Traditional health care in South Africa - diverse ideas and convergent practice

The main theme of this paper is a description of the surprising resistance of so-called folk concepts of health and illness to modem scientific medicine. This phenomenon is discussed in a historical as well as a socio cultural context, in order to facilitate understanding. It is indicated that although the methodoloffcal dictum of relativism may be initially useful as a heuristic guide to decipher what may be called the ‘lope of the irrational' cross-culturally, it may not be elevated to a position of ontological relativism. Ill health sets limits to human autonomy everywhere. Health care, however defined, is thus a universal human need. It must be realized that whatever the different cultural conceptions, taken-for-granted societal and professional power structures may prove to be important stumbling blocks in the delivery of more efficacious health care which modem scientific medicine undeniably can deliver. It is argued that knowledge of differences may be important in the facilitation of cross-cultural understanding. Members of the medical profession must, however, be able to tolerate differences, be aware of the unforeseen consequences of their taken-for-granted structural position as a social category and try to relate to people as autonomous human beings and not as members of conventional and thus stereotyped cultural or social categories

"Volkekunde": Open system and closed minds? - some critical remarks on criticism

Volk ekunde: ope sisteme en geslote denke? Enkele kritiese opmerki gs oor kritiek. Die skrywer gee in die artikel aandag aan kritiek wat oor die teorie en beoefening van Volkekunde uitgespreek word. Deur middel van 'n kort vergelykende opsomming van die teoretiese uitgangspunte van die sogenaamde vaders van etnosteorie, word daarop gewys dat daar nie sonder meer sprake van teoretiese en metafisiese uniformiteit in die dissipline is nie. Die mening word ook uitgespreek dat alhoewel daar nie genoeg aandag aan strukturele verhoudings in die verklarin g van kulturele behoud en verandering gegee word nie, dit nie noodwendig beteken dat 'n sogenaamde paradigmatiese revolusie in Volkekunde vereis word nie

The food intake, activity pattern and energy expenditure of male indian students

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Die Basaalmetabolisme-snelheid van blanke en bantoeverpleegsters

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A preliminary investigation of the dietary habits of Indian University students

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Summary of research paper published in Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry titled: Assessment of polar organic aerosols at a regional background site in southern Africa

Peer reviewe

Plume Characterization of a Typical South African Braai

To braai is part of the South African heritage that transcends ethnic barriers and socio-economic groups. In this paper, a comprehensive analysis of atmospheric gaseous and aerosol species within a plume originating from a typical South African braai is presented. Braai experiments were conducted at Welgegund – a comprehensively equipped regional background atmospheric air quality and climate change monitoring station. Five distinct phases were identified during the braai. Sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides(NOx) and carbonmonoxide (CO) increased significantly, while ozone (O3) did not increase notably. Aromatic and alkane volatile organic compounds were determined, with benzene exceeding the 2015 South African one-year ambient air quality limit. A comparison of atmospheric PM10 (particulate matter of an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm) concentrations with the 24-hour ambient limit indicated that PM10 is problematic during the meat grilling phase. From a climatic point of view, relatively high single scattering albedo (ωo) indicated a cooling aerosol direct effect, while periods with lowerωo coincided with peak black carbon (BC) emissions. The highest trace metal concentrations were associated with species typically present in ash. The lead (Pb) concentration was higher than the annual ambient air quality limit. Sulphate (SO4 2–), calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) were the dominant water-soluble species present in the aerosols. The largest number of organic aerosol compounds was in the PM 2.5–1 fraction, which also had the highest semi-quantified concentration. The results indicated that a recreational braai does not pose significant health risks. However, the longer exposure periods that are experienced by occupational vendors, will significantly increase health risks.KEYWORDS Braai (barbeque), atmospheric gaseous species, aerosols, atmospheric organic compounds, optical properties, chemical properties

Religion and responsibility-taking among offenders in Colombia and South Africa : a qualitative assessment of a faith-based program in prison

This paper examines whether religion contributes to offenders taking responsibility for crimes. Specifically, we assessed whether participation in The Prisoner’s Journey (TPJ), a bible study program, increased or decreased responsibility-taking. We also examined whether religious offenders that did not participate in TPJ were likely to take responsibility for their offenses. For this study, we conducted a quasi-experiment in two Colombian and five South African prisons from 2018 to 2019, collecting data from personal interviews with a total of 73 inmates—42 TPJ participants and 31 non-participants—before and after the program. Offenders frequently offered subtle accounts of responsibility that incorporated their own agency with other factors. Highly religious offenders were equally likely to take responsibility, and in some cases participation in TPJ heightened responsibility. In sum, this paper presents evidence that religious beliefs and practice are commensurate with responsibility-taking and desistance from crime.https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ijohj2023Social Work and Criminolog

The mechanics of setting up a COVID-19 response: Experiences of the COVID-19 epidemic from Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has challenged the provision of healthcare in ways that are unprecedented in our lifetime. Planning for the sheer numbers expected during the surge has required public hospitals to de-escalate all non-essential clinical services to focus on COVID-19. Western Cape Province was the initial epicentre of the COVID-19 epidemic in South Africa (SA), and the Cape Town metro was its hardest-hit geographical region. We describe how we constructed our COVID-19 hospital-wide clinical service at Groote Schuur Hospital, the University of Cape Town’s tertiary-level teaching hospital. By describing the barriers and enablers, we hope to provide guidance rather than a blueprint for hospitals elsewhere in SA and in low-resource countries that face similar challenges now or during subsequent waves