Research Bites

May 2013 Volume 1, Issue 1

Research Bites

LAUNCH NEWS - RESEARCH BITES

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n keeping with the vision of the University of Zululand, the Research Office has launched a brand new electronic newsletter which aims to showcase the research potential of this university. With our new Newsletter, Research Bites, we hope to achieve the following:

Inside this issue Meet the SARChI Chair ............... 2 Visiting Researcher .................... 2

Showcase the research that is being conducted at UNIZULU: The University is currently engaged in various projects which place us at the cutting edge of research and innovation.

International News ..................... 3

Highlight research achievements of individual researchers: The University has a number of researchers who have gained national and international exposure for their efforts. This platform will recognize their achievements.

Thuthuka Funding ....................... 5

Stimulate conversations about research and research-related issues: We aim to provide space for academics to engage research issues and to bring research to the forefront of our academic activity. Feedback will be essential in the success of this newsletter as well as other research related matters that may arise.

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Inform staff and students about services that the Research Office provides: The newsletter aims to keep the University community abreast of developments within the Research Office and the services it provides.

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Notify the research community of funding and training opportunities: We wish to encourage staff and students to participate in research-related opportunities.

This initiative is a joint venture between the Research Office and the Department of Communication Science, with additional input from our Communications and Marketing Division. This launch edition was made possible through the efforts of: Ms Daniela Viljoen and Ms Noma Shoba, who provided their usual efficient administrative services; Dr Kevin Naidoo and Ms Samantha Moodley, who were integral in providing their technical know-how and expertise; and Communication Science students who helped write most of the articles as part of a programme to develop their journalism skills. We hope that in due course, students will also become more involved in the production side.

We aim to provide you with at least two newsletters during 2013. I trust you will agree that our colleagues have done a great job in developing this inaugural edition. No doubt there is always room for improvement and so we welcome feedback on areas of improvement as well as areas of interest to you. And, of course, please let us have your news! Rob Midgley

New NRF Rated Researchers....... 4

ProLISSA Conference .................. 5 Carl Storm Fellowship ................. 6 KZN Ethics Workshp.................... 6 Post Doctoral Desk...................... 7 Forthcoming Events .................... 8

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South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI)

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rolific author and researcher, Professor Neerish Revaprasadu (Department of Chemistry) was awarded the prestigious honour of being nominated for the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) programme in 2007. In 2012 the 5 year old Chair was renewed for another term of 5 Prof. Neerish Revaprasadu years. His success is attributed to his mentors, collaborators, colleagues and most importantly his postgraduate students. He explained that his experience in nanomaterials research allowed him to conceptualise a 5 year project which catapulted his research to the next stage of development.

The project which began in 2007 has evolved into many new projects which include the applications of nanomaterials. Through his work he hopes to attract students to develop their capacity in research and nanomaterials chemistry. He hopes to foster new collaborations in particular with other African countries. Prof Revaprasadu is currently working with Ghana, Tanzania and Cameroon. He hopes his laboratory is identified as one of the leading laboratories in Africa where high quality research in nanoscience is developed.

Prof Revaprasadu would like his collaboration with the United Kingdom to form a bridge between research groups in the U.K. and Africa.

He believes these goals are dependent on the success of the application for the Royal Society – DFID Africa Capacity Building Initiative.

This program will involve collaborations between the University of Manchester, University of Zululand, University of Yaounde and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

The project is based on the synthesis of nanomaterials with applications in Solar Cells.

The other projects which are currently underway involves a drug delivery system which uses core shell nanoparticles. The project has matured to the patent phase for which the registration is currently in progress. Prof Revaprasadu expects this to be an important part of his research in the next 3 – 5 years.

His inspiration for the funding was simply to achieve higher goals in his research which includes increasing the number of articles published in this field. Ultimately he hopes his high quality research will be published in high impact journals. Through his research Prof Revaprasadu hopes to train and develop students whom he identifies are ‘the workers’ who are able to carry out some of his ideas. This has also inspired students to develop their own ideas which he has been able to supervise and offer some guidance to. He summarises his inspiration as being his hunger for new knowledge and the love for student supervision.

Visiting Researcher at Department of Information Studies

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rof. Daniel C. Rotich from the School of Information Sciences at Moi University Kenya is visiting the University of Zululand, Department of Information Studies, as a Research Visitor (on Sabbatical from February - May 2013).Daniel is an Associate professor in the Department of Publishing and Media Studies, School of Information Sciences, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya. He has served as Head of Department of Publishing and Media Studies at Moi University for three years and as Dean of the School of Information Sciences for four years. He is qualified with a PhD in Information Management, M.Phil. in Publishing Studies, and B.Sc. in Information Sciences from Thames Valley University – London (University of West London) (UK), University of Stirling, (UK) and Moi University (Kenya), respectively. He is a co-editor of Contemporary Publishing and Booktrade in Kenya (Moi University Press) and a member of editorial board of East African Journal of Information Sciences. He has a number of research papers published in peerreviewed scholarly journals. His area of teaching and research include scholarly publishing, educational publishing, book marketing, book design and production, electronic publishing and information management.

