'God het ons arm mense die houtjies gegee': towards a history of the 'Poor White' woodcutters in the Southern Cape forest area c. 1900 - 1939.

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

Transforming a wasteland to a premium sporting arena : the case of Ellis Park, Johannesburg, 1900s–1930s

Abstract: One of the aims of Johannesburg’s British controlled town council after the South African War (1899-1902) was to provide open public leisure spaces for its white citizens. The establishment and development of Ellis Park as a major sport centre was one of these endeavours. In 1908 the council bought disused land in New Doornfontein, taking the first step towards achieving this grand vision, namely the construction of a swimming bath that met all the requirements for an international tournament. The First World War interrupted any further development but the 1920s witnessed impressive expansion to include tennis courts, cricket pitches and rugby football grounds. By the end of the 1920s the council and the Transvaal Rugby Football Union that was a key stakeholder in the development, could proudly claim that they had achieved their dream of establishing an international sports arena for Johannesburg. Ellis Park became a significant urban marker, a symbol of prestige for the fast growing city as well as in the transformation of Johannesburg’s urban fabric into a modern city

“Imported intact from Britain and reflecting elements of Empire” : Joubert Park, Johannesburg as a leisure space, c. 1890s-1930s

Abstract: Please refer to full text to view abstrac

Black men in a white man's war: the impact of the First World War on South African blacks

African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented August, 198

Politics, principles and problems of a profession: Afrikaner historians and their discipline, c. 1920 - c. 1965

Paper presented at the Wits History Workshop: Structure and Experience in the Making of Apartheid, 6-10 February, 1990

Arguments in favour of authentic and fabricated suicide notes as indistinguishable texts

