prove that low-cost blood tests could predict chemosensitivity, reducing the need for radiotherapy. Overall survival was markedly improved, especially for patients with HIV. Supervisor: Professor D Ballot and Professor M Metzger GOVENDER, Melanie Ann

Human Genetics

THESIS: Determining the risk profile for chronic kidney disease (CKD) in rural South Africans using genetic risk scores and protein markers This thesis investigated genetic risk models for kidney disease and evaluated the proteomic profile of hypertension-associated albuminuria in black South Africans. Polygenic scores developed from different ancestries showed poor predictability in Africans, emphasising the need for large African research cohorts. Urinary proteomic data with a machine learning approach was able to classify disease status and identify proteins and pathways associated with hypertension-associated albuminuria. This research addresses the gap of `omics research in resident African populations.

Supervisors: Dr JT Brandenburg, Dr J Fabian and Professor M Ramsay HLABANGANA, Linda Tebogo

Diagnostic Radiology

THESIS: The use of social media platforms in implementing quality improvement initiatives for quality assurance of paediatric chest radiographs in radiological departments of varying radiographer expertise The research involved detailed quality evaluation of paediatric chest radiographs before and after remote quality improvement interventions, at three geographically separated hospitals, using social media as the quality improvement tool. Although social media have demonstrated an impact in education and communication, the usage by radiographers in South Africa was limited, primarily by network costs. The study highlighted the need for novel interventions to make social networking sites into effective quality assessment and quality intervention tools in paediatric radiography.

31 Supervisors: Professor S Andronikou and Professor J Pettifor

HOLLHUMER, Roland

Ophthalmology

THESIS: Ocular surface squamous neoplasia: risk factors, diagnosis, management and outcomes at a tertiary Eye Hospital in South Africa This study showed that Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia (OSSN) presents in younger patients with an equal gender distribution, when compared to high income countries.

HIV was the leading risk factor. The study showed that optical coherence tomography performed the best as a non-invasive diagnostic investigation, followed by liquid-based cytology. The study examined the outcomes of a standardised management algorithm that combined surgery with topical chemotherapy and reported a low recurrence rate of 1.8%.

Supervisors: Professor S Williams and Professor P Michelow IBRAHIM, Ranya Mohammed Mukhtar

Pharmacy

THESIS: Development of a biocompatible hydrogel platform for wound healing and skin regeneration This study investigated the potential of secretome derived from rat dermal fibroblast cells, incorporated into an alginate-soy lecithin hydrogel, to accelerate cutaneous wound healing both in vitro and in vivo. The hydrogel exhibited enhanced wound healing capabilities, which were attributed to the sustained release of growth factors and cytokines from the secretome. This resulted in the improved cell-to-cell communication and promoted tissue remodeling. The developed hydrogel showed promise as an effective treatment for cutaneous wounds.

Supervisors: Professor Y Choonara, Dr H Mndlovu and Professor P Kumar JACOBS, Jolandi

Physiotherapy

THESIS: Bowling biomechanics, physical profiles, and injuries among female cricket players The professional development of women’s cricket has created an urgent need for injury prevention and performance research tailored to female players. This thesis addresses this need through four studies focused on female cricket: a comprehensive review of 158 sports science and sports medicine studies, an analysis of physical profiles, an investigation into injury rates, and a comparative study on sex-specific bowling biomechanics. Findings offer critical insights for clinicians and coaches, supporting tailored interventions and guiding future research in women’s cricket.

Supervisors: Professor B Olivier and Professor C Brandt KUMALA, Justin

Virology

THESIS: The effect of insecticide resistance on Malaria vector control in Chikwawa, Southern Malawi Malaria remains a major public health problem in Malawi, with around 6 million cases annually. Insecticides are pivotal in controlling the mosquitoes that transmit the disease, but resistance has increased over the years. This study investigated the impact of insecticide resistance on malaria vector control in Chikwawa, a high-transmission area in southern Malawi. Findings offered an early warning of reduced control efficacy, informing the local vector control policy to prevent program failures and better protect communities from malaria.

Supervisors: Professor M Coetzee and Dr T Mzilahowa

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LOPES, Tiago Ferrao

Physiology

THESIS: Cognitive, cardiovascular and muscular stress imposed by a Twenty20 batting simulation Elite sporting performance is not achieved through physical prowess alone; athletes must also generate fast, accurate reactions to stimuli. This thesis pioneers methods for investigating the exercise-cognition interaction in batters during a Twenty20 innings. Results suggest that amateur batters can complete an innings with little decline in physical performance; however, cognitive performance may be compromised at higher run-scoring rates. These findings provide novel coaching paradigms to prepare batters for competition and tools to further research their skills.

Supervisors: Professor B Olivier and Dr S Kerr LUBEYA, Mwansa Ketty

Public Health

THESIS: A mixed-methods analysis of the implementation and uptake of the human papillomavirus vaccination of adolescent girls in Lusaka, Zambia This thesis explores the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination of adolescent girls from the perspective of diverse stakeholders in Zambia, specifically examining key factors that influence vaccine implementation by providers and acceptance by adolescent girls.

Applying behavioural and implementation science frameworks, the study provides insights into strategies for improving HPV vaccine uptake by addressing socio-cultural, behavioural, and implementation barriers. This work contributes to the broader goal of cervical cancer prevention and serves as a foundation for strategic health interventions to enhance HPV vaccine coverage in Zambia and other low resource settings.

Supervisors: Professor M Kawonga, Professor CJ Chibwesha and Professor M Mwanahamuntu MAKWERO, Martha Thokozani

Public Health

THESIS: The assessment of Patient-centered Care among diabetic patients in Southern Malawi This study proposes an operational framework for patient-centred care (PCC), a quality-ofcare concept in the context of chronic care medical encounters; ensuring that its functional elements are expressible and measurable through the development and validation of a measurement tool. The study confirms that PCC interactions mediate better patient experiences and outcomes yet its practice among providers especially shared decisionmaking is low in Malawi. Therefore, the study makes an advocacy case to promote and incentivize PCC in quality appraisal frameworks and medical education.

Supervisors: Professor J Igumbor, Professor A Muula and Dr F Anyamwu MANJATIKA, Arthur Tsalani

Anatomical Sciences

THESIS: Examination of the metatarsal diaphyseal nutrient foramina: implications for forensic analysis and morpho-functional adaptations in 19th and 20th century individuals

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The role of metatarsal nutrient foramina (NF) in both clinical fracture development and management, as well as for human identification in forensic settings, was previously unclear. NF are small openings for blood vessels through bones. Using skeletal remains from the three major South African population groups, this thesis provides a comprehensive description of the topographical, morphological and trabecular microstructural variations around the NF and also demonstrates that the metatarsal NFs are applicable for forensic sex estimation in South Africans.

Supervisors: Dr J Davimes and Associate Professor P Mazengenya

MAPUNDU, Michael Tonderai

Public Health

THESIS: Computational approaches to characterizing morbidity and mortality patterns in rural South Africa This thesis explores computational techniques in analysing large-scale verbal autopsy (VA) data to characterise morbidity and mortality patterns. By leveraging machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), it accurately identifies prevalent diseases, mortality trends, and health disparities, providing insights into risk factors and socio-economic correlations. The study emphasises the integration of these models into the cause-of-death pipeline with human annotation, reducing VA processes, diagnosis turnaround times, and costs. Additionally, the intrinsic lack of model transparency is addressed, fostering trust and enhancing the acceptance of machine diagnoses in public health strategies.

Supervisors: Professor E Musenge, Professor T Celik and Dr CW Kabudula MASEKO, Lebogang Johanna

Occupational Therapy

THESIS: Integrating rehabilitation services at primary healthcare level in Johannesburg, South Africa This study evaluated the integration of rehabilitation into South Africa’s primary health care (PHC) to advance universal health coverage. Using a multi-phase, mixed-methods approach, it highlighted integration challenges in low- and middle-income settings.

Although service delivery shows adaptations, full integration remains limited due to inefficient referrals, resource constraints, and inconsistent policy application. Nevertheless, proactive rehabilitation staff, strong interprofessional collaboration, and a multidisciplinary approach suggest potential for a more cohesive model. The study proposes a peoplecentred PHC rehabilitation framework emphasizing governance, teamwork, and community empowerment to enhance accessibility and accountability.

Supervisors: Dr F Adams and Professor H Myezwa MATUVHUNYE, Takudzwa

Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

THESIS: Molecular characterisation of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) and its association with vaginal microbiome among pregnant women from low-middle income countries The study investigated the genetic diversity of Group B streptococcus (GBS) in pregnant women from six sub-Saharan African and two Southeast Asian countries. The results showed differences in the prevalence of sequence types and clonal complexes between regions, with the hypervirulent GBS adhesin being prevalent in African region but absent in Southeast Asia countries. Analysis of the vaginal microbiome suggest that interventions targeting the vaginal microbiome could reduce the risk of invasive GBS disease in pregnant women and their newborns.

Supervisors: Professor SA Madhi and Dr G Kwatra MBARUSHIMANA, Valens

Public Health

THESIS: Early adolescents’ knowledge, beliefs and behaviors regarding gender and sexuality in Rwanda: implications for their sexual experiences and health outcomes This thesis explores how early adolescents (12-14 years) in Rwanda acquire knowledge and attitudes to promote their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). It further investigates the context and the association between this knowledge, sexual experiences and health outcomes. Early adolescents are minimally represented in policies, are taught little about recommended topics, have low SRHR knowledge, and yet they have started engaging in friendship and sexual experiences. Promoting early adolescents’ sexual health requires considering all aspects of their environment.

Supervisors: Dr DN Conco and Professor S Goldstein and Professor M Coetzee and Dr T Mzilahowa

MLANDU, Chenai

Public Health

THESIS: Maternal, newborn and child healthcare services utilisation in three sub-Saharan African countries (DRC, Kenya and Tanzania) using Demographic Health Surveys data from 2007-2016: application of Generalised Structural Equation and Machine Learning Models Maternal, newborn, and child healthcare (MNCH) is key in improving neonatal survival.

The study assessed the utilisation of MNCH services and associations with neonatal mortality using Generalised Structural Equation and Machine Learning models in the DRC, Kenya and Tanzania. Antenatal, delivery and postnatal care uptake was suboptimal, inequitable and linked with neonatal mortality. Machine Learning models demonstrated high prediction accuracy of uptake of these services. Interventions like health financing, improved service delivery and mass media investments could enhance MNCH uptake, with Machine Learning application potentially improving intervention design.

Supervisors: Dr Z Matsena-Zingoni and Professor E Musenge MNQIWU, Khumblani

Material Science

THESIS: Design, synthesis, and bioactivity of hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives and their polymer nanocomposites The study explores the potential antimicrobial and anticancer properties of these designed compounds through computational modelling and experimental validation. Particularly, the research highlights the variation between in-silico predictions and experimental results, emphasising the critical importance of empirical testing. Additionally, the work investigates the use of polymer nanoparticles as a drug delivery system, demonstrating that loading the synthesised compounds onto nanoparticles significantly enhances their efficacy.