While at the University of Zululand, he will pursue research in scholarly publishing (e.g. a comparison of the visibility of published works by Moi University and University of ZuluProf. Daniel C. Rotich land), write and publish research articles in his speciality and deliver a public lecture to the University academic community on trends of scholarly publishing in Africa in mid April 2013. Those who would like to engage with him can find him in Room 121, Arts block (ground floor) or email him at cdtorich@yahoo.com or ochollad@unizulu.ac.za

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International Conference on Law and Society in Paris

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Dr Desan Iyer

r Desan Iyer, Attorney of the High Court of South Africa who is also Senior Lecturer within the Department of Law, will be presenting a paper on “Improving the communicative legal skills of the law student” at the International Conference on Law and Society in Paris, France in June 2013.

The topic is extremely prevalent in lieu of the fact that there have been calls by members of the legal sector to increase the LLB programme from four to five years. This stems from complaints received, in recent times, from the Judiciary, Prosecution and even the Law Society about the calibre of law graduates entering the legal arena. Dr Iyer who completed his doctorate on the “Semiotics of Nonverbal Communication in the Legal Arena” also addressed many law academics at the Law Teacher’s Conference in Port Elizabeth last year and his topic was well received.

His research focuses on not only improving the verbal skills of the law student but also concentrating on the nonverbal element which is an important cog in the communicative process. In fact studies have shown that over 70% of communication takes place nonverbally and this is often a neglected field of study at most law schools. Dr Iyer has just completed a chapter on Nonverbal Communication in Pearson’s “Skills for Law Students” textbook and his contribution will appear in their new edition next year. He has also been able to draw from his experience as an attorney when dealing with the critical issue of legal skills development. It is hoped that many of these critical issues will be addressed at the LLB Summit in May this year.

World Forum on Education and Culture Conference in Rome (Italy)

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r MAN Duma, acting Head, in the Department of Human and Social Science, from the Faculty of Education, attended 11th Annual Worldwide Forum on Education and Culture Conference in November 2012, in Rome, Italy and presented a paper on ‘Student participation in school governance: Views of school principals’. The conference was held from 28-30 November 2012 at Trilussa Palace Hotel in the heart of the Trastevere district in Rome. Trastevere is one of the oldest and most unique areas in the city and next to the Vatican City. The congress attracted an estimated 500 scholars, professors and professionals from more than 30 nations to discuss the theme on “Learning and Living around the World: New Perspectives for New Challenges”.

Dr Duma’s paper was based on the need for the inclusion of students in school governance activities as translated into the democratisation of education the South Africa. An argument was presented that although student leadership is taken as a fait accompli in many schools, the reality is that in South African schools, this still remains a wishful thinking. The absence of student experience from school governance brings about the Dr Duma with conference delegates. systematic silencing of the student’s voice. The current trend in the international community recognises the right of the child to access to education, and also requires the right of the student to participate in decision-making (Carr, 2003). The paper was concluded by the submission that the inclusion of students in the governance of schools is a practical way to promote democratic values and develop democratic school governance.

Humboldt Fellow – Dr Shonhai’s visit to Germany

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he University of Zululand was showcased internationally when Dr A. Shonhai, Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry and Microbiology visited Germany recently as a Humboldt Fellow. He explained that the Alexandar von Humboldt is a non-profit foundation established by the Federal Republic of Germany. Its aim is the promotion of international cooperation between highly qualified researchers. Sponsorship is limited to those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in research and who contribute significantly to international cooperation and understanding.

The University of Marburg which hosted Dr Shonhai were also grateful that he chose to visit them as Germany universities score points on their standing for hosting Humboldt Fellows. Dr Shonhai’s highlight of the visit was, being a part of a team of fellows who were hosted by the German President, Joachim Gauck (pictured) at his residence in Berlin.

Dr A. Shonhai & German President Joachim Gauck

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Newly Rated Researchers Researcher – Dr Shonhai

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he University of Zululand wishes to congratulate Dr Shonhai – Senior Lecturer in Biochemsitry and Microbiology, on his recent success in being appointed as a NRF rated researcher. Dr Shonhai shared his experience in the application process which he says was very time consuming. He advised the importance of ensuring the publication of articles in journals that are recognised and have a good standing. One of the many challenges he faced was to identify suitable reviewers who have a reputable international image combined with the knowledge of the South African research landscape.

