Condonation confusion

Some problems have arisen with the interpretation of the formalities for the execution of wills in sec. 2(1) of the Wills Act 7 of 1953. The courts were given the power of condonation in sec. 2(3) of the Act to prevent wills from being declared invalid when some of the formalities had not been complied with. The provisions in sec. 2(3) appear to be controversial. The basic principles have become the subject of continuing debate through case law. The High Courts constantly disagree when they have to interpret the basic principles for the condonation of non-compliance with formalities. The reform envisaged by the legislator at the outset has not resulted in a satisfactory solution. Sec. 2(3) has been deliberated from every possible perspective. Despite Supreme Court of Appeal judgements on the interpretation of concepts such as ‘document’, ‘drafted or executed’ and ‘intention’, sec. 2(3), in its current form, can never provide for all possibilities. The more one analyses and discusses sec. 2(3), the more indistinguishable the interaction between the applicable principles becomes. This article discusses recent cases that have come before the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, in which two vastly different sets of facts resulted in identical judgements on sec. 2(3). This inquiry reveals that practical challenges remain for the courts and it is concluded that urgent intervention by the legislature has become a necessity

History and Acculturation of the Dakota Indians

In order to fully understand and appreciate those events which led to the final submission of the American Indian to the majority white culture, it is necessary to look to the historical antecedents predating white Indian contact. The original ways of living of the American Indian are not easily understood by the modern man who believes the material progress of his generation to be the highest advancement of civilization. In all societies there is a strong tendency for the majority group to assume that its values, attitudes, and behavior are superior in all regards to the habit patterns and customs that dominate the lives of minority groups. They are suspicious of strange practices which conflict with their ideas of the appropriate and correct ways of living. If they exhibit some curiosity about the customs of the minority, they are usually anxious to learn of them for the purpose of making an invidious comparison with their practices. It is the unusual person who is able to suppress his own prejudices and view clearly the ways of minorities through the value system of the minority group rather than through his own pattern of beliefs. Often one hears that such behavior as alcoholism, sexual promiscuity, unemployment, suicide, etc., when exhibited by Indians, is but a carry-over from the old culture which was typified by such characteristics. Nothing could be further from the truth. The traditional cultures of the American Indian possessed many of the same values and virtues upheld by the protestant ethic. Such deviant behavior must be seen as a result of an acculturation process which denied the American Indian the right to retain those institutions of family, religion, and economics which served to uphold his traditional values. Such behavioral patterns as reflected in high rates of alcoholism, suicide, and unemployment are fairly recent phenomena in the life of Indian people. Through a better understanding of the lasting traditional culture of one group of American Indians, the Dakota, it is hoped that such misconceptions of cause and effect may be alleviated

Acculturation of the Dakota Indians

In this pamphlet the process of acculturation among the Dakota Indians-the change which has taken place in Dakota culture as a result of contact with the dominant Caucasian society-has been analyzed. We may conclude from this study that in general culture change was most likely to occur among the Dakotas when the new culture elements satisfied some basic or secondary drive of the people. Culture change was likewise dependent upon the manner in which the new ideas were introduced to them. If the changes were attempted through coercion, they were not so readily accepted as those made voluntarily. The policies of the traders, missionaries, government agents, and agriculturalists were investigated to determine the extent of enforced and permissive acculturation. Enforced acculturation was usually accompanied by resistance to change. The disruption of family patterns, the loss of the means of subsistence, and the social disorganization of Dakota society were the ·most evident results of the acculturation process

Progression of cardiovascular risk factors in black Africans: 3 year follow up of the SABPA cohort study

Recent work identified a high prevalence of modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) among urban black South Africans. The aim was to track the progression of CVD risk factors in a multi-ethnic sample of South Africans. Participants were 173 black (aged 47.5 ± 7.8 yrs) and 186 white teachers (aged 49.6 ± 9.9 yrs) that were examined at baseline and 3 years follow-up. Blacks demonstrated a substantially higher prevalence of composite CVD burden (defined as history of physician diagnosed heart disease, use of anti-hypertensives, anti-diabetic, or statin medications at either time point) compared to whites (49.1 vs. 32.0%, p= 0.012) respectively. After controlling for baseline, the black participants demonstrated greater increases in 24 hr systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, fasting glucose, fibrinogen, D-dimer, and waist circumference in comparison with whites. In summary, an adverse progression of CVD risk factors was observed in the whole sample, although to a larger degree in black participants. Aggressive treatment strategies for controlling risk factors in black Africans are needed to reduce the increasing burden of CVD in South Africa