Supervisors: Dr S Moeno and Professor M Patel MOODLEY, Mishalan

Haematology and Molecular Medicine

THESIS: Integrated methylome and transcriptome analysis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in the South African cohort Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a highly prevalent and deadly cancer in South Africa. This study investigated DNA methylation and gene expression changes in Black South African ESCC patients. We discovered significant DNA methylation alterations that aligned with changes in gene expression for key genes: KRT13, Cdc42EP3, TNC, and COL6A3, involved in extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling. These epigenetic changes may contribute to tumour invasion and metastasis. Our findings underscore the potential of targeting ECM pathways for novel ESCC therapies.

Supervisors: Dr P Willem and Professor C Mathew MOOSA, Fahima

Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

THESIS: Prevalence and molecular epidemiology of Bordetella pertussis infection in South Africa

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Pertussis remains a public health concern in South Africa, evidenced by rising case numbers and outbreaks in recent years. This study focused on describing the incidence, transmission dynamics, serological attack rates, and molecular epidemiology of Bordetella pertussis in South Africa from 2015 - 2019. The study outcomes highlight that the increase in cases is unlikely attributed to genetic changes in the pathogen but rather suggests declining population immunity following routine use of acellular vaccines or gaps in population immunity as potential causes.

Supervisors: Professor A Von Gottberg, Dr M Du Plessis and Dr N Wolter

MOSHOETTE, Tumelo

Haematology and Molecular Medicine

THESIS: Engineering bispecific antibodies targeting HIV-1 subtype C In this thesis, the researcher describes the engineering of two novel bispecific antibodies that comprise of a host-targeting antibody, ibalizumab, and the anti-HIV-1 antibodies CAP256 and N6. The resultant bispecific antibodies, iMab-CAP256 and iMab-N6 exhibited increased neutralisation coverage against HIV-1 in comparison to their parental antibodies with iMabCAP256 exhibiting enhanced potency. Moreover, iMab-CAP256 compared favourably to previously published bispecific antibodies, 10E08-iMab and PG9-iMab. Subject to further preclinical development, these bispecific antibodies are ideal candidates for developing immunotherapy and immunoprophylaxis strategies against HIV-1.

Supervisors: Professor M Papathanasopoulos and Dr M Killick MUHAYIMANA, Alice

Nursing

THESIS: Development of strategies for Health Care Providers to sustain respectful maternity care to women in labour Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) is a fundamental human right. This thesis points to development of strategies to sustain RMC. Advancing the scientific discourse with evidence to promote a global culture of RMC. Using an Appreciative Inquiry method, positive childbirth experiences of women and best practices of healthcare providers, emerged.

A mixed methods approach, expert national and international reviews, led to predictors of elevated RMC for strategy development. The end product informs how standardised RMC practices for Rwanda can be defined in the broader health system and integrated collaboratively by the relevant stakeholders.

Supervisor: Dr I Kearns MURTALA, Muhammad Dandare

Pharmacology

THESIS: Effect of Haloperidol on stress hormones and quality of sleep in Intensive Care Unit patients with delirium ICU patients often face challenges related to delirium and sleep. This study evaluated the effect of haloperidol on managing acute stress in ICU patients, specifically its impact on sleep quality, cortisol, and melatonin levels. Both hormones were reduced in the haloperidol treated group compared to the untreated group, with sleep quality adversely affected. A validated HPLC method was developed to monitor plasma levels of haloperidol and tramadol. Alternative treatment to haloperidol is needed to optimise care of ICU patients with acute stress.

Supervisors: Professor RL van Zyl, Associate Professor S Schmollgruber, Dr A van Eyk and Emeritus Professor G Richard MWANGALA, Patrick Nzivo

Public Health

THESIS: Ageing with HIV: Psychological wellbeing and its biopsychosocial determinants at the Kenyan coast The ageing of the HIV population has created a subgroup of vulnerable older adults living with HIV, thus demanding a prompt response in research, policy, and practice. This thesis examined the psychological and functional wellbeing of these adults in a low-literacy Kenyan setting using a mixed methods study. Findings suggest that these adults are at risk of mental ill-health, frailty and cognitive impairments in selected domains. Many of the observed determinants of these outcomes are psychosocial factors and potentially modifiable.

Supervisors: Professor A Abubakar, Professor R Wagner and Professor C Newton

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NEOPHYTOU, Natalia

Therapeutic Sciences

THESIS: A model of care which includes motor proficiency and physical activity levels for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder This thesis developed a comprehensive model of care for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The model provides a novel framework for addressing physical inactivity and reduced motor proficiency and emphasizes the need to integrate motor-related aspects into standard ASD care. The model identifies key stakeholders who should be involved in the process, and highlights the need for multidisciplinary, and individualised management. The model includes guidance regarding appropriate education and awareness, individualised assessment, integrated feedback, intervention development and efficacy monitoring relating to the motor skill profiles of children on the spectrum.

Supervisors: Professor G Torres and Professor J Potterton NEVONDWE, Patracia Livhuhani

Human Genetics

THESIS: Designing and evaluating the utility of a panel of de novo mutation (DNM) enriched genes for diagnosing South African patients with developmental delay Developmental disorders are diverse and life-altering conditions, with approximately half having a genetic basis. However, many patients remain undiagnosed due to limitations in current testing methods, resulting in significant health burdens in resource-constrained settings, such as the South African State healthcare system. This thesis presents a costeffective screening approach that employs a panel of de novo mutation-enriched genes, offering a practical solution for diagnosing developmental disorders. This approach serves as a starting point for developing cost-effective diagnostic strategies in resourceconstrained settings, ultimately enhancing patient outcomes.

Supervisors: Professor A Krause and Dr N Carstens OLADEJO, Temitope Seun

Physiotherapy

THESIS:HIV-related disability: development of a contextualised physical activity program The study explored the interplay between disability, health perceptions and physical activity among people living with HIV (PLWH) in Nigeria using a mixed methods research design. The majority of participants did not meet WHO- recommended physical activity guidelines and barriers included fatigue, lack of time and an unsupportive environment.

This study aimed to bridge these gaps. Through scoping reviews, interviews of PLWH and an expert panel, an intervention program was developed to empower PLWH to engage in regular physical activity.

Supervisors: Professor H Myezwa, Dr A Ajidahun and Professor S Ibeneme PADARATH, Kiyasha

Internal Medicine

THESIS: Comparison of the proteome of Huh-7 cells transfected with different (sub) genotypes of Hepatitis B Virus prevailing in sub-Saharan Africa Hepatitis B virus prevails in sub-Saharan Africa and is a major cause of liver cancer. For the first time, the study showed that African strains of HBV can affect protein expression of liver cells in tissue culture. The disturbance of host signalling pathways by the virus can play a role in the development of liver cancer.

Supervisors: Professor A Kramvis and Dr A Deroubaix

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PHAKOAGO, Makabudi Valery

Physiology

THESIS: Myrmecophagous mammals in a changing world: the ecology of aardvarks and Temminck’s pangolins in the Kalahari Many mammals are facing increasing heat loads together with reduced water and food availability as a result of climate change. The candidate explored the physiological ecology of the aardvark and the ground pangolin, two elusive species that we know very little about, by investigating how their diet, food availability and behaviour change with changes in the climate. This thesis has provided crucial information on how these mammals will cope in a changing world, and how best to conserve them.

Supervisors: Professor A Fuller and Professor S Maloney PHUKUBJE, Edgar Matome

Physiology

THESIS: Isolated nocturnal hypertension and target organ damage in a population of African descent The study established that isolated nocturnal hypertension exhibited non-dipping and reverse dipping blood pressure patterns, leading to vascular damage comparable to that seen in 24-hour sustained hypertension. This damage was primarily through sodium retention-induced nocturnal blood pressure increase. Post-50 years of age, plasma aldosterone levels rise independently of sodium, suggesting that hypertension treatments should prioritize aldosterone antagonists. Furthermore, pre-clinical diastolic dysfunction occurred with nocturnal BP 110-119 mm Hg. Therefore, current BP thresholds need revision, with 24-hour BP monitoring recommended for accurate hypertension diagnosis.

Supervisor: Associate Professor B Maseko SHABAN, Siham Ibrahim Ahmad

Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

THESIS: Antifungal activity of synthetic peptides targeting apoptosis in candida auris This thesis investigated the therapeutic potential of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as a novel approach to combat the multidrug-resistant pathogen Candida auris. C. auris is an emerging global healthcare threat, particularly among immunocompromised individuals. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of AMPs against C. auris by targeting multiple mechanisms, including membrane disruption, apoptosis induction, inhibition of virulence factors and efflux pumps and synergized with conventional antifungals. These findings highlight AMPs as promising candidates for developing novel therapeutic agents against C. auris infections.

Supervisors: Associate Professor A Ahmad and Professor M Patel SIMAMANE, Mandisa Jewel

Biokinetics

THESIS:Physical activity intervention plan for hypertensive patients of Umlazi township, KwaZulu-Natal The global rise in hypertension, driven by aging, sedentary lifestyles, and obesity, increases cardiovascular risks. The study investigated the implementation of a physical activity intervention plan, coupled with family member involvement within the primary healthcare sector, would contribute to the effective management of hypertension among hypertensive patients residing in the community of Umlazi township, KwaZulu-Natal. The findings reaffirm the synergy of pharmacological and lifestyle interventions, advocating for clinical integration of physical activity and family support in hypertension management.

Supervisors: Professor D Constantinou and Dr E Watson

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SINGH, Ashmika

Virology

THESIS: Characterisation of the dynamic gut microbiota of members of the Anopheles gambiae complex Malaria is transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes, which are increasingly challenging to control through conventional insecticide-based methods. Therefore, alternative control methods are necessary. Ideally, these should avoid chemical interventions. The gut microbiota of mosquitoes plays a crucial role in shaping their life history, making microbiome manipulation a promising biocontrol strategy. This study characterised the gut microbiome of the Anopheles gambiae complex, along with examining how changes in the larval environment, through exposure to heavy metals and salt, impact the adult gut microbiota.

Supervisors: Dr S Oliver and Dr M Allam SMITH, Tiffany Shenay

Haematology and Molecular Medicine

THESIS: Inactivating hepatitis B virus replication using obligate heterodimeric TALENencoding mRNA This study explored a novel approach to treating chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

Each year, this infection causes over 1 million deaths because current vaccines and treatments do not effectively counter the virus. Research reported in this thesis focused on using mRNA to encode engineered gene editors, called TALENs, that disable HBV permanently. Preclinical evaluation showed significantly reduced viral replication without harmful side effects. This study marks the first successful use of TALEN-encoding mRNA to inactivate HBV. Supervisors: Professor P Arbuthnot, Associate Professor A Ely and Associate Professor B Maepa STAMP, Gabriella Elisabeth

Physiology

THESIS: The association between adult attachment style and pain perception in a South African cohort This thesis involved two studies that aimed to investigate the complex association between adult attachment style and pain in a South African population. The large nationwide survey found that insecure (compared to secure) attachment styles were associated with higher chronic pain prevalence. However, it found no association between attachment style and pain perception in the second study using a controlled experimental setting, suggesting complex factors at play in chronic pain that may not be replicable in controlled experiments.

