July 2022

NWU produces research with relevance

Welcome to the fourth edition of the North-West University's newsletter, Research@NWU. The aim of the newsletter is to showcase research projects, researchers and related events. This newsletter is one of seven, distributed to academic staff and researchers during the year.

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Microscopic wonder on the yellow-bellied sea snake

Just as vastness induces awe, so there is wonder to be found in the miniscule. For Dr Roksana Majewska from the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the NWU, this is an absolute truth.

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New language resources for four South African Nguni languages

Better technology tools are on the way for South Africa's four Nguni languages. Research being done at CTexT® at the NWU is helping to fill in the missing links about how these languages are being used.

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How Africa can develop a "society for all ages"

Africa is and will be the continent with the youngest population globally for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, many people in Africa are living increasingly longer. This finding is based on demographic trends on the continent and raises a host of complex issues for policymakers, according to Prof Jaco Hoffman, a professor of Socio-Gerontology in the Optentia research unit at the NWU's Vanderbijlpark Campus. Socio-gerontology is the interdisciplinary study of the social aspects of ageing and Prof Hoffman is the first professor in this field at the NWU.

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Better coordination and collaboration can boost food security

"My passion for rural development started when I realised that there are families who go to bed without food. I became more interested through my research on key strategies and interventions that can assist the country on how rural development can be best implemented to ensure that food is secure and rural areas are developed," says Dr Maria Mphahlele, NWU PhD graduate. Aligning her PhD study with her passion, Dr Mphahlele investigated the risks in rural develop-ment service-delivery models in South Africa and looked at how these risks can be managed effectively.

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Fulbright scholar investigates secrets of serpentine ecology

A Fulbright scholar from the United States is joining the NWU's Unit for Environ-mental Sciences and Management for 10 months to do research in a field where many stones are still unturned. There are gaps in knowledge that scientists have about plant and insect species living on serpenti-nite rocks and filling in some of these could prove useful in understanding the effects of climate change and consequently contribute to conservation. Prof Nishanta (Nishi) Rajakaruna from the California Polytechnic State University will be working with Prof Stefan Siebert of the Geoecology Laboratory.

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How regulating mobile money can boost financial inclusion

NWU LLD candidate Elfas Torrerai has done a statutory analysis of the use and regulation of mobile money to promote financial inclusion in developing countries. The title of his study is "A comparative statutory analysis of the use and regulation of mobile money to promote financial inclusion for the poor in Zimbabwe". It involved a comparative analysis of the regulation and use of mobile money to promote financial inclusion in Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom.

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NWU researchers test medicinal plants used for contraception

For women who cannot take commercial contraceptives for health or other reasons or cannot access them, NWU researchers and traditional health practitioners from the North West province are exploring alternatives: the use of medicinal plants. The project is a multistakeholder collaboration led by Dr Arthur Moroole, a postdoctoral research fellow at the NWU, under the mentorship of Prof Simeone Materechera and Prof Oladapo Aremu of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Centre.

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Meet our researchers

The Faculty of Health Sciences is doing exciting work on the research front. In the previous edition we showcased three of the faculty's researchers. In this edition, we introduce three more experts in their fields.

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Sr Adele Burger is the clinic manager at the Hyper-tension Research and Training Clinic, and is part of the research entity HART. She shares more about their research on the early deve-lopment of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, and their involvement in the community with health awareness campaigns.

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Dr Misheck Dube from the subject group Social Work is researching the global problem of widowhood. In this short video interview, he explains the concept of widowhood. He also elaborates about his model to assist women who have lost their spouses – especially in the South African context.

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Each type of workplace presents its own set of risks to the health of its workers. Dr Stefan Linde from the Occupational Hygiene and Health Research Initiative finds using various types of exposure assessment methodologies and technologies to assess and manage risks really exciting.


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Please share your comments and input by sending an email to the newsletter editor, willie.duplessis@nwu.ac.za