UWCScholar
This repository serves as a digital archive for the preservation of research outputs from the University of the Western Cape.
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Recent Submissions
The role of infection in root resorption mechanism and clinical implication
(Innovative Publications, 2025) Palakurthy Kiran; Ninan Anugraha; Thawre Suruchi
The aim of the Review is to explore the role of infection in the pathogenesis of root resorption and discuss its clinical implications and management strategies. Root resorption is a pathological condition involving the destruction of hard tissues such as dentin and cementum, often influenced by infection. The process is complex, requiring a multidisciplinary approach for effective management. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted, focusing on infection driven root resorption mechanisms, diagnostic techniques, and emerging treatment modalities. Infection-driven root resorption involves microbial invasion, an inflammatory response, osteoclastic activation, and tissue destruction. Early diagnosis and effective management strategies, including antimicrobial therapy, regenerative techniques, and advanced imaging, are critical for successful outcomes. Infection plays a central role in root resorption, emphasizing the importance of timely intervention. Emerging technologies and targeted therapies offer promising advances in diagnosis and treatment, necessitating ongoing research to enhance clinical outcomes.
Cross-border solidarity: migrant-led associations as spaces of epistemic resistance and food security innovation in South Africa
(Scielo, 2025) Mazani, Perfect
In the midst of closure and securitization of border regimes, climate-change displacement, and entrenched inequalities, migrant communities are not just surviving but creating new sites of resistance, creativity, and adaptation to their worlds in crisis. This paper explores how migrant-solidarity organizations function as epistemic spaces of invention and resistance in South Africa among Zimbabwean, Pakistani, and Cameroonian migrant communities in Parow Valley, Summer Greens, and Kensington (Cape Town). Based on 250 household surveys and 12 qualitative in-depth interviews, the paper explores how migrant-led social movements become sites of agency, social resilience, and resistance to marginalization habitually employed by state policy and academic scholarship. These forms of solidarity networks, which are essentially national in scope, maintain food security at a household level, access to livelihood, and socio-emotional well-being. Group savings, mutual support, and rotating credit associations enable these networks to build adaptive capacities to deal with uncertain migration status and socio-economic risk. They constitute resilient, informal social safety nets for food, income, and affective resources that go beyond what formal mechanisms can provide. By situating migrant practice and epistemologies, the paper challenges hegemonic discourses that position migrants as passive. Instead, it positions everyday solidarities at the site of politicized invention and resistance. It situates where these practices intersect with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 (zero hunger), SDG 8 (decent work), and SDG 10 (reduced inequalities). It establishes a decolonial, plural migration knowledge positioning migrants as co-producers, policy entrepreneurs, and change agents.
Teaching entrepreneurship at a University in South Africa: who should teach and what methods work best?
(MDPI, 2025) Machingambi, Jeremiah; Iwu, Chux Gervase
The purpose of the current research study was to identify appropriate educators for teaching entrepreneurship at the university level and to explore the best teaching methods for developing entrepreneurial knowledge and skills among students. The study aims to address two key questions in entrepreneurship education: (1) Who should teach entrepreneurship in universities? and (2) What methods are effective in teaching entrepreneurship in universities? The study was conducted using an interpretative phenomenological qualitative research approach. Data were collected from a purposive sample of eight (8) entrepreneurship educators from a South African university. Data collection spanned three months, from November 2024 to January 2025. The key findings of the study suggest that entrepreneurship should be taught by academics with practical experience, academics with at least a Master’s degree, entrepreneurs invited as guest lecturers, incubator professionals, and technology professionals. Additionally, the research revealed teaching methods that can be used to effectively teach entrepreneurship in universities: Universities need to prioritise hiring and training entrepreneurship educators with both academic and real-world experience and facilitate collaborations with incubators and real-world entrepreneurs. Teaching methods need to incorporate experiential learning methods such as startup simulations, case studies, and partnerships with innovation hubs. The study offers valuable insights into who should teach entrepreneurship and how it should be taught, emphasising the need for a multidisciplinary approach and practical orientation to develop entrepreneurial capabilities and mindsets among students.
Votescapes’: Linguistic landscape and party language policy during the 2019 South African election
(Routledge, 2025) Kretzer, Michael M
This study aims to investigate the use and visibility of languages on election posters through the concept of Linguistic Landscapes (LL). Hence, the following research question was the core of this study: What languages were used during the 2019 national election, and how linguistically inclusive are the election posters? Linguistic Landscapes is not only a purely linguistic phenomenon but rather reflects the reciprocal relationship between Linguistic Landscapes and the surrounding communities, their language usage, and society at large. Data collection took place in three provinces of South Africa: the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, and North West, resulting in 218 photographs of election posters. Two provinces with a clear dominance of one African Language and one very multilingual province were chosen. Within those three provinces, a more rural and semi-urban research site in the North West and in the Eastern Cape were selected, and a few residential areas in the metropolitan area of Johannesburg. Political parties differed significantly in their ‘votescape’, their linguistic landscape and their party language policies during their 2019 national election campaigns. The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), frequently used African languages and ran an inclusive campaign, considering regional language concentrations despite their vague party language policy. By contrast, another opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), used an exclusively English approach. This was quite surprising, as this party aims to portray itself as ‘grounded’ and can be seen as a nationalist party. Further, their political agenda favours African languages in their party programme. The African National Congress’ (ANC) strategy also included African Languages in their campaign, and those became visible in the ‘Votescape’ the election Linguistic Landscapes on the election posters. Linguistic and cultural hybridity did occur but only appeared on isolated election posters. Overall, most parties mainly used English, and the VF PLUS mainly used Afrikaans. The only party visibility score with a more balanced language distribution was that of the DA. African languages were under-represented, and there were significant geographical differences and between the competing parties. With North West Setswana was very visible on election posters and some isiXhosa was visible on the Votescape in Eastern Cape, but far more different African Languages were visible in the multilingual province of Gauteng.
An Integrative Propositional Analysis of Finland's Successful Homelessness Policy: A New Policy Design Insight
(Wiley, 2025) de Wee Guswin
Finland can be seen as having some of the best success in terms of dealing with the complex issue of homelessness and was confirmed in a recent case study by de la Porte et al. in 2022, ‘Successful Public Policy in the Nordic Countries: Cases, Lessons and Challenges’. Focusing specifically on the policy content and its potential insights, this paper utilises the systems‐based integrative propositional analysis method to analyse the policy text of the AUNE Homelessness policy of Finland, 2016–2019. Drawing on policy design‐as‐content literature, this article uses the analytical concept of ‘structural logic’ as the abstractable unit of analysis, which enables policy mapping and interaction assessment with insights for policy effectiveness. Findings suggest that the relatively higher level of structural logic of the Finnish homelessness policy correlates with the policy's effectiveness in application. Because of the granularity of the type of analysis, the IPA not only provides descriptive and diagnostic data, which is important for decision‐making, policy coordination and insights into policy evaluation. The paper also discusses important insights for policy design, policy process and implications for governance, scholars and policy practitioners.