Supervisors: Professor A Wadley and Professor S Iacovides SUBRAMONEY, Kathleen

Virology

THESIS: Molecular epidemiology and characteristics of immune adaptations across the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoproteins from Gauteng, South Africa, 2020 to 2022

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This study described and analysed lineages during 2020 to 2022 among 2381 SARS-CoV-2 genomes sequenced. Despite dominance of variants of concern, other lineages with continued circulation at lower frequencies harboured similar mutations of significance.

Heterogeneous infections detected in 9% of individuals may explain the diverse SARS-CoV-2 lineages; and contribute to the virus’s ability to rapidly evolve and escape neutralising antibodies. A novel spike construct, wherein cytotoxic T cell epitopes were maximised through accounting for SARS-CoV-2 diversity, was successfully generated.

Supervisors: Dr F Treurnicht and Professor B Fielding

TOMMY, Kimberleigh Ashley

Anatomical Sciences

THESIS: A comparative study of trabecular structure of the patellofemoral joint: Evolutionary and Biomechanical perspectives This thesis analysed trabecular bone structure of several primate patellofemoral joints using high-resolution MicroCT scans. Significant differences in structure among extant primates and fossil hominins were found, likely stemming from species-specific locomotor behaviours.

In humans, variations in trabecular structure were associated with different activity levels and degrees of osteoarthritis. The results highlight the complexity of knee joint loading and emphasise the need for further studies to better understand primate knee biomechanics.

Supervisors: Professor L Schepartz, Professor K Carlson and Dr B Zipfel WAGNER, Fezile Sthembile

Public Health

THESIS:A nexus of student food (in)security, common mental disorders, and academic success in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic This thesis investigates the impact of COVID-19 on food insecurity and mental distress among first-year students at a large urban South African university, using a mixed methods research design. Results show that, despite lower failure rates, dropout rates increased during the pandemic. While food security improved, mental distress also rose. The study links heightened dropout rates to food insecurity and mental distress, emphasising the critical need for psycho-social support in higher education, especially in times of disruption.

Supervisors: Professor FX Gómez-Olivé and Professor U Kolanisi WEINBERG, Micaela Darielle

Physiotherapy

THESIS: An assessment framework of the shoulder girdle in participants with temporomandibular disorders There is a rise in prevalence and chronicity of temporomandibular disorders. This motivated the need to expand the knowledge of other areas that connect to the temporomandibular joint, such as the shoulder girdle. This thesis consisted of four phases to achieve a consensus on an assessment framework of the shoulder girdle in participants with temporomandibular disorders. Furthermore, it provided an in-depth assessment of the connections between the temporomandibular joint and shoulder girdle expanding the current body of evidence between these two areas.

Supervisors: Professor B Olivier and Dr S Kunene

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JOINT DEGREE: UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND AND UTRECHT UNIVERSITY GUMEDE, Siphamandla Bonga Ziphozonke

Internal Medicine

THESIS:Strengthening understanding of effective adherence strategies for first-line and second-line antiretroviral therapy(ART) in selected rural and urban communities in South Africa This thesis assessed the barriers and facilitators to adherence for patients receiving first-line and second-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) and evaluated adherence strategies utilised in rural and urban communities in South Africa. This study adapted the socio-ecological framework to conceptualise the complex interplay of individual-, relationships-, communityand policy-level factors that influence adherence to ART. The evidence presented in this thesis enabled the candidate to make recommendations for comprehensive, and appropriate intervention strategies to improve treatment adherence.

Supervisors: Dr S Lalla-Edward, Professor J de Wit, Professor F Venter, and Professor A Wensing JOINT DEGREE: UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND AND LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY SEKOME, Kganetso

Public Health

THESIS: Feasibility and acceptability of a contextualized physical activity and diet intervention for hypertension control in a rural adult population of South Africa Adults in rural South African settings have high levels of uncontrolled hypertension. This thesis sought to develop, implement and assess the feasibility and acceptability of an intervention to adjust routine physical activity and diet for hypertension control in adults aged 40 years and over.100% of targeted participants were recruited, 93% were retained and 93% provided complete data. The intervention presented high levels of feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity with all four measures of fidelity showing that the intervention was delivered as planned.

Supervisors: Professor H Myezwa and Professor FX Gomez-Olive

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FACULTY OF HUMANITIES DEAN: PROFESSOR M MUSEMWA BA Hons (Zimbabwe) MA (Cape Town) PhD (Minnesota, USA) MASSAf DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ADENIJI, Kehinde Adedayo

Education

THESIS: Towards improving rural learners’ mathematics achievement: the roles of social relationships and identities The thesis titled “Towards improving rural learners’ mathematics achievement: the roles of social relationships and identities” substantially contributes to and fills key research gap in the field of mathematics education, more especially in the rural context. The contributions are foregrounded with the originality, philosophical engagements, theoretical insights and methodological rigour of the study. The study also goes beyond all these sophistications to translate them to a practical teaching practices for mathematics teachers.

Supervisor: Associate Professor A Essien ANYANZU, Francis

Demography and Population Studies

THESIS: The role of social networks in destination selection among Urban Refugees in Kampala, Uganda Using a mixed method, the thesis investigated the social networks of the urban refugees in Kampala and how they influence the refugees to specifically move to Kampala. The study contributes to urban refugee literature by identifying the critical social network actors and how the social support exchanged through interrelationships in the social influenced the refugees’ settlement decisions.

Supervisor: Associate Professor N De Wet ARMSTRONG, Doug Connolly

Music

THESIS: MUCUS (Music Composition User System) Infectious flexible creative interaction with an algorithmic music composing application The candidate’s research investigates human-computer collaboration in music creation through the design of an interactive algorithmic music composing tool that fulfils the role of a creative collaborator. The potential for such interaction is harnessed by using high-level musical descriptors and capturing user sentiment to build a model of the user’s musical preferences. The results of this study offer insights into the value of rule-based algorithms in light of current discourse concerning the development of AI in the creative arts.

Supervisors: Dr J Crossley and Dr C Harris

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ARNOLD, Laura Jane

Education

THESIS: Exploring fourth-year Sol Plaatje university student teachers’ professional identities development during teaching practice This study explored 4th year SPU student teachers’ construction and awareness of developing professional identities during teaching practice. Relational and collegial professional identities were developed through reflections on prior teaching and learning experiences. They were influenced by personal, social, and temporal conditions that need to be seriously considered in ITE Programs Supervisor: Associate Professor T Nkambule BOBAT, Safiya

Psychology

THESIS: Narratives of identity and belonging: place and the everyday practices of immigrant Muslim women living in Fordsburg, Johannesburg The candidate’s thesis explores the ways in which identity is negotiated across place and time, through everyday food practices. Narrative interviews were conducted with 10 immigrant Muslim women from India, Bangladesh and the Philippines, living in Fordsburg or “Foodsburg”, Johannesburg. Food evokes nostalgic memory and loss, but also is also utilised to craft new relational forms of belonging and being at home. The examiners described Bobat’s narrative analysis as “rich and fascinating to read, nuanced and sensitive” and highly original Supervisors: Professor J Vearey and Associate Professor J Bradbury BUSIKA, Nonkululeko Faith Noluthando

Drama

THESIS: The search for `Ichambawilo’ (an encounter) with refugee and asylum-seeker parents whose children are vulnerable: an African Drama therapy intervention programme This thesis focuses on a designed and implemented African Drama Therapy intervention program for parents of children participating in the Three2Six project in Johannesburg, receiving drama therapy. The designed drama therapy intervention program is intended to assist this community of parents in adequately fulfilling their parental responsibilities in a socio-economically challenging environment in South Africa. The API-R5 intervention is based on concepts of Ubuntu and Spirituality central to African well-being.

Supervisor: Dr P Gerrand COETZEE, Kiyasha

History of Art

THESIS: THINGS IN FLUX : understanding the ontological dynamics of digital heritage objects The candidate has immersed himself in the field of digital heritage to offer a critique of data-driven mass digitization. He interrogates the `black-boxing’ of digitization procedures through focused studies of two specific things - a pair of engraved cow horns housed in a museum, and a rock-shelter with San rock painting and graffiti - and makes the case for `slow digitization’ as thoughtful object-centric practice, fully engaged with the effects, sometimes violent, of things as they shift between worlds.

Supervisor: Dr J Wintjes

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CUSTER, Scott

International Relations

THESIS: The Evolution of Peace Enforcement: United Nations Enforcement Actions Under Article 42 of Chapter VII This thesis provides a comprehensive examination of the evolution of peace enforcement operations. The research explores the changing actor constellations in peace enforcement, the conditions under which peace enforcement operations are initiated, and the strategic considerations that guide the international community’s response to threats to peace and security.

Supervisor: Professor M Brosig EMUPENNE, Olanrewaju Ojo

International Relations

THESIS: The Geopolitics of Climate Change and Violent Conflicts in Africa: the Nigerian and Kenyan Perspectives This study explores the linkages between climate change and violent conflicts in Africa, specifically farmer-herder conflicts in the Kenya (Tana River County) and Nigeria (Middle Belt Region). Existing inter-communal conflicts have intensified due to drought, desertification, the scarcity of water and arable land, and migration. The study employs a mixed method research design utilizing questionnaires and interviews, document and policy analysis, to provide empirical data on the domino effects of climate change on violent conflict in these two cases.

Supervisor: Dr M Small GAMEDZE, Asher Simiso

History

THESIS: Ensemble study and struggle: a history of the Yu Chi Chan Club and the National Liberation Front This innovative thesis examines the history of the relationship between study and struggle of the Yu Chi Chan Club and the National Liberation Front, their predecessors and afterlives.

It presents original research on a black, independent socialist tradition of national liberation politics, its changing ideas and activities in the struggle against apartheid and racial capitalism.

Supervisor: Professor M Nieftagodien HENDRICKS, Sumaya

Education

THESIS: Internships & intentions: a grounded theory study of a South African government graduate internship programme This study used a grounded theory approach to understand the factors which affected intern learning on a graduate internship programme run by the South African government.

The central phenomenon and theoretical contribution the study makes is in identifying, describing and theorising the rupture between the intended curriculum and the curriculum as experienced by interns. This rupture is characterised as a metaphorical curricular fission creating a situation hindering interns from becoming full workplace participants.

Supervisors: Dr L Hewlett and Professor V Wedekind

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HOOSEN, Leyya

Anthropology

THESIS: Masjid Al-Nasaa: Women Call for an Islamic Elsewhere This thesis explores the meanings of being a ‘Muslim woman’ in South Africa in the context of the digitisation that marked the Covid-19 pandemic. It centres the research participants’ call to Islam(s). The seven core theoretical and narrative chapters are framed by Islamic cosmologies as an epistemic space.

Supervisors: Associate Professor Z Erasmus and Dr M Wilhelm-Solomon HORSTHEMKE, Fiona Ramsay

Drama

THESIS: Navigating liminal space: embodied knowledge and performance pedagogies in archival reconstruction This creative research project examines emergent decolonial practice and pedagogical methodologies by revisiting and reconstructing four theatre productions from an archive of work produced in South Africa during the apartheid period. Through this process, entangled histories are deconstructed and shared, and liminal spaces are identified in the preparation and performance processes as critical for facilitating awareness and engagement with the complexities of inclusive curricula.

