Onreg, nasionalisme en politieke taakstelling

Onregte teen kultuurgroepe kan as een van die belangrikste oorsake van nasionalisme by sulke groepe beskou word. Die geldigheid van hierdie beskouing het deels geblyk toe ’n politikus oor die afwesigheid van nasionalisme by Engelssprekende Suid-Afrikaners gepraat het. Volgens hom is die eerste oorsaak van die gebrek die afwesigheid van onreg teenoor die deel van die Suid-Afrikaanse bevolking. Hy stel dit só: „lf the English-speaking South African has never developed a nationalism, it is reasonable to ask why... The first reason is because English-speaking people has never, ever, felt themselves oppressed, or if they have, then it has been for a relatively short time, without a tradition of oppression” (McIntosh, 1978:7)

The Internet as an information conduit in developing countries: an investigation of World Wide Web usability among small and medium textile enterprises in Botswana

The Internet has been called the technology of the century because it is expected to reduce the development gap between developing countries and developed ones. This article examines the validity of that assertion. The researcher examines Internet use at two levels. The first level is the macrolevel of issues of Internet connectivity in developing countries and the second level is the microlevel of the usability of the World Wide Web (WWW) for information management in a developing country, Botswana. The two research methodologies of content analysis and case study were used for this study. The findings of this study are that entrepreneurs found a Website easy to use, but while there is a need for macropolicy to create national and global environments for using the Internet sustainable connection should not be universal, but should rather be based on the information management needs of a target population. Inherent infrastructural and socio-technical challenges should then be tackled as part of the effort to create a sustainable Internet usage

Epigenetic age acceleration in the emerging burden of cardiometabolic diseases among migrant and non-migrant African populations:the population based cross-sectional RODAM study

BACKGROUND: African populations are experiencing health transitions due to rapid urbanization and international migration. However, the role of biological aging in this emerging burden of cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) among migrant and non-migrant Africans is unknown. We aimed to examine differences in epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) as measured by four clocks (Horvath, Hannum, PhenoAge and GrimAge) and their associations with cardiometabolic factors among migrant Ghanaians in Europe and non-migrant Ghanaians. METHODS: Genome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm) data of 712 Ghanaians from cross-sectional RODAM study were used to quantify EAA. We assessed correlation of DNAmAge measures with chronological age, and then performed linear regressions to determine associations of body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood pressure, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, and one-carbon metabolism nutrients with EAA among migrant and non-migrants. We replicated our findings among 172 rural-urban sibling pairs from India migration study and among 120 native South Africans from PURE-SA-NW study. FINDINGS: We found that Ghanaian migrants have lower EAA than non-migrants. Within migrants, higher FBG was positively associated with EAA measures. Within non-migrants, higher BMI, and Vitamin B9 (folate) intake were negatively associated with EAA measures. Our findings on FBG, BMI and folate were replicated in the independent cohorts. INTERPRETATION: Our study shows that migration is negatively associated with EAA among Ghanaians. Moreover, cardiometabolic factors are differentially associated with EAA within migrant and non-migrant subgroups. Our results call for context-based interventions for CMD among transitioning populations that account for effects of biological aging. FUNDING: European Commission

Modelling gastrointestinal parasitism infection in a sheep flock over two reproductive seasons:in silico exploration and sensitivity analysis

International audienceIn reproducing ewes, a periparturient breakdown of immunity is often observed to result in increased fecal egg excretion, making them the main source of infection for their immunologically naive lambs. In this study, we expanded a simulation model previously developed for growing lambs to explore the impact of the genotype (performance and resistance traits) and host nutrition on the performance and parasitism of both growing lambs and reproducing ewes naturally infected with Teladorsagia circumcincta. Our model accounted for nutrient-demanding phases, such as gestation and lactation, and included a supplementary module to manage the age structure of the ewe flock. The model was validated by comparison with published data. Because model parameters were unknown or poorly estimated, detailed sensitivity analysis of the model was performed for the sheep mortality and the level of infection, following a preliminary screening step. The parameters with the greatest effect on parasite-related outputs were those driving animal growth and milk yield. Our model enables different parasite-control strategies (host nutrition, breeding for resistance and anthelmintic treatments) to be assessed on the long term in a sheep flock. To optimize in silico exploration, the parameters highlighted by the sensitivity analysis should be refined with real data

Rationales, rhetoric and realities:FIFA’s World Cup in South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014

The 2010 FIFA World Cup was heralded by mainstream media outlets, the local organisers, the South African government and FIFA as an unequivocal success. The month-long spectacle saw South Africa take centre stage and host the world’s largest single sporting event. This occurred against a backdrop of rationales and promises made that the event would leave lasting legacies for all, in particular marginalised South Africans. The reality is quite different. In this article we consider the South African World Cup in the build up to Brazil 2014. We argue that the rationales and rhetoric are similar in both countries and suggest the reality for Brazil 2014 will be the same as South Africa 2010 in that the mega-event will be primarily funded by significant public investment, while the primary beneficiaries will be private capital and FIFA

South African Paediatric Surgical Outcomes Study : a 14-day prospective, observational cohort study of paediatric surgical patients

BACKGROUND : Children comprise a large proportion of the population in sub-Saharan Africa. The burden of paediatric surgical disease exceeds available resources in Africa, potentially increasing morbidity and mortality. There are few prospective paediatric perioperative outcomes studies, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). METHODS : We conducted a 14-day multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study of paediatric patients (aged <16 yrs) undergoing surgery in 43 government-funded hospitals in South Africa. The primary outcome was the incidence of in-hospital postoperative complications. RESULTS : We recruited 2024 patients at 43 hospitals. The overall incidence of postoperative complications was 9.7% [95% confidence interval (CI): 8.4–11.0]. The most common postoperative complications were infective (7.3%; 95% CI: 6.2–8.4%). In-hospital mortality rate was 1.1% (95% CI: 0.6–1.5), of which nine of the deaths (41%) were in ASA physical status 1 and 2 patients. The preoperative risk factors independently associated with postoperative complications were ASA physcial status, urgency of surgery, severity of surgery, and an infective indication for surgery. CONCLUSIONS : The risk factors, frequency, and type of complications after paediatric surgery differ between LMICs and high-income countries. The in-hospital mortality is 10 times greater than in high-income countries. These findings should be used to develop strategies to improve paediatric surgical outcomes in LMICs, and support the need for larger prospective, observational paediatric surgical outcomes research in LMICs. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION : NCT03367832.Jan Pretorius Research Fund; Discipline of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital and University of Cape Town; Department of Anaesthesia, University of the Witwatersrand; and the Paediatric Anaesthesia Community of South Africa (PACSA).https://bjanaesthesia.org2020-02-01gl2019Anaesthesiolog

The Internet as an information conduit in developing countries: an investigation of World Wide Web usability among small and medium textile enterprises in Botswana

The Internet has been called the technology of the century because it is expected to reduce the development gap between developing countries and developed ones. This article examines the validity of that assertion. The researcher examines Internet use at two levels. The first level is the macrolevel of issues of Internet connectivity in developing countries and the second level is the microlevel of the usability of the World Wide Web (WWW) for information management in a developing country, Botswana. The two research methodologies of content analysis and case study were used for this study. The findings of this study are that entrepreneurs found a Website easy to use, but while there is a need for macropolicy to create national and global environments for using the Internet sustainable connection should not be universal, but should rather be based on the information management needs of a target population. Inherent infrastructural and socio-technical challenges should then be tackled as part of the effort to create a sustainable Internet usage