Dr Shonhai’s research interest lies in understanding the structure and functions of proteins and how these molecules interact with the biological environment in states of good health and disease. He said that it was every scientists dream to come up with a tangible solution to the range of challenges we face in Africa. His desire to be a leading scientist in his field has been the impetus for his recent research on understanding the role of heat shock proteins in the development of malaria.

His recent string of successes include being awarded the Georg Foster Research Fellowship by the Alexandar von Humboldt Foundation of Germany which facilitated his sabbatical visit to Philips-Marburg University in 2012. Dr Shonhai remains humbled to receive such recognition and believes his hard work and the satisfaction from the results generated through his research are key to his success. His aim is to develop the research capacity in South Africa through his mentoring other students.

Professor Digby Cyrus, Department of Zoology (Science & Agriculture)

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rofessor Cyrus, Head of Department and Senior Professor in the Department of Zoology has been at the University of Zululand since 1984. He established and heads the Coastal Research Unit of Zululand (CRUZ) in1987 which is the departments research arm. He studied at the University of Natal (now UKZN) in Pietermaritzburg where he completed his BSc in 1977 and BSc (Hons) in 1978. In 1980 Prof Cyrus obtained his MSc (cum laude) for his work on the diet of a group of estuarine fish and in 1984 completed his PhD on the influence of water turbidity on the distribution of fish in the Lake St Lucia estuarine system. Prof Cyrus has also completed certificated courses on Integrated Environmental Management, Marine Pollution, ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems, Departmental Leadership and Public Participation in Environmental Impact Assessments. He has also held an NRF Research Rating for more than 10 years and currently holds a C rating that is valid until 2018.

The main focus of Prof Cyrus’s research is the ecology of estuaries with particular reference to Zululand estuaries and the Lake St Lucia estuarine system in particular. Within this field he has expertise in several of the key ecosystem components, including fish, invertebrates and birds. His research interests also reach to adjacent ecosystems including coastal lakes, coastal plain rivers and the near-shore marine environment. In addition he has an interest in the zoogeography and distribution of birds. Prof Cyrus has undertaken projects in conjunction with researchers both nationally [CSIR, UKZN, NMMU, EKZNW & ORI] and internationally [Hull University (UK), CSIRO (Australia) and National Ocean Services (USA)]. His publications include: 144 scientific papers in peer reviewed journals, a book on bird distribution in KwaZulu-Natal and several chapters in other books. In addition he has been involved in 143 research reports produced by CRUZ. Prof Cyrus has presented the results of his research at 64 International and 73 National Conferences and has to date supervised 3 PhD and 10 MSc students.

Through his research activities CRUZ and the Department of Zoology have become nationally as well as internationally recognised in the field of estuarine research. For his contribution to this field Prof Cyrus was awarded the Gold Medal by the Southern African Aquatic Sciences Society in 2011.

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Researcher Dr Kunene “Thuthuka Funding”

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he National Research Foundation funding arm of Thuthuka recently awarded our very own Dr N.W.Kunene, the HOD of the Agricultural Science Department on a Post PhD track with funding to continue with her research on the genetic characterisation of Nguni (Zulu) sheep. The Zulu sheep numbers have declined because of inbreeding and substitution with other breeds. This breed has been declared as insecure. A conservation program requires phenotypic and the genetic structure of the available populations. This includes assessing the phenotypic and genetic structure of the Nguni sheep found in the different areas of KwaZulu-Natal.

The phenotypic characterisation is finished; we are at the second stage of the research which is the genetic analysis. She also included a component of studying stress related factors in Zulu sheep and the reproductive characteristics of the Zulu sheep rams. She originally received funding for her PhD studies from Thuthuka and thereafter learnt about the program that support the development of research skills by visiting international institutions. She has thus far extended her research by visiting one institution in Europe and is in the process of collaborating with them for further research and even assisting her post grad students with some research skills and exposure. She is currently looking at visiting the United States to broaden her research base as she searches for a different type of molecular marker. Dr Kunene intends to provide her post grad students with optimal exposure through her funding opportunity. Her desire is to establish international research skills and to finalise the second phase of this project. She intends to improve her skills on molecular research and network with international researchers in the same field of interest.