Supervisors: Associate Professor D Andrew and Associate Professor S Ravengai JEONG, Da Un

Development Studies

THESIS: A study of Saemaul Undong in South Korea: Making self, Memory and Development The candidate’s remarkable study of South Korea’s Saemaul Undong (New Village Movement) crosses the boundaries of development studies, oral history and cultural sociology. It draws on a range of sources - from life histories to state archives’ to show how state-development projects do not simply work at the level of the state. Moving away from top-down studies of development and governance, it shows how such projects play out at the micro-level of the self. This thesis powerfully contributes to the fields of development, social movements and state-building in the global South.

Supervisor: Professor S Roy JOHNSON, Bertina

Drama

THESIS: Synthesizing the Methods of Stanislavsky into the African Aesthetics of Contemporary South African Theatre This thesis demonstrates how the work of Stanislavsky has been integrated into the methods and techniques of South African theatre and African aesthetics through the lens of Afrocentricity, an African world view and Stanislavsky’s psycho-technique. The thesis has relied upon the practical insight of my lived experience in deploying a creative synthesis of the two systems and provides insights into how the process has worked in the South African context, leading to a new practice which I offer to practitioners.

Supervisor: Associate Professor S Ravengai

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JONES, Dilys Margaret

Speech-Language Pathology

THESIS: Factors influencing listener comprehension in multicultural dysarthria In line with contemporary approaches, this study aimed to identify barriers and facilitators of comprehension in dysarthria (a neurological speech disorder) in a multicultural context.

The results showed that comprehension of the relatively unintelligible speech of speakers with dysarthria is affected by a number of listener variables, including home language and experience. The results also suggested that listener training is effective in improving comprehension of dysarthric speech and should be incorporated into intervention for dysarthria.

Supervisor: Dr H Jordaan JONGWE, Tapfuma Ronald

Education

THESIS: School heads’ experiences and perspectives on critical leadership competencies in Zimbabwe: a phenomenological study The study examined the lived experiences of Zimbabwean school heads to identify key competencies for effective leadership. It employed a qualitative, phenomenological approach, involving interviews and diary entries from six leaders. The findings revealed essential competencies grounded in transformational and instructional leadership theories, as well as five enabling factors that support effective leadership and improved student learning. The insights provide valuable guidance for enhancing the development and training of school leaders in Zimbabwe.

Supervisor: Dr P Mthembu KHUZWAYO, Zuziwe

Sociology

THESIS: Bisexuality in Democratic South Africa: Experiences of Women in Johannesburg This thesis centers the experiences of bisexual women, at the intersections of race, class, age and space in Johannesburg. Drawing on in-depth interviews, this study shows the everyday unfolding of women’s sexuality in a democracy where LGBTQI+ rights exist but have not been fully realised. Amidst violence and invisibility, queer women carve a space for themselves in the city, push against heterosexual norms and even the lack of recognition in LGBTQI+ spaces. It richly contributes to sexuality studies in the Global South.

Supervisor: Professor S Roy LETSWALO, Morokoe Gabriel

Sociology

THESIS: Ethics and the Destiny of Being (a parable) In this maverick and magisterial thesis that a reviewer called “brilliant, thoughtful, and courageous,” the candidate proposes the Redemption of the dead - by way of a black ‘parable’ on self, human, and animal sacrifice - as a form of realising human Destiny, as a condition of overcoming the misfortune of finitude.

Supervisors: Professor S Ally and Professor E Worby

46

MACFARLANE, Marco Vincenzo William

Psychology

THESIS: Core Academic Language Skills in Grade 6 South African Learners This research validates a construct that describes cross-disciplinary Core Academic Language Skills (CALS). Academic language is crucial for success in school and academic settings, and South Africa faces particular challenges due to the overwhelming dominance of English in our schooling system, despite the linguistic diversity of our population. The CALS construct predicts cross-curricular academic performance, irrespective of first or secondlanguage English status, and provides a basis for explicit instruction in the language forms and functions required for success in schooling.

Supervisors: Associate Professor L Dison and Dr A Kern MADHUHA, Edmond

Health Sociology

THESIS: The Persistent Health Burden: understanding Black South African Working-Class Men’s experiences of living with tuberculosis The thesis explores how tuberculosis (TB) is a disease of sociability in South Africa using decolonial, African centred theories of masculinity. It reveals that TB transmission among men is linked to norms of sharing in closed environments where alcohol use and smoking, combined with poor nutritional behaviour and poverty, create a gendered health crisis. A gendered sociological analysis must inform efforts to fight the disease.

Supervisor: Professor L Nunez Carrasco MAHARAJH, Reshma Navnit

Fine Art

THESIS: Seeming, Being and Becoming: an Intimate, Autoethnographic Rasa-Led performance art exploration This PhD by Creative Work explores the concepts of “Seeming,” “Being,” and “Becoming” through the lens of South African Indianness, utilising performance art and the Indian aesthetic theory of Rasa. It examines personal experiences through autoethnography, identity formation, and practice-led research, exploring the possible therapeutic benefits of art, culminating in a Transcendental Emotional Moment that fosters insights, critical reflection and human flourishing.

Supervisors: Associate Professor S Khan and Professor A Munro MAKONGOZA, Matamela Fulufhelo Beatrice

Psychology

THESIS: SYoung women’s accounts of intimate partner violence in cohabiting relationships in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province This thesis explored young women’s accounts of intimate partner violence in cohabiting relationships across the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province. African psychology and feminist approaches in dialogue with Vygotsky’s cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) frameworks were used to examine intimate partner violence within cohabitating relationships in a cultural context that denounces cohabitation thereby rendering young women more vulnerable to possible gender-based violence.

Supervisors: Associate Professor P Kiguwa and Dr S Mayisela

47

MALABELA, Musawenkosi Hemelton

Sociology

THESIS: The crisis of trade union representation in post-1973 unions and the role of the fulltime shop steward (FTSS): a case study of NUMSA at BMW Rosslyn Plant This study uses interviews, document analysis, focus groups, and ethnography to examine the role of Full-Time Shop Stewards (FTSS) at BMW, South Africa. Findings reveal FTSS’s potential to strengthen grassroots trade unions and enable upward social mobility while highlighting possible risks. The study contends that FTSS may become tools of management if mismanaged but can prevent despotic tendencies within unions by balancing demands from workers, employers, and unions.

Supervisor: Associate Professor S Mosoetsa MANGO, Thabiso

Psychology

THESIS: Developing a management framework for predicting adherence to HIV care and treatment in Eswatini The research introduces a conceptual management framework for predicting adherence to HIV care and treatment before initiation, which expands upon the established Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model. The framework enhances the original TPB model by integrating four critical components: a refined behavioural intention, developmental challenges, subjective confirmation of behavioural action, and behavioural validation. By incorporating these elements, the model is rendered pertinent and effective in informing interventions designed to promote adherence to HIV care and treatment in developing countries.

Supervisors: Dr M Hara and Dr M Mulaudzi MAPOSA, Aretha Mwana

Education

THESIS: Education officials’ leadership and management practices that create a conducive environment for rehabilitation of learners in a juvenile correctional centre in South Africa This thesis explores the role of educational leadership and management in juvenile correctional institutions, highlighting the transformative potential of restorative justice principles in rehabilitation. By examining the practices of education officials, the research offers valuable insights into creating a supportive environment that fosters the holistic development of incarcerated youth. The study culminates in the development of the innovative JUmbrella Framework for Educators (JUFE), a culturally responsive model designed to promote positive change within the South African juvenile justice system.

Supervisor: Dr G Motilal MATANHIRE, Vimbayi

Education

THESIS: Inclusive Education and the plight of children without legal documentation: a case study of Cosmo Oasis in Johannesburg, South Africa The research in the PhD thesis of the candidate focuses on the crucial area of undocumented children’s experiences, from an inclusive education perspective. Using the Cosmo Oasis as a case study, the candidate notes that had it not been for the services provided by Cosmo Oasis many children who are undocumented, and who include South African children, would not have received any access to basic education. The candidate’s study adds to the body of knowledge which highlights the importance of ensuring that all children have access to education.

Supervisor: Associate Professor N Carrim

48

MHLONGO, Siyabonga Thandazani

Education

THESIS: Teachers’ perceptions of the use of technology in mathematics classrooms and how it relates to learner motivation: an explanatory sequential mixed methods study The research explores the impact of digital technology on learner motivation in mathematics within Gauteng’s public education system. Using a mixed methods design, it found that teachers generally view technology positively for enhancing motivation. Quantitative data from 23 valid survey responses and qualitative insights from six interviews revealed the complex dynamics of technology use in classrooms. The study underscores the importance of teachers’ proficiency in navigating technology to boost motivation and align with South Africa’s educational goals.

Supervisors: Associate Professor R Dlamini and Dr SD Khoza MNGUNI, Thamba Isaack

Film and Television

THESIS: Analyzing Financial Survival Strategies for Public Service Broadcasters in Disruptive Environments: a case study of SABC and Alternative Funding Models Public broadcasters are the only form of media that are considered to have a constitutionalised public service mandate. Despite this, the question of these institution’s financial survival has been a relentless thorn for many countries given the rise of citizen’s refusal to pay television licences. The candidate’s research situates itself between the critical conundrum for free public access to information and the budgetary barriers which make this a herculean task. If freedom is not free, then who must pay and how?

Supervisor: Dr Y Koba MONGAE, Mmabatho

International Relations

THESIS: Governance quality and popular support for democracy in Africa The support of citizens is crucial to the resilience of Africa’s democracies. This thesis uses sophisticated statistical methods to show that public support for democracy across Africa depends on the quality of governance - not just the instrumental delivery of economic benefits but also the political freedoms and protections intrinsic to democracy.

Supervisor: Associate Professor R Alence MOREETSI-MAGETSE, Tebogo Angela

Education

THESIS: Exploring the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Open and Distance Learning (ODL): the case study of Botswana Open University (BOU) The study explored the use of Information and Communication Technology in Open and Distance Learning at Botswana Open University. Through an interpretive paradigm, this qualitative case study made use of semi-structured interviews, open-ended questionnaires, and a policy document review to unpack the challenges faced by the students who are registered in an online programme. The study revealed that although there are measures in place to support and assist students during their studies, such measures do not work for all students.

Supervisors: Dr SD Khoza and Dr V Naiker

49

MPHOLLE, Reitumetse Vanessa

Media Studies

THESIS: BehindTheGram: a study into Instagram influencers, the digital media economy, and creative work in South Africa This thesis reportson in-depth qualitative researchinto thelabour of social media “influencers” in South Africa, making key contributions to theories of labour and communication praxis. It is a timely focus on a rapidly expanding area of labour in the media and creative industries: self-driven influencer work, which is arguably both redefining and extending the traditional formations of the media economy and the job market in South Africa.

