Post-apartheid Political Culture In South Africa, 1994-2004

Between 1994 and 2004 the African National Congress (ANC) dominated government at every level of every branch. As a result, the checks and balances that are a necessary part of any democracy were non-existent. Understanding the powerful position they occupied, the ANC increasingly acted on its own accordance without any regard for the wishes of the South African populace. This lack of public consideration, coupled with the failure to economically redistribute wealth among the vast unemployed majority, turned an optimistic political culture with mass participation in 1994 into a disillusioned political culture with reduced political participation in 2004. These economic failures, along with the rise in crime and political corruption that dominated South African politics, eroded the optimism and trust that for a short time was prevalent in South Africa. Instead, the post-apartheid political culture of South Africa resembled what it did for all of those decades under apartheid: one of disillusionment and non-participation. The following thesis will argue that during the decade following 1994, South Africans became increasingly frustrated and disillusioned with government as the divide between the small-upper class and the large-proletariat continually expanded. The various explanations for the expansion of this divide will be presented along with survey information, which will attempt to garner what the South African public perceives to be; 1) the primary threat to the long-term stability of democracy, 2) the effectiveness of government between 1994 and 2004. Most importantly, the surveys will ask South Africans who voted in 1994 but not in 2004 the reason for not voting in order to fully understand the specific cause for the decline in political participation

Investigating The Effects Of Simulation On Transfer In A High Risk Confrontational Setting

Individuals, who work in high risk confrontational (HRC) settings in which a conflict exists, experience high-stress levels in their jobs and are known to have a high level of decreased performance and decreased survival. Individuals being trained to handle such conflicts should be trained effectively to accomplish the ultimate objective, staying alive. The problem is the lack of research and program evaluations examining effectiveness of training simulations in the transfer of skills under HRC settings. The purpose of my study was to test if the skill of target acquisition could be effectively transferred to a real environment (RE) after exposure within a virtual environment (VE). Ackerman\u27s (1988) Theory of Ability Determinants of Skill Acquisition supports the progression participants advance through in the transfer of learning. A randomized posttest only comparison group design was used. The population involved 24 novice paintball players. Participants were randomly assigned to a simulation treatment or a non-simulation comparison application. Two days after receiving the intervention, participants engaged in live practice sessions (game 1 and game 2) in a RE where target acquisition skills were measured. Evidence suggests significant differences were found between novice players in the type of intervention received and the number of targets acquired in a RE, whereas, no significant change in scores was found between practice sessions, and no interaction was found between intervention received and practice. Recommendations for replicating studies include: (a) focusing on the manipulation of specific variables within the training context, (b) using different live environments, (c) examining factors that influence teaming and strategy formation, and (d) combining experts and novice players for a closer representation of a population in an HRC setting

Polarization Perception Device

A polarization perception device comprises a base and a polarizing filter having opposite broad sides and a centerline perpendicular thereto. The filter is mounted on the base for relative rotation and with a major portion of the area of the filter substantially unobstructed on either side. A motor on the base automatically moves the filter angularly about its centerline at a speed slow enough to permit changes in light transmission by virtue of such movement to be perceived as light-dark pulses by a human observer, but fast enough so that the light phase of each such pulse occurs prior to fading of the light phase image of the preceding pulse from the observer's retina. In addition to an observer viewing a scene in real time through the filter while it is so angularly moved, or instead of such observation, the scene can be photographed, filmed or taped by a camera whose lens is positioned behind the filter

Panel Discussion On Lipid Metabolism In Cardiovascular Disease†

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111126/1/jgs00741.pd

Probabilistic movement model with emigration simulates movements of deer in Nebraska, 1990–2006