ProLISSA Conference

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he Department of Library & Information Science participated in The Progress in Library and Information Science in Southern Africa (ProLISSA) Conference which was hosted by UNISA at the Saint George Hotel in Pretoria during March 2013. The following participants from Unizulu attended: Professor Dennis N Ocholla; Professor Daniel Rotich and four doctoral students Mr Fari A Sani, Mr Rexwhite T Enakrire, Mr Paul Mbua and Mrs Wakari Gikenye.

Professor Ocholla’s contribution to this conference included : Member panellist during the two day doctoral forum Presented the overall summary and final remark for the Doctoral forum Presented a paper at the main conference entitled: “Challenges and opportunities of publishing from theses and dissertation between research supervisor and student” Professor Daniel Rotich was a member panellist during the two day doctoral forum and also chaired a session of the conference. His presentation included a paper entiteld: “Embarking on the doctoral journey”. Further presentations were made by doctoral students of the Department of Library & Information Science : Mr Fari A Sani presented his research progress entitled: “Comparative Study on Information and Knowledge Sharing among Academics in Nigeria and South Africa.”

Mr Rexwhite T Enakrire presented his research progress entitled: Comparative Analysis of the use of Infomration and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Knowledge Management in Selected Academic Libraries in Nigeria and South Africa” Mr Paul Mbua presented a paper entitled: “The Implication of Service Quality Models to Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction.”

Mrs Wakari Gikenye presented a joint paper with Professor Ocholla entitled: “The diffusion of information and communication technologies in the informal sector in Kenya”.

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Carl Storm Fellowship

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he Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority (CSURM) Fellowship program was established by the GRC Board of Trustees to honour Director Emeritus Carl Storm's many years of service to GRC and to support his commitment to increasing diversity at the Conferences. This Fellowship Program provides an opportunity for URM graduate students, post docs, faculty and scientists to receive funding assistance to attend their first GRC.

To be eligible, applicants must meet all of the following eligibility criteria:

 Graduate student, post doc, faculty or research scientist Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.

Hispanic or Latino: A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.

American Indian or Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.

Black or African American: A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. The term "Native Hawaiian" does not include individuals who are native to the State of Hawaii by virtue of being born there.

 U.S. Citizen or permanent resident with a "Green Card"  Currently working at a U.S. institution  Is attending a GRC for the first time Unizulu’s very own Xolani Makhoba, a PhD student from BioChemistry has been invited as a guest speaker at the Gordon Research Seminar and will also be nominated for a Carl Storm Scholarship. The University wishes him well in his endeavours.

KZN Information Ethics Workshop at the University of Zululand in March 2013

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he University of Zululand’s Department of Information Studies, together with African Centre of Excellence for Information Ethics (ACEIE) at the University of Pretoria and the Information Studies Programme at the University of KwaZulu Natal, organized a successful KZN Information Ethics Workshop at the University of Zululand on 26 March 2013.

The objectives of the KZN Workshop were to create awareness on the subject of Information Ethics (IE) and create a forum for discussions related to Information Ethics. The proceedings began with an address by the Keynote Speaker: Prof. Rob Midgley, DVC Research and Innovation at the University of Zululand.

The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Coetzee Bester (the Director ACEIE), Prof. Stephen Mutula (UKZN) and Prof. Dennis Ocholla (UniZul).

Coetzee Bester focused on International guidelines-UNESCO, IRIE, Information Ethics in Africa and the Africa Centre of Excellence for Information Ethics; Stephen Mutula addressed the guidelines for Ethical thinking/ethical theories; while Dennis Ocholla focused on understanding information and its importance. Approximately 60 participants consisting of staff and postgraduate students from various disciplines (e.g. Information Studies, Philosophy, African Languages, Gay and Lesbian Network from Pietermaritzburg), largely from the University of KwaZulu Natal and the University of Zululand, participated at the workshop.

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From the Postdoctoral Desk Dr Fabian Nde Fon: Animal Nutrition

by Tiffany Lee Naidoo

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r. Fabian Nde Fon, a lecturer in the Department of Agriculture is a postdoctoral student whose area of interest is Animal Nutrition (Ruminant Nutrition). His research focuses on the improvement of fiber breakdown in herbivores. This project scans through domestic to wild herbivores microbial ecosystems (both ruminants and hindgut fermenters) in an attempt to find out if there are any differences in their fibrolytic activities. Thus far, he has managed to establish beyond doubts that the microbial fibrolytic activities of eleven herbivores (cow, horse, giraffe, camel, elephant, zebra, impala, llama, wildebeest, sheep and buffalo) microbial ecosystems sampled were not the same.

It was also observed that some herbivores were habouring microbes with high fibrolytic activities. The different enzymes that have been extracted and activities assayed in vitro were exocellulase, endocellulase, cellobiase and hemi-cellulase. He intends to increase the scope of the number of wild animals being scanned and vary their geographical locations in the future. However, the second phase of his research has been trying to identify the active microbes and to attempt transferring them into domestic ruminants especially cows. If it is transferable, what is their effect on animal production and how this information can be useful to both commercial and local farmers.