Supervisor: Dr M Iqani MUKONDE, Thomas Kasonde

History

THESIS: Theatre of Resistance in Johannesburg, 1960-2010 The study traces the development of the Theatre of Resistance in Johannesburg through telling the story of four theatre companies and their works. It demonstrates how the Black Consciousness Movement catalysed the movement. Using oral history testimony, archival sources, as well as both published and unpublished playscripts, the thesis tells a detailed story of this movement and the actors who animated it. The thesis is a vital contribution to the literature on indigenous theatre and the cultural struggle against apartheid.

Supervisors: Professor SP Lekgoathi and Dr AK Hlongwane MUPFAWA, Shungu

Education

THESIS: An analysis of teachers’ discourse when teaching basic genetics concepts in South African classrooms The candidate investigated the classroom discourse of four life-sciences teachers teaching genetics to grade 12 learners. Drawing from discourse analysis and communicative approaches literature, she analysed detailed transcripts of video recordings of the teachers’ lessons. The analysis identified two types of discourse; conceptual and assessment focused.

These formed the centre of her Discourse Teaching Strategy Model which revealed that amongst other characteristics, conceptually focused teachers used higher order questions to build conceptual understanding and logical exposition for consolidation.

Supervisors: Associate Professor K Padayachee and Professor M Rollnick MURADZIKWA, Tracey Chipo

Political Studies

THESIS: Women, State Law, and the Crisis of Chieftaincy: the case of Nswazi Village in Zimbabwe The candidate conducted a feminist ethnography of Chief Sinqobile Mabhena of Nswazi village in Zimbabwe, to establish how the governance strategies of women chiefs are configured in practice. Drawing on fieldwork and narrative analysis, the research shows how African women play a significant role in the reconceptualization of legitimacy in traditional leadership, thus putting to question the naturalization of male chieftaincy primogeniture.

Supervisor: Dr S Dube

50

MUSINAMWANA, Earnest

Development Studies

THESIS: Rethinking Agricultural Marketing Middlemen in Tanzania: A Social Embeddedness Perspective This thesis explores the influence of personal and social relations on entrepreneurial actions within the informal sector. It established that interpersonal trust underpins the emergence and persistence of informal entrepreneurship. The thesis contributes to a better understanding of the role of social relations in sustaining informal intrepreneurship. It marks an important step towards resolving the long-standing paradox of social embeddedness.

The thesis lays a firm foundation for an integrative and cohesive theoretical framework for operationalizing the social embeddedness concept.

Supervisor: Dr T Sefalafala MVUNDURA, Wellington

Sociology

THESIS: ‘Operating under the Radar’: Forestry Plantation Workers’ everyday resistance in Chimanimani District, Zimbabwe The candidate has produced a finely argued thesis on hidden resistance practices amongst plantation labourers in Zimbabwe. His study involved close participatory observation over an extended period, to uncover a range of practices, whereby labourers resisted their exploitation on commercial farms, as well as the attempts by ruling party enforcers to intimidate them into voting their way. Besides its empirical richness, the thesis has also added further depth to the theorizing of such behaviour, particularly with the opining of a new concept of ‘farmzenship’.

Supervisor: Associate Professor D Pillay NGUBANE, Phetheni Primrose

Education

THESIS: Exploring ethical leadership in the context of the “New dawn/Thuma mina” in a TVET college in KwaZulu-Natal The candidate explored ethical leadership practices of TVET campus managers and lecturers in the context of a New Dawn/Thuma Mina in KwaZulu-Natal. While findings highlight an understanding of ethical leadership, this was not adequately enacted despite the policies available. The New Dawn/Thuma Mina mantra did not motivate research participants to work differently. Despite these adverse findings, the study found that reflective leaders who are committed to an ethical administration set the tone, framework and plans that promote ethical behaviour.

Supervisors: Associate Professor SE Mthiyane and Dr P Mthembu NTSHANGASE, Chief Langelihle

African Languages and Linguistics

THESIS: Teaching Intermediate Phase isiZulu reading comprehension skills to at-risk readers in uMkhanyakude mainstream schools: pedagogical strategies that work The study examined pedagogical strategies used to teach isiZulu inclusive reading comprehension at the Intermediate Phase level in mainstream schools and investigated pre-service teacher preparation in teaching inclusive reading in isiZulu home language to at-risk readers. Findings indicate that the strategies employed are not structured to address specific reading challenges and consequently at-risk readers in mainstream schools remain inadequately catered for. Furthermore, teacher preparation does not adequately equip pre-service IP teachers with the necessary pedagogical skills to teach inclusive reading.

Supervisor: Dr L Tshuma

51

NYIRENDA, Vitumbiko

Philosophy

THESIS: Personhood and Gender in a Traditional African Community In this study, the candidate develops a novel view on which gender in African society and its relation to personhood are complementary, fluid, and relational, indicating a healthy and positive gender relationships within the community. On this view, personhood is presented in non-gendered ways.

Supervisor: Professor E Etieyibo OWEN, Michael Kenneth

Psychology

THESIS: A study of South African gay male psychotherapists’ experienced subjectivities This thesis offers a deliberately messy account of gay psychotherapists’ subjectivities as they navigate their own identities and experiences in relation to their clients and the profession. Drawing on relational psychoanalysis and queer theory, the thesis reflexively explores the intersubjective dance between therapist, client and researcher. Described as “searingly honest, erudite and intellectually rigorous”, the thesis situates gay therapists as authors rather than objects, thereby highlighting experiences of othering as well as of resistance and subversion Supervisor: Associate Professor C Long PEARSON, Joel David

History

THESIS: Three Axes of Rural Local Governance: a relational history of space, administration and economic extractivism in the Mogalakwena Local Municipality in Limpopo, South Africa (1948-2000) This study presents a systematic approach to understanding South Africa’s local government crisis by examining the history of what is today the Mogalakwena Local Municipality in Limpopo Province. Through extensive archival and oral history sources, the study reveals how interlocking and mutually constitutive apartheid-era processes of spatial dispossession, state expansion, and economic extractivism continue to profoundly shape the terrain of rural local governance, urging against simple, presentist readings of the determinants of crisis today.

Supervisors: Professor M Nieftagodien and Dr M Phadi PETLELE, Rebaone

Demography and Population Studies

THESIS: Role of men in teenage pregnancy in the Bojanala district, North West Province, South Africa The study explored men who fathered with girls using mixed research methods. The research found children were fathered by men seven years older than mothers, men controlled condom use and never discussion contraception. Men’s involvement is pivotal to make a dent on teenage pregnancy in Bojanala.

Supervisors: Dr S Mkwananzi and Professor C Odimegwu

52

RADEBE, Nomfundo Knowledge

Education

THESIS: Investigating the effectiveness of a blended professional development intervention in improving the teaching of Physical Sciences: a study of novice teachers in South African rural schools Rural science teachers face a lot of challenges that urban and peri-urban teachers can only imagine. In this study, the impact of rurality and place, on the professional development of rural teachers, is explored. The study revealed the need to re-look at the way science education is provisioned in rural schools, noting that the current focus and one-size fits all model is failing the teachers and our learners in rural areas - who happen to be in the majority.

Supervisor: Dr E Mushayikwa RAMPHALILE, Molemo Karabo

Political Studies

THESIS: Could Not Sing In The Dead Heat: Liner notes under the sun This research is a critical intervention in the fields of study that locate slavery and colonialism as formative of modern ideas of race and racism. He argues that prior to the development of race as a category of Enlightenment distinction, blackness figured as geographically and physiognomically linked to a particular territory, the torrid zone/terra nullius that becomes known as the Sub-Saharan. These links are paradigmatic when seeking to understand how people of African descent and the places from which they emerge become extractible, exploited, and dispossessed historically.

Supervisor: Professor J Quirk RAPHOKA, Sikeme

Education

THESIS: Exploring the nature of grade-8 classroom environments created by mathematics teachers when teaching mensuration: a case of curriculum implementation in Lesotho The candidate successfully completed a PhD study that explored types of classroom environments created by mathematics teachers as they implement the Lesotho Integrated Curriculum with Grade 8 classrooms, thus calling for Learner-Autonomous Environments (LAE) with particular focus on Mensuration. The study proposed a LAMLE+ Plus model, in terms of the established themes, for studying the promotion and presence of LAE in mathematics teaching, using LAMLE conceptual framework, formulated from the Commognitive theory and Pedagogical link-making and Communicative approach.

Supervisor: Dr B Mofolo-Mbokane REYNEKE, Pierre

Geography

THESIS: Tshwane Remake: an ethnographic study of outside-circularity and deconstructive creation from the waste reuse practices of the urban waste precariat The study entails an ethnographic inquiry into the waste reuse practices performed by the urban waste precariat on the landfill and streets of Pretoria East, City of Tshwane. It analyses this social grouping’s contribution to the urban circular economy by conceptualising their reuse practices as value-production processes not rooted in capitalism and practised outside of state and formal market recognition and support. The study terms this as ‘outside-circularity’ and identifies an alternative value-production process within it coined as ‘deconstructive creation’.

Supervisor: Dr M Samson

53

SEEGOBIN, Tarishma

Education

THESIS: Transforming education through the implementation of ICT pedagogical integration: a case of ICT and Non- ICT schools in South Africa This thesis explores the complexities of the “one size fits all” approach to ICT integration in selected schools in Johannesburg. The study revealed key barriers like policy ambiguity, educator preparedness in digital space and resource limitations. Based on the cited barriers, the study recommends policy revisions, strategic digital resource allocation, leadership support, and a new ICT framework to bridge the digital divide and promote transformative inclusive learning.

Supervisors: Dr N Ndlovu and Dr A Dewa SELLO, Matshidiso Valeria

Demography and Population Studies

THESIS: The Social contexts of childhood malnutrition in South Africa The study examined the social contexts of childhood malnutrition in South Africa, highlighting its multifaceted causes. It established individual child characteristics to significantly influence malnutrition levels. It emphasizes the urgent need for a coordinated, multisectoral approach to improve nutritional outcomes, particularly in low-income communities facing food insecurity and socio-economic challenges.

Supervisors: Dr S Adedini and Professor C Odimegwu SHIRINDI, Charlotte Dineo

Education

THESIS: The development of learner network society skills by technology subject teachers in the Gauteng full ICT schools This study examines the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) by grade 8 technology teachers in full ICT schools in the Gauteng province. It identifies gaps between intended educational outcomes and actual practices, proposing a guided blended connectivist learning framework to help develop essential ICT skills. The study recommends revising the current technology curriculum to integrate ICT pedagogical strategies that empower learners to effectively address real-life technological challenges in a local and global context.

Supervisor: Dr N Ndlovu SIMELANE, Raudina Madina

Education

THESIS: Exploring students’ experiences of receiving e-formative feedback during emergency remote learning: a case study of first-year students at a teacher education university in South Africa This study examined the experiences of thirty-six first-year Bachelor of Education students who received e-formative feedback through a university’s Learning Management System during Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning in South Africa. The findings revealed diverse student realities influenced by technological, cognitive, and motivational barriers, emphasizing the necessity for reimagined e-formative feedback approaches that address equity gaps, skills development, and psychosocial support. The study offers valuable recommendations for teacher training institutions and higher education stakeholders.