Conflict resolution and reconciliation within congregations

‘Being church’ in today’s world is frought with challenges to traditional practice and contemporaneous opportunities. These challenges, differences, dilemmas and paradoxes, when not handled effectively, have the propensity to escalate into and along a conflict continuum. Conflict can arise at any time within a congregation and needs to be understood and handled theologically. This article addresses some areas within congregations that attract or incubate conflict and provides an overview of related theory of conflict. The research explores current perceptions, understandings and behavioural responses to conflict, personal and corporate experiences and observed outcomes of conflict within congregations. The exploratory study reveals certain disconnects between individual and corporate practice. Congregations in general are biased towards conflict avoidance, peacekeeping and reconciliatory measures – frequently at the expense of long-term resolution. Attaining both resolution and reconciliation appears to be a luxury and not the natural outcome one may expect within Christian fellowship. The perception, understanding and views of most congregants are not aligned to good theological principles and practice. The resultant behaviour mostly observed within congregations does not lead to reconciliation and to a lesser extent resolution. Despite the seemingly high presence of conflict within congregations, no specified education on the understanding, appreciation and handling of conflict in commonly used discipleship resources or dedicated programme was found. The article concludes with a view towards a future praxis of discipleship and leadership, which incorporates the theological understanding and handling of conflict. Broader means of assisting congregations in or post conflict to recovery are also presented

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and morning surge in blood pressure in adult black and white South Africans

We examined whether there were differences in the circadian variation in blood pressure and the morning surge in blood pressure between black and white Africans. Clinic and ambulatory blood pressure data obtained from the Sympathetic Activity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Africans (SABPA) study was examined (n = 406; 49% black African). Ambulatory blood pressure readings were fitted to a six-parameter double logistic equation to determine the power and rate of the morning surge in blood pressure. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine differences in blood pressure between black and white participants. Clinic and ambulatory blood pressure were higher in black participants throughout the day and night. In those taking medications, blood pressure was less well controlled in black subjects. Despite the higher systolic blood pressure, the day-night difference estimated by the logistic function was similar in black and white participants. However, the rate of rise and power in the morning surge in blood pressure was lower in black participants. We conclude that black participants of the SABPA study present with higher blood pressure throughout the day and night but have a lower power of the morning surge in blood pressure due to a slower morning rate of increase. Moreover, they had an increased prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension and, in those taking medication, were less likely to have their blood pressure controlled than their white counterparts

A momentum-conserving, consistent, Volume-of-Fluid method for incompressible flow on staggered grids

The computation of flows with large density contrasts is notoriously difficult. To alleviate the difficulty we consider a consistent mass and momentum-conserving discretization of the Navier-Stokes equation. Incompressible flow with capillary forces is modelled and the discretization is performed on a staggered grid of Marker and Cell type. The Volume-of-Fluid method is used to track the interface and a Height-Function method is used to compute surface tension. The advection of the volume fraction is performed using either the Lagrangian-Explicit / CIAM (Calcul d'Interface Affine par Morceaux) method or the Weymouth and Yue (WY) Eulerian-Implicit method. The WY method conserves fluid mass to machine accuracy provided incompressiblity is satisfied which leads to a method that is both momentum and mass-conserving. To improve the stability of these methods momentum fluxes are advected in a manner "consistent" with the volume-fraction fluxes, that is a discontinuity of the momentum is advected at the same speed as a discontinuity of the density. To find the density on the staggered cells on which the velocity is centered, an auxiliary reconstruction of the density is performed. The method is tested for a droplet without surface tension in uniform flow, for a droplet suddenly accelerated in a carrying gas at rest at very large density ratio without viscosity or surface tension, for the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, for a falling raindrop and for an atomizing flow in air-water conditions