Analyses of suicide notes have been conducted from varied perspectives in both linguistics and psychology. Not only have these studies added considerable value to the study of suicide, but they have also enriched the field of forensic linguistics. By analysing suicide notes, researchers are able to speculate about the state of mind of a suicidal individual from a psychological perspective, as well as gain insights into the characteristics of this genre from a linguistic perspective. Studies of suicide notes that are most relevant to forensic linguistics are those that compare authentic and fabricated suicide notes to determine whether these types of suicide notes may be distinguished from one another. Although the literature on suicide notes includes multiple studies that consider the differences between authentic and fabricated suicide notes, none seems to consider the fact that there might not be distinct differences between these types of suicide notes. Past studies also do not seem to consider that it might not be possible to determine whether a single suicide note is authentic or not. The present study fills this gap by considering authentic and fabricated suicide notes as indistinguishable texts. In this study, appraisal theory is used as the main theory of linguistic analysis to prove that authentic and fabricated suicide notes do not have distinct linguistic characteristics that can be used to differentiate them and that aiming to authenticate suicide notes might be a very risky and problematic undertaking. The results indicate that based on the theories and methods discussed in this thesis, it is not possible to successfully distinguish between authentic and fabricated suicide notes. It appears that, overall, the suicide notes included here would be more suited to analyses aimed at determining authorship identification or verification than analyses aimed at authenticating suicide notes. Accordingly, the study contributes not only to research concerned with the analysis of suicide notes but also to that concerned with forensic linguistics. Furthermore, the study includes analyses of South African suicide notes, and specifically Afrikaans suicide notes, which has not been attempted in previous research.Tshekatsheko ya mangwalo ao a ngwadilwego ke batho ba go ipolaya e dirilwe go tswa mahlakoreng ao a fapanego ka go bobedi dithutapolelo le dithutamahlale tsa menagano. Dinyakisiso tse ga se tsa oketsa boleng bjo bogolo fela go dinyakisiso ka ga ditiragalo tsa go ipolaya, eupsa di humisitse gape lekala la dithutapolelo tsa mabapi le batho bao ba ipolailego. Ka go sekaseka mangwalo ao a ngwadilwego ke batho ba go ipolaya, banyakisisi gape ba kgona go akanya mabapi le seemo sa monagano sa motho yo a ipolailego ka lehlakoreng la tsa menagano, gammogo le go hwetsa tsebo mabapi le dipharologantshi tsa mohuta wo wa sengwalwa ka lehlakoreng la dithutapolelo. Dinyakisiso tsa mabapi le mangwalo ao a ngwadilwego ke batho ba go ipolaya tseo di nyalelanago kudu le dithutapolelo tsa mabapi le batho ba go ipolaya ke tseo di bapetsago mangwalo a go ipolaya a makgonthe le a bofora go tseba ge eba mehuta ye ya mangwalo a batho ba go ipolaya a ka faralogantshwa le a mangwe. Le ge e le gore dingwalwa tsa mabapi le mangwalo ao a ngwadilwego ke batho ba go ipolaya di akaretsa dinyakisiso tse ntsi tseo di hlokometsego go fapana magareng ga mangwalo a batho ba go ipolaya a makgonthe le a bofora, ga go seo se hlokometsego ntlha ya gore go ka no se be le diphapano magareng ga mehuta ye ya mangwalo ao a ngwadilwego ke batho ba go ipolaya. Dinyakisiso tse di dirilwego mo nakong ye e fetilego le tsona di bonala di sa hlokomele ntlha ya gore go ka no se kgonagale go tseba ge eba lengwalo le tee leo le ngwadilwego ke motho wa go ipolaya ke la makgonthe goba aowa. Dinyakisiso tse di tlatsa sekgoba se ka go bona mangwalo ao a ngwadilwego ke batho ba go ipolaya a makgonthe le a bofora bjalo ka dingwalwa tseo di ka farologanywago. Ka mo dinyakisisong tse, teori ya go utolla tshekatsheko ya maikutlo e a somiswa bjalo ka teori ye kgolo ya go sekaseka polelo ka nepo ya go laetsa gore mangwalo ao a ngwadilwego ke batho ba go ipolaya a makgonthe le a bofora ga a na le dipharologantshi tse di bonagalago tse di ka somiswago go a farologanya le gore go ikemisetsa go dira gore mangwalo ao a ngwadilwego ke batho ba go ipolaya ke a makgonthe go ka ba mosomo o kotsi kudu le wo o nago le mathata. Dipoelo di laetsa gore go ya ka diteori le mekgwa ye e ahlaahlwago ka mo thesesing ye, ga go kgonagale go farologanya ka katlego phapano magareng ga mangwalo ao a ngwadilwego ke batho ba go ipolaya a makgonthe le a bofora. Go bonala gore, ka kakaretso, mangwalo ao a ngwadilwego ke batho ba go ipolaya ao a akareditswego ka mo a tla lokela kudu go tshekatsheko ye e ikemiseditsego go tseba motho yo a ngwadilego lengwalo la go ipolaya goba tiisetso go feta tshekatsheko ye e ikemiseditsego go tiisetsa gore mangwalo ao a mabapi le go ipolaya a ngwadilwe ke bomang. Ka se, dinyakisiso ga di tsenye letsogo fela go dinyakisiso tsa mabapi le tshekatsheko ya mangwalo ao a ngwadilwego ke batho ba go ipolaya, eupsa gape mabapi le dithutapolelo tsa mabapi le batho bao ba ipolailego. Godimo ga fao, dinyakisiso di akaretsa tshekatsheko ya mangwalo ao a ngwadilwego ke batho ba go ipolaya ka mo Afrika Borwa, gomme kudukudu mangwalo a go ngwalwa ka Seafrikantshe a batho bao ba ipolailego, e lego seo se sego sa dirwa ka dinyakisisong tse di fetilego.Ukuhlaziywa kwamanothi ezehlakalo zokuzikhunga/zokuzibulala kudala kwenziwa ngokwemiqondo eyehlukahlukene ngezindlela ezimbili ngokwelingwistiki nangokwengqondo. Izifundo zocwaningo azikhulisanga kuphela ukubaluleka kocwaningo olumayelana nokuzikhunga kuphela, kodwa ziphinde zanothisa umkhakha weforensiki yelingwistiki. Ngokuhlaziya amanothi amayelana nocwaningo, abacwaningi bayakwazi ukwenza umhlahlo ngesimo somqondo womuntu ozikhungayo ngokomqondo wezengqondo, kanye nangokuzuza ulwazi olumayelana nezimpawu zalo mkhakha ngokomqondo welingwistiki. Izimfundo ezimayelana namanothi ashiywa ngabantu abazibulalayo ahlobene kakhulu neforensiki yelingwistiki yilawo aqhathanisa amanothi okuzibulala oqobo nalawo angamanothimbumbulu, ukucacisa kahle ukuthi mhlawumbe lezi zinhlobo zamanothi angahlukaniswa kwamanye. Yize umbhalo wobuciko omayelana namanothi okuzibulala axuba izimfundo zocwaningo eziningi ezigxile kwimehluko ephakathi kwamanothi okuzibulala oqobo nalawo okuzakhela/ambumbulu, akhekho obheka udaba lokuthi kungahle kungabi khona umehluko ogqamile phakathi kwalezi zinhlobo zamanothi okuzibulala. Izimfundo zocwaningo zesikhathi esedlule nazo azilubheki udaba lokuthi angekhe kwenzeka ukuthi kutholakale ukuthi mhlawumbe inothi lokuzibulala ngabe elangempela noma yinothimbumbulu. Isifundo samanje sivala lesi sikhala ngokuthatha amanothi angempela namanothimbumbulu njengemibhalo engahlukaniseki. Kulesi sifundo socwaningo, ithiyori yokuhlola isetshenziswe njengethiyori eyinsika yokuhlaziya ilingwistiki ukukhombisa ukuthi amanothi okuzibulala angempela nalawo okuzakhela akanazo izimpawu ezibaphawulekayo ezingasetshenziswa ukuwehlukanisa kanti lokho kuqonde ukuqinisekisa ukuthi amanothi okuzibulala kungenzeka abe wumsebenzi onobungozi obukhulu kanye nenkinga enkulu. Imiphumela ikhombisa ukuthi ngokwamathiyori nangezindlela ezixoxwe kule thiyori, kunzima ukuphumelela uthole umehluko phakathi mwamanothi angempela nalawo ambumbulu. Ngaphezu kwalokho, kuyakhombisa ukuthi, amanothi okuzibulala aqukethwe lapha azohambisana kakhulu nolwazi oluhlaziyiwe oluqonde ukuthola umnini wenothi noma ukuqinisekisa kunolwazi oluhlaziyiwe oluhlose ukuqinisekisa umbhali wamanothi okuzibulala. Ngokosiko lwakhona, isifundo asifakanga kuphela igalelo kucwaningo kuphela ngokuhlaziya amanothi okuzibulala, kanti lokho futhi kumayelana neforensiki yelingwistiki. Ngaphezu kwalokho, ucwaningo luqukethe ulwazi oluhlaziyiwe lwamanothi okuzibulala eNingizimu Afrika, ikakhulu amanothi okuzibulala abhalwe ngesiBhunu, angakazwe alokothwe kucwaningo lwesikhathi esedlule.Linguistics and Modern LanguagesPh. D. (Forensic Linguistics

