A Boerevolk for a Boerestand? Broedertwis and two manuscripts of platteland modernity, c.1959.

African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented 26 September, 1994This paper outlines the contents of two 'manuscripts of modernity' produced in defence of the Afrikaner Boerestand in the late 1950's. My reconstruction of these 'manuscripts' is both incomplete and sketchy. I hope that their intrinsic interest to the cultural exploration of the inner contours of Afrikaner ethnic ideology justifies the effort below.1 The two 'manuscripts of modernity' are the cumulative opinions, ideas and objections of Afrikaner (male) academics, State officials, clerics, farmers and members of the rural bourgeoisie in evidence to the Commission of Inquiry into European Occupancy of the Rural Areas in the late 1950's. 2 They debate the relationship of Afrikanerdom to modernisation in a particularly vivid way. 3 In doing so, they demonstrate not just the contingent and protean nature of ethnicity, but the contested nature of modernisation to Afrikanerdom. In the context of the 1950's, with Afrikanerdom ascendant, this contestation within Afrikanerdom in regard to the Boerestand offers a unique view of how Afrikanerdom viewed the modernisation experience on the platteland farms under Apartheid. The first 'manuscript' outlines a vision of modernity grounded in the Boerevolk ideal -- that "those that do the work, will ultimately rule the land." 4 It envisaged the defence of a homogenous Afrikaner rural society - a stand -- as a counterweight to the new arbeiderstand in the cities (the product of the verswarting ('blackening') and ontvolking ('depopulation') of the platteland) and growing influence of anti-national urban capitalist interests on the State and urban Afrikaner society in the 1950's. The Transvaaler wrote in 1956: "No Volk can exist without a Boerestand. We naturally mean by the Boerestand not simply landowners, but also those who ordinarily must do the physical labour on the farms. A sound Boerestand is necessary to serve as the basis for white civilisation in the Union (and) this foundation must be strengthened." 5 Boerevolk promoters commented on increasing dominance of the State by the late 1950's by the 'urban interest'. This Boerevolk had to "perform the function of preserving and implementing the national spirit and culture" against the "urban tendency towards anglicisation": Our history confirms the findings of sociologists that even when a Volk loses its independence, and is overwhelmed by force of arms, if it has a strong rural character, the Volk will in all probability be able to preserve its individuality and its culture, and thereby recover its political independence." 6 The second 'manuscript of modernity' - a 'modernisation charter' -- at first glance seems to be familiar to us. It outlined a development policy on the platteland that derived from the textbooks of the most avid pro-modernisation theorists of the 1950's. Yet when analysed in its historical-cultural context, it reveals a number of core ethnic and cultural concerns in common with Boerevolk ideologues

Chiefs,concessionaires and reserve politics on the Tlaping alluvial diamond diggings at Taungs, 1919-1921: a local perspective on segregation and class interests

Paper presented at the Wits History Workshop: The Making of Class, 9-14 February, 198

The Lichtenburg Alluvial Diamond Diggers 1926-1929

African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented 21 May, 198

There is detectable variation in the lipidomic profile between stable and progressive patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)

Background Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic interstitial lung disease characterized by fibrosis and progressive loss of lung function. The pathophysiological pathways involved in IPF are not well understood. Abnormal lipid metabolism has been described in various other chronic lung diseases including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, its potential role in IPF pathogenesis remains unclear. Methods In this study, we used ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS) to characterize lipid changes in plasma derived from IPF patients with stable and progressive disease. We further applied a data-independent acquisition (DIA) technique called SONAR, to improve the specificity of lipid identification. Results Statistical modelling showed variable discrimination between the stable and progressive subjects, revealing differences in the detection of triglycerides (TG) and phosphatidylcholines (PC) between progressors and stable IPF groups, which was further confirmed by mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) in IPF tissue. Conclusion This is the first study to characterise lipid metabolism between stable and progressive IPF, with results suggesting disparities in the circulating lipidome with disease progression

Increasing habitat complexity on seawalls: Investigating large- and small-scale effects on fish assemblages.

The construction of artificial structures in the marine environment is increasing globally. Eco-engineering aims to mitigate the negative ecological impacts of built infrastructure through designing structures to be multifunctional, benefiting both humans and nature. To date, the focus of eco-engineering has largely been on benefits for benthic invertebrates and algae. Here, the potential effect of eco-engineered habitats designed for benthic species on fish was investigated. Eco-engineered habitats ("flowerpots") were added to an intertidal seawall in Sydney Harbour, Australia. Responses of fish assemblages to the added habitats were quantified at two spatial scales; large (among seawalls) and small (within a seawall). Data were collected during high tide using cameras attached to the seawall to observe pelagic and benthic fish. At the larger spatial scale, herbivores, planktivores, and invertebrate predators were generally more abundant at the seawall with the added flowerpots, although results were temporally variable. At the smaller spatial scale, certain benthic species were more abundant around flowerpots than at the adjacent control areas of seawall, although there was no general pattern of differences in species density and trophic group abundance of pelagic fish between areas of the seawall with or without added habitats. Although we did not find consistent, statistically significant findings throughout our study, the field of research to improve fish habitat within human-use constraints is promising and important, although it is in its early stages (it is experimental and requires a lot of trial and error). To advance this field, it is important to document when effects were detected, and when they were not, so that others can refine the designs or scale of habitat enhancements or their study approaches (e.g., sampling protocols)

