Exclusion and access in higher education policies

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Governance, 2014.The democratisation process of higher education in South Africa commenced in 1994, with the refrains of ‘widening access, broadening participation’ and ‘the doors of education and culture shall be opened’. The deep structural and systemic deficits in the apartheid education system restricted access to higher education based on race, while simultaneously deepening inequalities in the schooling system. Education reform as the transition to democracy commenced, required seismic policy and systemic shifts widely described as an agenda to transform the higher education system. Thus equity of access and success reverberate in the policy documents and reforms undertaken by the government. This research study examined the policy texts and state instruments used to steer the system towards the goal of widening access. Using the conceptual model of Bowe, Ball and Gold (1992) it explored the role of universities in re-interpreting policies, while at the same time focusing on the difficulty of ‘widening access’ given the treacherous legacy of the past. The focus was on a 16 year time-span from 1994–2010, tracing the journey of policy reforms and analysing the quantitative data at the national level of the higher education system. The researcher sought to understand the enormity of the education system problems, while taking into account that changing the course for the country is a major task which would require deep transformation that would not be feasible in a short period. Findings of the research conducted are analysed and discussed during the course of this thesis. The thesis also recommends the adoption of an evaluative framework that would enable government to measure progress in relation to stated goals and inculcate greater accountability by universities

Book review: Costandius, E & Bitzer, E. (eds). Engaging Higher Education Curricula: A Critical Citizenship Perspective

This is a review of Costandius, E & Bitzer, E. (eds). Engaging Higher Education Curricula: A Critical Citizenship Perspective. Stellenbosch: SUN Press. 2015

Bilateral hemorrhagic cystic adrenal neuroblastoma with liver and lymph nodal metastases in an infant

A 6-month-old boy presented with pallor, large left hypochondrial mass and hepatomegaly. Computerized tomography (CT) revealed cystic lesions in bilateral adrenals, liver and retroperitoneal lymph nodes and a lytic left femur lesion. There was hemorrhagic aspirate with round blue cells. Excised left sided mass with adjacent lymph nodes and biopsies of others confirmed well differentiated neuroblastoma. He received 4 cycles of chemotherapy with remaining lesions markedly reduced at 2 months CT scan. At 2 year follow up he is doing well

Kawasaki disease presenting as acute intestinal obstruction

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile illness of childhood associated with vasculitis of medium-sized arteries especially the coronary arteries. Typical clinical features involving the skin, mucous surfaces, etc., occur sequentially over a few days. We report a rare presentation of KD as a surgical abdomen in a 2-year-old boy. Awareness of this presentation is important as it can otherwise lead to a delay in starting potentially life-saving intervention like intravenous immunoglobulins for cardiac complications kept cryptic by the manifest acute abdomen

Association between intraoperative anatomical variation and histopathological parameters in cases of ureteropelvic junction obstruction in children: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: The intraoperative anatomical findings (IOAF) of all ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) cases are not identical. Moreover, there is also controversy in the literature regarding histopathological (HP) findings in cases of UPJO. In the present study, we evaluated different IOAF and assessed their association with specific HP parameters. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study set-up, which was carried out in a tertiary care centre. Children with UPJO who underwent surgery between 2017 and 2020 were enrolled. The following IOAF were noted: Type of pelvis (extrarenal or intrarenal), insertion of the ureter (high or normal), presence of lower pole crossing vessel (CV), negotiation of UPJ segment with double J stent (3 Fr) and length of internal narrowing (LIN) at UPJ. The resected segment of UPJ was assessed at three levels (pelvis, UPJ and ureter) for various HP parameters including fibrosis, oedema, inflammation and smooth muscle hypertrophy (SMH). Results: Thirty-nine children were included in the study with a mean age of 31 months. The summary statistics of IOAF were intrarenal pelvis in 5 cases, high insertion of the ureter (HIU) in 9, CV in 6, negotiable UPJ in 23, and 16 cases showed LIN >1 cm. All cases showed SMH at the pelvis region and SMH with fibrosis at the UPJ region. At the pelvis region, there was an association between (1) HIU with oedema and chronic inflammation (CIF), (2) CV with CIF and (3) LIN with CIF and SMH. At the UPJ region, there was an association between (1) CV and negotiable UPJ with less fibrosis and (2) LIN with SMH. At the ureteric end, CV showed an association with less fibrosis and more CIF. Conclusion: All UPJO cases have some common HP findings. Although, some particular IOAF, i.e., presence of CV, negotiable UPJ, HIU and LIN showed association with specific HP parameters