Supervisor: Dr P Pillay

54

SINCLAIR, Ingrid Maralene

Migration and Displacement

THESIS:Gendered discursive practices of the South African police service towards survivors of domestic violence This study explores the reproduction, maintenance and resistance of gendered subjectivities within the discursive practices employed in the policing of gender-based violence (GBV). It examines how historical and socio-political structures shaping asymmetric power relations in society are reproduced in the everyday interactions between police officers and survivors of GBV. The research adopts a socio-historical lens on gendered policing, using an African decolonial feminist intersectional perspective. This approach focuses on the analytical categories of gender, violence, power, and inequality.

Supervisor: Professor J Vearey SOUDIEN, Amie Lindiwe Hanan

History of Art

THESIS: `Always looking’: visual and artistic explorations of the living legacies of enslavement in South Africa This thesis offers an innovative and ethically persuasive contribution to the sparse scholarly engagement with slave memory in South Africa. It explores the poetic and artistic strategies of artists and cultural organisations that evoke slave memory in South Africa. The astute analysis of power dynamics illuminates how knowledge about slave histories and memories is constructed. Marked by erudition, nuance, and an original aesthetic approach, the thesis elucidates how the living legacies of enslavement shape urban space, aesthetics, and social stratification.

Supervisor: Dr N Cloete THOMPSON, Urlridge Ashford

Political Studies

THESIS: The Black, the White or the Grey: Critical Reflections on Race and Skill in the PostApartheid Public Service: toward an Expanded Conception of Skill.

This thesis sets out a novel analysis of the intersections of race and skill in the post-Apartheid state bureaucracy. It advances an innovative theory of how these concepts work in tandem, grounded in an close study of the practices of a contemporary municipality.

Supervisor: Professor J Brown VAN NIEKERK, Marthinus Christoffel

English

THESIS:What is called literature? Heidegger, responsive figuration, and the aspect of be-ing In this highly original, subtle thesis, the candidate engages the complex philosophy of Martin Heidegger to ask: ‘What is literature?’. This study innovatively explores how language may speak relative to the self-withholding of being. Being calls on language to respond as literature, with human beings participating in the exchange. Two different modalities of literature’s call are investigated: as discursive representability or as figuring the opening of a rift simultaneously as meaningful marking and as an elusive withdrawing. A brilliant reading of William Blake’s The First Book of Urizen performs this poised double process.

Supervisor: Professor M Williams

55

ZONDO, Sizwe

Psychology

THESIS: Neurocognitive Rehabilitation for an Adolescent HIV Population: the case of sustained attention Using optical neuroimaging and neuropsychological evaluations, this thesis investigated the role of brain plasticity, sequent HIV neuroinvasion in adolescent populations. The dissertation unpacked the nature of neurovascular coupling, in neuroHIV, by investigating changes in oxygenated (ΔHbO), and deoxygenated haemoglobin (deoxy-Hb). Primary findings indicated that adolescent HIV neuroplasticity, is associated with attenuated hemodynamic responses, and increased functional connectivity, in the left-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC), a key neuronal network, and biomarker for brain plasticity in typical and atypical pediatric and adolescent populations.

Supervisors: Professor K Cockcroft and Dr A Ferreira Correia ZUMA, Chuma

Education

THESIS: Exploring the role of school principals as instructional leaders in improving learner academic performance in Johannesburg south district primary schools.

This thesis explores how principals in Johannesburg South district primary schools act as instructional leaders to improve learner academic performance. Through qualitative research method, including interviews, the study reveals leadership strategies such as effective curriculum management, regular teacher monitoring, data analysis for academic interventions, and fostering a culture of continuous professional development.

The findings demonstrate that proactive instructional leadership is critical to improving learner outcomes, offering practical visions for school leaders seeking to improve learner academic performance in primary schools.

Supervisors: Dr G Motilal and Dr E Charamba ZUNGU, Thamsanqa Elijah

Music

THESIS: The Voice of the Black Choir: exploring the Sounds of Vernacular Language Singing in a Performance of Mzilikazi Khumalo’s UShaka Through a combination of artistic and ethnographic research the candidate’s work explores the implications of attending to the phonetic attributes of a vernacular language, isiZulu, for the sounds of choral singing. As one of the country’s foremost choral practitioners the candidate’s research critiques existing choral practice, and highlights the productive possibilities of a decolonial linguistics for musical performance.

Supervisor: Dr G Olwage

56

FACULTY OF SCIENCE DEAN: PROFESSOR N CHETTY BSc Hons (Natal) MS PhD (Urbana-Champaign) MASSAf MSAIP DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ALTOOM, Mohammed Bashar Adam

Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies

THESIS: Mapping and monitoring the impacts of climate variability on rainfed agriculture in Semiarid North Darfur, Sudan The study integrates multi-source remote sensing data with machine-learning algorithms to understand the impact of rainfall variability and drought on rainfed agriculture dynamics in North Darfur, Sudan. It demonstrates remote sensing’s capability in modelling these impacts.

Supervisor: Associate Professor E Adam CHABALALA, Yingisani Winny

Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies

THESIS: Integrating Sentinel-1/2 and machine learning models for mapping fruit tree species in heterogeneous landscapes of Limpopo The research addresses uncertainty in modelling fruit tree spatial distribution using remote sensing data in Limpopo Province. The study illustrates the effectiveness of combining multisource remote sensing data with state-of-the-art deep learning algorithms to better understand tree crops in the heterogeneous smallholder landscape. The findings, contributed to sustainable agricultural development.

Supervisor: Associate Professor E Adam DUMELA, Khombo Eunice

Physics

THESIS: Optimisation of prostate plan in a pelvic prosthesis phantom This project involves the design, development and fabrication of in-house pelvic phantom used to experimentally evaluate the high energy LINAC radiation therapy dose distribution of prostate cancer for specific patients with titanium hip prosthesis. The findings were highly commendable and compared with the state-of-the-art EGSnrc Monte Carlo simulation, which constitute a major advance in the field of medical physics.

Supervisors: Associate Professor I Usman and Professor O Oderinde

57

GAOLATLHE, Lesego

Chemistry

THESIS: Synthesis and electrochemical properties of high-entropy spinel oxides, cobalt atomic clusters and zinc oxide as electrode materials for rechargeable zinc-air batteries This thesis investigated two types of cathode materials in RZAB applications: (a) cobalt carbon composites of (i) cobalt atomic clusters (Co AC@CBPDC) and (ii) cobalt nanoparticles (Co NP@CBPDC), and (b) high-entropy spinel oxide (HESOx). The activities of these materials toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) were investigated in both half- and full-cell configurations as a proof-of-concept in RZAB cells in alkaline electrolyte. Considering that conventional zinc plate has several short-comings as an anode for RZAB, a new material, polydopamine-derived carboncoated zinc oxide (ZnO@PDA-DC), was also synthesised and applied in RZAB as a possible alternative anode to the popular zinc plate.

Supervisor: Professor K Ozoemena HAYLOCK, Kiara Avelyen

Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences

THESIS: Behavioural and physiological responses of sable antelope to heat and aridity This thesis quantitatively examined sable antelopes’ behavioural and physiological responses to environmental stressors in Bwabwata National Park, Namibia. Using biologging and GPS tracking, the candidate found that during hot, dry conditions, sable made long journeys to water while reducing foraging time, with body temperature fluctuations indicating both dehydration and energy stress, highlighting challenges faced by waterdependent grazers under climate change.

Supervisors: Associate Professor R Hetem and Professor F Parrini KUMALO, Sandile

Physics

THESIS: Efficiency enhancement in photovoltaic devices using light management and morphology tuning The thesis addresses the critical challenge of meeting global energy demands through advanced solar technologies. By utilising plasmonic, magnetoplasmonic, and core-shell nanostructures, as well as optimising organic solar cell morphology with solvents, significant improvements in power conversion efficiency (PCE) are achieved, showcasing potential advancements in solar energy technologies.

Supervisors: Associate Professor D Wamwangi and Professor A Quandt KUNG’U, Mercy Wambui

Molecular and Cell Biology

THESIS: Exploitation of natural resistance genes, mutation and phytosanitation to eliminate Cassava Geminiviruses The thesis describes innovative and novel approaches of mitigating cassava mosaic disease (CMD). The study revealed seven resistance genes that are responsive during CMD infection in cassava. The effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide, hot water and salicylic acid treatment in elimination of CMD and the effectiveness of ethyl methane sulfonate in inducing mutation for genetic resistance to CMD was also explored.

Supervisors: Professor M Rey and Professor E Nyaboga

58

LANDWEHR, Gregory Brent

Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies

THESIS: The wind energy potential of South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province in a changing climate This thesis develops methodologies to assess the impact of climate change on South Africa’s wind energy production potential by analysing synoptic drivers and projecting changes in circulation patterns. Focusing on the Eastern Cape, it quantifies wind energy production under different synoptic conditions, showing a decrease in future potential due to shifts in circulation patterns linked to the Hadley cell expansion.

Supervisors: Professor F Engelbrecht and Dr C Lennard LESAOANA, Mahadi

Chemistry

THESIS: Application of oxidative enzymes in membrane systems for the bioremediation of triazines in wastewater The research tackles the global concern of environmental contamination by s-triazine herbicides, which pose significant risks to ecosystems, water quality, and human health.

It explores an innovative biocatalytic membrane system, integrating an oxidoreductase enzyme, laccase with polyethersulfone membranes, for efficient degradation of s-triazines in real wastewater samples, while providing cost projections for potential large-scale implementation in bioremediation.

Supervisors: Associate Professor H Richards, Professor D Brady and Professor R Sheldon LIEBERMAN, Benjamin

Physics

THESIS: The use of semi-supervised machine learning techniques in the search for new bosons with the ATLAS detector This thesis evaluates semi-supervised classifiers in particle physics, emphasising modelindependent narrow resonance searches and the trials factor they introduce. Results confirm these models’ efficacy in classifying LHC data and quantify additional lookelsewhere effects, underscoring the potential and challenges of semi-supervised techniques in resonance searches at the ATLAS detector.

Supervisor: Professor B Mellado MABOWA, Mothepane Happy

Chemistry

THESIS: Towards the development and determination of trace impurities in battery grade nickel sulphate This thesis approaches innovation to extract nickel from overlooked sources within industrial waste streams, broadening the resource base for extraction. To address the growing demand for battery-grade nickel sulphate, refining techniques including solvent extraction, precipitation, and analytical methodologies were devised and applied to effectively purify trace elements and determine nickel sulphate from fire assay waste.

Supervisors: Professor L Chimuka and Dr J Tshilongo

59

MAHONISI, Nyiku Clement

Physics

THESIS: The low-temperature properties of Boron-implanted diamond materials The low-temperature properties of boron-implanted diamond materials are essential for fabricating semiconducting solid-state systems with high-temperature superconducting capabilities. This study focuses on enhancing the solubility limit of boron ions in diamonds through advanced implantation and annealing techniques. We accurately characterise spectral features that correlate boron-induced vibrational modes with their corresponding electronic conductivity properties, revealing novel implications for future research studies.