Modified Habitats Influence Kelp Epibiota via Direct and Indirect Effects

Addition of man-made structures alters abiotic and biotic characteristics of natural habitats, which can influence abundances of biota directly and/or indirectly, by altering the ecology of competitors or predators. Marine epibiota in modified habitats were used to test hypotheses to distinguish between direct and indirect processes. In Sydney Harbour, kelps on pier-pilings supported greater covers of bryozoans, particularly of the non-indigenous species Membranipora membranacea, than found on natural reefs. Pilings influenced these patterns and processes directly due to the provision of shade and indirectly by altering abundances of sea-urchins which, in turn, affected covers of bryozoans. Indirect effects were more important than direct effects. This indicates that artificial structures affect organisms living on secondary substrata in complex ways, altering the biodiversity and indirectly affecting abundances of epibiota. Understanding how these components of habitats affect ecological processes is necessary to allow sensible prediction of the effects of modifying habitats on the ecology of organisms

Comparing the Invasibility of Experimental “Reefs” with Field Observations of Natural Reefs and Artificial Structures

Natural systems are increasingly being modified by the addition of artificial habitats which may facilitate invasion. Where invaders are able to disperse from artificial habitats, their impact may spread to surrounding natural communities and therefore it is important to investigate potential factors that reduce or enhance invasibility. We surveyed the distribution of non-indigenous and native invertebrates and algae between artificial habitats and natural reefs in a marine subtidal system. We also deployed sandstone plates as experimental ‘reefs’ and manipulated the orientation, starting assemblage and degree of shading. Invertebrates (non-indigenous and native) appeared to be responding to similar environmental factors (e.g. orientation) and occupied most space on artificial structures and to a lesser extent reef walls. Non-indigenous invertebrates are less successful than native invertebrates on horizontal reefs despite functional similarities. Manipulative experiments revealed that even when non-indigenous invertebrates invade vertical “reefs”, they are unlikely to gain a foothold and never exceed covers of native invertebrates (regardless of space availability). Community ecology suggests that invertebrates will dominate reef walls and algae horizontal reefs due to functional differences, however our surveys revealed that native algae dominate both vertical and horizontal reefs in shallow estuarine systems. Few non-indigenous algae were sampled in the study, however where invasive algal species are present in a system, they may present a threat to reef communities. Our findings suggest that non-indigenous species are less successful at occupying space on reef compared to artificial structures, and manipulations of biotic and abiotic conditions (primarily orientation and to a lesser extent biotic resistance) on experimental “reefs” explained a large portion of this variation, however they could not fully explain the magnitude of differences

Eco-engineering urban infrastructure for marine and coastal biodiversity: which interventions have the greatest ecological benefit?

Along urbanised coastlines, urban infrastructure is increasingly becoming the dominant habitat. These structures are often poor surrogates for natural habitats, and a diversity of eco-engineering approaches have been trialled to enhance their biodiversity, with varying success. We undertook a quantitative meta-analysis and qualitative review of 109 studies to compare the efficacy of common eco-engineering approaches (e.g. increasing texture, crevices, pits, holes, elevations and habitat-forming taxa) in enhancing the biodiversity of key functional groups of organisms, across a variety of habitat settings and spatial scales. All interventions, with one exception, increased the abundance or number of species of one or more of the functional groups considered. Nevertheless, the magnitude of effect varied markedly among groups and habitat settings. In the intertidal, interventions that provided moisture and shade had the greatest effect on the richness of sessile and mobile organisms, while water-retaining features had the greatest effect on the richness of fish. In contrast, in the subtidal, small-scale depressions which provide refuge to new recruits from predators and other environmental stressors such as waves, had higher abundances of sessile organisms while elevated structures had higher numbers and abundances of fish. The taxa that responded most positively to eco-engineering in the intertidal were those whose body size most closely matched the dimensions of the resulting intervention. Synthesis and applications. The efficacy of eco-engineering interventions varies among habitat settings and functional groups. This indicates the importance of developing site-specific approaches that match the target taxa and dominant stressors. Furthermore, because different types of intervention are effective at enhancing different groups of organisms, ideally a range of approaches should be applied simultaneously to maximise niche diversity

An endangered seahorse selectively chooses an artificial structure

The development of a residential marina estate within the Knysna estuary, South Africa, introduced Reno mattresses (horizontal wire cages filled with rocks) as a novel habitat for the endangered Knysna seahorse Hippocampus capensis. Consistently high seahorse densities on these artificial structures, despite the availability of seagrass habitat, begged the question of whether this habitat was chosen by the seahorse in preference to natural vegetation. An in situ habitat choice experiment was conducted which focused on the choice made by adult H. capensis between natural vegetation (Zostera capensis) and artificial (Reno mattress) habitat within a choice chamber. Seahorses were significantly more likely to move away from Z. capensis onto a Reno mattress structure or remain on this structure. This study concludes that higher H. capensis densities on Reno mattresses within Thesen Islands Marina are owing to some positive feature of this habitat and the underlying processes responsible for the choice made by this species (additional food, holdfasts, protection) can now be investigated