Currently he is also looking at the effects of these microbes on greenhouse gases by ruminants as about 12% of the total greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere comes from agriculture while 0.28 of global methane emission comes from ruminant livestock enteric fermentation (signaling its role in global warming). This area is still new to him but preliminary results seem to be very promising in terms of methane and carbon dioxide production.

Dr Tweddle: Estuarine Systems at St Lucia

by Aga Tadese

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nizul’s own Dr Gavin Tweddle from the Department of Zoology has focussed his field of interest in the ecology of South African estuarine systems. Currently, he is involved in fieldwork for numerous long and short term monitoring projects assessing the state of estuarine systems along the coast of Zululand.

His present research focuses on the spatial and temporal changes in the community and population structure of prawn species within the St. Lucia Estuary. The St. Lucia Estuary is the largest estuarine lake in South Africa and has historically been subjected to serious anthropogenic influences that include mouth management, separation from the Mfolozi-Msunduzi estuarine system and increased freshwater abstraction from the surrounding area. The culmination of this was predominantly an increase in sedimentation, higher salinities and a loss of abundance and diversity of estuarine and marine flora and fauna.

The change in status of St. Lucia has been linked to the closure of the offshore Thukela Banks Prawn Fishery due to the loss of the extensive nursery function provided by the system. In the last decade, St. Lucia has been subjected to extensive drought periods, a closed period of four years and nine months (June 2002 to March 2007), very high salinities, a reduction of surface area by 90%, a mouth opening event (May to August 2007). Freshwater and marine prawns, typically the Caridea and the Penaeidea, respectively, have been sampled from 2004 to the present in the St. Lucia Estuary and these data encompass a range of open and closed estuarine mouth conditions, along with the changes in salinity and surface area of the estuary. Results of this study may provide information that could influence future decisions in regards to the management of the St. Lucia Estuary.

Future research will include looking at ecological aspects of Richards Bay Harbour and further monitoring and assessment of the St. Lucia prawns.

Effective, durable and low cost ceramic water filter device

By Sithembile Monareng

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aving access to clean water is one of the major challenges facing South Africa. The World Health Organization has been trying to find ways to provide safe water systems that is germ-free and accessible to poor communities.

The University of Zululand Department of Hydrology Mr. Jean Simonis has developed an effective low cost ceramic water filter that can supply clean water to poor communities that do not have access to clean water.

Mr. Simonis says “The filter can support a family of five people and produces 3.5 liters of water in an hour and proven to be safe as it is 99% effective, which is in accordance with the standards of the World Health Organization”.

The device is guaranteed to prevent contamination of Protozoa, Bacteria, and Viruses that can cause water borne illness. The filter is guaranteed to last for the whole year and costs about R50.

“The project is targeting small businesses to produce these filters, the university will train them on how to manufacture the ceramic filter but retain the ownership of the invention.” Mr. Simonis said. This project will not only provide safe water to local community but will also provide economic opportunities for SMMEs hence will create job opportunities for the locals.

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Accolades / Awards Congratulations to the following people who received research awards NRF AWARDS Prof MO Adigun – Technology and Human Resources for Industry Programme (THRIP) Profs A Beesham, DP Cyrus, SD Edwards, P Scogings and A Shonhai – Incentive Funding for Rated Researchers Prof JD Boughey – Community University Partnership Programme Prof OM Ndwandwe – International Science & Technology Agreements Dr NW Kunene – THUTHUKA Programme Mr MS Mthembu – THUTHUKA Programme Prof OM Ndwandwe – National Equipment Programme Prof N Revaprasadu – South African Research Chairs Programme.

OTHER AWARDS

Dr NW Kunene: The South African Landbank and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) – Zulu Sheep Conservation project.

Forthcoming

Events That ‘informed consent’ forms do not cede intellectual copyright and therefore restricts the potential archiving of research material.

Intellectual Property Workshop 28-29 May 2013 Research Writing Workshop 5-6 June 2013

Editorial Committee Editor: Ms Daniela Viljoen Copy Editor: Samantha Moodley Layout & Design: Kevin Naidoo Contributing members: Ms Noma Shoba, Sithembile Monareng, Aga Tadese, Tiffany Lee Naidoo

Ayanda Mkhize at EX 6273

THE NEXT ISSUE If you would like to publicize your research efforts in our next issue of Research Bites, please contact Nomathemba Shoba at the Research Office for more information.