Supervisor: Associate Professor S Naidoo MAKUYA, Lindelani

Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences

THESIS: Costs and benefits of solitary living in the bush Karoo rat (Otomys unisulcatus) The candidate’s groundbreaking field research on solitary bush Karoo rats revealed an advanced social system. Females live alone but are part of a kinship neighbourhood structure, with preferential sharing of resources with kin. Solitary living is not marked by aggression but by selective cooperation. This challenges the view that solitary living in mammals is primitive.

Supervisor: Professor N Pillay MALEKA, Prettier Morongoa

Physics

THESIS: First principle study of inorganic metal halide perovskites for solar cells application This study involves investigation of the properties including structural, electronic, optical, mechanical and thermodynamics of all-inorganic halide perovskites using first principlebased density functional theory (DFT). The study explored the effects of halide mixing, and transition metal doping to enhance the material’s photovoltaic performance and address its drawbacks, showing promise for future solar cell applications.

Supervisors: Professor O Ntwaeaborwa and Dr R Maphanga MANGORO, Ngonidzashe

Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies

THESIS: A geographical analysis of the impacts of construction and demolition waste on wetland functionality in South Africa: a study of Gauteng Province The study investigated the impacts of construction and demolition waste (CDW) on the ecological and environmental functionality of wetlands. The findings suggest that the inherent restrictiveness embedded in the current environmental legislative framework does not promote environmental compliance thereby triggering the disposal of CDW in undesignated locations.

Supervisors: Professor MD Simatele and Dr N Kubanza

60

MANQELE, Nkosinathi Michael

Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies

THESIS: Evaluating methodologies for monitoring the impact of marine mobile emissions, for use as air quality assessment tools, in South Africa The candidate investigated the impact of a 3% reduction in sulphur content of marine fuel on human health and the economy of Durban in 2020. The results showed a reduction of 49 premature mortalities with an estimated monetary value of ZAR228,000,000. Such changes are significant to the growing city economy of a developing country like South Africa.

Supervisors: Dr R Moolla and Professor L Ramsay MAPHANGA, Rivoningo

Mathematics

THESIS:A study of financial models and their symmetry driven analytical solutions This thesis explores the application of Lie symmetries and boundary conditions in financial models, including the Black-Scholes, generalised bond-pricing, CEV type, and optionpricing models. By identifying invariant solutions and analysing boundary conditions, it enhances understanding and predictive power in option and bond pricing, providing insights into the behaviour, valuation, and risk management of financial instruments.

Supervisor: Associate Professor S Jamal MARIOTTI, Elena

Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences

THESIS: Quantity discriminatory capacity and choice preference between binary rewards in African elephants The thesis quantitatively models elephants’ choice behaviour by testing their preferred fruits, quantity discrimination skills, and learning effects capacity, focusing on individual differences. Using binary choice tasks with varying food quantities and Bayesian analysis, the study found that elephants can do basic arithmetic with learned improvements. These results provide a foundation for future research on elephant risk preferences.

Supervisors: Professor F Parrini and Professor D Ross MASHIGO, Mpho Mary

Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences

THESIS: Responses of Carpobrotus edulis (L.) Bolus to low and high temperature conditions This thesis examined the effects of temperature extremes on the medicinal properties of Carpobrotus edulis, an indigenous medicinal plant in South Africa. Phytochemical analyses and bioactivity tests, including antibacterial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and anticancer activities, revealed noteworthy changes. The findings highlight temperature’s significant impact on the plant’s medicinal efficacy, with implications for indigenous use, climate change adaptation, and pharmacological research.

Supervisors: Dr I Risenga, Dr K Ngwira and Dr M Choene

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MATYUKIRA, Charles

Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies

THESIS: Multitemporal analysis of land cover and evaluation of landscape influences on vegetation dynamics using remote sensing data and machine learning in a karst environment: a case study of the Cradle Nature Reserve This thesis investigates the use of geospatial technologies and machine learning to monitor vegetation dynamics and land degradation at the Cradle Nature Reserve, a World Heritage site in South Africa. The study highlights critical ecological changes and addresses research gaps.

Supervisor: Professor P Mhangara MCKENZIE, Ryan Peter

Physics

THESIS: Development and reliability testing of a new low-voltage power supply for the ATLAS Hadronic Tile-Calorimeter Phase-II upgrade In this thesis, the development of a radiation hard transformer coupled buck converted for the ATLAS Hadronic Tile-calorimeter Phase-II Upgrade is presented with an emphasis placed on its thermal performance and reliability. A thermal analysis of the proposed upgrade power supply is presented followed by an irradiation campaign and reliability analysis. It culminates in the quality assurance procedure that is applied to the new buck converter post production.

Supervisors: Professor B Mellado and Dr C Solans Sanchez MOFOKENG, Nondumiso Nomonde

Chemistry

THESIS: Source apportionment, transport and fate of pollutants in the paper recycling chain - an analytical exploration of the South African context This thesis analytically explored pollutants present at key stages of the South African paper recycling chain, using chromatography-based methods. Chemometrics, literature and interviews were used to investigate the possible sources, transport and fate of identified pollutants. Findings showed that pollutant prevalence was linked to manufacturing additives, retail activities, consumer usage and waste mingling from the collection and sorting protocols used.

Supervisors: Professor L Chimuka and Professor L Madikizela MOHAMED, Mohamed Khalfan

Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies

THESIS: Remote sensing-based assessment of mangrove forest changes and related regulatory frameworks for the sustainability and conservation of coastal ecosystems in Zanzibar Island, Tanzania-East Africa This thesis develops a remote sensing approach for sustainable mangrove monitoring in Zanzibar, analysing management history from 1890 to the present. It emphasises the impact of legal frameworks and community involvement, integrating historical policy analysis with modern geospatial techniques.

Supervisor: Associate Professor E Adam

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MOKGATITSWANE, Gaogalalwe

Physics

THESIS: Search for high-mass resonances in the Zγ channel and quality assurance of Scintillation detector modules of Tile Calorimeter Phase-I upgrade of the ATLAS detector The research focused on the search for new high-mass particles decaying into a Z boson and photon using data from the ATLAS experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. The candidate also contributed to significant upgrades of the ATLAS detector, ensuring its continued role in advancing high energy physics research.

Supervisors: Professor B Mellado, Dr X Ruan and Dr O Solovyanov MOL, Bronwyn Ashleigh

Molecular and Cell Biology

THESIS: Immunomodulation of the innate immune system: the role of vitamin D in the context of monocytes and macrophages Biologically active vitamin D3, 1,25(OH)2D3, is a known immunomodulator. The role of 1,25(OH)2D3 in monocytes, macrophages and the process of monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation using the THP-1 cell line was investigated. Analyses indicated that though not an inducer of differentiation alone, 1,25(OH)2D3 in combination with PMA greatly altered the morphology and transcriptomic landscape of the macrophages generated.

Supervisor/s: Dr V Meyer and Dr N Gentle MOTLOGELOA, Ogone Warona

Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies

THESIS: Assessing the inter-annual and inter- seasonal climate-induced variation in case load of respiratory diseases This thesis delved into the interplay between climatic factors and acute upper respiratory diseases in South Africa, with a concentration on four pivotal aspects: establishing the primary disease season from May to September, evaluating how climatic variables such as temperature impact disease occurrence, investigating the effects of extreme climate events over twelve years and assessing the overarching climate-health relationship. It underscores the necessity of understanding consistent seasonal patterns in climate to enhance healthcare strategies and disease management.

Supervisors: Professor J Fitchett and Dr N Sweijd MTILENI, Masingitla Promise

Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences

THESIS: Examining intraspecific ploidy variation and functional traits that facilitate the environmental distribution of the Drakensberg near-endemic species, Rhodohypoxis Baurii (Baker)Nel. var. Platypetala Hilliard & Burtt The candidate addressed the ecological consequences of polyploidy by (1) reviewing evidence for an elevation-driven polyploid distribution across plant species and (2) detailed studies of Rhodohypoxis baurii var. platypetala. The overall conclusions are that scale is important for understanding distributions of polyploid plants relative to their diploid progenitors, and that the implications of polyploidy in plants may be species-specific.

Supervisor: Associate Professor K Glennon

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MUDAU, Phuluso

Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences

THESIS: Integrated management of Campuloclinium macrocephalum (pompom weed) (Less.) DC. (Asteraceae) in South Africa The key purpose of this science expedition was to establish an improved management strategy against pompom weed, one of the worst invasive weeds in South Africa. The use of a sub-lethal herbicide dose was found to be incompatible with the biocontrol agent.

However, the integration of fire and herbicide was found to be an effective management approach against pompom weed.

Supervisors: Professor MJ Byrne, Professor ETF Witkowski and Dr J Goodall MXAKAZA, Lineo Florence

Chemistry

THESIS: Preparation of nitrogen-doped multiwalled carbon nanotubes anchored 2D platinum dichalcogenides for application as hydrogen evolution reaction catalysts This research focuses on developing nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes anchored on novel 2D platinum dichalcogenides for hydrogen production, a clean energy source crucial for a sustainable future. Using a new colloidal method, this work offers significant advancements in producing hydrogen more efficiently, benefitting both energy security and environmental health.

Supervisors: Professor Z Tetana and Professor N Moloto NANGUE TASSE, Geraud

Computer Science

THESIS: Towards lifelong reinforcement learning through temporal logics and zero-shot composition This thesis proposes a framework to develop AI agents with three key abilities: Flexibility, Instructability, and Reliability (FIRe). This is achieved by introducing: the logical composition of arbitrary tasks, world value functions for zero-shot skill composition and lifelong sample efficiency, and methods for agents to understand and execute language instructions.

Supervisors: Professor B Rosman and Dr S James NGWENYA, Mthulisi

Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies

THESIS: Modelling to determine optimal water availability scenarios under drought conditions in agricultural environments: a study of the Western Cape Province, South Africa This study investigated the impacts of climate change on future water availability and utilisation for agricultural development and food security in the Western Cape Province of South Africa using CMIP6 climate scenarios.

Supervisor: Professor MD Simatele NTOMBELA, Silindile Cynthia

Chemistry

THESIS: Mineral beneficiation from seawater: development and optimisation of selective extraction techniques for essential minerals from seawater The study tried to develop extraction methods for recovery of minerals in seawater and desalination brine using polymer inclusion membrane. The results showed much promise for recovery of magnesium and calcium. In another approach a method that removes major competitors for lithium extraction was achieved. The study contributes to the blue economy extraction of valuable minerals.

Supervisors: Professor L Chimuka, Professor H Tutu, Associate Professor H Richards and Dr K Ndungu

NYAMAI, Nancy Akoth

Chemistry

THESIS: Thermo-photocatalytic production of hydrogen from water with methanol/ formaldehyde as sacrificial agent under mild conditions The study covered the thermo - photocatalytic water splitting using synthesized TiO2 photocatalysts composited with carbon nanofibers, and Pt, Au, Ir, Zn, Cu as co-catalysts at 1 - 6% loading with methanol as sacrificial agent and the most active photocatalyst, 10%_ TiO2/CNFs/5%_Zn produced 0.53 mol (h g cat.)-1 of H2 which was 90-100 folds the amount produced by the commercial TiO2 photocatalyst.

