Cover design FINAL 2/3/12 12:14 PM Page 1 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K 2010 RESEARCH REPORT www.ru.ac.za Composite front section 2 2/8/12 7:22 PM Page 1 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K A Publication of the Rhodes Research Office, compiled and edited by Jaine Roberts. Report Design: Sally Dore, Design Aid Cover Photograph: Professor Christopher McQuaid on Marion Island. Photo: Bo Bonnievie. All other photographs from Marion Island: Christopher McQuaid. Research Office Director: Jaine Roberts [email protected] Tel: 27-46-6038055/8756 www.ru.ac.za Composite front section 2 2/8/12 7:22 PM Page 2 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Table of Contents Preface from the Vice-Chancellor Economics 75 Dr Saleem Badat 2 Education 78 Introduction from the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and English 82 Development - Dr Peter Clayton 5 English Language and Linguistics 84 Environmental Science 86 The Vice-Chancellor’s Research Awards Fine Art 89 - Distinguished Senior Research Award Geography 93 Professor Alan Hodgson 6 Geology 97 - Distinguished Research Award History 101 Professor Janice Limson 9 Human Kinetics and Ergonomics 103 Ichthyology and Fisheries Science 105 - Book Award Anton Krueger, Experiments in Freedom 13 Information Systems 108 Journalism and Media Studies 110 Selected Research Areas Law 116 Management 119 Marine Biologist Receives The Prestigious Gilchrist Award - Professor Christopher McQuaid 16 Mathematics 123 Music and Musicology and Professor Torto’s team, the Royal Society of Chemistry the International Library of African Music (ILAM) 125 and the Journal of Analytical Methods 21 Pharmacy 130 Undertaking Fundamental Research on Applied Philosophy 135 Organisms - Professor Martin Hill 24 Physics and Electronics 138 South African Literature in English in Focus Political and International Studies 142 Professor Dirk Klopper 28 Psychology 145 Media and Citizenship: Between Marginalisation School of Languages 149 and Participation Sociology 152 Professors Herman Wasserman & Anthea Garman 30 Statistics 154 Library Research Highlights 32 Zoology and Entomology 157 Top Researchers: Acknowledgements 34 Institutes, Centres and Units Centre for Higher Education, Research, PhD Graduates 35 Teaching and Learning (CHERTL) 165 Publications from the Vice Chancellorate & Administration 37 Electron Microscope Unit (EMU) 168 The Institute for Environmental Biology (EBRU) 169 Departments Institute for the Study of English in Africa (ISEA) 171 Accounting 39 The Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) 175 Anthropology 41 Institute for Water Research (IWR) 180 Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biotechnology 44 The Public Service Accountability Monitor and CSA 182 Botany 51 Rhodes University Mathematics Education Project (RUMEP) 184 Rhodes Business School 55 Chemistry 57 Affiliates Computer Science 65 Albany Museum 186 Drama 71 National English Literary Museum (NELM) 189 1 Composite front section 2 2/8/12 7:22 PM Page 3 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Preface Dr Saleem Badat, Vice-Chancellor Rhodes University is, undoubtedly, one of Other developments, such as additional South Africa’s outstanding universities. I postgraduate and research programmes and take pride when Rhodes is referred to as new postgraduate residences, are planned to the ‘Scholarly University.’ Building on the follow. solid foundation of outstanding pass and graduation rates, amongst the highest per Our second priority is to bid for and host a capita research output and percentage of UNESCO Institute for Water Education and staff with doctorates of South African Research. This field already enjoys prominence universities, and an increasingly diverse in teaching, research and community engage- and cosmopolitan student body, our ment activities across numerous disciplines, priorities in the coming years for the and three dedicated research centres, at support and development of scholarship Rhodes. The scope of our research ranges are three fold. from studying water at its sources through to the Antarctic, and our contributions extend First we plan to become a more postgraduate from municipal waste water management, to and research intensive university. To this end, working with industry, to national policy advice it is our intention to slow our growth in under- to government. Water is an increasingly critical graduate numbers to a minimal level, and issue, and we wish to put our knowledge and instead focus on growing the proportion of expertise to work for the continent, and to our postgraduate students from 27% to 30% become a key hub in Africa for research and in the coming years. To this end, a number of postgraduate development related to water. new initiatives have already been approved. The Rhodes University Board of Governors Our third priority is a new Life Sciences have