Legal Truth and Discourses of Violence in Post-apartheid Commissions of Inquiry: The TRC and Marikana Commission

This thesis offers an analysis of the official discourse of two post-apartheid commissions of inquiry investigating state violence – the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Marikana Commission of Inquiry. I trace both continuities and shifts within the apartheid and post-apartheid period in the way questions of ‘truth’ and ‘justice’ have been approached in relation to past (political) violence. Moreover, I point to Marikana as exemplifying a continued problem in the post-apartheid dispensation, which has been to keep the major facets of economic organisation largely intact, reproducing structural violence and social inequity by workers in the South African mining sector. Following Adam Ashforth, my method involves an analysis of the official discourse produced in and by a commission of inquiry; however, I develop this approach to focus on the official discourse on violence in both the TRC and Marikana Commission of Inquiry. I assess various scholarly analyses and characterisations to discern their functions in terms of the following analytical schema: fact-finding, truth seeking, their discursive or narrative role and ideological function. Through an in depth analysis of what Adam Sitze calls ‘tumult commissions’, official commissions established throughout British colonialism to investigate excesses in violence by state security in quelling a major uprising in the mining sector, I trace how this institutional form has continued through the South African transition in the TRC, and into the democratic era. I argue that on a basic level these commissions of inquiry are concerned with the law; that they are instruments used in the attempt to bring society more in line with the law when other institutions like the courts or police have been stretched to capacity or when their legitimacy has been severely undermined. I proceed to focus on the TRC and Marikana Commission’s concern with the law and how the legal conceptualisations of ‘violence’ and ‘violation’ constrain the findings published in the final Report, and subsequently the possibility for restitution or justice for victims of state violence. This attests to the difficulties of both truth-telling and enacting justice in a society that remains characterised by past and continued structural violence. I find that post-apartheid commissions of inquiry have used increasingly legal approaches to address direct forms of violence, violation and injury but that they bump up against limits internal to international law itself when violence is structural and domination takes a more abstract form. As such, the production of past and present material inequalities could be glimpsed but not fully digested by the TRC and Marikana Commission’s legal orientation. Nonetheless, an analysis of these Commissions’ mandated deliberative and inclusive process facilitates challenges to official discourse on violence from civil society groups to include focus on structural violations. I show how claims to truth and justice by the public have allowed post-apartheid commissions of inquiry to be moved in various directions of their own volition, which has allowed for structures of power and the discourses that sustain them to be challenged in meaningful ways. It still stands, however, that the legal approach sets limits on a commissions’ findings, and while these commissions may describe violence; legal discourse lacks the sufficient theoretical and explanatory capacity to elucidate the root causes of repeated abuses in the mining sector, those that result as an inevitable consequence of the class relations that define capitalist production

Alcohol Insight: Parent-young people communication about alcohol

In recent years, concerns over alcohol misuse have become central to government policy and the related alcohol harm reduction strategy (Cabinet Office, 2004). This is due to two rising and largely distinct societal problems: crime and anti-social behaviour, and risks to health as a result of binge-drinking and chronic-drinking. Such policy explicitly acknowledges the importance of families in "making the strategy happen" (p.19), by parents providing young people with "clear and accurate information, and encouragement to make responsible decisions" (p.20). The current research project aimed to improve the evidence-base surrounding how parents communicate and supervise young people in relation to alcohol

The impact of patient participation direct enhanced service on patient reference groups in primary care: a qualitative study.

NHS policy documents continue to make a wide-ranging commitment to patient involvement. The Patient Participation Direct Enhanced Service (PP-DES), launched in 2011, aimed to ensure patients are involved in decisions about the range and quality of services provided and commissioned by their practice through patient reference groups (PRGs). The aim of this exploratory study is to review the impact of the PP-DES (2011-13) on a sample of PRGs and assess how far it has facilitated their involvement in decisions about the services of their general practices.The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) for Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland (LNR)

Support received after bereavement by suicide and other sudden deaths:a cross-sectional UK study of 3,432 young bereaved adults

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that people bereaved by suicide are less likely to receive formal or informal support than people bereaved by other causes of sudden death. DESIGN: National cross-sectional study. SETTING: Adults working or studying at any UK higher education institution (HEI) in 2010. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 3432 eligible respondents aged 18-40 years bereaved by the sudden death of a close friend or relative, sampled from approximately 659 572 bereaved and non-bereaved staff and students at 37 of 164 UK HEIs invited to participate. EXPOSURES: Bereavement by suicide (n=614; 18%), by sudden unnatural causes (n=712; 21%) and by sudden natural causes (n=2106; 61%). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Receipt of formal and informal support postbereavement; timing of valued support. RESULTS: 21% (725/3432) of our sample of bereaved adults reported receiving no formal or informal bereavement support, with no evidence for group differences. People bereaved by suicide were less likely to have received informal support than those bereaved by sudden natural causes (adjusted OR (AOR)=0.79; 95% CI 0.64 to 0.98) or unnatural causes (AOR=0.74; 95% CI 0.58 to 0.96) but did not differ from either comparison group on receipt of formal support. People bereaved by suicide were less likely to have received immediate support (AOR=0.73; 95% CI 0.59 to 0.90) and more likely to report delayed receipt of support (AOR=1.33; 95% CI 1.08 to 1.64) than people bereaved by sudden natural causes. Associations were not modified by gender, or age bereaved, but became non-significant when adjusting for stigma. CONCLUSIONS: People bereaved by suicide are less likely to receive informal support than people bereaved by other causes of sudden death and are more likely to perceive delays in accessing any support. This is concerning given their higher risk of suicide attempt and the recommendations within suicide prevention strategies regarding their need for support. STUDY REGISTRATION: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/psychiatry/bereavementstudy/