OBAID, Altayeb Adam Alsafi

Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies

THESIS: Capability of multi-remote sensing satellite data in detecting and monitoring cyanobacteria and algal blooms in the Vaal Dam, South Africa The thesis models water quality in the Vaal Dam using in situ measurements, historical data, and remote sensing. Findings reveal pollution levels beyond acceptable standards and confirm that remote sensing effectively provides valuable information for managing water quality in the Dam. Supervisors: Associate Professor E Adam and Professor KA Ali ONISURU, Olalekan Olugbenga

Molecular and Cell Biology

THESIS: Discovering potential inhibitors for Plasmodium falciparum and vivax glutathione transferases through systematic integration of empirical with theoretical studies The thesis is a cumulative study that reports the inhibition of Glutathione S-Transferases (GSTs) from Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax - as potential targets for novel antimalarial treatment and/or drug discovery and development of three compounds namely Bromosulfophthalein, Baicalin, and 5,7,3’-Trihydroxy-6,4’,5’trimethoxyflavone.

Supervisor: Associate Professor I Achilonu OYIOGU, Blessing Oluebube

Molecular and Cell Biology

THESIS: Biophysical evaluation of the kinetics, thermodynamics, and structure-stability relationship of Wuchereria bancrofti glutathione transferase in comparison with human and glutathione transferases Rational drug discovery leverages a detailed understanding of protein structure to design and develop new effective therapeutics. The candidate investigated the structural impact of ligand inhibition on WbGST, a pivotal enzyme to the survival of Wuchereria bancrofti, the parasitic culprit behind lymphatic filariasis. The ligands more efficiently inhibited WbGST than the human GSTs, and structural studies suggest that the ligands could be repurposed as alternative therapeutic agents against lymphatic filariasis.

Supervisor: Associate Professor I Achilonu

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PATEL, Jasmin Bharatkumar

Molecular and Cell Biology

THESIS: Genome sequencing of the Southern Ground Hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) This study presents the first whole genome sequence, assembly, and annotation of the Southern Ground Hornbill, a flagship species of the African savannah. Using comparative genomics, genetic variant, and selection analysis, the research provides valuable insights into the bird’s genetic makeup, evolution, and adaptation. These findings will support conservation efforts and aid in preserving the genetic history of these birds.

Supervisors: Associate Professor P De Maayer and Dr J Mollett PETENI, Siwaphiwe

Chemistry

THESIS: Electrocatalytic detection of biomarkers of tuberculosis and cervical cancer The need for simple, easy-to-use diagnostic methods will not only relieve our heavily burdened health care system but it will also assist in early detection and curb the spread diseases. In this thesis, nanosensor based platforms were designed for the detection of tuberculosis and cervical cancer biomarkers using electrochemical methods.

Supervisor: Professor K Ozoemena RAMASHALA, Kanyane Nonhlanhla Eugenia

Chemistry

THESIS: Microwave-assisted synthesis of palladium-based ferroalloy electrocatalysts for application in alkaline direct alcohol fuel cells This thesis develops carbon-supported Pd-based ferroalloy electrocatalysts for alkaline direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) using a microwave-assisted technique to improve particle size, crystallinity, and morphology. Incorporating 3d transition metals into Pd/C electrocatalysts enhances activity, durability, and resistance to poisoning during alcohol oxidation, making these electrocatalysts promising for DAFC applications.

Supervisors: Professor K Ozoemena, Associate Professor C Billing and Dr RM Modibedi RAZUWIKA, Rufaro

Chemistry

THESIS: Studies on the chemistry and biochemistry of gold(III) carboxamide pincer chelates This study investigated new carboxamide pincer ligands and their gold(III) complexes, synthesised and characterised for chiral properties using CD spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The stability of these complexes with glutathione (GSH) and their binding to DNA and human serum albumin (HAS) were evaluated to explore potential applications in cancer treatment. NCI assays conducted on HT-29 and MCF-7 cell lines revealed significant activity of one complex, particularly against MCF-7 cells.

SEMWAYO, Daniel Tembinkosi

Computer Science

THESIS: Incorporating complex adaptive systems concepts in ontology driven Bayesian Network Models: towards resolving wicked problems The thesis presents an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) Bayesian modelling framework which, by incorporating complexity sciences’ concepts as constructs, out-performs baseline AI modelling frameworks at designing explainable models and machine learning algorithms for resolving diverse complex problems such as pandemics, traffic jams, climate change effects, and financial market crashes.

Supervisor: Associate Professor R Ajoodha

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SEPENG, Motshwaedi Collen

Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies

THESIS: Constructed wetlands: additional heterogeneous configurations on existing infrastructures in Silvertown, Alexandra Township, Johannesburg The thesis explored the integration of constructed wetlands into existing infrastructure in Silvertown, an informal settlement in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg. The study explored innovative, heterogeneous infrastructure configurations that enhanced greywater treatment while simultaneously addressing several, local environmental challenges. They looked at how this intervention improved water quality, promoted sustainable urban development, and offered a scalable solution for under-resourced areas facing similar issues by integrating with existing systems. The research blended ecological engineering with community-focused design.

Supervisor: Professor A Thatcher SHAKU, Bokome

Chemistry

THESIS: Synthesis and characterisation of marula nut derived carbon and modified manganese fluorophosphates for electrochemical energy storage applications This thesis focused on marula nut derived carbon and modified manganese fluorophosphate for use in energy storage with emphasis on the development of positive and negative electrodes for asymmetric supercapacitors. The results displayed excellent energy storage characteristics and cycling stability in both neutral and alkaline electrolytes. In a real-life application, the cell was used to successfully light a 1.6 W red LED bulb.

Supervisors: Dr M Maubane-Nkadimeng, Professor N Coville and Professor K Ozoemena SIMOOYA, Steriah Monica

Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies

THESIS: Assessing the impacts of urbanisation on land use change in Zambia: a study of Lusaka urban district This study assessed the impacts of urbanisation on land use change and urban livelihoods of poor and marginalised households and communities in the Greater City of Lusaka. Of particular interest was investigating the myriad ways and avenues through which the urban poor people, especially female headed households navigate and negotiate their citizenry in a landscape highly defined by a capitalist mode of production.

Supervisors: Professor MD Simatele and Dr N Kubanza SINGH, Keshaan

Physics

THESIS: Digital toolbox for the generation and detection of vectorial structured light The candidate has developed and optimised a set of tools for the low-cost, versatile generation and detection of light fields exhibiting structured polarisation, phase, and amplitude. The candidate also demonstrated these tools through the creation of new structured light fields, measurement applications and to achieve robust communication in atmospheric turbulence.

Supervisors: Dr A Dudley and Professor A Forbes

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SODISETTI, Venkateswara Rao

Physics

THESIS: Low-temperature electronic transport of metal doped carbon nanotube molecular hybrids and nitrogen-doped nanocrystalline diamond This thesis investigates electronic transport and magnetism in metal-doped CNT-SMM hybrids and nitrogen-doped nanocrystalline diamond. Key findings include spin-phonon coupling, Kondo lattice behaviour in CNT hybrids, and 3D weak localisation and variablerange hopping in NCD, providing insights into microstructural effects on magnetoresistance and transport properties, advancing carbon-based electronics and spintronics.

Supervisors: Professor S Bhattacharyya SOOBBEN, Marushka

Molecular and Cell Biology

THESIS: In Silico exploration of Endocannabinoid Receptor - CB1 and CB2 – interactions comparing Cannabidiol and Cannabidiol Diacetate: a comprehensive computational study This computational study analysed interactions between natural cannabidiol (CBD) and its acetylated form, cannabidiol diacetate (CBDDA), with pseudo-CB1 and CB2 receptors.

Using bioinformatics, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics in a TIP3P solvated 1palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine environment, CBDDA exhibited stronger receptor interactions, suggesting acetylation changes protein behaviour and potentially enhances potency and modifies endocannabinoid receptor signalling, offering promising therapeutic leads for cannabinoid-based therapies.

Supervisors: Associate Professor I Achilonu and Professor Y Sayed TEFU, Lebogang

Chemistry

THESIS: The synthesis and biological evaluation of isoquinoline derivatives as new, potential transmission-blocking compounds in the fight against malaria The study involved the design, synthesis and in vitro antimalarial testing of isoquinoline derivatives as potential transmission-blocking agents targeting late-stage (IV/V) gametocytes of Plasmodium falciparum. The derivatives maintained potency while demonstrating improved solubility, microsomal stability and lower cytotoxicity in the biological assays. The iron-binding properties of the derivatives were also studied, and key structural elements essential for iron binding were identified.

Supervisor: Associate Professor A Rousseau TEMAUGEE, Samuel Terungwa

Physics

THESIS: Evaluation of radiation damage on lutetium-aluminium and gold for practical applications using proton irradiation as a surrogate for neutrons The candidate’s excellent and timely investigation of resilience of lutetium-aluminium and gold to radiation damage, using both Monte-Carlos simulations methods and the experimental proton irradiation techniques carried out at the CLASS Accelerator in MIT, USA. The complex microstructure properties were elucidated with the state-of-the-art characterisation techniques, providing a major advance in the field of nuclear materials and their applications.

Supervisors: Associate Professor I Usman and Dr RD Mavunda

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THWALA, Siphiwe Anthony

Physics

THESIS: An unsupervised search of non-thermal diffuse emission in extended sources Radio astronomy is undergoing a transformation, requiring data mining methods for optimal scientific utilisation. We implemented the first architecture that uses multi-frequency and multi-scale radio continuum data cubes for unsupervised machine learning model training.

This design automates the detection and clustering of related sources in continuum radio surveys.

Supervisor: Dr G Beck TOLCHARD, Frederick Bruce

Geosciences

THESIS: An analysis of the macroevolutionary dynamics of diet in amniotes The candidate examined distributions of diets and body sizes of amniotes. The candidate tested how feeding guilds partition dietary variation, how these guilds evolve, and how dietary composition affects the macroevolution of amniote body size and found that invertivorous taxa had the smallest body sizes, but that there was surprisingly little difference in body size distributions among other feeding guilds.

Supervisors: Professor JN Choiniere and Professor RBJ Benson TSHISEKEDI, Kalonji Abondance

Molecular and Cell Biology

THESIS: Exploring temporal changes in the malting barley seed microbiome with metaomics to understand nitrogen content effects This thesis investigates the barley seed microbiome using meta-omics to examine the effects of nitrogen levels and storage duration. Analysing eight South African barley samples, the study reveals that storage time influences microbial diversity. These findings advance our understanding of microbial interactions in barley, offering valuable insights for improving seed health and brewing quality.

Supervisors: Dr A Botes and Associate Professor P De Maayer VAN NIEKERK, Karen Elizabeth

Geosciences

THESIS: The molecular evolution of C14 peptidases in microbial eukaryotes Thisthesisexamines C14 peptidases within sets ofeukaryotic predicted proteins, incorporating genomic and transcriptomic data from a wide range of microbial eukaryotes. It uses a computational approach of sequence similarity networks and protein structural analysis to explore proteomes across the eukaryote tree of life, presenting a novel perspective on the diversity within the C14 peptidase family.

Supervisor: Associate Professor PM Durand

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PhD

GRADUATION CEREMONY Faculty of Health Sciences

xx Month 2024

www.wits.ac.za