made available an amount of R12.5 building, to ensure that these disciplines million over the next five years to launch the continue to thrive in the way they have, and Sandisa Imbewu (We are growing/multiplying to create space for other highly productive our seeds) Fund, to support new initiatives for departments to also grow. The achievements Photo: Sophie Smith scholarly projects that enhance postgraduate of colleagues in Chemistry, in Zoology and outputs across all faculties of the university. Entomology, in Ichthyology and Fisheries, and Three new masters’ programmes are being in Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biotech- launched: Creative Writing, Information nology, the most research productive Security, and Social Policy. departments at Rhodes University and the 2 Composite front section 2 2/8/12 7:22 PM Page 4 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K producers of large numbers of postgraduates, Nanotechnology, continues to attract honours. are deservedly celebrated. But the very During 2010, she was awarded two honorary successes of these departments have resulted doctorates by other universities. in severe space constraints. A new life sciences building is likely to cost in the region of R150 The SARChI Research Chair in Marine million, and be the largest infrastructure project Ecosystems, Professor Christopher McQuaid, in the history of Rhodes University. It would also attracted widespread intellectual kudos provide a consolidated space for cognate life to the university through his influence as a sciences, and also free up space to address world leader in this field. the needs of Chemistry, Pharmacy, Bio- During 2010, three additional SARChI chairs chemistry, Microbiology and Biotechnology, were awarded to Rhodes University. Two chairs Botany and Environmental Science. - for Professor Marc Schafer and Professor The Life Sciences building would follow a Mellony Graven - were in Mathematics spectacular new library, opened in 2010 at a education. The third chair, an SKA (Square cost of R75 million. This state of the art and Kilometre Array) chair, was in Astrophysics. high tech facility supports scholarship at This brings to 5 the number of National SARChI Rhodes in ways not previously available to chairs that Rhodes has thus far won. The SKA students and staff, including a specialist award is recognition of the leading role that research commons and powerful new data- Rhodes University plays in the SKA project, base search tools to enhance literature through the work of Professor Justin Jonas of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biotech- searches and information aggregation. A new and his colleagues. nology, for the volume and impact of her Environmental Learning Centre building, to research outputs to date. Dr Anton Krueger support the range of outstanding research and The Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Senior of the Drama Department was the recipient postgraduate work being produced at Rhodes Research Award for 2010 was conferred on of the Vice-Chancellor’s Book Award for 2010, in environmental sustainability, was also Professor Alan Hodgson, of the Department for his book entitled Experiments in Freedom: opened during the period under review. of Zoology & Entomology, for the national and Explorations of Identity in New South African international impact of his research over a Drama (Cambridge, 2010). The highly acclaimed Professor Tebello sustained period. The Vice-Chancellor’s Nyokong, director of the Nanotechnology Distinguished Research Award (in the age In the Humanities and Social Sciences, Innovation Centre at Rhodes, and SARChI group 40 and below) for 2010 was awarded following a rigorous competitive process of Research chair in Medicinal Chemistry and to Professor Janice Limson of the Department applications, four research focus areas were 3 Composite front section 2 2/8/12 7:22 PM Page 5 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K launched using generous funding from the number awarded to a single university. Mellon Foundation. The focus areas and their Consider that we constituted only 0.8% of leaders are: South Africa’s university students, yet we won 15% of all Mandela Rhodes scholarships. • Critical Sexual and Reproductive Health Studies, led by Professor I extend my congratulations and sincere Catriona MacLeod of the Department thanks to all of our researchers, scholars, of Psychology and Professor Louise collaborators, partners, donors and funders, Vincent of the Department of Political for their contributions to making 2010 a and International Studies. year in which research at Rhodes University • Visual and Performing Arts of Africa continued to flourish. Your expertise, The Audacity of Place: Geopolitics and dedication, rigour and generosity make the Arts of Africa, led by Professor Rhodes University the rich and distinctive Ruth Simbao of the Department