Development and implementation of a rapid real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae in water

Assays which use real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology can be developed for the rapid identification of genetic sequences carried by waterborne pathogens. Rand Water has established facilities within which a selection of PCR assays will be developed. This paper reports on the optimisation and validation of the first assay to be implemented. This assay facilitates the detection of the ctxA gene of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae) strains. The assay also includes an internal process control in the form of an Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain carrying a single genomic copy of the gfp gene from Aequorea victoria. Establishment of the assay required the selection of suitable PCR primers and probes for both the ctxA and gfp genes. This was followed by an optimisation phase where ideal PCR cycling conditions and primer/probe concentrations were established. A validation phase established the performance parameters of the assay. Parameters assessed included: limit of detection, sensitivity, specificity, reproducibility and robustness. The validation was conducted using potable water, surface water and sewage effluent matrices. The process has resulted in the establishment of a robust assay for the detection of toxigenic V. cholerae strains within 24 hours after samples are received.Keywords: real-time PCR, Vibrio cholerae O1, ctxA gene, validatio

Risk factors and classification of diabetes in South Africa.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Diabetes prevalence has been seen to be on the increase in recent years, globally and in South Africa. The number of people with diabetes globally has risen from 108 million in 1980 to 442 million in 2014. It was estimated that, of the 1.8 million people between 20 and 79 years old with diabetes in South Africa in 2017, 84.8% were undiagnosed. Diabetes was the 2nd leading underlying cause of death in South Africa in 2016. Identifying risk factors for diabetes will assist in raising public awareness and assist public authorities to develop prevention programs. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors associated with diabetes in the South African population aged 15 years and older, as well as explore various statistical methods of classifying a person’s diabetic status. This study made use of the South African Demographic Health Survey 2016 data which involved a two-stage sampling design. The study participants included 6442 individuals aged 15 years and older. Of the individuals sampled, 11%, 67% and 22% were found to be non-diabetic, pre-diabetic and diabetic, respectively. Classification methods, namely, a decision tree, random forest and Bayesian neural network, were used to assess classification of diabetic status based on the risk factors. Of the classification methods, the Bayesian neural network gave the highest accuracy (75.9%). These methods however, failed to account for the complex survey design and sampling weights. In addition, these methods are not able to provide the estimated effect that a risk factor has on the diabetic status. Regression models were employed to identify the significant risk factors. Due to the ordinal nature of diabetic status, initially the proportional odds model was fit. However, the proportional odds assumption was found to be violated. A multinomial generalized linear mixed model was fitted to account for the complexity of the design. However, the model’s residuals were found to be spatially autocorrelated. Accordingly, a spatial generalized additive mixed model, which accounts for the complexity of the survey structure as well as incorporates nonlinear spatial effects, was adopted. The highest accuracy from the regression models considered was obtained from this adjusted surface correlation model (accuracy = 70.8%). Individuals of the Black/African race were more likely to be diabetic (OR = 1.429; 95% CI: 1.032-1.978) than other races. Individuals taking high blood pressure medication were 1.444 times more likely to be diabetic than pre-diabetic (95% CI: 1.167-1.786) compared to those not taking high blood pressure medication.Author's note about publications is on page i

