On the record: Interview with Peter Tinsley, Executive Director of the Institute for Justice Sector Development, Canada

As reported by Andrew Faull in the previous edition of SA Crime Quarterly (36), the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) Bill is expected to be promulgated into South African law towards the end of the year. Once adopted, the new law will significantly change the functions of the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD), which is currently South Africa’s primary independent agency responsible for investigating complaints against the police.Chris Botha met up with Peter Tinsley, recognised as an expert on the rule of law and the oversight of security forces, at a recent United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) conference on policing reform in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and discussed Canadian developments on issues of police oversight

’n Herwaardering van aanhouding sonder verhoor in die lig van die By­belse beskouing van menseregte

Human rights in general and detention without trial in particular have been discussed with great fervour in the course of the past few years. Because this is in teality a normative issue, writers have tended to approach the matter from the viewpoint of Humanism and Natural Law, while in the process neglecting to keep cognizance of a Biblical view o f human rights

Reduction in transport in wheat (Triticum aestivum) is caused by sustained phloem feeding by the Russian wheat aphid (Diuraphis noxia)

The Russian wheat aphid (Diuraphis noxia) feeds preferentially from the phloem of longitudinal veins of nonresistant wheat leaves. The xenobiotic, 5,6-CFDA was applied to exposed leaf blade mesophyll cells in control and aphid-infested plants. In control plants, the fluorophore moved approximately 5–6cm from the point of application of 5,6-CFDA within 3h of application. The fluorochrome was transported in the sieve tube companion cell complex, including those in the numerous interconnecting transverse veins. Leaf blades on which the Russian wheat aphid had been feeding demonstrated a marked decrease in 5,6-CF transport. Aphids feeding on the leaves formed local sinks and redirected the fluorophore (and presumably associated assimilate) to the aphids’ gut, with little longitudinal translocation of 5,6-CF below inserted stylets or aphid feeding areas. Aniline blue staining revealed massive deposits of wound and reaction callose caused by the aphids, with callose associated with the sieve plates, pore-plasmodesma between the companion cells and their associated sieve tubes, as well as with plasmodesmal aggregates in parenchymatous elements within the vascular bundles. Leaves that had been colonised by aphids but from which the aphids were removed, showed extensive wound callose deposits, which persisted for up to 48h after removal of aphid colonies, suggesting that the damage caused by aphid feeding is a long-term, non-transient event in non-resistant plants

Aphid (Sitobion yakini) investigation shows thin-walled sieve tubes in barley (Hordeum vulgare L) to be more functional than thick-walled sieve tubes

Barley, like most other grasses that have been studied, contains two kinds of sieve tube. The first formed are called thinwalled sieve tubes because of their thin wall compared to the late-formed, and are associated with companion cells. The late-formed are thick-walled sieve tubes, which differentiate next to the metaxylem vessels and lack companion cells. Aphid (Sitobion yakini (Eastop) feeding was studied using light microscopy to determine if they preferentially feed from thin- or thick-walled sieve tubes in the barley leaf. Penetration of the stylets through the leaf epidermis and mesophyll was largely intercellular, becoming partly intercellular and, partly, intracellular inside the vascular bundle. Sixteen of 19 pairs of stylets (84%), and 293 of 317 (92%) stylet tracks terminated at the thin-walled sieve tubes, suggesting that Sitobion yakini feeds preferentially on the thin-walled sieve tubes which seem to be more attractive to the aphid. These thin-walled sieve tubes are thus probably the most functional in terms of phloem loading and transport

In vitro activity of a new 'higher-lactam' antibacterial agent LY 193239

In vitro activity ofthe new bicyclic pyrazolidinone LY 193239 (Eli Lilly) was evaluated against 52 clinical isolates of Haemophilus influenzae (4 were β-lactamase producers), 32 Enterococcus faecalis, 14 Neisseria gonorrhoeae (1 β-lactamasepositive) and 19 Neisseria meningitidis. Activity was best against Neisseria spp. and H. influenzae, including penicillinase- producing strains. Results of the time-kill study against a non-enzyme-mediated penicillin resistant strain of N. meningitidis indicate that exposure to an antibacterial concentration four times the minimal inhibitory concentration was bactericidal. E. faecalis was insensitive

Ripening-related gene expression during fruit ripening in Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon and Clairette blanche

The gene expression patterns in ripening fruit of a high quality wine cultivar (Cabernet Sauvignon) and a poor quality wine cultivar (Clairette blanche) were studied using cDNA-AFLP fingerprinting. Total RNA from "immature" (14-weeks post flowering) and "mature" (18-weeks post flowering) berries were used to study ripening-related gene expression in post-véraison stages of berry development. A total of 1,276 fragments were analysed, of which 175 appeared to be ripening-related. Average pairwise differences of the fragments amplified from "immature" and "mature" Cabernet Sauvignon and Clairette blanche berries, revealed a high level of similarity between the two cultivars. 70 % of the ripening-related fragments were cultivar-specific. The number of cultivar-specific and/or ripening-related fragments amplified, depended on the selective nucleotides of the primers used in the cDNA-AFLP analysis. Reverse slot blot and northern blot analysis confirmed that the expression of the identified genes were ripening-related.

Development Of An Integrated Operating Framework For Strategy Execution In Gauteng Municipalities In South Africa

The establishment of a new democracy has created high expectations amongst all the different communities of South Africa. The demand for basic essential services by the previously disadvantaged communities has increased drastically, whilst at the same time, communities from developed areas are expecting and demanding an acceptable level of maintenance and services in their respective areas. Municipalities are in serious distress with regular service delivery protests, huge service delivery and infrastructure backlog challenges (e.g., electricity, roads, housing, water, and sanitation), poor financial management and the inability to execute approved strategies, plans, and programs. This article focused on the municipalities in the Gauteng Province of South Africa and the main objective was to answer the survey question: “What prevents Gauteng municipalities to successfully execute its strategies and what can be done to address the situation?” The research objectives were firstly, to review the literature and determine the key enablers required for successful strategy execution; secondly, to analyze the findings of the empirical research and to make recommendations towards the improvement of strategy execution within Gauteng municipalities. The third and final objective was to develop an integrated operating framework for strategy execution in Gauteng municipalities. The article concluded by making recommendations towards the improvement of strategy execution within municipalities and developing an integrated operating framework for strategy execution. The results of the literature review as well as the empirical research were taken into account during the development of the integrated operating framework

Strategy And Planning As An Enabler For Strategy Execution In South African Municipalities

Literature confirmed that whilst progress has been made in recent years, there is still a pressing need amongst communities in South Africa for improved service delivery. There is also increasing frustration and anger at the inability of municipalities to do what is expected of them. Municipalities, in general, have a poor record in respect of execution of strategy.   The research problem - “what prevents Gauteng municipalities in South Africa to successfully execute its strategies and what can be done to address the situation?”-  will be answered and dealt with when the findings and conclusions relevant to each research objective are discussed.   Research and literature to date focused primarily on planning and strategy formulation but neglected the very important execution process. Whilst strategy execution is a dismal failure in most organizations, to date, very little research has focused on strategy execution.   Managers and their employees must apply new ways of thinking and they point out that today’s high performing organizations are able to bridge the strategy-execution gap due to the fact that their strategies translate to specific operational goals, their employees understand the context and purpose of their work, and they can readily measure how well they are performing