Same-sex marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships in South Africa: critical reflections on an ongoing saga

This article reflects critically on the various stages in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in South Africa. The authors devote particular attention to a connection between the apartheid order's use of the 'separate but equal' slogan and the operationalization of this slogan (and its political history) by activists to counter the legislative attempt to enact a second-class civil partnership regime for same-sex life partnerships in South Africa. The authors argue that the Constitutional Court's decision in the Fourie matter left Parliament with a carefully delineated mandate fully to recognize same-sex life partnerships by way of marriage. They critically evaluate the proceedings of the Home Affairs portfolio committee during the public participation hearings. In conclusion the authors consider the legal consequences (and paradoxes) of the enactment of the Civil Union Act 17 of 2006, which they read as a concession to colonialism in the broadest sense of that word

Grade 1 teachers’ experiences of supporting learners living with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

South Africa’s policy on screening, identification, assessment andsupport (SIAS) stipulates that teachers support learners with barriersto learning and development in their mainstream classrooms. Thisincludes learners living with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD). Yet, little research has been conducted regarding Grade1 teachers’ utilisation of support strategies for learners living withADHD in mainstream classrooms. This study focused on Grade1 teachers’ support for learners living with ADHD. An exploratory,interpretive, interactive, qualitative case study was employed.Twelve purposefully selected Grade 1 teachers, representing fivepublic schools (varying from Quintile 1-5) and one private schoolfrom the West Coast Education District, South Africa, participatedin an unstructured open-ended focus group interview resultingin an interview framework being developed. This interviewframework directed the field observations of classroom visits andsemi-structured individual interview questions of six purposefullyselected Grade 1 teachers. Qualitative content analysis was usedto analyse the transcriptions of the individual interviews, as well asthe field notes. The study found that teachers were innovative indeveloping effective support strategies to support Grade 1 learnersliving with ADHD in their classrooms

Same-sex marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships in South Africa: critical reflections on an ongoing saga

This article reflects critically on the various stages in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in South Africa. The authors devote particular attention to a connection between the apartheid order's use of the 'separate but equal' slogan and the operationalization of this slogan (and its political history) by activists to counter the legislative attempt to enact a second-class civil partnership regime for same-sex life partnerships in South Africa. The authors argue that the Constitutional Court's decision in the Fourie matter left Parliament with a carefully delineated mandate fully to recognize same-sex life partnerships by way of marriage. They critically evaluate the proceedings of the Home Affairs portfolio committee during the public participation hearings. In conclusion the authors consider the legal consequences (and paradoxes) of the enactment of the Civil Union Act 17 of 2006, which they read as a concession to colonialism in the broadest sense of that word

Rupture of the thoracic trachea and main bronchi after blunt external trauma

Over a 30-month period, July 1970 - December 1972, 136 patients with multiple rib fractures and other chest injuries were treated in the Lung Unit at the Karl Bremer Hospital. Of these, 2 patients presented with complete avulsion of the right main stem bronchus at the level of the carina. A third patient sustained a tear of the trachea after being kicked on the sternum. In one case the trachea itself, as well as the left main bronchus, was involved in the tear. The diagnosis was made at bronchoscopy and immediate suture repair was undertaken in 2 patients. The patient with the tracheal tear presented late and was treated conservatively. All 3 patients made a complete recovery. The literature on this type of injury is reviewed and recommendations are made regarding early diagnosis and treatment.S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 1430 (1974)

Parameters affecting spin casting of decorative and mechanical parts

Published ArticleSpin casting is widely used as a batch manufacturing process for decorative products. In the process, moulds are filled by taking advantage of the centrifugal effect, which is used to increase the pressure within the moulds, resulting in more detailed products. In this study, we analyse the different parameters that could affect the casting of mechanical parts through spin casting. Through this study, the user will be guided in the selection of parameters that will result in a certain degree of accuracy. The parameters were determined by performing numerous experiments using zinc alloy and tin-based pewter as casting materials. Results were obtained by casting approximately 15 000 parts in various positions, and at various clamping pressures, rotational speeds and temperatures in both the mould and the material. The experiments were undertaken by varying one parameter at a time, and with each set parameter repeated once, resulting in 100 test pieces per parameter for evaluation. From the results obtained, a series of critical factors and parameters, which are driven by part characteristics or features, has been studied. Contrary to following a modelling approach, the research was conducted following an action-research approach, with planned activities, but where actual results have defined the follow-up procedures. These guidelines will help industrial users ensure the accuracy of parts produced by spin casting. Also, since this project attempted to create a database of results that can be applied in future, it furthermore implies that the data created for the first time can be used in a numerical modelling approach in further / follow-up research. No such data was available from any previous research

The electrical pulse duplicator-its use in testing valve prostheses with special reference to the aortic and mitral valves