Understanding Layered Double Hydroxide properties as sorbent materials for removing organic pollutants from environmental waters

© 2020 Georg Thieme Verlag. All rights reserved. Emerging contaminants (ECs) are a group of anthropogenic organic pollutants known to have a host of adverse environmental and health implications. The removal of such pollutants from aqueous environments to ensure water is of a quality fit for reuse is therefore highly important and gaining considerable interest. Whilst there are multiple approaches used for EC remediation from water matrices, sorption using layered double hydroxides (LDHs) has been reported as a suitable technique. LDHs are interesting clay-like materials with numerous properties which lend LDHs to being suitable sorbent materials. Such properties include low toxicity, anion exchange capacity and tuneable structures through possible variations in metals, anions and preparation techniques. To design a successful sorbent material, it is important to fully understand the materials structure-property-function relationship. However, in the application of LDHs as sorbent materials for the removal of organic pollutants, this relationship is not well understood. Hence the ability to design bespoke high-performing LDH sorbent material is currently limited. This review considers the impact of structure and related physiochemical properties of LDHs on their sorption capacity for the removal of organic pollutants from water matrices. Methyl Orange (MO) is first considered as a model pollutant, with the importance of the characteristics of the metal layers, interlayer anions and resulting textual properties of LDHs on reported sorption capacity observed. A comparison is then made between the findings from the MO case study and for the sorption of other organic pollutants using LDHs, with a particular focus on pharmaceuticals. Finally, the role of environmental conditions and considerations linked to possible commercial applications are discussed, with recommendations made for future work

Duplication of the EFNB1 Gene in Familial Hypertelorism: Imbalance in Ephrin-B1 Expression and Abnormal Phenotypes in Humans and Mice

Familial hypertelorism, characterized by widely spaced eyes, classically shows autosomal dominant inheritance (Teebi type), but some pedigrees are compatible with X-linkage. No mechanism has been described previously, but clinical similarity has been noted to craniofrontonasal syndrome (CFNS), which is caused by mutations in the X-linked EFNB1 gene. Here we report a family in which females in three generations presented with hypertelorism, but lacked either craniosynostosis or a grooved nasal tip, excluding CFNS. DNA sequencing of EFNB1 was normal, but further analysis revealed a duplication of 937 kb including EFNB1 and two flanking genes: PJA1 and STARD8. We found that the X chromosome bearing the duplication produces ∼1.6-fold more EFNB1 transcript than the normal X chromosome and propose that, in the context of X-inactivation, this difference in expression level of EFNB1 results in abnormal cell sorting leading to hypertelorism. To support this hypothesis, we provide evidence from a mouse model carrying a targeted human EFNB1 cDNA, that abnormal cell sorting occurs in the cranial region. Hence, we propose that X-linked cases resembling Teebi hypertelorism may have a similar mechanism to CFNS, and that cellular mosaicism for different levels of ephrin-B1 (as well as simple presence/absence) leads to craniofacial abnormalities. Hum Mutat 32:1–9, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Hydrological controls on oviposition habitat are associated with egg-laying phenology of some caddisflies