“Die ruim buitelugsitkamer van die stad” : ’n Oorsigartikel oor die denke en doelstellings van stedelike parkontwikkeling in die laat 19de en vroeg 20ste eeu in Europa en die Verenigde State van Amerika

Abstract: “The great outdoor living room of the city”: A survey essay on the thoughts and aims of urban park development in the late 19th and early 20th century The city park was a constant in the ever-changing city and an effective antidote to the feverishness of city life. The current emphasis on the benefits of parks is understandable in the light of environmental issues such as, inter alia, earth warming threatening humankind’s existence on the planet. By the 1970s, there was already a substantial canon of literature on urban parks. Since then, a new generation of urban environmental historians has emerged with new interests and approaches. It is therefore prudent to revisit the thinking and aims inherent in the early establishment of the urban parks of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Britain and the United States of America. The aim of this paper is to explore both the views of middle and upper class urbanites in Britain and the USA on the mostly harsh living conditions in their cities, labelling them as “evil”; and the establishment of parks being seen as one solution to alleviate said conditions. The paper also focuses on how ideas on “nature”, “progress”, “health”, “morals”, “romanticism”, “social control” and “middle class respectability” underpinned views on public parks as pristine rural environments that should be transferred to the city. Lastly, the way landscape designers echoed the ideas and aspirations of the middle class in the design of parks is considered. Rapid industrialisation and urbanisation led to a lack of connection between urban residents and previous rural/natural areas and their benefits. The perception was that this, in turn, contributed to the decline in moral and physical health and the eroding of culture. The rural environment was idealised and seen as inherently good and superior to city living. If transferred to the city, it could create an ideal urban environment. Fredrik Law Olmsted, the doyen of American parks, fully supported these views. By the turn of the 19th century, the permanence of the city was well established and perceived dichotomy between the urban and the rural resolved by a hybrid relationship. As England was the leader in die development of parks, it had a huge influence in the Western world with many countries tapping into English ideas on parks. However, from the 1850s there was thus a lively cross-fertilisation of ideas on the urgency of park development. The City Beautiful movement would have a significant influence on these dominant ideas on parks. The “problems” to which the provision of parks was expected to offer some relief, were easy to describe: ill-health, overcrowding and squalor. The reasons for addressing these problems were various. The breathing space parks could provide was seen as one solution to improve the health of those living in over-crowded conditions. During the middle to late 19th century the British government expressed concern about the lack of exercise amongst its citizens. Initially, the park was seen as the ideal urban space for contemplative recreation and an escape from the harsh city environment. However, by the turn of the 19thcentury park advocates called for active recreation. They believed that there was a connection between poverty amongst the working classes and a lack of fitness. Fundamental to this was the hope that exercise in the park could contribute to a more productive working class. By the 1930s parks as spaces for exercise were well established in Europe and the USA..This first era of park establishment in the Western world was heavily influenced by the interests of the city elite and middle class reformers. They viewed themselves as the keepers of respectability, “civility” and “civilization” and the driving force behind reform and progress. The target of “improvement” was the working-class and the ideal place the city parks. By “civilizing” the masses, there would be fewer encroachments on middle class sensibilities..

An assessment of the implementation of the National Therapeutic Programme for pregnant women within the City of Cape Town district

Background. An integrated Nutritional Supplementation Programme (NSP), now termed the National Therapeutic Programme (NTP), was initiated in 1995 to address South Africa’s pressing nutritional problems. It specifically focuses on maternal health, including iron deficiency anaemia and underweight among pregnant women, but its implementation and efficacy for pregnant women has not been evaluated.Objectives. To determine (i) whether pregnant women qualified for both the food and micronutrient (folate and iron) supplementation offered by the programme; (ii) whether those who qualified received such supplementation; and (iii) whether those who qualified were aware of the rationale for the supplementations.Methods. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in all primary healthcare antenatal clinics in the City of Cape Town district, involving 114 women. All were interviewed using a questionnaire, their mid-upper arm circumference was measured, and their symphysis- fundus measurements (where documented) were obtained from their medical files.Results. Only 5% of the women qualified for the food supplementation, while all qualified for the micronutrient supplementation. Only 1 of the 6 participants who qualified for food supplementation was registered and received it. Seventy (61%) of the participants received the micronutrient supplementation and used it correctly. Twenty-nine (25%) participants had heard about the food supplementations for pregnant women and 54 (47%) had heard about the micronutrient supplementations. Conclusion. The food supplementation was not successfully implemented among pregnant women. The strategy requires further attention within the antenatal clinics.