No Abstrac

Gynaecological product development facilitated through RP and Rapid Tooling

Published ArticleAtkinson distinguishes between four types of prototypes, categorised through its end-use: •Design or aesthetic prototypes •Geometrical prototypes •Functional prototypes •Technological prototypes Shigley and Mitchell define the design process according to the following six phases: Recognition of need Definition of problem Synthesis Analysis and optimization Evaluation Presentation The Centre for Rapid Prototyping and Manufacture (CRPM) of the Central University of Technology, Free State was asked to assist in the development of a newly developed gynaecological cream applicator. Apart from needing a freeform fabrication system to give form fit and function to the very complex design, the product needed Rapid Tooling / Rapid Manufacturing support to enable a first batch production for medical trials and evaluation. The paper will describe the total product development process alongside prototype categories described by Atkinson and design phases defined by Shigley and Mitchell (including some iterations enabled through timeous prototyping, including various Rapid Prototyping (RP) Technologies, soft tooling and vacuum casting). More importantly, results from Rapid Tooling for limited run production (due to the complexity of the product the cycle time of the Prototype Tool is fairly long), as well as the economical impact made possible through the support of CAD / CAM and RP Technologies, will be discussed

Autotransplantation of the lung: experimental studies on the cape baboon

Autotransplantation of the left lung was performed on 15 adult baboons with an 8-day survival rate of 80% and a long-term survival rate of 60%. On 5 of the survivors a subsequent contralateral pneumonectomy was performed without mortality. Most deaths occurred early in the series due to technical problems. A surgical technique has been standardized and with further experience in this field the mortality associated with autotransplantation of the lung in baboons should be less than 10%. Xenon-l33 ventilation-perfusion studies of the transplanted lung demonstrated a significant reduction in perfusion, and to a lesser extent of ventilation. Ventilation rapidly recovered towards normal but perfusion only approached normal values several months after transplantation. These physiological alterations may be due to the denervation attendant upon complete removal of tlu lung with reimplantation. The jilt! imbalance does not appear to be of major consequence when a contralateral pneumonectomy is performed. The autotransplanted lung appears to be a valuable model for studying the effects of lung transplantation alone, without the problems of rejection. These studies seem to be particularly valuable in the primate who closely resembles the human anatomically and physiologically. Further studies are currently in progress

Enhanced Charge Carrier Transport in 2D Perovskites by Incorporating Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes or Graphene

Two-dimensional (2D) organic-inorganic (hybrid) perovskites are considered promising candidates to replace conventional three-dimensional (3D) perovskites for solar cell applications as they have good resistance against moisture and UV light. However, the use of 2D perovskite is associated with a significant decrease in power efficiency resulting from their low photogenerated charge carrier density and poor charge transport. To improve power efficiency in 2D perovskites, highly crystalline films (near-single-crystal quality) of 2D perovskite need to be synthesized where the alignment of the inorganic perovskite components is controlled to have vertical alignment with respect to the contacts to improve charge transport. In this work, we explored strategies to overcome this limitation by integrating 2D perovskite with single-walled carbon nanotubes or graphene to enable more efficient extraction of charge carriers toward electric contacts. Longer carrier lifetimes were achieved after the incorporation of the carbon nanostructures in the films, and at the cell level, power efficiency increased by 2-fold

Observational detection of eclipses of J5 Amalthea by the Galilean satellites

We carried out observations of the small jovian satellite Amalthea (J5) as it was being eclipsed by the Galilean satellites near the 2009 equinox of Jupiter in order to apply the technique of mutual event photometry to the astrometric determination of this satellite's position. The observations were carried out during the period 06/2009-09/2009 from the island of Maui, Hawaii and Siding Spring, Australia with the 2m Faulkes Telescopes North and South respectively. We observed in the near-infrared part of the spectrum using a PanStarrs-Z filter with Jupiter near the edge of the field in order to mitigate against the glare from the planet. Frames were acquired at rates >1/min during eclipse times predicted using recent JPL ephemerides for the satellites. Following subtraction of the sky background from these frames, differential aperture photometry was carried out on Amalthea and a nearby field star. We have obtained three lightcurves which show a clear drop in the flux from Amalthea, indicating that an eclipse took place as predicted. These were model-fitted to yield best estimates of the time of maximum flux drop and the impact parameter. These are consistent with Amalthea's ephemeris but indicate that Amalthea is slightly ahead of, and closer to Jupiter than, its predicted position by approximately half the ephemeris uncertainty in these directions. We argue that a ground-based campaign of higher-cadence photometry accurate at the 5% level or better during the next season of eclipses in 2014-15 should yield positions to within 0".5 and affect a corresponding improvement in Amalthea's ephemeris.Comment: Published in A&A in 2010; 6 pages, 2 figures, 3 table