1. Seasonal variation in resource availability can have strong effects on life histories and population densities. Emergent rocks (ERs) are an essential oviposition resource for multiple species of stream insects. The availability of ERs depends upon water depth and clast size, which vary with discharge and river geomorphology, respectively. Recruitment success for populations may depend on whether peak egg-laying periods occur at times when ER are also abundant. For multiple species that oviposit on ER, we tested whether seasonal fluctuations in ER abundance were concurrent with oviposition phenology. We also tested whether high discharge drowned ERs for sufficiently long periods to preclude egg laying, and whether this problem varied between rivers differing in channel morphology and particle size distribution.2. We obtained a continuous timeseries of water level (WL) measured every 30 min for two years at sites on three rivers in south-eastern Australia with similar hydrology but different geomorphology. A relationship between WL and ER numbers was determined empirically at each site and these relationships were used to predict ER availability over the two years. Egg masses of ten species of caddisflies were enumerated each month for a year in one river to establish oviposition phenology. 3. Abundance of ERs was inversely related to discharge in all three rivers. ERs were most abundant during autumn and scarce during spring. Site-specific geomorphology resulted in skewed or multimodal distributions of ER abundance each year. Between years, catchment-scale hydrometeorology mediated patterns of ER availability, despite the close proximity of sites. Temporal variance in ER availability was not consistently correlated with mean WL or WL variance. ER variance increased with WL variance, when WL was below a threshold equivalent to mean annual WL. Above this threshold, most ER were likely to be submerged.4. Oviposition phenology varied strongly among the ten species of caddisflies, with egg-laying ranging from in 1-2 months to year-round. Temporal variations in ER and egg mass abundance were not correlated for most species. Below a threshold minimum number of ER, egg masses were highly crowded onto the few available ER, which is evidence that ER were in short supply. For five species, high egg mass abundance was positively associated with periods of the year when the time above the threshold number of ERs was high. Unusually, two species laid most egg masses during winter and when the time above this threshold was short. Three species showed no association between egg mass abundance and time above this threshold; two of these species laid eggs year-round.5. Regional hydrometeorology controlled the availability of ERs, but between-river differences were sufficient to deliver different outcomes in the availability of oviposition sites between years and seasons. Caddisflies were rarely prevented from laying eggs but periods when ERs were in short supply created crowding, which may be associated with negative fitness effects on hatching larvae. Geomorphological controls on availability of oviposition resources may have strong implications for the coexistence of species that overlap temporally in egg-laying

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 28, Folk Festival Supplement

• Fifteen Years of Quilting at the Festival • The Shunning • Band Boxes • Cooking for the Lord • A Harvest of Handicrafted Items from the Craft Stalls • Festival Focus • Folk Festival Programs • Country Auctions: Going, Going, But Not Gone! • A Look at PA. Dutch Folk Art Through the Eye of a Needle • Herb Vinegars, Jellies and Salad Dressings • Modern, Clean Rest Rooms: They are Appreciated! • Decorative Paintinghttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1084/thumbnail.jp

Production of nano hydroxyapatite and Mg-Whitlockite from biowaste-derived products via continuous flow hydrothermal synthesis : a step towards circular economy

Biowastes from agriculture, sewage, household wastes, and industries comprise promising resources to produce biomaterials while reducing adverse environmental effects. This study focused on utilising waste-derived materials (i.e., eggshells as a calcium source, struvite as a phosphate source, and CH3COOH as dissolution media) to produce value-added products (i.e., calcium phosphates (CaPs) derived from biomaterials) using a continuous flow hydrothermal synthesis route. The prepared materials were characterised via XRD, FEG-SEM, EDX, FTIR, and TEM analysis. Magnesium whitlockite (Mg-WH) and hydroxyapatite (HA) were produced by single-phase or biphasic CaPs by reacting struvite with either calcium nitrate tetrahydrate or an eggshell solution at 200 °C and 350 °C. Rhombohedral-shaped Mg-WH (23–720 nm) along with tube (50–290 nm diameter, 20–71 nm thickness) and/or ellipsoidal morphologies of HA (273–522 nm width) were observed at 350 °C using HNO3 or CH3COOH to prepare the eggshell and struvite solutions, and NH4OH was used as the pH buffer. The Ca/P (atomic%) ratios obtained ranged between 1.3 and 1.7, indicating the formation of Mg-WH and HA. This study showed that eggshells and struvite usage, along with CH3COOH, are promising resources as potential sustainable precursors and dissolution media, respectively, to produce CaPs with varying morphologies

Production of Nano Hydroxyapatite and Mg-Whitlockite from Biowaste-Derived Products via Continuous Flow Hydrothermal Synthesis: A Step towards Circular Economy

Biowastes from agriculture, sewage, household wastes, and industries comprise promising resources to produce biomaterials while reducing adverse environmental effects. This study focused on utilising waste-derived materials (i.e., eggshells as a calcium source, struvite as a phosphate source, and CH3COOH as dissolution media) to produce value-added products (i.e., calcium phosphates (CaPs) derived from biomaterials) using a continuous flow hydrothermal synthesis route. The prepared materials were characterised via XRD, FEG-SEM, EDX, FTIR, and TEM analysis. Magnesium whitlockite (Mg-WH) and hydroxyapatite (HA) were produced by single-phase or biphasic CaPs by reacting struvite with either calcium nitrate tetrahydrate or an eggshell solution at 200 °C and 350 °C. Rhombohedral-shaped Mg-WH (23–720 nm) along with tube (50–290 nm diameter, 20–71 nm thickness) and/or ellipsoidal morphologies of HA (273–522 nm width) were observed at 350 °C using HNO3 or CH3COOH to prepare the eggshell and struvite solutions, and NH4OH was used as the pH buffer. The Ca/P (atomic%) ratios obtained ranged between 1.3 and 1.7, indicating the formation of Mg-WH and HA. This study showed that eggshells and struvite usage, along with CH3COOH, are promising resources as potential sustainable precursors and dissolution media, respectively, to produce CaPs with varying morphologies