Movements of deer can affect population dynamics, spatial redistribution, and transmission and spread of diseases. Our goal was to model the movement of deer in Nebraska in an attempt to predict the potential for spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) into eastern Nebraska. We collared and radio-tracked \u3e600 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in Nebraska during 1990–2006.We observed large displacements (\u3e10 km) for both species and sexes of deer, including migrations up to 100 km and dispersals up to 50 km. Average distance traveled between successive daily locations was 166m for male and 173 for female deer in eastern Nebraska, and 427m for male and 459 for female deer in western Nebraska. Average daily displacement from initial capture point was 10m for male and 14m for female deer in eastern Nebraska, and 27m for male and 28m for female deer in western Nebraska.We used these data on naturally occurring movements to create and test 6 individual-based models of movement for white-tailed deer and mule deer in Nebraska, including models that incorporated sampling from empirical distributions of movement lengths and turn angles (DIST), correlated random walks (CRW), home point fidelity (FOCUS), shifting home point (SHIFT), probabilistic movement acceptance (MOVE), and probabilistic movement with emigration (MOVEwEMI). We created models in sequence in an attempt to account for the shortcomings of the previous model(s). We used the Kolmogrov–Smirnov goodness-of-fit test to verify improvement of simulated annual displacement distributions to empirical displacement distributions. The best-fit model (D = 0.07 and 0.08 for eastern and western Nebraska, respectively) included a probabilistic-movement chance with emigration (MOVEwEMI) and resulted in an optimal daily movement length of 350m (maximum daily movement length of 2800m for emigrators) for eastern Nebraska and 370m (maximum of 2960m) for western Nebraska. The proportion of deer that moved as emigrators was 0.10 and 0.13 for eastern and western Nebraska, respectively. We propose that the observed spread of CWD may be driven by large movements of a small proportion of deer that help to establish a low prevalence of the disease in areas east of the current endemic area. Our movement models will be used in a larger individual-based simulation of movement, survival, and transmission of CWD to help determine future surveillance and management actions

Sustained proliferation in cancer: mechanisms and novel therapeutic targets

Proliferation is an important part of cancer development and progression. This is manifest by altered expression and/or activity of cell cycle related proteins. Constitutive activation of many signal transduction pathways also stimulates cell growth. Early steps in tumor development are associated with a fibrogenic response and the development of a hypoxic environment which favors the survival and proliferation of cancer stem cells. Part of the survival strategy of cancer stem cells may manifested by alterations in cell metabolism. Once tumors appear, growth and metastasis may be supported by overproduction of appropriate hormones (in hormonally dependent cancers), by promoting angiogenesis, by undergoing epithelial to mesenchymal transition, by triggering autophagy, and by taking cues from surrounding stromal cells. A number of natural compounds (e.g., curcumin, resveratrol, indole-3-carbinol, brassinin, sulforaphane, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, genistein, ellagitannins, lycopene and quercetin) have been found to inhibit one or more pathways that contribute to proliferation (e.g., hypoxia inducible factor 1, nuclear factor kappa B, phosphoinositide 3 kinase/Akt, insulin-like growth factor receptor 1, Wnt, cell cycle associated proteins, as well as androgen and estrogen receptor signaling). These data, in combination with bioinformatics analyses, will be very important for identifying signaling pathways and molecular targets that may provide early diagnostic markers and/or critical targets for the development of new drugs or drug combinations that block tumor formation and progression

Protein-losing gastroenteropathy: Concepts derived from lymphangiography

Lymphangiograms in 2 patients with protein-losing gastroenteropathy showed abnormalities of both abdominal and lower-extremity lymphatics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44359/1/10620_2005_Article_BF02237631.pd

Scraping Behavior in Male White-tailed Deer as a Potential Means of Transmitting Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has become a concern for wildlife managers and hunters across the United States. High prevalence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in older male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) suggests that sex-specific social behavior may contribute to the spread of the disease among males. Scraping is a marking behavior performed by male white-tailed deer during the rut in which a pawed depression and associated over-hanging branch are marked with saliva, glandular secretions, urine, and feces. We placed 71 and 35 motion-activated cameras on scrapes in DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge in western Nebraska and eastern Iowa from Oct. – Nov. 2005 and Sept. – Nov. 2006, respectively. We recorded 5009 encounters and 1830 direct interactions. We developed an ethogram of behaviors of interest at scrapes. We found that males interacted with scrapes more frequently than females (P \u3c 0.001). Male interactions were more complex, with 69% consisting of ≥2 observed behaviors versus 25% and 13% for females and fawns. We identified individual male deer ≥2.5 years old and determined the minimum number of different scrapes individuals visited and the number of individuals that visit a single scrape. Individuals that appeared on camera ≥5 times visited a mean of 3.9 scrapes (range = 1-15) and traveled a mean minimum distance of 978 m between consecutive scrapes. A mean of 5.1 individuals visited a single scrape, and up to 43% of individuals returned to a scrape previously visited at least once. We modeled Risk Values based on frequency of occurrence, duration, and Threat Values of each behavior, for contacting and transmitting CWD prions at scrapes. Adult males had the highest total Risk Values for contacting CWD prions (114.1) and shedding prions (59.4). The “grasp-lick branch” behavior had the highest Risk Value for adult males for both contacting and transmitting prions. Our study reveals a sex specific social behavior in male white-tailed deer that has the potential to spread chronic wasting disease between adult males in the population